System and method for grouping GPS data into moving and stationary segments

• US 6,609,064 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1999
• Issued: 08/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dean, Vincil C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US09/386,756
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/35, 701/213, 701/208, 340/438, 340/439, 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/357.08, 342/357.09
• US Class Current: 701/213
• 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: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system provides the ability to collect and analyze data generated by a global positioning system to assist in monitoring and supervising a user of a vehicle. The system includes a GPS unit incorporated into a vehicle for periodically generating and recording information with regard to the position and velocity of the vehicle. The recorded information is periodically transferred to a remotely located computer via a wireless communications system, within which a grouping program is implemented. The grouping program is used to identify periods where the vehicle is in a stationary mode and periods where the vehicle is in a moving mode traveling from one location to another, based on the information provided by the GPS unit. The system generates a summary in map or report format. The results of the grouping program may be presented on map images representing the area within which the vehicle traveled. Symbols are drawn onto the map images corresponding to the locations of the stationary segments. Between the stationary segment symbols, travel paths are drawn using the positional information obtained by the GPS unit. The grouping program is also configured to generate a summary report pertaining to the travel information of the vehicle, such as the percentage of time spent driving versus the percentage of time spent working at job sites.

Claims

1. A system for processing information with regard to a movable object, comprising:

a GPS receiver to generate GPS data, said GPS data including at least positional information of the movable object;

a memory in connection with said GPS receiver to store the GPS data generated thereby;

a memory interface to receive GPS data from the GPS receiver and store the GPS data in the memory;

a memory in connection with said GPS receiver to store the GPS data generated thereby;

a memory interface to receive GPS data from the GPS receiver and store the GPS data in the memory;

a processor configured to receive the GPS data stored in the memory and group the GPS data into stationary and moving segments, wherein each of said stationary segments corresponds to a portion of the GPS data generated when the movable object is substantially stationary at one location for a defined minimum period of time, and each of said moving segments corresponds to a portion of the GPS data generated when the movable object is moving from one stationary segment location to another stationary segment location; and

a user interface in connection with the processor which provides for viewing of said stationary and moving segments, wherein the identified stationary and moving segments are displayed on a map with symbols provided on the map representing the locations of each of the stationary segments and travel paths provided between the symbols using the positional data obtained by the GPS receiver, each of the travel paths representing a respective one of the moving segments.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the GPS data further includes velocity information of the movable object, and further wherein the processor uses said velocity information to facilitate in grouping of the GPS data into the stationary and moving segments.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein GPS data further includes time information corresponding to a time at which the positional and velocity information is generated.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a grouping module configured to:

(a) examine each of the GPS data sequentially to identify a first point in time at which the movable object is moving at less than a predetermined velocity;

(b) examine subsequent GPS data sequentially until a second point in time is identified at which the movable object starts to move at greater than said predetermined velocity;

(c) calculate a time interval elapsed between said first and second points in time;

(d) recognize a portion of the GPS data corresponding to said first and second point in time as one of said stationary segments if said time interval calculated exceeds a predetermined time interval; and

(e) repeat (a)-(d) until end of the GPS data is reached.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said grouping module is further configured to:

record a start time and an end time and a location corresponding to each of the identified stationary segments;

record an end time and a location of a previous moving segment based on the start time and the location of each of the stationary segments; and

record a start time and a location of a subsequent moving segment based on the end time and location of each of the stationary segments.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said grouping module is a software program executable by the processor.

7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a user interface to allow for selection and changing of predetermined parameters used in said grouping module such that the stationary and moving segments obtained from said grouping module most accurately reflect actual stationary and moving segments.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the identified stationary and moving segments are used to generate a report, said report including information regarding start and stop time and locations of each of the moving segments and of each of the stationary segments.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the GPS receiver is in connection with the movable object.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the movable object is a service vehicle and the system is used to monitor a field agent operating the service vehicle to move from one job site to another.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the movable object is an animal and the system is used to track the animal, the GPS receiver is attached to the body of the animal to periodically collect positional and velocity data as the animal moves from one location to another, and further wherein the system facilitates in monitoring the behavior and habits of the animal by allowing a user to observe the location and time of the stationary segments as well as the paths between the stationary segments.

12. A vehicle monitoring system for collecting and processing travel information of a vehicle, comprising:

a GPS unit, located in the vehicle, including a GPS receiver which periodically generates GPS data, said GPS data including positional and velocity information of the vehicle and time information corresponding to a time at which the positional and velocity information is generated, and a memory operatively coupled to said GPS receiver to store said GPS data provided thereby;

a processing unit remotely located relative to the vehicle, said processing unit configured to receive the positional and velocity information from the GPS unit and group the GPS data into stationary segments and moving segments, each of said stationary segments corresponding to a portion of GPS data generated when the vehicle is substantially stationary at one location for a defined minimum period of time, and wherein each of said moving segments corresponds to a portion of GPS data generated when the vehicle is moving from one stationary segment location to another stationary segment location; and

said processing unit is further configured to compile moving and stationary segments such that the moving and stationary segments are displayable on a map with accompanying symbols representing the locations of each of the stationary segments and travel paths provided between the symbols, each of the travel paths representing a respective one of the moving segments.

13. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 12, further comprising a fleet of vehicles and wherein the processing unit is configured to receive and process the GPS data generated by each vehicle in said fleet.

14. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 13, wherein the vehicle monitoring system is used to monitor field agents operating fleet vehicles to move from one job site to another.

15. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 12, wherein each of said GPS unit and said remotely located processing unit further comprises a wireless communication interface to allow the GPS unit to transmit the positional and velocity information stored therein to the processing unit via a wireless communications network.

16. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 12, further comprising a grouping module configured to:

(a) examine each of the GPS data sequentially to identify a first point in time at which the vehicle is moving at less than a predetermined velocity;

(b) examine subsequent GPS data sequentially until a second point in time is identified at which the vehicle starts to move at greater than said predetermined velocity;

(c) calculate a time interval elapsed between said first and second points in time;

(d) recognize a portion of the GPS data corresponding to said first and second point in time as one of said stationary segments if said time interval calculated exceeds a predetermined time interval; and

(e) repeat (a)-(d) until end of the GPS data is reached.

17. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 16, wherein the grouping module is a software program executable by the processing unit.

18. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 16, further comprising a user interface in connection with the processing unit to allow viewing of said stationary and moving segments.

19. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 16, further comprising a user interface to allow for selecting and changing of said predetermined velocity and said predetermined time interval used in the grouping module such that the stationary and moving segments obtained therefrom most accurately reflect actual stationary and moving segments.

20. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 16, wherein the grouping module is further configured to:

record a start time and an end time and a location corresponding to each of the identified stationary segments;

record an end time and a location of a previous moving segment based on the start time and the location of each of the stationary segments; and

record a start time and a location of a subsequent moving segment based on the end time and location of each of the stationary segments.

21. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 16, wherein the vehicle includes an engine, and an ignition system having an on-mode corresponding to activation of the engine and an off-mode corresponding to deactivation of the engine, the GPS unit is operatively coupled to said ignition system to periodically receive and store information with regard to on/off mode of said ignition system.

22. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 21, wherein the information with regard to the off/on mode of the ignition system in the GPS unit is used by the processing unit to facilitate in identifying the stationary segments.

23. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 12, wherein the identified stationary and moving segments are used to generate a report, said report including information regarding start and stop time and locations of each of the moving segments and of each of the stationary segments.

24. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 23, wherein the report further includes information relating to a percentage of time spent driving versus a percentage of time spent working at job sites.

25. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 12, wherein the vehicle monitoring system is used to monitor a person operating the vehicle, wherein the identified stationary and moving segments provide insight into the behavior of the person.

26. A method of monitoring movement of a remote movable object, comprising:

periodically generating positional information of the movable object at least while the movable object is moving;

storing said positional information of the one movable object;

grouping said positional information of the movable object into moving segments and stationary segments;

wherein each of said stationary segments corresponds to a portion of the GPS data generated when the movable object is substantially stationary at one location for a defined minimum period of time, and each of said moving segments corresponds to a portion of the GPS data generated when the movable object is moving from one stationary segment location to another stationary segment location; and

compiling said moving segments and stationary segments such that the moving and stationary segments are displayable on a map with accompanying symbols representing the locations of each of the stationary segments and travel paths provided between the symbols, each of the travel paths representing a respective one of the moving segments.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein each of said stationary segments corresponds to a portion of GPS data generated when the movable object is substantially stationary at one location for a define minimum period of time, and wherein each of said moving segments corresponds to a portion of GPS data generated when the movable object is moving from one stationary segment location to another stationary segment location.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the positional information is generated and stored by a GPS unit located in the movable object, wherein said GPS receiver is configured to generate velocity information along with the positional information.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of transferring the data from the GPS unit to a computer performing the grouping step.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein said grouping step further comprises:

(a) examining each of the velocity information sequentially to identify a first point in time at which movable object is moving at less than a predetermined velocity;

(b) examining subsequent velocity information sequentially until a second point in time is identified at which the movable object starts to move at greater than said predetermined velocity;

(c) calculating a time interval elapsed between said first point in time and said second point in time;

(d) recognizing the positional information corresponding to said first and second point in time as one of said stationary segments if said time interval calculated exceeds a predetermined time interval; and

(e) repeating steps (a)-(d) until end of the positional and velocity information is reached.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of recognizing further comprises:

recording said first and second point in time and a location corresponding to each of the stationary segments;

recording an end time and a location of a previous moving segment based on said first point in time and the location of each of the stationary segments; and

recording a start time and a location of a subsequent moving segment based on said second point in time and the location of each of the stationary segments.