JP6056192B2 - Fuel consumption meter for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle fuel consumption meter, and is particularly suitable as a vehicle fuel consumption meter capable of displaying a fuel consumption rate in the current traveling state and notifying a vehicle user of the quality.

  As an apparatus for evaluating a vehicle driving state such as fuel consumption, there is a vehicle display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 and capable of displaying fuel consumption. This device calculates the fuel consumption based on the fuel injection pulse signal output from the engine control unit, calculates the travel distance based on the vehicle speed pulse signal output from the vehicle speed sensor, and calculates the calculated travel distance as the fuel consumption. Divide by to calculate and display fuel consumption.

  In addition, vehicle information such as average fuel consumption and instantaneous fuel consumption can be switched and displayed by the switch operation, and various information can be selectively displayed by the operation of the vehicle user.

JP 2009-107592 A

  However, there is a problem that it is difficult to know from the vehicle information by these devices whether the current driving state (instant fuel consumption) is driving with good fuel consumption relative to the standards such as the current driving state (for example, average fuel consumption). there were.

  For example, the vehicle user can judge whether the fuel efficiency is good by comparing the instantaneous fuel efficiency with the average fuel efficiency. In this case, the two values of the instantaneous fuel economy and the average fuel efficiency displayed at the same time are compared or switched by switch operation. Thus, there is a problem that an increase in display area for displaying the two values and a troublesome work are required, such as checking each fuel consumption value.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular fuel consumption meter that can easily inform a vehicle user about the quality of fuel consumption with a simple configuration by paying attention to the above-described problems.

The vehicle fuel consumption meter of the present invention is
Display means for selectively displaying vehicle information including total accumulated travel distance, section travel distance, average fuel consumption rate, instantaneous fuel consumption rate, cruising range by operation with an operation switch by screen switching,
Instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means for calculating an instantaneous fuel consumption rate of the vehicle based on a travel distance and a fuel injection amount within a preset set time;
Average fuel consumption calculating means for calculating an average fuel consumption rate of the vehicle based on an integrated value of the travel distance and an integrated value of the fuel injection amount in a predetermined section;
Fuel consumption display control means for displaying the instantaneous fuel consumption rate or the average fuel consumption rate on the display means as fuel consumption information;
A state display control means for measuring the instantaneous fuel consumption rate relative to the average fuel consumption rate and changing the display of the state display unit based on the measurement value;
The state display control means includes
Only when the fuel consumption information is selected from the vehicle information
The display means is controlled to display an upward arrow display or a downward arrow display as the state display section on the same screen next to the fuel information .

Also, the fuel efficiency display control means may be displayed selectively on the display means either of the instantaneous fuel consumption rate and the average fuel consumption rate as the fuel consumption information.

  Further, the average fuel consumption calculation process calculates an average fuel consumption rate in an accumulated travel distance that can be initialized as the predetermined section.

  Further, the state display control means performs a calculation process for each set time of the instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means.

  The present invention is a vehicular fuel consumption meter that displays a fuel consumption state of a vehicle, and can easily inform a vehicle user about the quality of fuel consumption with a simple configuration.

The figure which shows the structure of the screen display part in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the compound instrument apparatus by which embodiment same as the above is mounted. The figure which shows the example of a display transition by the display means of embodiment same as the above.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  An example in which the fuel consumption meter for vehicles of the present invention is applied to the screen display unit A of a composite instrument device mounted on a vehicle will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the screen display unit A mainly includes an operation switch 1, a control unit 2, and a display unit 3. In addition to the screen display section A, the composite instrument is a so-called analog display section that uses the pointer 4 for displaying the traveling speed and the fuel amount and the index (characters and scales) 5 to be indicated by the pointer 4. B, various alarms and indicators (not shown) are provided.

