JP2007248185A - Energy-saving operation support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an energy-saving operation support system for improving an operation technique by notifying a driver who is driving a car with poor fuel efficiency in real time. <P>SOLUTION: The current position information of a vehicle, and the topographical information of a route to a destination are acquired from a vehicle navigation apparatus 2. A gear operation position or engine speed where the fuel efficiency of the vehicle becomes the best is calculated by using the information and is notified to the driver. As a result, the driver can determine the gear operation position and the engine speed where the fuel efficiency becomes the best in real time, thus improving the operation technique. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy saving driving support system.

JP 2003-223699 A

  As global greenhouse gas reduction activities are underway, the company's transport sector calls for environmentally friendly driving, such as promoting low-emission vehicles and stopping idling. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle information management method and system for improving fuel consumption and the like. In this system, equipment is mounted on a business vehicle, the vehicle speed, engine speed, transmission gear operation, brake operation, etc. are digitally recorded, and the record is taken back to the office for analysis. Investigate the driving situation such as sudden start, empty sky, driving unevenness, etc., and instruct the driver when driving with poor fuel economy or driving with bad environment.

  In order to drive in accordance with the guidance in the next operation, it is necessary for the driver who received the guidance to drive while always paying attention to the guidance, but the driver tends to forget the guidance. For this reason, there is a problem that does not lead to improvement of driving technology.

  The present invention has been made in the background as described above, and in particular, to provide an energy saving driving support system for improving driving technology by notifying a driver who is driving with poor fuel efficiency in real time. Is an issue.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

The invention described in claim 1
A vehicle navigation device comprising display means for displaying the current position of the vehicle on an electronic map;
Optimum fuel consumption state calculation means for calculating a gear operation position or an engine speed at which the fuel consumption of the vehicle is best from the current position information of the vehicle and the terrain information of the route to the destination set in the vehicle navigation device. When,
Notification means for notifying the calculated gear operation position or engine speed;
It is an energy saving driving support system characterized by comprising.

  According to the above-described invention, the gear operation position or the engine speed for obtaining the best fuel efficiency of the vehicle is calculated from the current position information of the vehicle and the terrain information of the route to the destination. The terrain information is information such as road gradients and curves, and these pieces of information are stored in the vehicle navigation device.

  When the vehicle navigation device searches for a destination, a route is set. From the terrain information of the route and the current position information of the vehicle, a gear operation position or an engine speed for obtaining the best fuel efficiency of the vehicle is calculated and notified to the driver. As a result, when the gear operation is too early or too late, or when the amount of depression of the accelerator is not appropriate, the driver can know in real time, and the technology for energy saving operation can be improved.

The invention according to claim 2
The notification means is an energy saving driving support system that displays the gear operation position on the route displayed on the display means.

  According to the said invention, an electronic map is displayed on display means, such as a liquid crystal panel, and the route to the destination is displayed on the electronic map. Then, the gear operation position is displayed on the route. The driver can measure the timing of gear operation from the current vehicle position displayed on the display means and the gear operation position. For example, a mark for switching to 2nd speed, 3rd speed, and 4th speed is displayed on the route, and it can be understood that the gear operation should be performed when the vehicle approaches each mark.

The invention described in claim 3
The energy saving driving support system displays an actual engine speed together with the engine speed calculated by the fuel efficiency optimum state calculating means on the display means.

  According to the above invention, since the actual engine speed is displayed together with the engine speed calculated by the fuel efficiency optimum state calculating means, it can be recognized at a glance whether or not the accelerator is depressed too much.

The invention according to claim 4
When the actual engine speed is out of a predetermined range from the engine speed calculated by the fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means, or when the actual gear operation is performed with respect to the gear operation position calculated by the fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means. Is an energy-saving driving support system comprising warning means for warning the driver of the vehicle when it is not performed within a predetermined timing.

  According to the above invention, the driver is warned if the timing of the gear operation or the accelerator depression amount is not appropriate. Therefore, the driver can drive while always being conscious of energy saving driving.

The invention according to claim 5
An energy-saving driving support system comprising driving technique evaluation means for evaluating driving technique and displaying it on the display means based on a shift amount of timing of gear operation.

  According to the above invention, the technology of energy saving operation is evaluated. Therefore, it is encouraging for the driver who has improved the energy-saving driving technology, and it is an opportunity to reflect on the driver who has not yet mastered the driving technology. In addition, in the transportation department of a company that manages a large number of drivers, it becomes possible to objectively evaluate the driving skills of individual drivers.

The invention described in claim 6
It is an energy saving driving support system including voice notification means for voice notification of the timing of gear operation.

  According to the above invention, the timing of gear operation is notified by voice. Therefore, the driver can know the timing for gear operation without looking at the screen of the vehicle navigation device.

The invention described in claim 7
An inter-vehicle distance measuring system that measures the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle;
The notification means is an energy-saving driving support system that does not notify the gear operation position or the engine speed when the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is within a predetermined range.

  In the above invention, the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is measured by the inter-vehicle distance measurement system, and the gear operation position or the engine speed is not notified when the preceding vehicle exists within a predetermined distance. That is, an instruction for energy-saving operation is issued only when the host vehicle is separated from the preceding vehicle by a predetermined distance or more, or when there is no preceding vehicle. As a result, when there is a front vehicle, safe driving can be performed so as not to make a rear-end collision, and when there is no front vehicle, energy-saving driving can be performed.

The invention described in claim 8
The fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means detects the weight of the load loaded on the vehicle from the torque and acceleration of the vehicle, predicts the acceleration of the vehicle from the detected weight and the amount of depression of the accelerator, The driving support system calculates the gear operation position based on the acceleration.

  The timing of gear operation changes depending on the weight of the load on the vehicle. For example, when the load is light, it is easy to accelerate, so it is necessary to operate the gear at an early timing. Moreover, since it is difficult to accelerate when the load is heavy, it is necessary to operate the gear at a late timing. According to the above invention, the weight of the load loaded on the vehicle is detected from the torque and acceleration of the vehicle, and the acceleration of the vehicle is predicted from the detected weight and the amount of depression of the accelerator. Then, a gear operation position is calculated based on the predicted acceleration. Accordingly, when the load is light and easy to accelerate, a notification is made to operate the gear early, and when the load is heavy and difficult to accelerate, a notification is made to operate the gear late.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration example of an energy saving driving support system according to the present invention. A vehicle navigation device 2 is mounted on the vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor 3, an engine control computer 4, and a gear position sensor 5 are connected to the vehicle navigation device 2 via an in-vehicle LAN 20 (see FIG. 2). From the engine control computer 4, the engine speed and the fuel injection amount for each engine cycle can be acquired. The vehicle speed sensor 3 can acquire the vehicle speed, and the gear position sensor 5 can acquire the driving gear position.

  FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration diagram of the energy saving operation support system 1. The navigation device 2 includes a position detector 7, a map data input device 13, an operation switch group 14, a LAN interface (IF) 15, a display device (display means) 6, a storage device 16, an audio output device 17, a remote control sensor 18, and transmission / reception. Machine 23 and a control circuit 8 connected thereto.

  The position detector 7 detects the azimuth based on the geomagnetism, calculates the azimuth by detecting the angular velocity, the geomagnetic sensor 9 that acquires the azimuth data representing the detected azimuth, and the azimuth data indicating the calculated azimuth The gyroscope 10 for acquiring the distance, the distance sensor 11 for detecting the travel distance, acquiring the distance data indicating the detected distance, and the GPS radio wave transmitted from the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite are received and received. And a GPS receiver 12 that calculates parameters stored in GPS radio waves and acquires position data. Since these sensors 9, 10, 11, and 12 have errors of different properties, they are used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, some of the sensors described above may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor, a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, or the like may be used.

  The map data input unit 13 is a variety of data including map mesh data, which is a map image for each unit (mesh), so-called map matching data for improving position detection accuracy, road data representing road connections, and the like. Is input from the storage medium 21. As the storage medium 21, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like is generally used based on the amount of data. Other storage media may be used.

  For example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 6 is used as the operation switch group 14. The touch switch is composed of infrared sensors that are finely arranged vertically and horizontally on the screen of the display device 6. For example, when the infrared ray is cut off with a finger or a touch pen, the cut-off position becomes a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y). A pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 14 and the remote control terminal 19.

