SE1650381A1

SE1650381A1 - Methods and control unit for fuel cost estimation

Info

Publication number: SE1650381A1
Application number: SE1650381A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Sandberg Daniel; Byström Markus
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2016-03-22
Filing date: 2016-03-22
Publication date: 2017-09-23
Also published as: DE102017002433A1

Abstract

Method (400) and control unit (210) for determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle. (100). The method (400) comprises determining (401) average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle (100), when driving on a first fuel type; collecting (403) fuel price of the first fuel type; calculating (405) fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the first fuel type, based on the determined (401) average fuel consumption and collected. (403) fuel price; and outputting (408) the calculated (405) fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100).(Publ. Fig. 3)

Description

METHODS AND CONTROL UNIT FOR FUEL COST ESTIMATION TECHNICAL FIELD This document discloses a control unit and a method to be performed. I\/|ore particularly, acontrol unit and a method are described, for determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND Reducing fuel costs for a vehicle is for economic reasons important for the vehicle owner.

Reduced fuel consumption also results in decreased environmental impact.

Hybrid vehicles uses two or more distinct types of power, such as internal combustion engine+ electric motor; a combustion engine that may run on ethanol and/ or gasoline; diesel-elec-tric trains using diesel engines and electricity from overhead lines; and/ or submarines thatuse diesels when surfaced and batteries when submerged, just to mention some few arbi-trary examples of hybrid vehicles.

The prices of different fuel types are typically dissimilar. Further, also the same type of fuelmay have a different price at different service stations along the road, due to different pricingstrategies. Fuel prices may also differ over time, due to e.g. political decisions concerningtax rates on certain fuel types. Thereby the price on fuel/ electricity may fluctuate rapidly,and sometimes change several times on the same day. lt is thereby difficult for a driver of ahybrid vehicle to know which fuel is most cost effective to use when driving.

Further, the fuel consumption of a vehicle, hybrid or not, is very much depending on thedriving style of the driver, i.e. acceleration, usage of the brake, velocity of the vehicle etc.When the vehicle is a heavy vehicle such as a truck or a bus, the driver is normally not theowner of the vehicle, nor responsible for paying the fuel bill. Thus the driver may have a low incitement for reducing the fuel consumption. lt would be desired to find a way to encourage and stimulate the vehicle driver to consistentlyreduce the fuel consumption of the vehicle, and provide a tool for helping him/ her to selectthe most cost effective fuel at the moment of driving.

Document EP2366578 illustrates a way of calculating fuel costs of a hybrid vehicle duringtravel, and present the calculated respective fuel costs for the driver. However, the driverhas to manually enter the current fuel prices and/ or electricity prices, which is inconvenient,susceptible for misprints of the driver and most inappropriate from a traffic security perspec-tive during transportation. The disclosed known solution is thus not adapted for managing fluctuating fuel prices. Further, the difference between the different fuel costs is not calcu-lated and presented for the driver, who has to make such calculations him/ her self in thehead. Neither is the cost per length unit for the respective fuel selection calculated and pre-sented for the driver.

Document WO2008156422 presents a method for calculating and presenting fuel costs per100 km of a vehicle on a display. However, no alternative fuel cost for a hybrid vehicle iscalculated. Thus the problem of selecting fuel type in a hybrid vehicle is not addressed at all.

Document US2012075090 describes a method for calculating energy cost of an electricalvehicle. However, no alternative fuel cost for a hybrid vehicle is calculated. Thus the problemof selecting fuel type in a hybrid vehicle is not addressed at all.

Document JP574160O presents a method for calculating and presenting the fuel cost of aworking machine, based on the average fuel consumption of the working machine. The dis-closed known solution is thus not adapted for managing fluctuating fuel prices. Further, noalternative fuel cost for a hybrid vehicle is calculated. Thus the problem of selecting fuel typein a hybrid vehicle is not addressed at all.

As these described scenarios, and similar variants of them, will lead to increased fuel con-sumption and/ or increased maintenance costs, it would be desired to find a solution whichinspires and stimulates the driver in reducing fuel consumption of the vehicle and in additionstimulates the driver to keep focused on safe and environmental friendly driving.

