GB2086577A - Travel cost meter and display systems - Google Patents

Abstract

A meter system adapted to be fitted in a vehicle includes means (12) for sensing distance travelled by the vehicle, means (14) for sensing the amount of fuel used during such travel, and display means (28a to 28d and 30) providing a display of travel cost information based upon these parameters. The display preferably provides cumulative travel cost information and a display of current cost per unit distance. The metering system is particularly appropriate for shared user scheme in which the travel cost figures are apportioned to the users of the system. The unit may be operated by keys, and these keys may include counters for retaining cumulative travel cost information and for remote reading. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pay-as-you-drive meter and travel cost display systems This invention relates to meters and metering and display systems appropriate for monitoring and providing a record and/or display of vehicular travelling costs. The meter display can be merely informative, or it can represent a logged charge representative of a particular trip. The meter and metering and display system of the present invention are particularly applicable to a pay-as-you-drive scheme where a number of users share one or more vehicles, or where passengers share the cost of travel with the driver.

A number of so-called "fuel computer" instruments are known, either fitted as standard equipment in motor vehicles or available as accessories which can be installed in a vehicle. One such instrument incorporates a fuel flow sensor and a distance sensor and has a display unit which will display the instantaneous fuel consumption, e.g. in miles per gallon. It can also display the amount of fuel used on a particular journey, and the total fuel used on a number of journeys. Another such instrument measures fuel consumption, distance travelled and elapsed time since starting a journey, and is able to display on demand computed figures for the average fuel consumption for the journey and for the average speed for the journey.

Additionally, a pay-as-you-drive scheme is already known which is based upon a meter which is installed in the vehicle and which records a mileage charge for each driver using the vehicle. The meter incorporates a number of different locks, with a key for one of the respective locks being given to each driver participating in the scheme. The meter unit is preset internally to a predetermined charge or cost per unit distance. A driver will therefore use his own key and by inserting it in the correct lock start the car and activate his own individual cost display panel in the meter. The driver's own meter display then indicates the cost to that user, on a comuiative basis, as the car is used. The cost of each trip is shown on a display which is resettable to zero at the start of a trip.

A disadvantage of this existing shared meter system is that the recorded display of cost is based upon the preset charge per mile only and is directly proportional to (and only proportional to) the number of miles travelled by each individual user. It does not therefore provide a very accurate figure for the actual travel cost. The existing meter takes no account of fuel used, and it has therefore been necessary, where a pool of drivers use a common vehicle, for the drivers to agree among themselves as to how the fuel costs should be apportioned. This can lead to disagreements and can have a negative influence on the acceptance of this beneficial scheme because, if one works only on a proportional basis linked to the number of miles travelled, no account is taken of the skill of individual drivers in conserving fuel by the way in which they drive.In other words, with this existing system, there is no method of differentiating between the good driver and the poor driver and of ensuring that each driver pays an appropriate sum towards the total fuel cost depending upon the way he drives. Similarly, the travel cost information would be more useful if it reflected the way in which the vehicle is driven as well as the distance travelled.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved meter and metering/display system which offers a display of the actual cost of travel, taking due account of actual fuel consumption, i.e. with the fuel consumption being reflected in the "cost" figure which is displayed.

The travel cost display can be given as costs distance, e.g. pence/km, or as the cost of a complete trip, i.e. total trip cost.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means whereby a travel cost figure may be apportioned to specific individuals in a shared system, for example by operating on a "key" basis.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a system where, when the meter is used to allocate travel costs to specific users, the cumulative travel costs of any of the users may be displayed on demand. Preferably, a first display provides this information, and a second display provides continuously updated current journey cost information, or alternatively or additionally fuel consumption information, e.g. km/litre.

The provision of a travel cost display as compared with the other, known types of display enables car drivers to achieve greater efficiency in the use of resources. It increases their awareness of journey costs and thus enables drivers to see whether the car or some other mode of transport would be cheaper.

The system of the present invention also enables journey costs to be shared easily with passengers.

Additionally, the fuel consumption data which is provided in one preferred form of the invention gives the drive information as to the state of tuning of the vehicle engine.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a meter system adapted to be fitted in a vehicle and comprising means for sensing distance travelled by the vehicle, means for sensing the amount of fuel used during such travel, and display means providing a display of travel cost information based upon said sensed parameters.

Preferably, two displays are provided, one of which gives continually updated travelling cost information and the other of which gives a readout of the cumulative costs apportioned to a particular one of a plurality of users.

