Method and device for assisting a driver in the fuel-efficient sailing of a motor vehicle with actuator-activatable clutch

摘要

A method and a driver assistance device (1) for assisting a driver in fuel-efficient sailing of a motor vehicle with an actuator-activatable clutch (27) are described. An arithmetic unit (3) can automatically determine, for example, based on data provided by a navigation device (7), in which sub-routes of a predetermined route the vehicle can be suitably operated in a sailing driving state. Upon reaching such a partial driving distance, the driver is sent a sail signal via a man-machine interface, such as an active accelerator pedal (9), for example, by generating an additional counterforce on the active accelerator pedal. It can then be checked via the same man-machine interface whether, in response to the sail signal, the driver actually wishes to switch to a sailing driving state and emits a corresponding acceptance signal, for example by releasing a pedal actuation. If a corresponding acceptance signal is detected, the actuator-activatable clutch (27) for separating a drive train (23) of the motor vehicle is automatically activated and thus transferred to the sailing driving state. The driver can thus be informed based on, for example, objective navigation map data on the possibility of suitable for sailing driving condition sub-routes and thus leave the vehicle sailing more often, thereby saving fuel and CO2.