Driving assistant method and system for electric vehicle

• US 9,108,643 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2011
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Lin, Yu-Hui, Wu, Cheng-Yu, Chang, Channing, Tsai, I-Ta, Lin, Yi-Chun
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Kerri
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dorsey, Renee
• Application Number:
  US13/082,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20120194346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,593 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/248 Age of storage means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/10 Weight
• 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 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/12 related to parameters of the vehicle itself , e.g. tyre models
• 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 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects

Abstract

A driving assistant method for an electric vehicle is provided with the following steps. When the electric vehicle is started up, a battery energy safe driving region is calculated and displayed. The battery energy safe driving region is updated dynamically according to vehicle information. The vehicle information includes battery information of the electric vehicle.

Claims

1. A driving assistant method for an electric vehicle, comprising:

when the electric vehicle is started up, calculating and displaying a battery energy safe driving region of the electric vehicle according to driving information of the electric vehicle, wherein the driving information comprises battery information of the electric vehicle; and

dynamically updating the battery energy safe driving region according to the driving information of the electric vehicle, wherein a method of defining the battery energy safe driving region comprises;

selecting at least one electricity supplying station;

calculating energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle and taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to calculate a region that the electric vehicle is capable of returning back to the at least one electricity supplying station under a current battery energy according to the energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle to serve as at least one safe coverage region; and

uniting the safe coverage regions with each other to obtain a united region to serve as the battery energy safe driving region when an amount of the at least one safe coverage region is larger than one,

wherein the energy consumption P′

per unit distance of the electric vehicle is obtained according to an equation P′

=P/ki,

wherein P is energy consumption per unit distance obtained according to data of original equipment manufacturer of the electric vehicle, ki is a vehicle status-related electricity consumption coefficient.

2. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, the battery energy safe driving region is a region in which the electric vehicle is capable of driving randomly without leading an incapability for electricity supplying.

3. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the at least one electricity supplying station comprises:

setting a selection region; and

searching and obtaining the at least one electricity supplying station within the selection region.

4. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises specifying the selection region.

5. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises determining the selection region according to a position and speed information of the electric vehicle.

6. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises determining the selection region according to a position, a moving direction and speed information of the electric vehicle.

7. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

when a position of the electric vehicle exceeds the battery energy safe driving region, displaying a battery energy warning driving region of the electric vehicle, and displaying at least one electricity supplying station within the battery energy warning driving region, wherein the battery energy warning driving region is defined as a maximum region outside the battery energy safe driving region capable of being reached by the electric vehicle; and

dynamically updating the battery energy warning driving region according to the driving information.

8. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein a method of determining the battery energy safe driving region and the battery energy warning driving region comprises:

selecting at least one electricity supplying station;

taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to calculate a region that the electric vehicle is capable of returning back to the at least one electricity supplying station under a current battery energy according to the driving information to serve as at least one safe coverage region, and calculate a maximum region capable of being reached by the electric vehicle to serve as at least one warning coverage region; and

uniting the safe coverage regions with each other to obtain a united region to serve as the battery energy safe driving region when an amount of the at least one safe coverage region is larger than one, and uniting the warning coverage regions with each other to obtain a united region to serve as the battery energy warning driving region when an amount of the at least one warning coverage region is larger than one.

9. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises:

determining a center of the selection region according to the position and a moving direction of the electric vehicle; and

calculating a radius of the selection region according to the battery information and speed information of the electric vehicle.

10. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving information comprises at least one of weight information, positioning information, map information and traffic information of the electric vehicle.

11. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery information comprises at least one of electricity consumption status information, remained battery energy information and battery aging information of the electric vehicle.

12. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the map information comprises terrain information.

13. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the traffic information comprises real-time traffic information.

14. A driving assistant method for an electric vehicle, comprising:

a electricity supplying station selecting step, for setting a selection region comprising at least one electricity supplying station for the electric vehicle, and finding the at least one electricity supplying station within the selection region;

a coverage region calculating step, for calculating energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle according to driving information of the electric vehicle, and taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to estimate a region that the electric vehicle is capable of returning back along different directions under a current battery energy according to the energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle to serve as at least one safe coverage region, and estimate a region capable of being reached by the electric vehicle to serve as at least one warning coverage region, and uniting the safe coverage regions with each other to obtain a battery energy safe driving region when an amount of the at least one safe coverage region is larger than one, and uniting the warning coverage regions with each other to obtain a battery energy warning driving region when an amount of the at least one warning coverage region is larger than one;

a dynamic updating step, for dynamically updating the battery energy safe driving region and the battery energy warning driving region according to the driving information; and

a display step, for displaying the updated battery energy safe driving region, and the updated battery energy warning driving region,

wherein the energy consumption P′

per unit distance of the electric vehicle is obtained according to an equation P′

=P/ki,

wherein P is energy consumption per unit distance obtained according to data of original equipment manufacturer of the electric vehicle, ki is a vehicle status-related electricity consumption coefficient.

15. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises specifying the selection region.

16. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises:

determining a center of the selection region according to a current position and a moving direction of the electric vehicle; and

calculating a radius of the selection region according to battery information and speed information of the electric vehicle.

17. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of setting the selection region comprises:

taking a current position of the electric vehicle as a center of the selection region; and

calculating a radius of the selection region according to battery information and speed information of the electric vehicle.

18. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the vehicle status-related electricity consumption coefficient ki is a battery aging electricity consumption coefficient.

19. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the vehicle status-related electricity consumption coefficient ki is a product of at least one of a battery aging electricity consumption coefficient, a weight electricity consumption coefficient and a speed electricity consumption coefficient.

20. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein a method of estimating the at least one safe coverage region and the at least one warning coverage region comprises:

taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to estimate at least one effective distance of the electric vehicle along different directions

21. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 20, wherein the environment-affected electricity consumption coefficient ko is a climbing electricity consumption coefficient.

22. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 20, wherein the environment-affected electricity consumption coefficient ko is a sum of at least one of a climbing electricity consumption coefficient, a real-time traffic electricity consumption coefficient and an electricity consumption status coefficient.

23. The driving assistant method for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

multiplying the at least one effective distance by a safe value, wherein the safe value is between 0 and 1; and

obtaining the at least one safe coverage region and the at least one warning coverage region according to the effective distance multiplied with the safe value.

24. A driving assistant system for an electric vehicle, comprising:

a driving information collecting unit, for receiving driving information through at least one sensor installed in the electric vehicle, wherein the driving information comprises at least one of battery information, positioning information, map information and traffic information of the electric vehicle;

an input unit, for receiving trip related information, wherein the trip related information comprises a first pre-proposed selection region;

a selection region calculating unit, connected to the driving information collecting unit and the input unit, for receiving the first pre-proposed selection region or calculating a second pre-proposed selection region according to the driving information as a selection region, and finding at least one electricity supplying station within the selection region;

a coverage region calculating unit, connected to the driving information collecting unit, the input unit and the selection region calculating unit, for calculating energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle and taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to calculate a region that the electric vehicle is capable of returning back to the at least one electricity supplying station under current battery energy of the electric vehicle according to the energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle to serve as at least one safe coverage region, and calculate a maximum region capable of being reached by the electric vehicle to serve as at least one warning coverage region, and uniting the safe coverage regions with each other to obtain a battery energy safe driving region of the electric vehicle when an amount of the at least one safe coverage region is larger than one, and uniting the warning coverage regions with each other to obtain a battery energy warning driving region of the electric vehicle when an amount of the at least one warning coverage region is larger than one, wherein the energy consumption P′

per unit distance of the electric vehicle is obtained according to an equation P′

=P/ki, P is energy consumption per unit distance obtained according to data of original equipment manufacturer of the electric vehicle, and ki is a vehicle status-related electricity consumption coefficient; and

a display device, connected to the driving information collecting unit, the input unit and the coverage region calculating unit, for displaying the battery energy safe driving region and the battery energy warning driving region.

25. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the input unit comprises a mode selecting unit for providing a user to select modes comprising a directional mode and a non-directional mode, wherein the directional mode is adapted to a situation that a driving behaviour of the electric vehicle is directional, and the non-directional mode is adapted to a situation that the driving behaviour of the electric vehicle is random, and

wherein the selection region calculating unit calculates the second pre-proposed selection region according to the mode selected by the input unit.

26. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 25, wherein when the directional mode is selected, the selection region calculating unit performs following steps:

estimating a battery remaining time T of the electric vehicle according to the battery information in the driving information;

estimating a position of the electric vehicle after a time t according to direction information and speed information of the electric vehicle in the driving information, wherein 0<

t<

T; and

taking the estimated position of the electric vehicle as a center and taking the speed information V of the driving information times the battery remaining time T as a radius to obtain the second pre-proposed selection region.

27. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 25, wherein when the non-directional mode is selected, the selection region calculating unit performs following steps:

estimating a battery remaining time T of the electric vehicle according to the battery information in the driving information; and

taking a current position of the electric vehicle in the driving information as a center and taking a current speed V of the electric vehicle in the driving information times the battery remaining time T as a radius to obtain the second pre-proposed selection region.

28. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein a method that the coverage region calculating unit calculates the at least one safe coverage region and the at least one warning coverage region comprises following steps:

estimating energy consumption per unit distance of the electric vehicle according to the driving information; and

taking the at least one electricity supplying station as a center to estimate a distance that the electric vehicle is capable of returning back along different directions and a distance that the electric vehicle is capable of reaching according to the driving information to respectively obtain a returnable region to serve as the at least one safe coverage region and obtain a reachable region to serve as the at least one warning coverage region.

29. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the input unit comprises a mode selecting unit for providing a user to select modes comprising a basic mode and an advanced mode,

wherein when the basic mode is selected, the coverage region calculating unit calculates the at least one safe coverage region and the at least one warning coverage region according to weight electricity consumption information and climbing electricity consumption information in the driving information,

wherein when the advanced mode is selected, the coverage region calculating unit calculates the at least one safe coverage region and the at least one warning coverage region according to at least one of battery aging information, speed electricity consumption information, real-time traffic electricity consumption information and electricity consumption status information in the driving information besides the driving information considered in the basic mode.

30. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the driving information collecting unit comprises an on board diagnosis (OBD) system.

31. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one of a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a gyroscope and a vehicle status sensor.

32. The driving assistant system for the electric vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the display device comprises an in-vehicle projection device, a handheld mobile device or a display screen.