BRAKE TORQUE DISTRIBUTION DEVICE AND DISTRIBUTION METHOD OF VEHICLE

Abstract

A brake torque distribution device for distributing braking torque to wheels of a vehicle includes: a receiving unit for receiving vehicle driving information including required braking torque; a regenerative braking unit for generating regenerative braking torque; a braking torque generating unit for generating braking torque; and a braking control unit for controlling the braking torque generating unit to distribute the braking torque to the wheels of the vehicle, where the braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the braking torque generating unit based on an optimal tire slip diagram stored in memory.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0119523 filed on Sep. 8, 2023 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

(a) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a brake torque distribution device and a distribution method of a vehicle, more particularly, to the brake torque distribution device and method for distributing torque to wheels of the vehicle.

(b) Description of the Related Art

In certain front-wheel driving systems, it is possible to freely distribute driving power between front wheels and rear wheels from 100 percent of the front wheels to 100 percent of the rear wheels, by using two or more motors or hybrid engines.

In addition, a vehicle is being developed in which a driving motor is mounted on each wheel of the vehicle to provide driving torque.

As the number of driving motors increases, torque distribution control is not only used for stability and handling performance, but can also be used to perform optimal torque distribution to improve fuel efficiency.

In particular, fuel efficiency of a vehicle is improved by performing optimal torque distribution control, considering regenerative braking torque.

Meanwhile, in addition to the optimal torque distribution control considering regenerative braking torque, there is a need for technology that can maximize the fuel efficiency while ensuring driving stability of the vehicle, by appropriately distributing braking torque.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a braking torque distribution device and distribution method that can distribute braking torque of a vehicle to generate optimal energy efficiency.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a brake torque distribution device for distributing braking torque to wheels of a vehicle, the brake torque distribution method includes: a receiving unit configured to receive vehicle driving information including required braking torque; a regenerative braking unit configured to generate regenerative braking torque; a braking torque generating unit configured to generate braking torque; and a braking control unit configured to control the braking torque generating unit, wherein the braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the braking torque generating unit based on an optimal tire slip diagram stored in a storage unit.

The braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to front and rear wheels based on the optimal tire slip diagram and an ideal braking distribution diagram.

The ideal braking distribution diagram may be a diagram for distributing the braking torque to front and rear wheels so that the front and rear wheels can be locked simultaneously, and the optimal tire slip diagram may be a diagram of distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels to minimize tire slip.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is greater than or equal to the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on an optimal energy diagram.

The optimal energy diagram may be a diagram in which energy loss of the driving motor and energy loss due to tire slip are minimized.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to front and rear wheels, based on one of an optimal energy diagram or the ideal braking distribution diagram.

The braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels differently based on a point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

The braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on the optimal energy diagram from a start point of braking to a point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

The braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on the ideal braking distribution diagram from after a point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit may control so that only the braking torque generating unit provided on the front wheels generates the braking torque up to a preset deceleration.

The braking control unit, based on a preset reference yaw moment, may determine left braking torque generated by the braking torque generating unit provided on a left side of the vehicle and right braking torque generated by the braking torque generating unit provided on a right side of the vehicle.

The driving information may further include a yaw error and a wheel slip rate of the vehicle, and when the yaw error is less than or equal to a preset first reference yaw error and the wheel slip is less than or equal to a preset reference wheel slip, the braking control unit may determine the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels.

A posture control unit controlling a posture of a vehicle may be further included, wherein when the wheel slip is greater than the reference wheel slip, the braking torque generating unit may determine the braking torque by the posture control unit.

The braking control unit may not generate the braking torque, when the regenerative braking torque is greater than the required braking torque.

A vehicle may include the brake torque distribution device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a braking torque distribution method for distributing braking torque to wheels of a vehicle, the brake torque distribution method may include steps of: receiving, by a receiving unit of a brake torque distribution device, vehicle driving information and regenerative braking torque; distributing, by a braking control unit of the brake torque distribution device, left braking torque and right braking torque; and distributing by the braking control unit of the brake torque distribution device, braking torque to front wheels and braking torque to rear wheels, wherein in the step of distributing the braking torque to the front wheels and the braking torque to the rear wheels, the braking torque may be distributed based on an optimal tire slip diagram stored in a storage unit.

In the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque, the left braking torque and the right braking torque may be distributed based on a reference yaw moment according to a preset steering angle and driving speed.

In the step of distributing the braking torque to front wheels and the braking torque to rear wheels, braking torque may be distributed to front wheels of the braking torque and braking torque may be distributed to rear wheels of the braking torque based on the optimal tire slip diagram and an ideal braking distribution diagram, the ideal braking distribution diagram may be a diagram for distributing the braking torque to front and rear wheels so that the front and rear wheels can be locked simultaneously, and the optimal tire slip diagram may be a diagram for distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels so that tire slip can be minimized.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, in the step of distributing the braking torque to front wheels and the braking torque to rear wheels, a distribution ratio of the front and rear wheels of the braking torque may be determined based on one of an optimal energy diagram or the ideal braking distribution diagram, and the optimal energy diagram may be a diagram in which energy loss of a driving motor and energy loss due to tire slip are minimized.

The driving information includes wheel slip, and when the wheel slip is greater than a preset reference wheel slip, in the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque or distributing the braking torque to front wheels and the braking torque to rear wheels, the braking torque may be distributed by a posture control unit stably controlling a posture of the vehicle.

The driving information includes driver's required braking torque transmitted by operating a brake pedal, and when the regenerative braking torque is greater than the required braking torque, in the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque or distributing the braking torque to front wheels and the braking torque to rear wheels, the braking torque may not be generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying lead-outs, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a braking torque distribution device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of a step of determining whether to initiate posture control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of a step of distributing braking torque to front and rear wheels according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a graph exemplarily illustrating data on a reference moment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating information regarding vehicle specifications.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating a plurality of diagrams according to deceleration of front and rear wheels, in a vehicle with strong tire slip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating a plurality of diagrams according to deceleration of front and rear wheels, in a vehicle with poor tire slip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “unit”, “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

Further, the control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

Since the present disclosure may have various changes and may have various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, specific embodiments may be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the present disclosure to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as that which can commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal manner unless explicitly defined in the present application.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a braking torque distribution device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the braking torque distribution device may include a receiving unit 100, a regenerative braking unit 200, a braking control unit 300, a posture control unit 500, and a braking torque generating unit 400.

Each of the above units may constitute modules and/or devices of the braking torque distribution device, which may be a controller. For example, the above units of the braking torque distribution device may constitute hardware components that form part of a controller (e.g., modules or devices of a high-level controller), or may constitute individual controllers each having a processor and memory. The braking torque distribution device may include one or more processors and memory.

The receiving unit 100 may receive information on driving conditions of the vehicle. For example, the receiving unit 100 may receive information on driving conditions, including driver's required braking torque, wheel slip information, steering angle, driving speed, yaw rate, yaw error, and the like.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the receiving unit 100 may also receive driving information that can estimate driving conditions including required braking torque, wheel slip information, steering angle, driving speed, yaw rate, yaw error, and the like.

For example, the receiving unit 100 may further include driving information such as stroke size information of a vehicle's brake pedal, wheel speed of each wheel, vehicle's driving speed information, and the like.

Here, the driver's required braking torque may be estimated through information on a stroke of an accelerator pedal, and the wheel slip may also be estimated through a speed difference between the wheel speed of each wheel and the vehicle's driving speed.

The receiving unit 100 may be connected to sensors provided in a vehicle using a network provided in the vehicle and receive information on driving conditions of the vehicle.

For example, the receiving unit 100 may receive state information of a brake pedal including an opening amount of the braking pedal from a brake pedal sensor using a vehicle's controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle, and may confirm a driver's required braking torque through the opening amount of the brake pedal.

Here, the opening amount of the brake pedal may mean a degree to which a driver presses a brake pedal (or, a degree of pedal depression), and the opening amount of the brake pedal may be determined between 0% to 100%.

In addition, a steering angle may refer to a rotation angle of a steering wheel, and the receiving unit 100 may receive a steering angle detected by a steering angle sensor.

The regenerative braking unit 200 may generate regenerative braking torque using a driving motor (not shown).

Here, the driving motor generates driving torque required for driving the vehicle using an electric energy charged in a battery, and the driving torque generated by the driving motor is supplied to driving wheels or all wheels of a vehicle to drive the vehicle. During regenerative braking, the driving motor may operate as a generator to generate an electrical energy.

In addition, a plurality of driving motors may be provided in a vehicle. For example, the driving motor may include a front-wheel driving motor and a rear-wheel driving motor. The front-wheel driving motor may supply driving torque to two front wheels, and the rear-wheel driving motor may supply driving torque to two rear wheels.

