Fuel-saving Control Device Curvature Radius Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel-saving control devices cause unstable vehicle behavior on roads with frequently changing surplus driving force, such as mountain roads, leading to impaired driver convenience and safety due to frequent changes in accelerating force.
Innovation Solution
A fuel-saving control device that limits or fixes the lowering correction value change rate when the front curvature radius is below a certain threshold, preventing frequent changes in the surplus driving force from affecting vehicle behavior, ensuring driver safety and convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the lowering correction value is increased to maximize fuel-saving performance, then actual fuel consumption is reduced, but vehicle behavior becomes unstable when surplus driving force frequently changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the lowering correction value changeable based on road curvature conditions. When the front curvature radius is large (straight road), the lowering correction value can change freely to maximize fuel savings. When the front curvature radius is small (curved road), the lowering correction value is fixed to prevent frequent changes and maintain vehicle stability. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between fuel efficiency and vehicle stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of lowering correction value based on road curvature radius. By detecting whether the vehicle is on a straight road or curved road, the system adjusts the lowering correction value accordingly - allowing frequent changes on straight roads for fuel savings, and fixing it on curved roads to maintain stable vehicle behavior, thus resolving the contradiction between fuel consumption and vehicle stability.
2Productivity
If the lowering correction value changes frequently to respond to surplus driving force changes, then fuel-saving performance is maximized, but driver convenience and safety are impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the lowering correction value based on road conditions detected through curvature radius calculation. On straight roads, frequent adjustments maximize fuel-saving performance. On curved roads, the value is fixed to ensure driver convenience and safety by preventing frequent vehicle behavior changes. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction between productivity and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by preemptively fixing the lowering correction value when curved roads are detected before frequent changes can occur. This prevents the harmful effect of frequent vehicle behavior changes on driver convenience and safety, while still allowing maximum fuel-saving performance on straight roads where no such harm would occur.
Data Source
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AI summary
A fuel-saving control device 100 equipped with: a surplus drive force calculation unit 101 for calculating surplus drive force; a fuel-saving control unit 102 for executing a fuel-saving control which lowers and corrects the indicated fuel injection amount according to the accelerator position by using a lowering-correction value that corresponds to the surplus drive force when the surplus drive force reaches or exceeds a prescribed threshold, and stopping the fuel-saving control when the surplus drive force falls below the prescribed threshold; a vehicle position detection unit 107 for detecting the vehicle position; a map information storage unit 108 for storing map information; and a forward curvature radius identification unit 109 for identifying the forward curvature radius on the basis of the vehicle position and the map information. Therein, the fuel-saving control unit 102 prevents the lowering-correction value from varying by a prescribed degree of variability or more when the forward curvature radius is less than the prescribed threshold.