Vehicle route selection based on energy usage

• US 10,429,199 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Mason, Ralph James, Koch, Jason Mathew, Jelinek, Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/644,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20170307391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/043 Identity of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

Vehicle management systems and associated processes can consider energy consumption when selecting routes for fleet vehicles. Vehicle management systems and associated processes are described that, in certain embodiments, evaluate vehicle energy usage based on factors such as terrain or elevation, vehicle characteristics, driver characteristics, road conditions, traffic, speed limits, stop time, turn information, traffic information, and weather information, and the like. The features described herein may also be implemented for non-fleet vehicles, such as in personal vehicle navigation systems.

Claims

1. A method for providing dynamically adjustable routing of a powered vehicle, the method comprising:

by a computer system comprising computer hardware and a communication device,

generating feasible routes;

analyzing the feasible routes based on an energy use;

identifying a preferred route based on the analysis;

determining navigation instructions based on the preferred route to navigate the powered vehicle along a transportation route connecting a plurality of stops via a network of streets in a geographic region;

outputting the navigation instructions for presentation to a user of the powered vehicle;

calculating a new set of feasible routes at each stop during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route, the new set of feasible routes based on new information received by the communication device, the new information affecting energy use of the powered vehicle during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route;

determining whether there is a new preferred route by calculating and ranking the energy use of each new set of the feasible routes; and

outputting new navigation instructions on the determination that there is the new preferred route, the new navigation instructions based on the new preferred route, the new navigation instructions being output for presentation to the user of the powered vehicle during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the new information is provided by any of the user of the powered vehicle, a vehicle management system, and a remote third party application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the new information comprises any of energy use constraint, distance, elevation, time constraint, vehicle characteristics, driver characteristics, speed limit, accident information, information of a stop requiring mandatory delivery at a particular time, road closure information, and detour information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each item of the new information is assigned a weight in relation to relative importance of the energy use.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the weight is based on any of predetermined criteria, an input from the vehicle management system, and a user-defined input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the weight is variable and can be adjusted on real-time basis by an input from the vehicle management system or the user-defined input.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein a user interface in the powered vehicle is configured to receive the user-defined input to adjust the weight in real-time.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the communication device is configured to receive an input from the remote third party application to adjust the weight in real-time.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein an operator override input causes the weight to be ignored in real-time.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the item of the new information selected by a user-defined input affects calculation of the new set of the feasible routes.

11. A system for providing dynamically adjustable routing of a powered vehicle, the system comprising:

a communication device; and

processing circuitry comprising physical computer hardware configured to;

generate feasible routes;

analyze the feasible routes based on an energy use;

identify a preferred route based on the analysis;

determine navigation instructions based on the preferred route to navigate the powered vehicle along a transportation route connecting a plurality of stops via a network of streets in a geographic region;

output the navigation instructions for presentation to a user of the powered vehicle;

calculate a new set of feasible routes at each stop during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route, the new set of feasible routes based on new information received by the communication device, the new information affecting energy use of the powered vehicle during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route;

determine whether there is a new preferred route by calculating and ranking the energy use of each new set of the feasible routes; and

output the new preferred route on the determination that there is a new preferred route, the new preferred route being output for presentation to the user of the powered vehicle during the course of travel of the powered vehicle along the transportation route.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the new information affecting energy use is provided by any of the user of the powered vehicle, a vehicle management system, and a remote third party application.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the new information affecting energy use comprises any of energy use constraint, distance, elevation, time constraint, vehicle characteristics, speed limit, accident information, information of a stop requiring mandatory delivery at a particular time, road closure information, and detour information.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein each item of the new information is assigned a weight in relation to relative importance of the energy use.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the weight is based on any of predetermined criteria, an input from the vehicle management system, and a user-defined input.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the weight is variable and can be adjusted on real-time basis by an input from the vehicle management system or the user-defined input.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein a user interface in the powered vehicle is configured to receive the user-defined input to adjust the weight in real-time.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication device is configured to receive an input from the remote third party application to adjust the weight in real-time.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein an operator override input causes the weight to be ignored in real-time.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the item of the new information selected by a user-defined input affects calculation of the new set of the feasible routes.