ALIGNMENT CHANGING CONTROL DEVICE AND FUEL CONSUMPTION MANAGEMENT DEVICE

• US 20120010781A1
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Published: 01/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Suyama, Koichi, Kobayashi, Akiyoshi, Horiuchi, Yutaka, Hattori, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,249,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/37
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/025 related to comfort of drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/10 related to vehicle motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/06 Improving the dynamic response of the control system, e.g. improving the speed of regulation or avoiding hunting or overshoot
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 17/00 Means on vehicles for adjusting camber, castor, or toe-in

Abstract

A toe angle changing control ECU for controlling a toe angle of wheels of a vehicle. The toe angle changing control ECU includes: a straight traveling state judging section for judging whether or not the vehicle is in a; a memory for storing the toe angle of the wheels while the vehicle is in the straight traveling state; and a toe angle setting section for setting the wheels to the toe angle stored in the memory when the straight traveling state judging section judges that the vehicle is in the straight traveling state. While in the straight traveling state, the wheels are set to a toe angle at which the wheels are substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, reducing the rolling resistance of the wheels, and improving fuel consumption.

Claims

1. An alignment changing control device for controlling an alignment of wheels of a vehicle, comprising:

an alignment setting means for setting the alignment of the wheels in a traveling condition;

a fuel consumption calculating means for calculating the fuel consumption in the traveling condition at the alignment set by the alignment setting means;

a fuel consumption information storage means for correlating the alignment set by the alignment setting means with the fuel consumption calculated by the fuel consumption calculating means and storing them therein so that fuel consumption related information corresponding to each of different alignments is stored; and

a selecting means which reads out the fuel consumption related information from the fuel consumption information storage means and selects an alignment at which the best fuel consumption can be achieved,

wherein

the alignment setting means sets the wheels to the alignment selected by the selecting means.

2. The alignment changing control device according to claim 1, further comprising a navigation device and an input means, the navigation device having:

a specifying means for detecting a current position of the vehicle;

a map information storing means for storing map information including road information;

a traveling history storing means which correlates a traveling history with the current position and the road information, and stores them therein; and

a same route specifying means which reads out the traveling history and judges whether or not the route on which the vehicle is traveling is the same route as the one on which the vehicle has ever traveled to specify the same route,

the input means inputting, from the navigation device, whether or not the route on which the vehicle is traveling is the same route,

wherein

the alignment setting means sets the alignment of the wheels when the vehicle is traveling on the same route;

the fuel consumption calculating means calculates the fuel consumption when the vehicle is traveling on the same route, at the alignment set by the alignment setting means;

the fuel consumption information storage means correlates the alignment set by the alignment setting means with the same route on which the vehicle is traveling at the set alignment and a same route fuel consumption calculated by the fuel consumption calculating means, and stores them therein so that same route fuel consumption related information corresponding to each of different alignments is stored when the vehicle is traveling on the same route;

the selecting means reads out the same route fuel consumption related information from the fuel consumption information storage means and selects an alignment at which the best same route fuel consumption can be achieved when the vehicle is traveling on the same route; and

the alignment setting means sets the wheels to the alignment selected by the selecting means.

3. The alignment changing control device according to claim 1, further comprising an input means for inputting a signal which notifies that a refueling service is received,

wherein

the alignment setting means sets an alignment when the signal which notifies that a refueling service is received is input by the input means;

the fuel consumption calculating means calculates an inter-refueling fuel consumption at the alignment set by the alignment setting means, the inter-refueling fuel consumption being the fuel consumption between the time when the signal which notifies that a refueling service is received is input by the input means and the time when a next signal which notifies that a next refueling service is received is input by the input means;

the fuel consumption information storage means correlates the alignment set by the alignment setting means with the signal which notifies that a refueling service is received and the inter-refueling fuel consumption calculated by the fuel consumption calculating means, and storing them therein so that inter-refueling fuel consumption related information corresponding to each of different alignments is stored during the traveling between the time when the signal which notifies that a refueling service is received is input by the input means and the time when a next signal which notifies that a next refueling service is received is input by the input means;

the selecting means reads out the inter-refueling fuel consumption related information from the fuel consumption information storage means and selects an alignment at which the best inter-refueling fuel consumption can be achieved; and

the alignment setting means sets the wheels to the alignment selected by the selecting means.

4. The alignment changing control device according to claim 2, wherein the alignment is at least one of a toe angle and a camber angle.