GB2302179A - Vehicle monitoring units - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle monitoring unit 1 for recording a vehicle parameter, such as distance travelled, over a number of journeys comprises a processing unit 10 for mounting within the vehicle, an input 11 for receiving electrical signals indicative of an operational parameter of the vehicle to be monitored and for supplying the signals to the processing unit 10, and a receiving unit 12 adapted to receive a portable memory card 8 in order to record on the memory card 8 information supplied by the processing unit 10 relating to the operational parameter and derived from the signals. The memory card 8 is removable from the unit to enable the recorded information to be read by a reading unit of an external computer installation incorporating a printer, so that the recorded information may be printed out in the form of a report showing the distance travelled on each journey, and generally also the associated costs, against the appropriate customer account.

Description

"Vehicle Monitorina Units" This invention relates to a vehicle monitoring unit for recording, and optionally controlling, one or more operational parameters of a vehicle, such as distance travelled.

It is often required to record the distances travelled by a vehicle over a number of journeys. It may, for example, be necessary to record the distances travelled by a car on a number of journeys so that the cost of each journey can be charged to the appropriate customer, or so that running costs can be allocated either to business use or to private use, which may be necessary for tax purposes.

Most cars are equipped with some type of distance measuring instrument which measures total distance travelled by the car, and which may also include a facility for recording the distance of a particular journey. However, if such an instrument is to be used for recording the distances of a number of journeys travelled, it is necessary for the user to remember to read the instrument at the beginning and end of each journey, and to make a note of the distance travelled in each case. Apart from the fact that such logging of distances relies on the user remembering to take the relevant readings, it is clearly open to error, either due to misreading of the instrument or due to deliberate falsification. Such manual logging of distances may also not satisfy the requirements of the tax authorities.

It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle monitoring unit which may be used to reliably record a vehicle parameter, such as distance travelled, over a number of journeys.

According to the present invention there is provided a vehicle monitoring unit comprising monitoring means for mounting within the vehicle, input means for receiving electrical signals indicative of an operational parameter of the vehicle to be monitored and for supplying said signals to the monitoring means, and memory receiving means adapted to receive a portable memory device in order to record in the memory device information supplied by the monitoring means relating to said operational parameter and derived from said signals, and in order to enable the memory device to be removed from the vehicle so that the recorded information can be read by external reading means.

Such a vehicle monitoring unit may be used, for example, to record the distances travelled by a vehicle over a number of journeys. After such recording has been completed the memory device may be removed from the vehicle and fitted into a reading unit of an external computer installation incorporating a printer, so that the recorded information may be printed out in the form of a report showing the distance travelled on each journey, and generally also the associated costs, against the appropriate customer account. Such a print out can readily be used for accounting purposes.

In one embodiment of the invention the memory receiving means is adapted to receive subsidiary data from the memory device and to effect recording of information in the memory device in association with said subsidiary data. Where distance travelled is to be monitored, the subsidiary data may include customer account data.

Furthermore the memory receiving means may be adapted to receive vehicle control data from the memory device and to control a vehicle function in dependence on such vehicle control data.

In addition the vehicle monitoring unit may include user operable control means for controlling recording of information in the memory device in response to operation of the control means by the vehicle user.

The unit may also include display means for displaying data relating to the operational parameter to be monitored and/or data supplied by the memory device.

Preferably the unit includes display indexing means for permitting indexing of the display means to display different items of data and permitting selection of an item of data currently displayed for controlling vehicle function and/or recording of information in response to operation by the vehicle user.

The unit advantageously also includes clock means for supplying time signals for controlling vehicle function and/or recording of information.

In order to prevent unauthorised use of the vehicle, the unit may also include vehicle disabling means adapted to enable the vehicle to be operated when the memory device is received by the receiving means and to disable the vehicle when the memory device is removed from the unit. The disabling means may be responsive to an identity code supplied by the memory device so as to permit the vehicle to be operated only when a memory device having the correct identity code is received by the receiving means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the unit is adapted to monitor the distance travelled by the vehicle over a plurality of journeys, and the memory receiving means is adapted to record in the memory device information indicative of the length of each journey together with identifying information, such as the destination of each journey. In this case the identifying information may be supplied by the memory device under control of the user.

