MOBILE EVENT DATA RECORDER WITH MULTIPLE ORIENTATION VIBRATION ISOLATION

• US 20080239654A1
• Filed: 08/27/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: March Networks Corporation (Infinova (Canada) Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: March Networks Corporation (Infinova (Canada) Ltd.)
• Inventors: OUELLETTE, Marc L., BISSON, Terry A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,990,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/685
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0875 using magnetic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 7/00 Details or accessories common to the registering or indicating apparatus of groups G07C3/00 and G07C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/02 with automatic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/08 Insulation or absorption of undesired vibrations or sounds

Abstract

A mobile event data recorder is described providing a contained environmental control system for a hard drive module for use in, or with, a vehicle. A hard drive housing with multiple hard drives and a vibration isolation system are provided within a hard drive module chassis. The vibration isolation system simultaneously provides triaxial isolation in each of two different orientations of the hard drive module. First and second vibration isolators connect the hard drive housing with adjoining walls of the chassis, the first and second vibration isolators positioned to achieve a natural resonant frequency suitable to isolate frequencies in the hard drive operating range, taking into account the forces that will be applied to the vehicle. The natural resonant frequency can be about 10 Hz or less, in order to isolate the hard drives from frequencies of greater than about 10 Hz.

Claims

1. A mobile event recorder data pack system for use in a vehicle, the system comprising:

an outer enclosure against which a hard drive module is sealed, and in which contents of the hard drive module are sealed, the hard drive module including;

a hard drive module chassis;

a plurality of standard hard drives,

a hard drive housing retaining the plurality of standard hard drives;

a multiple orientation vibration isolation system provided between the hard drive housing and the hard drive module chassis to simultaneously provide triaxial vibration isolation when the mobile event recorder data pack system is mounted in a vertical mounting position or in a horizontal mounting position, the multiple orientation vibration isolation system including first and second vibration isolators connecting the hard drive housing with adjoining walls of the hard drive module chassis, the first and second vibration isolators positioned to achieve a natural resonant frequency of less than about 10 Hz.

2. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system has a natural resonant frequency below about 5 Hz.

3. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system has a natural resonant frequency of about 2 Hz.

4. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system isolates the hard drives from vibration frequencies greater than about 2 Hz.

5. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system isolates the hard drives from vibration frequencies greater than about 5 Hz.

6. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system isolates the hard drives from vibration frequencies greater than about 10 Hz.

7. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system isolates the hard drives from vibration frequencies between about 10 Hz and about 500 Hz.

8. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system limits a peak to peak displacement of the hard drive housing to between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inch.

9. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the hard drive module housing and the hard drives have a combined weight of about 6 lbs.

10. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the adjoining walls of the hard drive module chassis comprise a short wall and a long wall, the first vibration isolator comprises a single vibration isolator coupling the hard drive module housing to the chassis near a mid-point of the short wall of the chassis, and the second vibration isolator comprises a single vibration isolator coupling the hard drive module housing to the chassis near an opposing corner of the long wall of the chassis, the opposing corner being opposite a joining corner where the adjoining walls meet.

11. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 10 wherein the hard drive housing has first and second opposing short sides, the first short side being near the joining corner of the long wall of the hard drive module chassis and the second short side being near the opposing corner of the long wall of the hard drive module chassis, the first vibration isolator being mounted near a mid-point of the first short side of the hard drive housing, and the second vibration isolator being mounted between a mid-point and a corner of the second short side of the hard drive housing.

12. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system isolates a horizontal vibration force and a vertical vibration force in a plane perpendicular to the horizontal vibration force such that a resultant vibration motion is in circular form and in the same plane as the horizontal vibration force with a smaller magnitude than the horizontal vibration force.

13. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 wherein the first and second vibration isolators comprise first and second wire rope vibration isolators.

14. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 13 wherein:

the first vibration isolator comprises a first wire rope vibration isolator having first upper and lower retaining bars retaining only two wire loops, a first wire loop mounted at a first end of the first upper and lower retaining bars and a second wire loop mounted at an opposing end of the first upper and lower retaining bars; and

the second vibration isolator comprises a second wire rope vibration isolator having second upper and lower retaining bars retaining a plurality of wire loops between opposing ends of the second upper and lower retaining bars.

15. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 1 further comprising a heat dissipation system to transfer heat from the standard hard drives to outside the outer enclosure without an air passage to the outside of the sealed outer enclosure.

16. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 15 wherein the heat dissipation system comprises:

an internal heat sink inside the hard drive module;

an external heat sink outside the outer enclosure; and

a thermoelectric module placed between the internal and external heat sinks without breaking an environmental seal between the external heat sink and the outer enclosure.

17. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 16 wherein the heat dissipation system further comprises an external fan mounted to the external heat sink.

18. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 16 wherein the heat dissipation system further comprises an internal fan mounted to the internal heat sink.

19. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 16 wherein the heat dissipation system further comprises a hard drive module heat sink connected to the hard drives.

20. The mobile event data recorder of claim 1 further including a temperature control system and a humidity control system.

22. The hard drive module of claim 1 wherein the multiple orientation vibration isolation system has a natural resonant frequency below about 5 Hz.

21. A hard drive module for an mobile event recorder data pack system for use in a vehicle, the hard drive module comprising:

a hard drive module chassis;

a plurality of standard hard drives;

a hard drive housing retaining the plurality of standard hard drives; and

a multiple orientation vibration isolation system provided between the hard drive housing and the hard drive module chassis to simultaneously provide triaxial vibration isolation when the hard drive module is mounted in a vertical mounting position or in a horizontal mounting position, the multiple orientation vibration isolation system including first and second vibration isolators connecting the hard drive housing with adjoining walls of the hard drive module chassis, the first and second vibration isolators positioned to achieve a natural resonant frequency of less than about 10 Hz.

23. A mobile event recorder data pack for use in a vehicle, comprising:

a hard drive module including

a hard drive module chassis,

a plurality of standard hard drives,

a hard drive housing retaining the plurality of standard hard drives,

a front cover plate defining an accessory opening;

an outer enclosure against which the hard drive module is sealed, and in which contents of the hard drive module are sealed, the outer enclosure defining a hard drive module opening to receive the hard drive module;

a heat dissipation system to transfer heat from the hard drives to outside the sealed outer enclosure without an air passage to the outside of the sealed outer enclosure, the heat dissipation system mating with the accessory opening in the front cover plate of the hard drive module;

a hard drive module environmental seal to seal the heat dissipation system to the front an outer chassis environmental seal co-operating with the outer enclosure and the hard drive module to form a sealed casing;

a multiple orientation vibration isolation system provided between the hard drive housing and the hard drive module chassis to simultaneously provide triaxial vibration isolation when the hard drive module is mounted in a vertical mounting position or in a horizontal mounting position, the multiple orientation vibration isolation system including first and second vibration isolators connecting the hard drive housing with adjoining walls of the hard drive module chassis, the first and second vibration isolators positioned to achieve a natural resonant frequency of less than about 10 Hz.

24. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 23 further comprising:

an outer chassis environmental seal provided between the hard drive module and the hard drive module opening; and

a front cover environmental seal provided between the front cover plate and the heat dissipation system.

25. The mobile event recorder data pack system of claim 23 wherein the heat dissipation system comprises:

an internal heat sink inside the hard drive module;

an external heat sink outside the chassis;

a thermoelectric module placed between the internal and external heat sinks without breaking an environmental seal between the external heat sink and the sealed hard drive module chassis;

an external fan mounted to the external heat sink;

an internal fan mounted to the internal heat sink; and

a hard drive module heat sink connected to the hard drives.