Patent ID: 8494736

Claim:
A device to assist with control of a propulsion unit of a vehicle including a drive engine, a clutch, and a manual, mechanical, or semi-automatic gearbox, the device comprising: an indication unit configured to indicate to a driver a recommended transmission ratio, controlled by a control system including a computer into which there is incorporated at least one map of gear-change laws for determining a recommended gear ratio as a function of information concerning the driver's wishes, giving due consideration to a set of signals applied to inputs of the computer and that are representative of driving conditions of the vehicle at each instant, wherein the computer includes an element that determines the recommended gear ratio for optimum fuel consumption, as a function of information concerning the wishes of the driver and with due consideration given to speed of the vehicle and a plurality of separate calculation modules independent of one another and each assigned to a determined driving constraint, the modules being arranged in series so that if need be each can apply to a value of the recommended gear ratio a correction suited to the constraint considered and in an order that favors driving safety, each correction applied, as appropriate, by a module of the modules, taking priority over the correction applied by the preceding module.