The invention also provides a method of monitoring the distance travelled by a vehicle over a plurality of journeys, comprising monitoring by means of a vehicle mounted monitoring unit electrical signals indicative of the distance travelled by the vehicle over said journeys, deriving from said signals distance information relating to the distance travelled on each journey, recording the distance information for each journey in a portable memory device fitted to the monitoring unit, and removing the memory device from the vehicle so that the recorded information can be read by external reading means.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, a preferred vehicle monitoring unit in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of the unit when fitted in a vehicle; and Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the unit.

Referring to Figure 1 the vehicle monitoring unit 1 has a moulded plastics casing 2 adapted to be mounted on a dashboard of a car, for example by being provided with a back plate (not shown) having holes through which screws may extend. The unit 1 is provided with a liquid crystal display 3 and a control unit 4 provided with three push buttons 5, 6 and 7. In addition the right hand side of the casing 2 is provided with a slot into which a portable memory card 8 may be fitted for the purpose of recording monitored information. The memory card 8 is removable from the unit 1 for reading in a reading unit of an external computer installation.

The general functioning of the unit 1 will now be described with reference to the block diagram of Figure 2 from which it will be apparent that the unit 1 incorporates a processing unit 10 which receives from an input 11 electrical signals indicative of an operational parameter of the vehicle during operation and which derives from the signals information relating to the operational parameter which is supplied to a receiving unit 12 for recording the information on the memory card 8. Recording of information on the memory card 8 may be initiated by the user operating the control unit 4 so as to cause a display indexing unit 13 to index the display 3 so as to display different items of data sequentially and so as to enable a particular item of data displayed to be selected by further operation of the control unit 4. In this way control functions may be selected for initiating and/or terminating recording, and/or data may be selected for recording by the memory device 8 together with the information relating to the vehicle parameter being monitored. The display 3 may additionally display information relating to the operational parameter being monitored.

Optionally the unit 1 includes a clock 14 for supplying time signals to the processing unit 10 so as to be able to control recording and/or vehicle function with respect to real time, and an output 15 enabling supply of control signals from the processing unit 10 to a control device forming part of the vehicle to enable control of a vehicle function.

Whilst it should be appreciated that the vehicle monitoring unit 1 can be used to monitor a wide range of vehicle functions, and to record one or more vehicle parameters and/or control one or more vehicle functions, depending on the control data encoded in the memory device and the electrical connections made between the unit 1 and the component parts of the vehicle, the operation of the unit 1 will now be described in more detail with reference to the specific case in which the unit 1 is programmed to monitor and record the distance travelled by a car over a number of journeys to different customers, so as to enable the journey costs to be allocated to the appropriate customers. In this case the memory card 8 is preprogrammed in the external computer installation with control data and with information identifying the customers to be visited.

At the beginning of the series of journeys the user enters the car and places the memory card 8 in the unit 1. The user then presses the button 5 or the button 6 to index the display 3 in one or other direction through the list of customers to be visited, and selects the appropriate customer for the first journey by pressing the accept button 7 when that customer is shown on the display 3. This will cause the identity of the selected customer to be recorded on the memory card 8. Thereafter, as the car is driven by the user, the unit 1 will automatically record the distance travelled by the vehicle during the journey, and, when the journey is terminated, will cause the total distance travelled to be recorded against the identity of the customer in the memory card 8.Control data supplied to the processing unit 10 by the memory card 8 will ensure that the journey is not shown as terminated until the vehicle has stopped for a length of time greater than a predetermined period of time derived from the time signal supplied by the clock 14. When the user begins the next journey he repeats the required operation of the control unit 4 in order to select the identity of the next customer to be visited, and the required distance information will then be recorded in the memory device 8 together with the identity of the customer at the end of this further journey.When the full series of journeys has been completed, the memory card 8 can be removed from the vehicle and placed in the reading unit of the external computer installation in order to provide a print out of distance travelled, and preferably also the corresponding travel cost, against the identity of each customer visited.

