Data recorder system and unit for a vehicle

• US 10,140,790 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Allwardt, Theodore E., Bittle, Khim, Haas, Carl L., Kurz, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Application Number:
  US15/250,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20160371901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/00 Registering or indicating the working of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00103 specially adapted for radio transmission, e.g. via satellites H04N1/00098 takes precedence

Abstract

Disclosed is a data recorder unit and system for a vehicle. The system includes at least one video camera device configured to generate video data associated with the vehicle and/or its surroundings, and wirelessly transmit at least a portion of the video data. The data recorder unit includes a data recorder enclosure, a data processing unit located in the enclosure and configured to: wirelessly receive at least a portion of the video data from the at least one video camera device, process at least a portion of the video data, and generate processed video data based at least partially on the video data, and at least one storage device comprising at least one crash-hardened memory in communication with the at least one data processing unit and configured to store at least a portion of at least one of the video data and the processed video data.

Claims

1. A data recorder system for a vehicle, comprising:

at least one video camera device configured to generate video data associated with the vehicle and/or its surroundings, and wirelessly transmit at least a portion of the video data; and

a data recorder unit, comprising;

(a) an enclosure configured to house at least one internal component;

(b) at least one data processing unit arranged in the enclosure and programmed or configured to;

(i) wirelessly receive at least a portion of the video data from the at least one video camera device;

(ii) process at least a portion of the video data; and

(iii) generate processed video data based at least partially on the video data; and

(c) at least one storage device comprising at least one crash-hardened memory and at least one non-crash-hardened memory, wherein at least one of the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory is arranged in the enclosure, wherein the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory are in communication with the at least one data processing unit and configured to store at least a portion of at least one of the video data and the processed video data,

wherein the at least one data processing unit is configured to store at least a portion of the video data or the processed video data on the at least one non-crash-hardened memory and the at least one crash-hardened memory substantially in parallel.

2. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the at least one crash-hardened memory and/or the at least one non-crash-hardened memory is at least one solid-state storage device arranged within a crash- and/or fire-proof enclosure, which is positioned within the data recorder enclosure.

3. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage device comprises at least one local storage device in communication with at least one remote network storage device, and wherein the at least one data processing unit is further configured to communicate the at least a portion of at least one of the video data and the processed video data to the at least one remote network storage device.

4. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the at least one video camera device comprises at least one Internet protocol (IP) camera, and wherein the video data is wirelessly transmitted by the at least one IP camera via a network and received by a wireless interface of the data recorder unit.

5. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the data recorder unit further comprises a hardwired interface, and wherein the at least one video camera is in wired communication with the data recorder unit via the hardwired interface.

6. The data recorder system of claim 5, wherein the hardwired interface is configured to receive at least a portion of the video data from the at least one video camera device in response to a wireless connection between the at least one video camera and the at least one data processing unit being lost, removed, and/or unavailable.

7. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage device comprises at least one logical partition configured as a network-attached storage device, and wherein the at least a portion of at least one of the video data and the processed video data is stored on the network-attached storage device.

8. The data recorder system of claim 1, wherein the data recorder unit further comprises an internal time source, and wherein each of a plurality of data inputs to the data recorder unit are synchronized based on the internal time source when stored in the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory, the plurality of data inputs comprising the video data.

9. The data recorder system of claim 8, wherein the at least one video camera device comprises an independent time source associated with the video data, and wherein the at least one data processing unit is further programmed or configured to determine if time data associated with the plurality of data inputs is synchronized by comparing time data from the independent time source associated with the video data with the internal time source of the data recorder unit.

10. A data recorder unit for a vehicle, comprising:

an enclosure;

a wireless interface arranged in or on the enclosure and configured to wirelessly receive video data from a video camera;

at least one data storage device comprising at least one crash-hardened memory and at least one non-crash-hardened memory, wherein at least one of the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory is arranged in the enclosure; and

a processor arranged in the enclosure and in communication with the wireless interface and the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory, the processor programmed or configured to;

(i) receive the video data from the wireless interface, and (ii) store, in the at least one storage device, at least a portion of the video data or processed video data generated from the video data,

wherein the processor is configured to store at least a portion of the video data or the processed video data on the at least one non-crash-hardened memory and the at least one crash-hardened memory substantially in parallel.

