JP2007156704A - Fuel-saving driving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel-saving driving system effectively promoting fuel-saving driving by use of road gradient information, and to provide a control method therefor. <P>SOLUTION: This fuel-saving driving system has: a vehicle position specification device 2 specifying a position of a vehicle; a gradient information storage device (a road gradient storage part 12A) storing a gradient in a position; and a controller 10 determining a state of the fuel-saving driving from information from the gradient information storage device 12A and information from the vehicle position specification device 2. The controller 10 finds the gradient θ1, θ2 of a spot wherein the vehicle 1 travels from information of the position of the vehicle. An operation state of an accelerator and/or a brake wherein fuel consumption becomes excellent from the gradient of the travel spot and the position of the vehicle is determined. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel-saving driving system that encourages and encourages a driver to save fuel, especially when the climbing and descending slopes continue, in particular, to encourage and encourage fuel-saving driving to the driver. It relates to a control method.

Currently, in fuel-saving driving using a digital tachometer, when a vehicle speed on a highway reaches a predetermined value, the driver only sounds a warning buzzer or the like. With such a method, it is impossible to prompt the driver to perform fuel-saving driving with respect to fluctuations in vehicle speed that deteriorate fuel consumption on highways and braking operations.
In addition, when a speed change occurs in the vehicle, the alarm buzzer may be sounded as it is simply because the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, although the speed change is due to the road gradient.

  In general, it is known as a method (technique) for improving the fuel consumption that the brake is not applied on the downhill and the vehicle is climbed at the speed of the speed obtained on the downhill when the slope is not steep. The above-described method does not reflect such a technique, and merely gives a warning buzzer to the dark clouds only when the speed exceeds a predetermined value, and does not give effective advice for improving fuel efficiency.

In addition to the above technique, a technique that exclusively advises a driver on fuel-saving driving during local driving is known (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
As an example, the above technology provides advice such as “depressing the accelerator too much” in real time, and at the same time, “start-stop” is set as one section, and the driver is instructed to save fuel for each section.
The above technologies also include the accelerator opening during start acceleration, the use of coasting, the upshift engine speed during start acceleration, the engine speed during steady driving, the maximum vehicle speed between start and stop, and the maximum on the highway. Evaluate changes in vehicle speed and vehicle speed on highways, and give advice to drivers as necessary.

However, this technology does not give advice on fuel-saving driving on an effective driving method on a hill that has a great influence on fuel efficiency when driving on a highway.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-10007

  The present invention is proposed in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, taking into account road gradients, including driving on highway expressways, for driver's accelerator operation and auxiliary brake operation during downhill / uphill. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fuel-saving driving system and its control method that effectively promote fuel-saving driving by providing advice and evaluation.

  The fuel-saving driving system of the present invention includes a vehicle position specifying device (GPS sensor 2) that specifies the position of a vehicle, and a gradient information storage device (a road gradient storage unit in the database 12 of the control unit 10) that stores the gradient at the position. 12A), and a control device (control unit 10) that determines the mode of fuel-saving driving from the information from the vehicle position specifying device (GPS sensor 2) and the information from the gradient information storage device (12A), The control device (10) obtains the gradient (θ1, θ2) of the point where the vehicle (1) is traveling from the information on the vehicle position, and determines the accelerator and fuel efficiency from the vehicle position and the gradient of the traveling point. It is configured to determine the operation mode of the brake. (Claim 1)

  The control device (10) advises that when there is a certain difference or more between the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake at which the fuel efficiency is good and the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake during traveling. (Claim 2).

  When the vehicle (1) travels from the uphill to the downhill that continues from the uphill, the control device (10) determines the distance (L) from the up / down conversion point (Pt) on the uphill side. Is configured to give advice to loosen the accelerator at a point of a predetermined value corresponding to the slope (θ1) of the uphill (Claim 3).

  When the vehicle (1) travels from the uphill to the downhill that continues from the uphill, the control device (10) determines the distance (L) from the up / down conversion point (Pt) on the uphill side. Is configured to give advice to loosen the accelerator at a predetermined value according to the slope (θ2) of the downhill (claim 4).