SUMMARY lt is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least some of the above problems and encourage a vehicle driver to reduce fuel consumption of a vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method for use ina vehicle. The method aims at determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle. The methodcomprises determining average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle, when drivingon a first fuel type. The method further comprises collecting fuel price of the first fuel type.Also, the method in addition comprises calculating fuel cost per length unit for the vehiclewhen driving on the first fuel type, based on the determined average fuel consumption andcollected fuel price. The method furthermore comprises outputting the calculated fuel costper length unit for the vehicle.

According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a control unit in a vehicle, for determining fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle. The control unit is config-ured to determine average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle, when driving ona first fuel type. Also, the control unit is further configured to collect fuel price of the first fueltype. Further the control unit is configured to calculate fuel cost per length unit for the vehiclewhen driving on the first fuel type, based on the determined average fuel consumption andcollected fuel price. The control unit, in further addition, is also configured to output the cal-culated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle, via an output unit.

Thanks to the described aspects, by determining average fuel consumption per length unitfor the vehicle and collecting fuel price, it is possible to calculate fuel cost per length unit forthe vehicle and output this estimation to the driver or owner of the vehicle. Thereby thedriver's focus on reducing fuel consumption is upheld and stimulated. Further, when the ve-hicle is capable of using a plurality of different fuel types, it is determined and outputted tothe driver/ owner which fuel type that leads to the lowest fuel costs. Thereby the total fuelexpense is reduced.

Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the subsequentdetailed description.

FIGURES Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to theaccompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 illustrates a vehicle as seen from a driver's perspective while driving along aroute, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a vehicle as seen from a driver's perspective while driving along aroute, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method; Figure 5 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a method and a control unit,which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below. These embodimentsmay, however, be exemplified and realised in many different forms and are not to be limitedto the examples set forth herein; rather, these illustrative examples of embodiments are pro-vided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following detailed description,considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. lt is to be understood, however,that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition ofthe limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to be made to theappended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, unless oth-en/vise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and pro-cedures described herein.

Figure 1 illustrates a scenario with a vehicle 100 driving in a driving direction 105.

The vehicle 100 may comprise a means for transportation in broad sense such as e.g. atruck, a car, a motorcycle, a trailer, a bus, a bike, a train, a tram, an aircraft, a watercraft, acable transport, an aerial tramway, an elevator, a drone, a spacecraft, or other similar manned or unmanned means of conveyance.

The vehicle 100 may be driver controlled or driverless (i.e. autonomously controlled) in dif-ferent embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicle 100 is subsequently de-scribed as having a driver.

The vehicle 100 may have one sole source of energy used for the propulsion of the vehicle100 in some embodiments. However, the vehicle 100 may be a hybrid vehicle which usestwo, three, four or more distinct types of power, such as e.g. diesel, electricity, gasoline,kerosene, naphtha, methanol, ethanol, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), propane, LiquefiedPetroleum Gas (LPG), methane, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen, and/ or a fuel cell.

Such fuel cell may comprise e.g. Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells, directmethanol fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid oxide fuelcells, reformed methanol fuel cell and/ or regenerative fuel cells, just to mention some non- limiting examples.

The electricity of a vehicle 100 being propelled by electricity may be stored in a battery, suchas a rechargeable battery, e.g. based on lithium-ion and other lithium-based variants suchas Lithium iron phosphate and Lithium-titanate. Lead acid batteries, Nickel metal hydride(Nil\/IH) and/ or zinc-air battery are other possible options.

The driving direction 105 of the vehicle 100 may be determined based on the location of the destination of the journey, or by extrapolating the driving direction based on previously de-termined geographical positions and possibly knowledge of the road direction, e.g. fromstored map data.

According to some embodiments, a tool is provided for determining fuel cost per length unitfor the vehicle 100.

