CRUISE CONTROL METHOD FOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A cruise control method for a vehicle includes: calculating maximum and minimum vehicle speeds based on a reference vehicle speed in a driving mode of deceleration after acceleration; setting a range of an upper and lower limit vehicle speeds for acceleration and deceleration driving by adding and subtracting a preset incremental value to and from the reference vehicle speed within the maximum and minimum vehicle speeds; calculating fuel efficiency by calculating fuel quantity and mileage according to a preset acceleration condition and by calculating fuel quantity and mileage according to fuel cut control and neutral control in a deceleration condition within the range of the upper and lower limit vehicle speeds; repeating the fuel efficiency calculation when the incremental value is additionally added to and subtracted from the range; and determining a set of driving conditions through repeating the calculating fuel efficiency.

Claims

1. A cruise control method for a vehicle, the method comprising steps of: calculating maximum and minimum vehicle speeds based on a reference vehicle speed input from a driver when a driving mode of deceleration after acceleration is selected; setting a range from an upper limit vehicle speed to a lower limit vehicle speed for acceleration and deceleration driving by adding and subtracting a preset incremental value to and from the reference vehicle speed within the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed; calculating fuel efficiency by calculating fuel quantity and mileage according to a preset acceleration condition and by calculating fuel quantity and mileage according to each of a fuel cut control and a neutral control in a preset deceleration condition within the range from the upper limit vehicle speed to the lower limit vehicle speed; repeating the step of calculating fuel efficiency in a state in which the incremental value is additionally added to and subtracted from the range from the upper limit vehicle speed to the lower limit vehicle speed; and determining a set of driving conditions of allowing driving to be performed by selecting the range of the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed in which the fuel efficiency is maximum and selecting a combination of the preset acceleration condition and the preset deceleration condition in the selected range, through the repeatedly performing the step of calculating fuel efficiency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the range of the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed coincides with the range of the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed due to the incremental value additionally added to or subtracted from the range continuously, the repeatedly performing the step of calculating fuel efficiency stops repetition of the step of calculating fuel efficiency.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a driving method selectively stores the preset acceleration condition and the preset deceleration condition at the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed at which the fuel efficiency is maximum as the repeatedly performing the calculating fuel efficiency is stopped.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating fuel efficiency includes calculating the fuel quantity and mileage according to the preset acceleration condition according to road gradient information by receiving the road gradient information through a controller in real time and the fuel quantity and mileage according to each of the fuel cut control and the neutral control in the preset deceleration condition.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, as a plurality of road gradient information different from one another is input, the controller controls such that the step of setting a range of an upper limit vehicle speed and a lower limit vehicle speed, the step of calculating fuel efficiency, and the repeatedly performing the step of calculating fuel efficiency are repeatedly performed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, based on a fuel consumption rate map of an engine and a transmission efficiency map of a transmission transmitted from the engine and the transmission, respectively, the step of calculating fuel efficiency includes calculating the fuel quantity and mileage for each acceleration included in the preset acceleration condition through the controller and calculating the fuel quantity and mileage for each of the fuel cut control and the neutral control according to the corresponding acceleration, thereby calculating the fuel efficiency for each combination of a plurality of acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating a vehicle speed includes calculating the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed by adding and subtracting a difference value input by the driver with respect to the reference vehicle speed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other objectives, features, and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a diagram sequentially illustrating a cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a range of a maximum vehicle speed and a minimum vehicle speed calculated with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a range of an upper limit vehicle speed and a lower limit vehicle speed calculated with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions in which an incremental value is added or subtracted with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of engine operating lines according to acceleration conditions with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0029] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for calculating mileage and fuel quantity with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Hereinbelow, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and a method of achieving same will become clear with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0032] However, the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiments disclosed below but will be embodied in various forms different from one another. In addition, the present embodiments are only provided to allow the disclosure of the present disclosure to be complete and to fully inform those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains a scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