  When the vehicle (1) travels from the downhill to the uphill that continues from the downhill, the control device (10) determines the distance (L) from the downhill / uphill conversion point (Pb) on the downhill side. Is configured to give advice to loosen the brake at a predetermined value according to the slope (θ1) of the downhill (claim 5).

  When the vehicle (1) travels from the downhill to the uphill that continues from the downhill, the control device (10) determines the distance (L) from the downhill / uphill conversion point (Pb) on the downhill side. Is configured to give advice to loosen the brake at a predetermined value according to the slope (θ2) of the uphill (Claim 6).

  The said control apparatus (10) calculates | requires the curvature of the road where the vehicle is drive | working, and when the curvature is below a threshold value, it is comprised so that the above-mentioned advice may not be performed (Claim 7).

The fuel-saving driving system control method of the present invention is the fuel-saving driving system control method according to claim 1, wherein the GPS position signal is read (S1), the road gradient information is read (S2), And calculating the position for giving advice (S6). When the vehicle (1) travels from the uphill including the flat road toward the downhill, the control means (10) -When the distance (L) from the down conversion point (Pt) reaches the advice execution point and the accelerator signal is turned on, advice is given to loosen the accelerator (S10), and the vehicle moves from downhill to uphill. When traveling, the distance (L) from the downhill / uphill conversion point (Pb) on the downhill side reaches the advice execution point, and advice is given to release the brake when the auxiliary brake signal is ON ( 14) It is characterized by (claim 8).
In executing step S14, it is preferable to control so as not to give advice to release the brake when the curvature of the curve of the road at that time is equal to or less than a threshold value.

According to the fuel-saving driving system of the present invention having the above-described configuration and control method, a vehicle position specifying device (GPS sensor 2) that specifies the position of the vehicle, and a gradient information storage device that stores the gradient at the position ( A road gradient storage unit 12A) and a control device (control unit 10) that determines a fuel-saving driving mode from information from the vehicle position specifying device (GPS sensor 2) and information from the gradient information storage device (12A). The control device (10) obtains the gradient (θ1, θ2) of the point where the vehicle (1) is traveling from the vehicle position information, and the fuel efficiency is good from the vehicle position and the gradient of the traveling point. It is configured to determine the accelerator and / or brake operation mode.
The control device (10) advises that if there is a certain difference between the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake that provides good fuel efficiency and the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake while traveling. Thus, the fuel-saving driving is surely executed by the driver following the advice.

  Further, the control device (10) is configured so as to obtain the curvature of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and not to give the above advice when the curvature is equal to or less than a threshold value. In other words, in cases where the curvature of the curve is small and it is a safety problem to loosen the accelerator while climbing or to loosen the auxiliary brake while descending, such advice will not be issued, ensuring safety. Has been.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1, the fuel-saving driving system according to the first embodiment is a management-side equipment U2 in which data recorded by the equipment U1 on the vehicle 1 side, the equipment U2 on the management side, and the equipment U1 on the vehicle 1 side. It is comprised with the memory card 7 which is a transfer means to transfer.
Here, the management side refers to, for example, a vehicle management department of a transportation company that owns the vehicle 1.

  The vehicle-side equipment U1 is a device that identifies the position of the vehicle (cargo vehicle in the illustrated example) 1. For example, the GPS sensor 2 and accelerator opening measuring means for measuring the accelerator opening (hereinafter referred to as accelerator). An opening degree measuring means (referred to as an accelerator opening degree sensor) 3, an auxiliary brake operation switch 4 for detecting that the auxiliary brake has been actuated, a vehicle speed measuring means (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle speed sensor) 5 for measuring the vehicle speed, A wheel speed sensor 6 provided for each wheel and a control unit 10 as control means are provided.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 includes an interface IF that receives signals (GPS signal, accelerator opening signal, auxiliary brake operation signal, vehicle speed signal, wheel speed signal) from various sensors on the control unit side, A current position specifying unit 11 that receives a GPS signal and specifies the current position, a database 12 that is a storage unit, a gradient specifying unit 13 that specifies the gradient of the current position, an advice issuing position calculating unit 14, and a curve curvature specifying The combined curvature calculation unit 15, the transmission determination unit 16, the advice transmission control unit 17, the advice display unit 18, and the speaker 19 are configured.

