Method and apparatus for displaying fuel efficiency increasing rate during eco-coasting for electric vehicle

• US 9,694,687 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2015
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Woo, Jeong-Yeop, You, Jae-Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan k
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torchinsky, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/943,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20170080806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/24 Coasting mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/26 Transition between different drive modes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/15 Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction
• 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: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for displaying a fuel efficiency increasing rate during eco-coasting for an electric vehicle. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a driver may confirm the fuel efficiency increasing rate depending on the eco-coasting performance after driving ends to lead a driver to use an eco-coasting guide function and perform fuel efficiency driving.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a fuel efficiency increasing rate during eco-coasting for an electric vehicle, the method comprising:

providing, by a controller equipped in the vehicle, eco-coasting guidance by informing a driver of the vehicle of an optimal coasting point at which controlling the vehicle without operation of a brake or accelerator pedal will cause the vehicle to decelerate to a desired speed upon a given location;

determining, by the controller, whether the driver of the vehicle adheres to the eco-coasting guidance based on whether the vehicle is controlled in accordance with the optimal coasting point;

receiving, by an input unit equipped in the vehicle, a destination and a driving route to the destination;

calculating, by the controller, a total energy consumption across a plurality of eco-coasting performance sections, in which the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance while driving along the driving route, based on a current of a battery of the vehicle and a voltage of the battery in each eco-coasting performance section;

summing, by the controller, energy gain rates to calculate a total energy gain rate while driving along the driving route when the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance, compared to when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance, in each of the eco-coasting performance sections, simultaneously with calculating the total energy consumption;

calculating, by the controller, the fuel efficiency increasing rate when the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance, compared to when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance, based on the calculated total energy gain rate; and

displaying, by an output unit equipped in the vehicle, the calculated fuel efficiency increasing rate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when calculating the total energy consumption, a product of the current of the battery and the voltage of the battery in each of the plurality of eco-coasting performance sections is integrated with respect to time to calculate energy consumption in each eco-coasting performance section according to the following Equation, and the calculated energy consumption is accumulated to calculate the total energy consumption.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein when the summing of the energy gain rates, the energy gain rates in each of the plurality of eco-coasting performance sections calculated according to a pre-stored speed-energy gain rate map are summed to calculate the total energy gain rate by adhering to the eco-coasting guidance while driving.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein when a starting speed of the vehicle and an ending speed of the vehicle are equal to each other, the speed-energy gain rate map displays an energy gain rate when the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance, compared to when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance, at the same moving distance.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the starting speed, the ending speed, the moving distance, the energy consumption, and the vehicle speed are measured for each eco-coasting performance section,

when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance at the same starting speed, ending speed, and moving distance as the measured starting speed, ending speed, and moving distance in the eco-coasting performance section, energy consumption and a vehicle speed are measured, and

a difference between the energy consumption in the eco-coasting performance section and the energy consumption when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance is calculated as the energy gain rate at the starting speed and the ending speed, to acquire the speed-energy gain rate map.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein when calculating the fuel efficiency increasing rate, the fuel efficiency increasing rate is calculated according to the following Equation.

7. An apparatus for displaying a fuel efficiency increasing rate during eco-coasting for an electric vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a storage medium in which program instructions for performing a method for displaying the fuel efficiency increasing rate during eco-coasting for the electric vehicle and a speed-energy gain rate map are stored;

an input unit equipped in the vehicle through which a destination and a driving route to the destination are received from a driver of the vehicle;

a controller configured to execute the stored program instructions, which when executed cause the controller to;

provide eco-coasting guidance by informing a driver of the vehicle of an optimal coasting point at which controlling the vehicle without operation of a brake or accelerator pedal will cause the vehicle to decelerate to a desired speed upon a given location,

determine whether the driver of the vehicle adheres to the eco-coasting guidance based on whether the vehicle is controlled in accordance with the optimal coasting point,

calculate a total energy consumption across a plurality of eco-coasting performance sections, in which the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance while driving along the driving route, based on a current of a battery of the vehicle and a voltage of the battery in each eco-coasting performance section,

sum energy gain rates to calculate a total energy gain rate while driving along the driving route when the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance, compared to when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance, in each of the eco-coasting performance sections, simultaneously with calculating the total energy consumption, and

calculate the fuel efficiency increasing rate when the driver adheres to the eco-coasting guidance, compared to when the driver does not adhere to the eco-coasting guidance, based on the calculated total energy gain rate; and

an output unit equipped in the vehicle through which the calculated fuel efficiency increasing rate is displayed.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the output unit is an instrument cluster equipped in the vehicle.