System and method for monitoring vehicle mass tamper events
First Claim
1. A system for detecting a vehicle mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored, the system including:
- a. a body bounce frequency estimator device installed on the vehicle and configured to estimate a body bounce frequency of the vehicle during a period of operation of the vehicle;
b. a computer processor configured to estimate a vehicle mass, m, according to the equation m=k/(ω
b)2 where k is a constant relating to a suspension system in the vehicle and ω
b is the estimated body bounce frequency;
c. the computer processor configured to compare the estimated vehicle mass with an alternative vehicle mass value to identify a vehicle mass tamper event when the estimate vehicle mass differs from the alternative vehicle mass value by more than a pre-determined amount;
d. a data storage element in communication with the computer processor and configured to store a subset of processor determined time-marked estimate vehicle mass records corresponding to a period of vehicle operation during which one or more vehicle mass tamper events are detectable; and
e. an interface in communication with the computer processor and the data storage element and configured to transmit to a remote device the subset of the estimated vehicle mass records as evidence of the one or more vehicle mass tamper events.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for detecting a mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored includes a body bounce frequency estimator configured to estimate body bounce frequency for the vehicle and a mass estimator configured to estimate a vehicle mass, m, according to the equation (I), where k is a constant relating to a suspension system in the vehicle and ωb is the estimated body bounce frequency. A first comparator compares the estimated vehicle mass value with an alternative vehicle mass value and identifies a mass tamper event when the estimated vehicle mass value differs from the alternative vehicle mass value by more than a pre-determined amount. An interface communicates mass tamper event data to a remote device. A system and method for recording vehicle mass data are also provided.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A system for detecting a vehicle mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored, the system including:
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a. a body bounce frequency estimator device installed on the vehicle and configured to estimate a body bounce frequency of the vehicle during a period of operation of the vehicle; b. a computer processor configured to estimate a vehicle mass, m, according to the equation m=k/(ω
b)2 where k is a constant relating to a suspension system in the vehicle and ω
b is the estimated body bounce frequency;c. the computer processor configured to compare the estimated vehicle mass with an alternative vehicle mass value to identify a vehicle mass tamper event when the estimate vehicle mass differs from the alternative vehicle mass value by more than a pre-determined amount; d. a data storage element in communication with the computer processor and configured to store a subset of processor determined time-marked estimate vehicle mass records corresponding to a period of vehicle operation during which one or more vehicle mass tamper events are detectable; and e. an interface in communication with the computer processor and the data storage element and configured to transmit to a remote device the subset of the estimated vehicle mass records as evidence of the one or more vehicle mass tamper events. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for detecting a vehicle mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored, the system including:
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a. an on-board mass monitoring unit (OBMU) fitted to the vehicle and configured to generate dynamic mass data during a period of operation of the vehicle; b. a computer processor configured to derive a mass value using the dynamic mass data; c. The computer processor configured to compare the derived mass value with a static mass value and to identify automatically a vehicle mass tamper event when the derived mass value and the static mass value differ by more than a predetermined amount; d. a data storage element in communication with the computer processor and configured to store a subset of processor determined time-marked dynamic mass data records corresponding to a period of vehicle operation during which one or more vehicle mass tamper events is detectable; and e. an interface in communication with the computer processor and the data storage element and configured to transmit to a remote device the subset of dynamic mass data records as evidence of the one or more vehicle mass tamper events. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for detecting a vehicle mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored, including the steps of:
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a. receiving and processing at a computer processor, data obtained during a period of operation of the vehicle to provide an estimate of body bounce frequency ω
b for the vehicle;b. operating the computer processor to estimate estimating a vehicle mass, m, according to the equation; - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for detecting a vehicle mass tamper event affecting a vehicle mass record for a vehicle being monitored, including the steps of:
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a. operating a computer processor to collect dynamic mass data from an on board mass-monitoring unit (OBMU) fitted to the vehicle, during a period of vehicle operation; b. operating the computer processor to derive a mass value using the dynamic mass data; c. operating the computer processor to compare the derived mass value with a static mass value provided to the computer processor by the vehicle'"'"'s driver; and d. operating the computer process to identify automatically a vehicle mass tamper event when the derived mass value and the static mass value differ by more than a predetermined amount; e. storing on a data storage element accessible by the computer processor, a subset of the dynamic mass data containing mass values corresponding to a period of vehicle operation during which one or more vehicle mass tamper events are detectable; and f. operating the computer processor to transmit to a remote device the subset of the dynamic mass data as evidence of the one or more vehicle mass tamper events. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification