WO2006008527A2

WO2006008527A2 - Improved digital tachograph system

Info

Publication number: WO2006008527A2
Application number: PCT/GB2005/002853
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francis John Steele
Original assignee: Digy Holdings Limited
Priority date: 2004-07-20
Filing date: 2005-07-20
Publication date: 2006-01-26
Also published as: WO2006008527A3; GB0416196D0; GB2416421B; GB2416421A

Abstract

A digital tachograph (10) is described having a vehicle unit (12), a speed sensor (14), a smart card interface (18), a display (20), a communications interface (22) and an alarm (24). The tachograph may read data from and/or write data to a smart card inserted into the smart card interface (18). In one embodiment, the smart card stores data regarding a person requesting permission to drive a vehicle, wherein the digital tachograph comprises means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met. The tachograph may communicate with a remote server (26) via the communications link. The tachograph may communicate with a driver via the display (20) and the alarm (24).

Description

Improved Digital Tachograph System

The present invention relates to digital tachograph systems and transport management aid systems including digital tachographs.

A tachometer is a device that measures the revolutions per minute of a shaft via an attached sensor: a tachograph is a device that records measurements made by a tachometer. The use of tachometers and tachographs is well established in the automotive industry, in particular for commercial vehicles, such as heavy goods vehicles, 3.5 tons light commercial vehicles, business vehicles and public service vehicles.

A number of analogue tachographs are available that can be used to record the usage of a vehicle. For example, known analogue tachographs can record the driving hours of a driver and the speeds and distances travelled. Typically, analogue tachographs record data such as the user' s name, the user's period of duty, start and finish times and start and finish odometer readings on a waxed paper disc, or a tachograph chart.

Recently digital tachographs have been developed. A digital tachograph gathers information relating to the usage of the vehicle, such as driving hours, distance travelled, start times, finish times, rest times, driver name, starting location and finishing location and stores this data electronically. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the parts of an exemplary digital tachograph. As shown in Figure 1, the digital tachograph is indicated generally by the reference numeral 2 and comprises a speed sensor 4, a vehicle unit 6 and an electronic speedometer 8. The vehicle unit 6 contains a microprocessor and associated memory and receives data relating to the current speed of the vehicle from the speed sensor 4. The vehicle unit 6 stores the data locally for later use and provides data relating to the current speed of the vehicle to the electronic speedometer 8 for display to the driver.

One intended purpose of the digital tachograph is to make it more difficult for an unscrupulous user to manipulate the data stored than is the case with known analogue tachographs .

A range of transport management systems exits. These typically take the form of software programs including features such as route planning, transport modelling, fleet management, vehicle tracking, fleet running costs and servicing records . Managing vehicles and drivers is a key- component of any logistics business and transport management systems offer at least some assistance with these tasks.

Some fleet management systems provide facilities for contacting drivers by text message, recording delivery times, analysing how a driver uses a vehicle and determining whether a vehicle has been operated within accepted working parameters. One problem with existing tachographs and fleet management systems is that they are reliant of manual input, and are therefore open to error and abuse.

In the European Union, the Working Time Directive has serious implications for the transport and logistics industry. Other similar laws apply in other areas of the world.

The Working Time Directive and other laws applicable in the United Kingdom include enforceable rules relating to inter alia:

1. Drivers' qualifications, including their medical fitness to work as a driver;

2. The maximum amount of duty time, that being the total amount of time that a driver spends at work on any given 24- hour period and any given 7-day period within the legal working week;

3. The maximum number of hours a driver is allowed to work during a continuous rolling 17-week reference period;

4. The maximum number of hours a driver is allowed to work during a period defined as Night Work (defined by law as being between 23:00 hours and 06:00 hours);

5. The maximum number of hours a driver is allowed to drive in any 24-hour period;

6. The maximum amount of time a driver is allowed to drive before taking a compulsory rest break;

7. The minimum length of a driver's compulsory driving duty rest break, and the intervals in which such rest breaks must be taken; -A-

8. The maximum number of hours a driver is allowed to drive in any single week and average two-week period;

9. The minimum amount of rest a driver must take between duty or "at work" days;

10. The minimum amount of rest a driver must take between duty weeks;

11. The procedures a driver must follow when driving a vehicle that is fitted with a standard or digital tachograph;

12. The application and safe-keeping of tachograph chart records to ensure drivers do not break the law. All charts must be available for inspection by an authorised person, such as a Vehicle Inspectorate employee or a police officer, on request; and

13. The strict discipline and procedures that a road transport operator must adhere to when operating goods vehicles and drivers in relation to the above requirements.

