Ranking carbon footprints of vehicles to determine driving behavior modifications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12460937-B2
Application number	US-202217876810-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2022
Priority date	Jul 29, 2022
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

An example operation includes one or more of: determining a first subgroup of a group of vehicles and a second subgroup of the group of vehicles, wherein the second subgroup has a higher carbon footprint than the first subgroup; and determining a driving behavior modification of a vehicle in the second subgroup based on a driving behavior of one or more vehicles in the first subgroup.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
identifying a first group of vehicles having a first carbon footprint and a second group of vehicles having a second carbon footprint that is greater than the first carbon footprint; identifying a vehicle in the second group of vehicles having a carbon footprint that exceeds an average carbon footprint for the second group of vehicles; identifying a similar vehicle of the first group of vehicles having a similar carbon footprint as the vehicle; determining to reduce carbon emissions of the vehicle based on driving behavior of the similar vehicle; and activating a mode of an engine of the vehicle based on a determination to reduce carbon footprint and instructing the engine to conserve fuel more efficiently based on the activated mode.

2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
determining the carbon footprint for the vehicle as a function of distance based on an amount of fuel consumed by the vehicle; determining an estimated carbon footprint for the vehicle based on a model created using one or more models that are based on one or more typical driving patterns; comparing the carbon footprint with the estimated carbon footprint; and identifying the first group and the second group based on the comparing.

3 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
determining a plurality of driving behaviors that increase carbon emissions of the second group of vehicles; and providing a recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle, wherein the recommendation comprises a list of the plurality of driving behaviors, and one or more actions that may be taken to reduce the carbon emissions of the second group of vehicles.

4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
ranking each vehicle in the second group of vehicles based on an individual carbon footprint for each vehicle; identifying another vehicle having a similar ranking to the vehicle or sharing one or more characteristics with the vehicle; and providing a recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle for reducing carbon footprint, wherein the recommendation is based upon data received from the another vehicle.

5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
ranking each vehicle in the first group of vehicles to generate a vehicle ranking based on individual carbon footprints for each vehicle; and updating the vehicle ranking when the individual carbon footprint exceeds an average carbon footprint of the first group of vehicles.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
providing a second recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle, the second recommendation including a second driving behavior modification for reducing the carbon footprint.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising reducing a responsiveness of a throttle position sensor with respect to a throttle of the vehicle based on the determination to reduce carbon footprint.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling the vehicle to reduce fuel consumption by controlling the vehicle to consume energy from a rechargeable battery to conserve fuel more efficiently based on the determination to reduce carbon footprint.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising reducing idling emissions of the engine of the vehicle prior to shutting off the engine of the vehicle based on the determination to reduce carbon footprint.

10 . A system, comprising:
a processor that, when executing one or more instructions stored in an associated memory, is configured to:
identify a first group of vehicles having a first carbon footprint and a second group of vehicles having a second carbon footprint that is greater than the first carbon footprint;
identify a vehicle in the second group of vehicles having a carbon footprint that exceeds an average carbon footprint for the second group of vehicles;
identify a similar vehicle of the first group of vehicles having a similar carbon footprint as the vehicle;
determine to reduce carbon emissions of the vehicle based on driving behavior of the similar vehicle; and
activate a mode of an engine of the vehicle based on a determination to reduce carbon footprint and instruct the engine to conserve fuel more efficiently based on the activated mode.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine the carbon footprint for the vehicle as a function of distance based on an amount of fuel consumed by the vehicle; determine an estimated carbon footprint for the vehicle based on a model created using one or more models that are based on one or more typical driving patterns; compare the carbon footprint with the estimated carbon footprint; and identify the first group and the second group based on the comparing.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determines a plurality of driving behaviors that increase carbon emissions of the second group of vehicles; and provides a recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle, wherein the recommendation comprises a list of the plurality of driving behaviors, and one or more actions that may be taken to reduce the carbon emissions of the second group of vehicles.

13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
rank each vehicle in the second group of vehicles based on an individual carbon footprint for each vehicle; identify another vehicle having a similar ranking to the vehicle or sharing one or more characteristics with the vehicle; and provide a recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle for reducing carbon footprint, wherein the recommendation is based upon data received from the another vehicle.

14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
rank each vehicle in the first group of vehicles to generate a vehicle ranking based on individual carbon footprints for each vehicle; and update the vehicle ranking when the individual carbon footprint exceeds an average carbon footprint of the first group of vehicles.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
provide a second recommendation to a device associated with the vehicle, wherein the second recommendation includes a second drive behavior modification to reduce the carbon footprint.

16 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform:
identifying a first group of vehicles having a first carbon footprint and a second group of vehicles having a second carbon footprint that is greater than the first carbon footprint; identifying a vehicle in the second group of vehicles having a carbon footprint that exceeds an average carbon footprint for the second group of vehicles; identifying a similar vehicle of the first group of vehicles having a similar carbon footprint as the vehicle; determining to reduce carbon emissions of the vehicle based on driving behavior of the similar vehicle; and activating a mode of an engine of the vehicle based on a determination to reduce carbon footprint and instructing the engine to conserve fuel more efficiently based on the activated mode.

17 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:
determining the carbon footprint for the vehicle as a function of distance based on an amount of fuel consumed by the vehicle; determining an estimated carbon footprint for the vehicle based on a model created using one or more models that are based on one or more

Assignees

• Toyota Connected North America Inc

Inventors

• Salako Olarinre
• Cil Mehmet
• Prasad Varun
• Holman Daniel Ellis
• Denthumdas Shravanthi
• Bargas Danny
• Lerman Jennifer
• Kursar Brian M

Classifications

• B60W40/09

  Driving style or behaviour · CPC title

• B60W2540/30

  Driving style · CPC title

• B60Y2300/52

  Engine fuel consumption · CPC title

• B60W2540/12

  Brake pedal position · CPC title

• B60W2540/10

  Accelerator pedal position · CPC title