System And Method For Indicating An Efficiency Level of Energy Usage By An Automotive Vehicle
First Claim
1. A system for indicating to a passenger an efficiency level of energy usage by an automotive vehicle with a passenger compartment, the system comprising:
- a computer-readable storage medium;
a controller in communication with the storage medium, the controller being configured to receive a plurality of energy usage signals, to process the energy usage signals to obtain indications of energy usage amounts that the passenger can control while maintaining a given operating mode of the automotive vehicle, and to determine the efficiency level of energy usage by the automotive vehicle based on the energy usage amounts for the given operating mode of the automotive vehicle;
an interior-lighting system in electrical communication with the controller to illuminate at least a portion of the passenger compartment with ambient light having defined characteristics including a luminance and a color, at least one of the characteristics of the ambient light indicating the efficiency level; and
a display unit in electrical communication with the controller to display for the passenger a graphical representation of the efficiency level of the automotive vehicle.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided for indicating an efficiency level of energy usage by an automotive vehicle to a passenger in the vehicle. The system includes a computer-readable storage medium, a controller, an interior-lighting system, and a display unit. The controller processes energy usage signals to obtain the given operating mode of the vehicle as well as indications of energy usage amounts that the passenger can control. The controller determines the efficiency level of energy usage by the vehicle based on the energy usage amounts and the given operating mode. The interior-lighting system illuminates at least a portion of the passenger compartment with ambient light having defined characteristics including a luminance and a color, the ambient light indicating the efficiency level. The display unit displays a graphical representation of the efficiency level.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for indicating to a passenger an efficiency level of energy usage by an automotive vehicle with a passenger compartment, the system comprising:
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a computer-readable storage medium; a controller in communication with the storage medium, the controller being configured to receive a plurality of energy usage signals, to process the energy usage signals to obtain indications of energy usage amounts that the passenger can control while maintaining a given operating mode of the automotive vehicle, and to determine the efficiency level of energy usage by the automotive vehicle based on the energy usage amounts for the given operating mode of the automotive vehicle; an interior-lighting system in electrical communication with the controller to illuminate at least a portion of the passenger compartment with ambient light having defined characteristics including a luminance and a color, at least one of the characteristics of the ambient light indicating the efficiency level; and a display unit in electrical communication with the controller to display for the passenger a graphical representation of the efficiency level of the automotive vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. At least one processor-readable storage medium having processor-readable code embodied thereon for programming at least one processor to perform a method of indicating to a passenger an efficiency level of energy usage by an automotive vehicle with a passenger compartment in an effort to reduce or minimize energy used by the automotive vehicle, the method comprising:
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processing a plurality of energy usage signals to obtain indications of energy usage amounts, each of the energy usage amounts representing an amount of energy that the passenger can control while maintaining a given operating mode of the automotive vehicle; determining the efficiency level of energy usage by the automotive vehicle based on the energy usage amounts for the given operating mode of the automotive vehicle; illuminating at least a portion of a vehicle passenger compartment with ambient light having defined characteristics including a luminance and a color, at least one of the characteristics of the ambient light indicating the efficiency level; and displaying for the passenger a graphical representation of the efficiency level of the automotive vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for indicating to a passenger an efficiency level of energy usage by an automotive vehicle with a passenger compartment, the system comprising:
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a computer-readable storage medium; a controller in communication with the storage medium, the controller being configured to receive a plurality of energy usage signals and to process the energy usage signals to obtain indications of energy usage amounts that the passenger can control to accelerate the automotive vehicle, to maintain a speed of the automotive vehicle, to provide air conditioning in the automotive vehicle, to supply accessory loads in the automotive vehicle, and to generate electric energy from decelerating the automotive vehicle while maintaining a given operating mode of the automotive vehicle, the controller further being configured to process the energy usage amounts to obtain a normalized amount representing a sum of the energy usage amounts relating to the given operating mode of the vehicle and to compare the normalized amount to a predetermined extremum to obtain the efficiency level of energy usage by the automotive vehicle; an interior-lighting system in electrical communication with the controller to illuminate at least a portion of the passenger compartment with ambient light having defined characteristics including a luminance and a color, at least one of the characteristics of the ambient light indicating the efficiency level; and a display unit in electrical communication with the controller to display a graphical representation of the efficiency level for the passenger, the graphical representation including a graphical representation of the normalized amount relative to a graphical measure indicating the predetermined extremum for the passenger; wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of the luminance and the color of the ambient light based on the efficiency level.
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Specification