This may be made by determining the actual average fuel consumption of the vehicle 100.This may be e.g. the average fuel consumption during a time period, e.g. the latest hour orsince the vehicle 100 was fabricated; or during a length period such as e.g. the latest 10 kmor since the trip metre of the vehicle 100 was zeroed, or somewhere in between. ln somealternative embodiments, the actual average fuel consumption of the vehicle 100 may bebased on a prediction of the ahead road in the driving direction 105 of the vehicle 100.

Further, a preferred provider of fuel/ electricity is made. This may be made by the driver, thevehicle owner or other person responsible for the vehicle 100. The preference of fuel providermay be a set of providers in some embodiments; or different providers for different fuel types/categories. The preferred provider of fuel/ electricity may be predetermined, or may be con-tinuously possible to update, in different embodiments.

Also, updated fuel-/ electricity prices are obtained, for the preferred provider of fuel/ electric-ity.

Based there upon, i.e. the average fuel consumption and collected fuel price, fuel cost perlength unit is calculated for the vehicle 100 when driving on the first fuel type. The calculatedfuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 may then be outputted to the driver, or the ownerof the vehicle 100. The fuel cost per length unit may be expressed e.g. in Swedish Crownsper kilometre; Swedish Crowns per ten kilometres; Euros per kilometre or ten kilometres;British Pounds per mile; US Dollars per mile, etc. ln some alternative embodiments, the sameinformation may be outputted the other way around, i.e. length that may be driven with thevehicle 100 per Crown/ Euro/ Dollar, etc.

The average fuel consumption of the vehicle 100 is influent by driver behaviour while drivinge.g. number and size of acceleration, braking, retarder use, etc., of the driver along the route,at different geographical positions. Thus the average fuel consumption of the vehicle 100may be different for different drivers, also when driving the same vehicle 100 on the sameroute. Also, the topology along the vehicle route will influence the fuel consumption, i.e. less fuel consumption in downhill and increased fuel consumption in uphill.

Also, other parameters of the vehicle 100 may influence the fuel consumption, such asweight/ load of the vehicle 100 (which may be different over time e.g. for a distribution truckor bus), and/ or tyre pressure of the vehicle 100; velocity of the vehicle 100, etc.

The weight of the vehicle 100 may be measured by a weight sensor on the vehicle 100, orestimated based on the load in some embodiments. ln some embodiments, the weight of thevehicle 100 may be estimated based on the acceleration capacity of the vehicle 100.

This calculation and presentation of fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 may be up-dated continuously or with a predetermined or configurable time interval, as the average fuelconsumption of the vehicle 100 and/ or the fuel price may change over time. ln some embodiments, when the vehicle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, average fuel consumptionper length unit for the vehicle 100 may be calculated, when driving on a second fuel type;the updated fuel price of the second fuel type may be collected and the fuel cost per lengthunit for the vehicle 100 when driving on the second fuel type may be estimated.

Further, the cost when driving on the first fuel type and the second fuel type respectively (perlength unit) may be displayed. ln addition, a price difference (per length unit) between thetwo (or more) alternative fuel types of the hybrid vehicle may be calculated and outputted to the driver/ owner.

Thereby the driver/ vehicle owner is given a tool for selecting which fuel type to select, inorder to reduce the fuel costs of the vehicle.

Also, by outputting this information to the driver, he/ she may learn how to reduce the fuelconsumption, e.g. by releasing the accelerator earlier when approaching a downhill, by re-ducing velocity, by change to another gear etc., by comparing the driver's parameter datawith previously stored more successful parameter data.

The calculated fuel cost/-s and/ or comparison between fuel costs per length unit for therespective different fuels may be outputted on an output unit or presentational device suchas e.g. a display, a loudspeaker, a projector, a head-up display, a display integrated in thewindshield of the vehicle 100, a display integrated in the dashboard of the vehicle 100, atactile device, a portable device of the vehicle driver/ owner, intelligent glasses of the vehicle driver/ owner, etc.; or a combination thereof.

