The present disclosure relates generally to the field of vehicle technologies, and more specifically, to an energy management device for a vehicle to improve a drive range of the vehicle as well as increase ease of driving and enhance overall user experience while driving the vehicle. The present disclosure further relates to a method of operation of the energy management device.
BACKGROUND
With the advancement in automobile technologies, especially in the newer generation of vehicles starting from BS-VI which are controlled by computers, the automobile sector is on the brink of a transformation. The research and development is being carried out at a rapid pace to solve certain open technical problems and develop technological solutions in order to increase practical usability of such vehicles. Two major technical issues in electric vehicles domain is how to increase the drive range of the electric vehicle in one charge, how to increase predictability of range in all trips undertaken by a given electric vehicle, lastly, a lack of adequate charging infrastructure, which adds to the woes of adopting and using such electric vehicles in a long drive. In other words, how to make such electric vehicles more reliable and a 'highway-worthy' vehicle. It is observed that the one-charge range of a same electric vehicle can vary substantially for different users due to their different driving styles and usage pattern, thereby further making the range quite unpredictable, which is not desirable. Similarly, even non-electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles face similar challenge of how to increase fuel efficiency.
Currently, certain attempts have been made to extend the range of electric vehicle and fuel efficiency of vehicles that run on non-renewable power source and increase comfort. In one example, conventional cruise control systems are used that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle to some extent. However, existing cruise control systems are very basic in nature and inflexible to user needs and different preferences. In another example, regenerative braking is known, in which some amount of kinetic energy is captured and fed back to a battery pack of the vehicle. However, in certain scenarios, there may be a human error in judgement, for example, how much pressure may be needed to be applied to brake to slow down a conventional electric vehicle. In such scenarios, when regenerative braking

function is available, it gets automatically applied even when not desired in some situations, for example, in a highway drive with sparse traffic. In a third scenario, the driver might be inadvertently hampering the range or mileage of the vehicle by applying sudden acceleration due to their driving habits.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with the conventional systems and methods of energy management in a vehicle.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure provides an energy management device (e.g., a smart range extender) and a method of operation of the energy management device to improve a drive range of a vehicle as well as increase ease of driving and enhance overall user experience while driving the vehicle. In the present disclosure, the term "vehicle" shall be construed to mean and include an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a vehicle that runs on other renewable or non-renewable power sources (e.g., petrol, diesel etc.). Further, it is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the term "drive range" in case of an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle refers to a range in one full charge, whereas in case of vehicle that runs on the non-renewable fuel (e.g., petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG etc.), the term "drive range" refers to the distance covered in one full tank of fuel. In both cases, we aim at increasing drive range by improving fuel efficiency. The present disclosure provides a solution to the existing problem of how to increase the drive range of a conventional vehicle and to increase predictability of the range in all trips undertaken by the vehicle. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a solution that overcomes at least partially the problems encountered in the prior art and provides an improved energy management device (e.g., a smart range extender) and a method of operation of the energy management device that significantly improves the drive range of an existing vehicle, increases ease of driving and predictability of range, and enhance overall user experience while driving the vehicle.
One or more objectives of the present disclosure are achieved by the solutions provided in the enclosed independent claims. Advantageous implementations of the present disclosure are further defined in the dependent claims.

