Event information collecting system for vehicle and method for collecting event information on vehicle

• US 9,202,320 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2010
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagao, Tomoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): NG, MICHAEL L
• Application Number:
  US12/756,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20100305812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,063 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29.1, 701/29.6, 701 317- 318, 701 322- 325, 701/32.7, 701 332- 334, 340/438
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

An event information collecting system installed on a vehicle includes a status information acquiring device that acquires and generates vehicle status information, a control device that receives the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device, a storage device connected to the control device, a main power supply that supplies electric power to the control device, and an auxiliary power supply that supplies electric power to the control device when supply of power from the main power supply is stopped. In the event information collecting system, the control device stores, in the storage device, the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device and a condition of power supply from the main power supply, at the time of occurrence of a given event.

Claims

1. An event information collecting system installed on a vehicle, comprising:

a status information acquiring device that acquires and generates vehicle status information;

a control device connected to the status information acquiring device;

a storage device connected to the control device;

a main power supply that supplies electric power to the control device; and

an auxiliary power supply that supplies electric power to the control device when supply of power from the main power supply is stopped, wherein

the control device acquires the vehicle status information and a condition of the main power supply at the same time at predetermined sampling intervals, the acquired vehicle status information is associated with the acquired condition of the main power supply, the control device stores, in the storage device, the acquired vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device and the acquired condition of the main power supply, at the time of occurrence of a given event;

wherein, when the vehicle status information and the condition of the main power supply are stored in the storage device, the control device stores the vehicle status information and the condition of the main power supply in a given region of a portion of the storage device while overwriting previous data present in the given region;

wherein the condition of the main power supply includes an on-state in which electric power is supplied from the main power supply or an off-state in which no electric power is supplied from the main power supply, a point is distinguished between presently stored vehicle status information and previously stored vehicle status information as a point at which the condition of the main power supply changes from the off-state to the on-state in order to identify the stored vehicle status information after the point at which the condition of the main power supply changes from the off-state to the on-state as previously stored vehicle status information.

2. The event information collecting system according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage sensor used for grasping the condition of the main power supply.

3. The event information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the control device stores, in the storage device, the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device, the condition of the main power supply, and a number of items of data of the vehicle status information, at the time of occurrence of the given event.

4. The event information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the control device stores, in the storage device, the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device, the condition of the main power supply, and an identifying label that changes in cycles, at the time of occurrence of the given event.

5. The event information collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the control device determines whether the given event occurred, based on the vehicle status information.

6. A method for collecting event information on a vehicle, using a system including a control device, a storage device connected to the control device, a main power supply that supplies electric power to the control device, and an auxiliary power supply that supplies electric power to the control device when supply of power from the main power supply is stopped, comprising:

acquiring vehicle status information and a condition of the main power supply at the same time at predetermined sampling intervals, the acquired vehicle status information is associated with the acquired condition of the main power supply, the condition of the main power supply is either an on-state in which electric power is supplied from the main power supply or an off-state in which no power is supplied from the main power supply;

determining whether a given event occurred;

storing the acquired vehicle status information and the acquired condition of the main power supply in the storage device when it is determined that the given event occurred, when the vehicle status information and the condition of the main power supply are stored in the storage device, the control device stores the vehicle status information and the condition of the main power supply in a given region of a portion of the storage device while overwriting previous data present in the given region; and

determining a distinguishing point between presently stored vehicle status information and previously stored vehicle status information as a point in which the condition of the main power supply changes from the off-state to the on-state in order to identify the stored vehicle status information after the point at which the condition of the main power supply changes from the off-state to the on-state as previously stored vehicle status information.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device, the condition of the main power supply, and a number of items of data of the vehicle status information at the time of occurrence of the given event are stored in the storage device, when it is determined that the given event occurred.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle status information generated from the status information acquiring device, the condition of the main power supply, and an identifying label that changes in cycles at the time of occurrence of the given event are stored in the storage device, when it is determined that the given event occurred.