[0033] In addition, in the description of the present disclosure, when it is determined that related known technologies and the like may obfuscate the gist of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram sequentially illustrating a cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a range of a maximum vehicle speed and a minimum vehicle speed calculated with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] In addition, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a range of an upper limit vehicle speed and a lower limit vehicle speed calculated with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] In addition, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions in which an incremental value is added or subtracted with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of engine operating lines according to acceleration conditions with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for calculating mileage and fuel quantity with respect to the cruise control method of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] In general, during constant speed cruise driving in an internal combustion engine vehicle, an engine operating point is determined by a vehicle speed and a transmission shift step and is operated at an optimal operating line (OOL) by an engine's power optimization strategy.

[0038] That is, when the vehicle is driven at a constant speed cruise, the engine is driven by determining an operating point so as to follow the OOL that may produce the optimal efficiency. In other words, the vehicle is driven at a preset acceleration in an acceleration section, thereby being driven at a point where the engine fuel efficiency is optimal. In the case of coasting performed in a deceleration section, the method, selecting and fixing either one of a fuel cut condition or a neutral control condition, is used. As a result, it has the effect of improving fuel efficiency compared to a case when driving at a constant speed, but it may not be regarded as an optimal driving method.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Acceleration Deceleration Overall Fuel Fuel Fuel fuel Mileage quantity efficiency Mileage quantity efficiency Item m kg km/l m kg km/l #1 178 0.0161 8.25 314 0 22.77 #2 267 0.0228 11.75 314 0 25.54 #3 532 0.0317 16.79 314 0 26.69

[0039] For example, when viewed with reference to [Table 1] and FIG. 6 above, when deceleration driving is performed using the fuel cut control, the overall fuel efficiency is calculated for a result of the fuel efficiency test according to acceleration conditions (#1, #2, and #3) different from one another through a preset relationship when a deceleration distance is short, wherein the relationship is represented as “Fuel efficiency [km/l]=(mileage during acceleration+mileage during deceleration)/(fuel quantity during acceleration+fuel quantity during deceleration).” In this case, the fuel efficiency is the most dominant in #3, which is gently accelerated compared to #2, which is close to the OOL. Accordingly, as driving following the engine CCL line is #2, driving following the engine CCL line is not always the optimal fuel economy.

[0040] In the end, the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle is determined by the relationship between the mileage and the fuel quantity during acceleration and deceleration, and the cruise control method of a vehicle according to the present embodiment, the method using such a relationship above, will be sequentially described with reference to FIG. 1 as follows.

[0041] First, in a state in which an accelerator position sensor (APS) is turned OFF in S100, an operation of cruise control is performed, but whether or not a driving mode of deceleration after acceleration is to be selected is determined in S200, wherein the driving mode of deceleration after acceleration repeats acceleration and deceleration within a predetermined range rather than drives while maintaining a constant acceleration.

[0042] Here, when the driving mode of deceleration after acceleration is selected by a driver's manipulation in S200, a reference vehicle speed is input from the driver in S300.

[0043] As described above, based on the input reference vehicle speed, the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed for setting a range in which the acceleration driving and the deceleration driving are to be repeated are calculated in S400.

[0044] That is, for example, when the reference vehicle speed input from the driver is 60 kph, and a difference between the vehicle speed set by the driver's manipulation is 20 kph, the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed may be calculated as 70 kph and 50 khp, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2, by preset calculation formulae for calculating the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed, wherein, the formulae are represented more specifically as “Maximum vehicle speed (V_max)=Reference vehicle speed (vt)+Vehicle speed difference (Δx)/2”, and “Minimum vehicle speed (V_min)=Reference vehicle speed (vt)—Vehicle speed difference (Δx)/2”.

