CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0158441, filed on Dec. 2, 2019 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a vehicle, and more particularly, to a sensor provided in the vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Various types of sensors are used in a vehicle to detect an operation state of the vehicle at various positions or to detect various phenomena occurring in the vehicle. When the sensors are used for a long time, impurities can attach or the sensor themselves can deteriorate and the sensor then is usually replaced with a new product.

The shorter a replacement cycle of the sensor, the more often the sensor needs to be replaced, which increases the consumption of time and money according to sensor replacement.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the disclosure to provide a sensor module that can significantly increase a sensor replacement cycle of a vehicle to suppress the consumption of time and money required for sensor replacement.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a vehicle includes a sensor module having a plurality of sensors connected in parallel and a plurality of switches configured to selectively activate each of the plurality of sensors, and a controller configured to selectively turn on/turn off each of the plurality of switches to generate a control signal for selectively activating the plurality of sensors and to transmit the generated control signal to the sensor module.

When the activated one sensor of the plurality of sensors reaches the end of its life, the controller may be configured to deactivate the one sensor and to activate the other one of the plurality of sensors.

When a value obtained by dividing the change in resistance of the activated one sensor by an initial resistance of the one sensor exceeds a preset reference value, the controller may be configured to determine that the one sensor has reached the end of its life.

Each of the plurality of sensors may be further provided with a self-cleaning device. The controller may be configured to extend the life of each of the plurality of sensors through driving of the self-cleaning device.

The driving of the self-cleaning device may be controlled by the controller.

The driving of the self-cleaning device may be controlled by each of the plurality of sensors.

The plurality of sensors are sensors of the same type and the same standard.

The activation the plurality of sensors may supply power to the plurality of sensors. The power may be supplied to the plurality of sensors when the plurality of switches are turned on.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, in a method of controlling a vehicle, the vehicle includes a sensor module having a plurality of sensors connected in parallel and a plurality of switches configured to selectively activate each of the plurality of sensors, and a controller configured to selectively turn on/turn off each of the plurality of switches to generate a control signal for selectively activating the plurality of sensors and transmit the generated control signal to the sensor module. The method includes activating any one of the plurality of sensors, measuring the life of the activated one sensor, and when the activated one sensor reaches the end of life, deactivating the one sensor and activating the other one of the plurality of sensors.

When a value obtained by dividing the change in resistance of the activated one sensor by an initial resistance of the one sensor exceeds a preset reference value, the method includes determining that the one sensor has reached the end of its life.

Each of the plurality of sensors may be further provided with a self-cleaning device. The controller may be configured to extend the life of each of the plurality of sensors through driving of the self-cleaning device.

The driving of the self-cleaning device may be controlled by the controller.

The driving of the self-cleaning device may be controlled by each of the plurality of sensors.

The plurality of sensors are sensors of the same type and the same standard.

The activation the plurality of sensors may supply power to the plurality of sensors. The power may be supplied to the plurality of sensors when the plurality of switches are turned on.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a vehicle includes a sensor module having a plurality of sensors connected in parallel and a plurality of switches configured to selectively activate each of the plurality of sensors, and a controller configured to selectively turn on/turn off each of the plurality of switches to generate a control signal for selectively activating the plurality of sensors and to transmit the generated control signal to the sensor module, when the activated one sensor of the plurality of sensors reaches the end of life, to deactivate the one sensor and activate the other one of the plurality of sensors, and when a value obtained by dividing the change in resistance of the activated one sensor by an initial resistance of the one sensor exceeds a preset reference value, to determine that the one sensor has reached the end of its life.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, in a method of controlling a vehicle, the vehicle includes a sensor module having a plurality of sensors connected in parallel and a plurality of switches configured to selectively activate each of the plurality of sensors, and a controller configured to selectively turn on/turn off each of the plurality of switches to generate a control signal for selectively activating the plurality of sensors and transmit the generated control signal to the sensor module. The method includes activating any one of the plurality of sensors, measuring the life of the activated one sensor; and when the activated one sensor reaches the end of its life, deactivating the one sensor and activating the other one of the plurality of sensors. When a value obtained by dividing the change in resistance of the activated one sensor by an initial resistance of the one sensor exceeds a preset reference value, the method includes determining that the one sensor has reached the end of its life.

