Fuel consumption calculations and warnings

• US 8,849,555 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2012
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inrix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Inrix Incorporated
• Inventors: Scofield, Christopher L., Schwebel, William J., Foreman, Kevin, Parikh, Kush G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US13/407,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20130226443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence

Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for determining whether a vehicle comprises a sufficient amount of fuel to reach a destination. Making such a determination may comprise, among other things, estimating an amount of fuel required to reach the destination and/or estimating a rate of consumption along a travel route. Such estimates may be based upon factors external to the vehicle, including, among other things, topology of the travel route, current and/or predicted traffic patterns along the travel route, and/or driving habits of a user or others whom have navigated a similar route (or at least a portion of the route). When it is determined that the vehicle comprises an insufficient amount of fuel, a refueling notice indicative of the determination may be provided. In one embodiment, such a refueling may also suggest possible refueling stations along the travel route.

Claims

1. A method for providing a refueling notice, comprising:

identifying a travel route for a vehicle between a starting location and a destination;

identifying an incident along the travel route;

forecasting traffic along the travel route based at least in part upon a location of the incident;

determining whether the vehicle can arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling, the determining based at least in part upon a current fuel level of the vehicle and an expected rate of fuel consumption for the travel route, the expected rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon the forecasting; and

providing a refueling notice responsive to determining that the vehicle cannot arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising generating an updated travel route for arriving at the destination responsive to the determining that the vehicle cannot arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.

3. The method of claim 1, the identifying an incident, the forecasting, the determining whether the vehicle can arrive at the destination, and the providing occurring while the vehicle is in route to the destination via the travel route.

4. The method of claim 1, the expected rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon a topology of the travel route.

5. The method of claim 1, the expected rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon a historical driving style of a user operating the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, the expected rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon a predicted driving style of a user operating the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising predicting the predicted driving style of the user based at least in part upon a driving style of one or more other users traveling at least a portion of the travel route.

8. The method of claim 1, the identifying a travel route comprising identifying the travel route as a function of a current time of day.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising identifying a refueling station at least one of geographically proximate or temporally proximate the travel route responsive to the determining that the vehicle cannot arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.

10. The method of claim 9, the refueling notice comprising information about the refueling station.

11. The method of claim 9, the identifying a refueling station comprising:

identifying the refueling station as a refueling station that the vehicle can arrive at with a specified amount of fuel remaining in the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 9, comprising:

identifying a second refueling station at least one of geographically proximate or temporally proximate the travel route responsive to the determining that the vehicle cannot arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling; and

ordering the refueling station relative to the second refueling station as a function of a first price of fuel at the refueling station and a second price of fuel at the second refueling station.

13. A system, comprising:

one or more processing units; and

memory comprising instructions that when executed by at least one of the one or more processing units perform a method, comprising;

identifying a travel route for a vehicle between a current location of the vehicle and a destination;

receiving data from the vehicle indicative of a current fuel level of the vehicle;

estimating a rate of fuel consumption of the vehicle for the travel route, the estimating comprising predicting a first speed of the vehicle along a portion of the travel route based at least in part upon a driving style of one or more other users traveling the portion of the travel route;

determining whether the vehicle comprises a sufficient amount of fuel to reach the destination, via the travel route, without refueling based at least in part upon the current fuel level of the vehicle and the rate of fuel consumption; and

providing a refueling notice responsive to determining that the vehicle comprises an insufficient amount of fuel to reach the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.

14. The system of claim 13, the identifying comprising identifying the travel route based at least in part upon current time of day.

15. The system of claim 13, the estimating comprising estimating the rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon a topology of the travel route.

16. The system of claim 13, the estimating comprising estimating the rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon a historical driving style of a user operating the vehicle.

17. The system of claim 13, comprising identifying a refueling station at least one of temporally proximate or geographically proximate the travel route responsive to the determining that the vehicle comprises an insufficient amount of fuel to reach the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.

18. The system of claim 17, the refueling notice comprising information about the refueling station.

19. The system of claim 17, comprising:

identifying a second refueling station at least one of temporally proximate or geographically proximate the travel route responsive to the determining that the vehicle comprises an insufficient amount of fuel to reach the destination, via the travel route, without refueling; and

ordering the refueling station relative to the second refueling station as a function of a first price of fuel at the refueling station relative to a second price of fuel at the second refueling station.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by one or more processing units perform a method, comprising:

identifying a travel route for a vehicle between a starting location and a destination;

identifying an incident along the travel route;

forecasting traffic along the travel route based at least in part upon a location of the incident;

determining whether the vehicle can arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling, the determining based at least in part upon a current fuel level of the vehicle and an expected rate of fuel consumption for the travel route, the expected rate of fuel consumption based at least in part upon the forecasting; and

providing a refueling notice responsive to determining that the vehicle cannot arrive at the destination, via the travel route, without refueling.