  The operation switch 1 is an input means for switching the vehicle information (display contents) displayed on the display means 3 based on the pressing pressure operation of the operator. As shown in FIG. 3 can be applied, and a signal corresponding to the pressing operation is output to the control means 2. For example, when the operation switch 1 is pressed once in the display state of the total accumulated travel distance (ODO) display, the vehicle information displayed on the display unit 3 by the control of the control unit 2 is different from the vehicle information displayed on the display unit 3 ( For example, a switch for switching to a section travel distance display). The operation switch 1 is preferably provided in the vicinity of the display means 3 so that it is easy to recognize that the screen display unit A is the operation target. However, in addition to the knob switch provided in the composite instrument device, A switch provided on the instrument panel or the steering can also be applied.

  For example, a microcomputer can be applied to the control means 2. Input information from the operation switch 1 or a traveling speed from an ECU separately mounted on the vehicle via a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication cable (not shown) It is connected so that various information such as the fuel injection amount can be input.

  The control means 2 includes a CPU for performing arithmetic processing based on a signal from the operation switch 1 and various information, a readable / rewritable RAM for temporarily storing arithmetic processing results and the like in the CPU, and a control program. And a storage unit composed of a ROM storing control data, and an input / output interface connected by a bus for exchanging various information, control signals, clock signals, and the like. In addition to the RAM and ROM, a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory can be used as the storage unit. In this case, the control means 2 is provided with a pointer control section (not shown) for controlling the analog display section B in addition to the drive driver for driving the display means 3.

  The display means 3 is a display based on a control signal from the control means 2 in a composite instrument device provided in the instrument panel of the vehicle. For example, a liquid crystal display panel provided with a backlight or the liquid crystal display panel The driver which drives can be applied. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the display means 3 displays the total accumulated travel distance, the section travel distance, the average fuel consumption (average fuel consumption rate), the instantaneous fuel consumption (instant fuel consumption rate), the cruising range, the vehicle outside air temperature. You can switch screens with gauges and numerical values. Note that the display means 3 can be replaced with a self-luminous display element such as an organic EL panel or a fluorescent display tube as long as the screen can be switched instead of the liquid crystal display panel.

  With the above configuration, the vehicle user can check the plurality of vehicle information such as fuel efficiency information by switching the screen by operating the operation switch 1.

  Next, the processing procedure of the control means regarding the display of fuel consumption information will be described below. The screen display unit A displays and outputs the fuel consumption information by the average fuel consumption and the instantaneous fuel consumption displayed on the display means 3 as described above and the state display displayed simultaneously with the display of the fuel consumption information. Yes.

  In order to display the fuel consumption information, the control unit 2 performs calculation processing on the fuel information display as the instantaneous fuel consumption calculation unit 21, the average fuel consumption calculation unit 22, the fuel consumption display control unit 23, and the state display control unit 24.

  The instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means 21 inputs information from the CAN and calculates the instantaneous fuel consumption of the vehicle based on the travel distance and fuel injection amount within a preset set time. The set time is preferably such that the vehicle user can confirm the numerical value. In this case, the set time is updated to the latest value every 0.5 seconds. In this case, the set time is set to a time at which the instantaneous fuel consumption displayed numerically is sufficiently visible.

  The average fuel consumption calculation means 22 calculates the average fuel consumption of the vehicle based on the integrated value of the travel distance and the integrated value of the fuel injection amount in a predetermined section. In this case, the average fuel consumption is obtained from the integrated travel distance (display value of “TRIP A”) that can be reset (initialized) by the operation of the vehicle user and the integrated value of the fuel consumption from the reset to the present.

  The fuel consumption display control unit 23 causes the display unit 3 to display instantaneous fuel consumption or average fuel consumption as fuel consumption information. In this case, the display unit 3 can be switched and displayed by operating the operation switch 1. Therefore, the vehicle user visually changes the value of the instantaneous fuel consumption output on the display means 3 to change the current fuel consumption state every moment (in this case, every 0.5 seconds). It can be confirmed specifically by the numerical value that changes.

