Vehicle monitoring module

• US 10,429,408 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2014
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Danlaw, Inc. (Danlaw Technologies India Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Danlaw, Inc. (Danlaw Technologies India Ltd.)
• Inventors: Greer, Dale R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui, Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rastovski, Catherine T.
• Application Number:
  US14/296,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20150355224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/14 by making use of gyroscopes gyroscopes per se G01C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions

Abstract

A portable system for monitoring vehicle driving conditions is provided. The system may include a processor, an accelerometer unit, and a gyroscope unit. The processor may be configured to determine a primary axis of the vehicle based on acceleration data from the accelerometer unit and the angular rate of change data from the gyroscope unit.

Claims

1. A portable system for monitoring vehicle driving conditions of a vehicle comprising:

a processor;

an accelerometer unit in communication with the processor to provide accelerometer data for a first accelerometer axis, a second accelerometer axis, and a third accelerometer axis;

a gyroscope unit in communication with the processor to provide gyroscope data for a first gyroscope axis, a second gyroscope axis, and a third gyroscope axis;

a housing unit enclosing the processor, the accelerometer unit, and the gyroscope unit, the processor being configured to determine a gravity plane perpendicular to the gravity direction using rate of angular change data of the gyroscope for a plurality of turns when the vehicle is moving before determining a primary axis of the vehicle or a transverse axis of the vehicle, and after determining the gravity plane determining the primary axis or transverse axis of the vehicle based on the gravity plane the processor being configured to determine an orientation based on the primary axis or transverse axis of the vehicle relative to the accelerometer unit and the gyroscope unit based on the accelerometer data for the first accelerometer axis, the second accelerometer axis, and the third accelerometer axis and the gyroscope data for the first gyroscope axis, the second gyroscope axis, and the third gyroscope axis.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine a transformation between the accelerometer unit and the gyroscope unit coordinate system to a vehicle coordinate system during a real-time movement of the vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer unit comprises a 3-axis accelerometer.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer unit and the gyroscope unit are formed on a single semiconductor chip.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on an angular rate of change from the gyroscope data and a composite acceleration of the vehicle from the accelerometer data.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular position when the angular rate of change is above a rate threshold.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular position when the magnitude of the composite acceleration is above an acceleration threshold.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of a vehicle based on an angular rate of change, from the gyroscope data, in a gravity plane weighted by a magnitude of a composite acceleration, from the accelerometer data, of a vehicle projected onto the gravity plane.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine a transverse axis based on a plurality of values, each value of the plurality of values being associated with an angular location of the vehicle at a time, and each value of the plurality of values being calculated based on an angular rate of change, from the gyroscope data, weighted by a magnitude of a composite acceleration, from the accelerometer data, of the vehicle at the time.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine a gravity plane based on rate of angular change data for a plurality of turns.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine a gravity plane based on plane fit for rate of angular change data for a plurality of turns.

12. A method for monitoring vehicle driving conditions for a vehicle, the method comprising:

identifying a gravity plane perpendicular to a gravity direction using rate of angular change data of a gyroscope for a plurality of turns when the vehicle is moving before determining a primary axis of the vehicle or a transverse axis of the vehicle, and after determining the gravity plane;

determining the primary axis or transverse axis of the vehicle based on the gravity plane;

collecting acceleration data for the vehicle from an accelerometer;

collecting an angular rate of change data for a first gyroscope axis, a second gyroscope axis, and a third gyroscope axis for the vehicle using the gyroscope;

calculating an orientation of a vehicle based on the gravity plane, angular rate of change data for a first gyroscope axis, a second gyroscope axis, and a third gyroscope axis and the acceleration data.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular rate of change data for a first gyroscope axis, a second gyroscope axis, and a third gyroscope axis in the gravity plane and a composite acceleration of a vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular position when an angular rate of change is above a rate threshold.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular position when the magnitude of the composite acceleration is above an acceleration threshold.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular rate of change weighted by the magnitude of the composite acceleration of the vehicle.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine the orientation of the vehicle based on the angular rate of change in the gravity direction weighted by the magnitude of the composite acceleration of the vehicle projected onto the gravity plane.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine the transverse axis based on a plurality of values, each value being associated with an angular location of the vehicle at a time, and each value being calculated based on the angular rate of change weighted by the magnitude of the composite acceleration of the vehicle at the time.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine the gravity direction based on a best fit of angular change data for a plurality of turns.