Fleet manager based vehicle control

• US 10,847,037 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2018
• Issued: 11/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Speedgauge Incorporated (Pelmorex, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Speedgauge Incorporated (Pelmorex, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hubbard, Jonathan, Kantarjiev, Christopher A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elchanti, Hussein
• Application Number:
  US16/124,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20190005825A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/00 Input parameters relating to infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A fleet manager may communicate desired driving behavior, including maximum speed, desired route, areas to avoid, and other information to operators of vehicles in the fleet. The communication may be via an application on a mobile device, vehicle computer, or other device associated with each driver or vehicle. In operation, an administrator, such as, for example, a fleet manager, may communicate instructions to one or more vehicles, for example a vehicle of a fleet of vehicles.

Claims

1. A system for vehicle control, the system comprising:

a positioning receiver that identifies a location of a vehicle while the vehicle includes a type of cargo;

a memory that stores thoroughfare information that corresponds to a plurality of thoroughfares;

a communication transceiver that receives a first message from a server, the first message identifying a geographic area of a type of area; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor executes instructions also stored in the memory, wherein execution of the instructions causes the processor to;

identify a destination,

identify a risk associated with the type of cargo to the geographic area based on the type of area,

generate a route along a subset of the plurality of thoroughfares from the location of the vehicle to the destination based on the risk, the route avoiding the risk by avoiding the geographic area identified in the first message from the server while the vehicle includes the type of cargo, and

output a second message associated with directing the vehicle along the route based on the risk.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor causes the processor to further identify a real-time condition associated with the vehicle, wherein the second message is output to an operator of the vehicle and directs the operator to avoid the geographic area based on the real-time condition.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising an output device that outputs an alert automatically in response to an indication that the vehicle has failed to avoid the geographic area, the alert providing instructions to an operator regarding control of the vehicle.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the area type is associated with a speed limit.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the type of area is associated with a road condition.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic area includes a structure, and wherein the type of area is associated with the structure.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the route avoids the geographic area by at least a distance.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the geographic area comprises a second plurality of thoroughfares that are included among the plurality of thoroughfares.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication transceiver further transmits a report to the server, the report identifying the vehicle.

10. A method for vehicle control, the method comprising:

identifying a location of a vehicle via a positioning receiver while the vehicle includes a type of cargo;

storing thoroughfare information that corresponds to a plurality of thoroughfares;

receiving a first message from a server, the first message identifying a geographic area of a type of area;

identifying a destination;

identifying a risk associated with the type of cargo to the geographic area based on the type of area,

generating a route along a subset of the plurality of thoroughfares from the location of the vehicle to the destination based on the risk, the route avoiding the risk by avoiding the geographic area identified in the first message from the server while the vehicle includes the type of cargo, and

outputting a second message associated with directing the vehicle along the route based on the risk.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising identifying a real-time condition associated with the vehicle, wherein the second message is output to an operator of the vehicle and directs the operator to avoid the geographic area by a distance based on the real-time condition.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising outputting an alert automatically in response to identifying that the vehicle has failed to avoid the geographic area, the alert providing instructions to an operator regarding control of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the type of area is associated with a speed limit.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the type of area is associated with a road condition.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting a report to the server, the report identifying the vehicle and an operator of the vehicle.

16. A method for vehicle control, the method comprising:

identifying a location of a vehicle via a positioning receiver while the vehicle includes a type of cargo;

storing thoroughfare information that corresponds to a plurality of thoroughfares;

receiving a message from a server, the message identifying a geographic area of a type of area;

identifying a destination;

identifying a risk associated with the type of cargo to the geographic area based on the type of area;

generating a route along a subset of the plurality of thoroughfares based on the risk, the route avoiding the risk by avoiding the geographic area identified in the message from the server while the vehicle includes the type of cargo;

identifying, based on the location of the vehicle, that the vehicle has failed to avoid the geographic area; and

outputting an alert associated with directing the vehicle along the route based on the risk and the identification that the vehicle has failed to avoid the geographic area.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the alert is output automatically in response to identifying that the vehicle has failed to avoid the geographic area, the alert providing instructions to an operator regarding control of the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the geographic area includes a structure and the message identifies the geographic area at least in part by identifying the structure.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising identifying a second location of the vehicle via the positioning receiver before identifying the location of the vehicle, wherein the route is a path from the second location to a destination location.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the route avoids the geographic area identified in the message from the server.