It has to be noted that all devices, elements, circuitry, units, and means described in the present application could be implemented in a combination of software and hardware elements. All steps which are performed by the various entities described in the present application, as well as the functionalities described to be performed by the various entities, are intended to mean that the respective entity is adapted to or configured to perform the respective steps and functionalities. It will be appreciated that features of the present disclosure are susceptible to being combined in various combinations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
Additional aspects, advantages, features, and objects of the present disclosure would be made apparent from the drawings and the detailed description of the illustrative implementations construed in conjunction with the appended claims that follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The summary above, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle with an energy management device, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of the energy management device of FIG. 1,
in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 A is a block diagram illustrating various components and operations of the energy
management device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a dial device communicatively coupled to operate an energy
management device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating an application interface of an application communicatively
coupled to operate an energy management device, in accordance with an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a first connector of a pedal assembly of the electric vehicle;
FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a second connector of an ECU device of the electric vehicle;
FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary energy management device from a first
viewing angle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary energy management device from a second
viewing angle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 is a system block diagram illustrating a galvanic isolation circuit of the exemplary
energy management device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
disclosure; and
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of operation of the energy management device for a
vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure and ways in which they can be implemented. Although some modes of carrying out the present disclosure have been disclosed, those skilled in the art would recognize that other embodiments for carrying out or practicing the present disclosure are also possible.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle with an energy management device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram 100A of a vehicle 102. The vehicle 102 comprises an energy management device 104. The vehicle 102 further comprises a first connector 106 communicatively coupled to a pedal assembly 108 to receive pedal input, a second connector 110 communicatively coupled to an electronic control unit (ECU) device 112 of the vehicle 102. The ECU device 112 is commonly also referred to as a vehicle control unit (VCU).
Typically, in conventional vehicles including electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, the first connector 106 is directly connected to the second connector so that any input from the pedal assembly 108 (e.g., a brake pedal, a clutch pedal, or an accelerator pedal) is directly passed to the ECU device 112. In contradiction to the conventional vehicles, in the present disclosure, a new hardware, such as the energy management device 104 is arranged in the communication path between the pedal assembly 108 and the ECU device 112. More specifically, the energy management device 104 is arranged in a series between the communication path of the first connector 106 and the second connector 110.
The energy management device 104 comprises a first connection interface 114 that is communicatively coupled to the first connector 106 of the pedal assembly 108 of the vehicle 102. The energy management device 104 further comprises a second connection interface

116 that is communicatively coupled to the second connector 110 of the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102. The energy management device 104 further comprises a third connection interface 118 that is communicatively coupled to an onboard diagnostics (OBD) port (not shown) of the vehicle 102. The third connection interface 118 is configured to access in-vehicle data with read-only rights as well as receive a defined voltage supply to power the energy management device 104 via the third connection interface 118.
The vehicle 102 further includes at least one user interface communicatively coupled to the energy management device 104. The at least one user interface includes a configurable step size option operable to change a cruise speed of the vehicle 102 in a step size. Typically, in conventional cruise control systems, there is a fixed and inflexible cruise control system, which when switched ON, starts cruise control to maintain a current speed level of a conventional vehicle without the need to press the accelerator pedal of the pedal assembly 108. The maintenance of the speed level is coarse and there is a lot of fluctuation and variation, and thus is referred to as a first accuracy level. There is no way for a user to configure the cruise speed as per choice or a given traffic situation. In an example, when the conventional vehicle is traversing on an ascending path (e.g., climbing uphill, traversing upwards a bridge etc.) or a descending path (e.g., traversing downwards a descending slope, traversing downwards a bridge etc.), existing cruise control usually falters, and speed level gets fluctuated very often due to existing technology or way of controlling cruise speed just focusing on the throttle of the conventional vehicle. In contradiction to the conventional cruise control systems, the energy management device 104 of the present disclosure provides advanced options of increasing and decreasing the cruise speed with a configurable step size (e.g., step size of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., N) may be set, and a user operating the user interface (e.g., a dial or an application) may rotate the dial to change the cruise speed level by any desired step size (say increase cruise speed to 5 Km per hour). For example, if the previous cruise speed was 50 Km/hr., by just rotating the dial in a defined direction, the cruise speed can be changed to 55 km/hr., where the extent of increase or decrease is also configured as per set step size. The energy management device 104 further comprises a microcontroller that is configured to obtain a user-input via the at least one user interface to change the cruise speed of the vehicle 102 from a first speed (e.g., 50 km) to a second speed (e.g., 45 or 55 km) in a first step size (e.g., when step size is configured to 5) via the configurable step size option of the at least one user interface.