  The database 12 includes a road gradient storage unit 12A, a curve curvature storage unit 12B, a vehicle information storage unit 12C, and a memory card 7 as a storage medium inserted into the database 12, and the data stored in the database 12 is stored in the memory card 7. It is comprised with the slot (insertion groove) 12D for taking out.

  The road gradient storage unit 12A of the database 12 stores existing road gradient information (all road gradients are recorded for each expressway). Further, the road gradient storage unit 12A newly calculates a gradient of the current position based on an inclination angle sensor (not shown) and current position information by GPS, and stores the calculated gradient information, as will be described later in the gradient specifying unit 13. It is also possible to be configured.

The curve curvature storage unit 12B of the database 12 stores existing curve curvature information (recording the curvature radii of curves of all roads on each expressway).
Further, the curve curvature storage unit 12B, as will be described later, is a travel distance obtained from the vehicle speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 5 (see FIG. 1) and each wheel of the wheel speed sensor 6 (see FIG. 1) provided on each wheel. The curvature of the curve at the point can be calculated from the wheel speed information, and the calculated curvature is stored.
The vehicle information storage unit 12C is configured so that vehicle information from each sensor and engine side, for example, engine speed information and the like on the engine side from the engine controller 40 connected to the control unit 10 are stored in time series. Has been.
The slot 12 </ b> D is provided as an insertion port for the memory card 7 when the data stored in the database 12 is taken out to the memory card 7.

  The gradient specifying unit 13 specifies the road gradient at the current position specified by the current position specifying unit 11 from the data stored in the road gradient storage unit 12 </ b> A of the database 12. Alternatively, the gradient specifying unit 13 can also calculate the road gradient during traveling from the travel distance information obtained by the altitude sensor (not shown) and the vehicle speed sensor 5, and the calculated road gradient is determined after the position is specified. It can also be stored in the storage unit 12A (line of broken line C).

  The advice issuing position calculation unit 14 determines the specified road gradient and the shape of the running slope, and advises, for example, “Let the accelerator loose” or “Let the auxiliary brake loose” by the methods described below. Is calculated.

  The forms of slopes can be broadly classified as “the slope in which the uphill including the flat road is continuous with the downhill toward the traveling direction” (see FIG. 3), and “the downhill including the flat road in the traveling direction”. There are two types of slopes (see Fig. 6).

In the case of the “slope where the uphill including the flat road is continuous with the downhill toward the traveling direction” in FIG. 3, on the uphill (gradient θ1) side including the flat road, the vehicle 1 It is sufficient if there is a minimum kinetic energy that rises up to the downward conversion point Pt.
In the figure, the distance L (the distance from the uphill-to-downward conversion point Pt on the uphill side) is a position where climbing is possible even when the accelerator is loosened at the point of the distance L.
Therefore, the value of L is calculated in consideration of the current vehicle speed, the upward gradient (θ1), and the downward gradient (θ2).

Specifically, the calculation map shown in FIG. 4 obtains L from the relationship between the vehicle speed and θ1 with θ2 as a constant value, and obtains L from the relationship between the vehicle speed and θ2 with θ1 as a constant value. It is a calculation map shown in FIG.
The calculation map of FIG. 4 shows that the value of L can be increased as the upward gradient θ1 is smaller and the vehicle speed is larger.
On the other hand, the calculation map of FIG. 5 shows that the value of L can be increased as the downward gradient θ2 is larger and the vehicle speed is larger.
However, in this case, it is assumed that the upward gradient θ1 is fully increased at L.

In the case of the “slope where the downhill including the flat road is continuous with the uphill toward the traveling direction” in FIG. 6, in a predetermined area on the downhill (gradient θ1) side including the flat road, To secure kinetic energy on the uphill, the auxiliary brake should be loosened unless there is a safety problem.
In the figure, the distance L (the distance from the downhill-to-uphill conversion point Pb on the downhill side) is a point close to the limit where there is no safety problem even if the auxiliary brake is loosened in order to suppress fuel consumption. Is shown.
Therefore, the value of the distance L is calculated in consideration of the current vehicle speed, the downward gradient (θ1), and the upward gradient (θ2).

Specifically, the calculation map shown in FIG. 7 obtains L from the relationship between the vehicle speed and θ1 with θ2 as a constant value, and L is obtained from the relationship between the vehicle speed and θ2 with θ1 as a constant value. It is a calculation map shown in FIG.
The calculation map of FIG. 7 shows that the value of L can be increased as the downward gradient θ1 is smaller and the vehicle speed is smaller.
On the other hand, the calculation map of FIG. 8 shows that the value of L can be increased as the upward gradient θ2 is larger and the vehicle speed is smaller.

Returning to FIG. 2, the curve curvature specifying / curvature calculating unit 15 specifies the curvature of the curve at the current position specified by the current position specifying unit 11 from the existing data stored in the curve curvature storage unit 12 </ b> B of the database 12. Alternatively, the radius of curvature of the road curve is calculated from the difference in wheel speed from the left and right wheel speed sensors 6 and the travel distance obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 5.
Further, by storing the calculated curvature radius in the curve curvature storage unit 12B one by one, it is possible to accumulate curve data of a newly traveling road (dashed line in FIG. 2).

  Here, depending on the magnitude of the curvature of the curve, it is the liver and kidney that if the accelerator is loosened or the auxiliary brake is loosened in the middle of the curve, there is a safety problem, such operation cannot be performed.

  (Advice) The transmission judgment unit 16 determines, for example, the form of the slope, the accelerator opening information, the auxiliary brake information, and the curve curvature information obtained by the curve curvature computation unit with respect to the advice issuing position obtained by calculation, Either give advice to "Let the accelerator" or "Let the auxiliary brake", or if you are running on a curve and the curve has a small radius of curvature, you can loosen the accelerator or turn on the auxiliary brake. If it is a safety issue to relax, cancel such advice.

The advice transmission control unit 17 transmits a control signal to the advice display unit 18 and the speaker 19 in order to issue an advice indicating that the transmission is OK.
And the advice display part 18 and the speaker 19 display the advice content according to the control signal which the advice transmission part 17 transmitted, or announce.

Here, in this system, in addition to the vehicle-side equipment U1, a management-side equipment U2 is also provided (see FIG. 1).
The management-side equipment U2 includes a management-side control unit (a road information management personal computer) 20 and a printer 22 as output means.
The various pieces of information are input to the management-side equipment U2 via the memory card 7, and are stored as, for example, road gradient information and curve curvature information throughout the country. The stored information is read into the memory card 7 again and inserted into the slot 12D of the in-vehicle controller 10 of another vehicle 1 owned by the sales office or the affiliated transportation company, thereby being stored in the database 12 of the in-vehicle controller 10. It is added as new data.

  Note that the management-side control unit 20 is also configured to be able to input various information possessed by the database 12 of the in-vehicle control unit 10 by a wireless transmission / reception means (not shown).

Next, a control method for issuing advices will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S1, a GPS signal is read. In step S2, the current position specifying unit 11 of the control unit 10 reads the gradient information (the values of θ1, θ2 and whether it is up or down) for the current position specified by the signal from the GPS.

In step S3, an accelerator signal is read, in step S4, a signal indicating whether the auxiliary brake is operating, and in step S5, a vehicle speed signal is read.
Based on the read information, the position for executing advice (distance L from the up / down conversion points Pt and Pb to the position at which the advice is displayed and / or announced) is calculated.

