Vehicle motion logger
First Claim
1. Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising:
- means for acquiring electrical information responsive to the motion of the vehicle;
means for classifying said information into a plurality of groups of data, with each group containing data about the motion of the vehicle which occurred between at least two stops of the vehicle;
memory means for storing data for later retrieval;
means for placing a plurality of said classified data groups into said memory means; and
means for merging together groups of classified data contained in said memory means, with said merging placing a group of data corresponding to a particular stop into the data of another group which corresponds to a stop of duration which is longer than said particular stop;
said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and method for logging data corresponding to the motion of a vehicle. Programmable variables in the logger are set when it is connected to a remote indicating device. The logger is then installed in the vehicle and connected to power and motion sensor lines. The logger monitors electrical signals from the motion sensor and determines the relative speed of the vehicle. Information is stored in the memory of the logger for each stop of the vehicle. Such information may include the maximum speed since the last stop, the distance, date, and time the maximum speed occurred, and the distance, date, time, and duration of the stop and any short intermediate stops. The logger contains circuitry for merging together information data groups for each stop in the memory, thereby allowing the longest stops to define the boundaries of the data information groups. After the information is stored in memory, the logger may be removed from the vehicle and reconnected to the remote indicating device for transfer of the memory data and for displaying or printing of the processed data.
92 Citations
19 Claims
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1. Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising:
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means for acquiring electrical information responsive to the motion of the vehicle; means for classifying said information into a plurality of groups of data, with each group containing data about the motion of the vehicle which occurred between at least two stops of the vehicle; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for placing a plurality of said classified data groups into said memory means; and means for merging together groups of classified data contained in said memory means, with said merging placing a group of data corresponding to a particular stop into the data of another group which corresponds to a stop of duration which is longer than said particular stop; said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the relative distance travelled and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said motion information which occurred between and during vehicle stops; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying the data group originally associated with the shortest stop; and means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing and indicating; said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for logging information about the motion of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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determining if the vehicle is moving or if it is stopped; acquiring information from a clock counter; storing data in a memory corresponding to the distance, date, time, and duration of each stop; merging the data between stops stored in the memory by incorporating the data corresponding to the shortest stop into another stop; and transferring the stored data to a calculating and indicating means; said merging of data dividing the memory into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the distance travelled, the maximum speed, and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said data groups in said memory means, said data groups containing motion information representative of the mileage, date, time, and duration of a vehicle stop, and the mileage, date, time, and magnitude of the maximum vehicle speed which occurred since the previous stop; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying a data group originally associated with the shortest stop and dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle; means for determining when the apparatus has been separated from its power source and for indicating such a condition in the stored data; means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing; and means for acquiring time, number of stops, and minimum stop length programing information from another device.
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Specification