Preventive fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance

• US 9,677,896 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2014
• Issued: 06/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per Azioni
• Original Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per Azioni
• Inventors: Capano, Paolo, Gambera, Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): SOOFI, YAZAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/891,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20160123755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 701 70
• 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 comprising:

an on-vehicle location device configured to provide motor vehicle position-related data;

a human-machine interface configured to provide a motor vehicle driver recommendations to a motor vehicle driver which would result in fuel savings; and

an electronic control unit connected to the on-vehicle location device and the human-machine interface by a communication network, the electronic control unit being configured to identify recurrent routes of the motor vehicle and provide the motor vehicle driver, via the human-machine interface, feedback relating to 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 defines, based on motor vehicle position-related data received from the on-vehicle location device, a succession of Waypoints, which are geographic points that define each recurrent route, at which values of a series of Waypoint attributes are determined and recorded, 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 updates the variable Waypoint attributes when the motor vehicle travels through the Waypoints;

wherein the Waypoint Matching function reduces computational load of the electronic control unit by searching the Waypoints for a closest Waypoint that is spatially closest to the current motor vehicle position and having predetermined Waypoint crossing direction and speed and predetermined distance from the current motor vehicle position, and using a scoring function which adopts at least one of the following functions to reduce computational load;

computing differences in latitude and longitude only for Waypoints for which the difference in direction is less than ninety degrees;

defining partially overlapping geographical work areas, to be loaded separately; and

rejecting Waypoints that have differences in latitude and longitude greater than five-hundred meters or a directional distance exceeding one-hundred eighty degrees;

wherein if such a closest Waypoint is not found, the Waypoint Tracking function is then executed to define a new Waypoint, or else, if such a closest Waypoint is found, the Waypoint Learning function is then executed to update the variable Waypoint attributes;

wherein the Route Identification function concatenates the Waypoints associated with a each recurrent route so as to form an ordered list of Waypoints associated with to each recurrent route;

wherein the Route Optimization function identifies characteristic route Waypoints that satisfy a predetermined Waypoint crossing speed condition, compute speed profiles and primary controls for the motor vehicle at the characteristic route Waypoints and expected journey times and fuel consumption along the recurrent routes based on the Waypoint attributes;

and wherein the Driver Coaching function provides the motor vehicle driver, based on the speed profiles and the primary controls computed for the characteristic route Waypoints and by means of the human-machine interface, with fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driving recommendations along the recurrent routes.

2. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function determines new Waypoints 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. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 2, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function determines at least one of the new Waypoints 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. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Tracking function associates a corresponding area of influence with each of the Waypoints 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 closest Waypoint always returns a reference Waypoint.

5. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 4, wherein each area of influence has a circular shape centered on the respective Waypoint, has radius r equal to the maximum matching distance, defined as the maximum distance between the respective Waypoint and the current motor vehicle position below which the respective Waypoint is desired to be representative of the current motor vehicle position, and the maximum distance d between two adjacent Waypoints is lower than twice the radius r of the areas of influence.

6. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Matching function searches for the closest Waypoint:

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, and

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. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of 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 respective Waypoint differentiated by time slot and Waypoint crossing direction and comprising percentile and time percentage the motor vehicle is stationary in the respective Waypoint; and

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

8. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Waypoint Learning function terminates when the number of passages of the motor vehicle through the Waypoints is greater than a certain threshold.

9. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Route Optimization function is executed for a respective recurrent route only after the Waypoint Learning function has been completed for a predetermined number of Waypoints belonging to the respective route.

10. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Route Identification function is designed to perform a concatenation of the Waypoints associated with a respective recurrent route 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 recurrent route is interrupted and a Waypoint becomes a final Waypoint, and

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

11. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Route Identification function computes attributes of each identified recurrent route comprising:

Route Identifier

Route Name

Geographic Attributes, comprising at least one selected from the group of Waypoints belonging to the recurrent route, route start Waypoint, route end Waypoint, total distance, partial distances between adjacent Waypoints and gradients

Use, comprising at least one selected from the group of learning and optimization

Driver Attributes, comprising at least one selected from the group of 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 and journey average fuel consumption, and

Optimized attributes, comprising at least one selected from the group of;

optimal accelerator pedal position, and

optimal gear.

12. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Route Management function comprises the following function:

Route Organization, which identifies and cleanses the route collection of route segments that are too short.

13. The fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the Route Optimization function identifies characteristic route Waypoints by searching for minimum Waypoints that satisfy a predetermined condition in terms of Waypoint crossing speed.

14. A motor vehicle comprising the fuel saving-aimed motor vehicle driver assistance system of claim 1.