Mobile Object Monitoring Device

• US 20090118895A1
• Filed: 03/26/2007
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Arakawa, Shuuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/205 Remotely operated machines, e.g. unmanned vehicles E02F3/8866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2095 Control of electric, electro-mechanical or mechanical equipment not otherwise provided for, e.g. ventilators, electro-driven fans control of hydraulic driven equipment E02F9/22
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• 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: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles

Abstract

The present invention reduces power consumption as much as possible when an engine is off state. A mobile object monitoring device 40, which is installed in a mobile object 10 with an engine 11 as a drive source, includes a monitoring control unit 41 that collects information about the mobile object 10, and a work control unit 42 that controls work of the monitoring control unit 41. The work control unit 42 activates the monitoring control unit 41 according to an intermittent work schedule S3 in which an operation rate is gradually decreases until a continuous working time of the engine 11 exceeds a predetermined threshold W0 after the engine 11 becomes off state.

Claims

1. A mobile object monitoring device, which is installed in a mobile object with an engine as a drive source, comprising:

a monitoring control unit that collects information about the mobile object; and

a work control unit that controls work of the monitoring control unit, wherein

the work control unit activates the monitoring control unit according to an intermittent work schedule in which an operation rate is gradually decreases until a continuous working time of the engine exceeds a predetermined threshold after the engine becomes off state.

2. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the mobile object includes a battery which is charged when the engine is on state,

the work control unit controls the monitoring control unit with the threshold which is a time required to charge the battery to a certain charge level by driving the engine.

3. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the work control unit activates the monitoring control unit according to a high operation work schedule which has a higher operation rate than the intermittent work schedule if a predetermined intermittent condition is met.

4. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein

the monitoring control unit includes a function to collect positional information of the mobile object,

the work control unit activates the monitoring control unit according to the high operation work schedule when the work control unit determines that the intermittent condition is met if a traveling distance of the mobile object, which is computed using the positional information collected by the monitoring control unit, exceeds a predetermined reference distance.

5. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the work control unit activates the monitoring control unit according to a high operation work schedule which has a higher operation rate than the intermittent work schedule if the engine becomes on state during activation of the monitoring control unit according to the intermittent work schedule.

6. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein

in case that the high operation work schedule is prosecuted by sustaining the intermittent work schedule, the work control unit restarts thereafter activation of the monitoring control unit according to the intermittent work schedule if the continuous working time of the engine in the meantime does not exceed the threshold.

7. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the intermittent work schedule reduces the operation rate of the monitoring control unit in a phased manner according to an accumulated time for the engine in off state and eventually deactivates the monitoring control unit.

8. The mobile object monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the monitoring control unit includes a communication processing unit, which transmits the information about the mobile object to a management unit which administrates the mobile object if a predetermined transmission condition is met.