In an implementation, a plurality of user interfaces, for example, human machine interfaces, are provided. Examples of the plurality of user interfaces is shown and described in FIG. 3B (a specialized and customized dial device) and FIG.3C (an application).
The microcontroller of the energy management device 104 is further configured to read at least speed data, energy or fuel usage data, and brake status from the in-vehicle data (e.g., from an in-vehicle network) via the third connection interface 118. The microcontroller of the energy management device 104 is further configured to periodically generate a set of signals and communicate the generated set of signals to the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102 via the second connection interface 116. A number of signals in the set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device 112 per second is greater than five (five or more times, say about 200) to cause the vehicle 102 to gradually update to the second speed and maintain the second speed even when no physical user activity on the pedal assembly 108 is detected via the first connection interface 106. It is known that a human can respond maximum 3 times in a second to provide input, for example, press accelerator pedal to accelerate or decelerate to adjust speed, which is tedious and too slow for achieving best energy efficiency. Moreover, it is observed and validated experimentally that certain driving actions, such as sudden braking or acceleration or any forced acceleration or braking, especially in electric vehicles, drains battery faster and reduces even the manufacturer assured range of the electric vehicle in one charge. In non-electric vehicles, such driving actions reduces fuel efficiency. The present disclosure generates more than five signals (e.g., about 200 signals) in one second and communicates such generated signals to the ECU device 112, where such signals generated electronically indicate a pedal position of the accelerator pedal that defines the second speed. This makes the cruise control very precise and the second speed is maintained with increased accuracy (i.e., in a second accuracy level that is higher than the first accuracy level). The sending of more than five signals (e.g., about 200 signals) to the ECU device 112 per second produces a technical effect of about 30-60% increase in range of the vehicle 102. For instance, in case of an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle, if the existing range in practice is 250 km /hr in one full charge, the range may be improved and extended by 10-30% without any additional cost and resources by use of the energy management device 104. Furthermore, the transition from the first speed to the second speed is not drastic but controlled to be gradual, which also adds to the increase in the range of the electric vehicle 102. Similarly, in non-renewable fuel based vehicles, fuel

efficiency by use of the energy management device 104 improves by about the same magnitude (10-30%).
In an implementation, the vehicle 102 further comprises an indicator (e.g., a LED indicator), which is electrically connected through a connection medium (e.g., an electrically conducting wire) with the energy management device 104. The indicator shows the overall status of operation of the energy management device 104. It may be mounted on the vehicle dashboard, or it may simply stick on the dashboard.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of the energy management device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is described in conjunction with elements from FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown the energy management device 104 having the first connection interface 114 detachably coupled the first connector 106, the second connection interface 116 detachably coupled with the second connector 110, and the third connection interface 118 detectably coupled to the OBD port 206. In an implementation, the first connection interface 114, the second connection interface 116, and the third connection interface 118 are arranged at different sides of the energy management device 104. There is further shown an accelerator pedal which when pressed, a pedal input 202 is received by the first interface 114 via a pedal cable 202 connected to the first connector 106. The vehicle 102 further includes an auxiliary battery 208 that is used to power the energy management device 104 with a defined voltage supply, such as a 12V supply, via the third interface 118. As shown, the third connection interface 118 is communicatively coupled to the OBD port 206 of the vehicle 102 and is configured to access in-vehicle data with read-only rights as well as receive the defined voltage supply from the auxiliary battery 208 to power the energy management device 104.
FIG. 3 A is a block diagram illustrating various components and operations of the energy management device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1 and 2. With reference to FIG 3A, there is shown a block diagram 300A illustrating various components and operations of the energy management device 104. The energy management device 104 further includes a detector 302, a coast circuit 304, an energy management circuit 306, a cruise control circuit 308 (i.e., a Precision Cruise), and a max speed limit circuit 310. The energy management device 104 receives a pedal input 312 (e.g., an input from the brake

