Method and device for evaluating and/or influencing the driving behavior of a driver of a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method for evaluating and/or influencing the driving behavior of a driver of a motor vehicle, involving a motor vehicle, in particular in local public transport or in inner-city traffic, preferably for use in vehicle fleets, is designed in such a manner that at least one parameter which describes the driving mode is determined, wherein the position of the gas pedal over time is determined as parameter, and wherein the state of the driving behavior, based on the determined position of the gas pedal, is visually displayed to the vehicle driver by means of a display system in the motor vehicle. Also disclosed is a corresponding device.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of evaluating and/or influencing a driving behavior of a driver of a motor vehicle while the driver is driving the motor vehicle, the method comprising: measuring, by a sensor, at least one parameter that describes the driving behavior, wherein the at least one parameter includes positions of the motor vehicle's gas pedal over time; determining, by a computing device, a state of the driving behavior based on the measured positions of the gas pedal, wherein determining the state of the driving behavior is based on information regarding predetermined journey sections such that a quality of the driving behavior is determined based on a use of the gas pedal occurring during the predetermined journey sections, wherein the predetermined journey sections have a journey section time period of at least 20 seconds and at most 2 minutes, and wherein determining the state of the driving behavior includes triggering a state transition for the predetermined journey sections as a function of a predetermined full throttle duration of the gas pedal within the predetermined journey sections; providing information regarding the quality of the driver's driving behavior while the driver is driving such that the state of the driving behavior is visually displayed to the vehicle driver on a display device in the vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein visually displaying a state of the driving behavior further comprises displaying one or more of a positive state, a neutral state, and a negative state.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the state of the driving behavior includes determining an occurrence of a state transition, as a function of a presettable minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining one or more of the following state functions: a transition from a neutral state to a positive state; a transition from a positive state to a positive state; a transition from a positive state to a neutral state; a transition from a neutral state to a negative state; and a transition from a negative state to a negative state.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein as an additional state transition, a transition from neutral state to neutral state is admissible, wherein this state transition is carried out for a presettable number of successive journey sections, in which a presettable minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal occurs for a presettable minimum activation duration, before a state transition from neutral state to negative state occurs.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein a change of the state between the positive state and the negative state is carried out in such a manner that the change requires a state transition between the neutral state and the positive state as well as a state transition between the neutral state and the negative state.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display device is deactivated or visually displays the neutral state, when the motor vehicle travels or is in movement without interruption for a presettable duration.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display device is deactivated or visually displays the neutral state, when the motor vehicle exceeds a presettable speed.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising evaluating and/or influencing the driving behavior of the motor vehicle while the driver is driving in local public transport or inner city traffic.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising performing the method during use in vehicle fleets.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the state of the driving behavior is performed continuously.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein one state transition per journey section is determined.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a state transition that occurs as a function of a presettable minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal, namely full throttle, for a presettable minimum activation duration.

14. The method according to claim 4, wherein as an additional state transition, a transition from neutral state to neutral state is admissible, wherein this state transition is carried out for a presettable number of successive journey sections, in which a presettable minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal, namely full throttle, occurs for a presettable minimum activation duration, before a state transition from neutral state to negative state occurs.

15. A device configured to evaluate and/or influence a driving behavior of a driver of a motor vehicle while the driver is driving the motor vehicle, comprising a sensor configured to measure at least one parameter describing the driving behavior, a computing device, and a display device, wherein the sensor is configured to measure the at least one parameter that includes positions of the motor vehicle's gas pedal over time, wherein the computing device is configured to determine the state of the driving behavior, based on the determined position of the gas pedal, wherein determining the state of the driving behavior is based on information regarding predetermined journey sections such that a quality of the driving behavior is determined based on a use of the gas pedal occurring during predetermined journey sections, wherein the predetermined journey sections have a journey section time period of at least 20 seconds and at most 2 minutes, wherein determining the state of the driving behavior includes triggering a state transition for the predetermined journey sections as a function of a predetermined full throttle duration of the gas pedal within the predetermined journey sections, wherein information regarding the quality of the driver's driving behavior is provided while the driver is driving, and wherein the display device is configured to display the state of the driving behavior.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine that a state transition occurs as a function of a presettable minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal for a presettable minimum activation duration.

