Device for providing eco-driving information

Abstract

Device for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle, comprising: a vehicle weight calculation unit (1) which is configured to calculate a current weight of the vehicle based on data received from a plurality of devices within the vehicle; a computing unit (3) for the electrical load, which is equipped to calculate an electrical load of auxiliary machines currently used in the vehicle; a vehicle speed calculation unit (5) configured to calculate, using a route map, a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed that maximizes the vehicle's travel distance according to the calculated vehicle weight and electrical load; and a display device (7) which is set up to display the calculated fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed to a user. where the weight of the vehicle is calculated from the electricity consumption of a vehicle drive motor, an air density, a drag coefficient, a projection area of ​​the vehicle, the vehicle speed, a coefficient of friction of a current road on which the vehicle is traveling, the acceleration due to gravity and an inclination of the current road on which the vehicle is traveling, where the weight of the vehicle is calculated using the following equation m = ( TF + 1 2 ρ air C d AV 2 ) / ( μ g cos θ+ g sin θ ) where m represents vehicle weight, TF represents a driving force, ρ air which represents air density, C da drag coefficient, A a projection area of ​​the vehicle, V the vehicle speed, µ a coefficient of friction of the current road, g the acceleration due to gravity of the vehicle, and θ the current inclination of the road, and The driving force is obtained from a relationship TF = P / V, where P represents the power input of the drive motor and V represents the vehicle speed. wherein the vehicle weight calculation unit (1), the electrical load calculation unit (3) and the vehicle speed calculation unit (5) are incorporated into a single chip and the route map comprising the vehicle weight, electrical load and vehicle speed is embedded in the chip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED REGISTRATION BACKGROUND (a) Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for providing eco-driving information to a vehicle and in particular to a technology that is set up to maximize the driving distance of a vehicle by providing a vehicle speed that maximizes the driving distance in an environmentally friendly vehicle such as a fuel cell vehicle or an electric vehicle. (b) State of the art

[0002] Eco-driving typically refers to maximizing a vehicle's driving distance while reducing fuel consumption by avoiding sudden acceleration, stops, and the like, and maximizing the inertia provided by the vehicle in order to minimize environmental damage caused by inefficient fuel consumption.

[0003] In a fuel cell vehicle or an electric vehicle, the fuel consumption that a particular vehicle can achieve is highly dependent on the weight of the vehicle and the required electrical load.

[0004] Currently, because a driver cannot intuitively determine the weight of the vehicle or the electrical load used in a present vehicle, it is difficult for a driver to drive the vehicle in an environmentally unfriendly manner.

[0005] In this regard, a method for determining an energy-efficient driving speed of a vehicle is already proposed in DE 10 2010 028 082 A1, which includes a step of determining the energy-efficient driving speed based on a current driving state and vehicle-specific information of the vehicle, wherein the current driving state includes a current speed and a current energy requirement of the vehicle.

[0006] DE 43 44 369 A1 discloses a method for consumption-oriented driving performance limitation, particularly for electric vehicles. The method assists the driver in optimally utilizing the vehicle's energy supply. To this end, a permissible consumption per remaining distance is continuously calculated based on the available energy supply. From this, and taking driving resistances into account, a target value is determined that controls a driving performance limitation device. In addition to known driving performance limitation devices, such as setting a target speed, an electronic accelerator pedal with a pedal travel divided into two angular ranges is proposed. The second angular range requires increased actuation force and is associated with a power range limited according to the target value. The division into the two angular ranges is adjustable by an actuator motor, depending on the permissible driving performance.

[0007] Furthermore, DE 102 45 270 A1 discloses a method and a device for determining the mass of a motor vehicle, in which the vehicle mass is determined using the instantaneous driving force of the motor vehicle, the instantaneous acceleration of the motor vehicle, the instantaneous vehicle speed, and the instantaneous road gradient, and outputs to powertrain-influencing control devices, wherein the output variables of the powertrain-influencing control devices are variable depending on the determined vehicle mass. The device according to the invention comprises means for determining the instantaneous vehicle acceleration, means for determining the instantaneous vehicle speed, means for determining the instantaneous road gradient, calculation means for determining the vehicle mass, and output means by which the determined vehicle mass can be output to other vehicle functions.

[0008] The content described as prior art serves only to clarify the background of the present invention, and should not be interpreted as corresponding to the prior art that was already known to a person skilled in the art. SUMMARY OF THE REVELATION

[0009] The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method and a device for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle to a driver in order to induce the driver to drive the vehicle in an environmentally friendly manner by displaying a fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed that maximizes the vehicle's driving distance according to the current weight and electrical load of the vehicle.

