SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING AND REDUCING VEHICLE FUEL WASTE

摘要

One way to improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle is to detect the vehicle operational shortcomings related to fuel consumption by determining whether fuel used during operation of the vehicle is normal fuel use or wasted fuel use. Considerations of idling, speeding and inappropriate gear shifts are some ways to measure the amount of fuel wasted due to operator shortcomings. Communicating this information to the operator in real-time so adjustments can be made will improve vehicle fuel efficiency. These techniques are applicable to tracking employment of other driving best practices as well.

主权项

1) A method of detecting vehicle operational shortcomings related to fuel consumption, comprising:
sensing information about operation of a vehicle from at least one sensor positioned on the vehicle; recording, on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the sensed information; determining, from the information, whether fuel used during operation of the vehicle is normal fuel use or wasted fuel use; categorizing the fuel used by the vehicle into one of a plurality of normal fuel use categories when the fuel used is determined to be normal fuel use, or into one of a plurality of wasted fuel use categories when the fuel used is determined to be wasted fuel use; recording, on the non-transitory computer readable medium, the categorized fuel use; determining performance information related to the vehicle from the recorded categorized fuel used; and presenting the performance information.