EV Towing Control Using Road Gradient-Based Towable Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicles face overheating and potential accidents when towing trailers due to increased load and road gradients, as they lack real-time information on towable weights and suitable routes, leading to system overload.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control apparatus and method that includes a location acquisition device, sensor, and controller to determine towable weights based on road gradients, compare them with the loaded weight, and provide guidance on safe routes or weight reduction, using communication and output devices to inform the driver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the towing weight of the towed vehicle is increased to enhance loading capacity, then the utility of the vehicle system is improved, but the vehicle system becomes overloaded on roads with large gradients, leading to overheating and potential accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of road gradient information along the planned route before the vehicle departs. The controller calculates the maximum safe towing weight based on the most challenging gradient segment in advance, allowing the driver to adjust the loaded weight accordingly before starting the journey, thus preventing system overload before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the driver by displaying the calculated maximum towing weight and comparing it with the actual loaded weight. This feedback mechanism enables the driver to make informed decisions about weight adjustment, ensuring the vehicle operates within safe parameters while maintaining optimal utility.
2Ease of operation
If the driver does not recognize the road gradient information before driving, then the ease of operation is improved, but the power required to drive the vehicle rapidly increases on roads with large gradients, leading to system overload
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically acquires road gradient information from location data, analyzes the route characteristics, and calculates the maximum towing weight without requiring manual input from the driver. The controller performs all computations and provides recommendations autonomously, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring proper power management.
3Reliability
If the vehicle provides detailed information on towable weight for each road gradient to ensure safe driving, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to multiple sensors and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs multiple functions using a single integrated system: it acquires location information, retrieves road gradient data, calculates maximum towing weight, compares it with actual loaded weight, and provides guidance recommendations. This multi-functional approach ensures reliable safe driving information while minimizing device complexity by consolidating operations into one control unit.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control apparatus includes a location acquisition device that provides information on road gradients on at least one route to a destination, a sensor that obtains driving information of a towing vehicle to which a towed vehicle is connected, and a controller which is configured for determining a towable weight for each of routes found for the destination based on the information on the road gradients, determines a weight of the towed vehicle based on the driving information, compares the towable weight with the weight, and determines at least one of whether it is possible to tow the towed vehicle, a towable route, a towable weight corresponding to the towable route, or any combination thereof based on a result of the comparing.