Fuel consumption estimation

• US 5,913,917 A
• Filed: 08/04/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Murphy, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): DOMBROSKE, GEORGE M
• Application Number:
  US08/906,175
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 701/102, 701/104, 701/123, 73/116, 73/117.2, 73/117.3, 73/113, 73/114
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0232 for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• 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 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 9/023 with electric, electro-mechanic or electronic means

Abstract

Method and apparatus for prediction or estimation of fuel or energy consumption by a vehicle over a chosen trip route, where the route includes a plurality of road segments. Fuel consumption over each road segment is estimated, using information on one or more of the following variables: representative altitude of the road segment; representative slope of the road segment; estimated vehicle average speed along the road segment; length of the road segment; condition of the road segment; condition of the vehicle tires; expected vehicle traffic density along the road segment; applicable constraints on vehicle operation along the road segment; expected ambient weather conditions along the road segment; vehicle accessories that will be used; and vehicle driver profile information. Weather conditions enroute, such as local wind speed and direction, can be measured and used to enhance accuracy of predicted fuel consumption. Fuel consumption can be estimated initially, can be re-estimated enroute, using actual fuel consumption for the portion of the route already traveled, and can be estimated for a return trip along the same route. Fuel consumption can be estimated where the route is not initially specified. The fuel consumed may be electrical charge, gasoline, kerosene, natural gas, diesel fuel, or any similar fuel.

Claims

1. A method for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from a first location to a second location, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving information on a selected trip route to be traveled by a vehicle on a trip in moving from a first selected location to a second selected location within a selected time interval, where the trip route comprises one or more selected road segments;

receiving a reference fuel consumption value representing estimated fuel consumption for the trip route for a reference set of conditions for the trip;

for at least one road segment on the trip route, receiving information on at least one of the following route information items concerning the trip route and selected time interval;

(1'"'"') whether the road segment includes terrain with an upward slope having a slope magnitude that is greater than a selected slope threshold;

(2'"'"') whether the fuel used by the vehicle will provide vehicle mileage that is substantially less than a reference fuel mileage;

(3'"'"') whether the condition of tires used by the vehicle differ substantially from a condition of new vehicle tires;

(4'"'"') whether the tire air pressure differs substantially from optimal air pressure;

(5'"'"') whether the condition of the roadbed for the road segment is substantially less than normal quality;

(6'"'"') whether an expected average vehicle velocity will lie outside a selected optimal vehicle velocity range;

(7'"'"') whether vehicle traffic along the road segment will be substantially heavier than average vehicle traffic for that road segment;

(8'"'"') whether any of a selected group of vehicle accessories will be activated while the vehicle is traveling on the road segment;

(9'"'"') whether the vehicle is expected to encounter a strong head wind on the road segment;

(10'"'"') whether the weather encountered on the road segment is expected to include non-normal weather conditions; and

(11'"'"') whether the driver profile for the person who will operate the vehicle on the road segment differs substantially in a negative sense from a selected reference driver profile;

when at least one of the questions (1'"'"'), (2'"'"'), (3'"'"'), (4'"'"'), (5'"'"'), (6'"'"'), (7'"'"'), (8'"'"'), (9'"'"'), (10'"'"') and (11'"'"') is answered affirmatively, selecting a positive fuel consumption increment corresponding to the question that is answered affirmatively;

for the at least one road segment on the trip route, receiving information on at least one of the following route information items concerning the trip route and selected time interval;

(1") whether the road segment includes terrain with a downward slope having a slope magnitude that is greater than a selected slope threshold;

(2") whether the fuel used by the vehicle will provide vehicle mileage that is substantially greater than a reference fuel mileage;

(9") whether the vehicle is expected to encounter a strong tail wind on the road segment; and

(11") whether the driver profile for the person who will operate the vehicle on the road segment differs substantially in a positive sense from a selected reference driver profile;

when at least one of the questions (1"), (2"), (9") and (11") is answered affirmatively, selecting a negative fuel consumption increment corresponding to the question that is answered affirmatively; and

estimating fuel consumption for the trip as a sum of the reference fuel consumption value, plus each selected positive fuel consumption increment, minus each selected negative fuel consumption increment that represents an estimate of fuel consumption for the vehicle trip over the trip route.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting said vehicle fuel for consumption from the class of fuels consisting of electrical charge, gasoline, kerosene, natural gas and diesel fuel.

