Vehicle Eco-Stop Controller Preventing Unintended Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers may forget that their vehicle is in an eco-stop condition, leading to unexpected movement when exiting, as the engine or electric motor is restarted without detection of the driver's departure.
Innovation Solution
A controller system that detects the driver's departure using sensors, such as brake pressure, seat belt, door, or image sensors, to prevent engine or electric motor restart when the driver is exiting, and automatically applies the parking brake to maintain the vehicle in a park mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the engine or electric motor is automatically restarted when the brake pedal is released, then fuel consumption is reduced and vehicle responsiveness is improved, but the risk of unexpected vehicle movement increases when the driver is exiting the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of driver departure status before allowing engine restart. Sensors detect whether the driver is exiting the vehicle beforehand, and based on this detection, the system prevents engine restart or automatically applies parking brake before the driver releases the service brake, thereby avoiding unexpected vehicle movement while maintaining automatic stop/start functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between the brake pedal release signal and the engine restart command. It introduces an intermediate detection step that monitors driver presence/exit status, and only permits engine restart when the driver is confirmed to remain in the vehicle, thus mediating between fuel saving goals and safety concerns
2Reliability
If multiple sensors are used to detect driver departure, then detection accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple existing sensor types (seat occupancy sensor, seat belt buckle sensor, door position sensor, brake pressure sensor) into a unified driver departure detection system. These sensors are already present in the vehicle for other purposes, and their signals are combined by the control system to determine driver exit status, achieving high detection accuracy without adding significant complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Existing sensors in the vehicle are made multi-functional. For example, the seat occupancy sensor originally designed for safety purposes is also used for detecting driver departure in the context of automatic stop/start control. The door position sensor serves both locking/unlocking functions and driver exit detection, thereby improving reliability without increasing device complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
In one aspect of the invention there is provided a motor vehicle comprising drive means operable to provide motive power to the vehicle, the vehicle operable automatically to switch off and subsequently to restart the drive means during a drivecycle thereby to reduce a value of one or more prescribed operating parameters, wherein the vehicle may be placed in an eco-stop condition by driver-operated brake means in which the vehicle is held stationary and the drive means is off, the vehicle being operable automatically to restart the drive means when the driver signals release of the brake means, the vehicle comprising means for detecting departure of the driver from the vehicle, in the event that departure of the driver is detected when the vehicle is in the eco-stop condition the vehicle being arranged not to restart the drive means when the driver signals release of the brake means.