Methods and means for monitoring events in vehicles
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring events in a vehicle, comprising:
- the step of producing electrical outputs representative of events in the vehicle;
the step of comparing characteristics of one event with characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and determining departures of a given extent from the other characteristics as an indication of a significant event; and
the step of sending a warning in response to the indication;
said comparing step including counting the number of characteristics that fall into given ranges of characteristics in a given time and determining departures from given distribution of counts among the ranges.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Events in a vehicle are monitored by producing electrical outputs representative of events in the vehicle, comparing characteristics of one event with characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and determining departures of a given extent from the other characteristics as an indication of a significant event, and sending a warning in response to the indication, particularly with the position of the vehicle determined by a GPS receiver on the vehicle. In an embodiment a microcomputer responds to the outputs of an accelerometer system mounted on a railroad car by comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts and determining departures of a given extent from other characteristics as a failure indication, signalling a warning in response to the indication.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring events in a vehicle, comprising:
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the step of producing electrical outputs representative of events in the vehicle;
the step of comparing characteristics of one event with characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and determining departures of a given extent from the other characteristics as an indication of a significant event; and
the step of sending a warning in response to the indication;
said comparing step including counting the number of characteristics that fall into given ranges of characteristics in a given time and determining departures from given distribution of counts among the ranges. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
the step of producing electrical outputs includes producing outputs representative of acceleration characteristics during an impact in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the step of comparing and determining includes comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts in the longitudinal direction. -
9. A monitoring method as in claim 1, wherein
the step of producing electrical outputs includes producing outputs representative of acceleration characteristics during an impact in a plurality of orthogonal directions of the vehicle, and the step of comparing and determining includes comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts in the plurality of orthogonal directions.
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10. A method of monitoring events in a vehicle, comprising:
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the step of producing electrical outputs representative of events in the vehicle;
the step of comparing characteristics of one event with characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and determining departures of a given extent from the other characteristics as an indication of a significant event; and
the step of sending a warning in response to the indication;
one of said characteristics being the rise time of the impact. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for monitoring events in a vehicle, comprising:
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an electrical output generator for producing outputs representative of events in the vehicle;
means for comparing characteristics of one event with characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and determining departures of a given extent from the other characteristics as an indication of a significant event; and
a warning signaller responsive to the indication;
said comparing means including counting the number of characteristics that fall into given ranges of characteristics in a given time and determining departures from given distribution of counts among the ranges. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
the electrical output generator includes an accelerometer arrangement and the outputs are representative of acceleration characteristics during an impact in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the means for comparing and determining includes comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts in the longitudinal direction. -
22. A monitoring system as in claim 14, wherein
the electrical output generator includes an accelerometer arrangement and the outputs are representative of acceleration characteristics during an impact in a plurality of orthogonal directions of the vehicle, and the means for comparing and determining includes comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts in the plurality of orthogonal directions. -
23. A monitoring system as in claim 14, wherein one of said characteristics is the rise time of the impact.
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24. A monitoring system as in claim 23, wherein said comparing means compares rise times with ƒ
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t1t2adt=Δ
v, where a is acceleration, v is velocity, and t1 and t2 are times during an event.
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t1t2adt=Δ
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25. A monitoring system as in claim 23, wherein said comparing means includes comparing rise times with fall times.
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26. A monitoring system as in claim 23, wherein said comparing means includes combining a plurality of departures from a plurality characteristics to obtain an indication of failure.
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Specification