Method for vehicle route planning

• US 8,374,781 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2009
• Issued: 02/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FCA US LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Chrysler Group LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Hartman, Peter G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Bao Long T
• Application Number:
  US12/500,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20100010732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/439
• 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

Abstract

A method of planning a vehicle route includes estimating fuel requirements of identified alternative routes or route segments using navigation, vehicle, and powertrain information. The method also includes displaying for a vehicle operator a list of alternate routes that features either absolute or relative values representative of such estimated fuel requirements. The method further includes adapting values used to estimate fuel requirements based upon current powertrain operating parameters, and alerting the vehicle operator when actual vehicle fuel economy along a selected route varies significantly from the estimated fuel requirement.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic navigation system to display to a vehicle operator a plurality of alternate vehicle travel routes between an identified starting point and an identified endpoint, wherein the electronic navigation system includes a computer readable medium storing navigation information including a plurality of route segments, distances of each of the plurality of route segments, speed limits of each of the plurality of route segments, grade changes of each of the plurality of route segments, altitudes of each of the plurality of route segments, and number and type of intersections and traffic signals encountered in each of the plurality of route segments, and wherein the vehicle includes an engine, a transmission, and a vehicle controller adapted to supply powertrain information to the navigation system, the method comprising:

storing the powertrain information supplied by the vehicle controller as a function of vehicle speed, the powertrain information including a transmission selected gear, a state of any lockup torque converter of the vehicle, a state of a fuel-savings engine operating mode of the vehicle, an achieved fuel economy of the vehicle, and a fuel quality of fuel being used in the vehicle;

identifying a plurality of alternate routes from the identified starting point and the identified ending point based on the navigation information, each alternate route of the plurality of alternate routes including at least one of the plurality of route segments; and

estimating an amount of fuel required to travel along each alternate route of the plurality of alternate route based on the navigation information and on the powertrain information.

2. The method of claim 1, further including adapting stored values for the powertrain information using instantaneous powertrain information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller is further adapted to supply calibrated vehicle information representative of at least one of the group consisting of a vehicle mass, a vehicle aerodynamic drag coefficient, and a tire rolling resistance;

and wherein estimating is further based on the calibrated vehicle information.

4. The method of claim 3, further including storing the calibrated vehicle information;

and periodically updating the calibrated vehicle information based on an actual fuel consumption achieved along a selected route.

5. The method of claim 1, further including determining an individual driving pattern for a given vehicle operator including at least one of the group consisting of a characteristic acceleration rate, a characteristic deceleration rate, a characteristic speed traveled corresponding to a route speed limit, a characteristic delay associated with encountering intersections, a characteristic delay associated with encountering traffic signals, and a characteristic vehicle accessory load;

and wherein estimating is further based on individual driving pattern.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating includes predicting a powertrain operating parameter for at least a segment of a given route based on the powertrain information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic navigation system receives vehicle traffic information from an external source, and wherein the method further includes modifying estimated values for the amount of fuel required to travel along each of the plurality of alternate routes based on the vehicle traffic information.

8. The method of claim 1, further including transforming the navigation information for each route or route segment from distance and estimated travel time into a value representative of an amount of fuel used for each route or route segment.

9. The method of claim 8, further including displaying to the vehicle operator a value representative of fuel saved for at least one of the plurality of alternate routes relative to another of the plurality of alternate routes.

10. The method of claim 1, further including, upon selection by the vehicle operator of one of the plurality of alternate routes, monitoring an actual fuel consumption of the vehicle along the selected alternate route.

11. The method of claim 10, further including alerting the vehicle operator if an observed fuel economy differs significantly from an estimated fuel economy for the selected alternate route.

12. A method for operating an electronic navigation system to display to a vehicle operator a plurality of alternate vehicle travel routes between an identified starting point and an identified endpoint, wherein the electronic navigation system includes a computer readable medium storing navigation information including a plurality of route segments, distances of each of the plurality of route segments, speed limits of each of the plurality of route segments, grade changes of each of the plurality of route segments, altitudes of each of the plurality of route segments, and number and type of intersections and traffic signals encountered in each of the plurality of route segments, and wherein the vehicle includes an engine, a transmission, and a vehicle controller adapted to supply powertrain information to the electronic navigation system and calibrated vehicle information, the method comprising:

storing the powertrain information supplied by the vehicle controller as a function of vehicle speed, the powertrain information including a transmission selected gear, a state of any lockup torque converter of the vehicle, a state of a fuel-savings engine operating mode of the vehicle, an achieved fuel economy of the vehicle, and a fuel quality of fuel being used in the vehicle;

identifying a plurality of alternate routes from the starting point to the ending point based on the navigation information, each of the plurality of alternate routes including at least one route segment of the plurality of route segments;

for each alternate route of the plurality of alternate routes, estimating an amount of fuel required to travel along the alternate route based on the navigation information and the powertrain information and associating the amount of fuel with the alternate route;

displaying two or more of the alternate routes by the electronic navigation system, the two or more of the alternate routes including a most-fuel efficient alternate route, the most-fuel efficient alternate route having a least amount of fuel associated therewith;

determining whether the vehicle is operating in a fuel efficiency mode; and

automatically setting the most-fuel efficient alternate route as a default route when the vehicle is operating in the fuel efficiency mode.