  In addition, by displaying the average fuel consumption, the vehicle user can check the past fuel consumption value that has traveled a predetermined distance, and therefore can normally check how much fuel is being driven. In addition, since the average fuel consumption value can be reset at any timing in conjunction with the accumulated travel distance, it is possible to check the fuel consumption change before and after the driver change and before and after the maintenance. Although the average fuel consumption calculation means 22 performs calculation processing as needed, the display of the display means 3 by the fuel consumption display control means 23 is controlled so as to be updated at a cycle equal to or higher than the instantaneous fuel consumption display update cycle.

  The state display control unit 24 compares the average fuel consumption calculated by the average fuel consumption calculation unit 22 with the instantaneous fuel consumption calculated by the instantaneous fuel consumption calculation unit 21, and displays the state based on the result. . In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the state display control means 24 is displayed while the average fuel consumption or instantaneous fuel consumption display screen is selected, and the state display unit 31 is adjacent to the display position of the average fuel consumption or instantaneous fuel consumption. Yes. Further, the state display control means 24 displays an upward arrow when the instantaneous fuel consumption is large with respect to the average fuel consumption, and displays a downward arrow when the instantaneous fuel consumption is small with respect to the average fuel consumption. The state display unit 31 of the means 3 is controlled.

  Accordingly, the vehicle user can easily confirm the quality of the fuel consumption state in the current traveling by checking the state display unit 31 displayed together with each fuel consumption display, based on the past traveling state of a predetermined distance. Further, by providing the state display unit 31 next to the fuel consumption display without using another type of display between the fuel consumption display and the state display unit 31, the display of the state display unit 31 can be displayed without providing any special explanation. It is easy to guess that the display is related to fuel consumption, and the display is simple and has good visibility. The relevance can be further enhanced by providing the state display unit 31 in the vicinity of the fuel consumption display (for example, within 5 cm).

  In particular, the up / down arrow display next to the average fuel consumption display allows the direction of increase / decrease in the calculation (update) of the average fuel consumption value to be intuitively estimated. Moreover, it becomes a display which can presume that it went up and down from the reference value by the up-and-down arrow display next to the instantaneous fuel consumption display. For example, both the average fuel consumption and the instantaneous fuel consumption can be displayed and compared without changing the size of the display means 3 or making the display or operation complicated by the state display unit 31, or the screen can be switched using the operation switch 1. Thus, it is possible to easily express the quality of the fuel consumption state in a small display area without performing the confirmation work.

  In addition, by calculating the state display based on the average fuel consumption and instantaneous fuel consumption display values, the display of the state display section flickers more frequently than necessary and does not match the displayed fuel consumption values. Output that lowers recognition, such as display, can be prevented. Note that the display means 3 can be applied to a display element in which the display shape is divided for each segment, or a device that forms a display shape by driving for each pixel in a dot matrix shape. In the latter case, A predetermined display area adjacent to the fuel consumption display can be used as the state display unit 31.

  Such a vehicle fuel consumption meter includes an instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means 21 that calculates an instantaneous fuel consumption of the vehicle based on a travel distance and a fuel injection amount within a preset set time, and an integrated value of the travel distance in a predetermined section. Average fuel consumption calculation means 22 for calculating the average fuel consumption of the vehicle based on the integrated value of the fuel injection amount; fuel consumption display control means 23 for displaying the instantaneous fuel consumption or the average fuel consumption on the display means 3 as fuel consumption information; And a state display control unit 24 that measures the instantaneous fuel consumption relative to the average fuel consumption and changes the display of the state display unit 31 based on the measured value.

  Accordingly, the fuel consumption meter for a vehicle can be easily informed to the vehicle user about the quality of the fuel consumption without significantly increasing the display area and troublesome work.

  The fuel consumption display control unit 23 selectively displays either the instantaneous fuel consumption or the average fuel consumption on the display unit 3 as the fuel consumption information, and the state display unit 31 is provided next to the fuel consumption information. Thus, even if the status display unit 31 is simple and abstract, it can be easily estimated that the display is related to fuel consumption, and thus the display area can be suppressed. Moreover, since it can confirm with the display value of a fuel consumption, it becomes a highly convenient display.