Figure 2 illustrates an example of how the previously scenario in Figure 1 may be perceivedby the driver of the vehicle 100. ln the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle 100 comprises a control unit 210. The control unit210 is configured for determining fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 by determiningaverage fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle 100; collect fuel price of the fueltype; calculate fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100, based on the determined averagefuel consumption and collected fuel price; and output the calculated fuel cost per length unitfor the vehicle 100, via an output unit 220.

The output unit 220 may be integrated in the dashboard of the vehicle 100, or constitute aseparate unit in different embodiments. ln some embodiments, information may be outputtedto the driver by a loudspeaker, or a combination of the output unit 220 and the loudspeaker,and/ or any of the previously mentioned presentational devices.

Further, the vehicle 100 may comprise a positioning unit 230, in some embodiments. Thepositioning unit 230 may be based on a satellite navigation system such as the NavigationSignal Timing and Ranging (Navstar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differential GPS(DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS, or the like. Thus the positioning unit 230 may comprise a GPS receiver.

The geographical position of the vehicle 100 may be determined continuously or at certainpredetermined or configurable time intervals according to various embodiments, in order todetermine the distance passed by the vehicle 100, the velocity of the vehicle 100 and/ or theposition of the vehicle 100 in order to determine fuel price at that geographical position.

Positioning by satellite navigation is based on distance measurement using triangulationfrom a number of satellites 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4. The satellites 240-1, 240-2, 240-3,240-4 continuously transmit information about time and date (for example, in coded form),identity (which satellite 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 which broadcasts), status, and where thesatellite 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 are situated at any given time. GPS satellites 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 sends information encoded with different codes, for example, but not neces-sarily based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This allows information from an in-dividual satellite 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 distinguished from the others' information, basedon a unique code for each respective satellite 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4. This informationcan then be transmitted to be received by the appropriately adapted positioning unit 230 inthe vehicle 100.

Distance measurement can according to some embodiments comprise measuring the differ-ence in the time it takes for each respective satellite signal transmitted by the respectivesatellites 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4, to reach the positioning unit 230. As the radio signalstravel at the speed of light, the distance to the respective satellite 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 may be computed by measuring the signal propagation time.

The positions of the satellites 240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 are known, as they continuouslyare monitored by approximately 15-30 ground stations located mainly along and near theearth's equator. Thereby the geographical position, i.e. latitude and longitude, of the vehicle100 may be calculated by determining the distance to at least three satellites 240-1, 240-2,240-3, 240-4 through triangulation. For determination of altitude, signals from four satellites240-1, 240-2, 240-3, 240-4 may be used according to some embodiments.

The geographical position of the positioning unit 230, (and thereby also of the vehicle 100)may be made continuously with a certain predetermined or configurable time intervals ac- cording to various embodiments.

The geographical position of the vehicle 100 may alternatively be determined, e.g. by havingtransponders positioned at known positions around the route and a dedicated sensor in thevehicle 100, for recognising the transponders and thereby determining the position; by de-tecting and recognising WiFi networks (WiFi networks along the route may be mapped withcertain respective geographical positions in a database); by receiving a Bluetooth beaconingsignal, associated with a geographical position, or other signal signatures of wireless signalssuch as e.g. by triangulation of signals emitted by a plurality of fixed base stations with knowngeographical positions. The geographical position may alternatively be entered by the driver.

Having determined the geographical position of the vehicle 100, and also determined thedriving direction 105 of the vehicle 100, the control unit 210 may collect a set of parametersrelated to fuel consumption of the vehicle 100. ln some embodiments, the control unit 210 may predict the road ahead of the vehicle 100,based on the destination of the vehicle 100. The destination may be extracted from a navi-gator of the vehicle 100. Thereby, the fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 may beestimated based on the predicted road ahead of the vehicle 100. ln some embodiments, the fuel costs per length unit for the vehicle 100 may also compriseadditional cost per length unit due to service costs resulting from more service interval fre-quency and/ or intensity when that fuel type is selected. The service interval frequency and/ or service intensity, i.e. extent of the service may be different for different fuel types. Thus afuel type requiring more intense service intervals brings a higher cost than another fuel type,allowing sparser service intervals, or less extensive service. Thereby a more complete costcomparison between different fuel types may be made, for assisting the driver in the selectionprocess, in some embodiments.

Further, the vehicle 100 may comprise an optional wireless communication device 250. Thewireless communication device 250 may communicate wirelessly with a vehicle external unitin some embodiments, comprising a database 260 where various data parameters may bestored, such as the preferred fuel/ electricity provider; fuel price of the kind of fuel by thepreferred provider at the location of the vehicle 100, etc. However, in other embodiments,the database 260 may be comprised in the vehicle 100.

The mentioned wireless communication of the wireless communication device 250 may bemade over a wireless communication interface, such as e.g. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) com- munication, or Vehicle-to-Structure (V2X) communication. ln some embodiments, the communication between vehicles 100, 300 may be performed viaV2V communication, e.g. based on Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) de-vices. DSRC works in 5.9 GHz band with bandwidth of 75 I\/lHz and approximate range of 1000 m in some embodiments.

The wireless communication may be made according to any IEEE standard for wireless ve-hicular communication like e.g. a special mode of operation of IEEE 802.11 for vehicularnetworks called Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE). IEEE 802.11p is anextension to 802.11 Wireless LAN medium access layer (MAC) and physical layer (PHY)specification.

Such wireless communication interface may comprise, or at least be inspired by wirelesscommunication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mo-bile Broadband (Ul\/IB), Bluetooth (BT), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio-FrequencyIdentification (RFID), Z-wave, ZigBee, lPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Net-works (6LoWPAN), Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) Protocol,Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), optical communication such as Infrared Data Associa-tion (IrDA) or infrared transmission to name but a few possible examples of wireless com- munications in some embodiments.

The communication may alternatively be made over a wireless interface comprising, or atleast being inspired by radio access technologies such as e.g. 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced,E-UTRAN, UMTS, GSM, GSM/ EDGE, WCDMA, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) net-works, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, Worldwide lnteroperability for Micro-wave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), High Speed Packet Access(HSPA) Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess (UTRA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), 3GPP2 CDMA technologies,e.g., CDMA2000 1x RTT and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), or similar, just to mention some few options, via a wireless communication network. ln an illustrative example, various possible fuel types possible to use for the vehicle 100 maybe listed on the output device 220, together with price information for the respective fueltypes, fuel consumption for the respective fuel type and cost per length unit for the respectivefuel type. Also, an explicit or implicit recommendation may be outputted, assisting the driverin selecting the most advantageous fuel, i.e. the fuel leading to the lowest fuel expenses.Further, the difference per length unit for the respective fuel types may be calculated andoutputted, for further assisting the driver in determining which fuel to use. ln case the vehicle 100 is autonomous, the fuel leading to the lowest fuel expenses may beautomatically selected.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of how the previously scenario in Figure 1 may be perceivedby the driver of the vehicle 100 when approaching a fuel station 320.

The fuel prices of the fuel station 320 may in some embodiments be received by the wirelesscommunication device 250, e.g. over any of the previously discussed wireless communica-tion interfaces. Thereby, the fuel prices may be continuously updated without requirement of human interaction and manual input of prices. ln some other embodiments, the vehicle 100 may comprise a sensor 310, such as e.g. afon/vard looking sensor. ln the illustrated embodiment, which is merely an arbitrary example,the forwardly directed sensor 310 may be situated e.g. at the front of the vehicle 100, behindthe windscreen of the vehicle 100.

Mounting the forwardly directed sensor 310 behind the windshield have some advantagescompared to externally mounted camera systems. These advantages include the possibilityto use windshield wipers for cleaning and using the light from headlights to illuminate objects 11 in the camera's field of view. lt is also protected from dirt, snow, rain and to some extent alsofrom damage, vandalism and/ or theft. Such sensor 310 may also be used for a variety ofother tasks, i.e. not be in particular dedicated for recognising text and price information onsigns 330 of the fuel station 320.

The sensor 310 may comprise e.g. a camera, a stereo camera, an infrared camera, a videocamera, a time-of-flight camera, or similar device, in different embodiments.

