Vehicle fuel economy indicator
First Claim
1. An apparatus for indicating the fuel economy of a vehicle, during acceleration comprising:
- means for generating a vehicle acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of speed of the vehicle;
means for generating a throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the vehicle throttle;
means responsive to said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal for generating an efficiency signal having a magnitude proportional to the difference between the magnitudes of said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal; and
indicator means responsive to said efficiency signal for indicating the fuel economy of the vehicle.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for indicating the fuel economy of a vehicle during acceleration. A throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the throttle is combined with an acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of vehicle speed to generate an efficiency signal. The magnitude of the efficiency signal is proportional to the difference of the throttle rate signal and the acceleration signal. The efficiency signal is used to drive an indicator device such as a meter which indicates whether or not the vehicle is accelerating efficiently. The efficiency signal can also be used in a circuit for signaling a vehicle speed control to automatically control the acceleration of a vehicle. In accordance with the present invention, the vehicle speed control is only permitted to advance the vehicle throttle when the efficiency signal indicates that the vehicle is accelerating efficiently.
36 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for indicating the fuel economy of a vehicle, during acceleration comprising:
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means for generating a vehicle acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of speed of the vehicle; means for generating a throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the vehicle throttle; means responsive to said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal for generating an efficiency signal having a magnitude proportional to the difference between the magnitudes of said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal; and indicator means responsive to said efficiency signal for indicating the fuel economy of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of indicating fuel economy during the acceleration of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating a vehicle acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of speed of the vehicle; generating a throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the vehicle throttle; generating an efficiency signal having a magnitude proportional to the difference between the magnitude of said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal; and applying said efficiency signal to an indicator means for indicating the fuel economy during the acceleration of the vehicle.
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8. An apparatus for enabling a speed control means to automatically accelerate a vehicle at a fuel economical rate, the speed control means including a source of a signal representing the vehicle speed, a source of a signal representing a desired vehicle speed, means responsive to the vehicle speed signal and the desired speed signal for generating retract and advance signals and means responsive to the retract and advance signals for maintaining the vehicle at the desired road speed, the apparatus comprising:
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means for generating a vehicle acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of speed of the vehicle; means for generating a throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the vehicle throttle; means responsive to said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal for generating an efficiency signal having a magnitude proportional to the difference between the magnitudes of said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal; and means responsive to said efficiency signal and the advance signal for enabling said speed control means to advance the vehicle throttle at a fuel economical rate. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of enabling a speed control means to accelerate a vehicle at a fuel economical rate, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating a vehicle acceleration signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of speed of the vehicle; generating a throttle rate signal having a magnitude proportional to the rate of change of the position of the vehicle throttle; generating an efficiency signal having a magnitude proportional to the difference between the magnitudes of said vehicle acceleration signal and said throttle rate signal; and genrating a signal for enabling the speed control means to advance the vehicle throttle in response to said generation of said efficiency signal whereby said speed control means advances the vehicle throttle when said enable signal is generated and the vehicle speed is below a desired vehicle speed.
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Specification