Method for the determination of an ecological route attribute

• US 8,744,756 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2013
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Richter, Werner, Gerstberger, Christian, Wiebel, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMBY, RICHARD M
• Application Number:
  US13/906,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20130261955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• Field of Search: 701/104, 701/123, 701/409, 701/412, 701/420, 701/430, 701/439, 701/424, 701/300, 340/989, 340/991
• US Class Current: 701/420
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects

Abstract

A method is provided for determining an ecological route attribute, in which at least one current energy consumption value is determined by a motor vehicle. A current measurement location is determined by the motor vehicle. An ecological location attribute, which includes the measurement location and the current energy consumption value, is formed by the motor vehicle and transmitted to a central processor. An ecological route attribute is determined by the central processor on the basis of a plurality of received ecological location attributes, which in each case includes a measurement location, which ecological route attribute describes an energy consumption on a route section which has a prescribed spatial relationship with the measurement locations.

Claims

1. A method for determining an ecological route attribute, the method comprising the acts of:

determining at least one momentary energy consumption value by at least one motor vehicle;

determining at least one momentary measurement position by the at least one motor vehicle;

creating, by the motor vehicle, at least one ecological position attribute which includes the momentary measurement position and the momentary energy consumption value;

transmitting the at least one ecological position attribute to a central processor;

defining, by the central processor, a plurality of road segments having a predetermined length; and

determining an ecological route attribute by the central processor based on a plurality of received ecological position attributes, each including a measurement position along a corresponding one of the plurality of road segments, wherein the determined ecological position attribute describes an energy consumption for the corresponding road segment, having the predetermined length, and having a predefined positional relationship to the measurement positions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road segment includes the measurement positions.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road segment is determined by the measurement positions.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the acts of:

determining a momentary measurement time by at least one motor vehicle, wherein

the ecological position attribute includes the determined measurement time, and

the received ecological position attributes are classified chronologically by the central processor according to respective, associated measurement time, and are assigned to ecological route attributes that are accordingly chronologically classified.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the ecological position attribute includes a vehicle type or an engine type of the motor vehicle; and

the received ecological position attributes are classified by the central processor according to respective, associated vehicle type or engine type, and are assigned to ecological route attributes that are accordingly classified by vehicle type or engine type.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the act of:

determining a route based on a plurality of ecological route attributes.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the act of:

determining a cost-optimized route based on a plurality of ecological route attributes, wherein route costs are determined as a function of the plurality of ecological route attributes.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the acts of:

determining a route by the central processor; and

transmitting to the motor vehicle information used to describe the determined route.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the acts of:

transmitting a plurality of ecological route attributes to at least one motor vehicle; and

determining a route by the motor vehicle as a function of a plurality of ecological route attributes.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined length of the plurality of road segments is a common predetermined fixed length.

10. A method for determining an ecological route attribute, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving, in a central processor, an ecological position attribute, wherein the ecological position attribute was created by a motor vehicle and includes a momentary measurement position and a momentary energy consumption value determined by the motor vehicle;

defining, by the central processor, a plurality of road segments having a predetermined length; and

determining, by the central processor, an ecological route attribute based on a plurality of received ecological position attributes that each include a measurement position along a corresponding one of the plurality of road segments, wherein the determined ecological route attribute describes an energy consumption for the corresponding road segment, having the predetermined length, and having a predefined positional relationship to the measurement positions.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the received ecological position attributes include a momentary measurement time determined by the motor vehicle;

and further comprising the act of;

classifying chronologically, by the central processor, the received ecological position attributes according to their respective associated measurement times, and assigning the received ecological position attributes to ecological route attributes that are accordingly chronologically classified.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the received ecological position attributes include vehicle type or engine type of the motor vehicle, and further comprising the act of:

classifying, by the central processor, the received ecological position attributes according to their associated vehicle type or engine type, and assigning the received ecological position attributes to ecological route attributes accordingly classified by vehicle type or engine type.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the act of:

determining a route for a motor vehicle based on a plurality of determined ecological route attributes.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the act of:

transmitting information used to describe the determined route to a navigation system of the motor vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the act of:

transmitting a plurality of ecological route attributes determined by the central processor to a motor vehicle for the motor vehicle to determine a route based on the plurality of ecological route attributes.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined length of the plurality of road segments is a common predetermined fixed length.

16. A method for determining an ecological route attribute, the method comprising the acts of:

determining, by a motor vehicle, a momentary energy consumption value;

determining, by the motor vehicle, a momentary measurement position;

creating, by the motor vehicle, an ecological position attribute that includes the momentary measurement position and the momentary energy consumption value;

transmitting the created ecological position attribute to a central processor in which an ecological route attribute is determinable based on a plurality of ecological position attributes that have been transmitted to the central processor, wherein the ecological route attribute describes an energy consumption for one of a plurality of road segments, defined as having a predetermined length and as having a predefined positional relationship to the measurement positions.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the acts of:

determining, by the motor vehicle, a momentary measurement time;

wherein the created ecological position attribute includes the measurement time in order for the central processor to classify chronologically the transmitted ecological position attributes so as to assign the transmitted ecological position attributes to ecological route attributes that are accordingly chronologically classified.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the acts of:

obtaining the vehicle type or the engine type of the motor vehicle by the motor vehicle; and

wherein the transmitted ecological position attribute includes the vehicle type or the engine type in order for the central processor to classify the transmitted ecological position attributes according to their vehicle type or engine type so as to assign the received ecological position attributes to ecological route attributes that are accordingly classified by vehicle type or engine type.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the predetermined length of the plurality of road segments is a common predetermined fixed length.