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention provides a device for supplying eco-driving information for a vehicle and comprises a vehicle weight calculation unit configured to calculate the vehicle's weight by receiving data relating to the vehicle weight; an electrical load calculation unit configured to calculate a combined electrical load for each of a plurality of auxiliary machines currently used in the vehicle; and a vehicle speed calculation unit configured to calculate, using a route map, a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed that maximizes the vehicle's distance traveled according to a vehicle weight calculated in the vehicle weight calculation unit and the electrical load calculated in the electrical load calculation unit.and a display device designed to show a user the calculated fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above and further features of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, which below serve only for illustration and are therefore not limiting to the present invention, wherein: Fig. Figure 1 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle, which is not part of the invention; Fig. Figure 2 shows a diagram representing a characteristic map in relation to a driving distance for a vehicle weight, an electrical load and a vehicle speed, which is used in the method for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. Figure 3 shows a diagram illustrating an example of displaying an eco-driving state to a user according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. Figure 4 shows a diagram illustrating an arrangement of a device for providing eco-driving information to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are not necessarily to scale and represent a somewhat simplified depiction of various preferred features, intended to illustrate the principles of the invention.

[0013] In the figures, the reference numerals refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the individual figures of the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings and described below.

[0015] It should be noted that the term "vehicle" or "vehicle-" or other equivalent terms as used herein include all hybrid motor vehicles in general, such as passenger cars including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various utility vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and include series and parallel hybrid vehicles, semi-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel vehicles (for example, fuel derived from sources other than petroleum). As referenced herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of propulsion, such as both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

[0016] With reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 comprises a method not belonging to the invention for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle weight calculation process (S10) that calculates a current weight of the vehicle, an electrical load calculation process (S20) that calculates a combined electrical load used to operate a plurality of auxiliary machines currently used by the vehicle, and a vehicle speed calculation process (S30) that maximizes a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed, based on the current weight calculated in the vehicle weight calculation process (S10) and the current combined electrical load calculated in the electrical load calculation process (S20), from a characteristic map relating to a vehicle journey for the vehicle weight.the electrical load and the vehicle speed are calculated, and an information provision process (S40) informs a driver about the vehicle speed calculated in the vehicle speed calculation process (S30).

[0017] This means that the vehicle's current weight fluctuates, and therefore the current vehicle weight is calculated in real time using various vehicle state values. The electrical load used in auxiliary machines such as air conditioning units, electric heaters, navigation systems, and the like is calculated, and the vehicle speed that ensures a maximum travel distance according to the current vehicle weight and electrical load is determined from the data in the system. Fig. The characteristic map shown in section 2 is obtained to display information to the driver. In this way, an environmentally friendly driving condition can be provided by supplying an ideal speed for the driver, at which the vehicle prompts the driver to control the vehicle speed in such a way as to achieve a maximum distance.

[0018] For comparison, shows Fig. 2. A graphical representation (1) of an example in which no electrical load is provided in a standard loading condition in which two persons are inside a target vehicle, (2) of an example showing the relationship between the driving condition and vehicle speeds when the electrical load is 1.5 kW, 3 kW, and at a maximum value for both when the vehicle is maximally loaded and in a standard load (i.e., 2-5 persons, where 2 is the standard and 5 is the maximum). Thus, the graphical representations, such as the one in Fig. The figures shown in 2 can be used to map the vehicle's travel distance at a given speed for each electrical load and each calculated vehicle weight.

[0019] In the vehicle weight calculation process (S10), the vehicle's weight is calculated from the power consumption of the vehicle's drive motor, air density, drag coefficient, vehicle surface area, vehicle speed, coefficient of friction of the current road surface, acceleration due to gravity, and gradient of the current road surface. That is, in the vehicle weight calculation process (S10), the vehicle's weight is calculated using the following equation. m=(TF+12ρairCdAV2) / (μg cos θ+g sin θ)

[0020] where m represents the vehicle weight, TF represents the driving force, ρ air which represents air density, C drepresents the drag coefficient, A represents the projection area of ​​the vehicle, V represents the vehicle speed, µ represents the current coefficient of the current road, g represents the acceleration due to gravity, and θ represents the inclination of the road.

[0021] The driving force is obtained from a relationship TF = P / V.

[0022] Therefore, P represents the power consumption of the drive motor and V represents the vehicle speed.

[0023] The air density ρ air uses a standard density of general air and the coefficient of friction µ of the current road; uses a coefficient of friction of a general road; the current road slope θ uses values ​​supplied from data provided by GPS information and a slope sensor; and in some cases, if θ is a relatively small value close to 0, θ is considered to be 0.

[0024] In the calculation process of the electrical load (S20), the electrical load of the auxiliary machines is calculated by summing (combining) the electrical loads of all auxiliary machines currently in use, for example by monitoring a Controller Area Network (CAN) of the vehicle.

[0025] In the information provision process (S40), a fuel efficiency rating of the current vehicle speed for the fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed is preferably compared and displayed together with the fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed calculated in the vehicle speed calculation process (S30). Accordingly, for example, a display method of Fig. 3 can be used.

