SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AND UPDATING SPEED-BY-STREET DATA

• US 20150039214A1
• Filed: 10/17/2014
• Published: 02/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: inthinc LLC (ORBCOMM Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Inthinc Technology Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: McClellan, Scott, Follmer, Todd, Catten, Jonathan C., Capps, Eric, Ord, Dave, Eyre, Richard, Russon, Verlin, Maynard, Ed
• Granted Patent: US 9,847,021 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/119
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• 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: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

System and method for identifying speeding violations, comprising determining a current speed and a current location of a vehicle, determining a posted speed limit for the current location from a speed-by-street database, comparing the current speed of the vehicle to the posted speed limit, and evaluating whether the current speed exceeds the posted speed limit. Errors are identified in the speed-by-street database by storing a plurality of speeding violation records, wherein the speeding violation records each include a speeding event location; analyzing the speeding violation records to identify one or more speeding event locations having multiple speeding violations; comparing a posted speed limit at the one or more speeding event locations having multiple speeding violations to corresponding speed limit data in the speed-by-street database; and identifying one or more speed limit entries in the speed-by-street database that do not match the posted speed limit.

Claims

1. A vehicle monitoring base station, comprising:

a data communication interface operable to receive information from a monitored vehicle, the information including at least driver performance data, the driver performance data including least a speed of the vehicle and a location of the vehicle;

a database that associates vehicle speed limitation information with geographical information; and

a processor operable to;

query the database using the received location to determine a speed parameter, the speed parameter comprising an excess of speed over a posted speed limit for the received location, use the received speed and location to determine whether the monitored vehicle has surpassed the speed parameter, wherein different speed parameters are associated with a different locations,

perform an action if it is determined that the monitored vehicle has surpassed the speed parameter; and

convert the driver performance data into a user readable report that contains at least the speed and location of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 1, wherein the data communication interface is wireless.

3. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 1, wherein each event received by the data communication interface further includes a vehicle identifier.

4. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 1, wherein the database associates posted speed limits with streets.

5. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 1, wherein the database associates posted speed limits with geographical areas other than streets.

6. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 1, further comprising, between the querying and the using:

determine current road conditions for the received location; and

adjust the threshold speed based on the current road conditions.

7. The vehicle monitoring base station of claim 6, wherein the current road condition for the location includes at least a speed of the road.

8. A vehicle speed monitoring device, comprising:

an interface for receiving information from one or more input devices;

a timer; and

a processor operable to determine a speed and location of a vehicle using the received information, to determine a threshold speed corresponding to the determined location of the vehicle, to perform an action if the speed of the vehicle exceeds the determined threshold speed, and to convert the information into a user readable report that contains at least the speed and the location of the vehicle,

wherein the vehicle speed monitoring device is configured to generate a warning to a driver when the speed of the vehicle exceeds the determined threshold speed and wherein the vehicle speed monitoring device is even further configured to generate a notification signal to a remote computing system when it is determined that the driver has failed to reduce the speed of the vehicle within a predetermined amount of time after the warning is generated, the predetermined amount of time being measurable with the timer.

9. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the one or more input devices includes a geo-location device.

10. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the one or more input devices includes an on-board diagnostic system.

11. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 8, further comprising an output device.

12. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 11, wherein the output device includes a display.

13. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 11, wherein the output device includes a speaker.

14. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 11, wherein the output device is a data communication interface.

15. The device of claim 8, further comprising the processor being configured to determine current road conditions for the received location and adjust the threshold speed based on the current road conditions before considering whether the vehicle exceeds the threshold speed.

16. The station of claim 15, wherein the current road conditions for the location includes at least a speed of the road.

17. The vehicle speed monitoring device of claim 8, wherein the timer is started when the warning to the driver.