JP4661752B2 - Fuel consumption improvement driving advice device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device that provides advice for improving fuel efficiency in a plurality of notification modes regarding a driving operation of a driver.

  In recent years, as part of measures to prevent global warming, research has been conducted on devices that advise drivers to perform driving operations that improve fuel efficiency.

As an example, when the economy shift mode is selected, it is determined whether or not the driving operation by the driver is suitable for improving fuel consumption, and the driving state display device that switches on / off of the eco lamp according to this is determined. Has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this device, a determination map for the intake air amount and the engine speed is set, and it is determined that a driving operation suitable for improving fuel efficiency is performed when the engine is operated in an eco region where there is no high load or high rotation. The eco lamp is turned on.
JP 2003-220851 A

  However, in the above-described conventional device, it is described that the eco lamp is turned on or off as a means for notifying (advising) whether or not the driving operation by the driver is suitable for improving fuel consumption. It is unclear whether or not the lamp sufficiently alerts the driver. In general, the type of notification that is used to give the driver's attention most effectively when the advice is given, and thus the driving that is suitable for improving fuel efficiency, varies depending on the driver. Because it is considered that there is.

  The present invention is to solve such a problem, and to provide a fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device capable of effectively giving advice for improving fuel efficiency regarding the driving operation of the driver. Main purpose.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device that provides advice for improving fuel efficiency in a plurality of notification modes regarding a driver's driving operation, and is included in the plurality of notification modes An advice compliance degree measuring unit that measures the degree of advice compliance of the driver corresponding to each notification mode, and a notification mode determination unit that determines a notification mode used for advice from a plurality of notification modes. Based on the driver's advice compliance level corresponding to each notification mode measured by the advice compliance level measuring means, the notification mode is determined so that the notification mode having a higher level of advice compliance is used more frequently. It is.

  According to this aspect of the present invention, since a notification mode having a high degree of advice compliance, that is, a notification mode that is considered to be effective for the driver is employed, the effectiveness of the advice can be improved, and as a result, fuel efficiency Can be further improved. Therefore, advice for improving fuel consumption can be effectively performed.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the advice observance degree measuring means, for example, for each notification mode included in a plurality of notification modes, the ratio of the travel distance traveled by the driver performing a driving operation according to the advice to the reference travel distance Is a means of measuring the degree of compliance with advice.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the advice observance degree measuring means, for example, for each notification mode included in a plurality of notification modes, a standard travel time of a travel time during which the driver performed a driving operation according to the advice It is a means to measure the ratio to the degree of advice compliance.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the advice compliance degree measuring means is based on, for example, a reaction time from when advice is given to when a driving operation is performed according to the advice for each notification aspect included in the plurality of notification aspects. It is a means of measuring the value as the degree of advice compliance. In this case, the advice observance degree measuring means may be a means for measuring a value based on an average of reaction times in a predetermined measurement period as the advice observance degree.

  In one aspect of the present invention, preferably, the vehicle is provided with a travel environment detection unit that detects a travel environment of the vehicle, and the advice compliance degree measurement unit notifies each of the notifications according to the travel environment of the vehicle detected by the travel environment detection unit. It is means for correcting the degree of driver's advice compliance corresponding to the aspect.

  Moreover, in one aspect of the present invention, the notification mode determination means compares, for example, the driver's advice compliance level corresponding to each notification mode at a predetermined determination timing, and corresponds to each notification mode according to the advice compliance level. It is a means for determining the adoption ratio of each notification mode by a point increase / decrease method for increasing / decreasing compliance points. In this case, it is preferable to set a lower limit value at the compliance point corresponding to each notification mode.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, preferably, it is provided with an instruction input unit capable of inputting an instruction to start and stop the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device, and the notification mode determination unit is configured to input a stop instruction input to the instruction input unit. It is means for determining a notification mode based on the number of times of input.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the fuel consumption improvement driving advice apparatus which can perform the advice for improving a fuel consumption effectively regarding a driver | operator's driving operation can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1. In the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1, an accelerator opening sensor 10, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a G sensor 14, an engine control computer 20, and an advice device ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 30 are connected to a multiplex communication line 50. Thus, the information transmitted and received can be referred to. In addition, the advice device ECU 30 is connected with a lamp 40, a speaker 42, and a vibrator 44 as an HMI (Human Machine Interface) for realizing a plurality of notification modes via a communication line.

  The accelerator opening sensor 10 is attached to, for example, an accelerator pedal, extracts the magnetic field gradient corresponding to the accelerator opening (amount of operation) linearly as an output voltage using a Hall element, and outputs the output voltage to the multiplex communication line 50.

  The vehicle speed sensor 12 includes, for example, a wheel speed sensor and a skid control computer attached to each wheel, and the skid control computer converts a wheel speed pulse signal output from the wheel speed sensor into a vehicle speed rectangular wave pulse signal (vehicle speed signal). And output to the multiplex communication line 50.

  For example, the G sensor 14 is attached below the center console portion of the vehicle, measures the distortion of the beam in the sensor generated according to the acceleration of the vehicle, and outputs it to the multiplex communication line 50 by replacing it with an electrical signal. The G sensor 14 can detect accelerations in two directions having different angles with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and can detect accelerations in all horizontal directions by combining the detected values.

  The engine control computer 20 is a computer unit in which, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like are connected to each other via a bus. In addition, a storage medium such as a hard disk or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or an I / O port , Timer, counter, etc. The ROM stores programs executed by the CPU and data. The engine control computer 20 performs control such as fuel injection control, ignition timing control, idle speed control and the like intensively with reference to the above information output to the multiplex communication line 50. Information on the state of the engine is input from the crank angle sensor and the throttle opening sensor, and the engine speed is calculated based on the change in the crank angle and output to the multiplex communication line 50.

  The advice device ECU 30 is, for example, a computer unit having the same hardware configuration as the engine control computer 20. The advice device ECU 30 includes an advice necessity determination unit 32 and an advice compliance degree measurement unit 34 as main functional blocks that function when the CPU stores (loads) a program stored in the ROM and executes the program. And a notification mode determination unit 36. The functions of these functional blocks will be described later.

  The lamp 40 is a light emitting device disposed in, for example, a combination meter, and is configured to be able to switch on / off, or lighting with the first color / lighting with the second color according to an instruction from the ECU 30 for the advice device. ing.

  The speaker 42 is a speaker that can output sound, and for example, a speaker for route guidance provided in the in-vehicle navigation device is shared. The output content of the speaker 42 is determined by the advice device ECU 30 (except for output related to route guidance of the in-vehicle navigation device).

  The vibrator 44 is disposed on the accelerator pedal, and is disposed so that the driver feels vibrations on the foot through the accelerator pedal when the vibrator 44 is operated. The vibrator 44 generates a drive signal by the ECU 30 for advice device. At this time, it is preferable that the intensity and frequency of vibration can be arbitrarily determined.

  Hereinafter, the function of each functional block included in the advice device ECU 30 will be described.

  The advice necessity determination unit 32 refers to the output values of the accelerator opening sensor 10, the vehicle speed sensor 12, and the G sensor 14, and determines whether or not the accelerator operation is performed in a range where the fuel efficiency is good. Although there is no particular limitation on the specific method of the determination, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, using a map that allows a relatively large accelerator opening in the low speed range and the high speed range, the accelerator opening is a threshold value in the map. It may be determined that advice is required when the line is exceeded, that is, it is determined that the accelerator operation is not performed within a range where the fuel efficiency is good. The reason why a relatively large accelerator opening is allowed in the low speed range is that a high torque is required at the time of starting, and a relatively large accelerator opening is permitted in the high speed range. And the increase in air resistance and the like.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, whether or not the operation is in accordance with an operation range (see FIG. 3) in which the engine specified by the relationship between the engine speed and the engine torque can be efficiently operated is taken into consideration. Alternatively, when a sudden change in the accelerator opening is detected, it may be determined that advice is required regardless of the absolute value of the accelerator opening. Furthermore, when traffic jam information is acquired by an in-vehicle navigation device or the like, a determination may be made so as to allow a certain degree of sudden change in accelerator opening or a large accelerator opening. In a scene that requires a large acceleration on an uphill, the threshold line in the map may be changed upward (in a direction that allows the accelerator opening). The gradient can be detected with reference to the output value of the G sensor 14, the throttle opening, and the like.

  Thus, it is possible to define and determine the range of driving operations that improve fuel efficiency by various methods. Hereinafter, a state where the accelerator operation is performed within a range where the fuel consumption is good is referred to as an “advice observance state”. In addition, a state where the accelerator operation is not performed in a range where the fuel consumption is good is referred to as “advice non-compliance state”.

