METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR ESTIMATING A TRAVEL TIME FOR A VEHICLE

• US 20150292892A1
• Filed: 10/11/2012
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volvo Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Volvo Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Claes, Pihl
• Granted Patent: US 9,574,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968

Abstract

A method and software are provided for estimating a travel time for a vehicle including the steps of determining a route for which the travel time is to be estimated, dividing the route into route sections, wherein each route section has substantially constant road characteristics, selecting a vehicle configuration for the vehicle, retrieving, from a database, an estimated travel time for each route section based on each route section for the selected vehicle configuration, aggregating the estimated travel times for each route section from the database into a total travel time for the determined route. Furthermore a method for creating, and using, the database is provided.

Claims

1. A method for estimating a travel time for a vehicle (10) comprising the steps of:

determining a route for which the travel time is to be estimated;

dividing said route into route sections (32, 34, 36), wherein each route section has substantially constant road characteristics;

selecting a vehicle configuration for said vehicle (10);

retrieving, from a database, an estimated travel time for each route section based on each route section for said selected vehicle configuration; and

aggregating the estimated travel times for each route section from the database into a total travel time for said determined route.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said database comprises traveling data (A₁, A₂) corresponding to said vehicle (10) accelerating up to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said database comprises traveling data (B₁, B₂) corresponding to said vehicle (10) traveling in a predetermined cruising speed (V_C).

4. Method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said database comprises traveling data (D₁, D₂) corresponding to said vehicle (10) decelerating to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C).

5. Method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein said database comprises traveling data (C₁, C₂) corresponding to braking said vehicle (10) from a predetermined max speed (V_M) to substantially standing still.

6. Method according to any of claims 2-5, wherein said traveling data comprises distance, speed and time data.

7. Method according to any of claims 2-5, wherein said traveling data comprises acceleration and any one of speed, distance or time data.

8. Method according to any of claims 6 or 7, wherein said traveling data further comprises energy consumption or fuel consumption.

9. Method according to any of claims 2-8, wherein said estimated travel time for each route section is dependent on the traveling data of a previous route section, unless the route section is the first route section of the route.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein said estimated travel time for a route section is estimated by the partial steps:

determining the vehicle'"'"'s final speed at the end of the directly preceding route section;

assigning said final speed from the preceding route as an initial speed for the current route section.

11. Method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein said route sections are divided into vehicle speed curves (A₁, B₁, C₁, D₁), wherein each vehicle speed curve represent one of;

said vehicle (10) accelerating up to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C);

said vehicle (10) traveling in a predetermined cruising speed (V_C);

said vehicle (10) decelerating to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C);

or

braking said vehicle (10) to substantially standing still.

12. Method according to any of claims 1-11, wherein said estimated travel time for each route section is estimated by estimating each travel time for at least a portion of any relevant speed curve (A₁, B₁, C₁, D₁) and subsequently aggregating the travel time for said portions of any relevant speed curves into a travel time for each route section (32, 34, 36).

13. Method according to any of claims 1-12, wherein said selected vehicle configuration comprises at least one of motor power, weight, load, fuel consumption, energy consumption, tires and gear transmission.

14. Method according to any of claims 1-13, wherein said road characteristics comprise at least one of distance, inclination, rolling resistance, speed limits and bend of a curve.

15. Method according to any of claim 1-14, wherein the method further comprises the step of determining the driver characteristics of the driver of said vehicle (10), and wherein the database further comprises traveling data corresponding to driver characteristics.

17. Use of the database formed according to claim 16 for estimating a travel time for a vehicle (10) according to any of claims 1-15.

16. A method for creating a database for use of estimating a travel time for vehicles (10, 14), comprising:

defining a plurality of vehicles (10, 14), each vehicle with a plurality of configurations, for which the travel time is to be estimated;

defining a plurality of route sections (32, 34, 36), wherein each route section has substantially constant road characteristics; and

generating a database comprising traveling data corresponding said defined vehicles traveling along said route sections, wherein said traveling data comprise vehicle speed curves representing;

said vehicles accelerating to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C);

said vehicle traveling in a predetermined cruising speed (V_C);

said vehicle decelerating to a predetermined cruising speed (V_C); and

/or

braking said vehicle to substantially standing still.

18. Computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for estimating a travel time for a vehicle (10), wherein the computer program product comprises:

code for determining a route for which the travel time is to be estimated;

code for dividing said route into route sections (32, 34, 36), wherein each route section has substantially constant road characteristics;

code for selecting a vehicle configuration for said vehicle (10);

code for retrieving, from a database, an estimated travel time for each route section based on each route section for said selected vehicle configuration; and

code for aggregating the estimated travel times for each route section from the database into a total travel time for said determined route.