17. The device according to claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to perform evaluating and/or influencing of the driving behavior of the motor vehicle in local public transport or inner city traffic.

18. The device according to claim 15, wherein the device is configured for use in vehicle fleets.

Description

(1) Different possibilities now exist to configure and develop the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. For this purpose, on the one hand, reference should be made to the claims that are subordinate to Claim 1 and, on the other hand, to the following explanation of preferred embodiment examples of the invention based on the drawing. In connection with the explanation of the preferred embodiment examples of the invention based on the drawing, generally preferred designs and developments of the teaching are also explained. In the drawing,

(2) FIG. 1 shows, in schematic view, a flow chart of an embodiment example of the inventive method,

(3) FIG. 2 shows the speed determined over time as well as the fuel consumption determined over time of a first vehicle driver,

(4) FIG. 3 shows the speed determined over time as well as the fuel consumption determined over time of a second vehicle driver,

(5) FIG. 4 shows the graph according to FIG. 2, wherein the position of the gas pedal determined over time has been plotted additionally,

(6) FIG. 5 shows the graph according to FIG. 3, wherein the position of the gas pedal determined over time has been plotted additionally,

(7) FIG. 6 shows the distribution of the relative frequency of the differently intense activations of the gas pedal of the curve represented in FIG. 4,

(8) FIG. 7 shows the distribution of the relative frequency of the differently intense activations of the gas pedal of the curve represented in FIG. 5,

(9) FIG. 8 shows, in a schematic view, possible states and state transitions according to an embodiment example of the inventive method,

(10) FIG. 9a, 9b show, in a schematic view, an illustration of possible state transitions in relation to the journey section according to FIG. 4,

(11) FIG. 10a, 10b show, in a schematic view, an illustration of possible state transitions in relation to a journey section according to FIG. 5,

(12) FIG. 11 shows, in a schematic view, an additional illustration of possible state transitions in relation to a journey section according to FIG. 5, and

(13) FIG. 12 shows a display device for an embodiment example according to the inventive method or for an embodiment example according to the inventive device.

(14) FIG. 1 shows, in a schematic view, a flow chart of an embodiment example of the inventive method. Here, first, by means of a detection device 1 with a suitable sensor system, the position of the gas pedal over time is detected continuously. Moreover, by means of the detection device 1 or an additional sensor system, in addition to the position of the gas pedal, other parameters can also be detected, based on which the driving behavior of the vehicle driver can be determined. The data detected by the detection device 1 is stored in a storage unit 2 of the vehicle and/or transmitted to a storage unit 3 of a central computer 4. In a preferred manner, the transmission can occur wirelesslyvia a mobile radio network or via W-LANand in real time. The data stored in the control unit 2 can be further processed by a computing unit 5 arranged, for example, in the vehicle.

(15) In the same manner, the data stored in the storage unit 3, for example, a database, can be further processed by a computing unit 6 of the central computer 4. The further processing here occurs in such a manner that the driving behavior of the vehicle driver can be determined and/or analyzed based on the data. In this manner, for example, a public traffic company can collect data, in particular data relating to the gas pedal position during predefined journey sections such as, preferably, short interval trips. By carrying out this data collection for several vehicle drivers of a vehicle fleet, it is possible to derive and compute therefrom, for example, suitable values for a minimum activation intensity of the gas pedal, for a minimum activation duration and/or for a number of successive journey sections, in which a state transition from neutral to neutral should occur.