Alternatively, four driving motors may be provided to supply driving torque to each wheel. In this case, driving torque may be supplied to each wheel through a driving motor provided in each wheel. The braking control unit 300 may control a braking torque generating unit 400 based on driving information received from the receiving unit 100 and regenerative braking torque received from the regenerative braking unit 200.

The braking control unit 300 may determine braking torque to be generated by the braking torque generating unit 400 based on the driving information received from the receiving unit 100 and the regenerative braking torque received from the regenerative braking unit 200.

The braking control unit 300 may be implemented through an algorithm configured to control an operation of various components of the vehicle or a non-volatile memory (not shown) configured to store data regarding software instructions for reproducing the algorithm, and a processor (not shown) configured to perform the operations described below using data stored in that memory.

Here, the memory and processor may be implemented as individual chips. Alternatively, the memory and processor may be implemented as a single chip integrated with each other. A processor may have a form of one or more processors.

A storage unit 310 may be operably connected to the braking control unit 300 of the braking torque distribution device, and in particular, the storage unit 310 is configured to store data indicating an optimal energy diagram, ideal braking distribution diagram, and/or an optimal tire slip diagram, which can be provided to the braking control unit 300.

Here, the optimal energy diagram may refer to a diagram in which energy loss of a driving motor and energy loss due to slip of each tire are minimized.

In addition, the optimal tire slip diagram may refer to front-wheel braking torque and rear-wheel braking torque that minimize tire slip.

In addition, the ideal braking distribution diagram may be a diagram illustrating an ideal relationship between a front-wheel braking torque and a rear-wheel braking torque for simultaneous locking of the front and rear wheels.

The optimal energy diagram, ideal braking distribution diagram, and optimal tire slip diagram will be described in more detail later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

In addition, the storage unit 310 may store data on a reference yaw moment according to a steering angle and driving speed, and a reference yaw moment corrected according to driving conditions.

In addition, the storage unit 310 may store values, which become standards for control, such as a first reference yaw error, a second reference yaw error, a reference wheel slip, and the like.

The storage unit 310 is a recording medium suitable for storing data indicating the optimal energy diagram, ideal braking distribution diagram, and optimal tire slip diagram provided to the braking control unit 300, and include, for example, magnetic media such as such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Video Disk (DVD), magneto-optical media such as Floptical Disk, and a semiconductor memory such as flash memory, Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), or SSD manufactured based thereon.

The braking torque generating unit 400 may be a device decelerating or stopping the vehicle.

The braking torque generating unit 400 may be a device decelerating or stopping the vehicle.

The braking torque generating unit 400 may be provided at each wheel, and may independently generate braking torque at each wheel.

For example, the braking torque generating unit 400 may include a first braking torque generating unit 410 generating braking torque to a left-front wheel, a second braking torque braking torque generating unit 420 generating braking torque to a right-front wheel, a third braking torque generating unit 430 generating braking torque to a left-rear wheel, and a fourth braking torque generating unit 430 generating braking torque to a right-rear wheel.

The braking torque generating unit 400 can individually generate braking torque to each wheel under the control of the brake control unit 300 using the first to fourth braking torque generating units 410, 420, 430, and 440.

Based on the driving conditions of the vehicle, when driving stability of the vehicle is reduced and there is a risk of oversteer, understeer, or slip of the vehicle, the posture control unit 500 may maintain a posture of a vehicle body stably by controlling the driving torque and braking torque of each wheel.

The posture control unit 500 may include an electric stability control (ESC), an anti-lock brake system (ABS), and the like.

The components of the braking torque distribution device can be connected wired and wirelessly to exchange information. For example, data may be exchanged using communication means such as Ethernet, Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), Flexray, Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), Internet, LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), Zigbee, Radio frequency (RF), and the like.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of receiving driving information.

In the step of receiving driving information, driving information of the vehicle may be received through a receiving unit 100. Here, in the step of receiving driving information, information on the driving conditions including at least one of a driver's required braking torque, wheel slip information, steering angle, driving speed, yaw rate, and yaw error may be received through the receiving unit 100.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, the receiving unit 100 may also include driving information that can estimate the driving conditions including the required braking torque, wheel slip information, steering angle, driving speed, yaw rate, yaw error, and the like.

In addition, in the step of receiving driving information, information on regenerating braking torque may be received from the regenerative braking unit 200.

The braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a step of distributing braking torque to left and right sides.

In the step of distributing braking torque to left and right sides, the braking control unit 300 may determine total braking torque. Here, the total braking torque can be determined as shown in Equation 1 illustratively expressed below.

$\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{breaking}\mathrm{torque}=\mathrm{Required}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}-\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{regenerative}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}1\right]\end{array}$

Here, the total braking torque may be the sum of braking torque generated by the braking torque generating unit 400. The required braking torque may be braking torque transmitted from a brake pedal operated by a driver. In addition, the total regenerative braking torque may be the sum of the regenerative braking torque generated by regenerative braking.

When the regenerative braking torque can satisfy required braking torque, the braking control unit 300 may not generate braking torque in the braking torque generating unit 400.

In the step of distributing braking torque to left and right sides, the braking control unit 300 may determine and distribute braking torque to be generated by the first braking torque generating unit 410 and the third braking torque generating unit 430 provided on a left side of the vehicle, and braking torque to be generated by the second braking torque generating unit 420 and the fourth braking torque generating unit 430 provided on a right side of the vehicle.

The braking control unit 300 can perform left and right torque distribution based on a reference yaw moment. Here, the reference yaw moment may be a yaw moment that can minimize energy loss due to tire slip, and may be preset and stored in the storage unit 310.

FIG. 5 is a graph exemplarily illustrating data on a reference moment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5, the braking control unit 300 may determine reference moment data stored in the storage unit 310 and a reference yaw moment determined by a driving speed and steering angle received from the receiving unit 100.

The braking control unit 300 may determine braking torque to be generated on a left side and braking torque to be generated on a right side using Equation 2 and Equation 3 illustratively expressed below.

Here, the braking torque to be generated on the left side of the vehicle may be referred to as left braking torque, and the braking torque to be generated on the right side of the vehicle may be referred to as right braking torque.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}2\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Left}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}-\frac{2R}{T}{M}_z^{\mathrm{ref}}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}3\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Right}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}+\frac{2R}{T}{M}_z^{\mathrm{ref}}\right)$

Here, M_z^ref may be a reference yaw moment, R may be a tire radius, and T may be a track distance. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating specifications of a vehicle. Referring to FIG. 6, the radius R of the tire may be a radius that the tire actually has as it rotates, and the track distance T may be a distance between center lines of two left and right tires at a point at which the left and right tires contact a ground.

A braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether to initiate posture control.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of a step of determining whether to initiate posture control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, a braking control unit 300 may compare a yaw error received from a receiving unit 100 with a first reference yaw error.

When the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 is greater than the first reference yaw error, the braking control unit 300 may compare the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 with a second reference yaw error.

When the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 is smaller than the second reference yaw error, the braking control unit 300 may correct a reference yaw moment as shown in Equation 4 below, and update the same with the corrected reference yaw moment and be stored in the storage unit 310.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}4\right]& \end{array}$ $M_z^{\mathrm{HL}}=M_z^{\mathrm{ref}}+k_{p,\stackrel{.}{\psi }}\left({\stackrel{.}{\psi }}_{\mathrm{ref}}+\stackrel{.}{\psi }\right)+k_{i,\stackrel{.}{\psi }}\int \left({\stackrel{.}{\psi }}_{\mathrm{ref}}-\stackrel{.}{\psi }\right)\mathrm{dt}$

Here, M_z^HL may be a corrected reference yaw moment, M_z^ref may be a stored reference yaw moment, k_{p,{dot over (ψ)}}, may be a proportional gain, {dot over (ψ)}_ref may be a reference yaw rate, {dot over (ψ)} may be yaw rate, and k_{i,{dot over (ψ)}} may be an integral gain.

The braking control unit 300 may perform left and right torque distribution based on the corrected reference yaw moment. After the reference yaw moment is corrected, the braking control unit 300, as shown in Equations 5 to 6 below, the braking control unit 300 may determine left braking torque and right braking torque using the corrected reference yaw moment.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}5\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Left}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}-\frac{2R}{T}{M}_z^{\mathrm{HL}}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}6\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Right}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{Total}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}+\frac{2R}{T}{M}_z^{\mathrm{HL}}\right)$

When the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 is greater than a second reference yaw error, the braking control unit 300 may control the braking torque generating unit 400 using a posture control unit 500.

