Methods and Systems for Monitoring of Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
First Claim
1. A method for tracking fuel economy across a plurality of vehicles by a computer that is remote from the vehicles, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving fuel information from a radio frequency (RF) interrogator corresponding to a quantity of fuel pumped into a first vehicle;
(b) receiving a current odometer reading from the RF interrogator corresponding to a current reading for an odometer associated with the first vehicle;
(c) determining a previous odometer reading received for the odometer associated with the first vehicle, the previous odometer reading corresponding to a previous fueling of the first vehicle;
(d) calculating a distance traveled by the first vehicle since the previous fueling as the difference between the previous odometer reading and the current odometer reading;
(e) calculating a fuel economy for the first vehicle as the ratio of the distance traveled and quantity of fuel pumped into the first vehicle;
(f) recording the fuel economy and current odometer reading for the first vehicle; and
(g) repeating the steps of (a) through (f) for the first vehicle and other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for monitoring of vehicle efficiency use wireless remote sensors associated with the vehicle and with a fueling station. Vehicle data is collected from the wireless sensors in conjunction with fueling of the vehicle. Efficiency is calculated, such as by calculating miles per gallon for the vehicle, and the information is stored in a computing system. Vehicle efficiency may be tracked over time to identify deviations or irregularities that may be addressed to improve overall vehicle efficiency, and overall vehicle efficiency for a fleet of vehicles that are all monitored in such a manner.
72 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for tracking fuel economy across a plurality of vehicles by a computer that is remote from the vehicles, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving fuel information from a radio frequency (RF) interrogator corresponding to a quantity of fuel pumped into a first vehicle; (b) receiving a current odometer reading from the RF interrogator corresponding to a current reading for an odometer associated with the first vehicle; (c) determining a previous odometer reading received for the odometer associated with the first vehicle, the previous odometer reading corresponding to a previous fueling of the first vehicle; (d) calculating a distance traveled by the first vehicle since the previous fueling as the difference between the previous odometer reading and the current odometer reading; (e) calculating a fuel economy for the first vehicle as the ratio of the distance traveled and quantity of fuel pumped into the first vehicle; (f) recording the fuel economy and current odometer reading for the first vehicle; and (g) repeating the steps of (a) through (f) for the first vehicle and other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus that measures and transmits pumped fluid quantity information, comprising:
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a meter that measures a quantity of fluid that is dispensed from a pump; a processing unit that is operably interconnected to the meter and receives fluid quantity information; a radio frequency (RF) transmitter operably interconnected to the processing unit and operable to transmit fluid quantity information; and a self-contained power supply that provides power to the meter, processing unit, and RF transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for tracking fuel economy across a plurality of vehicles, comprising:
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means for receiving fuel information from a radio frequency (RF) interrogator corresponding to a quantity of fuel pumped into a first vehicle, and a current odometer reading from the RF interrogator corresponding to a current reading for an odometer associated with the first vehicle; means for determining a previous odometer reading received for the odometer associated with the first vehicle, the previous odometer reading corresponding to the previous fueling of the first vehicle; means for calculating a distance traveled by the first vehicle since the previous fueling as the difference between the previous odometer reading and the current odometer reading; means for calculating a fuel economy for the first vehicle as the ratio of the distance traveled and quantity of fuel pumped into the first vehicle; and means for recording the fuel economy and current odometer reading for the first vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification