SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING AND REDUCING VEHICLE FUEL WASTE

• US 20160016525A1
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tenstreet, LLC
• Original Assignee: Vnomics Corp. (Tenstreet, LLC)
• Inventors: Chauncey, David Charles, Joseph, Michael David
• Granted Patent: US 10,632,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0236 for economical driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0623 Fuel flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/10 Weight
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/15 Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 28/00 Programme-control of engines
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

A method of determining an amount of fuel wasted by a vehicle due to sub-optimal performance of at least one component of the vehicle includes receiving information about operation of the vehicle from at least one sensor positioned on the vehicle, categorizing, with a processor, a fuel use by the vehicle as a normal fuel use or a wasted fuel use due to the at least one component performing at a sub-optimal level by comparing the received information to expected information from the at least one sensor when the vehicle is operating at optimal performance, and determining, with the processor, the amount of fuel wasted due to the at least one component operating at the sub-optimal level based on categorized fuel use.

Claims

1. A method of determining an amount of fuel wasted by a vehicle due to sub-optimal performance of at least one component of the vehicle comprising:

receiving information about operation of the vehicle from at least one sensor positioned on the vehicle;

categorizing, with a processor, a fuel use by the vehicle as a normal fuel use or a wasted fuel use due to the at least one component performing at a sub-optimal level by comparing the received information to expected information from the at least one sensor when the vehicle is operating at optimal performance; and

determining, with the processor, the amount of fuel wasted due to the at least one component operating at the sub-optimal level based on categorized fuel use.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, with the processor, performance information related to the vehicle by comparing the amount of fuel wasted to an overall amount of fuel consumed by the vehicle; and

presenting the performance information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the presenting occurs via at least one of a display visible to a driver of the vehicle, a speaker perceptible to the driver, or machine-to-machine communication.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the performance information comprises fuel wasted.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the performance information comprises operator instructions and the presenting step comprises communicating operator instructions to the operator of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the performance information comprises machine-to-machine instructions and the presenting step comprises communicating the machine-to-machine instructions to a driving unit selecting from the group consisting of autonomous, autonomous assist, semi-autonomous, and unmanned.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the performance information comprises vehicle performance during operation of the vehicle and the presenting step comprises generating a report of the vehicle performance.

8. A method of determining fuel use of a vehicle for at least one segment of a route of travel comprising:

determining one or more vehicle characteristics of the vehicle, the vehicle characteristics including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load;

determining one or more segment characteristics of the at least one segment, including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, weather conditions, time of day, infrastructure condition, and real time reporting of route blockages; and

determining, with a processor, a fuel economy for the vehicle relating to the at least one segment, the fuel economy dependent upon the one or more vehicle characteristics and the one or more segment characteristics.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

presenting the fuel economy.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

determining a fuel economy for the vehicle relating to a plurality of segments.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the weather conditions comprise at least one of temperature, barometric pressure, or precipitation.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising dividing a route of travel into a plurality of segments based on variation in one or more route of travel characteristics including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions.

13. A method of optimizing a traveling route of a vehicle between a departure and a destination based on fuel consumption, comprising:

determining one or more vehicle characteristics of the vehicle, the vehicle characteristics including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load;

determining one or more segment characteristics of each of a plurality of segments between the departure and the destination, the segment characteristics including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions for the at least one segment;

determining, with a processor from the one or more vehicle characteristics and the one or more segment characteristics, a fuel use for the vehicle relating to each segment in the plurality of segments between the departure and the destination;

determining, with the processor, an optimized traveling route by identifying a combination of segments between the departure and the destination providing the lowest level of fuel use for the vehicle as the optimized traveling route; and

presenting the optimized traveling route.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the presenting occurs via at least one of a display visible to a driver of the vehicle, a speaker perceptible to the driver, or machine-to-machine communication.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the traveling route comprises navigational instructions and the presenting step comprises communicating navigational instructions to the operator of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle.

16. A method of determining a fuel economy associated with a minimum amount of horsepower and torque to move a vehicle across at least one segment of a traveling route comprising:

sensing information about the operation of the vehicle from at least one sensor positioned on the vehicle, the information including a current amount of horsepower and torque;

determining one or more vehicle characteristics of the vehicle, the vehicle characteristics including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load;

determining one or more segment characteristics of the at least one segment, the segment characteristics including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions;

determining, with a processor, a minimum amount of horsepower and torque to move the vehicle across the at least one segment, the minimum amount of horsepower and torque dependent upon the one or more characteristics of the vehicle and the one or more characteristics of the at least one segment;

comparing the current amount of horsepower and torque with the determined minimum amount of horsepower and torque; and

calculating, with the processor, a wasted amount of fuel based on the difference between the current amount of horsepower and torque and the determined minimum amount of horsepower and torque.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining performance information related to the vehicle from the wasted amount of fuel; and

presenting the performance information.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the presenting occurs via at least one of a display visible to a driver of the vehicle, a speaker perceptible to the driver, or machine-to-machine communication.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the performance information comprises fuel wasted.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the performance information comprises operator instructions and the presenting step comprises communicating operator instructions to at least one of the operator of the vehicle and a supervisor of the operator during operation of the vehicle.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the performance information comprises vehicle performance during operation of the vehicle and the presenting step comprises generating a report of the vehicle performance.

22. A system for determining an amount of fuel wasted by a vehicle due to sub-optimal performance of at least one component of the vehicle comprising:

at least one sensor configured to detect fuel use information of a vehicle during operation of the vehicle; and

a controller comprising;

a categorization module configured to obtain the fuel use information from the at least one sensor for each time frame in a series of time frames and to categorize the fuel use information for each time frame into either at least one of a plurality of normal fuel use categories or at least one of a plurality of wasted fuel categories, wherein the plurality of wasted fuel categories includes at least one category for fuel wasted due to the at least one component of the vehicle operating at a sub-optimal level and at least one category for fuel wasted due to excessive horsepower or excessive torque; and

a determination module configured to subtract a total amount of fuel used during each time frame in the series of time frames where the fuel use information is categorized in the plurality of wasted fuel categories from a total amount of fuel used over the series of time frames for storage in the data storage device as the minimum amount of fuel required for the series of time frames.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the determination module is further configured to determine an amount of fuel wasted over the series of time frames by subtracting the stored minimum amount of fuel required for the series of time frames from the total amount of fuel used over the series of time frames.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the series of time frames comprises all time frames in a sortie.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the data storage device further comprises a sortie profile configured to store sortie information.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the sortie information comprises at least one of a predefined route, an at least one waypoint, or a schedule for the sortie.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the predefined route is determined based on an operating cost of the minimum amount of fuel required for the series of time frames.

28. A system for determining fuel use of a vehicle for at least one segment of a route of travel comprising:

at least one sensor configured to sense one or more vehicle characteristics including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load;

a database comprising information regarding one or more segment characteristics of the at least one segment, including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions; and

a controller comprising a determination module configured to determine a fuel economy for the vehicle relating to the at least one segment by comparing the one or more vehicle characteristics sensed by the at least one sensor to corresponding information in the database.

29. A system for optimizing a traveling route of a vehicle between a departure and a destination based on fuel consumption, comprising:

at least one sensor configured to sense one or more vehicle characteristics of the vehicle including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load weight;

a database comprising information regarding one or more segment characteristics of each of a plurality of segments between the departure and the destination, the segment characteristics including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions; and

a controller comprising;

a determination module configured to determine a fuel economy for the vehicle relating each of a plurality of segments by comparing the one or more vehicle characteristics sensed by the at least one sensor to corresponding information in the database regarding the one or more segment characteristics of each of a plurality of segments; and

a mapping module configured to identify, from the plurality of segments, a combination of one or more segments between the departure and the destination providing an optimized fuel economy and configured to present an optimized traveling route comprising the combination of one or more segments between the departure and the destination providing an optimized fuel economy.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising a handheld unit in communication with the data storage device, wherein the handheld unit is operable to display the optimized traveling route to a driver of the vehicle.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the optimized traveling route comprises navigational instructions which are communicated to the operator of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle.

32. A method of selecting a vehicle for a route of travel comprising

dividing a route of travel into a plurality of segments;

identifying a segment characteristic of each of the plurality of segments;

determining, with a processor, a fuel use for each of a plurality of vehicles moving across the segments, the fuel use dependent upon the segment characteristic;

selecting, with the processor, from the plurality of vehicles, a vehicle having a relative optimized fuel economy for the plurality of segments by comparing the determined fuel use of each vehicle; and

presenting information regarding the vehicle having a relative optimized fuel economy.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the segment characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a slope, distance, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, weather conditions, and Internet of Things self-reporting devices.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the identifying step further comprises identifying one or more additional segment characteristics.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the selecting step further comprises selecting more than one vehicle having a relative optimized fuel economy, and the presenting step comprises presenting information regarding each vehicle having a relative optimized fuel economy.

36. A method of optimizing a vehicle having an engine control unit programmed with a first vehicle profile for a route of travel comprising

dividing a route of travel into a plurality of segments;

identifying a segment characteristic of each of the plurality of segments;

determining, with the processor, a second vehicle profile, the second vehicle profile dependent upon one or more of a fuel use and the segment characteristics; and

reprogramming the engine control unit with the second vehicle profile.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the segment characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a slope, distance, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, and weather conditions.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the first vehicle profile is associated with a first fuel use, and the determining step comprises determining the second vehicle profile dependent upon the fuel use, such that the fuel use of the second vehicle profile is less than the first fuel use for one or more of the plurality of segments.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the segment characteristic is a government imposed traffic control, and the determining step comprises determining the second vehicle profile dependent upon the government imposed traffic control.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the identifying step further comprises identifying one or more additional segment characteristics.

41. A method of determining a load weight of a vehicle comprising

sensing information about the operation of the vehicle from at least one sensor positioned on the vehicle, the information including an acceleration of the vehicle;

determining, with a processor, an amount of energy used by the vehicle for the acceleration dependent upon a vehicle profile of the vehicle and the acceleration; and

determining, with a processor, the load weight dependent upon the amount of energy and the vehicle profile.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising calculating, with a processor, an amount of unrelated energy, the amount of unrelated energy dependent on the vehicle profile and a load-based segment characteristic

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the load-based segment characteristic comprises one or more of a rolling resistance, an aerodynamic drag, or a change in elevation.

44. The method of claim 41, further comprising obtaining load information from one or more units of freight which actively or passively report load information.

45. A system for optimizing a traveling route of a vehicle between a departure and a destination based on fuel consumption, comprising:

a database comprising information regarding one or more vehicle characteristics of the vehicle including at least one of a vehicle profile or a vehicle load weight sensed by at least one sensor and regarding one or more segment characteristics of each of a plurality of segments between the departure and the destination, the segment characteristics including at least one of a slope, government imposed traffic controls, volume of traffic, or weather conditions; and

a controller comprising;

a determination module configured to determine a fuel economy for the vehicle relating each of a plurality of segments by comparing the one or more vehicle characteristics sensed by the at least one sensor to corresponding information regarding the one or more segment characteristics of each of a plurality of segments; and

a mapping module configured to identify, from the plurality of segments, a combination of one or more segments between the departure and the destination providing an optimized fuel economy and configured to present an optimized traveling route comprising the combination of one or more segments between the departure and the destination providing an optimized fuel economy.