Fuel savings scoring system with remote real-time vehicle OBD monitoring

• US 9,728,015 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2014
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TrueLite Trace, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TrueLite Trace, Inc.
• Inventors: Kwak, Sung Bok
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHITTINGTON, JESS G
• Application Number:
  US14/515,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20160110935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A novel fuel savings scoring system is capable of analyzing real-time on-board diagnostics (OBD) information of a vehicle from a remote monitoring station unit. The fuel savings scoring system can derive a novel fuel efficiency comparison metric called “driving score.” Preferably, the driving score represents a commercial vehicle driver'"'"'s fuel efficiency driving performance relative to those of peer commercial drivers in a commercial vehicle fleet organization. The driving score takes account of a current real-time mileage achieved by a particular vehicle as well as the best empirical mileage achieved by the same make and model to the particular vehicle in the commercial vehicle fleet organization. Furthermore, in some embodiments of the invention, the driving score for the particular vehicle can even be route and traffic condition-sensitive, which further improves the realistic usefulness of the driving score as a comparative fuel efficiency driving performance measure among commercial vehicle drivers.

Claims

1. A fuel savings scoring system with a remote real-time vehicle on-board diagnostics monitoring, the fuel savings scoring system comprising:

a vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) device connected to an engine control unit or a vehicular control chipset of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle OBD device records and diagnoses engine, vehicle dynamics, and fuel consumption data and subsequently generates a real-time data stream that incorporates vehicle diagnostic data;

a commercial vehicle fuel consumption analytics module that receives the real-time data stream from the vehicle OBD device, separates mechanical and physical fuel improvement factors from non-mechanical fuel improvement factors to track and analyze these two factors independently, and generates a two-factor graph comprising a dynamically-raisable best empirical mileage potential ceiling associated with a mechanical and physical upgrade and a current fuel mileage achieved by a particular driver of the vehicle, wherein the commercial vehicle fuel consumption analytics module further receives highest empirical mileage data for an identical travel path and an identical traffic congestion level achieved by the vehicle itself or a peer vehicle of same model and make from a commercial fleet fuel consumption database associated with a commercial vehicle fleet company;

a fuel savings score analytics unit in the commercial vehicle fuel consumption analytics module, wherein the fuel savings score analytics unit calculates a travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score by dividing the current fuel mileage of the vehicle for the identical travel path and the identical traffic congestion level by a highest empirical mileage number for the identical travel path and the identical traffic congestion level achieved by the vehicle itself or by the peer vehicle of same model and make, and then multiplying by 100;

the commercial fleet fuel consumption database that accumulates, stores, and categorizes fuel consumption records downloaded from the vehicle and a plurality of peer vehicles of same model and make; and

a computer server or another electronic device with a CPU and a memory unit that executes the fuel savings score analytics unit and utilizes the commercial fleet fuel consumption database, wherein the computer server or another electronic device displays the two-factor graph comprising the dynamically-raisable best empirical mileage potential ceiling associated with the mechanical and physical upgrade, the current fuel mileage achieved by the particular driver of the vehicle, and the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score on a display panel in the vehicle or in a remote monitoring station.

2. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, further comprising an on-board diagnostics data transceiver unit in the vehicle and a data communication network to transmit the real-time data stream from the vehicle OBD device to the computer server or to the remote monitoring station wirelessly.

3. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 2, wherein the on-board diagnostics data transceiver unit in the vehicle requests and receives the highest empirical mileage data from the commercial fleet fuel consumption database executed by the computer server or another electronic device.

4. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein the fuel savings score analytics unit is a software component executed by the computer server or another electronic device with the CPU and the memory unit, and wherein the fuel savings core analytics unit further comprises an onboard diagnostics device (OBD) information management module, a vehicle location and route information management module, an empirical best mileage management module for the peer vehicle of same model and make to the vehicle, a driving score calculation module, and an information display management module for calculating the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score.

5. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein the commercial vehicle fuel consumption analytics module is a vehicle-side module, a computer server-side module, or both.

6. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle location and route information management module that correlates the highest empirical mileage data achieved by the vehicle itself or the peer vehicle of same model and make to vehicle routes and traffic conditions when each data point was recorded for the vehicle and the peer vehicle.

7. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 6, wherein the highest empirical mileage number achieved by the vehicle itself or by the peer vehicle of same model and make, for calculation of the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score of the vehicle, is adjusted for the vehicle routes and traffic conditions when each data point was recorded for the peer vehicle.

8. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, further comprising an information display management module for generating graphical data to display the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score on the display panel in the vehicle or in the remote monitoring station.

9. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a truck, a taxi, a van, or another commercial vehicle.

10. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score informs a driver of the vehicle to utilize non-mechanical improvement factors to improve an overall operating fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

11. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein the travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score informs the commercial vehicle fleet company to utilize mechanical and physical improvement factors to improve an overall operating fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

12. The fuel savings scoring system of claim 1, wherein fuel savings score analytics unit in the commercial vehicle fuel consumption analytics module also calculates and keeps track of travel path and traffic congestion level-specific driving score trends over a day, a week, a month, a year, or another set period of time.