ELECTRONIC MONITORING SYSTEM ENABLING THE CALCULATION OF ACTUAL FUEL CONSUMPTION AND CO2 EMISSIONS FOR A MOVING, STOPPED OR OPERATIONAL AIRCRAFT, WITH OR WITHOUT FUEL THEFT EXCLUSION

• US 20120232777A1
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ADD (Amazing Deals & Discounts)
• Original Assignee: ADD (Amazing Deals & Discounts)
• Inventors: Elkaim, Eric, Heinry, Sylvain
• Granted Patent: US 8,600,653 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/004 Indicating the operating range of the engine economical driving B60R16/0236, F02B77/084; measuring liquid fuel of an engine G01F9/00
• 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 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic monitoring system enabling real fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions to be calculated for a machine in motion, stopped, or working, with optional exclusion of thefts of fuel, the system comprising both a sentinel onboard a machine that itself comprises at least an engine, a tank, an electrical power supply circuit, and also a non-mobile surveillance tool to which the onboard sentinel is suitable for being connected by wire or wireless means.

Claims

1. An electronic monitoring system enabling real fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions to be calculated for a machine in motion or stopped, with optional exclusion of thefts of fuel, the system comprising both a sentinel onboard a machine that itself includes at least an engine, a tank and an electrical power supply circuit, and also a non-mobile surveillance tool to which the onboard sentinel is suitable for being connected by wire or wireless means, wherein:

the onboard sentinel comprises;

at least one connector for connection to at least one dedicated fuel level sensor capable of producing quantitative measurements of the fuel level between a top wall and a bottom wall of the tank and for reception by the sentinel of fuel level data coming from this sensor, the dedicated sensor being calibrated before the electronic system enters service so that each output value of the sensor is associated on a one-to-one basis with a position of the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall of the tank and a precise volume of fuel remaining in the tank whatever the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall;

at least one clock suitable for providing time and date data;

at least one receiver for receiving geolocation data; and

at least one memory for storing successive rows of data comprising the fuel level data, the time and date data, and the geolocation data at a given time, with a periodicity in the range 1 s to 240 s;

the onboard sentinel is adapted to be powered by the electrical power supply circuit of the machine when the machine is operating and to be powered when the machine is not operating by an independent battery suitable for being charged while the machine is operating;

the onboard sentinel further comprises a data processor module that is capable of detecting a crop in fuel level at constant geographical position from successive stored rows of data and, if a drop in fuel level is detected at constant geographical position, i.e. for a machine that is stopped, that is capable of communicating an alert to the surveillance tool in real time or in deferred time when the sentinel is connected to the surveillance tool, the data processor module also being suitable for communicating rows of data to the surveillance tool;

the surveillance tool is suitable for connection to the onboard sentinel by wire or wireless means and comprises at least a memory for storing the alerts and the rows of data communicated by the onboard sentinel, a data processor unit, and a screen for displaying the alerts and the data communicated by the onboard sentinel;

the sentinel further comprises means for detecting the operating or non-operating state of the engine of the machine, the engine operating state data being included in the row of data to be processed by the data processor module in such a manner as to include the operating state data of the engine in the alert communicated to the surveillance tool; and

the surveillance tool thus determines she times with the engine running with the machine stopped and the times with the engine running with the machine in motion.

2. An electronic monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the operating state of the engine are chosen from a connection to a sensor placed at the excitation terminal of an alternator of the electrical power supply circuit of the machine, a connection to a connector on the bodywork providing the engine running information, a connection to the battery to measure the voltage difference across the terminals of the main battery, the data processor module knowing beforehand the voltage difference observed between an ON position of the ignition key and the voltage observed with the engine running.

3. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the data processor module of the sentinel is capable, from successive stored rows of data, of detecting a rise in fuel level at constant geographical position characteristic of topping up the tank and, if a rise in fuel level at constant geographical position is detected, of communicating in real time or in deferred time a dedicated signal to the surveillance tool to report the topping up.

4. An electronic system according to claim 3, wherein the surveillance tool further comprises a data entry interface enabling a user to enter external data relating to topping up the tank, the data processor unit being adapted to receive this entered external data to detect inconsistencies between the external data entered by the user and the signals specific to topping up as communicated by the onboard sentinel.

5. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the periodicity of storing rows of data is in the range 60 s to 120 s.

6. An electronic system according to claim 5, wherein the periodicity is in the range 85 s to 95 s.

7. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the sentinel further comprises a connector to be connected to at least one ignition key position detector and wherein the data from this detector is included in the row of data and is processed by the data processor module in such a manner as to include the ignition key position data in the alert communicated to the surveillance tool.

8. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the sentinel comprises a module for calibrating the fuel level sensor selected from ultrasound sensors and sensors using a float, calibration taking place before the electronic system enters into service and automatically associating on a one-to-one basis an output value of the sensor with each fuel level position between the top wall and the bottom wall of the tank and thus with a precise volume of fuel remaining in the tank.

9. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the data processor unit of the surveillance tool is adapted to calculate a real consumption of the machine from the stored rows of data.

10. An electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the data processor unit of the surveillance tool is adapted to calculate the carbon dioxide emission of the machine.

11. An electronic monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, for the machine having a working function ancillary to the operation of its engine, the sentinel comprises means for determining the operating state of this ancillary working function, the operating state data for the ancillary working function being included in the row of data, the surveillance tool thus determining times with the engine running with the machine stopped and working and times with the engine running with the machine stopped and not working.

