Telematic programming logic control unit and methods of use

• US 7,257,396 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2003
• Issued: 08/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jenkins, Rhesa, Olsen, John, Bradley, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui; Bing Q.
• Application Number:
  US10/393,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20040023645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: 455/419, 455/420, 340/870.02, 701/35, 701/207
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• 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

The present invention is directed to an apparatus, system and method for collecting, storing and time-stamping telematics data. A programmable logic control unit is described that is connected to one or more sensors mounted on a vehicle to capture, time-stamp and store telematics data. And, upon the happening of a triggering event, time-stamped telematics data is transferred from the control until to an external device via wireless or other communications methods.

Claims

1. A telematic data collection system comprising:

a programmable logic control unit disposed within a vehicle, said programmable logic control unit comprising;

an input interface;

a processor;

a memory; and

an output interface coupled to a plurality of wireless communication devices,

wherein said input interface receives telematics data from a sensor;

said processor time stamps said telematics data and stores said telematics data in said memory; and

said time-stamped telematics data is wirelessly transmitted from said memory to an external computing device via one or more of said plurality wireless communication devices coupled to said output interface.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of wireless communication devices is a wireless radio.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of wireless communication devices is an infrared communications link.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said programmable logic control unit transmits said time-stamped telematics data automatically when said external computing device is within a predetermined distance of said programmable logic control unit.

5. The system of claim 1, said programmable logic control unit transmits said time-stamped telematics data in response to a manual trigger of said external computing device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is an Intel processor based on an 8086 chip.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor uses a ladder-logic programming language to manipulate and store said telematics data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said ladder-logic programming language is configured to distinguish input signal characteristics and translate individual signal characteristics into data that is useable in a wireless environment.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said one or more sensors are mounted on a vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said one or more sensors is an electronic control module sensor.

11. The system of claim 1, further including an analog to digital converter that digitizes an analog input signal from said one or more sensors.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said programmable logic control unit further comprises an integrated power supply that allows a step up from 12 volts to 24 volts.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said one or more wireless communication devices comprises an optical communications link.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of wireless communication devices comprise a first wireless communication device that uses a first wireless standard and a second wireless communication device that uses a second wireless standard, said first wireless standard being different from said second wireless standard, and

said programmable logic control unit is further adapted for translating said sensor signal data into output formats compatible with each of said wireless standards.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said programmable logic control unit uses ladder logic programming to translate said sensor signal data into output formats compatible with each of said wireless standards.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said programmable logic control unit is adapted to communicate with a first external computing device using said first wireless standard via said first wireless communication device and a second external computing device using said second wireless standard via said second wireless communication device.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein said external computing device comprises a hand-held computing device.

18. A method of processing vehicle information, said method comprising the steps of:

capturing an analog signal from a sensor disposed within a vehicle;

converting said analog signal to a digital signal;

inputting said digital signal to an input interface of a programmable logic control unit, said programmable logic control unit being disposed within said vehicle;

assigning a time stamp to said digital signal;

translating said digital signal and said time stamp into an output format useable by one of a plurality of wireless communication devices coupled to an output interface of said programmable logic control unit;

storing said translated digital signal and time stamp data in a memory of said programmable logic control unit; and

transmitting said translated digital signal and time stamp data to an external computing device via said one of said plurality of wireless communication devices.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said analog signal captured from said sensor comprises telematics data.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein capturing said analog signal from said sensor comprises capturing data from an electronic control module.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein said transmission of digital signal and time stamp data to said external computing device occurs via wireless radio.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein said transmission of digital signal and time stamp data to said external computing device occurs via an infrared communications link.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein said transmission of digital signal and time stamp data to said external computing device occurs automatically when said external computing device is within a predetermined distance of said programmable logic control unit.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein said transmission of digital signal and time stamp data occurs in response to a triggering event.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said triggering event is the switching on or off of a vehicle ignition.

26. The method of claim 18, further comprising uploading said digital signal and time stamp data from said external computing device to a host system.

27. A method of collecting and storing signal data using a programmable logic controller, said programmable logic controller comprising at least one input terminal and at least one output terminal, a processor, and memory, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving said signal data from one or more vehicle sensors at said input terminal of said programmable logic controller, said programmable logic control unit being disposed within a vehicle;

translating said signal data to a desired output format useable by at least one of a plurality of wireless communication devices;

time-stamping said signal data;

moving said translated and time-stamped data to said memory; and

transmitting said translated data from memory to an external computing device in response to a triggering event via said at least one of said plurality of wireless communication devices.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of translating said signal comprises preparing said signal data for transmission via a wireless radio.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising associating an event type with said signal data.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising storing said event type in said memory.

31. The system of claim 27 wherein said triggering event is an indication that an ignition of said vehicle is turned on and that said vehicle is in motion.