  As described above, the average fuel consumption calculation process 22 can generate a reference value at any timing suitable for the convenience of the vehicle user, by calculating the average fuel consumption over the resettable cumulative travel distance as the predetermined section. .

  The state display control unit 24 performs calculation processing at the set time of the instantaneous fuel consumption calculation unit 21 to prevent flicker due to display update more frequently than necessary, and also feels uncomfortable according to instantaneous fuel consumption display update. The display is without. Further, it is possible to reduce the load on the control means 2 by omitting useless arithmetic processing.

  The vehicle fuel consumption meter of the present invention has been described by way of example in the configuration of the embodiment described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gist of the present invention can be achieved in other configurations. It goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the scope. For example, the display means 3 includes not only numerical values and bar display of vehicle information including fuel efficiency information, but also a pointer image that rotates in accordance with a control signal, and an index image such as a scale or numerical value that is an instruction target of the pointer image. Can be expressed by

  In addition, a value measured from actual vehicle travel is desirable as a reference value for fuel efficiency, and an example in which the average fuel efficiency that is manually reset in conjunction with “TRIP A” is applied is described above as an example. Standard values are automatically reset or updated, such as the fuel consumption at the cumulative travel distance (ODO) that cannot be performed, the travel distance from the time of refueling to the present, the travel distance from the start of the vehicle to the present, and the fuel consumption when traveling for the past 100 km The same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  Moreover, although the state display part 31 was provided in the display means 3 which displays an average fuel consumption and an instantaneous fuel consumption, and what comprised the state display adjacent to each fuel consumption display was mentioned as an example, a state display part is a fuel consumption display. The same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained, for example, a dedicated status display unit can be provided next to the display means, and the fuel consumption can be improved by turning on / off the illumination or changing the color. It is also possible to express the wasted state.

  Moreover, what expressed the state display part 31 by the arrow display of an up-down direction was shown in the above-mentioned embodiment, However The character, mark, etc. which associate the quality of fuel consumption can be substituted. It is also conceivable to express how much the instantaneous fuel consumption is different from the standard average fuel consumption by changing the display color, the display size, or the like.

  The present invention can be applied to a vehicle fuel consumption meter that is mounted on a vehicle and displays various types of vehicle information, for example, a vehicle fuel consumption meter that is mounted on a moving body including an automobile, a motorcycle, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation switch 2 Control means 21 Instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means 22 Average fuel consumption calculation means 23 Fuel consumption display control means 24 State display control means 3 Display means 31 State display part

Claims (4)

Display means for selectively displaying vehicle information including total accumulated travel distance, section travel distance, average fuel consumption rate, instantaneous fuel consumption rate, cruising range by operation with an operation switch by screen switching,
Instantaneous fuel consumption calculation means for calculating an instantaneous fuel consumption rate of the vehicle based on a travel distance and a fuel injection amount within a preset set time;
Average fuel consumption calculating means for calculating an average fuel consumption rate of the vehicle based on an integrated value of the travel distance and an integrated value of the fuel injection amount in a predetermined section;
Fuel consumption display control means for displaying the instantaneous fuel consumption rate or the average fuel consumption rate on the display means as fuel consumption information;
A state display control means for measuring the instantaneous fuel consumption rate relative to the average fuel consumption rate and changing the display of the state display unit based on the measurement value;
The state display control means includes
Only when the fuel consumption information is selected from the vehicle information
A fuel consumption meter for vehicles, wherein the display means is controlled to display an upward arrow display or a downward arrow display on the same screen as the state display unit next to the fuel information . The fuel consumption display control means for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that to display selectively to said display means either one of said instantaneous fuel consumption rate and the average fuel consumption rate as the fuel consumption information Fuel consumption meter.   3. The vehicle fuel consumption meter according to claim 1, wherein the average fuel consumption calculation process calculates an average fuel consumption rate in an integrated travel distance that can be initialized as the predetermined section. 4.   The vehicular fuel consumption meter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the state display control unit performs a calculation process for each set time of the instantaneous fuel consumption calculation unit.

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