Motor vehicle operating data collection and analysis

• US 9,196,098 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• 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 ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US14/087,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20140087335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/29.1, 701/29.4, 701/31.4, 701/35, 701117-119, 705/4, 340439-444, 348/148
• 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 driving data recorder comprising

an interface to an on-board diagnostic port of a vehicle;

a processing unit comprising a processor; and

a memory unit, wherein the driving data recorder is configured to;

receive, through the interface, vehicle speed data corresponding to a vehicle'"'"'s movement at regular periodic intervals;

detect an excess speed event when the vehicle speed data passes over a predetermined speed limit;

detect that time of day is after-sunset;

detect that the vehicle is accelerating;

determine, by the processing unit, that the excess speed event occurred both during the after-sunset time of day and during the acceleration of the vehicle;

responsive to the determining that the excess speed event occurred both during the after-sunset time of day and during the acceleration of the vehicle, negatively adjust a safety rating associated with the vehicle of a driver based on a magnitude of the acceleration of the vehicle; and

record, in the memory unit, the adjusted safety rating.

2. The driving data recorder of claim 1, further comprising a clock configured to detect time of day.

3. The driving data recorder of claim 1, further comprising a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver, wherein GPS data generated by the GPS receiver is used to calculate vehicle speed.

4. The driving data recorder of claim 3, wherein the memory unit stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the driving data recorder to:

receive, through the interface, the vehicle speed data corresponding to the vehicle'"'"'s movement at regular periodic intervals;

detect an excess speed event when the vehicle speed data passes over the predetermined speed limit;

detect that the time of day is after-sunset;

detect that the vehicle is accelerating;

determine, by the processing unit, that the excess speed event occurred both during the after-sunset time of day and during the acceleration of the vehicle;

responsive to the determining that the excess speed event occurred both during the after-sunset time of day and during the acceleration of the vehicle, negatively adjust the safety rating associated with the vehicle of the driver based on the magnitude of the acceleration of the vehicle;

record, in the memory unit, the adjusted safety rating;

receive the GPS data corresponding to the vehicle'"'"'s location;

infer vehicle speed from the GPS data; and

crosscheck integrity of the vehicle speed data against the vehicle speed inferred from the GPS data.

5. A method comprising:

receiving, by a driving data recorder through an on-board diagnostics port of a vehicle, vehicle speed at regular periodic intervals;

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

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

detecting, 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.

6. The method of claim 5, 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.

7. The method of claim 5, 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.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle speed data is derived from GPS data.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

uploading the vehicle speed data, by the driving data recorder, to a central server.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

recording, by a clock associated with the driving data recorder, time of day data.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining, by the driving data recorder, a time duration of excess speed events, wherein an excess speed event ends when the vehicle speed data falls below the predetermined speed limit;

determining, by the driving data recorder, a total duration of a trip;

evaluating the excess speed events, by the driving data recorder, based upon the total duration of the trip and a duration of the excess speed events; and

adjusting, by the driving data recorder, the safety rating associated with the vehicle of the driver.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, by a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver in communication with the driving data recorder, GPS data corresponding to the vehicle'"'"'s location;

inferring, by the driving data recorder, vehicle speed from the GPS data; and

crosschecking, by the driving data recorder, integrity of the vehicle speed data against the vehicle speed inferred from the GPS data.