Method for calculating a distance traveled and vehicle using the same

Abstract

The present application relates to a method for calculating a running distance and a vehicle using the method. The vehicle can include a combination instrument panel and an engine control unit (ECU), wherein the combination instrument panel can generate a running distance signal indicating a running distance detected by a vehicle speed sensor, and the ECU can be configured to set a running distance at a last time of engine off as a current running distance when the running distance signal at the time of engine on indicates an initial value; set a temporary previous running distance of a predetermined period of time before a current time point and a temporary current running distance of the current time point as a previous running distance and a current running distance, respectively, when the temporary previous running distance and the temporary current running distance are greater than or equal to the set current running distance.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0072910, filed on June 16, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to a method for calculating a travel distance and a vehicle using the same. BACKGROUND

[0004] A combination panel transmits a travel distance through CAN communication, but there is a problem in that an abnormal travel distance such as an initial value (for example, 0x000000) or a fault signal (for example, 0xFFFFFF) is transmitted before the completion of the combination panel CAN initialization. As a result, the subsequent travel distance can be erroneous, and the cumulative travel distance as a cumulative value can also be erroneous.

[0005] The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for the purpose of enhancing the understanding of the background of the present application, and therefore it can contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to those who have ordinary skill in the art. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a vehicle and a method for calculating a travel distance of the vehicle, which can minimize a travel distance error due to an abnormally received travel distance signal.

[0007] An exemplary vehicle can include a combination panel and an engine ECU. The combination panel can generate a travel distance signal indicating a travel distance detected using a vehicle speed sensor. The engine ECU can be configured to set a travel distance at a last time of engine off as a current travel distance when the travel distance signal received at the time of engine on indicates an initial value, and set a temporary previous travel distance for a predetermined period of time before a current time point and a temporary current travel distance at the current time point as a previous travel distance and a current travel distance, respectively, when the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance are greater than or equal to the set current travel distance.

[0008] The engine ECU can be configured to set the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance as the travel distance at the last time of engine off when the travel distance signal received at the time of engine on indicates the initial value, or when the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance are less than the set current travel distance.

[0009] The engine ECU can be configured to calculate and update the previous travel distance and the current travel distance based on the set previous travel distance and the set current travel distance, thereby calculating the travel distance.

[0010] The travel distance can include a unit time travel distance, a total cumulative travel distance, and a travel distance during a current drive cycle. The engine ECU can be configured to calculate the unit time travel distance by subtracting the previous travel distance from the current travel distance, to update the total cumulative travel distance by adding the unit time travel distance to the previous travel distance, and to calculate the travel distance during the current drive cycle by subtracting the travel distance at the last time of the engine being turned off from the total cumulative travel distance.

[0011] The engine ECU can be configured to end the calculation of the travel distance when the travel distance signal received at the time of the engine being turned on is a failure signal.

[0012] The engine ECU can be configured to store the current travel distance as the travel distance at the current time of the engine being turned off when the vehicle is turned to the engine-off state, and to calculate the travel distance during the current drive cycle.

[0013] An exemplary method for calculating a travel distance of a vehicle includes generating a travel distance signal indicating the travel distance, determining whether the travel distance signal received at the time of the engine being turned on indicates an initial value, setting a travel distance at the last time of the engine being turned off as a current travel distance when the received travel distance signal is the initial value, comparing a temporary previous travel distance of a predetermined time period before a current time point and a temporary current travel distance at the current time point with a set current travel distance, and setting the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance as a previous travel distance and a current travel distance, respectively, when the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance are greater than or equal to the set current travel distance.

[0014] The exemplary method for calculating the travel distance of the vehicle can further include setting the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance as the travel distance at the last time of the engine being turned off when the temporary previous travel distance and the temporary current travel distance are less than the set current travel distance.

[0015] The exemplary method for calculating the travel distance of the vehicle can further include calculating and updating the previous travel distance and the current travel distance based on the set previous travel distance and the set current travel distance, thereby calculating the travel distance.

