Vehicle monitoring devices and methods for managing man down signals

• US 10,522,033 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2017
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: inthinc LLC (ORBCOMM Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: inthinc LLC (ORBCOMM Incorporated)
• Inventors: McClellan, Scott, Follmer, Todd, Catten, Jonathan C., Capps, Eric, Ord, Dave, Eyre, Richard, Russon, Verlin, Maynard, Ed
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tang, Son M
• Application Number:
  US15/810,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20180233039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

System and method for identifying speeding violations, comprising determining a current speed and a current location of a vehicle, determining a posted speed limit for the current location from a speed-by-street database, comparing the current speed of the vehicle to the posted speed limit, and evaluating whether the current speed exceeds the posted speed limit. Errors are identified in the speed-by-street database by storing a plurality of speeding violation records, wherein the speeding violation records each include a speeding event location; analyzing the speeding violation records to identify one or more speeding event locations having multiple speeding violations; comparing a posted speed limit at the one or more speeding event locations having multiple speeding violations to corresponding speed limit data in the speed-by-street database; and identifying one or more speed limit entries in the speed-by-street database that do not match the posted speed limit.

Claims

1. A vehicle monitoring device installed in a vehicle, comprising:

a GPS receiver that is configured to identify a GPS location of the vehicle monitoring device;

a timer that is manually activatable and that is configured to expire, subsequent to being activated, after a predetermined period of time unless the timer is deactivated prior to expiration of the timer; and

a monitoring command module that is connected to the GPS receiver and the timer and that is configured to transmit different signals to a remote server, the different signals including a GPS signal that identifies the GPS location of the vehicle monitoring device and a man down signal in response to detecting the expiration of the timer, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the man down signal in response to detecting the expiration of the timer which occurs in response to the timer being manually activated and without being deactivated prior to the expiration of the timer, and wherein the vehicle monitoring device is connected to the vehicle and the timer is manually activated by a user within the vehicle, but wherein the timer expires and the man down signal is transmitted while the user is outside of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the monitoring command module is configured to transmit the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a higher priority than a crash event signal that is generated by the monitoring command module in response to detecting a crash event with a vehicle attached to the vehicle monitoring device.

3. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the monitoring command module is configured to transmit the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a lower priority than a crash event signal that is generated by the monitoring command module in response to detecting a crash event with a vehicle attached to the vehicle monitoring device.

4. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the vehicle monitoring device further comprises a panic button which, when pressed, causes the monitoring command module to send a panic signal to the remote server.

5. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 4, wherein the monitoring command module is configured to transmit the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a lower priority than the panic signal.

6. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 4, wherein the monitoring command module is configured to transmit the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a higher priority than the panic signal.

7. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined period of time is an hour.

8. The vehicle monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined period of time is a period of time other than an hour.

9. A method for operating a vehicle monitoring device installed in a vehicle that includes a GPS receiver, a timer and a monitoring command module, the method comprising:

utilizing the GPS receiver to identify a GPS location of the vehicle monitoring device;

activating the timer, wherein the timer expires after a predetermined period of time, subsequent to being activated, unless the timer is deactivated prior to expiration of the timer; and

utilizing the monitoring command module, which is connected to the GPS receiver and the timer, to transmit different signals to a remote server, the different signals including a GPS signal that identifies the GPS location of the vehicle monitoring device and a man down signal in response to detecting the expiration of the timer, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the man down signal in response to detecting the expiration of the timer which occurs in response to the timer being manually activated and without being deactivated prior to the expiration of the timer, and wherein the vehicle monitoring device is connected to the vehicle and the timer is manually activated by a user within the vehicle, but wherein the timer expires and the man down signal is transmitted while the user is outside of the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a higher priority than a crash event signal that is generated by the monitoring command module in response to detecting a crash event with a vehicle attached to the vehicle monitoring device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a lower priority than a crash event signal that is generated by the monitoring command module in response to detecting a crash event with a vehicle attached to the vehicle monitoring device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle monitoring device further comprises a panic button and wherein the method further includes generating a panic signal in response to detecting a manual activation of the panic button.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a lower priority than the panic signal.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the monitoring command module transmits the different signals to the remote server according to a sequence defined by a hierarchy in which the man down signal has a higher priority than the panic signal.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined period of time is an hour.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined period of time is a period of time other than an hour.