  The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a known CPU (Central Processing Unit) 81, ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, RAM (Random Access Memory) 83, I / O (Input / Output) 84, And a bus line 85 for connecting them. The CPU 81 performs control according to programs and data stored in the ROM 82. The RAM 83 includes a work memory 83a, and various programs are executed on the work memory 83a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ROM 82 has a program storage area 82h and a data storage area 82i. The program storage area 82h stores a navigation program 82a, a fuel efficiency optimum state calculation program 82b, a notification program 82c, a warning program 82d, a driving skill evaluation program 82e, and a voice notification program 82f. The data storage area 82i stores data 82g necessary for the operation of the navigation program 82a. The optimum fuel consumption state calculation program 82b is a program for calculating the gear operation position or the engine speed at which the fuel consumption of the vehicle is best from the current vehicle position obtained from the position detector 7 and the terrain information of the route to the destination. It is. The notification program 82c is a program for causing the display device 6 to display the calculated gear operation position or the engine rotational speed or to output the sound output device 17 to the sound output device 17. The warning program 82d is a program for warning the driver when a gear operation is not performed within a predetermined timing or when the engine speed is out of a predetermined range. The driving skill evaluation program 82e is a program that evaluates the driving skill based on the shift amount of the gear operation timing and notifies the driver. The voice notification program 82f is a program for notifying the timing of gear operation by voice. When the CPU 81 executes the optimum fuel consumption state calculation program 82b, the notification program 82c, the warning program 82d, the driving skill evaluation program 82e, and the voice notification program 82f, the optimum fuel consumption state calculation means, notification means, warning means, driving of the present invention is performed. Technical evaluation means and voice notification means are realized. The program may be stored in the storage medium 21 or the storage device 16.

  Returning to FIG. The storage device 16 is an HDD, for example, in which a map database is stored. The storage device 16 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle is turned off (that is, the vehicle navigation device 2 is turned off).

  The map database is information including terrain information. The terrain information is information on each road, and is composed of road gradient, curve, position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. When calculating the gear operation position or the engine speed at which the fuel efficiency of the vehicle is best by the above-described fuel efficiency optimum state calculation program 82b, the terrain information is used.

  The display device 6 is a device that outputs an image in response to an image output request from the control circuit 8, and is configured by a color liquid crystal display or the like. On the screen of the display device 6, the vehicle current position mark input from the position detector 7, the map image data input from the map data input device 13, a guidance route (route) to be displayed on the map image data, etc. The additional data is displayed in a superimposed manner, and menu icons for setting route guidance, guidance during route guidance, and screen switching operations are displayed. In addition, a gear operation position for improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicle and an engine speed are displayed.

  The audio output device 17 is composed of an amplifier and a speaker, and outputs audio guidance from the vehicle navigation device 2 and outputs a gear operation timing by audio.

  The LAN interface 15 connects the vehicle navigation device 2 and the in-vehicle LAN 20, and the in-vehicle LAN 20 is connected to the vehicle speed sensor 3, the engine control computer 4, the gear position sensor 5, and the inter-vehicle distance measurement system 24. Vehicle speed information is transmitted from the vehicle speed sensor 3, and an engine speed and a fuel injection amount for each engine cycle are transmitted from the engine control computer 4. Further, the gear position during operation is transmitted from the gear position sensor 5.

  The inter-vehicle distance measurement system 24 measures the inter-vehicle distance by using, for example, a captured image of the vehicle ahead, or using radar or infrared rays.

  The transceiver 23 is for receiving road traffic information from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 22 and for transmitting a driving technology evaluation to be described later to a company to which the vehicle belongs. Device.

  With the configuration as described above, in the vehicle navigation device 2, when the navigation program 82 a is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the user operates the operation switch group 14 or the remote control terminal 19 to display the display device 6. A route guidance process for displaying the destination route on the display device 6 can be selected from the menu displayed above. When the route guidance process is selected, the user inputs the destination based on the map on the display device 6, whereby the current position of the vehicle is obtained based on the data from the position detector 7. The optimal route (route) to is required. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display device 6 so that an appropriate route is guided to the user. In addition, the display device 6 and the audio output device 17 send a message according to the guidance during operation and the operating state. Further, the engine speed and the gear operation position for improving the fuel efficiency are displayed on the display device 6, and the gear operation timing is notified by voice by the audio output device 17.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of the display device 6. As described above, when the user inputs a destination, a route to the destination is obtained, and the road map, the route, and the current position 26 are displayed on the display device 6 in an overlapping manner. When the vehicle stops at a certain point, the gear operation position GP having the best fuel efficiency when starting from that point is displayed on the route. In the present embodiment, positions where gear changes are made to the second speed, the third speed, and the fourth speed are shown on the route. Also, the ideal engine speed during the next gear operation position GP is displayed. The engine speed is displayed together with a target value 25 that provides the best fuel efficiency and a current value 27. Therefore, the user can recognize at a glance whether or not the accelerator is currently depressed too much. The gear operation position GP and the target value 25 of the engine speed are obtained by acquiring terrain information such as a route gradient, a curve, and a speed limit from the map database of the storage device 16, and acquiring the current position of the vehicle from the position detector 7. This is calculated by the fuel efficiency optimum state calculation program 82b.