pedal or the accelerator pedal) from the pedal assembly 108 (FIG. 1) via the first connection interface 114, and when in operation receives user input from a first user interface 314 and a second user interface 316. The first user interface 314 may be a dial device, shown, and described, for example, in FIG. 3B. The second user interface 316 may be an application installed in a smartphone or an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. The first user interface 314 and the second user interface 316 may be communicatively coupled to the energy management device 104 via a personal area network, such as BLUETOOTH™ or WI-FI™.
In operation, a user may select one or more functions via at least one user interface of the first user interface 314 and the second user interface 316. In a first scenario, the user may activate a precision cruise function by providing an input via the first user interface 314 or the second user interface 316. The detector 302 is configured to detect the user input corresponding to the selection and activation of the precision cruise function. Thereafter, the microcontroller of the energy management device 104 causes the cruise control circuit 308 to read at least speed data from the in-vehicle data (e.g., from an in-vehicle network, such as Controller Area Network (CAN bus) via the third connection interface 118. The microcontroller further causes the cruise control circuit 308 to generate a set of signals in each second and communicate the generated set of signals to the ECU device 112 every second of the vehicle 102 via the second connection interface 110. The number of signals in the set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device 112 per second is greater than five (five or more times, say about 200).
In a second scenario, the detector 302 is further configured to detect another user input via the at least one user interface (e.g., the dial device 3180 to change the cruise speed of the vehicle 102 from a first speed (e.g., to 60 km/Hr) to a second speed (50 km/hr) in a first step size (e.g., step size of-10) via a configurable step size option of the at least one user interface. The step size is further configurable from previously 5 step size to 10 step size from an application interface 324 (FIG. 3C). The microcontroller further causes the energy management circuit 306 to override a default (or regular or in-built pick-up function of the vehicle 102) and manage the increase or decrease in speed from the first speed to the second speed gradually in a gradual change less than a threshold. For example, the change from 60 km/hr to 50 km/hr is not sudden mimicking forced acceleration. On the contrary, the change from the first speed to the second speed is controlled to be a progressive change in a restrained manner (e.g., a decrease of 1 km/hr until 50 km/hr is reached) so that there is no

sudden load on the main battery pack of the vehicle 102. This controlled and restrained increase or decrease overriding fast pick-up or slow-down is experimentally found to be advantageous in practice especially for handling of vehicle 102. This gradual change controlled by the first speed to the second speed further increases the range of the vehicle 102 by about 10-30%. Moreover, the microcontroller further causes the cruise control circuit 308 to generate a new set of signals in each second and communicate the generated new set of signals to the ECU device 112 every second of the vehicle 102 via the second connection interface 116, where the number of signals in the new set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device 112 per second is greater than five (five or more times, say about 200) and the new set of signals defines a specific voltage indicative of a pedal position of the accelerator pedal for the second speed. It is observed that if more than five, preferably hundreds of signals that defines pedal position of the accelerator pedal for the second speed are continuously sent with very minute gap in a span of one second, the precision of maintaining the cruise speed increases as well as draining of the main battery pack of the vehicle 102 is substantially reduced as compared to existing cruise control systems and conventional vehicle systems. This further improves the range of the vehicle 102 such autonomous control of speed is uniform for different users, thus improving predictability and reliability of range for a particular version or model of an electric vehicle and even non-electric vehicle of a given manufacturer for all users. Thus, the combination of the energy management circuit 306 and the cruise control circuit 308 provides an overall improvement in range of about 30-70% of the vehicle 102.
In a third scenario, when an economy energy mode simply referred to as "Eco" mode is switched ON, the microcontroller further causes the energy management circuit 306 to override a default and sudden pick-up function (or regular or in-built pick-up function of the vehicle 102) that may otherwise cause a forced acceleration when a user presses the accelerator pedal of the pedal assembly 108 which is detected by the pedal input 312, via the first connection interface 106. Instead, the microcontroller further causes the energy management circuit 306 to manage the increase or decrease in speed by configuring an acceleration rate. In other words, such management, i.e., a controlled increase or decrease in speed ensures that the energy consumed by the vehicle 102 is do not cross a defined threshold, which is typically half of the energy as that of a manufacturer provided conventional drive mode (also referred to as a "D" mode). Another set of signals may be

