Driver Assistance Systems

Abstract

The present invention mainly relates to a driver assistance system (1) for a motor vehicle, the driver assistance system (1) comprising at least one system (2) for recovering navigation data, a compilation interface (4) configured to create at least one sequence of events from the recovered navigation data, and a computer (6) for calculating a driver warning distance, the driver warning distance being calculated for each event of each created sequence of events depending on at least one natural deceleration distance of the vehicle specific to the respective event, the driver assistance system further comprising a management interface (8) for determining a priority among the events of each sequence of events depending on the calculated driver warning distance for each event.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention is in the field of motor vehicle driver assistance systems, and more particularly to driver assistance systems that promote eco-responsible driving of such vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] New motor vehicles, whether equipped with an electric or internal combustion engine or hybrid vehicles, are designed to meet environmental standards by limiting, as far as possible, for example, the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or the power consumption of the vehicle when driving. However, depending on the driving style adopted by the vehicle's driver, the consumption of fuel and / or electrical energy can vary greatly.

[0003] Driving is generally referred to as "aggressive" when the driver alternates between rapid acceleration and sudden braking. Drivers with this style of driving will experience increased fuel and / or energy consumption in their vehicles compared to consumption achieved when driving in a style considered more conventional. Therefore, various measures have been introduced by automobile manufacturers to influence driver behavior and reduce their fuel and / or energy consumption.

[0004] Some vehicles offer to provide the driver with information regarding fuel and / or energy consumption. This type of information allows the driver to adapt his driving style according to the fuel and / or energy consumption he wishes to achieve. Thus, in some vehicles, the driver can know his current consumption and his average consumption. The current consumption is calculated based on the amount of fuel currently being consumed and the vehicle speed at that time. The consumption, for example, liters per 100 kilometers or liters per hour, can then be extrapolated from this and displayed to the driver. In other vehicles, the average consumption is calculated based on the amount of fuel consumed and the distance traveled since the system was last reset.

[0005] Some vehicles are equipped with driver assistance systems that more specifically guide the driver towards eco-responsible driving. Thus, the driver assistance systems can, for example, suggest actions for the driver to take that can reduce fuel and / or energy consumption.

[0006] It is known that driver assistance systems are linked to the navigation system of a vehicle so as to anticipate and predict the sequence of actions that will be performed by the driver on a route predefined by the navigation system with the aim of the driver adopting an eco-responsible driving style. To achieve this aim, the driver assistance system can, for example, calculate, according to data from the navigation system, the acceleration force that the driver must generate and / or the deceleration distance that will allow a significant reduction in fuel consumption when deceleration without braking is possible. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In this regard, the invention proposes a driver assistance system for a motor vehicle, the driver assistance system comprising at least a navigation data acquisition system, a compilation interface configured to create at least one sequence of events from the acquired navigation data, and a computer for calculating a driver warning distance, the driver warning distance being calculated for each event of each created sequence of events as a function of at least a natural deceleration distance of the vehicle specific to the respective event, the driver assistance system further comprising a management interface for determining a priority among the events of each sequence of events according to the driver warning distance calculated for each event.

[0008] The driver assistance system allows the driver to calculate the natural deceleration distance of the vehicle, which is required for the driver to take his foot off the accelerator pedal of the vehicle in order to allow the vehicle to naturally decelerate taking into account events present on the route.

[0009] The navigation system defines a route that the vehicle should take to reach a destination selected by the driver of the vehicle, and the navigation data acquisition system of the driver assistance system communicates with the navigation system to acquire navigation data related to the route selected by the navigation system.

[0010] The navigation data acquisition system then transmits these navigation data to a compilation interface, which creates at least one sequence of events from these navigation data, each event corresponding to a stage of the route and / or a change in vehicle speed, e.g., a roundabout or a turn occurring on the route, and the sequence of events corresponds to a list of events that are likely to appear on the route indicated by the navigation system.

[0011] The driver assistance system computer calculates a driver warning distance for each event, which corresponds to the distance between the event and the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver is informed that he or she should remove his or her foot from the accelerator pedal of the vehicle in order to produce, at least through natural deceleration of the vehicle without specific action on the brake pedal, the deceleration necessary to reach the target speed at which the vehicle must be traveling at the start of the event.

[0012] The management interface then organizes the sequence of events by prioritizing the events relative to each other within the sequence of events at least according to their driver warning distance, for example, by highlighting the event with the closest driver warning distance to the vehicle's location rather than the event closest to the vehicle's location.

[0013] The aforementioned concepts, particularly the concept of event prioritization, can be illustrated by the following case study: A sequence of events includes at least a first event located at an instant T that is one thousand meters (1000 m) from the vehicle's location and a second event located at the same instant T that is one thousand meters (1300 m) from the vehicle's location. The driver assistance system computer has calculated a first driver warning distance of three hundred meters (300 m) for the first event, meaning that a warning will be sent to the driver when the vehicle is three hundred meters away from the first event, and a second driver warning distance of seven hundred meters (700 m) for the second event, meaning that a warning will be sent to the driver when the vehicle is seven hundred meters away from the second event. The difference in warning distances can be concretely illustrated by the fact that the first event in this case consists of a large curve where the vehicle's speed must be slightly reduced, while the second event in this case consists of a stop sign where the vehicle must stop. At moment T, there are still seven hundred meters (700 m) of vehicle travel before the vehicle encounters a zone for triggering a first warning distance and the driver receives a first warning corresponding to the first warning distance, while six hundred meters (600 m) of vehicle travel remain before the vehicle encounters a zone for triggering a second warning distance and the driver receives a second warning corresponding to the second warning distance. Because the vehicle is closer to the zone for triggering a second driver warning distance corresponding to the second event than to the zone for triggering a first driver warning distance corresponding to the first event, the management interface will prioritize the second event over the first event by placing the second event before the first event in the sequence of events.

[0014] According to an optional feature of the invention, the navigation data system is configured to communicate with a vehicle navigation system and / or a portable device navigation system.

[0015] The portable device navigation system may, for example, be an app, optionally downloaded to a connected portable device, e.g., a mobile phone, which is configured to calculate a route using the vehicle's geolocation to enable the vehicle to arrive at a destination selected by the vehicle driver.

[0016] According to another optional feature of the present invention, a driver warning distance for each event is calculated by the computer by adding at least the natural deceleration distance, the braking distance, and the driver reaction distance, each of which distances is associated with each event in the sequence of events by the compilation interface.

[0017] As previously mentioned, the natural deceleration distance corresponds to the distance the vehicle freewheels while the driver has taken his foot off the vehicle accelerator pedal, but has not yet had to press the vehicle brake pedal.

[0018] The braking distance corresponds to the distance the driver uses the vehicle's brake pedal.

[0019] The reaction distance corresponds to the distance between the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver assistance system informs the driver that a deceleration distance is about to be entered and the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver reacts to this information.

[0020] According to another optional feature of the invention, the computer integrates at least one data related to the slopes present on the route selected by the navigation system, factors adversely affecting tire grip on the ground, the actual speed of the vehicle, weather conditions and / or vehicle load in order to adapt the driver warning distance for the respective event accordingly.

[0021] According to another optional feature of the present invention, the computer integrates at least one data related to real-time traffic affecting the vehicle in order to adapt the driver warning distance for each event accordingly.

[0022] According to another optional feature of the invention, the assistance system comprises a device for calculating the excess consumption situation of the vehicle, configured to determine the excess consumption in each event.

[0023] According to another optional feature of the present invention, the excess consumption value may take a first non-zero value when the warning distance is greater than or equal to the distance between the vehicle's location and the approaching event and when the deceleration distance is non-zero, or may take a second zero value when the warning distance is less than the distance between the vehicle and the approaching event and / or when the deceleration distance is zero.

[0024] According to another optional feature of the invention, the management interface is configured to prioritize each of the events of the generated sequence of events according to their driver warning distance and according to their excess consumption value.

[0025] According to another optional feature of the present invention, an event is prioritized by the management interface when the driver warning distance is closest to the vehicle's location and when its excess consumption value is non-zero.

[0026] According to another optional feature of the invention, the driver assistance system comprises warning means for warning the driver of the warning distance and / or a device for displaying the driver warning distance and / or means for communicating the warning distance with a display device of the vehicle.

[0027] The invention also relates to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle comprising a driver assistance system according to any one of the previous claims and a vehicle driving control module capable of issuing vehicle deceleration command instructions, said assistance system comprising a communication device configured to transmit information to the driving control module.

[0028] The present invention also relates to a driver assistance method for optimizing the electric and / or thermal energy consumption of a vehicle, in which a driver warning distance for each event of a sequence of events is calculated by a driver assistance system according to any one of the previous claims based on navigation data from a navigation system and then transmitted to the driver to prompt the driver to slow down and optimize the energy consumption of the vehicle according to the events present on the route, and a management interface prioritizes each event according to their warning distance.

[0029] It should be understood that if the associated driver warning distance is such that the zone for triggering this warning distance is closest to the vehicle's position compared to the zones for triggering driver warning distances associated with other events in the sequence of events, the management interface prioritizes events in a given sequence of events in that the management interface not only takes into account the occurrence of each of the events in relation to the geographical position of the vehicle in order to place them in order, but also in that the management interface can modify the order in which events are considered in relation to this occurrence by considering the events as priorities.

[0030] According to another feature of the invention, a driver assistance method includes a first step in which a data acquisition system communicates with a navigation system to acquire navigation data and then transmits these navigation data to a compilation interface, such that the compilation interface creates at least one sequence of events from navigation data originating from the navigation system.

[0031] According to another feature of the invention, the driver assistance method includes a second step in which the computer determines a driver warning distance for each event in the sequence of events created by the compilation interface.

[0032] According to another optional feature of the present invention, during the second step, the computer first determines the deceleration distance, braking distance and reaction distance of each event, and then calculates the driver warning distance from the deceleration, braking and reaction distance of each event in the sequence of events.

[0033] According to another feature of the invention, the driver assistance method includes a third step in which a device for calculating the vehicle's excess consumption status of the driver assistance system determines the excess consumption value of each event, and the management interface then prioritizes each event according to their driver warning distance and their excess consumption value.