The basic distance monitoring function described above simply requires connection of the input 11 to the pulse signal line which is provided in most cars for supplying electrical pulses to the speedometer.

However further recording and/or control functions can be added or substituted by making additional connections to the input 11 and/or output 15, and by appropriate pre-programming of the memory card 8. For example the output 15 may be connected to the car ignition so that the car cannot be started until the memory card 8 preprogrammed with a distinctive identity code has been introduced into the unit 1. Furthermore, by connection of the input 11 and/or output 15 to the car ignition, information can be recorded by the memory card 8 indicating the periods of time for which the ignition is on or off. It will be well understood by persons skilled in the art that a wide range of other connections can be made to control and/or record other vehicle functions, such as the speed of travel. The unit may even be used to monitor and record engine conditions, such as the working temperature of the catalytic process, for subsequent analysis, and possibly for control by advanced programming of the memory card 8.

Such a vehicle monitoring unit enables a wide range of vehicle functions to be monitored and/or controlled in a manner which can be determined in advance by programming of the memory card 8 in the computer installation. For example such pre-programming could be used to control the starting of the car, the distance for which the car is to be permitted to travel, and the maximum speed at which the car is to be permitted to travel. Thus the unit can serve to control both the operation of the vehicle and the behaviour of the driver during driving.

Claims (13)

CLANS

1. A vehicle monitoring unit comprising monitoring means for mounting within the vehicle, input means for receiving electrical signals indicative of an operational parameter of the vehicle to be monitored and for supplying said signals to the monitoring means, and memory receiving means adapted to receive a portable memory device in order to record in the memory device information supplied by the monitoring means relating to said operational parameter and derived from said signals, and in order to enable the memory device to be removed from the vehicle so that the recorded information can be read by external reading means.

2. A unit according to claim 1, wherein the memory receiving means is adapted to receive subsidiary data from the memory device and to effect recording of information in the memory device in association with said subsidiary data.

3. A unit according to claim 2, for monitoring distance travelled, wherein the subsidiary data includes customer account data.

4. A unit according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the memory receiving means is adapted to receive vehicle control data from the memory device and to control a vehicle function in dependence on such vehicle control data.

5. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein user operable control means is provided for controlling recording of information in the memory device in response to operation of the control means by the vehicle user.

6. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein display means is provided for displaying data relating to the operational parameter to be monitored and/or data supplied by the memory device.

7. A unit according to claim 6, wherein display indexing means is provided for permitting indexing of the display means to display different items of data and permitting selection of an item of data currently displayed for controlling vehicle function and/or recording of information in response to operation by the vehicle user.

8. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein clock means is provided for supplying time signals for controlling vehicle function and/or recording of information.

9. A unit according to any preceding claim, incorporating vehicle disabling means adapted to enable the vehicle to be operated when the memory device is received by the receiving means and to disable the vehicle when the memory device is removed from the unit.

10. A unit according to claim 9, wherein the disabling means is responsive to an identity code supplied by the memory device so as to permit the vehicle to be operated only when a memory device having the correct identity code is received by the receiving means.

11. A unit according to any preceding claim, which is adapted to monitor the distance travelled by the vehicle over a plurality ofjourneys, wherein the memory receiving means is adapted to record in the memory device information indicative of the length of each journey together with identifying information, such as the destination of each journey.

12. A method of monitoring the distance travelled by a vehicle over a plurality of journeys, comprising monitoring by means of a vehicle mounted monitoring unit electrical signals indicative of the distance travelled by the vehicle over said journeys, deriving from said signals distance information relating to the distance travelled on each journey, recording the distance information for each journey in a portable memory device fitted to the monitoring unit, and removing the memory device from the vehicle so that the recorded information can be read by external reading means.

13. A vehicle monitoring unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.