FUEL-SAVING DRIVING DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE, FUEL-SAVING DRIVING DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, TRAVEL CONTROL DEVICE, FUEL-SAVING DRIVING RATING DEVICE, AND FUEL-SAVING DRIVING DIAGNOSTIC METHOD

• US 20110148618A1
• Filed: 07/30/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Shojiro, Nakamura, Masaki, Sugiura, Hiroaki, Nonomura, Junichi, Miura, Naoki, Yamatani, Yoshio, Harumoto, Satoshi, Kiyo, Kouei
• Granted Patent: US 8,633,812 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/450
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/174 Economic driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/174 Economic driving
• 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: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/103 Accelerator thresholds, e.g. kickdown
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/188 Controlling power parameters of the driveline, e.g. determining the required power
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 11/105 characterised by the function converting demand to actuation, e.g. a map indicating relations between an accelerator pedal position and throttle valve opening or target engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

An accelerator opening determining unit determines whether an accelerator opening achieved through an accelerator operation by a driver of a vehicle exceeds an upper limit value thereof. A travel distance adding-up unit adds up a travel distance within accelerator-opening upper limit value when the accelerator opening is not determined to exceed the upper limit value. When the accelerator opening is determined to exceed the upper limit value, the travel distance adding-up unit adds up a travel distance exceeding accelerator-opening upper limit value. A fuel-saving driving rating unit rates the driving of the driver based on each added-up value added up by the travel distance adding-up unit.

Claims

1. A fuel-saving driving diagnostic device, comprising:

an accelerator operation quantity condition calculating unit that calculates an upper limit value of an accelerator operation quantity during fuel-saving driving of a vehicle based on vehicle type information of the vehicle;

an accelerator operation quantity condition determining unit that determines whether the accelerator operation quantity of the vehicle is larger than the upper limit value of the accelerator operation quantity calculated by the accelerator operation quantity condition calculating unit;

a travel situation determining unit that determines whether a travel situation of the vehicle is a predetermined travel situation; and

a fuel-saving driving diagnosing unit that diagnoses fuel-saving driving by determining whether to make a determination by the accelerator operation quantity condition determining unit in accordance with a determination result by the travel situation determining unit.

2. The fuel-saving driving diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the upper limit value of the accelerator operation quantity is changed in accordance with road conditions or traffic conditions acquired by a road/traffic condition acquisition device that acquires the road conditions or the traffic conditions.

3. The fuel-saving driving diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the determination by the accelerator operation quantity condition determining unit is canceled in accordance with road conditions or traffic conditions acquired by a road/traffic condition acquisition device that acquires the road conditions or the traffic conditions.

4. The fuel-saving driving diagnostic device according to claim 1, further comprising a fuel-saving driving rating unit that rates fuel-saving driving based on a determination target travel distance, which is a travel distance of the vehicle selected as a target for the determination by the accelerator operation quantity condition determining unit, and a travel distance of the determination target travel distance for which the accelerator operation quantity condition determining unit determines that the accelerator operation quantity is not larger than the upper limit value of the accelerator operation quantity.

5. The fuel-saving driving diagnostic device according to claim 4, further comprising an advice generating unit that generates fuel-saving driving advice based on a rating result by the fuel-saving driving rating unit.

6. The fuel-saving driving diagnostic device according to claim 4, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies a driver of at least one of the rating result by the fuel-saving driving rating unit and the fuel-saving driving advice generated by the advice generating unit.

7-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A fuel-saving driving diagnostic method executed by a fuel-saving driving diagnostic system that diagnoses fuel-saving driving of a vehicle, comprising:

calculating an upper limit value of an accelerator operation quantity during fuel-saving driving of a vehicle based on vehicle type information of the vehicle;

firstly determining whether the accelerator operation quantity of the vehicle is larger than the upper limit value of the accelerator operation quantity calculated in the calculating;

secondly determining whether a travel situation of the vehicle is a predetermined travel situation;

diagnosing fuel-saving driving by determining whether to make a determination in the firstly determining in accordance with a determination result in the secondly determining; and

rating step of rating the fuel-saving driving based on a determination target travel distance, which is a travel distance of the vehicle selected as a target for the determination in the firstly determining, and a travel distance of the determination target travel distance for which the accelerator operation quantity is not determined to be larger than the upper limit value of the accelerator operation quantity in the firstly determining.