[0034] According to another feature of the present invention, the driver assistance method includes a fourth step in which the driver assistance system notifies the driver to decelerate when deceleration is required.

[0035] According to another feature of the invention, the driver assistance method includes a fourth alternative step in which a communication device of a driver assistance system onboard the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle communicates with a control module for controlling operation of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle configured to transmit a deceleration command instruction to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

[0036] Further features, details and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent on the one hand from the following description and on the other hand from reading some embodiments given by way of non-limiting indication with reference to the attached drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0037] [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle equipped with a driver assistance system according to the invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the creation of at least one sequence of events by a compilation interface of the driver assistance system shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 3]1 shows a schematic diagram of the configuration of a chain of events generated by an algorithm associated with a compilation interface of a driver assistance system. [Figure 4] 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the prioritization of events performed by the management interface of the driver assistance system shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 5] 5 shows a schematic case study of a vehicle equipped with a driver assistance system according to the present invention that will encounter three successive events on its route, these events being ranked according to the flow diagram of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] The features, variations, and different embodiments of the invention may be related to one another in various combinations, provided that they are not mutually incompatible or exclusive. In particular, where a selection of features is sufficient to negotiate technical merit and / or distinguish the invention from the prior art, it is possible to envision a variation of the invention that includes only that selection of features described below, in isolation from the other features described.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1 , a driver assistance system 1 according to the present invention is implemented onboard a vehicle 3 and includes at least an acquisition system 2 for acquiring raw navigation data, a compilation interface 4 configured to create at least one sequence of events from the acquired raw navigation data, a computer 6 for calculating a driver warning distance, and a management interface 8 according to the present invention for determining a priority of each event generated by the compilation interface 4 according to the driver warning distance calculated for each event.

[0040] The driver assistance system 1 therefore creates a sequence of events from the raw navigation data from the navigation system 10. This navigation system 10 is, for example, a program that determines the route that the vehicle should take in order to reach a destination selected by the vehicle's driver 3 from its position. In general, the navigation system 10 calculates multiple routes that the vehicle 3 can take and determines, as the driver wishes, the fastest route, i.e. the route with the shortest travel time, and / or the shortest route, i.e. the route with the shortest distance to be covered. The navigation system 10 can integrate other parameters such as the density of vehicles present on the journey, any road works, or roads with toll access, e.g. the presence of toll booths, etc.

[0041] The route selected by the navigation system 10 is assembled from a sequence of raw navigation data. The acquisition system 2 of the driver assistance system 1 comprises communication means 5 configured to communicate with the navigation system 10 to extract these raw navigation data from said navigation system 10 for then transmitting them to the compilation interface 4. Furthermore, the acquisition system 2 may also include means for decoding the raw navigation data. After the acquisition system 2 extracts these raw navigation data from the navigation system 10, these decoding means process these raw navigation data. The acquisition system 2 may further comprise means for storing various data processed by the acquisition system 2 from the raw navigation data.

[0042] The navigation system 10 generally includes specific protocols configured to classify the raw navigation data before it is extracted by the acquisition system. The raw navigation data is categorized into six categories, each of which is based on a specific protocol, such as the Advanced Driver Assistance System Interface Specifications (ADASIS) protocol.

[0043] The first category corresponds to "Position Message" data and relates to data about the position of the vehicle. The second category corresponds to "Stub Message" data and relates to data about the start of a new turn and / or a new route that the vehicle must take. The third category corresponds to "Profile Short Message" data and relates to data about facts that exist on the turn and / or route that the vehicle must take and requires up to 10 bits of storage, where facts are possibly, for example, objects and / or people that exist on the road. The fourth category corresponds to "Profile Long Message" data and relates to data about facts that exist on the turn and / or route that the vehicle must take and requires up to 32 bits of storage. The fifth category corresponds to "Segment Message" data and relates to data about different types of segments that make up the turn. The sixth and final category corresponds to "Metadata Message" data and relates to data about facts of a general nature, such as the countries the route passes through, the speed units, or the menu version.

[0044] The decoding means of the acquisition system 2 is configured to decode each of the raw navigation data in particular according to the category from which it originates, such that raw navigation data from the second category corresponding to "stub message" data will be decoded differently by the decoding function of the acquisition system 2 compared to extracted raw navigation data from another category.

[0045] After these raw navigation data have been processed by these decoding means, the acquisition system 2 sends these processed data to the compilation interface 4 so that the compilation interface 4 creates a sequence of events from the processed data.

[0046] For the route taken by the vehicle, an event corresponds to a stage of the route and / or a change in the speed that the vehicle 3 must perform on the route taken. For each event, the compilation interface 4 associates processed data, all of which is subsequently considered by the computer to define a driving strategy that will help the driver reduce his fuel consumption. The processed data received by the compilation interface 4 is classified into five groups: a first group related to the characteristics of the facts considered, a second group collecting data providing information about the slopes on the route taken by the vehicle, a third group including processed data coming from a sixth category of raw navigation data corresponding to raw navigation data of the "metadata message" type, a fourth group corresponding to processed data related only to the route selected as the route the vehicle must follow, and a fifth group compiling information about the environment around the vehicle and the selected route.