Furthermore, in the European Union and worldwide, transport companies have a legal duty to keep and maintain a wide range of written records. One such record relates to a driver's Weekly Running Sheet, which should include:

1. Driver name

2. Start duty date and time;

3. Vehicle registration number and, where applicable, trailer number;

3. Vehicle and trailer roadworthiness checks;

4. Vehicle and trailer servicing records;

5. Vehicle and trailer plating records;

6. Vehicle fuel records;

7. Vehicle and trailer faults/V.O.R record; 8. Daily start location and odometer reading;

9. Destination collection/delivery point;

10. Significant delays at collection/delivery points;

11. Delivery/collection note number and consignment details;

12. P.O.D. delivery/collection note number;

13. Finish location and odometer reading;

14. Total distance travelled;

15. Finish duty date and time;

16. Total daily and weekly duty time;

17. Total daily and weekly driving hours; and

18. Full details of compulsory daily and weekly duty rest breaks.

19. Vehicle accident report; and

20. Report on any breaches of the law by a driver.

Existing tachographs and transport management systems can be used to gather the data outlined above. However, there are a number of problems with existing systems.

As legislation increasingly regulates what drivers can and cannot do, there will inevitably be a reduction in the number of driver-hours that are available from a given number of drivers, as well as a reduction in the flexibility of each driver. It follows that there is a demand for systems that enable transport and logistics industries to use the available driver-hours in a more efficient manner. The present transport management systems are deficient for a number of reasons. First, they rely on manual input which is often inaccurate and is often provided after the event. Second, they do not readily allow real-time updating of the data. Prediction and planning is a key part of any logistics operation. The lack of sufficient data available in real¬ time makes prediction and planning difficult, and prevents logistics managers from being able to rapidly react to changing circumstances. Circumstances could change for a variety of reasons, for example, a driver may be delayed in traffic congestion, or a driver may not arrive for work, perhaps due to illness. A logistics operation should be flexible enough to re-allocate the available resources in an efficient manner as such problems arise.

Laws are often broken through a lack of awareness of the law, either on the part of drivers, on the part of logistics managers, or both. Transport management systems that simply collate data, particularly if data is collated after the events that they relate to, do not assist in preventing such inadvertent breaches of the law.

Law enforcement agencies require access to driver and vehicle records on demand. It would be useful if this could be provided immediately, in real-time.

Tachograph systems enable driver and vehicle data to be recorded. However, such systems are open to abuse in a number of ways. Schemes for deliberately abusing the controls intended to be enforced by tachographs known to the inventor include:

1. Altering the time on the tachograph, for example by making use of a facility intended to enable the time to be changed twice-yearly to take account of daylight saving hours, in order to effectively extend the number of hours in a given day;

2. Disposing of a tachograph chart and replacing it with a new one so that the driver' s record for any particular journey can effectively start again.

3. Using a hand-written tachograph chart, claiming that the machine was faulty (or thought to be faulty) .

4. Bending the tachograph needle to manipulate the speed recorded. The inventor is aware of systems in which the needle can be bent so that the tachograph records a speed of 50 miles per hour, when the vehicle was in fact travelling at 100 miles per hour.

5. A driver writing the name of another driver on his tachograph chart, for example the name of a driver previously employed via an agency.

6. Simple destruction of tachograph charts so that, if challenged, the company is charged with non-production of records, rather than breaches of the law.

7. Pressing buttons on a semi-digital tachograph in a certain sequence, or entering the menu of the machine to disable it from working.

It is extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies to detect and monitor the sort of abuses outlined above.

It is known to control access to the digital tachograph via one or more smart cards. A smart card typically comprises an embedded microprocessor having a small amount of associated memory storing data, often security related data. Since smart cards usually include memory, it is possible to use the memory of the smart card to store data relating to the use of the vehicle and smart cards can therefore be used as a replacement for the tachograph chart typically used with analogue tachographs.

