HK1116247A - Method and system for monitoring a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Method and system for monitoring a vehicle

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method and a system for monitoring a vehicle. More specifically, many different functions of the vehicle may be monitored and appropriately controlled.

Background

Some systems are currently available to automatically provide the current location of the truck to a communication or dispatch center, whereby the truck location provided by an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver is provided to the communication or dispatch center via a radio transceiver mounted on the truck. It would be valuable to the industry to maintain some control over the monitored vehicle, such as a truck.

Disclosure of Invention

A method for monitoring a vehicle includes detecting movement or start of the vehicle, transmitting a signal indicative of the vehicle movement or start to a control center, transmitting any received driver identification information to the control center, and determining whether the driver identification was received within a time interval of the detected vehicle movement or start.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings provide visual representations which are used to more fully describe the representative embodiments disclosed herein and can be used by those skilled in the art to better understand these embodiments and their inherent advantages. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system.

Detailed Description

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a method wherein at a first block 102, movement or activation of a vehicle is detected. The movement may be sensed, for example, by a motion sensor, a shock sensor, or, for example, by a signal from a vehicle drive component. The starting of the vehicle may, for example, include sensing when a door has been opened, when an ignition switch has been partially or fully started, and so forth. Any device, signal or indication of an incoming or errant vehicle may be used to represent the detected movement or activation of the vehicle. From block 102, control proceeds to block 104 where a monitoring system installed in the vehicle transmits a signal to a control center indicating that a movement, start, or other tampering condition of the vehicle has occurred. The signal may include, for example, details regarding the reported event. From block 104, control proceeds to block 106 or any provided driver identification information is received. This information may be received, for example, by a monitoring system installed in the vehicle, such as via a token reader that reads or senses a token presented by the driver, such as a credit card, a proximity tag, a radio frequency identification tag, or other token or device that may be used to present identification or verification information to the monitoring system. The reader may, for example, comprise a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, an electronic card reader, an optical sensor, or any other reader capable of or arranged to receive information from a token presented by the driver. In an exemplary method, the driver presents a biometric identification, such as a fingerprint, a retinal pattern, a voice or speech sample, or any other biometric or combination of metrics. Exemplary embodiments of the monitoring system include a scanner or other device adapted to receive such biometric identification, such as a passive and/or active image sensor, microphone, and the like. A touch or voice operated user interface may also be used to allow the driver to present an alphanumeric or other identification code. Such user interfaces may include, for example: a keyboard, a voice operated selection menu, a touch screen, etc. From block 106, control proceeds to block 108 where any driver identification information received by the monitoring system installed in the vehicle is transmitted to the control center.

From block 108, control proceeds to block 110 where it is determined (e.g., by a control center) whether driver identification is received within a time interval of the detected movement, the detected vehicle launch, or other detected tampering or action with the vehicle. The time interval may include a predetermined time range extending before and after the detection, may be a time interval before the detection, and/or may be a time interval after the detection of movement, activation, or tampering. For example, the time interval may be a one minute interval spanning detection, or a one minute interval immediately to be detected, or a one minute interval after detection, e.g., after the first detection in a larger time interval. From block 110, control proceeds to block 112 where a determination is made whether the received driver identification is in fact a valid identification. For example, "validity" may be based on whether the identification is known to the control center, whether the identification is current, whether the identification is associated with a user level that is authorized or allowed to use the vehicle, and so on.

From block 112, control proceeds to block 114 where an alarm condition is set if no valid driver identification is received within the time interval. The determinations of blocks 110 and 112, and the setting of alarm conditions, may be performed differently in one or more monitoring systems installed in the vehicle and in a control center in communication with the on-board or in-board monitoring systems.

