Vehicular fleet management system and methods of monitoring and improving driver performance in a fleet of vehicles

• US 9,922,567 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2012
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Molin, Hans M., Au, Ken D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Hee-Yong
• Application Number:
  US14/233,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20140226010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,071 Days
• Field of Search: 348148
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/01 Conversion of standards , e.g. involving analogue television standards or digital television standards processed at pixel level

Abstract

A system and method is described in which vehicles are configured to collect driver and vehicle event data, selectively compress and encode the collected driver and vehicle event data, and communicate the compressed and encoded data wirelessly to one or more telematics service providers. Servers poll this driver event data periodically, process it, and present multiple methods to end users by which they are able to view and analyze it. The present system permits fleet managers to use this driver event data, received through a report or notification, or pulled directly from a web-based portal, to monitor, correct or reward driver behavior, and to implement driver education and training programs.

Claims

1. A method of aggregating data derived from a vehicular fleet for presentation to an associated user, the method comprising:

accumulating first plural event data from a first vehicle-mounted device configured to capture and record first on-board vehicular data associated with one or more of a particular driver in a fleet of vehicles and/or a particular vehicle in the fleet of vehicles;

accumulating second plural event data from a second vehicle-mounted device configured to capture and record second on-board vehicular data associated with the one or more of the particular driver and/or the particular vehicle;

combining the accumulated first plural event data into first hybrid event data;

combining the accumulated second plural event data into second hybrid event data;

selectively compressing and encrypting the first and second hybrid event data as processed hybrid event data;

transmitting the processed hybrid event data to a server for aggregation of the processed hybrid event data in one or more reporting and notification modules;

packaging the processed hybrid event data aggregated in the one or more reporting and notification modules into a preselected format; and

,

presenting, to the associated user via a user interface configured to generate a display, the packaged hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor a performance of one or more of the particular vehicle and/or the particular driver.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the presenting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the packaged hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor a performance of a particular driver relative to one or more other drivers in a sorted performance report display.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

the presenting the packaged hybrid event data in the sorted performance report display comprises presenting the packaged hybrid event data in the sorted performance report comprising a color coded grid of the particular driver and the one or more other drivers versus plural hybrid event data associated with each driver, wherein separate cells of the grid are assigned separate colors relating the a predetermined seriousness parameter of the plural hybrid data.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the presenting comprises presenting, to the associated user via the user interface, the packaged hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor the performance of the one or more of the particular vehicles and/or the particular drivers relative to one or more other drivers by displaying a graph of the set of drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver of the set of drivers, wherein the graph is a histogram displaying the set of drivers versus a following distance hybrid event data related to each of the set of drivers.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the accumulating comprises accumulating driver event data from one or more of the first and/or second vehicle-mounted devices configured to capture video images from an area adjacent to a vehicle and record on-board vehicular data associated with a particular driver in the fleet of vehicles.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein:

the presenting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the packaged hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor the performance of the particular driver relative to one or more other drivers by displaying a customizable video format to the associated user.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the accumulating the second event data comprises accumulating the second event data from the second vehicle-mounted device different than the first vehicle-mounted device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the selectively compressing and encrypting the first and second hybrid event data comprises compressing and encrypting the first and second hybrid event data together as the processed hybrid event data.

9. A method of managing a vehicular fleet, comprising:

recording, by a first driver event capture device disposed in a first vehicle of a fleet of associated vehicles, first driver and vehicle event data representative of a first driver operating the first vehicle;

recording, by a second driver event capture device disposed in a second vehicle different than the first vehicle of the fleet of associated vehicles, second driver and vehicle event data representative of a second driver different than the first driver operating the second vehicle;

combining the first driver and vehicle event data into first processed data representative of first higher level driver and vehicle condition data;

combining the second driver and vehicle event data into second processed data representative of second higher level driver and vehicle condition data; and

presenting the first and second processed data for customizable analysis, by an associated user, of driver behavior of the first and second drivers of the fleet of vehicles using a web-based portal and user interface comprising one or more reporting and notification modules, wherein the presenting comprises selectively presenting to the associated user via the user interface the recorded first and second driver and vehicle event data in a form that permits the user to analyze and monitor a performance of the first and second drivers relative to each other by displaying a graph of the first and second drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver, wherein the graph is a histogram displaying the first and second drivers versus a following distance event data related to each of the first and second drivers.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein:

the presenting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the recorded first and second driver and vehicle event data in a sorted performance report display.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the presenting the first and second driver and vehicle event data in the sorted performance report display comprises presenting the first and second driver and vehicle event data in the sorted performance report comprising a color coded grid of the first and second drivers and the one or more other drivers versus plural driver and vehicle event data accumulated from the first and second driver event capture devices associated with each driver, wherein separate cells of the grid are assigned separate colors relating the a predetermined seriousness parameter of the plural event data.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein:

the configuring the first and second driver event capture devices comprises configuring the first and second driver event capture devices to record at least video data of areas adjacent each vehicle.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein:

the presenting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the processed data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor a performance of a selected driver relative to the other driver by displaying a customizable video format to the associated user.

