Back to results
US 4,346,665 AGranted
Apparatus and method for determining vehicular distance per fuel unit
OwnerRichard C. McRobertsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
OwnerRichard C. McRobertsinventor
Estimating the term…
Apparatus and method for determining vehicular distance per fuel unit, such as the miles per gallon or liter of fuel consumed in driving a car. The vehicle has a fuel gage, and when stopped on, or operating on level road, a reference mark is made where the fuel gage pointer is then located and the odometer mileage reading is recorded. Vehicle operation is continued and when convenient, fuel is then added to the fuel tank to cause the pointer to show a greater quantity of fuel in the tank than is shown by the reference mark. The vehicle is then driven until the fuel gage pointer again returns to the reference mark, and the total distance traversed is also determined. With the knowledge of the amount of fuel consumed and the total distance traversed, the distance traversed per unit of fuel can be calculated. The reference mark is preferably established by means of a sight device which permits the operator to accurately locate the reference mark in alignment with the fuel gage pointer, and visual assists are available in the sight device for the accurate alignment mentioned.
In a method for determining vehicular distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed by a vehicle having a distance-traversed odometer and a fuel tank and a fuel gage with a pointer, the steps comprising detachably mounting a selectively horizontally movable reference mark on a support member on the gage and in alignment with the fuel pointer on the fuel gage to thereby present the reference mark for the quantity of fuel to be consumed, noting the distance-traversed reading showing on the distance-traversed odometer, adding a quantity of fuel to the fuel tank to thereby cause the fuel gage pointer to indicate the total quantity of fuel in the fuel tank and noting said total quantity, driving the vehicle for a sufficient distance to cause the fuel gage pointer to return to the reference mark, and noting the total said sufficient distance driven and dividing said sufficient distance by the quantity of fuel previously added to the tank to determine the distance traveled per fuel unit.
In a method for determining vehicular distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed by a vehicular having a distance-traversed odometer and a fuel tank and a fuel gage with a pointed for indicating "empty" and "full" tank conditions, the steps comprising detachably mounting a selectively horizontally movable reference mark on a support member on the gage and in alignment with the fuel pointer on the fuel gage to thereby present the reference mark for the quantity of fuel to be consumed, noting the distance-traversed reading showing on the distance-traversed odometer, driving the vehicle to cause the fuel pointer to move to the side of the reference mark toward the "empty" condition, adding a quantity of fuel to the fuel tank to thereby cause the fuel gage pointer to move to the side of the reference mark toward the "full" condition, driving the vehicle for a sufficient distance to cause the fuel gage pointer to return to the reference mark, and noting the total said sufficient distance driven and dividing said sufficient distance by the quantity of fuel previously added to the tank to determine the distance traveled per fuel unit.
Apparatus for determining vehicular distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed by a vehicle having a distance-traversed odometer and a fuel tank and a fuel gage with a pointer, comprising a sight device having two spaced-apart surfaces faced toward each other for aligning with said fuel gage pointer for establishing a reference location relative to said fuel gage, a holder attached with said sight device and being horizontally selectively positionable on a support member on the fuel gage for releasably holding said sight device in the aligned position relative to said fuel gage pointer, whereby the vehicle operator can align said sight device portion with said fuel gage pointer and make a first reading of said distance-traversed odometer and add fuel to said fuel tank and subsequently drive the vehicle until said fuel gage pointer returns to its aligned position with said sight device position whereupon a second reading of said distance-traversed odometer is made, all for determining the distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.