EP1096430A2

EP1096430A2 - A system for the management of information relating to the use of a motor vehicle, in particular in the field of civil responsibility

Info

Publication number: EP1096430A2
Application number: EP00122856A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jole Maria Castellacci
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-10-22
Filing date: 2000-10-20
Publication date: 2001-05-02
Also published as: IT1314670B1; EP1096430A3; ITTO990916A1; ITTO990916A0

Abstract

A system is described for the management of information relating to the use of a motor vehicle and transfer of such information remotely. The system comprises:

a control device (DC) capable of being mounted on board the motor vehicle and coupled to an on board electronic control unit (ECU);
an electronic memory module (M) of the non-volatile memory type, possibly incorporated in the microprocessor card (SC), separate from the control device (DC) and capable of being coupled to it to receive the detected information as well as to make available to it a set of programming data; and
a display device (D) associated with the control device (DC) adapted to present a user of the system with the detected information and/or the programming data.

The microprocessor card (SC) is freely transportable and can be coupled, at another time, to a remote processor system to make available to it the information recorded and to receive the programming data.

The remote processing system can in this way interpret the detected information, for example the occurrence of the motor vehicle starting and turning off operations, and calculate on the basis of this information the effective time for which the vehicle has been in use and/or other correlated parameters. These parameters can be used to calculate the cost for a predetermined service provided to the motor vehicle user, for example the cost of an insurance policy, as a function of the effective time for which the vehicle has been in use.

Description

The present invention relates to a system for the management of information relating to the use of a motor vehicle, in particular in the field of civil responsibility, and more specifically a system for permitting the transfer of the said information remotely, for example for its subsequent processing.
In a number of applications relating to the control and/or supervision of the operation of a motor vehicle there is a need to know, and possibly process, data relating to the use of the motor vehicle itself, such as, for example, the occurrence of the starting operations, the effective time the vehicle has been in use, and others.
This data can easily be obtained by having available a system able conveniently to interface with the electronic control units which supervise the control of the on board systems (for example, ignition, fuel supply, transmission control, braking system, etc).
Current technology makes it possible to have available, at low cost, semi-conductor electronic memories of high integration density, able to store large quantities of such data in components of small size.
The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and economic system for the management of information relating to the use of a motor vehicle, in particular for the acquisition of such information and the remote transfer thereof, able to co-operate with the control units already present on board the vehicle, and having an easily transportable memory component.
According to the present invention this object is achieved by a system comprising, in combination:

a control device capable of being mounted on board the motor vehicle and coupled to an on board electronic control unit to acquire the said information;
memory means of non-volatile type, separate from the control device and capable of being coupled to it to receive the detected information as well as to make available to it a set of programming data,
the said memory means being freely transportable and capable of being coupled, at another time, to a remote processing system for acquiring and interpreting the said information and/or for storing in it the said set of programming data; and
display means associated with the control device and adapted to present the detected information and/or the programming data to a user of the system.

A system according to the invention can be used advantageously to allow the detection and recording of data indicative of the occurrence of the operations of starting and turning off of a vehicle, and subsequent processing thereof by a provider of services connected with the use of the vehicle, for example, in a preferred application, an insurance services provider.
The support on which this data is recorded may conveniently be a microprocessor or smart card, such as is today commonly used in the commercial environment by virtue of its simplicity of use and reliability.
A remote processing system with which the service supplier may be provided, for example a normal electronic processor conveniently equipped with hardware and software instruments for reading microprocessor cards, may read and interpret such data, calculating, for example, the effective time for which the vehicle has been in use and therefore the cost for a predetermined service provided to the proprietor (hereinafter identified equally as the user) of the motor vehicle, such as an insurance policy, as a function of this time.
The system according to the invention also makes it possible to display the information detected and recorded on the card during its period of use, together with a set of data which has been preliminarily stored on the card by its supplier, for example the expiry date of the insurance policy.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail in the following detailed description of an embodiment given purely by way of non-limitative example with reference to the attached drawing which is a schematic illustration of the components of the system of the invention.
A microprocessor control device suitable for installation on board a motor vehicle is indicated DC. It is operatively connected to an on board electronic control unit ECU, for example a unit which is in charge of controlling the ignition, via a cable C.
On one face of the device DC, which upon installation faces towards the user of the vehicle, there is provided a display D, for example of the six-character liquid crystal type, and a series of selector push buttons generally indicated P, the operation of which is indicated by means of associated pictograms.
The control device also has a slot F accessible to the user to allow the introduction thereinto of a microprocessor or smart card SC carrying a semi-conductor memory unit M of non-volatile type. Preferably this memory unit is of re-writable type to allow re-use of the cards for several operative cycles as will become clearer hereinafter. In a different embodiment the device DC need not have a slot for the introduction of the smart card, but may require that this is preliminarily secured within the device by the supplier.
In a currently preferred embodiment the control device DC is provided with an interface connector (not shown) provided for connecting to an external processor unit, in particular a unit for diagnosis of the system, via a serial connector. In this way the control device is arranged to allow the reading or writing of the card without requiring its removal.
The system described is advantageously intended to be used in the management of services associated with the use of the motor vehicle, such as, for example, insurance services.
The installation of the control device DC on the vehicle and its connection to the control unit ECU can be achieved simply by a specialised operator.
The microprocessor card SC can be provided to the vehicle proprietor by the services provider, who has preliminarily recorded on it a set of programming data such as, for example, a term during which the card is valid and within which it can be utilised.
In the system according to the invention the introduction of the card SC into the control device DC is a simple operation and can be completed without difficulty by the user of the vehicle. On the other hand the control device DC is arranged to retain the card within it and to prevent its removal at least during the validity term within which it can be utilised.
In the preferred mode of operation the system allows the acquisition from the electronic control unit ECU of information relating to the use of the vehicle, such as data indicative of the occurrence of the starting and turning off operations, and the recording of this information on the memory unit M.
The display D presents, on request by the user (via the push buttons) the information and/or programming data recorded on the memory unit of the card SC, such as, for example, the expiry of the validity term of the card itself (in the form of absolute date or remaining use time), the effective current time for which the vehicle has been in use, the indication of the expiry of the period of validity of the card (and of the insurance contract associated with it) and the necessity of replacement.
At the end of the validity period the card SC can be removed by a specialist operator and sent to the service supplier who provides for reading the information recorded thereon via its own processing system.
In this way the system can interpret the recorded data and calculate on the basis thereof the effective use time of the vehicle and/or other correlated parameters. These parameters may be used to calculate the cost for a predetermined service provided to the motor vehicle user, for example the cost of an insurance policy, as a function of the effective time for which the vehicle itself is in use.
The card can then be "recharged" for a new operating cycle.
In a preferred embodiment the control device DC is advantageously arranged to recognise an attempt at tampering with the system by uncoupling the device itself from the control unit ECU on board the vehicle (by disconnecting or cutting the cable C). In fact, if such circumstances arise, the control device is arranged to assume as the last detected item of information that the motor vehicle has been put in operation (even if it has not) making the attempt at tampering useless, but rather penalising the possible cheat as it would record on the memory unit of the card, by virtue of this, information such as to cause, in the last analysis, calculation of a use time of the vehicle even greater than would occur with a correct use of the system.
The system according to the invention is advantageously used in the management of an insurance plan relating to an obligatory insurance contract for civil responsibility for motor vehicles. Thanks to the system proposed the insurance premium can be determined, for example, by the sum of a fixed basic amount (for vehicles which are not in motion) and a variable amount as a function of the effective time for which the vehicle is in use during the period of validity of the contract.
For administration of such an insurance plan the insurance company providing the service can make available to its clients a microprocessor card of the type described, which the client will have to take care to insert into the control device previously installed on his motor vehicle. The validity of the card is made to correspond to the duration of the insurance contract relating to the card itself. For example, the insurance company can provide a contract comprising a fixed annual amount and a variable amount relating to three months use of the vehicle to be used up within the year of validity of the contract.
The memory unit with which the card is provided records, during the period of use, all the starting and turning off operations on the vehicle. The vehicle user, thanks to the display, can read this information or watch the expiry of his insurance policy, for example by displaying the minutes or quarters of an hour still left available within the term of validity.
The arrangements provided for recognising tampering of the device mounted on the vehicle and to prevent deliberate removal of the microprocessor card allows the insurance company to safeguard itself against attempts at fraud as previously described.
Upon expiry of the insurance period, the card (or the entire control device) is made available to the insurance company. This can occur within a short period of time (for example a fortnight) of "extra" operation for which the card was programmed, which may subsequently be deducted in the reprogramming of the same card to renew the insurance contract. The information recorded can be read and processed by means of a normal personal computer equipped with an appropriate interface and communications software to calculate the effective cost of the policy, or at least of the variable amount, as a function of the effective time for which the vehicle has been in use.
The possibility of having available certain data useful for acquisition of the exact dynamics of a possible accident can make the evaluation of costs of accidents a more accurate reflection of the truth and without possibility of trickery and fraudulent burdens towands of the insurance companies.
Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the embodiments and details of construction can be widely varied with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of non-limitative example, without by this departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A system for the management of information relating to the use of a motor vehicle, adapted to permit the transfer of the said information remotely, comprising, in combination:

a control device (DC) which can be mounted on board the motor vehicle and coupled to an on board electronic control unit (ECU) for acquiring the said information;

memory means (M) of non-volatile memory type, separate from the control device (DC) and capable of being coupled to it to receive the detected information, as well as to make available to it a set of programming data,
the said memory means (M) being freely transportable and capable of being coupled, at another time, to a remote processing system adapted to acquire and interpret the said information and/or to store in it the said set of programming data; and

display means (D) associated with the control device (DC) and adapted to present a user of the system with the detected information and/or programming data.
A system according to Claim 1, characterised in that the said memory means comprise a re-writable semi-conductor memory (M).
A system according to Claim 1, characterised in that the information relating to the use of the motor vehicle comprises data indicative of the occurrence of the starting and turning off operations of the motor vehicle.
A system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the set of programming data comprises at least one time period within which the said memory means (M) can be utilised.
A system according to Claim 4, characterised in that the said memory means (M) are associated with a microprocessor card (SC) which can be inserted into the control device (DC) and which is capable of being retained therein in a non-removable manner at least for the time period during which the said memory means (M) can be utilised.
A system according to Claim 1, characterised in that the said control device (DC) further comprises selection means (P) operable by the user and adapted to allow a choice of information and/or programming data to be displayed.
A system according to Claim 3, characterised in that the control device (DC) is arranged to sense uncoupling from the electronic control unit (ECU) on board the motor vehicle and, in the event of such circumstance occurring, to assume that the last information detected is information on starting the motor vehicle.
A system according to Claim 1, characterised in that the said control device (DC) includes interface means arranged for coupling to an external processor unit, in particular a unit for diagnosis of the system, via a serial connection.