System and method for providing adaptive vehicle settings based on a known route

• US 9,459,107 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2015
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Payne, Joshua D., Dufford, Mohammad E., Gaither, Geoffrey D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/685,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20150274177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0195 characterised by the regulation being combined with other vehicle control systems conjoint control of vehicle sub-units including control of suspension systems B60W10/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/02 Spring characteristics , e.g. mechanical springs and mechanical adjusting meansB60G17/005, B60G17/015 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/08 Characteristics of fluid dampers adjusting fluid dampers in general F16F9/44 - F16F9/53
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/204 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/16 GPS track data
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/10 Damping action or damper
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/20 Spring action or springs
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00771 the input being a vehicle position or surrounding, e.g. GPS-based position or tunnel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• 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 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

Systems and methods for adaptively adjusting settings of a vehicle during a known route are described. A method may include storing a driving route, parsing the driving route into a plurality of segments based on at least one of a turn detection, an intersection detection, a change in road conditions, a change in speed of the vehicle, or a predetermined distance traveled. The method may also include assigning to each segment a unique identification code, storing a plurality of values correlating to settings, the settings having values determined during a segment of the driving route, and associating each of the plurality of values to the unique identification code of the segment in which the setting was determined. The method may also include automatically changing each of the plurality of values at the beginning of each segment in which the value was altered.

Claims

1. A system for controlling operation of a vehicle comprising:

a component having at least two settings;

a memory configured to store a route including a plurality of route segments, each route segment having a segment identifier and a setting for the component;

a sensor configured to detect a current segment identifier; and

a processor configured to;

determine that the vehicle is approaching a start of an upcoming route segment that corresponds to a stored route segment in the memory based on the current segment identifier,

determine whether a current setting of the component is different from the stored setting of the component that corresponds to the stored route segment, and

control the component to be set to the stored setting in response to the vehicle approaching or reaching the start of the upcoming route segment and the current setting being different from the stored setting.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the current segment identifier is at least one of a turn detection, an intersection detection, a change in road condition, a change in a speed of the vehicle or a predetermined distance traveled from a known location.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the current segment identifier is a time of day and the processor controls the component to be set to the stored setting while the vehicle is in a parked position.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the current setting is associated with at least one of an ECO/Sports mode, a temperature, a suspension firmness, a radio setting or a PHV charge timer.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to predict whether a current route is the route based on a current route segment.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory is configured to store a plurality of next route segments that have been traveled after the upcoming route segment and the processor is further configured to predict one of the plurality of next route segments to be traveled when the upcoming route segment is complete.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to store the current setting of the component when a current route segment does not correspond to one of the plurality of route segments in the memory.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the stored setting is the same for each of the plurality of stored route segments of the route.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to store a new setting when the component has been changed to the new setting after the processor controls the component to be set to the stored setting.

10. A system for controlling operation of a vehicle comprising:

a component having at least two settings;

a memory configured to store a route including a plurality of route segments, each route segment having a segment identifier and a setting for the component;

a route sensor configured to detect a current segment identifier;

an external sensor configured to detect a feature of an environment of the vehicle; and

a processor configured to;

determine a current route segment for a first trip of the current route segment using the current segment identifier,

determine a setting for the component based on the detected feature of the environment during the first trip of the current route segment,

store the determined setting in the memory for the current route segment, and

control the component to be set to the stored setting immediately prior to or during a second trip of the current route segment.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the external sensor is a suspension sensor of the vehicle and the feature of the environment is a level of shock of the vehicle.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the external sensor includes at least one of a thermometer, a moisture detector or a sunlight detector.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the current segment identifier is at least one of a time of day, a turn detection, an intersection detection, a change in road condition, a change in a speed of the vehicle or a predetermined distance traveled from a known location.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the memory is further configured to store a plurality of next route segments that have been traveled after the current route segment and the processor is further configured to predict one of the plurality of next route segments to be traveled when the current route segment is complete.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the stored setting is the same for each of the plurality of stored route segments of the route.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to store a new setting when the component has been changed to the new setting after the processor controls the component to be set to the stored setting.

17. A system for applying driver preferences to a vehicle comprising:

a component having at least two settings;

a memory configured to store a route including a route identifier and a setting for the component;

a sensor configured to detect a current route identifier; and

a processor configured to;

predict a route using the current route identifier, and

control the component to be set to the stored setting corresponding to the predicted route prior to any portion of the route being driven.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the current route identifier includes at least one of a current day of the week, whether the current day of the week is a weekday or a weekend, a current time of day or a date.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to control the component to be set to the stored setting by a particular time of day.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to control the component to be set to the stored setting prior to receiving an input to turn the car on.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the input corresponds to at least one of a key being received by the vehicle, a FOB being received by the vehicle or a start button being selected.

22. A system for controlling operation of a vehicle comprising:

a component having at least two settings;

a memory configured to store a route including a plurality of route segments, each route segment having a segment identifier and a setting for the component;

a sensor configured to detect a time of day; and

a processor configured to;

determine a current route segment that corresponds to a stored route segment in the memory using the current segment identifier,

determine whether a current setting of the component is different from the stored setting of the component that corresponds to the stored route segment, and

control the component to be set to the stored setting when the current route segment of the vehicle is the stored route segment, the current setting is different from the stored setting and while the vehicle is in a parked position.