Vehicle Environmental Impact Tracking Through Cross-Verified Refueling Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods cannot reliably determine a vehicle's environmental impact due to the indistinguishable chemical composition of environmentally friendly and harmful fuels like biomethane and fossil methane, leading to potential engine damage and legal repercussions, and lack of tamper-proof verification of refueling processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a vehicle and a data processing unit where both the gas station and the vehicle independently report refueling data, allowing the data processing unit to correlate and verify the environmental impact of the fuel, using sensors to detect refueling processes and certificates to ensure authenticity, with data stored on a blockchain for security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If chemical analysis is used to verify fuel origin, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical analysis methods with an information processing system that uses notification messages from gas stations and vehicle sensors to verify fuel origin. Instead of physical chemical testing, the system uses data communication and processing to determine fuel characteristics, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining verification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces notification messages as intermediaries between the gas station and the vehicle. These messages carry information about fuel origin and characteristics, allowing verification without direct chemical analysis. The notification message acts as a mediator that transmits necessary information for fuel verification.
2Device complexity
If unilateral reporting from gas station or vehicle is used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of environmental impact determination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the reporting systems of both the gas station and the vehicle into a unified verification process. The data processing unit receives and combines notification messages from both sources, creating a cross-verification mechanism that enhances reliability without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by having the vehicle send notification messages about refueling events to the data processing unit, which then verifies this information against gas station reports. This feedback loop ensures that both parties are accounted for in the verification process, improving reliability.
3Reliability
If communication between gas station and vehicle is established, then reliability of fuel selection is improved, but loss of time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gas station sends notification messages about available fuels and their environmental characteristics before the refueling process begins. This preliminary information transmission allows the vehicle system to prepare appropriate sensors and verification protocols in advance, reducing time during actual refueling while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for determining an environmental influence of a vehicle (1) in a system comprising the vehicle (1) and a data processing unit (9), wherein a sensor unit (10) is present in the feed unit, which detects a refuelling process, wherein the method comprises the following steps: - sending a first message to the data processing unit (9), wherein the first message contains a characteristic value of an environmental influence, e.g.a CO2 balance, the selected fuel or an identification of the origin of the selected fuel, - in the vehicle (1), sending a second reporting message with a vehicle identification to the data processing unit (9), - in the data processing unit (9), creating a data entry comprising the vehicle identification and the characteristic value of the CO2 balance of the fuel or the identification of the origin of the fuel, - determining the environmental impact of the vehicle (1) on the basis of said data entry.