(16) Based on the determined position of the gas pedal, the internal computing unit 5 can determine the state of the driving behavior. The state is then visually displayed to the vehicle driver by means of a display device 7 arranged in the motor vehicle. Thus, the vehicle driver can be provided with information on whether his/her driving behavior corresponds to a desired driving behavior, for example, with regard to the fuel consumption.

(17) FIG. 2 shows the speed determined over time as well as the fuel consumption determined over time of a first vehicle driver. For this purpose, in a first curve 8, the speed in km/h is plotted against time tin seconds, and in a second curve 9 the fuel consumption in L/h is plotted against time t in seconds.

(18) It is clear from FIG. 2, that this is the typical curve of an interval trip as journey section, as it occurs between two stops of a bus line. Said interval trip is characterized by a relatively short total driving time of only approximately 35 seconds, in which the vehicle first accelerates strongly to approximately 30 km/h, wherein this speed is maintained for only approximately 8 seconds, and then the vehicle already reduces its speed again and finally comes to a stop at the next stop. In the graph shown in FIG. 2, the fuel consumption for this trip is approximately 0.064 liters.

(19) FIG. 3 shows the speed determined over time as well as the fuel consumption determined over time of a second vehicle driver, wherein the driving distance is identical to the driving distance on which FIG. 2 is based. For this purpose, in a third curve 10, the speed in km/h is plotted against time tin seconds and, in a fourth curve 11, the fuel consumption in L/h is plotted against time tin seconds.

(20) The driving time which the second vehicle driver needs is only insignificantly shorter than the driving time represented in FIG. 2, namely 32 seconds. It is essential here that the first curve 8 and the third curve 10 differ only slightly from one another, in particular, that they substantially correspond to one another in the range between 0 seconds and 8 seconds.

(21) However, the fuel consumption in FIG. 3, compared to FIG. 2, is approximately twice as high, namely approximately 0.144 liters for this trip. From the comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3, it is clear that, in the case of interval trips, the determined speed over time is not suitable as parameter for the determination of the driving behavior.

(22) FIG. 4 shows the graph according to FIG. 2, wherein, in addition, the determined position of the gas pedal over time is plotted as fifth curve 12. The position of the gas pedal is indicated as a percentage, wherein 100% corresponds to the position of a completely activated gas pedal, preferably in the sense of full throttle, and 0% corresponds to the position of a completely unactivated gas pedal.

(23) FIG. 5 shows the illustration according to FIG. 3, wherein, here too, the position of the gas pedal determined over time is plotted additionally, as sixth curve 13.

(24) The comparison of the fifth curve 12 from FIG. 4 and the sixth curve 13 from FIG. 5 shows that these curves differ significantly from one another over the entire time course, in particular also in the range between 0 seconds and 8 seconds. As a result, it becomes clear that the position of the gas pedal over time is ideally suited as parameter for the determination and evaluation of the driving behavior.

(25) FIG. 6 shows the distribution of the relative frequency of the differently intense activations of the gas pedal of the fifth curve 12 represented in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 shows the distribution of the relative frequency of the differently intense activations of the gas pedal of the sixth curve 13 represented in FIG. 5.

(26) The comparison of FIGS. 6 and 7 again makes it clear that the first vehicle driver and the second vehicle driver activate the gas pedal quite differently, wherein, namely, the second vehicle driver according to FIG. 7 completely activates the gas pedal, i.e., completely floors the gas pedal, clearly more frequently. Based on FIGS. 6 and 7, the different driving behavior of the first vehicle driver and of the second vehicle driver can be seen very clearly. As a result, it is shown that the position of the gas pedal over time is ideally suited as parameter for the determination of the driving behavior. Furthermore, the position of the gas pedal can be detected by an extremely simple sensor system.

(27) FIG. 8 shows, in a schematic view, possible states and state transitions according an embodiment example of the inventive method. In concrete terms, FIG. 8 represents a finite automaton. As initial state, the neutral state is provided. State transitions or transitions to the positive state or to the negative state occur as a function of the driving behavior based on the determined gas pedal position. The negative state and the positive state are not directly linked to one another. They can be reached only via the neutral state. The triggering of state transitions or transitions depends on the activation behavior of the gas pedal during a journey section.