An image, or a stream of images may be captured by the sensor 310 of the sign 330 and thefuel prices written there upon may be recognised and determined by image recognition/ com-puter vision and object recognition.

Computer vision is a technical field comprising methods for acquiring, processing, analysing,and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in orderto produce numerical or symbolic information. A theme in the development of this field hasbeen to duplicate the abilities of human vision by electronically perceiving and understandingan image. Understanding in this context means the transformation of visual images (the inputof retina) into descriptions of world that can interface with other thought processes and elicitappropriate action. This image understanding can be seen as the disentangling of symbolicinformation from image data using models constructed with the aid of geometry, physics,statistics, and learning theory. Computer vision may also be described as the enterprise ofautomating and integrating a wide range of processes and representations for vision percep- tion.

The image data of the sensor 310 may take many forms, such as e.g. images, video se- quences, views from multiple cameras, or multi-dimensional data from a scanner.

Computer vision may comprise e.g. scene reconstruction, event detection, video tracking,object recognition, object pose estimation, learning, indexing, motion estimation, and image restoration, just to mention some examples.

Thereby an alternative method is provided for achieving continuously updated fuel priceswithout human interaction for updating fuel prices.

However, fuel prices of different fuel types may be manually entered, e.g. at a vehicle exter-nal entity and then be distributed or achievable to the vehicle 100. The fuel prices may alter-natively be entered/ updated by the driver manually, locally in the vehicle 100 in some em-bodiments. 12 Further, in some embodiments, fuel prices may be achieved from a web page or an app over a wireless connection.

The various entities on-board the vehicle 100 may communicate e.g. a communication bus.The communication bus may comprise e.g. a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, a l\/lediaOriented Systems Transport (l\/IOST) bus, or similar. However, the datalink may alternativelybe made over a wireless connection comprising, or at least be inspired by any of the previ- ously discussed wireless communication technologies.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 according to an embodiment. The flow chartin Figure 4 shows the method 400 for use in a vehicle 100, for determining fuel cost perlength unit for a vehicle 100, for encouraging the driver to reduce fuel costs of the vehicle100.

The vehicle 100 may be propelled by one fuel type only, or by a plurality of alternative fueltypes in different embodiments. Such vehicles may be referred to as hybrid vehicles. ln order to correctly be able to determining fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100, themethod 400 may comprise a number of steps 401-408. However, some of these steps 401-408 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g. steps 402, 404,406-407. Further, the described steps 401-408 may be performed in a somewhat differentchronological order than the numbering suggests. For example, step 402 may be performedbefore step 401 in some embodiments. The method 400 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 401 comprises determining average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle100, when driving on a first fuel type.

Step 402, which only may be performed in some alternative embodiments wherein the vehi-cle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, comprises determining average fuel consumption per length unitfor the vehicle 100, when driving on a second fuel type.

Step 403 comprises collecting fuel price of the first fuel type.

The fuel prices of the respective fuel types may be collected based on a selected fuel sup-plier. 13 The fuel prices of the respective fuel types may be collected based on a geographical posi-tion of the vehicle 100.

Step 404, which only may be performed in some alternative embodiments wherein the vehi-cle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, comprises collecting fuel price of the second fuel type.

The fuel prices of the respective fuel types may be collected based on a selected fuel sup-plier.

The fuel prices of the respective fuel types may be collected based on a geographical posi-tion of the vehicle 100 in some embodiments.

Step 405 comprises calculating fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving onthe first fuel type, based on the determined 401 average fuel consumption and collected 403fuel price.

Step 406, which only may be performed in some alternative embodiments wherein the vehi-cle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, comprises calculating a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle100 when driving on the second fuel type, based on the determined 402 average fuel con-sumption and collected 404 fuel price.

Step 407, which only may be performed in some alternative embodiments wherein the vehi-cle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, comprises calculating a price difference per length unit betweenthe calculated 405 fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving on the first fueltype and the calculated 406 a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving onthe second fuel type.

Step 408 comprises outputting the calculated 405 fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle100.