  While the vehicle is traveling, the timing of gear operation is instructed by voice. For example, a warning sound is sounded slightly before the gear operation position GP, and a change timing sound having a different pitch from the warning sound is sounded when the vehicle reaches the gear operation position GP. These warning sound and change timing sound have a constant rhythm. For example, the warning sound sounds twice and the change timing sound sounds once. When the voice notification is performed in this manner, the user can easily take the timing for performing the gear operation, and it is not necessary to look at the display device 6, which is safe.

  When the gear operation is too early or too late, a warning display 28 is displayed as shown in FIG. A driver who is not yet proficient in energy-saving driving can learn the timing of gear operation by this display. Although not shown, a warning is also given if the engine speed is too high or too low. The warning can be notified by voice as well as being displayed on the display device 6. If the voice notification is used, the driver can recognize that the timing of the gear operation and the engine speed are not appropriate without gazing at the display device 6.

  When the operation ends, as shown in FIG. 6, the energy saving operation technology evaluation result 29 of the day is displayed. This energy-saving driving technology evaluation result 29 is created by the above-described driving technology evaluation program 82e based on the difference between the target gear operation timing and the actual gear operation timing or the engine speed. The energy saving driving technology evaluation result 29 displays information such as the fuel efficiency of the day, the target fuel efficiency, the evaluation score, and comments. The fuel consumption is calculated by acquiring the travel distance of the day from the distance sensor 11 and acquiring the amount of gasoline used on the day from the fuel sensor provided in the fuel tank. Also, an evaluation score is given from the target fuel consumption and the actual fuel consumption. Thus, the display of the energy saving driving technology evaluation result 29 is encouraging for the driver who has improved the energy saving driving technology and is a reflection material for the unskilled driver.

  In addition, you may transmit the energy-saving driving | operation technique evaluation result 29 with respect to the company to which a vehicle belongs using the transmitter / receiver 23 mentioned above. This allows the company to objectively evaluate the driver's energy-saving driving skills.

  Next, the operation of the energy saving operation support system 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a forward vehicle exists within a predetermined distance. This is determined by acquiring the distance to the preceding vehicle using the inter-vehicle distance measurement system 24 described above. Only when there is no preceding vehicle within the predetermined distance, the processing from S2 onward is performed. In other words, the process from S2 onward is performed only when there is no vehicle ahead or when the vehicle is sufficiently far away from the vehicle ahead. As a result, the driver can try safe driving so as not to make a rear-end collision when a vehicle ahead is present, and can save energy when there is no vehicle ahead.

  In S2, vehicle current position information and terrain information of a route to the destination are acquired. Vehicle current position information can be obtained from the position detector 7 described above, and terrain information can be obtained from a map database in the storage device 16.

  In S3, the gear operation position and the engine speed at which the fuel efficiency becomes the best are calculated and displayed on the display device 6. This process is performed by the fuel efficiency optimal state calculation program 82b and the notification program 82c. For example, the gear operation position and the engine speed are displayed as shown in FIG. In S4, the timing of gear operation is notified by voice.

  In S5, it is determined whether the timing of the gear operation or the engine speed is within a predetermined range. If these are outside the predetermined range, it is determined No and the process proceeds to S6. Here, a warning display 28 (FIG. 5) is displayed or a warning is given by voice. In S7, since the gear operation position and the engine speed have deviated from the target values, the next gear operation position and the engine speed are again calculated and displayed from that time.

  On the other hand, when it is determined Yes in S5, the process moves to S8, and it is determined whether or not the operation is finished. If the operation is continued, the process returns to S1, and if the operation is ended, the process proceeds to S9. In S9, the energy saving operation technique evaluation result 29 as described in FIG. 6 is displayed.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. When the load is light, the vehicle is likely to accelerate, so it is necessary to operate the gear quickly. On the other hand, if the load is heavy, it is difficult to accelerate the vehicle, so it is necessary to operate the gear slowly. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the load is light and the accelerator is stepped on strongly, the vehicle speed is likely to increase, so that the gear operation is notified to be performed quickly. As shown in FIG. 9, when the load is heavy and the accelerator is depressed weakly, the vehicle speed is difficult to increase, so that the gear operation is notified to be performed slowly.

  In order to detect the weight of the package, the following can be performed. When the vehicle stops on a flat ground and starts from that point, the torque is calculated from the engine speed and the fuel injection amount per engine cycle. Then, the weight of the vehicle is calculated from the torque and the acceleration of the vehicle. The engine speed and the fuel injection amount can be acquired from the engine control computer 4, and the acceleration can be acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 3. If the weight of the vehicle can be calculated, the acceleration of the vehicle can be predicted from the amount of depression of the accelerator when the vehicle stops again and starts. And a gear operation position and an engine speed can be calculated according to the acceleration.

  Further, since it is difficult to increase the vehicle speed when traveling uphill, it is notified that the gear operation is performed slowly, and when traveling downhill, the vehicle speed is likely to increase, so that the gear operation is performed faster.

  On the other hand, when it is found from the road traffic information transmitted from the VICS center 22 (FIG. 2) that the road is congested, it may be notified that the gear operation is performed slowly.

  In addition, after the driver | operator's energy-saving driving | operation skill improves by the energy-saving driving | operation assistance system 1 demonstrated above, the warning display 28 can be turned off by the setting screen, and the display of the gear operation position GP can be turned off.

The block diagram of the energy saving driving assistance system which concerns on this invention. The detailed block diagram of an energy-saving driving assistance system. Information stored in ROM. The example of a display of a display apparatus. An example of warning display when gear operation is too early. Example of energy-saving driving technology evaluation results. The flowchart of an energy saving driving assistance system. An example in which the gear operation is notified to be performed quickly. An example in which the gear operation is performed slowly.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Energy-saving driving support system 2 Vehicle navigation device 6 Display device (display means)
25 Target value of engine speed 27 Current value of engine speed 26 Current vehicle position 28 Warning display 29 Energy-saving driving technology evaluation result 82a Navigation program 82b Fuel consumption optimal state calculation program 82c Notification program 82d Warning program 82e Driving technology evaluation program 82f Voice notification Program GP Gear operation position

Claims (8)

A vehicle navigation device comprising display means for displaying the current position of the vehicle on an electronic map;
Optimum fuel consumption state calculation means for calculating a gear operation position or an engine speed at which the fuel consumption of the vehicle is best from the current position information of the vehicle and the terrain information of the route to the destination set in the vehicle navigation device. When,
Notification means for notifying the calculated gear operation position or engine speed;
An energy-saving driving support system characterized by comprising:   The energy saving operation support system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit displays the gear operation position on the route displayed on the display unit.   The energy saving driving support system according to claim 2, wherein an actual engine speed is displayed on the display unit together with the engine speed calculated by the fuel efficiency optimum state calculating unit.   When the actual engine speed is out of a predetermined range from the engine speed calculated by the fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means, or when the actual gear operation is performed with respect to the gear operation position calculated by the fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means. The energy-saving driving support system according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising warning means for warning the driver of the vehicle when the operation is not performed within a predetermined timing.   The energy-saving driving support system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising driving technique evaluation means for evaluating driving technique and displaying the driving technique on the display means according to a shift amount of a timing of gear operation.   The energy-saving driving support system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising voice notification means for voice notification of a timing of gear operation. An inter-vehicle distance measuring system that measures the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle;
The energy saving driving support system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the notifying unit does not notify the gear operation position or the engine speed when the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is within a predetermined range.   The fuel efficiency optimal state calculating means detects the weight of the load loaded on the vehicle from the torque and acceleration of the vehicle, predicts the acceleration of the vehicle from the detected weight and the amount of depression of the accelerator, The energy saving driving support system according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the gear operation position is calculated based on the acceleration.

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