[0016] The calculating the travel distance includes calculating a unit time travel distance by subtracting the previous travel distance from the current travel distance, updating a total cumulative travel distance by adding the unit time travel distance to the previous travel distance, and calculating the travel distance during the current driving cycle by subtracting the travel distance at the last time of the engine being off from the total cumulative travel distance.

[0017] The exemplary method for calculating the travel distance of a vehicle can further include ending the calculation of the travel distance when the received travel distance signal at the time of the ignition is a failure signal.

[0018] The exemplary method for calculating the travel distance of a vehicle can further include storing the current travel distance as the travel distance at the current engine-off time and calculating the travel distance during the current driving cycle when the vehicle is turned to the engine-off state.

[0019] According to an exemplary embodiment, a vehicle and a method for calculating the travel distance of the vehicle can minimize a travel distance error due to an abnormally received travel distance signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 The main components of a vehicle related to the travel distance in one embodiment of the present application are shown.

[0021] Figure 2 and Figure 3 are flowcharts of a method for calculating and storing a cumulative travel distance, respectively, in one embodiment of the present application.

[0022] REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0023] 1: vehicle

[0024] 10: combination panel

[0025] 11: vehicle speed sensor

[0026] 30: engine ECU. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present application relates to a method for calculating a cumulative travel distance used for calculating fuel efficiency related to greenhouse gases and a current driving travel distance (i.e., a travel distance during a current driving).

[0028] In some embodiments of the present application, the travel distance of a vehicle can be stored in one controller that is a main controller, and information related to the travel distance can be transmitted to other controllers. The main controller can be a combination panel. An engine electronic control unit (ECU) can receive the travel distance of the vehicle through the combination panel.

[0029] The engine ECU can calculate a difference between the current received travel distance and the received travel distance at the time of ignition (i.e., a value obtained by subtracting the initial travel distance received at the time of ignition from the current travel distance received from the combination panel) as a current driving travel distance. The engine ECU can calculate a sum of the last stored cumulative travel distance and the current driving travel distance (i.e., a value obtained by adding the last stored cumulative travel distance to the current driving travel distance) as a final cumulative travel distance. The current driving travel distance and the final cumulative travel distance can be stored, respectively.

[0030] Upon receiving a failure signal (e.g., 0xFFFFFF), the engine ECU can stop calculating the travel distance, and upon receiving an initial value (e.g., 0x000000), the engine ECU can compensate for the travel distance received at the time of initial ignition, thereby improving the occurrence of an error. The cumulative travel distance stored by the engine ECU can be used as main information (vehicle driving information) for vehicle tracking.

[0031] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar components will be denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and repetitive description thereof will be omitted. The term "module" and / or "unit" used for components in the following description is only for the convenience of the present specification. Therefore, these terms do not have a meaning or role that distinguishes them from each other and themselves. In describing the exemplary embodiments of the present specification, when it is determined that a detailed description of a well-known technology associated with the present invention can make the gist of the present invention unclear, it will be omitted. The accompanying drawings are provided only to allow easy understanding of the exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and should not be interpreted as limiting the spirit of the present specification, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

[0032] The terms including ordinal (e.g., first, second, etc.) will be used only to describe various components, and should not be construed as limiting the components. The terms are used only to distinguish one component from other components.

[0033] It should be understood that when a component is referred to as being "connected" or "engaged" to another component, it can be directly connected or engaged to the other component, or can be connected or engaged to the other component through yet another component interposed therebetween. Also, it should be understood that when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly engaged" to another component, it can be directly connected or engaged to the other component without other components interposed therebetween.

[0034] It will also be understood that the terms "comprising" and "having" when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0035] Figure 1 The main components of a vehicle related to a travel distance are shown according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0036] The vehicle 1 includes an instrument cluster 10 and an engine ECU 30. The instrument cluster 10 includes a vehicle speed sensor 11. The vehicle speed sensor 11 detects at least one of the rotational speeds of the front wheels and the rear wheels of the vehicle 1 and generates a signal indicating the rotational speed.

[0037] The instrument cluster 10 can calculate a travel distance, store the travel distance, generate a travel distance signal indicating the travel distance, and transmit the travel distance signal to the engine ECU 30 through CAN communication, based on the signal generated by the vehicle speed sensor 11.

[0038] The engine ECU 30 stores vehicle driving information. Specifically, it is legally required that the cumulative travel distance and the current driving travel distance be stored by the engine ECU 30. It is legally prescribed that the engine ECU 30 must provide cumulative travel distance data for the inspection of exhaust gas.

[0039] Figure 2 and Figure 3 are flowcharts of methods for calculating and storing a cumulative travel distance in some embodiments of the present invention, respectively.

[0040] As shown in Figure 2 , in step S1, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the vehicle 1 has turned to an ignition state.

[0041] When the vehicle 1 has not turned to the ignition state (NO of step S1), in step S2, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the vehicle has turned to an engine-off state.

[0042] When the vehicle 1 has not turned to the engine-off state (NO of step S2), the process returns to step S1.

[0043] When the vehicle 1 has turned to the ignition state (YES of step S1), in step S3, the engine ECU 30 reads a battery voltage supplied in the vehicle 1.

[0044] In step S4, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the battery voltage read in step S3 is within a normal range, for example, 10V-16V. When the battery voltage is out of the normal range (NO of step S4), the engine ECU ends the travel distance calculation.

[0045] When the battery voltage is within the normal range, for example, 10V-16V (Yes in step S4), in step S5, the engine ECU 30 receives a signal related to the travel distance (hereinafter referred to as a travel distance signal) from the combination panel 10. The combination panel 10 calculates and stores the travel distance, and can transmit the travel distance signal indicating the current travel distance to the engine ECU 30 through CAN communication in response to a request from the engine ECU 30. The combination panel 10 can also transmit the travel distance signal to another controller through CAN communication upon a request for the current travel distance.

[0046] In step S6, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the travel distance signal received through the CAN communication is consistent. For example, the engine ECU 30 can perform a liveliness check and / or a checksum process.

[0047] The liveliness check refers to the sending controller and the receiving controller counting the number of transmissions respectively at each signal transmission, and comparing the count value of the signal transmitted by the sending controller with the count value of the signal received by the receiving controller. That is, the count value included in the travel distance signal transmitted by the combination panel 10 is compared with the count value of the signal received by the engine ECU 30, and when the two count values are equal, the engine ECU 30 determines that there is no missing signal.

[0048] Alternatively, a checksum performed with respect to the signal received by the receiving controller can be compared with the checksum transmitted from the sending controller. That is, the engine ECU 30 can compare the checksum received from the combination panel 10 with the checksum calculated by the engine ECU 30, and can determine whether the received signal is valid in units of bytes.

[0049] When consistency is found (Yes in step S6), in step S7, the engine ECU 30 determines that the travel distance signal received from the combination panel 10 is a valid signal.

[0050] When consistency is not found (No in step S6), the engine ECU 30 ends the travel distance calculation.

[0051] After step S7, in step S8, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the travel distance signal is a failure signal. For example, the value of the failure signal can be "0XFFFFFF", and the engine ECU 30 can compare the travel distance signal with the failure signal.

[0052] When the travel distance signal is the failure signal (Yes in step S8), the engine ECU 30 ends the travel distance calculation.

[0053] When the travel distance signal is not the fault signal (NO in step S8), in step S9, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the travel distance signal is an initial value. For example, the initial value can be "0x000000", and the engine ECU 30 can compare the travel distance signal with the initial value.

[0054] When the travel distance signal is the initial value (YES in step S9), in step S10, the engine ECU 30 can set the travel distance Odo lastDC received at the last time of the engine stop as the current travel distance Odometer current.

[0055] When the travel distance signal is not the initial value (NO in step S9), in step S11, the engine ECU 30 calculates the current travel distance based on the travel distance signal.

[0056] In addition, when the travel distance signal is the initial value (YES in step S9), the engine ECU 30 can monitor whether the combination instrument panel 10 normally generates and transmits the travel distance signal during a predetermined monitoring period after the initial value of the travel distance signal is received.

[0057] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the engine ECU during a monitoring period after the initial value of the travel distance signal is received.