Further in some embodiments, the outputting may also comprise the calculated 406 fuel costper length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving on the second fuel type and the calculated407 price difference per length unit between the respective calculated 405, 406 fuel cost perlength unit for the vehicle 100. ln some embodiments, the fuel leading to the lowest fuel cost may be recommended to the driver. 14 Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a control unit 210 configured for determining fuel costper length unit for the vehicle 100.

The control unit 210 is configured to perform at least some of the steps 401-408 accordingto the previously described method 400.

Thus the control unit 210 is configured to determine average fuel consumption per lengthunit for the vehicle 100, when driving on a first fuel type. Further the control unit 210 is con-figured to collect fuel price of the first fuel type. ln addition, the control unit 210 is also con-figured to calculate fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving on the first fueltype, based on the determined average fuel consumption and collected fuel price. The con-trol unit 210 is furthermore configured to output the calculated fuel cost per length unit forthe vehicle 100, via an output unit 220. ln some embodiments wherein the vehicle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, the control unit 210 mayfurther be configured to determine average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle100, when driving on a second fuel type. Further the control unit 210 may also be configuredto collect fuel price of the second fuel type. Additionally, the control unit 210 may furthermorealso be configured to calculate a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving onthe second fuel type, based on the determined average fuel consumption and collected fuelprice. The control unit 210 may in further addition be configured to calculate a price differenceper length unit between the calculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 whendriving on the first fuel type and the calculated a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100when driving on the second fuel type. ln addition, the control unit 210 may be configured tooutput also the calculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100 when driving on thesecond fuel type and the calculated price difference per length unit between the respectivecalculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle 100. ln some embodiments, the control unit 210 may be configured to collect the fuel prices of therespective fuel types based on a selected fuel supplier. Further in some embodiments, thecontrol unit 210 may be configured to collect fuel prices of the respective fuel types basedon a geographical position of the vehicle 100. ln some embodiments, the control unit 210 may be configured to collect fuel prices of therespective fuel types by image recognition of a service station sign 320 via a sensor 310 on the vehicle 100. The sensor 310 may be a camera, video camera or similar. ln some alternative embodiments, the control unit 21 0 may be configured to collect fuel prices of the respective fuel types via wireless communication with a service station 330. ln some embodiments, the control unit 210 may be configured to calculate fuel costs perlength unit for the vehicle 100 by also include an estimated additional cost per length unitdue to service costs resulting from more service interval frequency and/ or intensity when that fuel type is selected.

The control unit 210 may comprise a receiving circuit 510 configured for receiving a signalfrom one or more sensors 310 in the vehicle 100, a positioning unit 230 a communicationunit 250 and/ or a database 260.

The control unit 210 may also comprise a processor 520 configured for performing at leastsome of the calculating or computing of the control unit 210. Thus the processor 520 may beconfigured for determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle 100 when a computer pro-gram is loaded into the processor 520.

Such processor 520 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Cen-tral Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Applica-tion Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that mayinterpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression “processor” may thus rep-resent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.

Furthermore, the control unit 210 may comprise a memory 525 in some embodiments. Theoptional memory 525 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data or programs, i.e.,sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According to some embodi-ments, the memory 525 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon-based transis-tors. The memory 525 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, a USB memory,a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for storing data such ase.g. ROIVI (Read-Only Memory), PROIVI (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROIVI(Erasable PROIVI), EEPROIVI (Electrically Erasable PROIVI), etc. in different embodiments.

Further, the control unit 210 may comprise a signal transmitter 530. The signal transmitter530 may be configured for transmitting a signal over a wired or wireless interface to be re-ceived by the output unit 220 in the vehicle 100, or the communication unit 250 in some embodiments. 16 The previously described steps 401-408 to be performed in the control unit 210 may be im-plemented through the one or more processors 520 within the control unit 210, together withcomputer program product for performing at least some of the functions of the steps 401-408. Thus a computer program product, comprising instructions for performing the steps 401-408 in the control unit 210 may perform the method 400 comprising at least some of thesteps 401-408 for determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle 100, when the computerprogram is loaded into the one or more processors 520 of the control unit 210.

