System and Method for Hypermiler Cruise Control

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Disclosed is a device for significantly improving fuel economy in a motor vehicle.

Hypermiling is a method of increasing your car's gas mileage by making changes in the way you drive. Drivers using this technique have demonstrated significant increases in miles per gallon far beyond using the constant speed cruise control. However using this method to its extreme involves monitoring engine and vehicle values that take the driver's attention away from the road, thus making it hazardous to perform.

The solution is the Hypermiler Cruise Control (HCC)

The HCC engages like a conventional cruise control but instead of keeping a set speed, it automates hypermiling method so the driver can pay attention to the road while significantly improving gas mileage. This solution is novel because it implements a cruise control that focuses on maximizing fuel efficiency using a control algorithm previously not automated. See Figure 1

The Hypermiler Cruise Control uses sensor values extracted from the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD II) which is built into all current cars sold in America since 1996. Once set, the unit locks onto values like "ignition advance" , "horse power", "miles per gallon" or "RPM" as provided by the OBD II and maintain these values by increasing and decreasing the throttle through the acceleration...