  When the advice necessity determination unit 32 determines that the advice is not in compliance, advice is performed according to the notification mode determined by the notification mode determination unit 36 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “adopted”) among the plurality of notification modes. It is. In the present embodiment, three types of notification modes are provided: lighting by the lamp 40, voice guidance by the speaker 42, and vibration by the vibrator 44. For example, when lighting by the lamp 40 is adopted as the notification mode, the lamp 40 is turned on while the advice is not observed. In addition, when voice guidance by the speaker 42 is adopted as a notification mode, a voice message such as “please decelerate the accelerator operation” is displayed for a predetermined time (for example, several [sec] to several [sec] Is output every ten [sec]). Similarly, when the vibration by the vibrator 44 is adopted as the notification mode, the vibrator 44 vibrates at a predetermined strength with a predetermined strength while the advice is not observed.

  The advice compliance level measuring unit 34 measures the driver's advice compliance level for each of the notification modes at an advice compliance level determination timing described later. The degree of advice compliance in this embodiment is defined as a value obtained by dividing a travel distance traveled by a certain notification mode by a reference travel distance from a travel distance traveled by the driver following the advice. (See FIG. 4). The reference travel distance is, for example, the travel distance traveled with the notification mode selected from the travel distance from the reference time to the measurement time. Further, the reference time point refers to a time point when the notification mode determination unit 36 performs the determination process of the adoption rate of the notification mode based on the previous advice compliance degree as described later. Note that the degree of advice compliance may be measured using travel time instead of travel distance.

  The notification mode determination unit 36 compares the driver's advice compliance level corresponding to each notification mode at the advice compliance level determination timing, and increases or decreases the compliance points corresponding to each notification mode according to the advice compliance level. The adoption ratio of each notification mode is determined. Then, a notification mode is appropriately selected so as to realize the determined employment ratio, and instruction signals for the lamp 40, the speaker 42, and the vibrator 44 are generated. Here, the predetermined advice compliance degree determination timing is determined when the vehicle starts (when the IG is turned on, when the ACC is turned on, when the engine is started, etc.) or when the vehicle is started every several times, when a predetermined distance is traveled. It is determined in advance that, for example, when the vehicle travels the travel time.

  Hereinafter, the point increase / decrease method will be described. In the initial state (for example, when the vehicle is delivered, when the device is installed, when it is cleared to zero during repair or maintenance, etc.), the initial value of the compliance point (for example, 10 points uniformly) is set for each notification mode. Has been granted. The notification mode determination unit 36 acquires an advice compliance level corresponding to each notification mode from the advice compliance level measurement unit 34 at each predetermined advice compliance level determination timing.

  Then, the compliance point of the notification mode having the highest advice compliance level is increased by 1 point, and the compliance point of the notification mode having the highest advice compliance level is decreased by 1 point. As a result, the notification mode is appropriately selected so that the distribution is made according to the compliance points of each notification mode that has been corrected to increase or decrease. Specifically, for example, after selecting the order of the notification mode at random, until the time when the compliance point of the selected notification mode is multiplied by a predetermined time elapses, the advice according to the notification mode is performed. Execute.

  Referring to the example of FIG. 4, the degree of advice compliance is highest in the travel section where advice is given by vibration, followed by lamp lighting and sound. Therefore, at the predetermined advice compliance degree determination timing, the compliance point for vibration is increased by 1 point, and the compliance point for sound is decreased by 1 point. As a result, in the advice after the next time, more advice by vibration is adopted than before the current judgment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a change in the adoption ratio of each notification mode when it is assumed that such a trend has continued several times.

  By such control, many notification modes considered to be effective for the driver are employed. For example, a driver who frequently plays music by car audio or a driver who frequently uses route guidance by an in-vehicle navigation system may not be able to hear even if voice advice is given, so voice advice is effective. It is assumed that it is not appropriate. Similarly, in the case of a driver who does not have much habit of viewing the combination meter, it is assumed that the advice by lighting the lamp is not effective, and in the case of a driver who travels a lot on uneven roads, It is assumed that the advice due to vibration becomes ineffective due to vibration. Therefore, it is considered that there is an effective notification mode unique to the driver. Therefore, the effectiveness of the advice is improved and the fuel consumption is improved by grasping the effective notification mode by the above processing and using it frequently. Can be made.

