US-20260125941-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CHARGING DOOR OF VEHICLE BASED ON ULTRA-WIDEBAND

US20260125941A1US 20260125941 A1US20260125941 A1US 20260125941A1US-20260125941-A1

Abstract

Certain examples relate to controlling a charging door of a vehicle based on an UWB. A system includes a charging door, a charging device, a vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, a vehicle-mounted camera device, a main control unit, and a charging door control device. The charging door may cover a charging port. The charging device includes a first UWB communication device. The first UWB communication device may transmit and receive a UWB communication signal. The vehicle-mounted UWB communication device may detect location information of the charging device based on the UWB communication signal. The vehicle-mounted camera device may capture image information near the charging door. The main control unit may generate a charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the location information and image information. The charging door control device may open or close the charging door based on the charging door control signal.

Inventors

Maoheng Ge
Kyu Geol Lee
Yan Xiang Huang
Ming Jie Zhang
Yuan Li
Jin Chao ZHANG

Assignees

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
KIA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251014
Priority Date: 20241105

Claims (20)

1 . A system for controlling a charging door of a vehicle based on an ultra-wideband (UWB), the system comprising: the charging door configured to cover a charging port of the vehicle; a vehicle-mounted UWB communication device comprising: a UWB processing module; and a plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules, wherein: the UWB processing module and the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules are configured to be communicatively connected to each other via a first communicative connection, the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules is configured to: perform UWB communication with a first UWB communication device of a charging device; and transmit a received UWB communication signal of the charging device to the UWB processing module, and the UWB processing module detects location information of the charging device based on the received UWB communication signal of the charging device; a vehicle-mounted camera device configured to obtain image information near the charging door of the vehicle; a main control unit communicatively connected via a second communicative connection to the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device and the vehicle-mounted camera device, respectively, and configured to: generate a charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the location information of the charging device and the image information near the charging door of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped; and a charging door control device communicatively connected via a third communicative connection to the main control unit and electrically connected to the charging door of the vehicle, and configured to: open or close the charging door based on the charging door control signal of the main control unit.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules of the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device is further configured to: perform UWB communication with a user-portable second UWB communication device; and transmit the received UWB communication signal of the user-portable second UWB communication device to the UWB processing module of the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, the UWB processing module detects second location information of a user based on the received UWB communication signal of the user-portable second UWB communication device; and the main control unit is further configured to generate the charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the second location information of the user, the location information of the charging device, and the image information near the charging door of the vehicle.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the main control unit is further configured to: detect whether the charging device is located within a set range of the vehicle; determine whether a distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than a first predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is located within the set range of the vehicle; determine whether the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle based on determining that the distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than the first predetermined distance; and generate the charging door control signal for opening the charging door based on determining that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle.
4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the main control unit is further configured to: detect whether the charging device is located within a set range of the vehicle; determine whether a first distance between the user and the charging device is less than a second predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is located within the set range of the vehicle; determine whether a second distance between the user or the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than a first predetermined distance based on determining that the first distance between the user and the charging device is less than the second predetermined distance; determine whether the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle based on determining that the second distance between the user or the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than the first predetermined distance; and generate the charging door control signal for opening the charging door based on determining that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle.
5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the set range of the vehicle is a predetermined distance range between the charging device and a front side, a rear side, a left side, or a right side of the vehicle.
6 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the main control unit is further configured to: identify whether different circles in an image have a same cut ratio based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle; and determine that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on identifying that the different circles in the image have the same cut ratio.
7 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the main control unit is further configured to: detect whether the charging device is electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle within a predetermined time in response to the charging door of the vehicle being open; determine that the charging device is charging the vehicle based on detecting that the charging device is electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle within the predetermined time; detect whether the charging device is electrically disconnected from the charging port of the vehicle when the charging device is charging the vehicle; determine whether the distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is greater than the first predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is disconnected from the charging port of the vehicle; and generate the charging door control signal for closing the charging door based on determining that the distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is greater than the first predetermined distance.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the main control unit is further configured to generate the charging door control signal for closing the charging door based on detecting that the charging device is not electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle within the predetermined time in response to the charging door of the vehicle being open.
9 . The system claim 1 , further comprising: a voice output device electrically connected to the main control unit and configured to transmit a voice alarm based on a control signal from the main control unit; and an indicating device electrically connected to the main control unit and configured to light an indicating light based on the control signal from the main control unit, wherein the main control unit is further configured to generate the control signal causing the voice output device to transmit the voice alarm or the indicating device to light the indicating light based on generating the charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein: the first communicative connection, the second communicative connection, and the third communicative connection each respectively comprise a connection through a wired communication method, and the wired communication method comprises a controller area network, a universal serial bus, a high-definition multimedia interface, and a digital visual interface.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle-mounted camera device is configured to obtain the image information near the charging door of the vehicle based on the location information of the charging device detected by the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device.
