Fuel-consumption monitoring system for motor vehicles with manually-shifted transmissions
First Claim
1. A fuel consumption monitoring system for motor vehicles with manually shifted transmissions, equipped with a processing and evaluating means for generating an output signal correlated with the instantaneous fuel consumption of the vehicle, and with an indicating means for emitting an indicating signal informing the driver of the fuel utilization to be expected if another gear were selected, the processing, evaluating and indicating means generating the output signal from a processing operation involving data which are specific to the vehicle and are stored in an electronic read only memory in the evaluating means, and data characterizing the fuel consumption and the operating condition of the propulsion unit of the vehicle, the processing and evaluating means receiving interrogating signals which indicate possible transmission ratios for a change of gear, the evaluating means comprisingmeans for generating a response signal as a measure of at least one of the fuel consumption reduction and the fuel consumption increase which would be obtained if, at an engine power which remains constant, the gear ratio signalled by the interrogating signal in question were to be engaged, instead of the gear ratio currently engaged, andindicating means for displaying a response signal proportional to the consumption difference.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel-consumption monitoring system for motor vehicles with manually-shifted transmissions is indicated, this system generating, from a processing operation involving performance data which are specific to the vehicle, as well as fuel-consumption data and operating-condition data, an output signal which is correlated with the instantaneous fuel consumption of the vehicle, which system is also capable of being activated, for example by output signals from a gearshift-recommendation transmitter, to emit a consumption-difference signal which is a direct measure of the fuel-consumption reduction which would be obtained if the gearshift-recommendation were followed. This lower-consumption signal is preferably displayed in liter/100 Kilometer units and is triggered only when a significant fuel saving can be achieved by a change of gear.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A fuel consumption monitoring system for motor vehicles with manually shifted transmissions, equipped with a processing and evaluating means for generating an output signal correlated with the instantaneous fuel consumption of the vehicle, and with an indicating means for emitting an indicating signal informing the driver of the fuel utilization to be expected if another gear were selected, the processing, evaluating and indicating means generating the output signal from a processing operation involving data which are specific to the vehicle and are stored in an electronic read only memory in the evaluating means, and data characterizing the fuel consumption and the operating condition of the propulsion unit of the vehicle, the processing and evaluating means receiving interrogating signals which indicate possible transmission ratios for a change of gear, the evaluating means comprising
means for generating a response signal as a measure of at least one of the fuel consumption reduction and the fuel consumption increase which would be obtained if, at an engine power which remains constant, the gear ratio signalled by the interrogating signal in question were to be engaged, instead of the gear ratio currently engaged, and indicating means for displaying a response signal proportional to the consumption difference.
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9. A fuel consumption monitoring system for motor vehicles with manually-shifted transmissions comprising means for generating a signal representing a recommended transmission gear ratio, means for generating a signal representing present operating transmission gear ratio, means for generating a signal representing engine speed, and means for generating a signal representing instantaneous fuel consumption, said fuel consumption monitoring system further comprising
first means in response to at least one of the signals representing the recommended transmission gear ratio, present operating transmission gear ratio, the engine speed, and the instantaneous fuel consumption, for generating a first output signal representing fuel consumption at the recommended gear ratio and means for displaying a second signal representing the difference between a signal representing an instantaneous value of fuel consumption and said first output signal.
Specification