  In the next step S7, the control unit 10 determines whether the shape of the hill is a hill that continues from up to down including a flat road, a hill that continues from down to up including a flat road, or any of them. To do.

  If the slope form is a slope that continues from up to down including a flat road, the process proceeds to step S8, and if it is a slope that continues from down to up including a flat road, the process proceeds to step S12. Returns to step S1 and repeats step S1 and subsequent steps again.

In step S8, the process waits until the advice execution position is reached (loop in step S8). If the advice execution position is reached (YES in step S8), the process proceeds to step S9.
In step S9, it is determined whether or not the accelerator is depressed at that time. If the accelerator is stepped on (YES in step S9), “Let the accelerator loose” is displayed and announced in step S10. If the accelerator is not depressed (NO in step S9), the advice display and / or announcement is stopped or not performed in step S11.

In step S12, the process waits until the advice execution timing is reached (loop in step S12). If the advice execution timing is reached (YES in step S12), the process proceeds to step S13.
In step S13, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary brake is operated at that time. If the auxiliary brake is being operated (YES in step S13), “Let's loosen the auxiliary brake” is displayed and announced in step S14. If the auxiliary brake is not operated (NO in step S13), the advice display and / or announcement is stopped or not performed in step S15.
Although not shown in FIG. 9, the curvature of the running curve is calculated between steps S13 to S15, and even when the curvature radius of the curve falls below a predetermined value, the “relax the auxiliary brake”. “Sho” is not displayed or announced.

  After executing Steps S10, S11, S14, and S15, the process returns to Step S1, and Steps S1 and after are repeated again.

  According to the fuel-saving driving system having the configuration and the control method as described above, when traveling continuously from an uphill including a flat road to a downhill (see FIGS. 3 to 5), the vehicle goes down from the uphill on the uphill side. The driver is advised to relax the accelerator at the point where the distance from the conversion point Pt to the slope is L. The value of L is a distance that can somehow reach the conversion point Pt (top of the slope) even when the accelerator is loosened. In this way, the amount of fuel supplied to the engine is suppressed by loosening the accelerator, thereby saving fuel consumption. Operation is performed.

On the other hand, in the case where the vehicle continuously proceeds from the downhill to the uphill (see FIGS. 6 to 8), the distance from the conversion point Pb (back part) from the downhill to the uphill on the downhill side is L, Advise the driver to loosen the auxiliary brake, for example the exhaust brake.
The value of L is a distance that does not cause runaway even when the auxiliary brake is loosened. By loosening the auxiliary brake, kinetic energy is accumulated compared to when the auxiliary brake is not loosened. It can contribute to fuel saving by effectively using the kinetic energy accumulated from time to time.
It should be noted that the curvature of the running curve is calculated, and when the curvature radius of the curve falls below a predetermined value, the message “Let's loosen the auxiliary brake” is not displayed.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the GPS sensor 2, the accelerator opening sensor 3, the auxiliary brake switch 4, the vehicle speed sensor 5, and the wheel speed sensor 6 which are means for detecting each parameter are mounted on the vehicle by dedicated circuits. 3 is an embodiment connected to a control unit 10.

  On the other hand, in the second embodiment of FIG. 10, signals from other sensors are collected as digital signals in the LAN repeater 9 by the in-vehicle communication network “in-vehicle LAN” in advance, except for signals from GPS sensors. The communication cable W is configured to be stored in the in-vehicle control unit 10. Except for these configurations, the second embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, by using the in-vehicle LAN information, necessary information can be obtained at low cost without adding other sensors or the like except for the GPS sensor.