[0045] Thereafter, the range of the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed for acceleration driving and deceleration driving within the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed is set by adding or subtracting a preset incremental value Δvt to the reference vehicle speed vt. That is, the range (vt+Δvt to vt−Δvt) for allowing the deceleration driving after the acceleration driving to be performed is set as shown in FIG. 3. Subsequently, it is determined whether such a range of the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed exceeds the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed, such as 70 kph and 50 khp, as above, in S500.

[0046] In this case, as described above, when it is assumed in S600 that the reference vehicle speed is 60 kph and that the incremental value is input as preset 2 kph, the upper limit vehicle speed is a value obtained by adding the incremental value to the reference vehicle speed, and the lower limit vehicle speed is a value obtained by subtracting the incremental value from the reference vehicle speed, so the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed may each be set to 62 kph and 58 kph, for example.

[0047] Here, although it has been described that the incremental value is set to 2 kph in order to subdivide the fuel efficiency calculation during acceleration driving and deceleration driving according to accelerations different from one another, in order to simplify the calculation of fuel efficiency calculation, a value no less than 2 kph within the range of the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed may even be set

[0048] In a state set as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, as acceleration conditions different from one another, that is, information on acceleration, are input, the fuel quantity and the mileage according to the acceleration conditions are calculated within the range of the upper vehicle speed limit and the lower vehicle speed limit in S610, and in the deceleration condition, the fuel quantity and the mileage according to the fuel cut control and the neutral control are calculated, respectively, whereby the fuel efficiency is calculated accordingly in S620.

[0049] In other words, as shown in FIG. 7, a configuration of a system configured to calculate the mileage and fuel quantity for the cruise control method of a vehicle according to the present embodiment is provided with an engine 1 and a transmission 2 and is provided with an automatic driving device including a controller 3 configured to automatically control a throttle 5. In addition, the system is provided with: the information acquisition means 6 configured to acquire road gradient information and traffic information of a road ahead where the vehicle is being driven; a first map set with a fuel consumption rate based on the number of revolutions and the torque of the engine 1; and a second map set with the transmission efficiency of the transmission 2. As a result, the system is configured to calculate the fuel consumption of the engine 1 and the mileage of the vehicle through the calculation device 4 based on the first map and the second map when the vehicle speed profile and road gradient information of the vehicle are input.

[0050] Accordingly, when the upper limit vehicle speed, the lower limit vehicle speed, and the reference vehicle speed are input to the controller 3 using such a calculation device 4 when accelerations different from one another are input, the controller 3 calculates the fuel quantity and mileage for each acceleration differently input according to the road gradient information and traffic information of the road where the vehicle is being driven using the information received from the information acquisition means 6. in S610 and calculates fuel efficiency accordingly.

[0051] In addition, when each vehicle speed for each of the accelerations different from one another reaches a value obtained by adding the reference vehicle speed (vt) and the incremental value (Δvt) (refer to FIG. 4), the deceleration is carried out toward a value obtained by subtracting the incremental value (Δvt) from the reference vehicle speed (vt). During such deceleration, the fuel quantity and mileage for each of the fuel cut control and the neutral control are calculated, for example, as shown in [Table 2] below (S620), using the calculation device 4, thereby calculating the overall fuel efficiency.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Acceleration Deceleration Fuel quantity Mileage Fuel Efficiency condition condition (kg) (m) (km/l) Acceleration Fuel Cut 0 304 25.0 (a) Neutral 0.0048 604 26.3 control Acceleration Fuel Cut 0 304 24.3 (b) Neutral 0.0048 604 27.5 control Acceleration Fuel Cut 0 304 24.5 (c) Neutral 0.0048 604 23 control

[0052] As shown in [Table 2], when the fuel efficiency is calculated to be maximum in the acceleration condition of the acceleration (b) among the three acceleration conditions and the neutral control of the deceleration conditions of the fuel cut control and the neutral control, the acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions at the upper limit vehicle speed and the lower limit vehicle speed according to the maximum fuel efficiency are selectively stored in S700.