[0047] The compilation interface 4 is configured to create at least one sequence of events from the data processed by the acquisition system 2, as more specifically shown in Figure 2. Each event in the sequence of events is an association of different processed data, and the compilation interface 4 organizes each of these events along a particular route, corresponding to the primary selected route, in the order of their appearance in the vehicle itinerary.

[0048] The compilation interface 4 sorts each event in the sequence of events according to their occurrence with respect to the position of the vehicle 3. In other words, the positioning of an event is determined with respect to the relative distance between the vehicle 3 and the event. More specifically, the processed data that appears first in the sequence of events corresponds to the processed data of the first event that the vehicle 3 will encounter along the selected route corresponding to said sequence of events. The processed data that appears second in this same sequence of events corresponds to the processed data of the second event that the vehicle will encounter if it remains on the selected route. Thus, each event in the sequence of events is classified according to the order of its occurrence on the route defined for the vehicle if it remains on that route.

[0049] The processed data assigned to each event corresponds at least to the distance between the event and the vehicle's position and may vary depending on the type of event created by the compilation interface 4. A calculated event may be a "curve" type event. This type of event contains, for example, data regarding the type of curve, i.e. whether the curve is pointing to the right or left of the trajectory, the radius the curve forms, the length of the curve, and / or the speed limit at the beginning, during and / or after the curve.

[0050] The calculated event may be a "rate limit" type event, which includes, for example, a rate limit before, during, and / or after the event.

[0051] The calculated events may be "road exit" type events, including, for example, the radius of the exit curve when the road exit has a curve, speed limits before, during, and / or after the road exit, and / or the presence of priority constraints such as the presence of "stop" or "yield" traffic signs.

[0052] The calculated event may be a "roundabout" type event, which may include, for example, the radius of the roundabout, the speed limits before, during, and / or after the roundabout.

[0053] The calculated events may be "toll booth" type events, which may include, for example, the detection of a toll booth on the route taken, the type of toll booth, and / or the speed limit before, between, and / or after the toll booth.

[0054] The calculated events may also be "stop" or "yield" type events, which include, for example, speed limits before, between, and / or after signs.

[0055] The calculated event may also be a "slope" type event, which includes, for example, the detection of the gradient value of this slope, similar to an incline, the speed limit before, during and / or after the slope and / or hill, and / or the distance between the vehicle and the slope and / or hill.

[0056] When the driver assistance system receives at least one data related to real-time traffic affecting the vehicle, the calculated event may be a "traffic jam" type event and / or a "road construction" type event. Events of this type include, for example, the detection of a traffic jam and / or road construction on the taken route, the speed limit before, during, and / or after the traffic jam and / or road construction, and / or the distance between the vehicle and the traffic jam and / or road construction. A sequence of such events is created and processed via an algorithm, as shown by way of example in Figures 2 and 3.

[0057] The algorithm starts with a first period S1 in which events are filtered by event type, and some of these events, for example "lane exit" type events, are not subsequently considered, particularly when these events do not produce a significant change in the vehicle's speed. "Filtered" is understood to mean that "lane exit" type events are no longer considered in the remainder of the algorithm.

[0058] During the second period S2, the current situation is that the first chain of events Ev1 is generated by successively different events (E1, E2, ... E i ), the algorithm then sorts and classifies all processed data in a chain based on the first chain of events according to the type of data associated with each event. In other words, different attributes, i.e. different processed data, are associated with one event, and the processed data are classified by the attributes according to their occurrence on the route. As an example, these attributes may consist of the type of event, the passing speed or braking distance to be followed by the vehicle for the corresponding type of event. All processed data related to a certain attribute form a chain of events (EV2, EV3, EVi) similar to the aforementioned first chain of events, in which the order of occurrence of the attributes is related to the order of occurrence of the events in the first chain of events. For example, the processed data related to all speeds to be followed by the vehicle according to the events that the vehicle will encounter along the route are grouped to form a speed vector V (V1, V2, ...V i ), where V1 represents an attribute related to a first velocity to be followed for a first event E1, V2 represents an attribute related to a second velocity to be followed for a second event E2, and V i is the i-th event E that the vehicle will encounter on the route. i represents the attribute related to the i-th speed to be obeyed.

[0059] The algorithm is configured to be able to consider several chains of events in the form of vectors, each representing an attribute that will be associated with the event. As can be seen in Figure 3, the processed data of the attribute vectors correspond to events, each event being associated with a set of attributes. As a non-limiting example, this figure shows the processed data corresponding to the attributes (EV31, EV32, ... EV3) where each event is associated with several attributes. i ;EVi1,EVi2,...EVi i ) and two other attribute vectors EV3, EVi, each having a different attribute vector V3. Thus, according to this illustrated example, the second event E2 of the first chain of events EV1 will have all the attributes present in the corresponding columns of the matrix thus formed, namely the first attribute V2, the second attribute EV32 and the third attribute EVi. 2、 is related to.

[0060] It should be noted that when multiple events in a sequence of events are sufficiently close to each other, the events can be grouped to form a series of events within the sequence of events. Here, in a third period S3, the algorithm groups the processed data that form the series of events into main processed data of each attribute vector.

