Distributed vehicle event recorder systems having a portable memory data transfer system

• US 20080281485A1
• Filed: 05/08/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SmartDrive Systems, Inc. (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: SmartDrive Systems, Inc. (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kasavaraju, Ramesh, Plante, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,239,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/35
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• 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 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

Data transfer systems for vehicle event recorders are provided as: a vehicle event recorder, a vehicle event recorder resident memory, and upload module in conjunction with, a communication port suitable for coupling with, a portable memory device, a server computer datastore, a server download module in conjunction with, a similar cooperating communications port. The portable memory device is arranged to operably couple with the communications ports of both the vehicle event recorder and the server computer and to be repeatedly moved between the two. The upload/download modules are arranged to transfer data to/from the portable memory in an orderly fashion in which no files are removed from the vehicle event recorder resident memory without first having been successfully transferred to the server computer datastore.

Claims

1. ) Vehicle event recorder systems comprising:

a video event recorder;

a portable memory; and

a server computer,

said video event recorder comprising a communications port arranged for coupling with said portable memory,

said to server computer comprising a communications port arranged for coupling with said portable memory.

2. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 1, said video event recorder further comprises:

a video camera; and

a resident memory,

said video camera is arranged with a field-of-view coupled to an environment about the vehicle,

said resident memory is arranged to receive and store data from said video camera characterized as discrete event record datasets.

3. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 2, said video event recorder further comprises a coupling to a vehicle on-board diagnostics system whereby data provided by the on-board diagnostic system is recorded along with video data as part of a discrete event record dataset.

4. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 1, said vehicle event recorder and said server communications ports are each arranged with an electromechanical interface operable for repeated coupling and decoupling, these electromechanical interfaces having same gender,

said portable memory is arranged with a complementary electromechanical interface operable for repeated coupling and decoupling having gender opposite of the vehicle event recorder and server interfaces whereby the portable memory may be alternately coupled with the vehicle event recorder and server computer.

5. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 4, said electromechanical interface is characterized as a Universal Serial Bus type system.

6. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 4, said portable memory comprises a semiconductor type memory characterized as ‘

flash’

memory.

7. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 4, said portable memory is characterized as an electro-mechanical ‘

hard drive’

memory system.

8. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 6, said portable memory further comprises an electromechanical interface characterized as either of those from the group including:

USB flash;

CompactFlash;

or Secure Disk flash.

9. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 4, said vehicle event recorder comprising an upload module and said server computer comprising a download module,

said upload module is disposed between and is communicatively coupled via an electronic circuit to the vehicle event recorder'"'"'s resident memory and the vehicle event recorder'"'"'s communications port whereby data transfer actions may be executed with regard to data stored in the resident memory, and

said download module is disposed between and is communicatively coupled via an electronic circuit to the server computer'"'"'s datastore and the server computer'"'"'s communications port whereby data transfer actions may be executed with regard to data stored in the portable memory.

10. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 4, said portable memory further includes indicia to reflect the download state of event record datasets.

11. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 10, said indicia is embodied as a computer readable control file.

12. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 9, said upload module having therein an upload manager system operable for executing program code to effect:

receipt and processing of control files;

data transfer actions; and

preparing and writing of control files to portable memory,

said receipt and processing of control files includes reading a control file on the portable memory coupled with the vehicle event recorder to determine the transfer state of a prescribed set of event record datasets,

said data transfer actions include transferring data from a vehicle event recorder resident memory to the portable memory in agreement with a transfer scheme, and

said preparing and writing control files to portable memory includes providing indicia to a portable memory to reflect a transfer status.

13. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 9, said download module having therein a download manager system operable for executing program code to effect:

receipt and processing of control files;

data transfer actions; and

preparing and writing of control files to portable memory,

said receipt and processing of control files includes reading a control file on the portable memory coupled with the server computer to determine the transfer state of a prescribed set of event record datasets,

said data transfer actions include transferring data from a portable memory to the server computer datastore memory in agreement with a transfer scheme, and

said preparing and writing control files to portable memory includes providing indicia to a portable memory to reflect a transfer status.

14. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 9, said upload and download modules each include a management system which includes a processing scheme which implicitly determines the download state of event record datasets.

15. ) Vehicle event recorder systems of claim 1, said video event recorder comprises:

a video camera;

resident memory;

microcontroller; and

a upload module,

the video camera has a field-of-view coupled to an environment about a vehicle and is operable to provide image data for temporary storage at the resident memory,

the microcontroller is arranged to effect transfer of data under direction of the upload module from the resident memory to the portable memory coupled at the vehicle event recorder'"'"'s communications port.

16. ) Vehicle event recorders of claim 15, said server computer comprises:

a datastore memory;

a microprocessor; and

download module,

the server computer is arranged as an application specific computing systems which provides data analysis and data handling services on data from vehicle event recorder systems including storage of data at the datastore memory;

the microprocessor is arranged to effect transfer data under direction of the download module from the portable memory to the datastore memory via the server computer'"'"'s communications port.

17. ) Methods of conveying event record data created in a vehicle event recorder to a remote disconnected server comprising the steps:

forming a copy of event record datasets at a vehicle event recorder resident memory and writing that copy to a portable memory communicatively coupled to the vehicle event recorder at a communications port;

decoupling portable memory from vehicle event recorder;

coupling portable memory to an application specific server computer programmed to receive vehicle event record data;

transferring data to server computer;

providing indication of successful transfer with respect to each event record properly transferred;

decoupling portable memory from server computer and recoupling to vehicle event recorder; and

in agreement with indications provided on the portable memory, erasing or marking for ‘

overwrite’

those event record datasets associated with a successful transfer action.

19. ) Methods of claim 17, preceded by the steps:

coupling a portable memory to a vehicle event recorder;

checking for indicators of successful file transfer; and

erasing corresponding event record datasets in the vehicle event recorder resident memory,

said coupling a portable memory to a vehicle event recorder further includes accessing a communications port on a vehicle event recorder mounted in a motor vehicle windscreen and pushing portable memory device into an interface connector of the vehicle event recorder to effect an electrical connection therewith;

said checking for indications is further characterized as reading data on the portable memory, the data being associated with particular event record datasets indicative of an earlier successful transfer to a server computer system,

said erasing corresponding event record datasets step further comprising marking for erasure, erasing or marking for overwrite, event record data having been transferred to a server computer in accordance with indications provided in the portable memory.

18. ) Methods of event record transfer in a vehicle event recorder system comprising the steps:

a) recording event record data to a vehicle event recorder local resident memory;

b) receiving a portable memory at a communications port;

c) copying event record data to the portable memory while maintaining event record data at local resident memory;

d) removing portable memory from vehicle event recorder and coupling it with a remote server at a communications port thereon;

e) transferring event record data to a server local resident memory;

f) writing to a portable memory an indication of transfer state whereby the integrity and success of event record transfer is indicated for each event record; and

g) re-coupling portable memory with vehicle event recorder at a communications port thereon; and

h) in response to indication provided on portable memory, deleting/preserving corresponding copies of event data in vehicle event recorder resident memory.