초록 ▼

A method and system for calculating the effective fuel economy of a fuel-consuming engine in a vehicle are disclosed. The effective fuel economy is calculated taking into consideration the chemical energy contained in the fuel and the change in kinetic energy of the vehicle (42). The effective fuel

A method and system for calculating the effective fuel economy of a fuel-consuming engine in a vehicle are disclosed. The effective fuel economy is calculated taking into consideration the chemical energy contained in the fuel and the change in kinetic energy of the vehicle (42). The effective fuel economy is also calculated by further considering the change in potential energy of the vehicle (60). The chemical energy contained in the fuel is determined by sensing the mass flow rate of fuel (52). The kinetic energy (56) is determined by sensing the change in the speed of the vehicle and the mass of the vehicle (50). The potential energy (58) is determined by sensing the change in elevation of the vehicle (50). The effective fuel economy is displayed to the operator of the vehicle (64).

대표청구항 ▼

A method for determining and displaying on a visual display the effective fuel economy (MPGeff) of a fuel consuming engine during a time interval Dt in a vehicle, the method comprising: providing a vehicle having a mass and said fuel consuming engine; determining an enthalpy of reaction (DR) of the

A method for determining and displaying on a visual display the effective fuel economy (MPGeff) of a fuel consuming engine during a time interval Dt in a vehicle, the method comprising: providing a vehicle having a mass and said fuel consuming engine; determining an enthalpy of reaction (DR) of the fuel, which represents the energy released per unit mass by combustion following actual injection of fuel into the engine; determining an amount of chemical energy (Ef) contained in the fuel based on the enthalpy of reaction of the fuel; sensing a vehicle speed at predetermined periods of time during the time interval and generating corresponding velocity signals (vi, vi-1); determining a change in kinetic energy (DKE) of the vehicle during the time interval based solely on the velocity signals and the mass of the vehicle; determining a change in potential energy (DPE) of the vehicle; determining the effective fuel economy of the vehicle based on the chemical energy, the change in kinetic energy and the change in potential energy; generating an electrical signal for receipt by the visual display corresponding to the determined effective fuel economy; and displaying the determined effective fuel economy.