[0058] In step S12, the engine ECU 30 sets a temporary previous travel distance Odo 0 as a travel distance calculated based on the travel distance signal at a predetermined period (e.g., 1 second) before the current time point.

[0059] Then, in step S13, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the predetermined period (i.e., 1 second) has elapsed. When 1 second has not elapsed, the engine ECU 30 continues to monitor the elapse of time.

[0060] In step S14, when the predetermined period of 1 second has elapsed, the engine ECU sets a temporary current travel distance Odo 1 as a travel distance calculated based on the current travel distance signal.

[0061] Subsequently in step S15, the engine ECU 30 determines whether the temporary previous travel distance Odo 0 and the temporary current travel distance Odo 1 are greater than or equal to the current travel distance Odometer current set in step S10. The current travel distance Odometer current set in step S10 is the travel distance Odo lastDC received at the last time of the engine stop.

[0062] When the temporary previous travel distance Odo_0 and the temporary current travel distance Odo_1 are greater than or equal to the current travel distance Odometer_current (Yes in step S15), in step S16, the engine ECU 30 determines that the travel distance signal is normally generated and transmitted by the combination panel 10, and sets the temporary previous travel distance Odo_0 and the temporary current travel distance Odo_1 as the previous travel distance Odometer_current_1s and the current travel distance Odometer_current.

[0063] When the temporary previous travel distance Odo_0 and the temporary current travel distance Odo_1 are less than the current travel distance Odometer_current (No in step S15), in step S17, the engine ECU 30 determines that there is an error in the travel distance signal, and sets the travel distance Odo_lastDC received at the last time of the engine stop as the previous travel distance Odometer_current_1s and the current travel distance Odometer_current.

[0064] Although the values of the current travel distance Odometer_current and the previous travel distance Odometer_current_1s are set differently by step S16 and step S17, compared with the travel distance calculated on the basis of the travel distance signal having an error (the error is caused by the fault signal or the initial value), the travel distance calculated on the basis of the current travel distance set by step S16 or step S17 shows a significantly reduced error according to the result of step S15.

[0065] On the basis of the previous travel distance and the current travel distance set by any one of step S16 and step S17, the engine ECU 30 can calculate the travel distance per unit time, the total cumulative travel distance updated per unit time, and the travel distance during the corresponding driving period, subsequently calculating and updating the previous travel distance and the current travel distance.

[0066] More specifically, the unit time can be 1 second, and in step S18, the engine ECU 30 can calculate the travel distance per unit time according to Equation 1 shown below.

[0067] (Equation 1)

[0068] Distance_new = Odometer_current - Odometer_current_1s

[0069] Here, Distance_new represents the distance traveled per unit time, and Odometer_current represents the current distance traveled, and Odometer_current_1s represents the previous distance traveled.

[0070] In step S19, the engine ECU 30 can calculate and update the current (i-th) total cumulative distance traveled per unit time according to Equation 2 shown below.

[0071] (Equation 2)

[0072] Total distance (i) = Odometer_current_1s + Distance_new

[0073] Here, Total distance (i) represents the total cumulative distance traveled, Odometer_current_1s represents the previous distance traveled, and Distance_new represents the distance traveled per unit time.

[0074] In step S20, the engine ECU 30 can calculate the total distance of the current drive cycle according to Equation 3 shown below.

[0075] (Equation 3)

[0076] Distance traveled in the current drive cycle = Total distance (i) - Odo_lastDC

[0077] Here, Total distance (i) represents the current total cumulative distance traveled, and Odo_lastDC represents the distance traveled at the time of the most recent engine stop.

[0078] In Equation 3, "Odo_lastDC" represents the distance traveled received at the time of the most recent engine stop.

[0079] Referring again to Figure 2 When it is determined that the vehicle 1 is in the engine stop state (YES in step S2), in step S21, the engine ECU 30 sets the current distance traveled Odometer_current to the distance traveled at the time of the current engine stop Odo_lastDC (i.e., Odo_lastDC = Odometer_current).