[0053] As described above, when storing the acceleration condition and the deceleration condition in S700 is completed, as shown in FIG. 5, an additionally increased incremental value (2*Δvt) is again added to or subtracted from the reference vehicle speed vt, whereby fuel quantity and mileage for each of accelerations different from one another are calculated. In addition, fuel efficiency is repeatedly calculated and stored accordingly.

[0054] That is, based on the same road gradient information and traffic information as before, the fuel efficiency according to each acceleration condition and deceleration condition is re-calculated as in [Table 2] above for a plurality of acceleration conditions (for example, acceleration (d), acceleration (e), and acceleration (f)), refer to FIG. 5, whereby the acceleration condition and the deceleration condition with the maximum fuel efficiency among the number of the fuel efficiency obtained above are repeatedly stored, wherein the plurality of acceleration conditions is increased additionally other than the previous acceleration conditions by allowing additionally increased incremental value to be added to or subtracted from the reference vehicle speed.

[0055] In this case, in additionally adding or subtracting the incremental value, when the value coincides with or may exceed the range of the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed range, the calculation of fuel efficiency according to the acceleration condition and the deceleration condition is stopped, and the driving may be performed on the corresponding road gradient information and traffic information according to the acceleration conditions and deceleration conditions corresponding to the maximum fuel efficiency among the accumulated fuel economy in S800.

[0056] For example, as in S400 described above, in a state, where the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed are respectively 70 kph and 50 kph, the reference vehicle speed vt is 60 kph, and the incremental value Δvt is 2 kph, when the additional incremental value corresponds to 5*Δvt, the values obtained by adding and subtracting the additional incremental value (5*Δvt) to and from the reference vehicle speed (vt), respectively, coincide with the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed, respectively, so that driving may be performed in the corresponding road gradient information and traffic information, according to the acceleration conditions (acceleration) and deceleration conditions corresponding to the maximum fuel efficiency among the fuel efficiency accumulated and stored up to a point in time of coincidence of the values obtained above with the maximum vehicle speed and the minimum vehicle speed.

[0057] As a result, in the present embodiment, when different road gradient information and traffic information are input to the controller 3 in real time, the above-described S300 to S800 are sequentially performed through the calculation device 4 of the controller 3, respectively, so that the driving method may be determined based on combination of the acceleration and deceleration conditions corresponding to the optimal fuel efficiency calculated based on the corresponding road gradient information and traffic information. Therefore, the fuel efficiency of the vehicle may be effectively improved when the cruise control is controlled.

[0058] Accordingly, in the present embodiment, during cruise control of the vehicle, the vehicle is driven at a preset acceleration in an acceleration section, thereby being driven at a point where the fuel efficiency is the maximum, and during coasting performed in a deceleration section, it is possible to derive the effect of effective fuel efficiency improvement compared to a conventional cruise control method that uses a method of selecting and fixing any one of the fuel cut control and the neutral control.

[0059] According to the present disclosure, when the driving mode of deceleration after acceleration is selected of the cruise control mode, the acceleration driving and deceleration driving are repeated within the range of an upper limit vehicle speed and a lower limit vehicle speed calculated based on the reference vehicle speed input from the driver, wherein the fuel economy is repeatedly calculated by calculating the fuel quantity and mileage for each preset acceleration according to the road gradient information during the acceleration driving, the fuel economy is repeatedly calculated by calculating the fuel quantity and mileage for each of the fuel cut control and the neutral control during the deceleration driving, and by deriving the respective optimal fuel efficiency for each of the road gradient information, driving is performed in a combination of the acceleration driving conditions different from one another and decelerating driving conditions corresponding to the optimal fuel efficiency according to the gradient of the road where the vehicle is currently being driven, thereby having an effect of improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

[0060] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiment(s) shown in the drawings, this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications may be made therefrom, and all or part of the above-described embodiment(s) configured by being optionally combined. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.