communicated to the ECU device 112 that defines different pedal position of the accelerator pedal denoting different but minor change in speed levels such that there is a gradual change in speed in the "Eco" mode until desired speed is reached as per the pedal input 312. There is another energy mode, called "deep Eco" where the change is even more gradual than the Eco" mode. These energy modes further increases the range of the vehicle 102. These energy modes ensures an even less expenditure of energy by the vehicle 102, for example, in the "Deep Eco" mode, typically 15 to 20% less energy is consumed as compared to that of the existing "Drive" mode (i.e., a vehicle manufacturer provided driving mode).
In a fourth scenario, the max speed limit circuit 310 is activated when a "Max speed limit" function is activated via one of the first user interface 314 and the second user interface 316. the microcontroller further causes the max speed limit circuit 310 to override any pedal input 312 that indicates a pedal position beyond an upper speed threshold (e.g., 100 Km/hr, 70 km/hr etc. as per user-configured and user-defined maximum speed limit performed via the application interface 324 (FIG. 3C). The moderation of throttle input may be performed to further increase the range of the vehicle 102 by the energy management device 104.
In a fifth scenario, the coast circuit 304 may be used to fully turn off the regenerative braking and allow reduction of the speed of the vehicle 102 only by inertia of the vehicle 102 without using power, and without physically using any pedal of the pedal assembly 108. In an implementation, the coast circuit 304 may be provided. In another implementation, the coast circuit 304 may not be provided.
In a sixth scenario, the precision cruise function may be ON. The user may further activate a cruise resume function by providing an input via the first user interface 314 or the second user interface 316. In certain events, the precision cruise function disengages, and brakes may be automatically applied. Example of the events include, but are not limited to a braking event, a manual acceleration event, a driver fatigue detection event, in an event of energy usage of the vehicle 102 crossing a certain threshold, in event of detection of an airbag deployment, in event of detection of an obstruction in front of the vehicle 102, and when a distance of the obstruction from the vehicle 102 in front less than a set value. In a case where the cruise resume function is ON, and such events are no more valid, the precision cruise function is automatically resumed albeit with a gradual change in speed to maintain the

cruise speed set by the user. Moreover, unlike conventional systems, beneficially, there is no lower limit of cruising speed that can be set by the user.
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a dial device communicatively coupled to operate an energy management device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, and 3A. With reference to FIG 3B, there is shown a dial device 318. The dial device 318 comprises a dial 320 with a press button 320A on the dial 320 to start and stop a precision cruise function in the vehicle 102 managed by the electric management device 104. A long press of the press button 320A may be used to resume cruise control (i.e., resume precision cruise). The dial 320 includes a rotating dial 320B at sides that is used to change cruise speed in a step size (i.e., a cruise speed adjuster in step size) that is configurable via the second user interface 316. The dial device 318 further includes input buttons, such as a first input element 322A, a second input element 322B, a third input element 322C, and a fourth input element 322D. Each of the first input element 322A, the second input element 322B, the third input element 322C, and the fourth input element 322D may be set to activate or deactivate a different function in the vehicle 102, for example, a Max speed limit function, a coast ON/OFF function, an energy mode ON/OFF function, such as an economy energy mode ON/OFF function, or a deep economy energy mode ON/OFF function. The dial device 318may also contain one or more LEDs under its buttons to display the state of various functions of the system.
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating an application interface of an application communicatively coupled to operate an energy management device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3C is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3A, and 3B. With reference to FIG. 3D, there is shown an application interface 324, which may be used to interact with the energy management device 104. The different functions, such as the start and stop of a precision cruise feature in the vehicle 102 may be operated via a "cruise" UI element, a "resume" UI element may be used to resume cruise control (i.e., resume precision cruise). A "coast" UI element may be used to ON/OFF a coast function. A "Max" UI element may be used to set and activate or deactivate the Max speed limit function. An "Eco" UI element may be used to ON/OFF the economy energy mode. Similarly, an "Deep Eco" UI element may be used to ON/OFF the deep economy energy mode. Moreover, a step size may be configured via another UI element of the application interface 324 (not shown).