[0080] Subsequently in step S22, the engine ECU 30 calculates the distance traveled during the current drive cycle. For example, the engine ECU 30 can calculate the distance traveled during the current drive cycle distance_curr by subtracting the distance traveled at the time of ignition Odo_IgnDC from the distance traveled at the time of the current engine stop Odo_lastDC. The distance traveled at the time of ignition Odo_IgnDC can be the distance traveled at the time of the most recent engine stop.

[0081] In step S23, the engine ECU 30 can store the running distance OdojastDC at the time of the current engine stop in the permanent memory.

[0082] In this way, according to the example embodiment, when an error signal of the running distance is received due to the combination panel initialization error, the running distance received at the time of the engine stop of the most recent driving cycle is substituted for the cumulative running distance, so that the engine ECU can be prevented from storing an error of the running distance.

[0083] When the current running distance value is less than the running distance received immediately before or at the time of receiving the initial value signal (e.g., the running distance received 1 second before), the running distance received 1 second before can be substituted for the current running distance, so that the ECU can be prevented from storing an error.

[0084] While the application has been described in connection with the present embodiments thereof, it will be understood that the application is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: A combined instrument panel configured to generate a driving distance signal, which indicates the driving distance detected by a vehicle speed sensor; as well as The engine control unit is configured as follows: When the driving distance signal indicates the initial value during ignition, the driving distance at the most recent time the engine was turned off is set as the current driving distance; If the temporary previous driving distance during the predetermined time period before the current time point and the temporary current driving distance at the current time point are greater than or equal to the set current driving distance, the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance will be set as the previous driving distance and the current driving distance, respectively.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, The engine control unit is configured as follows: When the driving distance signal indicates the initial value during ignition, or when the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance are less than the set current driving distance, the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance are set to the driving distance at the time of the most recent engine shutdown.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein, The engine control unit is configured as follows: Based on the set previous driving distance and the set current driving distance, the previous driving distance and the current driving distance are then calculated and updated to calculate the driving distance.

4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein, The driving distance includes the driving distance per unit time, the total cumulative driving distance, and the driving distance during the current driving cycle. The engine control unit is configured as follows: The distance traveled per unit time is calculated by subtracting the previous distance traveled from the current distance traveled. The total cumulative mileage is updated by adding the distance traveled per unit time to the previous mileage. The distance traveled during the current driving cycle is calculated by subtracting the distance traveled at the time of the most recent engine shutdown from the total cumulative distance traveled.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, The engine control unit is configured as follows: The calculation of driving distance ends when the driving distance signal at ignition is a fault signal.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, The engine control unit is configured as follows: When the vehicle is turned off, the current distance traveled is stored as the distance traveled when the engine is turned off. Calculate the distance traveled during the current driving cycle.

7. A method for calculating the travel distance of a vehicle, comprising: The instrument cluster generates a driving distance signal indicating the distance traveled. The engine control unit determines whether the driving distance signal at ignition indicates an initial value. When the driving distance signal is at its initial value, the engine control unit sets the driving distance at the time of the most recent engine shutdown as the current driving distance; The engine control unit compares the temporary previous driving distance for a predetermined time period before the current time point and the temporary current driving distance at the current time point with the set current driving distance; When the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance are greater than or equal to the set current driving distance, the engine control unit sets the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance to the previous driving distance and the current driving distance, respectively.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The method further includes: When the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance are less than the set current driving distance, the engine control unit sets the temporary previous driving distance and the temporary current driving distance to the driving distance at the time of the most recent engine shutdown.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The method further includes: The engine control unit calculates and updates the previous and current driving distances based on the set previous driving distance and the set current driving distance, thereby calculating the driving distance.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The calculation of the driving distance includes: The distance traveled per unit time is calculated by subtracting the previous distance traveled from the current distance traveled. The total cumulative mileage is updated by adding the distance traveled per unit time to the previous mileage. The distance traveled during the current driving cycle is calculated by subtracting the distance traveled at the time of the most recent engine shutdown from the total cumulative distance traveled.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The method further includes: The calculation of driving distance ends when the driving distance signal at ignition is a fault signal.

12. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The method further includes: When the vehicle is switched off, the current driving distance is stored as the driving distance at the time of engine shutdown, and the driving distance during the current driving cycle is calculated.

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