Methods and systems for automatically identifying a data source for an on-board recorder

• US 9,466,159 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2015
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: J J Keller & Associates Incorporated
• Original Assignee: J J Keller & Associates Incorporated
• Inventors: Harter, Thomas C., Kuphal, Michael K., Lightner, Bruce D., Thome, Randel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Application Number:
  US14/683,522
• Publication Number:
  US 20160300407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/02 Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols

Abstract

Apparatuses, methods, and systems installed in a vehicle. One method includes identifying, with a processing unit installed in a vehicle, one of a plurality of data sources providing vehicle data over a communication interface in the vehicle, wherein the plurality of data sources provide vehicle data from at least two different vehicle control modules. The method also includes incrementing, with the processing unit, a counter associated with the one of the plurality of data sources, comparing, with the processing unit, the counter to a threshold, setting, with the processing unit, the one of the plurality of data sources as an active data source for receiving vehicle data when the counter exceeds the threshold, and processing the vehicle data received provided by the one of the plurality of data sources.

Claims

1. An apparatus installed in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a processing unit configured to

selectively receive vehicle data from a plurality of data sources communicating with at least one communication interface included in the vehicle,

determine whether a data source is set as an active data source,

when a data source is set as the active data source, process vehicle data from the active data source when vehicle data is available from the active data source,

when no data source is set as the active data source,

identify a preferred data source of the plurality of data sources based on predefined criteria,

increment a counter associated with the preferred data source,

compare the counter to a threshold,

when the counter exceeds the threshold, set the preferred data source as the active data source, and

process the vehicle data received from the preferred data source.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is further configured to, when a data source is set as the active data source and when vehicle data is not available from the active data source, compare a counter tracking unsuccessful reads from the active data source to a threshold, increment the counter when the counter does not exceed the threshold, and set no data source as the active data source when the counter exceeds the threshold.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of data sources includes a different vehicle control module.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the predefined criteria includes an ordered list of data sources.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing unit processes the vehicle data to detect a drive event.

6. A vehicle communication system, the system comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate with a plurality of data sources;

a memory module configured to store a counter associated with each of the plurality of data sources; and

a processing unit configured to

receive vehicle data from at least one of the plurality of data sources,

determine whether one of the plurality of data sources is set as an active data source,

when one of the plurality of data sources is set as the active data source, process vehicle data from the active data source when vehicle data is available from the active data source,

when none of the plurality of data sources are set as the active data source and the at least one of the plurality of data sources includes a single data source,

increment the counter associated with the single data source,

compare the counter to a threshold,

when the counter exceeds the threshold, set the single data source as the active data source, and

process the vehicle data received from the single data source.

7. The vehicle communication system of claim 6, wherein the processing unit is further configured to, when none of the plurality of data sources are set as the active data source and the at least one of the plurality of data sources includes multiple data sources, identify a preferred data source of the multiple data sources based on predefined criteria, increment a counter associated with preferred data source, compare the counter to a threshold, set the preferred data source as the active data source when the counter exceeds the threshold, and process the vehicle data received from the preferred data source.

8. The vehicle communication system of claim 6, wherein the processing unit is further configured to, when one of the plurality of data sources is set as the active data source and when vehicle data is not available from the active data source, compare a counter tracking unsuccessful reads from the active data source to a threshold, increment the counter when the counter does not exceed the threshold, and set none of the plurality of data sources as the active data source when the counter exceeds the threshold.

9. The vehicle communication system of claim 8, wherein the predefined criteria includes an ordered list of data sources.

10. The vehicle communication system of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of data sources includes a different vehicle control module.

11. The vehicle communication system of claim 6, wherein the processing unit processes the vehicle data to detect a drive event.

12. A method of obtaining vehicle data, the method comprising:

identifying, with a processing unit installed in a vehicle, one of a plurality of data sources providing vehicle data over a communication interface in the vehicle, wherein the plurality of data sources provide vehicle data from at least two different vehicle control modules;

incrementing, with the processing unit, a counter associated with the one of the plurality of data sources;

comparing, with the processing unit, the counter to a threshold;

when the counter exceeds the threshold, setting, with the processing unit, the one of the plurality of data sources as an active data source for receiving vehicle data; and

processing the vehicle data received provided by the one of the plurality of data sources.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying whether one of the plurality of data sources is set as the active data source;

when one of the plurality of data sources is set as the active data source,

identifying whether vehicle data is available on the active data source,

when vehicle data is available on the active data source, processing the vehicle data available on the active data source.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, when vehicle data is not available on the active data source, comparing a second counter associated with the active data source to a second threshold, and when the second counter exceeds the second threshold, setting none of the plurality of data sources as the active data source.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising, when the second counter does not exceed the second threshold, incrementing the second counter.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising identifying two or more of the plurality of data sources providing vehicle data, identifying one of the two or more of the plurality of data sources as a preferred data source based on predefined criteria, incrementing a counter associated with the preferred data source, comparing the counter to a threshold, setting the preferred data source as an active data source for receiving vehicle data when the counter exceeds the threshold, and processing the vehicle data provided by the preferred data source.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying one of the two or more of the plurality of data sources as a preferred data source based on the predefined criteria includes accessing an ordered list of data sources.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein processing the vehicle data includes processing the vehicle data to detect a drive event.