[0061] The program then organizes all the events in the sequence of events during the fourth period S4 by sorting each of the events according to their occurrence with respect to the vehicle's position, i.e., according to the order in which the vehicle encounters the events on the route taken, as described above.

[0062] During these different periods, the compilation interface 4 first receives for each event the type of the event, i.e. whether the event is, for example, of the "curve" type, the "roundabout" type or another type, and then at regular time intervals, for example every second, processed data relating to the distance separating the event from the vehicle and / or the speed limits before, during and / or after the event.

[0063] The driver assistance system according to the invention is configured to take into account hills on the route in the processed data. In the raw data obtained from the navigation system, slope values ​​are assigned to specific points on the selected route. The assistance system may be configured such that at least one of these modules is able to perform interpolation between the position of the vehicle at a given moment and identified events on the route taken by the vehicle to calculate slope values ​​at intermediate points.

[0064] The compilation interface 4 performs real-time updates of the processed data at regular time intervals relating to the speed of the vehicle and the distance between the vehicle and each of the events in the sequence of events. These regular updates of the processed data lead to updates of the attribute vectors forming the sequence of events.

[0065] Therefore, the matrix corresponding to the sequence of events is regularly updated, in particular by erasing processed data corresponding to events that the vehicle has passed, i.e. when the vehicle is traveling on a part of the route that is located after said event.

[0066] Following the creation of at least one sequence of events and of the corresponding matrix carried out by the compilation interface 4, this matrix is ​​transmitted to the computer 6 for calculating the driver warning distance.

[0067] The driver warning distance calculated by this computer 6 consists of the sum of at least three distances, namely the deceleration distance, the braking distance and the reaction distance, and corresponds to the likely distance that the vehicle will travel under braking conditions that are optimal, in particular from a consumption point of view, upstream of the event in order to reach a target speed associated with the event. This target speed corresponds more particularly to the speed at which the vehicle must be traveling when it reaches the event in order to guarantee safe driving conditions.

[0068] The deceleration distance corresponds to the distance the vehicle slows down solely through its natural deceleration due to frictional forces when the driver releases his / her foot from the vehicle's accelerator pedal. This natural deceleration is due to various forces applied to the vehicle that oppose its motion, such as aerodynamic drag, the frictional forces of tire components on the road surface, and / or gravity exerted when the vehicle is traveling up a slope. The deceleration distance extends between a first position of the vehicle on the road at the moment the driver must release his / her foot from the accelerator pedal to create the natural deceleration of the vehicle, and a second position of the vehicle on the road at the moment the vehicle reaches a target speed or the moment the driver applies the brake pedal when active braking is needed to sufficiently reduce the vehicle's speed.

[0069] When active braking is required, the braking distance is the distance traveled by the vehicle when the driver applies the brakes, specifically by pressing the vehicle's brake pedal, in order to more easily achieve the target speed. The braking distance extends between the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver applies the brake pedal and the position of the vehicle at the moment the vehicle reaches the target speed.

[0070] The reaction distance is the distance traveled by the vehicle between the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver receives a warning of a deceleration zone from the driver assistance system and the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver reacts to this warning and begins to take his foot off the accelerator pedal. This distance is calculated based on the average driver reaction time, e.g., 1 second, and the actual speed of the vehicle.

[0071] The driver warning distance computer calculates a driver warning distance in relation to each event in the sequence of events, the latter corresponding to the distance between the event and the position of the vehicle at the moment when the driver should be warned by the driver assistance system about the possibility of slowing down by lifting his foot from the accelerator pedal of the vehicle.

[0072] To calculate this driver warning distance, the driver warning distance computer executes a sequence of different phases, which are adjusted in real time in relation to the operation of the vehicle, taking into account the actual speed of the vehicle, i.e., the speed at which the vehicle is traveling. Thus, the driver warning distance computer periodically calculates the driver warning distance for each event, thus at regular time intervals, by adapting these calculation results to the movement of the vehicle on the taken route.

[0073] The driver warning distance computer calculates the vehicle deceleration distance for each event. To this end, the computer considers for each event the target speed, i.e., the speed that the vehicle must achieve so that it can safely pass the obstacle, as well as the location of the event on the road and, in particular, the distance between the vehicle and this event. The computer 6 also defines deceleration distance blocks specific to the vehicle, e.g., its mass, that the vehicle will use to calculate the warning distance. These deceleration distance blocks, which may have a value equal to one meter, are related to the change in the vehicle's speed when entering and leaving the distance block. In other words, the computer 6 is configured to determine the speed at which the vehicle must be traveling when entering the deceleration distance block in order to reach the desired speed when leaving this distance block. Starting from the target speed of the event, the computer 6 determines the number of deceleration distance blocks required for the vehicle to reach the target speed of the event, starting from a speed equal to the vehicle's actual speed. The deceleration distance of the event as described above corresponds to the total number of deceleration distance blocks considered necessary by the computer.

[0074] The driver warning distance computer also takes into account the slope value of the vehicle for each deceleration distance block. The vehicle's speed when entering the deceleration distance block to reach the desired speed when leaving is reduced or increased depending on the slope. More specifically, since the vehicle experiences a stronger natural deceleration due to the climb, the speed when entering the deceleration distance block is increased when the corresponding route section has a positive slope, e.g., due to the presence of a hill. Conversely, the speed when entering the deceleration distance block is reduced when the corresponding route section has a negative slope, e.g., due to the presence of a hill.