The fuel cost element of the total cost figure as displayed on the meter can for example be updated each time that the vehicle is estimated to have used an amount of fuel valued at 1 unit of currency, for example 1 penny.

In a preferred arrangement, where distance travelled and fuel consumed result in the generation of electrical pulses proportional in an appropriate way to each of the two parameters being measured, the two pulse trains can be combined, and this combined pulse train then used to update the meter display.

The actual form of display on the meter can be modified as required in orderto provide the information most desired. For example, the meter could include a display separate from the cumulative "cost" display panel or panels, which would indicate to the driver his instantaneous fuel consumption figure. This could be obtained by suitably combining the pulse train representing distance travelled and fuel consumed. This display would be updated continually or frequently and would represent a figure of, for example, kilometres per litre, or fuel cost per unit distance, based upon the driver's then current driving technique.The display which could be provided with the meter of the present invention would accurately represent instantaneous fuel consumption and provide the driver with a continuous choice of means of monitoring both his fuel consumption and his driving techniques. If a numerical readout of this parameter is not required, one could alternatively use simple auralfor visual means to provide to the driver an indication that he is either within or outside tolerable limits, which would of course have to be preset Although the primary role of the meter of the present invention is to provide a display of travel costs, it is particularly suitable for use in a system where one wishes to allocate travel costs to individual users, whether as drivers or passengers. This involves a keying system.

One embodiment of meter system in accordance with the present invention and adapted for use as a shared-user system will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a schematic diagram of this metering and display system.

As shown in the drawing, the metering/display unit which is mounted within the vehicle is indicated generally at 10. A distance sensor which provides signals representative of the distance travelled by the vehicle is indicated at 12, and a fuel sensor is indicated at 14. The signals from the two sensors 12 and 14 are fed to respective signal conditioning units 16 and 18. The signal conditioning unit 16 is connected to a distance cost price control switch 20, and the signal conditioning unit 18 is similarly connected to a fuel cost price control switch 22.

These switches 20,22 represent price control means which enable the system to be set for particular cost values, with the result that the signal conditioning units 16 and 18 effectively multiply the incoming signals from the two sensors by appropriate factors depending upon the setting of the two switches 20,22. The two signal conditioning units 16,18 provide output signals in the form of electrical pulse trains to a microprocessor 24. The microprocessor 24 processes and converts the signals from the sensors into signals forth various displays which the system provides.

In the particular embodiment which is shown in the drawing the unit 10 has four locks 26a, 26b, 26c and 26dwhich are arranged to receive respective different keys. Each lock is linked to the microprocessor 24. Preferably, the arrangement is such that unless at least one key is inserted into the appropriate lock the vehicle will not function normally, for example the ignition circuit will not be completed and the vehicle will not start.

The illustrated embodiment includes four displays 28a, 28b, 28c and 28dwhich are associated with the respective keys and locks and which provide cumulative cost figures for the four individual users. These displays can be arranged to be illuminated on demand or when the particular user inserts his key.

The system also includes a further display 30 which can provide either a current travel cost figure, for example in pence kilometre, or a fuel consumption figure, for example in kilometres per litre. The display 30 is preferably continuously, i.e. regularly, updated. This display can be updated either after regular short time increments, e.g. one second, or after regular short distance increments, or after regular small cost increments, e.g. one penny.

Various other forms of information display may be provided within the scope of the present invention, depending upon the particular cost features which one wishes to provide. Several features of the cost of a journey may be displayed either simultaneously on a plurality of displays, or sequentially or on demand on a single display. These cost figures may include (a) cumulative trip costs; (b) actual petrol costofjourneys; (c) the additional cost incurred through making a journey (petrol costs plus a mileage charge relating to wear and tear costs); (d) and/orthe inclusive trip costs (petrol costs plus a mileage charge reflecting all expenditure on the vehicle).

These costs may be displayed as data per unit distance (e.g. petrol cost per kilometre), as weli as fuel consumption information.

The meter unit should preferably include suitable means whereby if two or more users within the "pool" are using the vehicle at the same time, as driver and passenger, then the insertion of their two or more keys into the locks will cause the costs to be divided equally between the two, three or more relevant display panels.

