ENGINE SPEED DATA USAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fleet management system is provided for outdoor power equipment and is, in some embodiments, configured to estimate operator performance and/or skill for a particular operator based at least partially on engine speed data sensed during the particular operator'"'"'s use of one or more pieces of equipment. Embodiments of the invention also provide an apparatus configured to receive data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment, and further configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment in order to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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3. An apparatus comprising:
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an input device configured to receive RPM data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment; an output device; a processing device communicably coupled to the input device and the output device; and a memory communicably coupled to the processing device and having one or more parameters stored therein as a function of RPM determined through testing of a particular model equipment or type of equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, wherein the processing device is configured to use the output device to communicate an output based at least partially on the additional information determined about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine a total parameter value or an average parameter value over the period of operation using the RPM histogram and the stored function, wherein the RPM data comprises an operator identification (ID) code included therein, and wherein the additional information comprises information about the skill, experience, performance, exposure, or safety of an operator associated with the ID code. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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5. An apparatus comprising:
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an input device configured to receive RPM data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment; an output device; a processing device communicably coupled to the input device and the output device; and a memory communicably coupled to the processing device and having one or more parameters stored therein as a function of RPM determined through testing of a particular model equipment or type of equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, wherein the processing device is configured to use the output device to communicate an output based at least partially on the additional information determined about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine a total parameter value or an average parameter value over the period of operation using the RPM histogram and the stored function, and wherein the additional information comprises information about the performance of the operator, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine the information about the performance of the operator based at least partially on the consistency of the RPM histogram of the operator over two or more different work sessions.
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6. An apparatus comprising:
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an input device configured to receive RPM data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment; an output device; a processing device communicably coupled to the input device and the output device; and a memory communicably coupled to the processing device and having one or more parameters stored therein as a function of RPM determined through testing of a particular model equipment or type of equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, wherein the processing device is configured to use the output device to communicate an output based at least partially on the additional information determined about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine a total parameter value or an average parameter value over the period of operation using the RPM histogram and the stored function, and wherein the additional information comprises information about the performance of the operator, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine the information about the performance of the operator based at least partially on a comparison of the RPM histogram of the operator to a baseline histogram stored in a memory of the apparatus.
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7. (canceled)
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12. An apparatus comprising:
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an input device configured to receive RPM data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment; an output device; a processing device communicably coupled to the input device and the output device; and a memory communicably coupled to the processing device and having one or more parameters stored therein as a function of RPM determined through testing of a particular model equipment or type of equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, wherein the processing device is configured to use the output device to communicate an output based at least partially on the additional information determined about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine a total parameter value or an average parameter value over the period of operation using the RPM histogram and the stored function, and wherein the parameter comprises emissions, fuel consumption, or a measure of wear and tear.
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17. An apparatus comprising:
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an input device configured to receive RPM data comprising RPM values of a rotating component of a piece of outdoor power equipment sampled throughout a period of operation of the piece of outdoor power equipment; an output device; a processing device communicably coupled to the input device and the output device; and a memory communicably coupled to the processing device and having one or more parameters stored therein as a function of RPM determined through testing of a particular model equipment or type of equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to generate a RPM histogram for a particular operator and/or for a particular piece of outdoor power equipment, wherein the processing device is configured to use the RPM histogram to determine additional information about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, wherein the processing device is configured to use the output device to communicate an output based at least partially on the additional information determined about the particular operator, the particular piece of equipment, and/or the particular period of operation, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine a total parameter value or an average parameter value over the period of operation using the RPM histogram and the stored function, and wherein the additional information comprises an amount of time or a number of times that the operator did a certain action with the piece of outdoor power equipment, and wherein the processing device is configured to send output based at least partially on whether the number or amount exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold stored in a memory of the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22-38. -38. (canceled)
Specification