Method and apparatus for estimating the fuel consumption of a vehicle
AssigneeLysanda Limited
InventorsJohn Keates, Glen Tunstall, Craig Barry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of estimating the fuel consumption of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of estimating an overall power of said vehicle, by estimating a rolling power component, an aerodynamic resistance component and an acceleration component, using at least one parameter obtained from an on board diagnostic system of the vehicle; determining the type of fuel used by the vehicle; and estimating said fuel consumption by summing said components of said overall power and dividing by the energy value of said fuel type and by a predetermined engine efficiency value.
Claims21
-140. (canceled)
A method of estimating a fuel consumption of a vehicle with an engine, said engine having an overall power comprising a rolling resistance power component, an aerodynamic resistance power component and an acceleration power component, said method comprising the steps of:
- estimating respective values of said components, said values dependent on a respective plurality of vehicle parameters, including vehicle mass or frontal area, by obtaining a reading of at least one of said parameters from an on board diagnostic system of said vehicle;
- estimating an overall power value for said overall power by summing said estimated respective values;
- obtaining an energy value of a fuel used by the vehicle;
- and
- obtaining a first fuel consumption estimate by dividing said overall power value by said fuel energy value and by a predetermined engine efficiency value.
An apparatus for estimating a fuel consumption of a vehicle with an engine, said engine having an overall power comprising a rolling resistance power component, an aerodynamic resistance power component and an acceleration power component, said apparatus comprising:
- a first module configured and arranged to estimate respective values of said components, said values dependent on a respective plurality of vehicle parameters, including vehicle mass or frontal area, by obtaining a reading of at least one said parameter from an on board diagnostic system of said vehicle;
- and
- a second module coupled to receive the estimated respective values from the first module and configured and arranged to
- sum said estimated respective values to estimate a value for said overall power,
- obtain an energy value of a fuel used by the vehicle, and
- obtain a first fuel consumption estimate by dividing said overall power value by said fuel energy value and by a predetermined engine efficiency value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.