Adaptive Accelerator Pedal Curve for Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for adapting accelerator pedal characteristics in vehicles often compromise between fuel efficiency and engine efficiency, particularly in heavy commercial vehicles, where a progressive pedal characteristic is needed for high engine efficiency, but existing techniques either reduce acceleration or are not situation-dependent.
Innovation Solution
A method that continuously adapts the accelerator pedal characteristic curve during driving to match a desired engine torque for optimal consumption or engine efficiency, with a flattened profile around the desired torque, allowing for easier control and extended range of efficient operation, and is activated in specific driving situations like acceleration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a degressive accelerator pedal characteristic is used to reduce fuel consumption, then fuel consumption is improved, but engine efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The accelerator pedal characteristic curve is made dynamically adaptable rather than fixed. The system continuously adjusts the characteristic curve based on real-time driving conditions, vehicle state, and route information, allowing the pedal response to be degressive in some situations and progressive in others, thus resolving the contradiction between fuel consumption and engine efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the accelerator pedal characteristic curve based on different operating conditions. By modifying the relationship between accelerator pedal travel and requested engine torque according to actual driving needs, the system can optimize for fuel consumption when appropriate while maintaining engine efficiency when required
2Power
If a progressive accelerator pedal characteristic is used to improve engine efficiency, then engine efficiency is improved, but fuel consumption deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the accelerator pedal characteristic curve based on real-time conditions. When engine efficiency is prioritized (e.g., in heavy commercial vehicles during acceleration maneuvers), the characteristic becomes progressive. When fuel consumption is the primary concern, it becomes degressive, thus resolving the contradiction through conditional adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The parameters of the accelerator pedal characteristic curve are continuously adjusted based on driving situation, vehicle state, and route information. This allows the system to switch between progressive and degressive characteristics as needed to optimize either engine efficiency or fuel consumption depending on the specific operating context
3Device complexity
If the accelerator pedal characteristic is fixed in advance, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically adapts the accelerator pedal characteristic curve based on received route information and current vehicle state without requiring manual intervention. The system self-adjusts the characteristic parameters according to the driving context, maintaining low operational complexity while achieving high adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The system receives and processes route information in advance to pre-calculate optimal accelerator pedal characteristic curves for upcoming driving sections. This preliminary preparation allows the system to be highly adaptive to future driving conditions while keeping the real-time control logic relatively simple
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for adapting the accelerator pedal characteristics of a motor vehicle, in which an accelerator pedal characteristic curve describing the relationship between accelerator pedal travel and a requested target engine torque is adapted during driving operation. The invention further relates to a device configured for carrying out the method. The method comprises determining a desired engine torque (12), in particular a desired engine torque that would enable fuel-efficient operation of the motor vehicle; and adapting the accelerator pedal characteristic curve as a function of the determined desired engine torque (12), such that the adapted accelerator pedal characteristic curve (14; 14a) has a flattened profile (15; 15a) in a region (b1; b2) that contains a target engine torque (13) corresponding to the determined desired engine torque (12), compared to the unadapted accelerator pedal characteristic curve.