(28) FIG. 9a, 9b show, in a schematic view, an illustration of possible state transitions in relation to the driving section according to FIG. 4. The graph according to FIG. 9a corresponds to the graph according to FIG. 4, wherein, for the fifth curve 12, which represents the position of the gas pedal determined over time, the full throttle duration 14 and the duration 15 of the pedal release process are marked. The represented journey section has a short and acceptable full throttle duration 14.

(29) The state transitions or transitions then occur according to FIG. 9b as follows:

(30) If full throttle duration within a journey section acceptable: transition from neutral state to positive state

(31) If full throttle duration within the subsequent journey section acceptable, then: transition from positive state to positive state

(32) Otherwise: transition from positive state to neutral state

(33) FIG. 10a, 10b show, in a schematic view, an illustration of possible state transitions in relation to the journey section according to FIG. 5. The graph in FIG. 10a corresponds to the graph according to FIG. 5, wherein, for the sixth curve 13, which represents the position of the gas pedal determined over time, the full throttle duration 16 and the duration 17 of the pedal release process are marked. The represented journey section has a long and unacceptable full throttle duration 14.

(34) If full throttle duration within a journey section unacceptable: transition from neutral state to negative state

(35) If full throttle duration within the subsequent journey section unacceptable, then: transition from negative state to negative state

(36) Otherwise: transition from negative state to neutral state

(37) FIG. 11 shows, in a schematic view, an additional illustration of possible state transitions according to an additional embodiment example of the invention in relation to a journey section according to FIG. 5. According to the embodiment example from FIG. 11, in the case of a long and unacceptable full throttle duration 16 within a journey section, first a state transition or a transition from the neutral state into the neutral state occurs. According to FIG. 11, this applies to the journey section 18 and to the subsequent journey section 19. It is only in the subsequent next or third journey section 20, which also has a long and unacceptable full throttle duration 16, that a state transition or transition from the neutral state into the negative state occurs. Thus, it is ensured that the vehicle driver does not become annoyed too quickly as a result of the display of the negative state. This is the case, for example, if, due to a given unforeseeable traffic situation, the vehicle driver is forced to an unacceptable full throttle duration within a journey section, for which, however, he/she is not responsible.

(38) FIG. 12 shows a display device for an inventive embodiment example or for an embodiment example according to the inventive device. The display device is configured in such a manner that a positive state, a neutral state and a negative state with regard to the driving behavior of the vehicle driver can be visually displayed. For this purpose, the display device according to FIG. 12 comprises a green light field 21 for visually displaying the positive state, a red light field 22 for visually displaying the negative state, and a light field 23 illuminated in any other desired color for signaling the neutral state.

(39) With regard to additional advantageous designs of the inventive method and of the inventive device, in order to avoid repetitions, reference is made to the general part of the description as well as to the appended claims.

(40) Finally, it is explicitly pointed out that the above described embodiment examples of the inventive method or of the inventive device are intended only to discuss the claimed teaching which, however, they do not limit to the embodiment examples.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(41) 1 Detection device

(42) 2 Storage unit (internal)

(43) 3 Storage unit (external)

(44) 4 Central computer

(45) 5 Computing unit

(46) 6 Computing unit (external)

(47) 7 Display device

(48) 8 First curve

(49) 9 Second curve

(50) 10 Third curve

(51) 11 Fourth curve

(52) 12 Fifth curve

(53) 13 Sixth curve

(54) 14 Full throttle duration

(55) 15 Duration of pedal release process

(56) 16 Full throttle duration

(57) 17 Duration of pedal release process

(58) 18 Journey section

(59) 19 Journey section

(60) 20 Journey section

(61) 21 Light field

(62) 22 Light field

(63) 23 Light field