Vehicle Power Use Planning for Range and Occupant Comfort
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power management systems in vehicles fail to dynamically adjust power consumption based on changing occupant needs and conditions, leading to potential power shortages or excessive conservation, undermining the ability to reach a destination.
Innovation Solution
A power management system that calculates power requirements for travel, creates and updates power use plans based on occupant preferences and changing conditions, and notifies occupants to manage power consumption effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If power consumption is strictly controlled to ensure destination arrival, then power shortage risk is reduced, but occupant comfort and device functionality are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The power management system dynamically adjusts power allocation based on real-time conditions including remaining power, distance to destination, and occupant preferences. The control unit continuously monitors and reconfigures power distribution to in-vehicle devices, transitioning from static power management to adaptive dynamic control that balances reliability and comfort requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes power consumption parameters by adjusting device operation modes, switching between different power levels, and modifying device functionality based on calculated power availability. This allows the system to adapt power consumption characteristics to match both reliability constraints and occupant comfort requirements.
2Ease of operation
If power is allocated to in-vehicle devices to improve comfort, then occupant satisfaction increases, but risk of power shortage before destination arrival increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of required power for both travel and device operations before making allocation decisions. By pre-calculating power requirements based on remaining distance and device power consumption characteristics, the system can proactively allocate power in a way that prevents future power shortages while maximizing occupant comfort within safe limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors actual power consumption, remaining battery power, and distance to destination, using this feedback to adjust power allocation in real-time. This closed-loop control ensures that power distributed to comfort devices does not compromise the fundamental requirement of reaching the destination with sufficient power remaining.
3Adaptability or versatility
If power consumption parameters are frequently updated to adapt to changing conditions, then adaptability to occupant needs improves, but system complexity and calculation burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The power management system segments power allocation into distinct controllable portions for different devices and functions. By dividing the overall power management task into device-specific power control modules, the system achieves high adaptability to changing conditions while keeping individual control calculations simple and manageable, reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A power management system is configured to calculate an amount of electric power for travel and an amount of consumption-related electric power based on a power consumption parameter representing electric power consumed in a vehicle, the amount of electric power for travel being consumed while the vehicle is traveling until reaching a destination, the amount of consumption-related electric power being required to execute a function of an in-vehicle device used until the destination is reached; create a power use plan for traveling to the destination; and determine whether it is appropriate to use the current power use plan. An updated power use plan that is different from a current power use plan is created when it is determined that the current power use plan is inappropriate.