When the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 is greater than the second reference yaw error, since it is more important for the braking control unit 300 to secure driving stability of the vehicle, so that the braking control unit 300 may terminate torque distribution control to maximize fuel efficiency and determine braking torque using a posture control unit 500.

When the yaw error received from the receiving unit 100 is less than or equal to the first reference yaw error, the braking control unit 300 may compare a wheel slip received from the receiving unit 100 with a reference wheel slip.

When the wheel slip is greater than the reference wheel slip, it is more important for the braking control unit 300 to secure the driving stability of the vehicle, so the braking control unit 300 may terminate torque distribution control to maximize fuel efficiency and determine braking torque using a posture control unit 500.

When the wheel slip is less than or equal to the reference wheel slip, the

braking control unit 300 may perform front-to-rear braking torque distribution to maximize the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

Here, the regenerative braking torque may also be controlled to generate a reference yaw moment. In particular, since an amount of steering angle change based on the reference yaw moment may be reflected in advance in an autonomous vehicle steering angle calculation, the braking control unit 300 may determine the left and right braking torque based on the reference yaw moment, thereby minimizing an impact on an autonomous driving path and improving autonomous driving path tracking performance.

The braking torque distribution method may include a step of distributing braking torque to front and rear wheels.

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the step of distributing braking torque to front and rear wheels according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating a plurality of diagrams according to deceleration of front and rear wheels in a vehicle with robust tire slip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating a plurality of diagrams according to deceleration of front and rear wheels in a vehicle with poor tire slip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an optimal energy diagram, an optimal tire slip diagram, and an ideal braking distribution diagram based on a reduction ratio of the front and rear wheels are illustrated as examples.

The optimal energy diagram may mean a diagram in which energy loss of a driving motor and energy loss due to slip of each tire are minimized.

For example, the optimal energy diagram can be derived through a brute force algorithm based on the energy loss of the driving motor, energy loss due to tire slip, and total energy loss.

Here, the energy loss of the driving motor may be determined based on efficiency of the driving motor.

The efficiency of the driving motor can be determined through Equation 7, illustratively expressed below, and the energy loss of the driving motor can be determined through Equation 8, illustratively expressed below.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}7\right]& \end{array}$ $\eta =\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{T\omega }{P_{\mathrm{inv}}},& \mathrm{when}T>0\\ \frac{P_{\mathrm{inv}}}{T\omega },& \mathrm{when}T<0\end{array}$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}8\right]& \end{array}$ $P_{\mathrm{EM}}=\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{T\omega }{P_{\mathrm{inv}}},& \mathrm{when}T>0\\ \frac{P_{\mathrm{inv}}}{T\omega },& \mathrm{when}T<0\end{array}$

Here, P_EM may be energy loss of a driving motor, η may be efficiency of a driving motor, P_inv may be an inverter power, T may be torque of a driving motor, and ω may be a rotational speed (rpm) of a driving motor.

In addition, energy loss of a tire can be determined as the sum of energy loss due to longitudinal slip and energy loss due to transverse slip.

Here, a diagram that minimizes the energy loss of the tire can be derived, which can be called an optimal tire slip diagram. The optimal tire slip diagram may be a diagram regarding front-wheel braking torque and rear-wheel braking torque at which tire slip is minimized. The optimal tire slip diagram may be determined in advance depending on the type of tire, and may be preset and stored in a memory of the storage unit 310 or the braking control unit 300.

The optimal tire slip diagram can be derived through individual tire tests. More specifically, based on the results of individual tire tests, using a magic formula (MF) tire model, which is commonly used, forces in longitudinal and transverse directions acting to the tire changed according to a tire slip angle to a driving direction, a tire's load in a ground direction, may be derived.

The energy loss of the tire in the longitudinal direction can be determined through Equation 9 illustratively expressed below, and the energy loss of the tire in the transverse direction can be determined through Equation 10 illustratively expressed below.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}9\right]& \end{array}$ $P_{\mathrm{tyre},\sigma }={\sum }_{\mathrm{ij}}{F}_{x,\mathrm{ij}}\left(R_{\mathrm{ij}}{\omega }_{\mathrm{ij}}-v_{x,\mathrm{ij}}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}10\right]& \end{array}$ $P_{\mathrm{tyre},\alpha }={\sum }_{\mathrm{ij}}{F}_{y,\mathrm{ij}}{v}_{y,\mathrm{ij}}$

Here, R_ij may be a radius of the tire, F_x,ij may be a longitudinal force, ω_ij may be a wheel speed, and v_x,ij may be a longitudinal vehicle speed, F_y,ij may be a transverse force, v_y,ij may be a lateral vehicle speed, and ij may be numbering for the front, rear, left and right wheels provided in the vehicle. In addition, the longitudinal force (F_x,ij) and transverse force (F_y,ij) can be derived through the MF tire model.