The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the formof a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the steps401-408 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more proces-sors 520 of the control unit 210. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROIVI disc,a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropri-ate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitorymanner. The computer program product may furthermore be provided as computer programcode on a server and downloaded to the control unit 210 remotely, e.g., over an Internet oran intranet connection.

Further, some embodiments may comprise a vehicle 100 comprising the previously de-scribed control unit 210, illustrated in Figure 5.

As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. The term “or” as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathematicalOR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless ex-pressly stated otherwise. ln addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are to be inter-preted as “at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of the same kind,unless expressly stated othen/vise. lt will be further understood that the terms "includes","comprises", "including" and/ or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated features, ac-tions, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the pres-ence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. a processor may fulfil the functionsof several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited inmutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measurescannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/ distributed on a suitablemedium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together withor as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms such as via Internet or other Wired or wireless communication system.

Claims

1. A method (400) for determining fuel cost per length unit for a vehicle (100), whereinthe method (400) comprises: determining (401) average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle (100),when driving on a first fuel type; collecting (403) fuel price of the first fuel type; calculating (405) fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on thefirst fuel type, based on the determined (401) average fuel consumption and collected (403)fuel price; and outputting (408) the calculated (405) fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100).

2. The method (400) according to claim 1,wherein the vehicle (100) is a hybrid vehicleand the method (400) further comprises: determining (402) average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle (100),when driving on a second fuel type; collecting (404) fuel price of the second fuel type; calculating (406) a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on thesecond fuel type, based on the determined (402) average fuel consumption and collected(404) fuel price; and calculating (407) a price difference per length unit between the calculated (405) fuelcost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the first fuel type and the calculated(406) a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the second fuel type; and wherein the outputting (408) also comprises the calculated (406) fuel cost perlength unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the second fuel type and the calculated (407)price difference per length unit between the respective calculated (405, 406) fuel cost perlength unit for the vehicle (100).

3. The method (400) according to any of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the fuel prices ofthe respective fuel types are collected (403, 404) based on a selected fuel supplier.

4. The method (400) according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the fuel prices of therespective fuel types are collected (403, 404) based on a geographical position of the vehicle(100).

5. A control unit (210), for determining fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100),wherein the control unit (210) is configured to: determine average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle (100), when driv-ing on a first fuel type; 18 collect fuel price of the first fuel type; calculate fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the first fueltype, based on the determined average fuel consumption and collected fuel price; and output the calculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100), via an output unit(220).

6. The control unit (210) according to claim 5, wherein the vehicle (100) is a hybridvehicle, the control unit (210) is further configured to: determine average fuel consumption per length unit for the vehicle (100), when driv-ing on a second fuel type; collect fuel price of the second fuel type; calculate a fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the secondfuel type, based on the determined average fuel consumption and collected fuel price; and calculate a price difference per length unit between the calculated fuel cost perlength unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the first fuel type and the calculated a fuelcost per length unit for the vehicle (100) when driving on the second fuel type; and output also the calculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100) whendriving on the second fuel type and the calculated price difference per length unit betweenthe respective calculated fuel cost per length unit for the vehicle (100).

7. The control unit (210) according to any of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the fuel pricesof the respective fuel types are collected based on a selected fuel supplier.

8. The control unit (210) according to any of claims 5-7, wherein the fuel prices of the respective fuel types are collected based on a geographical position of the vehicle (100).

9. The control unit (210) according to any of claims 5-8, wherein the fuel prices of therespective fuel types are collected by image recognition of a service station sign (320) via asensor (310) on the vehicle (100).

10.respective fuel types are collected via wireless communication with a service station (330). The control unit (210) according to any of claims 5-9, wherein the fuel prices of the

11.fuel costs per length unit for the vehicle (100) also comprises an estimated additional cost The control unit (210) according to any of claims 5-10, wherein one of the calculated per length unit due to service costs resulting from service interval frequency when that fueltype is selected. 19

12. A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (400) ac-cording to any of claims 1-4 when the computer program is executed in the control unit (21 O),according to claim 5-11.