14. The method of managing a vehicular fleet according to claim 9, wherein:

the first driver and vehicle event data comprises data relating to the first driver in the fleet of vehicles and first data relating to the first vehicle of the fleet of vehicles being operated by the first driver; and

the second driver and vehicle event data comprises data relating to the second driver in the fleet of vehicles and second data relating to the second vehicle of the fleet of vehicles being operated by the second driver.

15. A method of monitoring driver safety metrics in a fleet of vehicles, the method comprising:

capturing first event data from a first monitored vehicle in the fleet of vehicles, wherein the first event data comprises first on-board vehicular data of the first monitored vehicle and first video data of an area adjacent the first monitored vehicle in the fleet of vehicles being operated by a first driver;

capturing second event data from a second monitored vehicle in the fleet of vehicles, wherein the second event data comprises second on-board vehicular data of the second monitored vehicle and second video data of an area adjacent the second monitored vehicle in the fleet of vehicles being operated by a second driver

combining the first on-board vehicular data and the first video data of the first event data to obtain first hybrid event data;

combining the second on-board vehicular data and the second video data of the second event data to obtain second hybrid event data;

securely transmitting the first and second hybrid event data to an associated server;

receiving the first and second hybrid event data in a packaged data format from the associated server;

establishing driver safety metrics from the first and second hybrid event data received in the packaged data format from the associated server;

reporting the driver safety metrics based on customizable preferences and organization as determined by an associated user responsible for one or more drivers of vehicles via a web-based portal and user interface configured to present the first and second hybrid event data; and

,

notifying the associated user of severe driver events, the reporting the driver safety metrics and the notifying the associated user of the severe event data permitting the associated user to monitor driver safety and vehicle and driver performance.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein:

the reporting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the first and second hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor the performance of the first driver relative to the second driver in a sorted performance report display.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein:

the reporting comprises presenting the first and second hybrid event data in a sorted performance report comprising a color coded grid of the first driver and the second driver versus the first and second plural on-board vehicular data accumulated from a first device mounted on the first monitored vehicle and from a second device mounted on the second monitored vehicle, wherein separate cells of the grid are assigned separate colors relating the a predetermined seriousness parameter of the plural event data.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein:

the reporting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the packaged first and second hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor the performance of the first driver relative to the second by displaying a graph of the first and second drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver of the first and second drivers, wherein the graph is a histogram displaying the first and second drivers versus a following distance event data related to each of the first and second drivers.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein:

the reporting comprises presenting to the associated user via the user interface the first and second hybrid event data in a form that permits the associated user to analyze and monitor the performance of the first driver relative to the second driver by displaying a customizable video format to the associated user.

20. A fleet management system, comprising:

a first capture device disposed in a first associated vehicle of an associated fleet of vehicles, the first associated vehicle being selectively operated by a set of first and second drivers, the first capture device being configured to record first event data comprising plural event data types relating to operation of the first associated vehicle operated by the set of first and second drivers;

a second capture device disposed in a second associated vehicle of the associated fleet of vehicles, the second associated vehicle being selectively operated by the set of first and second drivers, the second capture device being configured to record second event data comprising plural event data types relating to operation of the second associated vehicle operated by the set of first and second drivers;

a transmission module configured to transmit the captured first and second event data to at least one associated service provider;

a server having a non-transitory memory and a processor in operative communication with the at least one associated service provider, the server being configured to receive the first and second event data from the at least one associated service provider, combine the first event data comprising the plural event data types relating to the operation of the first associated vehicle operated by the set of the first and the second drivers into first hybrid event data, combine the second event data comprising the plural event data types relating to the operation of the second associated vehicle operated by the set of the first and the second drivers into second hybrid event data, and package the first and second hybrid event data into a preselected format for analysis by an associated end user; and

one or more reporting and notification modules configured to aggregate the packaged first and second hybrid event data and present the aggregated first and second hybrid event data in a customizable format combining the aggregated first and second hybrid event data to the associated end user operating an associated client computer accessing a web application by a web-based portal in a web application executable by a server and having a user interface via the web-based portal,

wherein the first and second capture devices in each first and second associated vehicle in the associated fleet of vehicles are configured to record plural event data types relating to operation of the associated first and second associated vehicles driven by the first and second drivers,

wherein the transmission module is configured to transmit the captured plural event data types to the at least one associated service provider,

wherein the server is configured to receive the plural event data types from the at least one associated service provider and package the plural event data types into the preselected format for analysis by the associated end user,

wherein the one or more reporting and notification modules of the web application are configured to aggregate the packaged event data and present the packaged first and second hybrid event data in a customizable format to the associated end user by displaying a list of the first and second drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver of the first and second drivers, wherein the list is sorted as a sorted performance report based on driver performance relative to the one or more plural event data types associated with each driver.