In addition, the total energy loss can be determined as the sum of the energy loss of the driving motor and the energy loss of the tire, and the diagram that minimizes the total energy loss may be an optimal energy diagram.

The ideal braking distribution diagram may be a diagram illustrating a relationship between ideal front-wheel braking torque and rear-wheel braking torque for simultaneous locking of the front and rear wheels.

In order to simultaneously consider driving stability and braking performance of the vehicle, the front and rear wheels may need to be locked at the same time. Here, in order for the front and rear wheels to be locked simultaneously, the braking torque of the front and rear wheels should be distributed differently. An ideal braking distribution diagram may be one illustrating an ideal relationship between front wheel braking torque and rear wheel braking torque.

The ideal braking distribution diagram can be determined based on Equation 11 and Equation 12 illustratively expressed below (see FIG. 6).

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}11\right]& \end{array}$ $B_f=\mu \left(W_f+W_t\times \frac{a}{g}\times \frac{\mathrm{CGH}}{L}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}12\right]& \end{array}$ $B_r=\mu \left(W_r+W_t\times \frac{a}{g}\times \frac{CGH}{L}\right)$

Here, Bf may be braking torque of front wheels, Br may be braking torque of rear wheels, Wt may be a total weight of the vehicle, Wf may be a weight acting on the front wheels, Wr may be a weight acting on the rear wheels, a may be deceleration of the vehicle, CGH may be a height of center of gravity, L may be a wheel base, μ may be a coefficient of friction, and g may be a gravity constant.

The ideal braking distribution diagram may be determined by the vehicle specifications, and may be set and stored in advance.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the step of distributing braking torque to the front and rear wheels, the braking control unit may compare an optimal tire slip diagram with an ideal braking distribution diagram.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is greater than or equal to the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may control the braking torque generating unit 400 using first braking torque distribution or second braking torque distribution.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is greater than or equal to the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may compare driver's requested braking torque with regenerative braking torque.

When the required braking torque is less than or equal to the regenerative braking torque, the braking control unit 300 may not control the braking torque generating unit 400.

When the required braking torque is less than or equal to the regenerative braking torque, braking may be performed using regenerative braking, thereby increasing energy efficiency due to regenerative braking.

When the required braking torque is greater than the regenerative braking torque, the braking control unit 300 may perform first braking torque distribution.

The first braking torque distribution may be distributed according to a front-to-rear distribution ratio determined according to an optimal energy diagram, and the optimal energy diagram may be set and stored in advance.

The braking control unit 300 can find the front-to-rear distribution ratio of the braking torque of the front and rear wheels to satisfy the braking torque from the optimal energy diagram.

For example, when the front-to-rear distribution ratio of the braking torque of the front and rear wheels to satisfy the braking torque in the optimal energy diagram is A:B, the braking control unit 300 may determine the braking torque of the front and rear wheels as illustratively expressed in Equation 13 and Equation 14 below.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}13\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}\mathrm{to}\mathrm{front}\mathrm{wheels}=\frac{A}{A+B}\times \mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}-\mathrm{Regenerative}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}\left(\mathrm{Front}\mathrm{wheels}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}14\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}\mathrm{to}\mathrm{rear}\mathrm{wheels}=\frac{B}{A+B}\times \mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}-\mathrm{Regenerative}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}\left(\mathrm{Rear}\mathrm{wheels}\right)$

Here, braking torque may be total braking torque determined by Equation 1. Alternatively, the braking torque may be left braking torque or right braking torque determined by Equation 6.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may not control the braking torque generating unit 400 when required braking torque is less than or equal to regenerative braking torque.

When the required braking torque is less than or equal to the regenerative braking torque, braking is performed using regenerative braking, thereby increasing energy efficiency due to regenerative braking.

When the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may control the braking torque braking unit 400 with second braking torque distribution when the required braking torque is greater than the regenerative braking torque.

The second braking torque distribution may distribution braking torque according to a front-to-rear distribution ratio determined by different diagrams based on a predetermined deceleration.