11. The data recorder unit of claim 10, wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to wirelessly communicate at least a portion of the video data or processed video data stored on the at least one data storage device to at least one remote network storage device.

12. The data recorder unit of claim 11, wherein the processor wirelessly communicates the at least a portion of the video data or processed video data stored on the at least one storage device to the at least one remote network storage device dynamically, periodically, at pre-determined intervals, and/or substantially continuously.

13. The data recorder unit of claim 10, wherein the at least one data storage device comprises a network-attached storage device comprising a first logical partition dedicated to local storage and a second logical partition dedicated to network storage.

14. The data recorder unit of claim 10, further comprising an internal time source arranged in the enclosure, wherein each of a plurality of data inputs are synchronized based on the internal time source when stored in the at least one data storage device, the plurality of data inputs comprising the video data.

15. The data recorder system of claim 14, wherein the video camera comprises an independent time source for associating time data with the video data, and wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to determine if time data associated with the plurality of data inputs are synchronized by comparing the time data associated with the video data with the internal time source of the data recorder unit.

16. The data recorder unit of claim 10, wherein the at least one data storage device comprises a first partition and a second partition, and wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to store the video data or the processed video data in the first partition and at least one other data input in the second partition, and synchronize the video data or the processed video data in the first partition with the at least one other data input in the second partition using an internal time source.

17. A data recorder system for a train, comprising:

a video camera arranged in or on the train and configured to wirelessly transmit video data;

a data recorder enclosure;

a wireless interface arranged in or on the data recorder enclosure, the wireless interface configured to wirelessly receive the video data from the video camera;

at least one storage device comprising at least one crash-hardened memory and at least one non-crash-hardened memory, wherein at least one of the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory is arranged in the data recorder enclosure; and

a processor arranged in the data recorder enclosure and in communication with the wireless interface and the at least one crash-hardened memory and the at least one non-crash-hardened memory, the processor programmed or configured to;

(i) receive the video data from the wireless interface, and (ii) store, in the at least one storage device, at least a portion of the video data or processed video data generated from the video data,

wherein the processor is configured to store at least a portion of the video data or the processed video data on the at least one non-crash-hardened memory and the at least one crash-hardened memory substantially in parallel.

18. The data recorder system of claim 17, further comprising at least one network storage device in wireless communication with the processor, wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to wirelessly communicate at least a portion of the video data or processed video data stored on the at least one storage device to the at least one network storage device.

19. The data recorder system of claim 17, wherein the at least one storage device comprises a network-attached storage device comprising a first logical partition dedicated to local storage and a second logical partition dedicated to network storage.

20. The data recorder system of claim 17, further comprising an internal time source arranged in the enclosure, wherein each of a plurality of data inputs are synchronized based on the internal time source when stored in the at least one storage device, the plurality of data inputs comprising the video data.

21. The data recorder system of claim 17, wherein the video camera comprises an independent time source for associating time data with the video data, wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to determine if time data associated with the plurality of data inputs is synchronized by comparing the time data associated with the video data with the internal time source of the data recorder unit.

22. The data recorder system of claim 17, wherein the at least one data storage device comprises a first partition and a second partition, and wherein the processor is further programmed or configured to store the video data or the processed video data in the first partition and at least one other data input in the second partition, and synchronize the video data or the processed video data in the first partition with the at least one other data input in the second partition using an internal time source.

23. The data recorder system of claim 17, further comprising a hardwired interface arranged in or on the data recorder enclosure, wherein the video camera is in wired communication with the hardwired interface, and wherein the hardwired interface is configured to receive at least a portion of the video data from the video camera in response to a wireless connection between the video camera and the processor being lost, removed, and/or unavailable.