12 . A method for controlling a charging door of a vehicle based on an ultra-wideband (UWB), the method comprising: receiving, by a vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, a UWB communication signal from a first UWB communication device of a charging device; detecting location information of the charging device based on the UWB communication signal of the charging device received by the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device; obtaining image information near the charging door of the vehicle by a vehicle-mounted camera device; generating a charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the location information of the charging device and the image information near the charging door of the vehicle by a main control unit when the vehicle is stopped; and opening or closing the charging door based on the charging door control signal of the main control unit by a charging door control device.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving, by the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, a second UWB communication signal from a user-portable second UWB communication device; detecting location information of a user based on the second UWB communication signal of the user-portable second UWB communication device received by the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device; and generating the charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the location information of the user, the location information of the charging device, and the image information near the charging door of the vehicle by the main control unit.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: detecting whether the charging device is located within a set range of the vehicle; determining whether a distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than a first predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is located within the set range of the vehicle; determining whether the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle based on determining that the distance between a user or the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than the first predetermined distance; and generating the charging door control signal for opening the charging door based on determining that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle.
15 . The method for controlling the charging door of the vehicle based on the UWB of claim 13 , further comprising: detecting whether the charging device is located within a set range of the vehicle; determining whether a first distance between the user and the charging device is less than a second predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is located within the set range of the vehicle; determining whether a second distance between the user or the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than a first predetermined distance based on determining that the first distance between the user and the charging device is less than the second predetermined distance; determining whether the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle based on determining that the second distance between the user or the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is less than the first predetermined distance; and generating the charging door control signal for opening the charging door based on determining that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the set range of the vehicle is a predetermined distance range between the charging device and a front side, a rear side, a left side, or a right side of the vehicle.
17 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: identifying whether different circles in an image have a same cut ratio based on the image information near the charging door of the vehicle; and determining that the charging device has approached the charging door of the vehicle based on identifying that the different circles in the image have the same cut ratio.
18 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: detecting whether the charging device is electrically connected to a charging port of the vehicle within a predetermined time in response to the charging door of the vehicle being open; determining that the charging device is charging the vehicle based on detecting that the charging device is electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle within the predetermined time; detecting whether the charging device is electrically disconnected from the charging port of the vehicle is disconnected when the charging device is charging the vehicle; determining whether the distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is greater than the first predetermined distance based on detecting that the charging device is disconnected from the charging port of the vehicle; and generating the charging door control signal for closing the charging door based on determining that the distance between the charging device and the charging door of the vehicle is greater than the first predetermined distance.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: generating the charging door control signal for closing the charging door based on detecting that the charging device is not electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle within the predetermined time in response to the charging door of the vehicle being open.
20 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: generating a control signal causing a voice output device to transmit a voice alarm or an indicating device to light an indicating light by the main control unit based on generating the charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 202411564150.5 filed at the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration on Nov. 5, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to vehicle control, and more particularly, to a system and a method for controlling a charging door of a vehicle based on an ultra-wideband (UWB). BACKGROUND As vehicle control technology continues to advance, users' demands for charging convenience and intelligence are increasing. Conventional methods of opening a vehicle charging door mainly include using a car key, using an inside button, and using an outside button. This conventional method is not convenient. In particular, in cold or rainy weather, it is not only inconvenient but may also cause inconvenience to the user since the user has to operate the vehicle charging door manually. Further, if the indications for a charging port are unclear, the user may have difficulty charging and may even damage the vehicle due to improper operation. Therefore, the design of the charging door of the vehicle needs to evolve in a more intelligent and humanized direction to provide a more convenient user experience. The above information disclosed in this Background section is provided only to facilitate understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and may therefore include information that is not a part of the prior art already known to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a system and method for detecting the location of a charging device and/or a user based on an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication technology, thereby allowing a user to control a charging door more intelligently. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for controlling a charging door of a vehicle based on the ultra-wideband (UWB) may be provided. The system may include a charging door, a charging device, a vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, a vehicle-mounted camera device, a main control unit, and a charging door control device, wherein the charging door is configured to cover a charging port of the vehicle; the charging device is configured to be electrically connected to the charging port of the vehicle to charge the vehicle, the charging device includes a first UWB communication device, and the first UWB communication device is configured to transmit and receive a UWB communication signal; the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device comprises a UWB processing module and a plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules, wherein the UWB processing module and the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules are configured to be communicatively connected to each other, the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules is configured to perform UWB communication with the first UWB communication device of the charging device and transmit the received UWB communication signal of the charging device to the UWB processing module, and the UWB processing module detects location information of the charging device based on the received UWB communication signal of the charging device; the vehicle-mounted camera device is configured to obtain image information near the charging door of the vehicle; the main control unit is communicatively connected to the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device and the vehicle-mounted camera device, respectively, and the main control unit is configured to generate a charging door control signal for opening or closing the charging door based on the location information of the charging device and the image information near the charging door of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped; and the charging door control device is communicatively connected to the main control unit and electrically connected to the charging door of the vehicle, and the charging door control device is configured to open or close the charging door based on the charging door control signal of the main control unit. The system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a user-portable second UWB communication device, wherein the second UWB communication device may be configured to transmit and receive a UWB communication signal; the plurality of vehicle-mounted UWB communication modules of the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device is configured to perform UWB communication with the second UWB communication device and transmit the received UWB communication signal of the second UWB communication device to the UWB processing module of the vehicle-mounted UWB communication device, and the UWB processing module detects location information of a user based on the received UWB communication signal of the second UWB communication device; and the main control unit is further configured to generate the charging