More specifically, when the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may distribute the braking torque according to the optimal energy diagram in a deceleration section before distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels for the driving stability of the vehicle, and distribute the braking torque using an ideal braking distribution ratio in a deceleration section when the braking torque of the front and rear wheels are started to be distributed.

When a minimal tire slip diagram is lower than an ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may cause slip of the rear tires, and therefore may apply braking torque to only the front wheels based on the optimal energy diagram in an early stage of braking.

In addition, the braking control unit 300 may distribute braking torque to the front wheels and rear wheels according to the ideal braking distribution diagram from a point when the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram.

For example, when the minimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may apply braking torque to the front wheels according to the optimal energy diagram in the early stage of braking (until the front wheel braking torque is about 0.14 g). In addition, the braking control unit 300 may apply braking torque to the front and rear wheels according to the optimal energy diagram until the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram.

The braking control unit 300 may apply braking torque to the front wheels and rear wheels according to the ideal braking distribution diagram from when the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram.

In the second braking torque distribution, the braking control unit 300 may determine a front-to-rear distribution ratio of the braking torque based on the optimal energy diagram before the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram.

In the second braking torque distribution, before the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may distribute braking torque to the front and rear wheels like the first braking torque distribution.

In other words, in the second braking torque distribution, before the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may distribute braking torque to the front and rear wheels using the above-described Equations 13 and 14.

In the second braking torque distribution, after the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit 300 may distribute braking torque based on the ideal braking distribution diagram.

For example, when a front-rear distribution ratio of braking torque of the front and rear wheels to satisfy the braking torque in the ideal braking distribution diagram is C:D, the braking control unit 300 may determine the braking torque of the front and rear wheels as illustratively expressed in Equation 15 and Equation 16 below.

$\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}15\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}\mathrm{to}\mathrm{front}\mathrm{wheels}=\frac{C}{C+D}\times \mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}-\mathrm{Regenerative}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}\left(\mathrm{Front}\mathrm{wheels}\right)$ $\begin{array}{cc}\left[\mathrm{Equation}16\right]& \end{array}$ $\mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}\mathrm{to}\mathrm{rear}\mathrm{wheels}=\frac{D}{C+D}\times \mathrm{Braking}\mathrm{torque}-\mathrm{Regenerative}\mathrm{braking}\mathrm{torque}\left(\mathrm{Rear}\mathrm{wheels}\right)$

Here, the braking torque may be the total braking torque determined by Equation 1. Alternatively, the braking torque may be left braking torque or right braking torque determined by Equation 3 to Equation 6.

In the braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the minimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking torque may be distributed differently according to the minimal tire slip diagram.

In particular, when the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, in the early stage of braking, braking torque may be applied to the front and rear wheels based on an optimal energy diagram, and after the optimal energy diagram matches the ideal braking distribution diagram, braking torque may be applied to the front and rear wheels based on the ideal braking distribution diagram.

Thereby, the braking torque distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has an advantage of securing driving stability of a vehicle equipped with rear tires with poor slip and improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

The methods according to the present invention may be implemented in a form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in a combination thereof. Program instructions recorded on a computer readable medium may be specially designed and configured for the present disclosure may be known to those skilled in computer software and used. Examples of the computer readable medium include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like.

Examples of the computer readable medium include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of the program instructions include high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, or the like as well as machine language codes generated by a compiler. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate with at least one software module to perform the operations of the present disclosure, and vice versa.

As set forth above, in a braking torque distribution device and distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a braking torque may be distributed so that a vehicle may be driven stably while improving fuel efficiency by minimizing energy loss of the vehicle.

While the example embodiments have been illustrated and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A brake torque distribution device for distributing braking torque to wheels of a vehicle, the brake torque distribution device comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive vehicle driving information including required braking torque;a regenerative braking unit configured to generate regenerative braking torque;a braking torque generating unit configured to generate braking torque; anda braking control unit configured to control the braking torque generating unit to distribute the braking torque to the wheels of the vehicle,wherein the braking control unit determines the braking torque to be distributed to the braking torque generating unit based on an optimal tire slip diagram stored in a storage unit.

2. The brake torque distribution device of claim 1, the braking control unit determines the braking torque to be distributed to front and rear wheels based on the optimal tire slip diagram and an ideal braking distribution diagram stored in the storage unit.

3. The brake torque distribution device of claim 2, the ideal braking distribution diagram is a diagram of distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels so that the front and rear wheels may be locked simultaneously, and the optimal tire slip diagram is a diagram of distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels so that tire slip is minimized.