Where several users have separate access to a vehicle fitted with this pay-as-you-drive meter it is desirable that there should be safeguards against any single user resetting the price controls 20 and 22 (for example to a lower rate) for their own particular journeys. Preferably therefore, the price controls 20 and 22 can only be reset or adjusted when a master key is inserted, or where all four keys are inserted into the locks simultaneously.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, only two displays are provided. One displays the accumulative travel costs of any one of the designated users, on demand or when that user inserts his key, and the other provides regularly updated information as to the cost per kilometre, or as to the fuel consumption in kilometres per litre for example.

The device when used for a vehicle sharing can be used in conjunction with similar devices in many vehicles, e.g. eight cars may be fitted with a meter and 50 people may have keys. The individual users can then be cumulatively billed on each of the eight cars provided that the meters each have 50 stores (memories). There would preferably still only be one display for the cumulative cost which would be called up for any of the 50 users.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the cumulative billing information is stored on the keying devices either instead of or in addition to being stored within the pay-as-you-drive meter itself. One example of such a key-storage device is a magnetic strip which will identify the strip user and which will retain information about the use of the facility which the magnetic strip has accessed for the user. The magnetic strips may be mounted on cards.

Alternatively, the key-storage devices may be keycounters, where a counting device is attached to, or is integral with, the key. With this arrangement the cumulative travel cost information is retained on, in or with the key and this enables the information to be read remotely from the vehicle. Additionally, it does not require duplication of stores if several vehicles are accessible with a single key-counter.

Various means may be used to monitor fuel consumption and distance travelled, some of which avoid the need to install a flow meter in the fuel line and avoid the need for a distance transducer. Among these are: 1) Distance transducer attached to speedometer, and flow meter in fuel line.

2) Magnetic switch on rotating part of final drive chain, e.g. prop shaft or wheel hub + signal giving engine revolutions.

3) Signal indicating operation of electronic fuel pump.

4) Use of a signal giving engine revs and an electronic device to indicate time and to deduce from these figures the behaviour of the rev pulse train with time in order a) to estimate the gear which is engaged and hence calculate distance as a function of the pulse train, b) to calculate speed, acceleration and/or torque to estimate fuel consumption, then, by preset charges, to calculate a cost of travel representative of distance and fuel.

Claims (19)

1. A meter system adapted to be fitted in a vehicle and comprising means for sensing distance travelled by the vehicle, means for sensing the amount of fuel used during such travel, and display means providing a display of travel cost information based upon said sensed parameters.

2. A meter system as claimed in claim 1, in which the display means provides for a display of cumulative travel cost information and a display of current cost per unit distance.

3. A meter system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the display means provides for a display of current fuel consumption in terms of distance per volumetric unit of fuel.

4. A meter system as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the display means is arranged to update at least one display after regular time increments.

5. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the display means is arranged to update at least one display after regular increments of distance travelled.

6. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the display means is arranged to update at least one display after regular cost increments.

7. A meter system as claimed in any preceding claim, which includes control means for incorporating into the displayed travel cost information a presettable supplementary cost figure which is dependent on distance travelled but which is independent of actual fuel used.

8. A meter system as claimed in any preceding claim, which includes means whereby the travel cost figures are or can be apportioned to one or more of a plurality of authorised users of the system.

9. A meter system as claimed in claim 8, in which the display means provides for the cumulative travel costs of any of the authorised users to be displayed on demand.

10. A meter system as claimed in claim 9, in which a first display provides the cumulative travel cost information and a second display provides updated current journey cost information and/or fuel consumption information.

11. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10, which includes a plurality of key means each individual to one of the authorised users, and keyway means arranged to receive said key means.

12. A meter system as claimed in claim 11, in which the vehicle ignition circuit is only completed upon the insertion of at least one key means.

13. A meter system as claimed in claim 11 or 12, which requires the insertion of a master key means or of all of said key means in order to be able to reset price controls which determine the travel cost information.

14. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13, in which the insertion of more than one of said key means into the keyway means causes the travel costs to be apportioned equally between the users of the said key means.

15. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14, which includes memory storage means within the unit fitted into the vehicle, the storage means being arranged to hold cumulative cost figures for each key means and being.

16. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 11 to 15, in which each key means comprises a card carrying a magnetic strip which identifies the user.

17. A meter system as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14, in which each key means incorporates counting means which retains cumulative travel cost information in or on or with the key means.

18. A meter system as claimed in any preceding claim, in which distance travelled and fuel consumed result in the generation of respective trains of electrical pulses proportional to the parameters being measured, and the two pulse trains are combined and used to update the meter display.

19. A meter system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.