Patent ID: 6907371
Filing Date: 2005-06-14
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A vehicle, comprising: (a) one or more rigid and strong frame structures to which a majority of other components of said vehicle are directly or indirectly engaged and from which a majority of other components of said vehicle derive support directly or indirectly; (b) a suspension system that is engaged to and supports said one or more frame structures above the ground and that provides the vehicle with a relatively low resistance to movement along the ground; (c) one or more body structures including an occupant cabin that is/are engaged to and supported by said one or more frame structures and within which occupants and/or cargo of said vehicle may reside; (d) a powerplant that is mounted to said frame structures and that is operable to provide power to drive said vehicle; (e) a fuel reservoir that is mounted directly or indirectly to said frame structures and/or said body structures of said vehicle, and within which fuel may be stored for consumption by said powerplant; (f) a fuel-level detection system; (g) wherein said fuel-level detection system comprises a fuel-level sensor mounted in said fuel reservoir; (h) wherein said fuel-level detection system comprises a fuel-level indicator that is mounted in said occupant cabin; (i) wherein said fuel-level detection system further comprises a fuel-level-signal-translating system that communicatively links said fuel-level sensor and said fuel-level indicator; (j) wherein said fuel-level-signal-translating system receives raw fuel-level signals from said fuel-level sensor and translates them into processed fuel-level signals that are communicated to said fuel-level indicator; (k) wherein said vehicle further comprises one or more computer(s) that are either communicatively linked to or are part of said fuel-level-signal-translating system and that are also communicatively linked to said fuel-level sensor; (l) fuel-level-detection calibration logic, which is embodied in hardware and/or software of said one or more computer(s) and that may be activated when said fuel reservoir is empty to cause said one or more computer(s) to perform a fuel-level-detection calibration method which comprises the steps of: (m) said fuel-level sensor and said fuel-level-signal-translating system are constructed in such a manner that said raw fuel-level signals and/or intermediate signals have values that are linearly related to a height of fuel in said fuel reservoir; (n) said fuel-level-detection calibration logic is configured such that it causes said computer(s) to perform the step of: