System and method for monitoring operation of vehicles

• US 8,548,669 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: New Flyer Industries Canada ULC (NFI Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: New Flyer Industries Canada ULC (NFI Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Naylor, David Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): LANG, MICHAEL DEAN
• Application Number:
  US12/651,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20100174576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/29.1
• US Class Current: 701/29.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/00 Registering or indicating the working of vehicles
• 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

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and computer programming products useful for the gathering and use of data relating to structural loading and other operational use of transit and other vehicles, and their systems. Systems according to the invention can, for example, comprise one or more data acquisition devices such as strain gauges, accelerometers, or other sensors; data processors; memories; and communications systems. Such systems, methods, and programming are useful in a wide variety of ways, including, for example, monitoring the structural status and use of vehicles and their systems, including fatigue other operational analyses; gathering and applying data useful in the maintenance of such vehicles and the routes they travel; monitoring the use/abuse of such vehicles by operators and other individuals; reporting traffic events or anomalies; and routing transit and other vehicles around such events or anomalies. Rainflow, level-crossing and other peak-counting or event-counting algorithms are applied to advantage, such that required data storage is greatly reduced, and life-long monitoring is feasible.

Claims

1. A passenger bus comprising a system for acquiring data related to structural loading of the passenger bus during operation, the system comprising:

one or more sensors configured for sensing structural loadings caused by service operation of the passenger bus, and for providing corresponding output signals;

at least one data processor configured for applying an amplitude counting algorithm to count a number of times said output signals exceed specified amplitudes and to generate data representing peak structural loadings caused by the service operation of the passenger bus;

memory usable by the at least one data processor for storing only the generated data representing peak structural loadings.

2. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more accelerometers.

3. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more strain gauges.

4. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein the using said output signals to generate data representing peak structural loadings caused by operation of the passenger bus comprises counting reversals in peaks in said output signals of more than at least one predetermined threshold.

5. The passenger bus of claim 4, wherein the at least one predetermined threshold is programmable.

6. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein using said output signals to generate data representing peak structural loadings caused by operation of the passenger bus comprises application by said at least one data processor of a rainflow algorithm.

7. The passenger bus of claim 6, wherein structural loading data representing only post-processed rainflow count data is stored in said memory, for retrieval at any time during the passenger bus life.

8. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein data stored in said memory is accessible by at least one other data processor via a data bus installed in the passenger bus.

9. The passenger bus of claim 1, wherein a power mode of the device is controllable using a vehicle ignition input signal.

10. A passenger bus comprising a system for acquiring data related to service operation of the passenger bus, the system comprising:

one or more sensors configured for sensing one or more service operating conditions experienced by the passenger bus, and for providing corresponding output signals;

at least one data processor configured for using said output signals to generate data useful in recording operational use of the passenger bus, the output signals generated using at least one amplitude counting algorithm adapted to count a number of times said output signals exceed specified amplitudes to identify relevant operating history parameters and a duty cycle to which the bus has been exposed;

memory usable by the at least one data processor for storing data generated using the amplitude counting algorithm.

11. The passenger bus of claim 10, wherein the algorithm used to identify operating history parameters comprises a rainflow counting algorithm.

12. The passenger bus of claim 11, wherein the post-processed rainflow count data is stored in said memory, for retrieval at any time during the passenger bus life.

13. The passenger bus of claim 10, wherein the algorithm used to identify operating history parameters comprises a level-crossing algorithm, such that a complete duty cycle of at least one system of the passenger bus is recorded.

14. The passenger bus of claim 13, wherein the post-processed level-crossing data is stored in said memory, for retrieval at any time during passenger bus life.

15. A passenger bus comprising a system for acquiring data related to service operation of a passenger bus system, the system for acquiring data comprising a plurality of data acquisition devices, at least one data processor, an on-board data communication system, and memory accessible by the at least one data processor;

each of the plurality of data acquisition devices comprising one or more sensors configured for sensing service operating conditions of at least one passenger bus system, and for providing corresponding output signals;

the at least one data processor configured for using said output signals to generate data useful in recording operational use of the passenger bus system, the output signals generated using at least one amplitude-counting algorithm adapted to count a number of times said output signals exceed specified amplitudes and thereby to identify relevant operating history parameters;

the on-board data communication system configured for communication of the output signals and the data useful in recording service operational use of the passenger bus system between the plurality of data acquisition devices, the at least one data processor, and the memory usable by the at least one data processor.