Fleet operations quality management system

• US 8,565,943 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Appareo Systems LLC (AGCO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Appareo Systems LLC (AGCO Corporation)
• Inventors: Weinmann, Robert Vincent, Batcheller, Barry Douglas, Ohlsen, Tyler Chris, Halvorson, Jacob Andrew, Schubert, Seth Jamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US11/903,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20080077290A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,224 Days
• Field of Search: 701/35, 701/1, 701 3- 18, 701 23- 27, 701/38, 701/44, 701200-226, 701400-541, 340/945, 340948-983, 342/2, 342/26.B, 342 29- 40, 342 60-158, 342/357.53, 244/202, 244/183, 244/81, 244/110.E, 244/114.R, 244/17.17
• US Class Current: 701/14
• 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: G07C 5/0891 Video recorder in combination with video camera
• 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 low-cost fleet operations quality management system for use with one or more vehicles which includes a data recording unit and separate memory subsystem mounted on each vehicle, a remotely located data collection station to collect, store and pre-process data from multiple vehicles, a centralized data storage and retrieval system designed to accept and assimilate recorded trip data, a web application designed to provide access to and analysis of the recorded trip data, and a graphical software application that can be used to view the recreated trip in a realistic simulated environment.

Claims

1. A vehicle behavior monitoring system, comprising:

a plurality of vehicles;

a plurality of remote data recording units, wherein each said remote data recording unit is mounted to a separate said vehicle of said plurality of vehicles, and wherein each said remote data recording unit is configured to acquire raw sensor data relating to a trip of its corresponding said vehicle, wherein said raw sensor data comprises a plurality of separately recorded datasets, each said dataset having been recorded from a data source integral to said remote data recording unit, and to store said raw sensor data at an on-vehicle storage location, wherein a trip is defined as a continuous period of time over which said vehicle is operated;

a data processing device configured to receive said raw sensor data from said on-vehicle storage location of each said vehicle, and further configured to transform said raw sensor data of each said trip into a separate trip file, wherein said data processing device is located off-vehicle in relation to each of said plurality of vehicles, wherein said raw sensor data is transferred to said data processing device after a trip is entirely completed, and wherein sensor fusion is used to transform said raw sensor data into said trip file, wherein said sensor fusion comprises said data processing device combining at least a first subset of said separately recorded datasets, and comparing at least a second subset of said separately recorded datasets comprising redundant sources of said raw sensor data to determine the most reliable and accurate source of said redundant sources to be used in said trip file, and wherein said data processing device further comprises comparing said trip file against a corresponding trip profile, wherein each said trip profile defines a set of expected vehicle behaviors, and wherein each said trip profile is defined by and dependent on a type of said vehicle, a type of operation for which said vehicle is currently being used, and on a set of operational parameters defined by an operator of said vehicle, wherein two or more differently defined trip profiles may exist for any said vehicle;

a remote access station, wherein a listing of each deviation associated with each said trip file may be viewed at said remote access station, wherein each said deviation is an instance where said trip file fails to comply with said corresponding trip profile;

said deviation listings with each said trip file identify the vehicle associated with the deviation;

an additional data capturing subsystem adapted for communicating with said remote data recording unit and providing additional trip data not available from said remote data recording unit; and

said additional data capturing subsystem being adapted for video capture and voice recording.

2. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said remote data recording unit comprises a processor and a plurality of sensors disposed within a common housing, wherein said plurality of sensors comprises a plurality of accelerometers, a plurality of gyroscopes, and a GPS module.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said processor is a low-end processor.

4. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 2, wherein said data recording unit further comprises a first memory within said housing.

5. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a removable memory device in communication with said remote data recording unit, wherein said removable memory device is further operatively interconnectable with said data processing device.

6. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a computer network, wherein said data processing device communicates with said server over said computer network, and wherein said remote access station communicates with said server over said computer network.

7. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a web application, wherein said remote access station communicates with said server through said web application.

8. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a remote data storage system mountable to the vehicle and operatively interconnectable with said remote data recording unit to receive said raw sensor data from said remote data recording unit.

9. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising an additional data capturing subsystem, wherein said additional data capturing subsystem communicates with said remote data recording unit and provides additional trip data not available from said remote data recording unit.

10. The vehicle behavior monitoring system of claim 1, wherein:

said data processing device receives information from existing on-board systems of the vehicle; and

said existing on-board system information is integrated with the resulting trip data.