PREVENTIVE FUEL SAVING-AIMED MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER ASSISTANCE

• US 20160123755A1
• Filed: 05/15/2014
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per Azioni
• Original Assignee: Cefla Societa' Cooperativa
• Inventors: Gambera, Mario, Capano, Paolo
• Granted Patent: US 9,677,896 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/18 Distance travelled
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

A fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system configured to receive and process motor vehicle-related data and motor vehicle position-related data to identify recurrent routes of a motor vehicle and to provide a motor vehicle driver, via an automotive human-machine interface, with motor vehicle driving assistance recommendations for fuel saving along the routes. The motor vehicle driver assistance system is configured to identify recurrent routes of the motor vehicle by determining a succession of geographic points, referred to as Waypoints, along a route of the motor vehicle, at which values of a series of physical quantities are determined and recorded, which define the attributes of the Waypoints. The Waypoint attributes are then updated when the vehicle travels through them. For each current motor vehicle position, a search is made for the Waypoint spatially closest to the current motor vehicle position and having certain characteristics, such that if such a Waypoint is not found, then a new Waypoint is defined, or else, if such a Waypoint is found, then variable Waypoint attributes are updated. The so-defined Waypoints are then concatenated so as to form an ordered list of Waypoints belonging to the same recurrent route. The characteristic points of the routes, such as bends, roundabouts and traffic lights, are identified and optimal speed profiles and primary controls for the motor vehicle at the characteristic points are computed. Based on the computed optimal speed profiles and primary controls and by means of the automotive human-machine interface, the motor vehicle driver is then provided with motor vehicle driving recommendations for fuel saving along the routes.

Claims

1. A fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system configured to receive and process motor vehicle-related data and motor vehicle position-related data to identify recurrent motor vehicle routes and to provide a motor vehicle driver, along the routes and via an automotive human-machine interface, with motor vehicle driving recommendations which would result in fuel savings;

characterized in that the motor vehicle driver assistance system is configured to identify recurrent routes of the motor vehicle by implementing the following functions;

Waypoint Management comprising;

Waypoint Tracking,

Waypoint Matching, and

Waypoint Learning;

Route Management comprising;

Route Identification, and

Route Optimization;

Driver Coaching;

wherein the Waypoint Tracking function is designed to define, along a motor vehicle route and based on motor vehicle position-related data, a succession of geographic points, referred to as Waypoints, used as motor vehicle navigation references, at which values of a series of physical quantities are determined and recorded, which define the attributes of the Waypoints, and based on which the Route Management function is then executed;

wherein the Waypoint attributes comprise;

invariant Waypoint attributes comprising Waypoint location data, and

variable Waypoint attributes comprising Waypoint crossing direction and speed, and motor vehicle status data comprising motor vehicle speed data, motor vehicle fuel consumption data and on-vehicle system usage data;

wherein the Waypoint Learning function is designed to update the variable Waypoint attributes when the motor vehicle travels through the Waypoints;

wherein the Waypoint Matching function is designed to search, in a current motor vehicle position, for the Waypoint spatially closest to the current motor vehicle position and having predetermined characteristics in terms of Waypoint crossing direction and speed and of distance from the current motor vehicle position, such that if such a Waypoint is not found, the Waypoint Tracking function is then executed, by means of which a new Waypoint is defined, or else, if such a Waypoint is found, the Waypoint Learning function is then executed, by means of which the variable Waypoint attributes are updated;

wherein the Route Identification function is designed to concatenate the Waypoints so as to form an ordered list of Waypoints belonging to a same recurrent route;

wherein the Route Optimization function is designed to identify characteristic route Waypoints, such as bends, roundabouts and traffic lights, that satisfy a predetermined condition in term of Waypoint crossing speed, compute speed profiles and primary controls for the motor vehicle at the characteristic route points and expected journey times and fuel consumption along the routes based on the Waypoint attributes;

and wherein the Driver Coaching function is designed to provide the motor vehicle driver, based on the speed profiles and the primary controls computed for the characteristic points of the routes and by means of the automotive human-machine interface, with fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driving recommendations along the routes.

2. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function is designed to determine new Waypoints along a motor vehicle route in accordance with a dissemination criterion based on the following three quantities, measured or computed from the last Waypoint determined:

elapsed time

travelled distance, and

route curvature.

3. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 2, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function is designed to determine a new Waypoint along a motor vehicle route when all three quantities have values greater than corresponding minimum values, and when at least one of the corresponding quantities reaches a corresponding upper value.

4. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function is designed to associate a corresponding area of influence with each Waypoint having a shape and size such that the areas of influence of adjacent Waypoints partially overlap, so that the Waypoint Matching function implemented during the Driver Coaching phase in order to identify the Waypoint spatially closest to the current motor vehicle position always returns a reference Waypoint.

5. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 4, wherein the areas of influence have a circular shape centered on the associated Waypoints, have radii r equal to the maximum matching distance, defined as the maximum distance between a Waypoint and the current motor vehicle position below which that Waypoint is desired to be representative of the current motor vehicle position, and the maximum distance d between two adjacent Waypoint is lower than twice the radius r of the areas of influence.

6. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Matching function is designed to search for the Waypoint spatially closest to the current motor vehicle position:

based on a scoring function, in which the direction of travel of the motor vehicle is included in the scoring criterion,

only when the motor vehicle is in motion,

based on a threshold distance such that, if the search finds no Waypoint with the necessary characteristics within this threshold distance, then a new Waypoint is defined.

7. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein Waypoint attributes comprise:

Identifier

Geographic Attributes;

latitude, longitude, height above sea level, and direction

Use;

status (learning, optimization) and number of passages of the motor vehicle in the Waypoint

Journey Attributes comprising;

motor vehicle speed statistics in the Waypoint differentiated by time slot and Waypoint crossing direction and comprising percentile and time percentage the motor vehicle is stationary in the Waypoint;

vehicle fuel consumption statistics in the Waypoint differentiated by time slot and Waypoint crossing direction and comprising average fuel consumption per unit time and cut-off percentage.

8. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Learning function is designed to terminate when a certain criterion is satisfied, in particular when the number of passages of the motor vehicle through the Waypoints is greater than a certain threshold.

9. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Route Optimization function is executed for a route only after the Learning phase has been completed for a predetermined number of Waypoints belonging to that route.

10. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Route Identification function is designed to perform a concatenation of the Waypoints based on:

sequence in which the Waypoints are defined, i.e. their progressive sequence number,

distance between one Waypoint and the next one, such that beyond a certain value, the route is interrupted and a Waypoint becomes a final Waypoint, and

typical sequence in which the Waypoints are matched during the journeys.

11. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Route Identification function is further designed to compute attributes of each identified recurrent route comprising:

Route Identifier

Route Name

Geographic Attributes;

Waypoints belonging to the route, route start Waypoint, route end Waypoint, total distance, partial distances between adjacent Waypoints, gradients, etc.

Use;

learning, optimization, etc.

Driver Attributes;

average journey time, Waypoint influence area crossing times, namely elapsed time from when Waypoint Matching function determines that a Waypoint is the one closest to the current the motor vehicle position to when it determines that another one has become the closest Waypoint to the current the motor vehicle position, journey average fuel consumption, etc.

Optimized attributes;

typically, the optimal speed profile and, in greater detail;

optimal accelerator pedal position

optimal gear.

12. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Route Management function comprises the following function:

Route Organization, which is designed to identify and cleanse the route collection of route segments that are too short.

13. A motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the Route Optimization function is further designed to identify characteristic route points by searching for minimum Waypoints, namely those Waypoints that satisfy a predetermined condition in term of Waypoint crossing speed.

14. A motor vehicle comprising a motor vehicle driver assistance system according to claim 1.

15. A motor vehicle driver assistance software loadable in an automotive electronic control system and designed to cause, when executed, the system to become configured as claimed in claim 1.