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a first connector of a pedal assembly of the electric vehicle. FIG. 3C is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 3C. With reference to FIG. 4A, there is shown the first connector 106 of the pedal assembly 108 of the vehicle 102. In this example, the first connector 106 is a 6-pin male connector of the pedal assembly 108. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a second connector of an ECU device of the electric vehicle. FIG. 4B is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 3C. With reference to FIG. 4B, there is shown the second connector 110 of the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102. In this example, the second connector 110 is a six-pin female connector of the ECU device 112.
Typically, in conventional vehicles including electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, the first connector 106 is directly connected to the second connector 110 so that any input from the pedal assembly 108 (e.g., a brake pedal, a clutch pedal, or an accelerator pedal) is directly passed to the ECU device 112. In contradiction to the conventional vehicles, in the present disclosure, a new hardware, such as the energy management device 104 is arranged in a series between the communication path between the first connector 106 and the second connector 110 (i.e., between the pedal input 312 and ECU device 112).
FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary energy management device from a first viewing angle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5A is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 3C. With reference to FIG. 5A, there is shown the energy management device 104 with the second connection interface 116 and the third connection interface 118.
FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary energy management device from a second viewing angle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5B is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3 A, 3B, 3C, and 5A. With reference to FIG. 5B, there is shown the energy management device 104 with the first connection interface 114.
FIG. 6 is a system block diagram illustrating a galvanic isolation circuit of the exemplary energy management device of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is described in conjunction with elements from FIGs. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, 5 A and 5B. With reference to FIG. 6, there is shown a system block diagram of the energy management device 104 with a microcontroller 602 and a galvanic isolation circuit 604 (and

other components). In order to protect the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102, the energy management device 104 further comprises the galvanic isolation circuit 604 to isolate its own power domain (i.e., the power drawn from the auxiliary battery 208 over the OBD port at the third connection interface 118) from that of the ECU device 112. Thus, all commands from the energy management device 104 are transmitted non-galvanically from the digital side of the energy management device 104 to the ECU device 112. The energy management device 104 further comprises an analogue to digital converter (ADC) to convert analogue signal (of the pedal input 312) to digital signal. The ADC circuit in an implementation may bepartoftheMCU602.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method 700 of operation of the energy management device 104 for the vehicle 102. The method is implemented in the energy management device 104.
At step 702, the method 700 comprises obtaining, by the energy management device (104), a user-input via the at least one user interface (314, 316) (e.g., the dial device 318 or the application interface 324) to change the cruise speed of the vehicle 102 from a first speed to a second speed in a first step size via a configurable step size option of the at least one user interface (314, 316). The energy management device 104 is arranged in a series between a communication path of the first connector 106 of the pedal assembly 108 of the vehicle 102 and the second connector 110 of the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102.
At step 704, the method 700 further comprises reading, by the energy management device (104), at least speed data, energy or fuel usage data, and brake status from the in-vehicle data of the vehicle 102 (e.g., where such speed data, energy or fuel usage data, and brake status is read with read-only rights via the third connection interface 118 of the energy management device 104).
At 706, the method 700 further comprises periodically generating, by the energy management device (104), a set of signals and communicating, by the energy management device (104), the generated set of signals to the ECU device 112 of the vehicle 102 (e.g., via the second connection interface 116), wherein a number of signals in the set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device 112 per second is greater than five to cause the vehicle 102 to gradually update to the second speed and maintain the second speed even when no physical user activity on the pedal assembly 108 is detected via the first connection interface 114.