[0026] As in Fig. Figure 4 shows a device for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention for implementing the method for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle, comprising a vehicle weight calculation unit 1, which is configured to calculate a current weight of the vehicle by receiving data from a plurality of devices throughout the vehicle, an electrical load calculation unit 3, which is configured to calculate an electrical load of auxiliary machines currently used by the vehicle, and a vehicle speed calculation unit 5, which is configured to calculate a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed, which calculates a vehicle distance according to the vehicle weight calculated in the vehicle weight calculation unit and the electrical load.which is calculated in the computing unit 3 for the electrical load, and a display device 7 which is set up to display the calculated fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed to a user.

[0027] The vehicle weight calculation unit 1 is set up to calculate the weight of the vehicle from the power input of a vehicle drive motor, an air density, a drag coefficient, a projection area of ​​the vehicle, the vehicle speed, a coefficient of friction of a current road, the acceleration due to gravity and an inclination of the current road.

[0028] The electrical load processing unit 3 is set up to calculate the electrical load of the auxiliary machines by summing the electrical loads of all auxiliary machines used by monitoring the vehicle's CAN bus.

[0029] Furthermore, the vehicle weight calculation unit 1, the electrical load calculation unit 3, and the vehicle speed calculation unit 5 can be packaged in a single chip that is processed by a processor or controller, and the characteristic map of the correlated driving distance based on the current vehicle weight, electrical load, and vehicle speed, used by the vehicle speed calculation unit 5, can likewise be embedded in the chip or in any other form of storage device.

[0030] The display device 7 is also configured to display a fuel efficiency rating for the current vehicle speed, as well as the fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed calculated in the vehicle speed calculation unit 5, as described in Fig.3 shown to compare and schematically illustrate, so that the driver can compare his current driving style with the proposed environmentally friendly driving style provided by the present invention.

[0031] Furthermore, the control logic of the present invention can be implemented as non-volatile, computer-readable media on a computer-readable medium comprising executable program instructions that are executed by a processor, a control device, or the like. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, without limitation, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also be decentralized in network-connected computer systems, so that the computer-readable medium is stored and executed in a distributed manner, e.g., by a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN).

[0032] Advantageously, a driver to whom the embodiment of the present invention is made available can be induced to drive a vehicle in an eco-driving state due to the efficient display of a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed, which maximizes the driving distance of a vehicle based on the current vehicle weight and the electrical load of the vehicle.

[0033] In this way, a driver can be encouraged to drive in a more fuel-efficient manner based on the information provided to the driver.

[0034] Furthermore, although the above embodiments are described as using a plurality of units to carry out the above process, it is understood that the above processes can also be carried out by a single controller or unit.

[0035] Although the invention is described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and other embodiments that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] Device for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle, comprising: a vehicle weight calculation unit (1) which is configured to calculate a current weight of the vehicle based on data received from a plurality of devices within the vehicle; a computing unit (3) for the electrical load, which is equipped to calculate an electrical load of auxiliary machines currently used in the vehicle; a vehicle speed calculation unit (5) configured to calculate, using a route map, a fuel-efficiency-oriented vehicle speed that maximizes the vehicle's travel distance according to the calculated vehicle weight and electrical load; and a display device (7) which is set up to display the calculated fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed to a user. where the weight of the vehicle is calculated from the electricity consumption of a vehicle drive motor, an air density, a drag coefficient, a projection area of ​​the vehicle, the vehicle speed, a coefficient of friction of a current road on which the vehicle is traveling, the acceleration due to gravity and an inclination of the current road on which the vehicle is traveling, where the weight of the vehicle is calculated using the following equation m=(TF+12ρairCdAV2) / (μg cos θ+g sin θ) where m represents vehicle weight, TF represents a driving force, ρ air which represents air density, C d a drag coefficient, A a projection area of ​​the vehicle, V the vehicle speed, µ a coefficient of friction of the current road, g the acceleration due to gravity of the vehicle, and θ the current inclination of the road, and The driving force is obtained from a relationship TF = P / V, where P represents the power input of the drive motor and V represents the vehicle speed. wherein the vehicle weight calculation unit (1), the electrical load calculation unit (3) and the vehicle speed calculation unit (5) are incorporated into a single chip and the route map comprising the vehicle weight, electrical load and vehicle speed is embedded in the chip. [2] Device for providing eco-driving information of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit (3) for the electrical load calculates the electrical load of the auxiliary machines by summing the electrical loads of all auxiliary machines used by monitoring the CAN of the vehicle. [3] Device for providing eco-driving information for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the display device (7) compares and schematically displays a fuel efficiency rating of the current vehicle speed as well as the fuel efficiency-oriented vehicle speed.

Images