[0075] Thus, the computer calculates for each event a deceleration distance corresponding to the distance the driver must lift his foot in order to reach the target speed resulting from the event, specifically for the purpose of prioritizing events related to each other within the same sequence of events.

[0076] The computer can, if necessary, define the braking distance so that braking is comfortable for the driver and, if any, for the vehicle's passengers. For this purpose, the computer takes into account the speed at which the vehicle is traveling at the start of the braking phase. This braking distance can be defined as zero, for example, when the driver does not need to brake by pressing the brake pedal, and the natural deceleration of the vehicle may be sufficient.

[0077] The calculation of the driver warning distance may also take into account a correction factor that is applied to the calculation, thereby increasing the estimated driver warning distance in certain cases, for example when the surface of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is wet or more slippery.

[0078] As previously mentioned, the computer calculates the driver warning distance for each event in the sequence of events that the vehicle is expected to encounter on its route by performing circular updates as well as updates of the processed data used by the compilation interface 4.

[0079] 1, the driver assistance system 1 also comprises an excess consumption situation calculation device 12 which determines and assigns an excess consumption value to each of the events of the sequence of events as a function of the actual speed of the vehicle, which excess consumption value is then used by the management interface 8 in combination with the aforementioned driver warning distance to prioritize the events of the sequence of events.

[0080] The excess consumption situation calculation device 12 determines this excess consumption value for each event in the sequence of events by considering the driver warning distance, the distance separating the event from the vehicle's position, and the vehicle deceleration distance. For a given event, when the driver warning distance is equal to or greater than the distance separating the event from the vehicle, i.e., when the vehicle has already passed the zone where the driver should lift his foot to achieve optimal braking, and when the deceleration distance associated with this event is not zero, i.e., when the algorithm considers that the vehicle's natural deceleration is possible to reach the target speed associated with the event, the excess consumption situation calculation device assigns a first non-zero value, for example "1", to the excess consumption value. Otherwise, the excess consumption situation calculation device assigns a second zero value, for example "0", to the excess consumption value.

[0081] According to the invention, the management interface 8 organizes each of the events of the sequence of events generated by the compilation interface 4 according to their driver warning distance calculated by the computer 6 .

[0082] First, referring to FIG. 4, the management interface 8 sorts all events in a sequence of events and groups them into a first category, a second category or a third category.

[0083] For this purpose, the management interface 8 is configured to perform a pre-selection phase P1 in which the management interface 8 assigns some of the events of the sequence of events to a first category. The first category comprises events of the sequence of events that are associated with a zero braking distance. Furthermore, the first event of the sequence of events that is associated with a non-zero braking distance is also assigned to the first category.

[0084] The management interface 8 is also configured to perform a sorting phase P2 in which some of the events previously assigned to the first category are assigned to the second category. The sorting phase P2 specifically consists of calculating the distance between the event and the actual position of the vehicle and comparing this calculated distance with the driver warning distance associated with the event. When the calculated distance is less than the driver warning distance, the event is assigned to the second category.

[0085] Next, the management interface 8 includes a selection phase P3 in which the management interface 8 selects a single event from the events assigned to the second category during the sorting phase P2 according to the deceleration distance, the single event being designated as the selected event. More specifically, the selected event corresponds to the event having the largest deceleration distance assigned to the second category.

[0086] Following the completion of this selection phase P3, the management interface 8 is configured to carry out a decision phase P4, in which the management interface 8 assigns the events to a third category, the events assigned to the third category corresponding to the preceding events according to the order of their appearance along the route that the vehicle must take, and the selected events assigned to the second category during the selection phase P3 have an excess consumption value assigned by the excess consumption situation calculation device that is equal to a first value, i.e. a non-zero value, for example "1".

[0087] Finally, the management interface 8 is configured to perform a prioritization phase P5, during which the management interface 8 determines a prioritized event between the second and third category events, this event being determined as the event with the lowest target speed, i.e. the event with the lowest speed at which the vehicle must be traveling when passing through the event. When the target speed of the second category event is equal to the target speed of the third category event, the management interface 8 selects the third category event as the event to be prioritized by default.

[0088] In certain driving situations, for example, when none of the events in the sequence of events includes a driver warning distance less than the distance between the vehicle's position and the event, the first category, the second category, and the third category do not include an event, and the management interface then does not determine a priority among the events.

[0089] It should be noted that the vehicle may have to change its route during operation. In this case, the raw navigation data collected by the acquisition system 2 is updated, causing an update of the processed data received by the compilation interface 4, the driver warning distance calculated by the computer 6, and thereby the prioritization performed by the management interface.

[0090] For further understanding of the present invention, and in particular the determination of prioritized events by the management interface, a case study will now be described with reference to Figure 5. This case study will now focus on a non-limiting example of an implementation of the present invention.