From block 114, control proceeds to block 116 where the monitoring system transmits the location information of the vehicle to the control center. From block 116, control proceeds to block 118 where the location of the vehicle is determined based on the transmitted location information. If the transmitted location information includes geographic coordinates provided by a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver onboard or near the vehicle, the location information directly indicates the location and a determination may be made, for example, by identifying or receiving the transmitted location information. In other exemplary methods and embodiments, the signal itself is used to determine or assist in determining the geographic location of the vehicle, such as in the following configurations: multiple receivers at different locations receive the transmitted signals and determine the location of the vehicle (e.g., the location of a transmitter on or near the vehicle that sent the signal) by triangulation, for example, using the relative and/or absolute signal strengths and/or signal timings of the signals received by the different receivers. From block 118, control proceeds to block 120 where the presence of a vehicle is detected at a landmark. The landmark may be, for example, any geographic location. From block 120, control proceeds to block 122 where data identifying the vehicle and landmark locations is transmitted to a control center. Consider the following specific example. The parking lot contains an RFID tag or other machine-readable information tag or source that can be read or interrogated by a monitoring system on the vehicle so that when the vehicle comes within a predetermined distance of a landmark, such as a parking lot, the parking lot provides the location and/or identification information of the parking lot to the monitoring system on or in the vehicle, which then reports or transmits the information to the control center to inform the control center of the current location of the vehicle. In another exemplary embodiment, the vehicle may include an RFID tag or other machine-readable passive or active information source or device that may be read by a reader at the parking lot or other landmark and provide vehicle and/or driver information to the landmark, which in turn transmits some or all of this information to the control center in addition to information identifying or characterizing the landmark. These embodiments may be implemented, for example, with passive RFID, active RFID, or any other suitable technology. From block 124, control may return to block 102, for example, where the vehicle is parked, the driver is removed from the vehicle, or the driver is relieved of his or her duty so that the vehicle waits for a new driver. The blocks shown in fig. 1 may be omitted differently and/or performed in a different order than shown. Further, vehicle status and/or regulatory information may be transmitted from the monitoring system to the control center along with or in addition to other information such as driver identification and vehicle location and vehicle identification. For example, the mechanical status of various systems and subsystems of the vehicle may be transmitted, including, for example, battery voltage, fluid levels, and/or pressures, such as tire pressure, engine oil temperature, engine oil level, fuel level, coolant level, vehicle load status, or any other fault or status code related to vehicle capacity, capability, status, and/or activity. Thus, the vehicle may be remotely monitored, and according to an example embodiment the vehicle may be associated or assigned to a particular driver. The driver identification information may be unique to the particular driver and/or may include identification information unique to a group of drivers.

Thus, the exemplary monitoring system and/or method allows a particular driver to be associated with a particular vehicle, as well as allows the control center to be aware of unauthorized use of the vehicle, such as when the vehicle is operated and (valid) driver identification is not received, is not received within acceptable time limits, or is otherwise unacceptable, and thus deserves an alarm or warning to or by the control center so that a response or corrective action can be initiated.

In exemplary embodiments, the monitoring system may prevent the vehicle from fully or partially starting, such as by preventing the vehicle engine from being started until after acceptable driver identification has been presented to and received by the monitoring system. The vehicle can of course be disabled in various ways, such as preventing engine ignition, limiting vehicle speed, limiting vehicle transmission gear selection, activating vehicle horns and/or lights in a distinct manner, and so forth. In another exemplary embodiment, the driver verifies the key for the monitoring system and/or the control system of the vehicle in a manner known to the control center (e.g., via the same mechanism used by the on-board or in-board monitoring system to receive or detect the driver identification information, but located separately from the vehicle and/or operated independently of the vehicle). Thus, when the verified key is used to access and/or operate the vehicle, the driver's operation of the vehicle is assumed to be correct and authorized to use the vehicle. In the above landmark example, the landmark identification information (e.g., garage) may simply be an identification number or code that identifies the landmark, which the control center may use, for example, to access or locate the geographic location information of the landmark, such as via a look-up table indexed by landmark name. In any case where the control center receives an indication that the vehicle has been started or tampered with, and the control center does not receive valid driver identification information that meets a predetermined limit (e.g., within a predetermined time interval of starting), then the control center may conclude that: the action taken on the vehicle is not authorized and corrective action should be taken, such as by alerting the user or operator of the control center, alerting law enforcement officials or agencies, and so forth.

In exemplary embodiments, the monitoring system may be used to identify and track vehicles for sale at a vehicle dealership, vehicles held by a vehicle dealership and/or repair station awaiting repair or repaired, and the like. This is particularly useful for tracking rented vehicles and/or vehicles for sale and/or fleets of vehicles for sale, to provide sales information (e.g., which vehicles are being displayed and by which sales personnel and which vehicles appear more popular), to identify vehicles that require preventative maintenance (e.g., vehicles with low batteries), to accurately identify where a particular vehicle is located at a dealership or repair station, to display security products for after-market service to customers, and so forth. In an exemplary embodiment, the control center includes a receiving antenna, a control panel with one or more computer interfaces, and the on-board or in-board monitoring system includes a transmitter. The monitoring system and control center may each include one or more computers and/or microprocessors or other computing machines or capabilities to support the functions described herein. In the automobile dealership example, the receiver antennas connected to the control center may be spaced along the geographic area boundaries, for example, at 250 foot intervals along the perimeter of the dealership inventory yard. The antennas may each be provided with an independent power source, may be powered by a common power source, or may be otherwise arranged or configured. The connection between the receiving antenna and the control center may be formed by wireless radio and/or optical communication, via cable communication (electrical or optical), or in any combination thereof, including but not limited to: computer networks such as the internet, local area networks, the internet, the world wide web, and the like. On-board or on-board monitoring systems may include different kinds of transmitters including, for example, service hat (service hat) transmitters, hardwired transmitters, transmitters located in the dashboard or instrument console of the vehicle, and so forth. The transmitter on or in the vehicle may include various human and/or machine interfaces, such as a radio frequency identification reader. The vehicle transmitter or monitoring system in the dashboard may also include a motion detector and may be placed, for example, on the dashboard of the vehicle and may include a flashing red light or other signaling mechanism to alert people that the vehicle is equipped with various protection or alarm system features. In the exemplary embodiment, the control center may relay or publish the alarm condition to other control centers or agencies or individuals via any suitable communication path or mechanism, such as via telephone, electronic page, facsimile transmission, e-mail, or other means of communication.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which a vehicle 220 includes a monitoring system that includes an RFID reader 218, a global positioning system receiver 210, an ID or token reader 212, all connected to a microprocessor 216 that coordinates monitoring system activities at a transceiver 214. As shown in fig. 2, transceiver 214 allows the monitoring system to communicate with control center 202 via receivers 204, 206, and 208. The hub 202 may be connected to one or more receivers in various ways. For example, fig. 2 shows a wireless communication link 232, a cable link 230, such as wires carrying voltage and/or current signals or optical fibers carrying optical signals, between the control center 202 and the receiver 206. Links 226 and 224 may be implemented in the same manner as link 230. As shown in fig. 2, communications from transceiver 214 to control center 202 may pass through various communication media or mechanisms in sequence, such as through wireless link 222, wired link 224, then through a network 236, such as the internet, and another wired link 226. Data storage capacity or capability may be provided in the control center 202 and/or in an on-board monitoring system of the vehicle 220, for example to provide a profile or history of data, to collect data between transmissions or communications, or for any other purpose. The control center 202, as well as the on-board monitoring systems of the vehicle 220, may each include various user interfaces such as a display screen, keyboard, touch screen, joystick, mouse, camera, scanner, and the like.

