Eco-drive assist apparatus, eco-drive assist information generating apparatus, eco-drive assist information calculation apparatus, eco-drive state display apparatus, eco-drive assist system, and eco-drive assist information calculation method

• US 8,854,210 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuo, Tomohiro, Ishio, Masato, Tomiyama, Kohichi, Watanabe, Masatoshi, Saito, Kan
• Primary Examiner(s): Bee, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Knox, Kaleria
• Application Number:
  US12/746,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20100259374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,125 Days
• Field of Search: 701/99, 701/29, 701/123, 340/438, 340/439, 731/145.3, 123/492
• US Class Current: 340/541
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/174 Economic driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0236 for economical driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 11/10 of the electric type
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 29/02 peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

An eco drive support apparatus which reports the eco degree of the driving operation of a vehicle by displaying a state relative to a judgment threshold which varies corresponding to the drive state of the vehicle. The apparatus has a power train ECU which computes the judgment threshold and an eco drive state amount expressing a ratio to the judgment threshold on the basis of the drive state of the vehicle and a meter ECU which indicates the eco drive state amount on the basis of information transmitted from the power train ECU. The power train ECU transmits the eco drive state amount to the meter ECU.

Claims

1. An eco-drive assist apparatus that shows a degree of eco of a driving operation of a vehicle, the eco-drive assist apparatus comprising;

an eco-drive assist information generating apparatus that calculates a judgment threshold value and a state quantity of eco drive,

the state quantity of eco drive indicating a ratio to the judgment threshold value, and

the judgment threshold value fluctuating based on the driving state of the vehicle; and

a display device that is comprised of a different body with the eco-drive assist information apparatus, and executes a display based on information transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus, the display device displaying a relative state to the judgment threshold value, wherein

the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus is a control apparatus that controls an engine mounted to the vehicle, calculates the state quantity of eco-drive based on a control state signal of the engine acquired during the engine control, transmits the state quantity of eco-drive to the display device, determines whether a vehicle state is at least one of a failure state, an exception state in which information for assisting eco-drive is not necessary to be displayed, and a parked state, and transmits the determined vehicle state to the display device, and

the display device does not execute the display based on information transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus when the vehicle state transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus is at least one of the failure state, the exception state, and the parked state.

2. The eco-drive assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display device fixedly displays a first figure indicating the judgment threshold value regardless of a value of the judgment threshold value, and displays a second figure in a predetermined place relative to the first figure according to a ratio that the state quantity of eco-drive indicates based on the state quantity of eco-drive transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus.

3. The eco-drive assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus transmits information to the display device in a common data format regardless of a display design of the display device.

4. The eco-drive assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus does not transmit the judgment threshold value to the display device.

5. An eco-drive assist apparatus that shows a degree of eco of a driving operation of a hybrid vehicle, the eco-drive assist apparatus comprising;

an eco-drive assist information generating apparatus that calculates a judgment threshold value and a state quantity of eco-drive,

the state quantity of eco-drive indicating a ratio to the judgment threshold value, and

the judgment threshold value fluctuating based on the driving state of the hybrid vehicle; and

a display device that is comprised of a different body with the eco-drive assist information apparatus, and executes a display based on information transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus, the display device displaying a relative state to the judgment threshold value, wherein

the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus is a control apparatus that controls a hybrid system in the hybrid vehicle, calculates the state quantity of eco-drive based on a hybrid state signal acquired during the control of the hybrid system, transmits the state quantity of eco-drive to the display device, determines whether a vehicle state is at least one of a failure state, an exception state in which information for assisting eco-drive is not necessary to be displayed, and a parked state, and transmits the determined vehicle state to the display device, and

the display device does not execute the display based on information transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus when the vehicle state transmitted from the eco-drive assist information generating apparatus is at least one of the failure state, the exception state, and the parked state.

6. An eco-drive state display apparatus that displays an eco-drive state in real time, the eco-drive state display apparatus comprising:

an eco judgment unit that judges whether a current driving state of a vehicle is an eco-drive state or non eco-drive state based on a fluctuating boundary value that is calculated based on a state quantity representing a current driving state of the vehicle and distinguishes whether a current driving state of the vehicle is an eco-drive state or non eco-drive state;

a first display unit that displays an eco-drive state by displaying a figure corresponding to the boundary value and a figure corresponding to a current value representing a current driving state of the vehicle to the boundary value; and

a second display unit that displays whether the current driving state of the vehicle judged by the eco judgment unit is an eco-drive state or non eco-drive state by turning on/off a lamp, wherein

the first display unit fixedly-displays a figure corresponding to a boundary value in a predetermined place in a display area, and changes a display form of a figure corresponding to the current value according to a relative relation of the current value to the boundary value,

the eco judgment unit uses, when judging a driving state of the vehicle to be displayed by the second display unit. different values for the boundary value used to judge a current driving state of the vehicle between when the state quantity transitions from the eco-drive state to the non eco-drive state and when the state quantity transitions from the non eco-drive state to the eco-drive state, and

the first display unit fixedly-displays the figure corresponding to the boundary value at a same position regardless of whether the driving state judged by the eco judgment unit is the eco-drive state or the non eco-drive state.