[0091] The vehicle's route is represented by arrow I, with vehicle position V represented by a triangle. The selected route the vehicle must take in this case includes a sequence of events including three events X, Y, and Z. The first event X is located at a first distance L1 of two hundred meters (200 m) from the vehicle's position V. The computer calculated a driver warning distance and a zero braking distance for the first event X of two hundred meters (200 m), and the compilation interface assigned a target speed of seventy kilometers per hour (70 km / h) to the first event X. Note that the driver warning distance corresponds to the distance between the event and the vehicle's position at the moment the driver is notified that he or she can take his or her foot off the accelerator pedal, the target speed corresponds to the speed the vehicle should be traveling at when it passes by the event, and the braking distance corresponds to the distance the driver uses the vehicle's brake pedal.

[0092] A second event Y is located at a second distance L2 of four hundred meters (400 m) from the vehicle's position V. The computer calculated a driver warning distance for the second event Y of five hundred meters (500 m) and a braking distance of fifty meters (50 m), and the compilation interface assigned a target speed of fifty kilometers per hour (50 km / h) to the second event Y.

[0093] A third event Z is located at a third distance L3 of one thousand four hundred meters (1400 m) from the vehicle's position V. The computer calculated a driver warning distance for the third event Z of three hundred meters (300 m) and a braking distance of thirty meters (30 m), and the compilation interface assigned a target speed of fifty kilometers per hour (50 km / h) to the third event Z.

[0094] The management interface starts by performing a pre-selection phase P1 by determining whether events X, Y and Z can be assigned to a first category, which includes an event of a sequence of events with a zero braking distance and a first event of a sequence of events including a non-zero braking distance. Thus, in this case the management interface assigns to the first category the first event X, which includes a zero braking distance, and the second event Y, which is the first event including a braking distance.

[0095] During the sorting phase P2, the second distance L2 is less than the driver warning distance of the second event Y, so the management interface assigns the second event Y to the second category.

[0096] The management interface then determines, during a selection phase P3, the selected event of the second category that corresponds to the event with the greatest deceleration distance. In this case, the second category includes only the second event Y, and therefore the latter is the event selected by the management interface.

[0097] The management interface then determines an event of a third category during a determination phase P4. This event corresponds to an event preceding, in terms of the vehicle's location, the selected event assigned to the second category during the selection phase P3, which in this case is the second event Y. The excess consumption situation calculation device then calculates the excess consumption value of the event preceding the selected event, i.e., in this case the first event X. As the event assigned to the third category is the first event X in this case, the excess consumption value of the first event X is a non-zero value, for example "1", in this case.

[0098] The management interface then determines the prioritized event during a prioritization phase P5, which is determined as the event with the lowest target speed, which target speed corresponds to the speed at which the vehicle must be traveling at the start of the event. When the target speed of an event of the second category is equal to the target speed of an event of the third category, the management interface selects the event of the third category as the prioritized event by default.

[0099] In this case, the target rate of the second event Y is lower than the target rate of the first event X, so that the management interface gives priority to the second event Y.

[0100] As shown in Fig. 1, the driver assistance system 1 comprises at least driver warning means 14 which will inform the driver about the possibility of taking his foot off the accelerator pedal upstream of a given priority of an event once the given priority of the event has been determined by the management interface 8 of the driver assistance system 1. This driver warning means 14 may for example be a device for emitting an audible signal.

[0101] According to alternative or additional embodiments, the driver assistance system 1 includes a device for displaying the driver warning distance, thereby enabling, for example, the driver to see the driver warning distance on a map, or to display a "warning" logo, or a logo informing the driver of the type of event that is about to occur.

[0102] According to another alternative or additional embodiment, the driver assistance system 1 comprises means for communicating the warning distance with a display device of the vehicle and / or of the navigation device. Thus, according to a non-limiting example of the present invention, the driver assistance system sends a command instruction via its communication means to a display device of the vehicle and / or of the navigation device 10, which command instruction causes said display device to display the driver warning distance so that the driver can see it.

[0103] According to another alternative or additional embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle 3 is autonomous or semi-autonomous and comprises a driver assistance system 1 and a vehicle driving control module 15 capable of transmitting vehicle deceleration command instructions, the driver assistance system comprising a communication device 17 configured to transmit information to the driving control module 15.

[0104] The present invention also relates to a driver assistance method 1 for optimizing the electrical and / or thermal energy consumption of a vehicle. During this method, the driver assistance system 1 calculates a driver warning distance for each event of a sequence of events from raw navigation data from the navigation system 10. The management interface 8 of the driver assistance system 1 then prioritizes each event according to their driver warning distance and the occurrence of a zone for triggering this warning distance for the vehicle at a moment T. The driver assistance system 1 then communicates the driver warning distances of the prioritized events to the driver in order to prompt the driver to slow down in response to events present on the route determined by the navigation system 10 and thereby optimize the energy consumption of the vehicle.

[0105] The driver assistance method includes a first step in which a data acquisition system 2 of the driver assistance system communicates with a navigation system 10 to acquire raw navigation data relating to a route selected by the navigation system 10. The acquisition system processes these raw navigation data to form processed data, which are then sent to a compilation interface 4. The compilation interface 4 creates at least one sequence of events from the processed data.

[0106] A second step in this driver assistance method consists of the computer 6 determining the driver warning distance for each event of the sequence of events created by the compilation interface 4. During this second step, the computer 6 first determines the deceleration distance, braking distance and reaction distance for each event in order to then calculate the driver warning distance for each event of the sequence of events.