  In addition, since it is possible that the effective notification mode unique to the driver changes for some reason, the compliance point of each notification mode is not reduced to zero. About 5 points may be set as the lower limit value so that it does not decrease below the lower limit value. In this way, since the advice compliance rate is continuously measured even for a notification mode that has been determined to be ineffective once, the notification mode is effective due to changes in the driver's perception tendency, etc. In that case, the hiring ratio will gradually increase.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the advice device ECU 30 described above. This flow is repeatedly executed with a predetermined cycle, for example.

  First, it is determined whether or not the advice compliance degree determination timing is reached, and the standby state is set until the advice compliance degree determination timing is reached (S100). Even in the standby state, determination by the advice necessity determination unit 32 and advice based on the determination are performed.

  When the advice compliance level determination timing is reached, the advice compliance level measuring unit 34 measures the advice compliance level as described above (S110). Note that, for this processing, a history as to whether the advice is in compliance or not in compliance is stored in a predetermined area in the memory of the advice device ECU 30 in association with the travel distance. To do.

  Then, the notification mode determination unit 36 performs the point increase / decrease processing as described above, and reflects the result in the adoption ratio (S120, 130). The current advice compliance degree determination timing is set as the next reference time (S140). 1 routine is completed. The adoption ratio of each notification mode is also stored in a predetermined area in the memory of the advice device ECU 30, and the notification mode is appropriately selected by the notification mode determination unit 36 based on this.

  According to the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1 of the present embodiment described above, since many notification modes that are considered to be effective for the driver are adopted, the effectiveness of the advice can be improved, and the fuel efficiency can be further improved. Can be improved. That is, it is possible to effectively give advice for improving fuel consumption.

  In addition, even in the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1 mounted on the same vehicle, it is naturally assumed that the drivers are not necessarily the same, so the driver is recognized and the control is switched for each driver (that is, It is preferable to measure the degree of adherence to advice and determine the adoption ratio of each notification mode for each driver). As a means for this, for example, the driver may be recognized by a driver-recognizable key (smart key or the like) unique to the driver, the adjustment position of the seat, steering wheel, mirror, etc., the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. Driver recognition may be performed based on operational trends, time / order / interval of predetermined operations at the start of the vehicle, weight detection by a seating sensor, voice call (and response), steering wheel holding position, etc. .

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 2 of this embodiment is common to the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 1 of the first embodiment in the hardware configuration, description of each component will be omitted (see FIG. 1).

  The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 2 of the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the measurement method of the advice compliance degree measuring unit 34. Therefore, the difference will be mainly described.

  The advice compliance degree measuring unit 34 of the present embodiment measures the degree of advice compliance based on the reaction time for the advice. Specifically, the time (= reaction time) from when the advice is determined to be in the advice non-compliance state by the advice necessity determination unit 32 until the advice is started is measured (= reaction time), and each notification mode is measured. The average reaction time (= average reaction time) is calculated. A value that decreases as the average reaction time increases, for example, the reciprocal, is measured as the degree of advice compliance. In the notification mode determination unit 36, it is determined that the notification mode with a high degree of advice compliance, that is, the average reaction time is short, is the effective notification mode, and the point increase / decrease method is effective as in the first embodiment. The notification mode is determined so that many notification modes are adopted.

  Even with such processing contents, many notification modes that are considered to be effective for the driver are employed, so that the effectiveness of the advice can be improved, and the fuel efficiency can be further improved. That is, it is possible to effectively give advice for improving fuel consumption.

  The point that it is preferable to recognize the driver and switch the control for each driver is the same as in the first embodiment.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above by using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, it is configured so that the user (driver) can input instructions for operation and stop of the entire device, and the advice compliance degree measurement unit 34 sets the travel distance (or travel time) when the device is stopped to the extent of advice compliance. You may make it exclude from measurement of. Further, in this case, for each notification mode, the number of times that the device stop instruction is input by the user (driver) is counted, and the number of times the device stop instruction is input at the advice compliance degree determination timing or other timing. Processing may be performed so as to reduce the adoption ratio of many notification modes. This is based on the fact that the notification mode in which the device stop instruction is frequently input is bothersome for the user (driver) and is therefore considered to decrease the degree of compliance with the advice. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the user (driver) from feeling annoyed by the operation of the apparatus and to improve the effectiveness of the advice.

  It is also possible to change the adoption ratio of the notification mode by a method other than the point increase / decrease method exemplified in the embodiment. For example, the adoption ratio of the notification mode is changed at a predetermined ratio (for example, the notification mode having a high degree of advice compliance is increased by 10%, for example, and the notification mode having a low level of compliance with advice is changed so that the total of the adoption rates is 1). Also good.