7. The eco-drive state display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the eco judgment unit uses different values to the threshold value for the judgment between a case that a driving state moves from the eco-drive state to the non eco-drive state and a case that a driving state moves from the non eco-drive state to the eco-drive state when judging the driving state of the vehicle displayed by the second display unit, and

the first display unit fixedly displays the boundary value at the same location both when the driving state judged by the eco judgment unit is the eco-drive state and when the driving state judged by the eco judgment unit is the non eco-drive state.

8. The eco-drive state display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first display unit displays a figure representing a corrected state quantity by keeping the state quantity at the boundary value for a given time after the state quantity below the boundary value exceeds the boundary value, and a figure representing a corrected state value by keeping the state quantity at the boundary value for a given time after the state quantity above the boundary value falls below the boundary value,

the eco judgment unit judges whether the current driving state of the vehicle is an eco-drive state or non eco-drive state based on the corrected state quantity and the boundary value.

9. The eco-drive state display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first display unit continuously displays a first display area that displays a state quantity when the vehicle stops an engine and runs by the driving force of a motor, and a second display area that displays a state quantity when the vehicle runs by the driving force of the engine, or the engine and the motor, and displays a threshold value representing the state quantity when the engine starts at the boundary between the first display area and the second display area.

10. An eco-drive assist apparatus comprising:

a first display control unit that displays one of ON and OFF as one of an eco-drive state and non-eco drive state respectively based on whether a quantity of the eco-drive state representing a degree of eco of a driving state of a vehicle is greater than a first judgment threshold value used to determine whether the vehicle is in an eco-drive state or not; and

;

a second display control unit that displays the quantity of eco-drive state in a graphical manner so that a relative state to the first judgment threshold value displayed can be shown, wherein

the first display control unit makes one of determinations that are changing a display state from the eco-drive state to the non-eco-drive state and changing the display state from the non-eco-drive-state to the eco-drive state, based on a second judgment threshold value which is offset by a predetermined amount from the first judgment threshold value, so as to use a different judgment threshold value between when the display state is changed from the eco-drive to the non-eco-drive state and when the display state is changed from the non-eco-drive state to the eco-drive state,

the second display control unit displays a figure corresponding to the first judgment threshold at the same location when the display state of the first display control unit is the eco-drive state and when the display state of the first display control unit is the non-eco-drive state, and

the eco-drive assist apparatus further comprising;

a display state adjusting unit that changes one of the display state of the first display control unit and a state of eco/non eco controlled by the second display control unit, so that display the state of the first display control unit becomes the same as the state of eco/non eco controlled by the second display control unit when the display state of the first display control unit does not change because the quantity of eco-drive state exceeds the first judgment threshold value but does not exceed the second judgment threshold value continues over a predetermined time.

11. An eco-drive assist apparatus comprising:

a first display control unit that displays one of ON and OFF as one of an eco-drive state and non-eco-drive state respectively based on whether a quantity of the eco-drive state representing a degree of eco of a driving state of a vehicle is greater than a first judgment threshold value used to determine whether the vehicle is in an eco-drive state; and

a second display control unit that displays the state quantity of eco-drive in a graphical manner so that a relative state to the first judgment threshold value displayed can be shown, wherein

the first display control unit makes one of determinations that are changing a display state from the eco-drive state to the non-eco-drive state and changing the display state from, non-eco-drive-state to the eco-drive state, based on a second judgment threshold value which is offset by a predetermined amount from the first judgment threshold value,

so as to use a different judgment threshold value between when the display state is changed from the eco-drive to the non-eco-drive state and when the display state is changed from the non-eco-drive state to the eco-drive state,

the second display control unit displays a figure corresponding to the first judgment threshold value at the same location both when the display state of the first display control unit is the eco-drive state and when the display state of the first display control unit is the non-eco-drive state and

the eco-drive assist apparatus further comprising;

a display state adjusting unit that changes the display state of the first display control unit from the eco-drive state to the non-eco-drives state or from the non-eco-drive state to the eco-drive state when a the display state the first display control unit does not change because the quantity of eco-drive state exceeds the first judgment threshold value but does not exceed the second judgment threshold value continues over a predetermined time.

12. The eco-drive assist apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display state adjusting unit changes display state of the first display control unit when a state that the quantity of eco-drive state is greater than or equal to the second judgment threshold value and less than or equal to the first judgment threshold value after exceeding the first judgment threshold value continues over a predetermined time under the condition that the second judgment threshold value is set below the first judgment threshold value.

13. The eco-drive assist apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display state adjusting unit changes the display state of the first display control unit when a state that the quantity of eco-drive state is greater than or equal to the first judgment threshold value and less than or equal to the second judgment threshold value after falling below the first judgment threshold value continues over a predetermined time under the condition that the second judgment threshold value is set above the first judgment threshold value.