  The illustrated embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated first and second embodiments, both are appropriate for the driver to save fuel. If the conditions are met, the throttle opening is reduced mechanically (automatically) or the operation of the auxiliary brake is weakened (for example, the opening of the exhaust valve is forced) It is also possible to adjust to the open side.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the fuel-saving driving system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram explaining the detailed structure of the control unit of 1st Embodiment. The state figure which showed the advice execution point with the traveling pattern where the downhill continues to the uphill. The control map which shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the position of advice execution when the downhill is constant and the uphill gradient is used as a parameter in a hill with a pattern in which uphill and downhill are continuous in the first embodiment. The control map which shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the position of advice execution when the ascending slope is constant and the descending slope is used as a parameter in a slope having a pattern in which ascending and descending are continuous in the first embodiment. The state figure which showed the advice execution point with the traveling pattern where the uphill continues to the downhill. The control map which shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the position of advice execution when the uphill is constant and the slope of the downhill is used as a parameter in a hill with a pattern of continuous uphill and downhill in the first embodiment. The control map which shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the position of advice execution when the downhill is a constant slope and the slope of the uphill is used as a parameter for a slope with a pattern of continuous uphill and downhill in the first embodiment. The flowchart explaining the control method of the fuel-saving driving | operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which showed the whole structure of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle 2 ... GPS sensor 3 ... Accelerator opening sensor 4 ... Auxiliary brake operation switch 5 ... Vehicle speed sensor 6 ... Wheel speed sensor 7 ... Memory card 10 ... Control unit 11 ... current position specifying unit 12 ... database 12A ... road gradient storage unit 12B ... curve curvature storage unit 13 ... gradient specifying unit 14 ... advice issuing position calculating unit 15 ... Curve curvature specifying / curvature calculation unit 16 ... transmission judgment unit 17 ... advice transmission control unit 18 ... advice display unit 19 ... speaker 20 ... management side control unit 22 ... printer U1 ..Equipment U2 on the vehicle side ... Equipment on the management side

Claims (8)

  A fuel-saving driving mode is determined from a vehicle position specifying device that specifies the position of the vehicle, a gradient information storage device that stores a gradient at the position, information from the vehicle position specifying device, and information from the gradient information storage device. And a control device that obtains the gradient of the point where the vehicle is traveling from the vehicle position information, and the accelerator and / or the fuel efficiency is good from the vehicle position and the gradient of the traveling point. A fuel-saving driving system configured to determine an operation mode of a brake.   The control device is configured to advise when there is a certain difference between the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake that provides good fuel efficiency and the operation mode of the accelerator and / or brake while traveling. The fuel-saving driving system according to claim 1.   When the vehicle travels from the uphill to the downhill that continues from the uphill, the control device is a point where the distance from the up / down conversion point on the uphill side is a predetermined value corresponding to the gradient of the uphill The fuel-saving driving system according to claim 1, wherein the fuel-saving driving system is configured to give advice that the accelerator is released.   When the vehicle travels from the uphill to the downhill that continues from the uphill, the control device is such that the distance from the up / down conversion point on the uphill side is a predetermined value corresponding to the downhill slope. The fuel-saving driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fuel-saving driving system is configured to give advice to loosen an accelerator.   When the vehicle travels from the downhill to the uphill that continues from the downhill, the control device is a point where the distance from the downhill / uphill conversion point on the downhill side is a predetermined value corresponding to the downhill slope. The fuel-saving driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fuel-saving driving system is configured to give advice to release the brake.   When the vehicle travels from the downhill to the uphill that continues from the downhill, the control device is a point where the distance from the downhill / uphill conversion point on the downhill side is a predetermined value corresponding to the gradient of the uphill The fuel-saving driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the system is configured to give advice to release the brake.   The fuel-saving driving system according to claim 2, wherein the control device obtains a curvature of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and is configured not to give the above advice when the curvature is equal to or less than a threshold value.   The control method of the fuel-saving driving system according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of reading a GPS position signal, a step of reading road gradient information, and a step of calculating a position for giving advice. When traveling from an uphill including a flat road to a downhill, the distance from the up / down conversion point on the uphill side reaches the advice execution point, and the accelerator is released when the accelerator signal is ON. When advice is given and the vehicle travels from downhill to uphill, the distance from the downhill / uphill conversion point on the downhill side reaches the advice execution point, and the brake is released when the auxiliary brake signal is ON. A control method for a fuel-saving driving system characterized by giving advice to the effect.

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