MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATING DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

• US 20140358326A1
• Filed: 06/20/2014
• Published: 12/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Phelan, Joseph Patrick, Perquin, Johannes A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,269,202 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/107 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• 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 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• 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: G09B 19/162 Control of ships, boats, or other waterborne vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/165 Control of aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/167 : Control of land vehicles

Abstract

A method and apparatus for collecting and evaluating powered vehicle operation utilizing on-board diagnostic components and location determining components or systems. The invention creates one or more databases whereby identifiable behavior or evaluative characteristics can be analyzed or categorized. The evaluation can include predicting likely future events. The database can be correlated or evaluated with other databases for a wide variety of uses.

Claims

1. A driving evaluation computing device comprising

a processing unit comprising a processor;

a memory unit; and

a wireless receiver, wherein the driving evaluation computing device is configured to;

receive via the wireless receiver a first vehicle operational data collected by a vehicle data acquiring component of a first vehicle, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises time marked data acquired at regular periodic intervals by the vehicle data acquiring component, and wherein the vehicle data acquiring component comprises a mobile phone of a driver of the first vehicle;

evaluate the first vehicle operational data and determine a vehicle location and a first vehicle operation factor from the first vehicle operational data;

correlate the vehicle location to a geographic information system database and identify road information corresponding to the vehicle location;

compare the first vehicle operation factor to the road information and determine whether a driving violation has occurred; and

transmit in real-time a notification pertaining to the driving violation to a user device of a vehicle driver.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the user device is the mobile phone of the driver of the first vehicle.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is further configured to:

determine a severity level of the driving violation; and

determine a driver safety rating using the driving violation and the severity level of the driving violation; and

record in a driver profile associated with the first vehicle at least one of the driving violation, the severity level of the driving violation, and driver safety rating, wherein the driver profile is stored in a driver profile database.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at regular periodic intervals over a first road segment, the road information comprises a posted speed limit for the first road segment, and the driving violation comprises a speeding violation.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the device is further configured to determine a severity level of the speeding violation and calculate a driver safety rating using the severity level.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at regular periodic intervals over a first road segment, the road information comprises presence of a first stop sign in the first road segment, and the driving violation comprises a failure to stop at the first stop sign.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at regular periodic intervals over a first road segment, the road information comprises a road type, and the driving violation comprises an acceleration violation.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the vehicle data acquiring component further comprises a digital range finder.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at the regular periodic intervals and a distance between the first vehicle and a second vehicle ahead of the first vehicle acquired at the regular periodic intervals, the road information comprises a road type, and the driving violation comprises a tailgating violation.

10. The device of claim 1 further comprising an in-vehicle CPU, wherein the in-vehicle CPU is configured to evaluate the first vehicle operational data

11. A method for evaluating driving of a vehicle comprising:

receiving via a wireless receiver a first vehicle operational data collected by a vehicle data acquiring component of a first vehicle, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises time marked data acquired at regular periodic intervals by the vehicle data acquiring component, and wherein the vehicle data acquiring component comprises a mobile phone of a driver of the first vehicle;

evaluating the first vehicle operational data and determining a vehicle location and a first vehicle operation factor from the first vehicle operational data;

correlating the vehicle location to a geographic information system database and identifying road information corresponding to the vehicle location;

comparing the first vehicle operation factor to the road information and determining whether a driving violation has occurred; and

transmitting in real-time a notification pertaining to the driving violation to a user device of a driver of the first vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the user device is the mobile phone of the driver of the first vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

determining a severity level of the driving violation; and

determining a driver safety rating using the driving violation and the severity level of the driving violation; and

recording in a driver profile associated with the first vehicle at least one of the driving violation, the severity level of the driving violation, and driver safety rating, wherein the driver profile is stored in a driver profile database.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at regular periodic intervals over a first road segment, the road information comprises a posted speed limit for the first road segment, and the driving violation comprises a speeding violation.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining a severity level of the speeding violation and calculating a driver safety rating using the severity level.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed acquired at regular periodic intervals over a first road segment, the road information comprises presence of a first stop sign in the first road segment, and the driving violation comprises a failure to stop at the first stop sign.

17. A method for evaluating driving of a vehicle comprising:

receiving via the wireless receiver a first vehicle operational data collected by a vehicle data acquiring component of a first vehicle, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises time marked data acquired at regular periodic intervals by the vehicle data acquiring component, and wherein the vehicle data acquiring component comprises a digital range finder;

evaluating the first vehicle operational data and determining a first vehicle operation factor from the first vehicle operational data, wherein the first vehicle operational data comprises vehicle speed and a distance between the first vehicle and a second vehicle ahead of the first vehicle;

determining whether a tailgating violation has occurred using the first vehicle operation factor; and

recording in a driver profile associated with the first vehicle the tailgating violation.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising determining a driver safety rating using the tailgating violation.

19. The method of claim 17 transmitting in real-time a notification pertaining to the tailgating violation to a mobile phone of a driver of the first vehicle.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the steps of evaluating the first vehicle operational data, determining the first vehicle operation factor, and determining whether a tailgating violation has occurred is performed by an in-vehicle CPU.