Software packages, elements or modules for variously providing the functions described herein may be implemented on a computer. These software processes running on a computer may additionally or alternatively be implemented in a distributed fashion other than over a network, for example using distributed computing resources, and/or may be implemented using network resources.

The methods, logic, techniques, and pseudo-code sequences described herein may be implemented in a variety of programming styles (e.g., structured programming, object-oriented programming, etc.) and in a variety of different programming languages (e.g., Java, C + +, C #, Pascal, Ada, etc.). Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the elements and methods or processes described herein can be implemented using a microprocessor, computer, or any other computing device, and can be implemented in hardware and/or software, in a single physical location or in a distributed fashion among various locations or host computing platforms. The agent may be implemented in hardware and/or software or a computer program in any desired or suitable location. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that software or computer programs may be stored on a machine-readable medium, where the software or computer programs include instructions for causing a computing device, such as a computer, computer system, microprocessor, or other computing device, to perform the methods or processes.

A machine-readable medium may include software or a computer program for causing a computing device to perform the methods and/or techniques described herein.

It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, and that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. The presently disclosed embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the invention are intended to be embraced therein. The word "comprising" as used herein is intended to be inclusive, rather than exclusive.

Claims (16)

1. A method for monitoring a vehicle, comprising:

detecting movement or starting of the vehicle;

transmitting a signal indicative of movement or starting of the vehicle to a control center;

transmitting any received driver identification information to the control center; and

determining whether a driver identification is received within the detected time interval of the vehicle movement or start.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining whether a driver identification is received prior to the detected movement or start of the vehicle;

determining whether the received driver identification is valid; and

setting an alarm condition in the event that a valid driver identification is not received prior to the detected movement or start of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

setting an alert condition when the determination indicates that driver identification has not been received within the time interval.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising:

transmitting position coordinates of the vehicle provided by a global positioning system receiver co-located with the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 3, comprising:

transmitting a beacon signal from the vehicle;

receiving the beacon signal at a plurality of different locations; and

determining a location of the vehicle based on the beacon signals received at the plurality of different locations.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the control center performs position determination of the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the beacon signal comprises one or both of a signal indicating movement or starting of the vehicle and a signal containing received driver identification information.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the transmitting step is performed by a radio communication device co-located with the vehicle, and wherein a radio communication service provider supporting operation of the radio communication device indicates the location of the radio communication device to the control center.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the radio communication device is a cellular telephone and the radio communication service provider is a cellular communication service provider.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

detecting a presence of a landmark at the vehicle; and

transmitting data identifying the landmark and/or the landmark location to the control center.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the detecting is performed by a radio frequency identification transceiver at the vehicle and a radio frequency identification tag at the landmark.

12. The method of claim 1, comprising:

detecting a presence of the vehicle at a landmark; and

transmitting data identifying the vehicle and the landmark location to the control center.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the detecting is performed by a radio frequency identification transceiver at the landmark and a radio frequency identification tag at the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1, comprising:

transmitting, to the control center, operational information about the vehicle, wherein the operational information includes one or more of: a specification of the vehicle, a fluid level in the vehicle subsystem, a vehicle subsystem fault code and/or status code, a battery level, a rotational speed of the vehicle, and a speed of the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 1, comprising:

driver identification information is received via a reader on the vehicle, wherein the information is provided to the reader by a token.

16. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving driver identification information via a reader on the vehicle, wherein the reader reads the biological information of the driver.