12. An electronic monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the dedicated sensor presents a longitudinal body intended to be placed vertically in the tank and of adjustable length so as to be able to adapt to various tank sizes, a lever arm provided at its end with a float, the lever arm being hinged about an axis placed at the bottom end of the body, the position of the float corresponding to an analog resistance measurement produced by a potentiometer or ohmmeter placed under the path of the lever arm in the vicinity of the axis of the sensor, the value of the resistance of the potentiometer being variable as a function of the position of the lever arm as a result of the float floating on the surface of the fuel, the position of the float then being identified as a function of the output value from the potentiometer between two extreme values, known beforehand, corresponding to the tank full and the tank empty, following calibration in which the output value of the potentiometer is associated with a total volume in liters present in the tank.

13. An electronic monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the length of the lever arm may be modified as a function of the location at which the float is fastened and the location of the fastening axis on the body, installation of the sensor comprising two steps, a step of adjusting the length of the body so that it is equal to 50% of the diameter of the tank when it is cylindrical or 50% of the height of the tank when it is a square or rectangular cuboid, a step of adjusting the position of the float on the lever arm in such a manner that, when the arm of the float is in the tank full position, the top wall of the float is at the height of the top wall of the tank and in such a manner that, for the bottom position of the float, i.e. the lowest rotation position of the arm, the float touches the bottom wall of the tank.

14. A sentinel for installation on a machine that itself comprises at least one tank, an engine, and an electrical power supply circuit, and suitable for being connected by wire or wireless means to a non-mobile surveillance tool to produce an electronic system according to claim 1, the sentinel comprising:

at least one connector for the connection to at least one dedicated fuel level sensor capable of producing quantitative measurements of the fuel level between a top wall and a bottom wall of the tank and for reception by the sentinel of fuel level data coming from this sensor, the dedicated sensor being calibrated before the electronic system enters service so that each output value of the sensor is associated on a one-to-one basis with a position of the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall of the tank and with a precise volume of fuel remaining in the tank whatever the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall;

at least one clock suitable for providing time and date data;

at least one receiver for receiving geolocation data; and

at least one memory for storing successive rows of data, each comprising the fuel level data, the time and date data, and the geolocation data at a given time, with a periodicity in the range 1 s to 240 s;

the onboard sentinel is adapted to be powered by the electrical power supply circuit of the machine when the machine is operating and to be powered, when the machine is not operating, by an independent battery suitable for being charged while the machine is operating;

the onboard sentinel further comprises a data processor module that is capable of detecting a drop in fuel level at constant geographical position from successive stored rows of data and, if a drop in fuel level is detected at constant geographical position, i.e. for a machine that is stopped, that is capable of communicating an alert to the surveillance tool in real time or in deferred time when the sentinel is connected to the surveillance tool, the data processor module also being suitable for communicating rows of data to the surveillance tool;

the sentinel further comprises means for detecting the operating or non-operating state of the engine of the machine, the engine operating state data being included in the row of data to be processed by the data processor module in such a manner as to include the operating state data of the engine in the alert communicated to the surveillance tool.

15. A non-mobile surveillance tool suitable for being connected by wire or wireless means to an onboard sentinel according to claim 14, to produce an electronic system according to claim 1, and comprising at least one memory for storing the alerts and the rows of data communicated by the onboard sentinel from which it accesses times with the engine running when the machine is stopped and times with the engine running when the machine is in motion, and a screen for displaying the alerts and the data communicated by the onboard sentinel.

16. A monitoring method to be implemented both in a sentinel onboard on a machine, itself including at least an engine, a tank, and an electrical power supply circuit, and also in a non-mobile surveillance tool to which the onboard sentinel is suitable for being connected by wire or wireless means to produce an electronic system according to claim 1, comprising the following steps:

in the onboard sentinel;

calibrating at least one dedicated sensor before the electronic system enters service so that each output value from the sensor is associated on a one-to-one basis with a position of the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall of the tank, and with a precise volume of fuel remaining in the tank whatever the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall;

a step of reading a clock;

a step of connecting the sentinel via at least one connector to the dedicated fuel level sensor capable of producing quantitative measurements of fuel level between a top wall and a bottom wall of the tank and of the sentinel receiving fuel level data coming from this sensor;

a step of the sentinel receiving geolocation data;

a step of detecting the operating or non-operating state of the engine of the machine;

a step of storing in a memory of the sentinel successive rows of data comprising fuel level data, time and date data supplied by the clock of the sentinel, data from the operating or non-operating engine state sensor, and geolocation data at a given time with a periodicity in the range 1 s to 240 s;

a step of selecting a power supply on the basis of a criterion relating to operation of the electrical circuit of the machine, enabling the sentinel to be powered by the electrical power supply circuit of the machine when the machine is operating and, when the machine is not operating, to be powered by an independent battery suitable for being charged while the machine is operating;

a step performed in the sentinel of detecting a drop in fuel level at constant geographical position, i.e. for a machine that is stopped, by processing data from successive stored rows of data;

a step of the sentinel communicating an alert to the surveillance tool in real time or in deferred time when the sentinel is connected to the surveillance tool and a drop in level at constant geographical position has been detected;

a step of the sentinel communicating rows of data including engine operating state data to the surveillance tool;

in the surveillance tool;

a step of connecting to the onboard sentinel by wire or wireless means;

a step of storing in a memory of the surveillance tool alerts and rows of data communicated by the onboard sentinel;

a step of determining engine running times with the machine stopped and engine running times with the machine in motion; and

a step of displaying alerts and data communicated by the onboard sentinel.

17. A computer program product including instructions for executing the steps of the method according to claim 16 in the onboard sentinel when said program, is executed by a microprocessor in the onboard sentinel.

18. A computer program product including instructions for executing the steps of the method according to claim 16 in the surveillance tool when said program is executed by a microprocessor in a surveillance tool.

19. A computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program product according to claim 17 containing instructions for executing the steps of the method of claim 14 in the onboard sentinel.

20. A computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program product according to claim 15 containing instructions for executing the steps of the method of claim 15 in the surveillance tool.