In an implementation, the method 700 further comprises isolating a power domain of the energy management device (104) from that of the ECU device (112) via the galvanic isolation circuit (604).
Modifications to embodiments of the present disclosure described in the foregoing are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the accompanying claims. Expressions such as "including", "comprising", "incorporating", "have", "is" used to describe and claim the present disclosure are intended to be construed in a non-exclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitly described also to be present. Reference to the singular is also to be construed to relate to the plural. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance or illustration". Any embodiment described as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or to exclude the incorporation of features from other embodiments. The word "optionally" is used herein to mean "is provided in some embodiments and not provided in other embodiments". It is appreciated that certain features of the present disclosure, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the disclosure.

CLAIMS
I claim:

1. An energy management device (104) for a vehicle (102), comprising:
a first connection interface (114) that is communicatively coupled to a first connector (106) of a pedal assembly (108) of the vehicle (102);
a second connection interface (116) that is communicatively coupled to a second connector (110) of an electronic control unit (ECU) device (112) of the vehicle (102);
a third connection interface (118) that is communicatively coupled to an onboard diagnostics (OBD) port (206) of the vehicle (102), and configured to access in-vehicle data with read-only rights as well as receive a defined voltage supply to power the energy management device (104) via the third connection interface (118); and
a microcontroller (602) configured to:
obtain a user-input via at least one user interface (314, 316) to change a cruise speed of the vehicle (102) from a first speed to a second speed in a first step size via a configurable step size option of the at least one user interface (314, 316);
read at least speed data, energy or fuel usage data, and a brake status from the in-vehicle data via the third connection interface (118); and
periodically generate a set of signals and communicate the generated set of signals to the ECU device (112) of the vehicle (102) via the second connection interface (116), wherein a number of signals in the set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device (112) per second is greater than five to cause the vehicle (102) to gradually update to the second speed and maintain the second speed even when no physical user activity on the pedal assembly (108) is detected via the first connection interface (114).

2. The energy management device (104) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy
management device (104) is arranged in a series between a communication path of the first
connector (106) and the second connector (110).
3. The energy management device (104) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one user interface (314, 316) is a dial device (318) managed by the electric management device (104) or an application interface (324).
4. The energy management device (104) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connection interface (114), the second connection interface (116), and the third connection interface (118) are arranged at different sides of the energy management device (104).

5. The energy management device (104) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy management device (104) further comprises a galvanic isolation circuit (604) to isolate its own power domain from that of the ECU device (112).
6. A method (700) of operation of an energy management device (104) used for a vehicle (102), comprising:
obtaining, by the energy management device (104), a user-input via at least one user interface (314, 316) to change a cruise speed of the vehicle (102) from a first speed to a second speed in a first step size via a configurable step size option of the at least one user interface (314, 316);
reading, by the energy management device (104), at least speed data, energy or fuel usage data, and a brake status from in-vehicle data of the vehicle (102); and
periodically generating, by the energy management device (104), a set of signals and communicating, by the energy management device (104), the generated set of signals to the ECU device (112) of the vehicle (102), wherein a number of signals in the set of signals that are generated and communicated to the ECU device (112) per second is greater than five to cause the vehicle (102) to gradually update to the second speed and maintain the second speed even when no physical user activity on the pedal

assembly (108) is detected via a first connection interface (114) of the energy management device (104).
7. The method (700) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the energy management device (104) is arranged in a series between a communication path of a first connector (106) of the pedal assembly (108) of the vehicle (102) and a second connector (110) of the ECU device (112) of the vehicle (102).
8. The method (700) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method (700) comprises isolating a power domain of the energy management device (104) from that of the ECU device (112) via a galvanic isolation circuit (604).