System and method for odometer calibration

• US 9,103,684 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Laird Connectivity UK Ltd. (Laird Limited)
• Original Assignee: Laird Technologies Incorporated (DuPont de Nemours, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wheatley, Timothy John
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui, Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): KUAN, JOHN CHUNYANG
• Application Number:
  US13/350,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20120116705A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/02 by conversion into electric waveforms and subsequent integration, e.g. using tachometer generator G01C22/002, G01C22/004, G01C22/006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/52 Determining velocity

Abstract

A system for odometer calibration for a motor vehicle is provided. The system can include a first source of speed data that provides first speed data during operation of the motor vehicle, and a second source of speed data that provides second speed data during a portion of the operation. The system can also include a vehicle speed control module that computes overall average speed data based on the first speed data and a duration of operation. The system includes a speed control module that determines an average first speed for the portion of the operation in which the second source of speed data provides the second speed, and computes an average second speed. The system can include an odometer correction control module that computes corrected odometer data based on the overall average speed data and a ratio of the average second speed to the average first speed.

Claims

1. A system for odometer calibration for a motor vehicle comprising:

a speed sensor onboard the motor vehicle providing first speed data for the motor vehicle for a duration of operation of the motor vehicle;

a global positioning system (GPS) controller onboard the motor vehicle providing GPS speed data for the motor vehicle for a portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle during which the GPS controller is active;

a control module that computes an overall average speed based on the first speed data and the duration of operation of the motor vehicle, an intermittent average speed based on the first speed data and the portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle, and computes a GPS average speed based on the GPS speed data and the portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle;

wherein the control module computes corrected odometer data based on the overall average speed, the GPS average speed, and the intermittent average speed;

wherein the control module computes corrected odometer using the following equation;

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the global positioning system controller onboard the motor vehicle communicates with a global positioning system.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the global positioning system controller communicates with the global positioning system over a first communications link.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first communications link is active to enable the global positioning system controller to communicate with the global positioning system over the portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a telematics system onboard the motor vehicle in communication with the speed sensor and the GPS controller, wherein the telematics system is operable to transmit the first speed data and the GPS speed data to a remote system.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the remote system comprises a remote server; and

the control module is implemented on the remote server.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the telematics system is operable to transmit the first speed data and the GPS speed data to a data store associated with the remote server.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the data store includes current odometer data; and

the corrected odometer data is added to the current odometer data to obtain cumulative corrected odometer data for the motor vehicle; and

the cumulative corrected odometer data is stored in the data store.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the system further comprises a telematics system onboard the motor vehicle in communication with the speed sensor and the GPS controller, and wherein the telematics system is operable to transmit the first speed data and the GPS speed data to a remote system; and

/or

error reported by the speed sensor is reduced by using the GPS speed data in a ratio to the first speed data measured by the speed sensor onboard the motor vehicle, thereby leading to a more accurate odometer reading over time.

10. A method of calibrating an odometer of a motor vehicle comprising:

receiving first speed data, which includes electronic data, for the motor vehicle over a duration of operation of the motor vehicle;

receiving, via a communications link, second speed data, which includes electronic data, for the motor vehicle over a portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle;

wherein receiving first speed data comprises receiving first speed data from a speed sensor onboard the motor vehicle;

wherein receiving second speed data comprises receiving second speed data from a global positioning system, via a communications link between the global positioning system and a global positioning system controller onboard the motor vehicle, in which the communications link is active to enable communication for the portion of the duration of operation of the motor vehicle;

computing an overall average speed of the motor vehicle during the duration of operation from the first speed data;

computing an intermittent average speed for the motor vehicle during the portion of the duration of the operation of the motor vehicle;

computing a second average speed for the motor vehicle during the portion of the duration from the second speed data; and

computing corrected odometer data based on the second average speed, intermittent average speed and overall average speed;

wherein computing corrected odometer data comprises using the following equation;

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing the corrected odometer data as current odometer data in a data store.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein computing corrected odometer data comprises:

computing a ratio of the second average speed to the intermittent average speed; and

computing the corrected odometer data using the ratio, the overall average speed, and the duration of operation of the motor vehicle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein computing corrected odometer data further comprises:

querying the data store for the current odometer data; and

adding the corrected odometer data to the current odometer data.