VEHICLE IDLE-SPEED WARNING SYSTEM AND IDLE-SPEED DETECTION METHOD

• US 20140012483A1
• Filed: 08/24/2012
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Applied Research Laboratories (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Applied Research Laboratories (Government of The Republic of China)
• Inventors: HUANG, Chun-Ming, YANG, Chih-Chyau, CHEN, Chun-Yu, WU, Chien-Ming
• Granted Patent: US 9,291,115 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/102
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2041/228 Warning displays
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/501 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/701 Information about vehicle position, e.g. from navigation system or GPS signal
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/08 for idling F02D41/06, F02D41/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2403 using essentially up/down counters

Abstract

A vehicle idle-speed warning system and vehicle idle-speed detection method thereof are provided. It is non-invasive, that is, there is no need to change or modify any part of the constructing parts in the engine compartment. The present invention can be adopted stand-alone, or be applied to existing popular apparatuses, such as GPS, driving recorders, smart handheld devices, and vehicle electronic equipments. With the composing elements of a motion information module, an input module, an output module, a timer module and an information processing module, the present invention can accurately determine whether the vehicle under surveillance is in idle state and for how long it is in the idle state, and send an alarm signal automatically. With the implementation of the present invention, drivers can always be alarmed with the vehicle idling situations to prevent possible dangers or coming tickets due to the violation of traffic regulations in certain countries.

Claims

1. A vehicle idle-speed warning system disposed on a vehicle, the vehicle idle-speed warning system comprising:

an input module for enabling a user to enter an idle-speed time;

a timer module for calculating a duration;

a motion information module for providing an engine state information and a displacement information of the vehicle;

an information processing module for executing control and computation, controlling the timer module to reset the duration to zero when the displacement information indicates a displacement state, actuating the timer module to calculate the duration when the displacement information indicates a non-displacement state, and outputting an idle-speed warning information when the duration exceeds the idle-speed time and the engine state information indicates a start state; and

an output module for reading the idle-speed warning information and generating a warning message.

2. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the timer module is a circuit module.

3. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the timer module is a software module.

4. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module is an accelerometer.

5. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises an accelerometer and a global positioning system.

6. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises an accelerometer and a magnetometer.

7. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module is a speedometer.

8. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a speedometer and a global positioning system.

9. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a speedometer and a magnetometer.

10. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a vibration sensor and an accelerometer.

11. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a vibration sensor and a speedometer.

12. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a vibration sensor and a global positioning system.

13. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the motion information module comprises a vibration sensor and a magnetometer.

14. The vehicle idle-speed warning system of claim 1, wherein the warning message is one of a sound signal, a vision signal, a vibration signal, and a mixed signal consisting of at least two thereof.

15. A vehicle idle-speed detection method, applicable to a vehicle idle-speed warning system, the vehicle idle-speed detection method comprising the steps of:

reading an idle-speed time by an information processing module;

reading a state information, wherein the information processing module reads an engine state information and a displacement information from a motion information module; and

determining a vehicle idle-speed, wherein the information processing module outputs an idle-speed warning information when the engine state information indicates a start state, the displacement information indicates a non-displacement state, and the idle-speed time is up.