  Even when the adoption ratio of the notification mode is changed using the point increase / decrease method, it is not limited to the increase / decrease of each point illustrated in the embodiment, but may be determined flexibly according to the number of notification modes prepared and the like. .

  Further, the plurality of notification modes are not limited to the lamp lighting exemplified in the embodiment, the sound output by the speaker, and the vibration of the accelerator pedal. For example, switching between green lighting (advising advice) and red lighting (not advising advice), vibration by the vibrator installed in the seat, display by HUD (Head Up Display), text display by character display device, accelerator pedal reaction force The change etc. can be considered. Furthermore, even when the same notification device is used, the notification mode may be changed by switching the wording or the output (light quantity, volume, strength of vibration).

  Further, not only advice in a non-advice state, but also advice that recommends that the driving operation with good fuel efficiency be continued as it is in an advisable state. For example, when giving advice by voice output, it is conceivable to switch between voice output “Eco accelerator operation” and voice output “Accel accelerator is too depressed”.

  Moreover, although the advice necessity determination part 32 illustrated as what determines the necessity of advice for the accelerator opening as a determination object, it is not restricted to this, For example, brake pedal stroke (or master cylinder pressure), steering wheel operation, etc. The necessity of advice may be determined in consideration of the amount, shift operation, and the like.

  The present invention can be used in the automobile manufacturing industry, the automobile parts manufacturing industry, and the like.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the fuel consumption improvement driving advice apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the map used for advice necessity determination. It is a figure which shows the driving | operation area | region which can drive | operate an engine efficiently. It is a figure which shows a mode that the degree of advice compliance is measured. It is a figure which shows the change of the employment | adoption ratio of each notification aspect. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of ECU30 for advice apparatuses.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device 10 Accelerator opening sensor 12 Vehicle speed sensor 14 G sensor 20 Engine control computer 30 ECU for advice device
32 Advice Necessity Determining Unit 34 Advice Compliance Level Measuring Unit 36 Notification Mode Determining Unit 40 Lamp 42 Speaker 44 Vibrator 50 Multiplex Communication Line

Claims (9)

A fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device that provides advice for improving fuel efficiency in a plurality of notification modes regarding a driver's driving operation,
Advice compliance degree measuring means for measuring a driver's advice compliance degree corresponding to each notification aspect included in the plurality of notification aspects;
Notification mode determining means for determining a notification mode used for advice from the plurality of notification modes,
The notification mode determining means determines a notification mode so that a notification mode having a higher degree of advice compliance is used based on a driver's level of advice compliance corresponding to each notification mode measured by the advice compliance level measuring unit. It is characterized by
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to claim 1,
The advice observance degree measuring means, for each notification mode included in the plurality of notification modes, the ratio of the mileage traveled by the driving operation according to the advice to the reference mileage as the advice observance level A means of measuring,
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to claim 1,
The advice observance degree measuring means, for each notification mode included in the plurality of notification modes, the ratio of the travel time traveled by the driving operation according to the advice to the reference travel time as the advice observance level A means of measuring,
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to claim 1,
The advice observance degree measuring means measures, as the advice observance degree, a value based on a reaction time from when advice is given to when a driving operation according to the advice is performed for each notification form included in the plurality of notification forms. Means,
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to claim 4,
The advice compliance degree measuring means is a means for measuring a value based on an average of the reaction times in a predetermined measurement period as the advice compliance degree.
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. A fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A driving environment detection means for detecting the driving environment of the vehicle;
The advice compliance degree measuring means is means for correcting a driver's advice compliance degree corresponding to each notification mode according to the traveling environment of the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means.
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. A fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The notification mode determination means compares the driver's advice compliance level corresponding to each notification mode at a predetermined determination timing, and according to a point increase / decrease method that increases / decreases the compliance point corresponding to each notification mode according to the advice compliance level, A means for determining the adoption ratio of each notification mode.
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to claim 7,
The notification mode determination means is a means for providing a lower limit value to the compliance point corresponding to each notification mode,
Fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device. A fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Comprising an instruction input means capable of inputting an instruction to start and stop the fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device;
The fuel efficiency improvement driving advice device, wherein the notification mode determination unit is a unit that determines a notification mode based on the number of stop instructions input to the command input unit.

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