Vehicle Gear Advice Using Engine Speed Threshold Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicles often operate in suboptimal gear configurations, leading to reduced fuel efficiency, which is not effectively addressed by current monitoring and feedback systems.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that determine the current gear and speed of a vehicle, providing an indication when the vehicle is not in an optimal gear, using thresholds based on fuel type and gear information from the OBD port, and offering feedback through graphical, audio, or haptic warnings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the vehicle operates without gear optimization monitoring, then the device complexity is reduced, but fuel efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors current gear position and drive unit speed, compares actual gear usage against optimal gear recommendations, and provides feedback to the driver when suboptimal gear selection is detected. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables fuel efficiency improvement through driver behavior modification without requiring complex mechanical modifications to the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages existing vehicle sensors and onboard communication systems to gather necessary data, eliminating the need for dedicated monitoring hardware. By utilizing already-present vehicle components for data collection and processing, the system achieves fuel optimization functionality with minimal additional device complexity.
2Loss of energy
If real-time gear monitoring and feedback is implemented, then fuel efficiency is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to additional driver alerts
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies feedback selectively rather than continuously - alerts are generated only when suboptimal gear usage is detected, not during all driving conditions. This partial action approach provides sufficient information to improve fuel consumption while avoiding excessive alerts that would complicate driver operation and cause distraction.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive gear and speed data collection is performed, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of information increases due to data processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential data elements needed for gear determination - specifically the ratio between drive unit speed and vehicle speed - rather than processing comprehensive vehicle operational data. This extraction of critical information maintains measurement precision for gear and speed detection while minimizing data processing overhead and preventing information loss.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method and apparatus for providing an indication to a driver of a geared vehicle that the vehicle is not in an optimal gear is disclosed. The method comprises determining a current gear of the vehicle and determining a current speed of a drive unit of the vehicle. An indication is then provided to the driver of the vehicle that the vehicle is not in an optimal gear when: (i) the determined current speed of the drive unit is greater than a predetermined threshold; and (ii) the determined current gear of the vehicle is less than a maximum gear of the vehicle. A method and apparatus is also disclosed for determining a score indicative of the amount of time during a journey on a road network that a geared vehicle is driven in an optimal gear.