21. The fleet management system according to claim 20 wherein:

the one or more reporting and notification modules of the web application are operative to package and present the first and second hybrid event data into a format relating the first and second drivers with the first and second associated vehicles of the associated fleet of vehicles driven by the first and second drivers during a time period selected by the end user.

22. The fleet management system according to claim 21 wherein:

the one or more reporting and notification modules are configured to generate the sorted performance report comprising a color coded grid of the first and second drivers versus the plural event data types associated with each driver, wherein separate cells of the grid are assigned separate colors relating the a predetermined seriousness parameter of the plural event data types.

23. The fleet management system according to claim 21 wherein:

the transmission module is configured to transmit the captured plural event data types to the at least one associated service provider;

the server is configured to receive the plural event data types from the at least one associated service provider and package the plural event data types into the preselected format for analysis by the associated end user; and

the one or more reporting and notification modules of the a web application are configured to aggregate the packaged event data and present the packaged event in a customizable format to the end user by displaying a graph of the first and second drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver of the first and second drivers, wherein the graph is a histogram displaying the first and second drivers versus following distance event data related to each of the first and second drivers'"'"' operation of the first and second associated vehicles.

24. The fleet management system according to claim 20, wherein:

the at least one capture device is configured to record video event data;

the transmission module is configured to encode the captured video event data into packets and wirelessly transmit the captured video event data to the at least one associated service provider;

the server is configured to receive the video event data encoded into the packets from the at least one associated service provider and package the encoded video; and

the one or more reporting and notification modules of the web application are configured to aggregate the packaged video event data and present the aggregated packaged video event data in a customizable video format to the end user operating an associated client computer accessing the web application by the web-based portal.

25. A driver safety monitoring system, comprising:

a first driver event data capture apparatus installed in a first vehicle of a fleet of vehicles, the first driver event data capture apparatus having an image capture module configured to capture images from a first camera and a first on-board computer connection module configured to record plural first event data associated with a first driver'"'"'s operation of the first vehicle;

a second driver event data capture apparatus installed in a second vehicle of the fleet of vehicles, the second driver event data capture apparatus having a second image capture module configured to capture images from a second camera and a second on-board computer connection module configured to record plural second event data associated with a second driver'"'"'s operation of the second vehicle;

a server configured to poll one or more third party service providers for first and second driver event data wirelessly transmitted from the first and second driver event data capture apparatus, combine the plural first event data associated with the first driver'"'"'s operation of the first vehicle into first hybrid event data, combine the plural second event data associated with the second driver'"'"'s operation of the second vehicle into second hybrid event data, and package the first and second hybrid event data for combined presentation on one or more web-based portals; and

a plurality of customizable reporting and notification modules configured to aggregate the packaged first and second hybrid event data and present the packaged first and second hybrid event data in a customizable format to an associated fleet manager end user in a form that permits the associated fleet manager end user to analyze and monitor a performance of the first and second drivers relative to each other by displaying a list of the first and second drivers and one or more plural event data types associated with each driver of the first and second drivers thereby allowing the associated fleet manager end user to analyze the packaged first and second hybrid event data and monitor performance of the first and second drivers in real time and regardless of which vehicle the first and second drivers has driven.

26. The driver safety monitoring system according to claim 25, wherein:

each said first and second driver event data capture apparatus installed in each first and second vehicle of the fleet of vehicles comprises at least one of an ABS system, a TPMS system, an ESP system, an ACC system, or any combination of an ABS system, a TPMS system, an ESP system, and an ACC system; and

,

each said first and second driver event data capture apparatus is configured to communicate directly with the server to wirelessly transmit data from the at least one of the ABS system, the TPMS system, the ESP system, and the ACC system to the server as the first and second driver event data.

27. A server architecture supporting a fleet management and driver safety monitoring system, comprising:

a plurality of connectors for communicating with one or more third party service providers to import;

first driver event data comprising a first data stream of numeric raw data, first video raw data, and first hybrid event data comprising combined first plural event data associated with a first driver'"'"'s operation of a first vehicle, wherein at least one of the first plural event data combined to form the first hybrid event data comprises following distance event data associated with the first driver'"'"'s operation of the first vehicle; and

second driver event data comprising a second data stream of numeric raw data, second video raw data, and second hybrid event data comprising combined second plural event data associated with a second driver'"'"'s operation of a second vehicle, wherein at least one of the second plural event data combined to form the second hybrid event data comprises following distance event data associated with the second driver'"'"'s operation of the second vehicle;

a decoder service decoding the first and second driver event data into specific, usable data for combined presentation of the decoded first and second driver event data to an end user, the first and second numeric raw data being parsed into an import service for processing and the first and second video raw data being parsed into a video file service for processing, the video file service storing and indexing video frames received as part of the video raw data a web application providing a user interface for fleet managers to access reports, schedule notifications, and perform other data analysis functions on the first and second driver event data; and

a database environment comprising a master database for storing fleet and charting information, a report database for storing processed on which reports are to be run, and an import state database for storing data needed by the import service for processing.