3. A method for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from a first location to a second location, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving information on estimated fuel usage for a trip to be made by a vehicle in moving from a first selected location to a second selected location, where the route to be followed in making the trip is not specified;

for a selected road segment that will be traveled by the vehicle in making the trip, receiving information on estimated fuel usage for the selected road segment;

determining actual fuel usage for the selected road segment;

computing a fuel usage difference between the actual fuel usage and estimated fuel usage for the selected road segment; and

modifying the estimated fuel usage for the trip, using the fuel usage difference for the selected road segment.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of selecting said fuel for consumption from the class of fuels consisting of electrical charge, gasoline, kerosene, natural gas and diesel fuel.

5. A method for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from one location to another location, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving information on actual fuel usage, for each of a plurality of selected road segments that comprise a trip route, for a trip made by a vehicle in moving from a selected first location to a second location along the trip route, where the trip route followed in making the trip and the second location are not initially specified;

for each of the selected road segments, receiving information on at least one of the following trip information items as the vehicle moves from the trip route from the first location to the second location;

a representative altitude of the road segment;

a representative altitude of the road segment;

a representative slope of the road segment;

a speed limit that is effective for the road segment;

an expected vehicle average speed along the road segment;

length of the road segment;

condition of the road segment;

condition of the vehicle tires;

vehicle tire air pressure;

vehicle fuel used;

expected vehicle traffic density along the road segment;

applicable constraints on vehicle operation along the road segment;

expected ambient weather conditions along the road segment;

selected vehicle accessories that will be used on a portion or all of the trip route;

a time interval during which the trip will be made; and

vehicle driver profile information;

for each of the selected road segments, estimating vehicle fuel consumption for the road segment oriented in a reverse direction, using the actual fuel usage for the road segment and from the information on the at least one trip information item received for the road segment; and

estimating vehicle fuel consumption for a return trip from the second location to the first location along a return trip route, which is comprised of the selected road segments oriented in a reverse direction, as a sum of the estimated fuel consumption for each of the selected road segments oriented in the reverse direction.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of selecting said fuel for consumption from the class of fuels consisting of electrical charge, gasoline, kerosene, natural gas and diesel fuel.

7. Apparatus for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from a first location to a second location, the apparatus comprising:

a microprocessor that is programmed;

to receive information on a selected trip route to be traveled by a vehicle on a trip in moving from a first selected location to a second selected location within a selected time interval, where the trip route is comprised of one or more road segments;

to receive a reference fuel consumption value representing estimated fuel consumption for the selected trip route for a reference set of conditions for the trip;

for at least one road segment on the selected trip route, to receive information on at least one of the following route information items concerning the selected trip route and selected time interval;

(1'"'"') whether the road segment includes terrain with an upward slope having a slope magnitude that is greater than a selected slope threshold;

(2'"'"') whether the fuel used by the vehicle will provide vehicle mileage that is substantially less than a reference fuel mileage;

(3'"'"') whether the condition of tires used by the vehicle differ substantially from a condition of new vehicle tires;

(4'"'"') whether the tire air pressure differs substantially from optimal air pressure;

(5'"'"') whether the condition of the roadbed for the road segment is substantially less than normal quality;

(6'"'"') whether an expected average vehicle velocity will lie outside a selected optimal vehicle velocity range;

(7'"'"') whether vehicle traffic along the road segment will be substantially heavier than average vehicle traffic for that road segment;

(8'"'"') whether any of a selected group of vehicle accessories will be activated while the vehicle is traveling on the road segment;

(9'"'"') whether the vehicle is expected to encounter a strong head wind on the road segment;

(10'"'"') whether the weather encountered on the road segment is expected to include non-normal weather conditions; and

