Method for Improving Fuel Economy of an Operated Vehicle

• US 20130275013A1
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Automatic Labs Incorporated (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Automatic Labs Incorporated (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Kote, Thejovardhana S., Palmer, David Theron, Jariyasunant, Jerald, Jayaraman, Ramprabhu, Miljkovic, Ljubinko
• Granted Patent: US 9,275,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

In one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus is provided comprising a connector to an onboard diagnostics (OBD) port of a vehicle, wireless communications circuitry, and a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to monitor fuel consumption of the vehicle relative to mileage driven to derive fuel efficiency values, monitor driving behavior concurrently and associating certain driving behaviors to any dips and rises in the fuel efficiency values, and transmit the values and associated data to a wireless communications appliance wirelessly paired to communicate with the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a connector to an on board diagnostics (OBD) port of a vehicle;

wireless communications circuitry; and

a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

monitor fuel consumption of the vehicle relative to mileage driven to derive fuel efficiency values;

monitor driving behavior concurrently and associating certain driving behaviors to any dips and rises in the fuel efficiency values; and

transmit the values and associated data to a wireless communications appliance wirelessly paired to communicate with the apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless circuitry is Bluetooth™

circuitry.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driving behaviors monitored include transmission gear shifting, braking, accelerating, and steering.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications appliance is one of a cell phone, an android device, a tablet computer, or a laptop computer.

5. A method comprising acts:

monitoring fuel consumption of a vehicle relative to mileage driven and deriving fuel efficiency values via an apparatus having a connector to an on board diagnostics (OBD) port of a vehicle, wireless communications circuitry, and a processor and a memory;

monitoring, via the apparatus, driving behavior concurrently with fuel consumption and associating certain driving behaviors to any dips and rises in the fuel efficiency values;

transmitting, from the apparatus, the fuel efficiency values and associative data collected during monitoring to a wireless communications appliance wirelessly paired to communicate with the apparatus;

uploading, from the wireless communications appliance, the fuel efficiency values and associative data collected during monitoring to a server connected to a network;

accessing, by the server, current fuel pricing data relative to the location of the monitored vehicle;

processing, at the server, at least the fuel efficiency values against the current fuel pricing data to derive cost values for operating the monitored vehicle; and

serving, or otherwise making the cost information available over the network to the owners or operators of the monitored vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless circuitry is Bluetooth™

circuitry.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the driving behaviors monitored include transmission gear shifting, braking, accelerating, and steering.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communications appliance is one of a cell phone, an android device, a tablet computer, or a laptop computer.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the associated driving behaviors effecting fuel consumption are labeled and time stamped to indicate the sequence and the duration of those driving behaviors.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the network is the Internet network.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the fuel is one of gasoline, diesel, or a bio-fuel.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the location of the monitored vehicle is determined by global positioning satellite (GPS) data.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the cost information is pushed to the wireless communications appliance when the information becomes available.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the cost information is posted on a Webpage owned by the vehicle owner or operator.

16. The method of claim 5, wherein the cost information is communicated to the wireless appliance using email or text messaging.

17. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle is one of an automobile, a truck, a bus, a service vehicle, or a recreational vehicle.

18. The method of claim 5, wherein the current fuel pricing data is accessed from one or more local fuel cost reporting services.

19. The method of claim 5, wherein the cost information includes a summary of recommendations for correcting driving behaviors to improve fuel efficiency values.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the summary includes one or more recommendations for servicing the vehicle.