Motor vehicle operating data collection and analysis

• US 9,189,895 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney
• Application Number:
  US11/921,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,821 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/29.1, 701/29.4, 701/31.4, 701/35, 701117-119, 705/4, 348/148, 340439-444
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 method comprising:

recording, by a driving data recorder, vehicle speed data corresponding to a vehicle'"'"'s movement at periodic intervals;

detecting, by the driving data recorder, excess speed events when the vehicle speed data passes over a predetermined speed limit;

determining, by the driving data recorder, that time of day is after-sunset;

determining, by the driving data recorder, that the excess speed event occurred during the after-sunset time of day;

responsive to the determining that the excess speed event occurred during the after-sunset time of day, negatively adjusting a safety rating associated with the vehicle of a driver; and

recording, by the driving data recorder, the adjusted safety rating.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting, by the driving data recorder, that the vehicle is accelerating;

determining, by the driving data recorder, that the excess speed event occurred during acceleration of the vehicle; and

responsive to the determining that the excess speed event occurred during the acceleration of the vehicle, further adjusting a safety rating associated with a vehicle of a driver based on a magnitude of the acceleration of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the driving data recorder is a data collection system comprising electronic memory storage and central processing unit and is configured to interface with an on-board diagnostic port of the vehicle.