[0107] The driver assistance method includes a third step in which the management interface 8 optimizes the energy consumption of the vehicle over the entire route by prioritizing each of the events of the sequence of events according to the driver warning distance associated with each event and according to the route predicted by the navigation system 10. More specifically, during the third step, the device 12 for calculating the excess consumption situation of the vehicle of the driver assistance system 1 determines an excess consumption value, which is then used by the management interface 8 to determine a given priority of the events.

[0108] The driver assistance method includes a fourth step in which the driver assistance system 1 notifies the driver to slow down when deceleration is necessary, in particular via the driver warning means 14 of the driver assistance system 1 and / or a display device of the vehicle and / or navigation system.

[0109] Furthermore, the driver assistance method includes a fourth alternative step in which a warning distance information device of a driver assistance system onboard the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle communicates with a control module of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle configured to send a deceleration command instruction to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

[0110] However, the invention is not limited to the means and arrangements described and illustrated herein, but extends to any equivalent means or arrangements described and illustrated herein, and the invention extends to any equivalent means and arrangements and to any technically feasible combinations of such means.

Claims

1. A driver assistance system (1) for a motor vehicle (3), comprising at least a navigation data acquisition system (2), a compilation interface (4) configured to create at least one sequence, which is an ordered list of events from the acquired navigation data, and a computer (6) for calculating a driver warning distance, wherein the driver warning distance is calculated for each event of the created sequence as a function of at least a natural deceleration distance of the vehicle specific to each event, and the driver assistance system further comprises a management interface (8) for determining a priority among the events of the sequence by arranging each of the events in an order in which they will receive a warning corresponding to the calculated driver warning distance for each of the events, the driver warning distance is the distance between the position of the vehicle at the moment the driver is notified that he or she should take his or her foot off the accelerator pedal of the vehicle in order to produce, through natural deceleration of the vehicle without action on the brake pedal, the deceleration required to reach the target speed at which the vehicle must be traveling at the start of the event, and each of the events; A driver assistance system (1), characterized in that the deceleration distance is the distance the vehicle travels in freewheel mode with the driver's foot off the accelerator pedal and without pressing the brake pedal.

2. A driver assistance system (1) as described in claim 1, comprising a device (12) for calculating the excess energy consumption situation of the vehicle, configured to determine the excess energy consumption value for each of the events.

3. 3. A driver assistance system (1) according to claim 2, wherein the excess consumption value can take a first non-zero value when the driver warning distance is equal to or greater than the distance between the position of the vehicle (3) and the upcoming event and when the deceleration distance is not zero, or can take a second zero value when the driver warning distance is less than the distance between the vehicle (3) and the upcoming event and / or when the deceleration distance is zero.

4. 4. A driver assistance system (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the management interface (8) is configured to prioritize each of the events of the created sequence according to their driver warning distance and according to their energy overconsumption value.

5. 5. An autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle (3) comprising a driver assistance system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a vehicle (3) driving control module (15) capable of issuing a vehicle (3) deceleration command instruction, wherein the driver assistance system (1) comprises a communication device (17) configured to transmit information to the driving control module (15).

6. 5. A driver assistance method for optimizing the electrical and / or thermal energy consumption of a vehicle (3), wherein the driver warning distances of each event of the sequence are calculated by a driver assistance system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 based on navigation data from a navigation system (10) and then transmitted to the driver to prompt the driver to slow down and optimize the energy consumption of the vehicle (3) in response to events present on the route, and wherein the management interface (8) prioritizes each of the events according to their driver warning distances.

7. 7. A driver assistance method according to claim 6, comprising a first step in which the data acquisition system (2) communicates with the navigation system (10) to acquire navigation data originating from the navigation system (10) and then transmits these navigation data to the compilation interface (4), such that the compilation interface (4) creates at least one sequence of events from the navigation data originating from the navigation system (10).

8. 8. A driver assistance method according to claim 7, including a second step in which the computer (6) determines the driver warning distance for each event of the sequence created by the compilation interface (4).

9. 9. A driver assistance method according to claim 8, wherein during the second step, the computer (6) first determines for each event the deceleration distance, the braking distance and a reaction distance, which is the distance between the position of the vehicle at the moment when the driver assistance system (1) informs the driver that the deceleration distance is being entered and the position of the vehicle at the moment when the driver reacts to this information, and then calculates the driver warning distance from the deceleration distance, the braking distance and the reaction distance for each event of the sequence.

10. 10. The driver assistance method according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising a third step in which a device (12) for calculating situations of excess energy consumption of the vehicle of the driver assistance system (1) determines an excess energy consumption value of each of the events, and the management interface (8) then prioritizes each of the events according to their driver warning distance and their excess energy consumption value.

11. 11. A driver assistance method according to claim 10, comprising a fourth step, in which the driver assistance system (1) notifies the driver to slow down when deceleration is necessary.

12. 11. The driver assistance method according to claim 10, further comprising a fourth step in which a communication device (17) of the driver assistance system (1) on board the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle (3) communicates with a control module (15) for controlling operation of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle (3), the control module being configured to send a deceleration command instruction to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

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