(11'"'"') whether the driver profile for the person who will operate the vehicle on the road segment differs substantially in a negative sense from a selected reference driver profile;

when at least one of the questions (1'"'"'), (2'"'"'), (3'"'"'), (4'"'"'), (5'"'"'), (6'"'"'), (7'"'"'), (8'"'"'), (9'"'"'), (10'"'"') and (11'"'"') is answered affirmatively, to select a positive increment corresponding to the question that is answered affirmatively;

for the at least one road segment on the selected trip route, to receive information on at least one of the following route information items concerning the selected trip route and selected time interval;

(1") whether the road segment includes terrain with a downward slop having a slope magnitude that is greater than a selected slope threshold;

(2") whether the fuel used by the vehicle will provide vehicle mileage that is substantially greater than a reference fuel mileage;

(9") whether the vehicle is expected to encounter a strong tail wind on the road segment; and

(11") whether the driver profile for the person who will operate the vehicle on the road segment differs substantially in a positive sense from a selected reference driver profile;

when at least one of the questions (1"), (2"), (9") and (11") is answered affirmatively, to select a negative increment corresponding to the question that is answered affirmatively; and

to estimate fuel consumption for the trip route as a sum of the reference fuel consumption value, plus each selected positive increment, minus each selected negative increment that represents an estimate of fuel consumption for the vehicle trip over the selected trip route.

8. Apparatus for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from a first location to a second location, the apparatus comprising a microprocessor that is programmed:

to receive information on estimated fuel usage for a trip to be made by a vehicle in moving from a first selected location to a second selected location, where the trip route to be followed in making the trip is not specified;

for a selected road segment that will be traveled by the vehicle in making the trip, to receive information on estimated fuel usage for the selected road segment;

to determine actual fuel usage for the selected road segment;

computing a fuel usage difference between the actual fuel usage and estimated fuel usage for the selected road segment; and

to modify the estimated fuel usage for the trip, using the fuel usage difference for the selected road segment.

9. Apparatus for estimation of fuel consumption by a vehicle in traveling from one location to another location, the apparatus comprising a microprocessor that is programmed:

to receive information on actual fuel usage, for each of a plurality of selected road segments that comprise a trip route, for a trip made by a vehicle in moving from a selected first location to a second location along the trip route, where the trip route followed in making the trip and the second location are not initially specified;

for each of the selected road segments, to receive information on at least one of the following trip information items as the vehicle moves from the trip route from the first location to the second location;

a representative altitude of the road segment;

a representative altitude of the road segment;

a representative slope of the road segment;

a speed limit that is effective for the road segment;

an expected vehicle average speed along the road segment;

length of the road segment;

condition of the road segment;

condition of the vehicle tires;

vehicle tire air pressure;

vehicle fuel used;

expected vehicle traffic density along the road segment;

applicable constraints on vehicle operation along the road segment;

expected ambient weather conditions along the road segment;

selected vehicle accessories that will be used on a portion or all of the trip route;

a time interval during which the trip will be made; and

vehicle driver profile information;

for each of the selected road segments, to estimate vehicle fuel consumption for the road segment oriented in a reverse direction, using the actual fuel usage for the road segment and from the information on the at least one trip information item received for the road segment; and

to estimate vehicle fuel consumption for a return trip from the second location to the first location along a return trip route, which is comprised of the selected road segments oriented in a reverse direction, as a sum of the estimated fuel consumption for each of the selected road segments oriented in the reverse direction.

10. A method for obtaining driver'"'"'s profile information for use in estimating vehicle fuel consumption for a trip along a selected route, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring and evaluating a selected driver'"'"'s responses in a selected vehicle in selected vehicle maneuvers, including at least one of the following;

(1) whether the driver accelerates rapidly or slowly away from a vehicle stop;

(2) whether the driver brakes rapidly or slowly as the vehicle approaches a vehicle stop;

(3) whether the driver habitually operates the vehicle at speeds that greatly exceed a vehicle optimal speed at which vehicle fuel mileage is maximized; and

(4) whether the driver operates the vehicle on a road at a speed that varies widely, where the road and local environment allow substantially constant vehicle speed operation; and

assigning a numerical value for a driver'"'"'s profile level to each of the selected driver'"'"'s responses, where the numerical value varies from a selected minimum value to a selected maximum value.