4. The brake torque distribution device of claim 2, wherein, when the optimal tire slip diagram is greater than or equal to the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on an optimal energy diagram stored in the storage unit.

5. The brake torque distribution device of claim 4, wherein the optimal energy diagram is a diagram in which energy loss of a driving motor and energy loss due to tire slip are minimized.

6. The brake torque distribution device of claim 2, wherein when the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on one of an optimal energy diagram stored in the storage unit or the ideal braking distribution diagram.

7. The brake torque distribution device of claim 6, wherein the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels differently based on a point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

8. The brake torque distribution device of claim 6, wherein the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on the optimal energy diagram from a point of start of braking to a point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

9. The brake torque distribution device of claim 6, wherein the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels based on the ideal braking distribution diagram from after the point of intersection between the optimal energy diagram and the ideal braking distribution diagram.

10. The brake torque distribution device of claim 2, wherein when the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, the braking control unit controls so that only the braking torque generating unit provided on front wheels generates the braking torque up to a preset deceleration.

11. The brake torque distribution device of claim 1, wherein, based on a preset reference yaw moment, determines left braking torque generated by the braking torque generating unit provided on a left side of the vehicle and right braking torque generated by the braking torque generating unit provided on a right side of the vehicle.

12. The brake torque distribution device of claim 1, wherein the driving information further comprises a yaw error and a wheel slip rate of the vehicle, wherein when the yaw error is less than or equal to a preset first reference yaw error and the wheel slip is less than or equal to a preset reference wheel slip,the braking control unit determines the braking torque distributed to the front and rear wheels.

13. The brake torque distribution device of claim 12, further comprising: a posture control unit controlling a posture of a vehicle,wherein when the wheel slip is greater than the reference wheel slip, the braking torque generating unit determines the braking torque by the posture control unit, orwherein when the regenerative braking torque is greater than the required braking torque, the braking control unit does not generate the braking torque.

14. A vehicle comprising the brake torque distribution device of claim 1.

15. A brake torque distribution method for distributing braking torque to wheels of a vehicle, the brake torque distribution method comprising steps of: receiving, by a receiving unit of a brake torque distribution device, vehicle driving information and regenerative braking torque;distributing, by a braking control unit of the brake torque distribution device, left braking torque and right braking torque; anddistributing, by the braking control unit of the brake torque distribution device, braking torque to front wheels and braking torque to rear wheels,wherein in the step of distributing the braking torque to the front wheels and the braking torque to the rear wheels, the braking torque is distributed based on an optimal tire slip diagram stored in a storage unit.

16. The brake torque distribution method of claim 15, wherein in the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque, the left braking torque and the right braking torque are distributed based on a reference yaw moment according to a preset steering angle and driving speed.

17. The brake torque distribution method of claim 15, wherein in the step of distributing the braking torque to the front wheels and the braking torque to the rear wheels, the braking torque is distributed to the front wheels and the braking torque is distributed to the rear wheels based on the optimal tire slip diagram and an ideal braking distribution diagram stored in the storage unit, and the ideal braking distribution diagram is a diagram of distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels so that the front and rear wheels are locked simultaneously, and the optimal tire slip diagram is a diagram of distributing the braking torque to the front and rear wheels so that tire slip is minimized.

18. The brake torque distribution method of claim 17, wherein when the optimal tire slip diagram is smaller than the ideal braking distribution diagram, in the step of distributing the braking torque to the front wheels and the braking torque to the rear wheels, a distribution ratio of the front wheels and the rear wheels of the braking torque is determined based on one of the optimal energy diagram or the ideal braking distribution diagram, wherein the optimal energy diagram is a diagram in which energy loss of a driving motor and energy loss due to tire slip are minimized.

19. The brake torque distribution method of claim 15, wherein the driving information comprises a wheel slip, wherein when the wheel slip is greater than a preset reference wheel slip, in the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque or distributing the braking torque to front wheels and the braking torque to rear wheels, the braking torque is distributed by a posture control unit stably controlling a posture of the vehicle.

20. The brake torque distribution method of claim 15, wherein the driving information comprises driver's required braking torque transmitted by operating a brake pedal, when the regenerative braking torque is greater than the required braking torque, in the step of distributing the left braking torque and the right braking torque or distributing the braking torque to the front wheels and the braking torque to the rear wheels, the braking torque is not generated.