Motor vehicle operating data collection and analysis

• US 10,562,535 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2018
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Phelan, Joseph Patrick, Perquin, Johannes A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney A
• Application Number:
  US16/184,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20190077410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 467 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/107 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/02 Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• 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: G09B 19/162 Control of ships, boats, or other waterborne vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/165 Control of aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/167 : Control of land vehicles

Abstract

A method and apparatus for collecting and evaluating powered vehicle operation utilizing on-board diagnostic components and location determining components or systems. The invention creates one or more databases whereby identifiable behavior or evaluative characteristics can be analyzed or categorized. The evaluation can include predicting likely future events. The database can be correlated or evaluated with other databases for a wide variety of uses.

Claims

1. A driving evaluation computing device comprising:

a processing unit comprising a processor;

a memory unit; and

a wireless receiver, wherein the driving evaluation computing device is configured to;

receive a first vehicle operational data, of a first vehicle, collected by a first vehicle data acquiring component over a first period of time, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises time marked vehicle location data;

determine a first vehicle operation factor from the first vehicle operational data, wherein the first vehicle operation factor comprises at least one of vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, and an amount of time spent driving at night;

responsive to a determination of the first vehicle operation factor;

calculate a driver safety rating using the first vehicle operation factor; and

determine whether the first vehicle operation factor deviates from an operational threshold factor;

record, in a driver profile associated with the first vehicle, the driver safety rating, wherein the driver profile is stored in a driver profile database; and

record, in the driver profile and responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the operational threshold factor, a first deviation event;

compare the first vehicle operation factor to a corresponding vehicle operation factor from an average driver profile;

determine whether the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the corresponding vehicle operation factor;

record, in the driver profile and responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the corresponding vehicle operation factor, a second deviation event; and

display a notification, on a user device associated with the first vehicle, that at least one of the first deviation event and the second deviation event has occurred.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle data acquiring component comprises a first GPS.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to:

receive a second vehicle operational data of the first vehicle collected by a second vehicle data acquiring component over the first period of time, wherein the second vehicle data acquiring component comprises a second locator distinct from the first vehicle data acquiring component, and wherein the second vehicle operational data comprises a second time marked vehicle location data; and

determine the first vehicle operation factor from the second vehicle operational data.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the device is further configured to:

compare the first vehicle operational data to the second vehicle operational data;

determine whether the first vehicle operation data is accurate using the comparison between the first vehicle operation data and the second vehicle operational data; and

responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operational data is accurate, calculate the first vehicle operation factor.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the device is further configured to calculate a difference between the first vehicle operational data and the second vehicle operational data, and

wherein the first vehicle operational data is accurate when the difference does not exceed an accuracy threshold factor.

6. The device of claim 3, wherein the first vehicle operational data and the second vehicle operational data each further comprise a weather condition.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the user device is a mobile telephone.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the average driver profile comprises driving data collected from a plurality of other drivers, and

wherein the device is further configured to receive the corresponding vehicle operation factor from the driving data in the average driver profile.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle operation factor comprises average vehicle speed over a first road segment, and

wherein the corresponding vehicle operation factor comprises average vehicle speed over the first road segment from the average driver profile.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is further configured to identify, from the driver profile database, other driver profiles having a deviation event of the driver profile associated with the first vehicle.

11. A method for evaluating driving of a vehicle comprising:

determining a first vehicle operation factor from a first vehicle operational data, wherein the first vehicle operational data is collected by a first vehicle data acquiring component over a first period of time, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises time marked vehicle location data, wherein the first vehicle operation factor comprises at least one of vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, and an amount of time spent driving at night;

responsive to a determination of the first vehicle operation factor;

calculating a driver safety rating using the first vehicle operation factor, and

determining whether the first vehicle operation factor deviates from an operational threshold factor;

recording, in a driver profile associated with a first vehicle, the driver safety rating, wherein the driver profile is stored in a driver profile database;

recording, in the driver profile and responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the operation threshold factor, a first deviation event;

comparing the first vehicle operation factor to a corresponding vehicle operation factor from an average driver profile;

determining whether the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the corresponding vehicle operation factor;

recording, in the driver profile and responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operation factor deviates from the corresponding vehicle operation factor, a second deviation event; and

displaying a notification, on a user device associated with the first vehicle, that at least one of the first deviation event and the second deviation event has occurred.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first vehicle data acquiring component comprises a first GPS.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the first vehicle operation factor from a second vehicle operational data, wherein the second vehicle operational data is collected by a second vehicle data acquiring component over the first period of time, wherein the second vehicle data acquiring component comprises a second locator distinct from the first vehicle data acquiring component, and wherein the second vehicle operational data comprises a second time marked vehicle location data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

comparing the first vehicle operational data to the second vehicle operational data;

determining whether the first vehicle operational data is accurate using the comparison between the first vehicle operation data and the second vehicle operational data; and

responsive to a determination that the first vehicle operational data is accurate, calculating the first vehicle operation factor.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining whether the first vehicle operational data is accurate comprises calculating a difference between the first vehicle operational data and the second vehicle operational data and,

wherein the first vehicle operational data is accurate when the difference does not exceed an accuracy threshold factor.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first vehicle operational data and the second vehicle operational data each further comprise a weather condition.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the user device is a mobile telephone.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the average driver profile comprises driving data collected from a plurality of other drivers, and

wherein the method further comprises receiving the corresponding vehicle operation factor from the driving data in the average driver profile.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the first vehicle operation factor comprises average vehicle speed over a first road segment, and

wherein the corresponding vehicle operation factor comprises average vehicle speed over the first road segment from the average driver profile.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising identifying, from the driver profile database, other driver profiles having a deviation event of the driver profile associated with the first vehicle.