METHOD FOR VEHICLE ROUTE PLANNING

• US 20100010732A1
• Filed: 07/09/2009
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FCA US LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Chrysler Group LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Hartman, Peter G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,374,781 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

A method of planning a vehicle route includes estimating fuel requirements of identified alternative routes or route segments using navigation, vehicle, and powertrain information. The method also includes displaying for a vehicle operator a list of alternate routes that features either absolute or relative values representative of such estimated fuel requirements. The method further includes adapting values used to estimate fuel requirements based upon current powertrain operating parameters, and alerting the vehicle operator when actual vehicle fuel economy along a selected route varies significantly from the estimated fuel requirement.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic navigation system to display to a vehicle operator a plurality of alternate vehicle travel routes between an identified starting point and an identified endpoint, wherein the electronic navigation system includes stored navigation information, and wherein the vehicle includes an engine, a transmission, and a controller adapted to supply powertrain information to the navigation system, the method comprising:

storing powertrain information supplied by the vehicle controller as a function of vehicle speed;

identifying the plurality of alternate routes based on navigation information; and

estimating an amount of fuel required to travel along each alternate route based on stored navigation information and on stored powertrain information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation information includes at least one of the group consisting of distance, speed limit, grade change, altitude, and number and type of intersections and traffic signals encountered, and the stored powertrain information includes at least one of the group consisting of transmission selected gear, a state of any lockup torque converter, a state of a fuel-savings engine operating mode, an achieved fuel economy, and a fuel quality.

3. The method of claim 2, further including adapting stored values for the powertrain information using instantaneous powertrain information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller is further adapted to supply calibrated vehicle information representative of at least one of the group consisting of a vehicle mass, a vehicle aerodynamic drag coefficient, and a tire rolling resistance;

estimating is further based on the stored vehicle information.

5. The method of claim 1, further including storing the vehicle information;

and periodically updating the stored calibratable value based on an actual fuel consumption achieved along a selected route.

6. The method of claim 5, further including determining an individual driving pattern for a given vehicle operator including at least one of the group consisting of a characteristic acceleration rate, a characteristic deceleration rate, a characteristic speed traveled corresponding to a route speed limit, a characteristic delay associated with encountering intersections, a characteristic delay associated with encountering traffic signals, and a characteristic vehicle accessory load;

and wherein estimating is further based on the determined driving pattern.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating includes predicting a powertrain operating parameter for at least a segment of a given route based on the stored powertrain information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the system receives vehicle traffic information from an external source, and wherein the method further includes modifying the estimated values for route fuel usage based on the vehicle traffic information.

9. The method of claim 1, further including transforming navigation information for each route or route segment from distance and estimated travel time into a value representative of an amount of fuel used for each route or route segment.

10. The method of claim 9, further including displaying to the vehicle operator a value representative of fuel saved for at least one of the routes relative to another of the routes.

11. The method of claim 1, further including, upon selection by the vehicle operator of one of the alternate routes, monitoring the actual fuel consumption of the vehicle along the selected route.

12. The method of claim 11, further including alerting the vehicle operator if an observed fuel economy differs significantly from the estimated fuel economy for the selected route.