At present, the European Union type approval brief states that the digital tachograph system must include four types of smart card: a driver card, a company card, a workshop card and a control card.

The driver card is for use by drivers, who will insert their card into an office-based reader, the machine within the vehicle or both prior to commencing a duty period or a journey and confirm their identity. Data relating to hours worked, hours of driving, periods of driving, daily and weekly rest breaks taken, distances travelled and driving speeds will be recorded.

The company card is intended to be used by operators to download data from a vehicle unit.

The workshop card will be available to approved workshop centres; without such a card, it will not be possible to carry out any work on the digital tachograph or the vehicle.

The control card will be available to enforcement agencies, such as the Police.

The use of smart cards seeks to address some of the problems identified with prior art systems, but the inventor has identified a number of problems with the proposed digital tachographs, as identified below: 1. Although some security issues have been addressed, the proposed systems make little or no attempt to verify the identity of the driver, in particular to ensure that the driver to whom a particular smart card has been issued is in fact the person driving the vehicle. In systems where a PIN code is associated with a particular smart card, a driver can easily use another driver' s smart card if he knows that person's PIN code.

2. The proposed systems are heavily reliant on manual input of information.

3. One form of manual input required in some systems is a place code used to identify the location of the vehicle, for example the start or finish location. Many drivers will not bother to find out place codes, especially if this requires checking through large amounts of paperwork. Such drivers will tend to use codes that they know will enable them to continue driving, regardless of the locations associated with those codes.

4. Smart cards are easily lost. The data stored on the cards is therefore also lost.

5. In most haulage companies, vehicles are away from a central depot for extended periods. Proposed systems do not allow data recorded by the digital tachometer to be processed or checked until the vehicle returns to that depot.

Systems exist that can detect some breaches of the law. However, detecting that a breach has occurred does not prevent that breach from happening. In the case of speeding, no charge may be brought retrospectively, even though the evidence is available. The inventor has realised that it would be a useful security- feature to prevent a vehicle from being driven unless one or more security requirements have been met. The security requirements could include one or more of the identity of the driver, the insurance and tax status of the vehicle, the level of the license of the driver, whether the driver is banned, the weight of the vehicle, the hours worked by the driver and the tyre pressure of the vehicle could be made.

As noted above, traffic management systems exist that rely on manual input from a driver. Such systems are clearly open to abuse and are all subject to more innocent errors, either through mistake, or through a lack of understanding of how the systems work. It would be advantageous to provide systems with at least some automation.

The present invention seeks to overcome or address one or more of the problems identified above.

The present invention provides a digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein the electronic information carrier stores information regarding a person requesting permission to drive a vehicle, wherein the digital tachograph comprises means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met. This provides a significant security feature which prevents unauthorised users from using the vehicle and prevents authorised users from using the vehicle in certain circumstances. A remote server, such as that of a logistics manager, may be informed whenever operation of the vehicle is prevented. The present invention also provides a digital tachograph comprising a communications interface arranged to communicate, in real-time, with a remote server. The digital tachograph may be arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier. As described below, access to remote, real-time data is of significant value, both to logistics businesses and to law enforcement agencies. The communications link may take one of many forms. The communications link may, for example, make use of mobile telephone, mobile internet or satellite communications technology. Remote access to real-time data is of significant use, both to logistics companies and to law enforcement agencies .

The present invention further provides a digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein: the electronic information carrier stores data relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle; and the digital tachograph is arranged to automatically record data relating to the driver and any journeys made by the driver. This arrangement substantially reduces, or eliminates the need for manual input of data by the driver. This prevents or substantially reduces the possibility of incorrect data being recorded, whether through the laziness of the operator, thorough a lack of understanding of how data should be recorded, or maliciously.

The present invention yet further provides a digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein: the electronic information carrier stores data relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle; the digital tachograph further comprises an output to an alarm system to indicate when a compulsory driver rest break will shortly be required. Thus, the invention is predictive in the sense that it warns of future break requirements, rather than merely recording breaches of the relevant regulations.

The present invention also provides a digital tachograph having an input connectable to a gear box and an input connectable to a CAN bus of a vehicle, with either input being able to obtain data relating to the speed of travel of the vehicle. This provides significant flexibility, which is particular useful for tachographs intended to be fitted into existing vehicles.

In one form of the invention, tachograph data is written to the electronic information carrier. In this form of the invention, the electronic information carrier must have sufficient memory to store the required amount of data. The memory size would, of course, be dependent on the quantity of data required to be stored. For example, a smart card might be issued to a driver and intended to store data relating to one day of driving. This might be appropriate if the card were considered to be a backup to a main data store. Alternatively, the card could be intended to store a number of months or years worth of data, in which case the memory would have to be significantly larger. Such a requirement might be appropriate if the card were intended to be the primary store of data relating to a particular user. In one exemplary form of the invention, the smart card is a flash memory card and is arranged to store up to 28 days worth of data in normal use. After that time, the card simply over-writes existing data. The memory device could be an FRAM memory device.

In some forms of the invention, the digital tachograph includes means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met. The said one or more conditions may include one or more of the following:

1. Whether a/the person requesting permission to drive the vehicle is authorised to drive the vehicle. The identity of the person can be indicated on the electronic information carrier unique to the driver.

2. Whether the vehicle is suitably insured.

3. Whether the vehicle is suitably taxed.

4. Whether the level of the license of the driver is sufficient to drive the vehicle. Again, this information can be provided on an electronic information carrier unique to the driver.

5. Whether the driver is banned from driving the relevant class of vehicle. Again, this information can be provided on an electronic information carrier unique to the driver.

6. Whether the weight of the vehicle is within specified limits;

7. Whether the hours worked by the driver enable said driver to legally drive the vehicle, as recorded on the driver's electronic information carrier; and

8. Whether the tyre pressure of each tyre of the vehicle is within specified limits. In some forms of the invention, said one or more conditions can be altered by said remote server. This enables updates to be readily made to the system and, by making use of wireless communications, may not even require the vehicle to be present when the updates are made. This vastly increases the flexibility of tachograph systems and simplifies system upgrade procedures.

In some forms of the invention, data relating to whether said vehicle and/or said driver meet said one or more conditions is uploaded to said remote server. The uploading of such information may take place automatically, for example when certain pre-defined conditions are met. Such an arrangement enables a central fleet manager to be informed immediately when a tachograph identifies a problem. This arrangement can be fully automated so that the driver does not need to do anything in order for a central fleet manager to be informed of a problem.

The digital tachograph may comprise a communications interface arranged to communicate, in real-time, with a remote server. The communications link may take one of many forms. The link may, for example, make use of mobile telephone, mobile internet or satellite communications technology. Remote access to real-time data is of significant use, both to logistics companies and to law enforcement agencies.

The said electronic information carrier may store information relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle. Such information may include the identity of the driver, the qualifications of the driver, whether the driver is temporarily or permanently excluded from driving certain classes of vehicle, daily, weekly and annual driving and duty times for the driver, and break times taken by the driver.

The said electronic information carrier may store information relating to the use of a vehicle. This information may include distances travelled by the vehicle as well as times and locations of those journeys, servicing, insurance and tax details of the vehicle, and vehicle status checks, such as tyre pressure readings.

In forms of the invention in which the digital tachograph is in communication with a remote server, that remote server may be accessible by a central fleet manager and/or a law enforcement agency. Further, such communications may be provided via a wireless connection, thereby enabling a central fleet manager or a law enforcement official to obtain data relating to a particular vehicle and/or a particular driver, even when that vehicle/driver is/are not present. For the central fleet manager, such an arrangement makes logistics planning simpler and better able to react to changing circumstances. Such an arrangement makes the work of law enforcement agencies quicker, easier and more efficient.

In one form of the invention, the electronic information carrier is a smart card.

The digital tachograph may comprise means for receiving two electronic information carriers at any one time. This is useful in circumstances where two drivers share the driving of a single vehicle.

The present invention also provides a display for a digital tachograph, wherein the display includes pages of information that are accessible to the driver only when the digital tachograph indicates that the vehicle with which it is associated is parked. This can be used to give the driver access to a large amount of data, whilst preventing the driver from accessing such data when driving, which access could be distracting.

The present invention further provides a method of preventing the operation of a vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met, the method comprising the step of obtaining data regarding a person requesting permission to drive the vehicle from data stored on an electronic information carrier.

The said one or more conditions may include one or more of: whether a/the person requesting permission to drive the vehicle is authorised to drive the vehicle; whether the vehicle is suitably insured; whether the vehicle is suitably taxed; whether the level of the license of the driver is sufficient to drive the vehicle; whether the driver is banned from driving the relevant class of vehicle; whether the weight of the vehicle is within specified limits; whether the hours worked by the driver enable said driver to legally drive the vehicle; and whether the tyre pressure of each tyre of the vehicle is within specified limits.

The present invention further provides a method of preventing the need for manual input of data by a driver to a digital tachograph, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining data relating to said driver from an electronic information carrier inserted into an interface of a tachograph; automatically writing data relating to the driver and any journeys made by the driver to said electronic information carrier.

The present invention yet further provides a method of indicating when a compulsory rest break is required by a driver of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining data relating to the driver' s working and driving hours from data stored on an electronic information carrier inserted into an interface of a tachograph; calculating the time at which a compulsory rest break will be required; outputting a signal to an alarm system shortly before the next compulsory rest break is required.

The present invention also provides a method of displaying digital tachograph data using a display, wherein the display includes pages of information that are accessible to the driver only when a digital tachograph indicates that the vehicle with which it is associated is parked.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings of which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a known digital tachograph;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a digital tachograph in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a block diagram of a communications system used in an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 shows an exemplary display used in an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a flow chart demonstrating an algorithm for using the digital tachograph of Figure 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a flow chart giving further details of a step of the algorithm shown in Figure 5 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 7 is a flow chart giving further details of a step of the algorithm shown in Figure 5 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a digital tachograph, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, comprising a vehicle unit 12, a speed sensor 14, a smart card interface 18, a display 20, a communications interface 22 and an alarm 24. The communications interface 22 communicates with a remote computer 26. The remote computer 26 may, for example, be located at the office of a logistics company.

In a similar manner to the known system described with reference to Figure 1, the vehicle unit 12 of the digital tachograph 10 receives data relating to the current speed of the vehicle from the speed sensor 14 and provides data relating to the current speed of the vehicle to the display 20 for display to the driver.

The vehicle unit 12 also receives data from the smart card interface 18. The smart card interface reads data stored on a smart card relating to the person authorised to drive the vehicle in which the tachograph 10 is installed. Data relating to the use of the tachograph 10 is stored on the smart card via the smart card interface 18 and can also be communicated to the remote computer 26.

The vehicle unit 12 is the hub of the tachograph 10, communicating with the speed sensor 14, the smart card interface 18, the display 20 and the remote computer 26 via the communications system 22.

Any interaction between the smart card interface and the office based reader unit before the driver enters a vehicle may be relatively straightforward, as the interaction will take the form of reading data stored on the driver' s smart card and writing data to that card. Similarly, the interaction between the smart card interface and the vehicle unit may also be relatively straightforward. This interaction can be viewed as an interaction between the driver and the tachometer. The interaction will almost certainly take the form of the vehicle unit reading data stored on the driver's smart card and writing data to that card, but may also take the form of the driver inputting data to the system, for example via a keypad.

The interaction between the vehicle unit 12 and the remote computer 26 takes place via communications system 22. The coinmunications link could take one of many forms. Two established forms that are suitable are mobile telephone technology and mobile internet technology.

The communications link could be implemented using existing mobile Internet infrastructure and technologies such as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) that is supported by many wireless networks. By way of example, Figure 3 is a block diagram of a communications system that makes use of a WAP gateway to connect the communications system 22 located at a vehicle to the Internet 102 via a WAP gateway 100, with the remote server 26 connecting to the Internet 102 via second WAP gateway 104.

Of course, many other communications links are possible. For example, satellite communications are known in which the communications system 22 communicates with a satellite service provider (SSP) , which in turn communicates with a destination site via a satellite, with the remote server 26 being in communication with the destination site. The skilled person would be aware of other communications links that could be used.

The provision of a communications system between the tachograph 10 and the remote computer 26 enables data to be read externally, in real time. This is clearly of enormous use to a logistics controller, who can access information regarding the position and use of a vehicle from a central office when that vehicle is in the field. This represents a significant improvement on many existing fleet management systems that rely on manually input data. In the system described above with respect to Figure 2, it has been assumed that the remote computer 26 is located at a fleet management office, but the communications system 22 is also able to communicate with other remote computers. For example, law enforcement agencies, such as vehicle inspection agencies or the police, may be given access to data stored at the vehicle unit 12 and/or the driver' s smart card inserted into the smart card interface 18. This access is real time and can even be remote, via the communications system 22.

The alarm 24 can be used to provide warning to the driver. For example, the alarm 24 can be used to inform the driver that, by law, he is required to take a rest break.

The vehicle unit 12 has access to the driver' s work record as stored on the driver' s smart card inserted into the smart card interface 18. The vehicle unit 12 is also provided with software for calculating when the various forms of breaks are required, in order to comply with the relevant legislation (e.g. European Union Driver Rules and Tachograph Regulation and the Working Time Directive discussed above) . An alarm could be sounded, for example, 30-minutes before a break is required.

The alarm could take many forms. For example, a voice message could be given. This would enable precise instructions regarding the nature of the break required to be given to the driver. Alternatives such as the use of a buzzer or a lamp will be apparent to the skilled person. It should be noted that providing an alarm in audible form may be considered safer than providing a visual signal to the driver.

The speed sensor 14 may obtain the speed that the vehicle is travelling in a number of ways. For example, the speed sensor may derive information from the Controller Area Network (CAN) , a rugged serial bus that is often used for in-vehicle networks in vehicles. Alternatively, the speed sensor may obtain the required data directly from the gear box or from being placed elsewhere on the vehicle. In one embodiment of the invention, a choice of input can be made. This is advantageous since it makes the system more flexible and is particularly useful for incorporating the tachograph system into an existing vehicle.

The tachograph 10 includes a display 20. During the use of the vehicle, the display 20 provides a visual indication of the speed of the vehicle. This could take many forms, such as a dial or a bar chart. Figure 4 shows an exemplary display including a speed indication and also including other basic information such as driver name, vehicle registration, date and start and finish odometer readings.

The display could also be used for displaying a wide range of information, such as tyre pressures, vehicle fuel intake, read mapping telematics, duty start time, duty finish time, total duty time day, next duty start time, remaining weekly duty time, total weekly duty time, driving period start time, driving period finish time, total daily driving time, total weekly driving time, remaining weekly driving time, total annual driving time, total annual driving time, details regarding a driver's annual holidays, bank holidays and sick leave, and details regarding the use of a particular vehicle and trailer. In one form of the invention, some or all of this information can be displayed on the display 20 under the control of the driver only when the vehicle is parked. Clearly, the display of such information when the vehicle is being driven is potentially distracting and therefore potentially dangerous.

The smart card may contain a variety of data relating to an individual driver. The vehicle unit 12 can gain access to this data. The vehicle unit 12 can also gain access to data relating to the vehicle itself. From this data, decisions can be made regarding whether the vehicle is fit to be driven and that the driver is fit and authorised to drive the vehicle.

Figure 5 is a flow chart, indicated generally by the reference numeral 40, showing an algorithm executed in an embodiment of the present invention on receiving a request to start the vehicle.

The algorithm 40 starts at step 42, where the vehicle unit 12 determines whether a smart card has been inserted into the smart card interface 18. If no smart card is detected, the algorithm moves to step 44, where the message "Insert Smart Card" is output to the driver, for example using the display 20 or via an audible instruction. The algorithm then returns to step 42.

When a smart card is detected in the smart card interface 18, the algorithm moves to step 46, which asks whether or not the driver is fit and authorised to drive the vehicle. This step could take many forms, as described further below. If the driver is deemed to be fit and authorised to drive the vehicle, the algorithm moves to step 48, which asks whether or not the vehicle is fit to be driven. Again, this step could take many forms, as described further below. Of course, the order of the steps 46 and 48 may be reversed.

If the vehicle is deemed fit to be driven, the algorithm 40 moves to step 50, from where the algorithm is terminated with a "PASS" output. If either of the steps 46 or 48 fail, the algorithm 40 moves to step 52, from where the algorithm is terminated with a "FAIL" output.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing one implementation of the step 46 in the algorithm 40 described above. Step 52 of the flow chart of Figure 6 is entered from step 42 of the algorithm 40. Step 52 asks whether the driver is licensed to driver the vehicle. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 54, which asks whether the driver is an authorised driver of the vehicle. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 56 which asks whether the driver' s working hours are such that he is currently permitted to drive the vehicle. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 58, which asks whether the driver has had a sufficient break as required by law that he is currently permitted to be on duty. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 48 of the algorithm 40 described above with reference to Figure 5.

If any of the tests of steps 52, 54, 56 or 58 results in a "no" answer, the algorithm of Figure 6 moves to step 52 of the algorithm 40. Figure 7 is a flow chart showing one implementation of the step 48 in the algorithm 40 described above. Step 60 of the flow chart of Figure 7 is entered from step 46 of the algorithm 40 (i.e. from the step 58 of the algorithm of Figure 6) . Step 60 asks whether the vehicle is appropriately taxed. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 62 which asks whether the vehicle is within specific weight limits. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 64 which asks whether the vehicle tyre pressures are within specified limits. If yes, the algorithm moves to step 50 of the algorithm 40 described above with reference to Figure 5.

If any of the tests of steps 60, 62 or 64 results in a "no" answer, the algorithm of Figure 7 moves to step 52 of the algorithm 40.

Of course, the steps described above with reference to Figures 6 and 7 are exemplary. Others steps could be added, any of the steps described could be omitted and the order of the steps could be changed. By way of example, the steps could include one or more of the following:

1. Whether the vehicle is appropriately taxed;

2. Whether the vehicle has a current Ministry of Transport Test Certificate for road worthiness;

3. Whether the vehicle is within specified weight limits;

4. Whether the vehicle tyre pressures are within specified limits;

5. Whether the driver is licensed to drive the vehicle;

6. Whether the driver is an authorised vehicle user;

7. Confirmation of the driver's identification; 8. Whether the driver is insured to drive the vehicle;

9. Whether the driver is banned from driving;

10. Whether the driver's working hours are such that he is currently permitted to use the vehicle;

11. Whether the driver's remaining driving hours are such that he is currently permitted to use the vehicle; and

12. Whether the driver has had sufficient break as required by law that he is currently permitted to be on duty.

Regardless of the tests used, if any of the tests fail, the vehicle is prevented from being driven. Preventing vehicle use unless a number of conditions are met clearly provides a significant security feature and can be used to prevent unauthorised drivers from using a vehicle. Such a system can also prevent drivers from breaking laws relating to the times at which they are allowed to drive and can prevent vehicles from being driven if they do not meet certain roadworthiness tests. Furthermore, these tests can be modified, for example by simple software upgrades, that could even be implemented when the vehicle is away from the central depot by making use of the communications system 22.

Another feature of the present invention is that the tachograph can be arranged so that no manual input is required by the driver, other than indicating the start of daily, weekly and driving rest breaks. Any necessary data can be obtained from the driver' s smart card and by taking measurements from vehicle sensors. For example, none of the twelve questions listed above require any input from the driver. Since no manual inputs are required, the scope for erroneous information to be input to the system, either in error, through laziness, or maliciously is reduced. It is further noted that the various tests outlined above may be carried out at many times, for example at the beginning of each working day, if the vehicle is away from the base depot for an extended period of time, or before the return journey to home base.

It is noted that since the system includes communications with a remote computer, any fail output provided by the algorithm 40 can be immediately transmitted to a central office. This will enable a company to be immediately notified should, for example, an unauthorised driver attempt to drive a vehicle. Similarly, some information, such as breaches of law, could be automatically communicated to an appropriate law enforcement agency in certain circumstances.

A variety of data relating to a particular journey can be stored on a driver's smart card. This data includes start and finish times, start and finish odometer readings, total distance travelled, route details, break times, details of any warnings given or breaches of the law (e.g. speeding), vehicle weight, and tyre pressures. It is noted that location details can be recorded without requiring operator input by making use of the well-known Global Positioning System (GPS) standard. In one embodiment of the present invention, a telematic system will pin-point the location of the vehicle at that exact moment.

It should be noted that whilst the present invention has generally been described with reference to commercial vehicles, such as heavy goods vehicles, the invention is applicable to any vehicle, including aircraft, heavy good — / « —

vehicles, commercial vehicles, cars, motorbikes, mopeds and scooters in various forms.

Further, whilst the invention has been described with reference to a single driver, the invention is also applicable to vehicles where there are two drivers. For example, a heavy goods vehicle may have two drivers, with one driver resting at any one time. A digital tachograph may be provided with two slots, with each driver inserting an electronic information carrier unique to that driver into a slot of the tachograph. Such a system may require each driver to uniquely identify themselves each time that the vehicle is used. In this way, data relating to a particular driver' s use of the vehicle would only be stored on that driver's electronic information carrier.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein the electronic information carrier stores information regarding a person requesting permission to drive a vehicle, wherein the digital tachograph comprises means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met.

2. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether said person is authorised to drive the vehicle.

3. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the vehicle is suitably insured.

4. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the vehicle is suitably taxed.

5. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the level of the license of the driver is sufficient to drive the vehicle.

6. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the driver is banned from driving the relevant class of vehicle.

7. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the weight of the vehicle is within specified limits.

8. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the hours worked by the driver enable said driver to legally drive the vehicle.

9. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said one or more conditions includes whether the tyre pressure of each tyre of the vehicle is within specified limits.

10. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a communications interface arranged to communicate, in real-time, with a remote server.

11. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 10, wherein said remote server is accessible by a central fleet manager.

12. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein said remote server is accessible by a law enforcement agency.

13. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein said one or more conditions can be altered by said remote server.

14. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein data relating to whether said vehicle and/or said driver meet said one or more conditions is uploaded to said remote server.

15. A digital tachograph comprising a communications interface arranged to communicate, in real-time, with a remote server.

16. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 15, arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier.

17. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 16, wherein said electronic information carrier stores information relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle.

18. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, wherein said electronic information carrier stores information relating to the use of a vehicle.

19. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein said remote server is accessible by a central fleet manager.

20. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein said remote server is accessible by a law enforcement agency.

21. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the digital tachograph comprising means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met.

22. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 21, wherein said one or more conditions can be altered by said remote server.

23. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 21 or claim 22, wherein data relating to whether said vehicle and/or said driver meet said one or more conditions is uploaded to said remote server.

24. A digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein: the electronic information carrier stores data relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle; and the digital tachograph is arranged to automatically record data relating to the driver and any journeys made by the driver.

25. A digital tachograph comprising an interface arranged to read data stored on an electronic information carrier, wherein: the electronic information carrier stores data relating to an authorised driver of a vehicle; the digital tachograph further comprises an output to an alarm system to indicate when a compulsory driver rest break will shortly be required.

26. A digital tachograph having an input connectable to a gear box and an input connectable to a CAN bus of a vehicle, with either input being able to obtain data relating to the speed of travel of the vehicle.

27. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the digital tachograph comprises means for preventing the operation of said vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met.

28. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 21, claim 22, claim 23 or claim 27, wherein said one or more conditions include one or more of: whether a/the person requesting permission to drive the vehicle is authorised to drive the vehicle; whether the vehicle is suitably insured; whether the vehicle is suitably taxed; whether the level of the license of the driver is sufficient to drive the vehicle; whether the driver is banned from driving the relevant class of vehicle; whether the weight of the vehicle is within specified limits; whether the hours worked by the driver enable said driver to legally drive the vehicle; and whether the tyre pressure of each tyre of the vehicle is within specified limits.

29. A digital tachograph as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 28, wherein said interface is arranged to communicate, in real-time, with a remote server.

30. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 29, wherein said remote server is accessible by a central fleet manager.

31. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 29 or claim 30, wherein said remote server is accessible by a law enforcement agency.

32. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a/the electronic information carrier stores information relating to the use of a vehicle.

33. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the digital tachograph is arranged to automatically record data relating to the driver and any journeys made by the driver.

34. A digital tachograph as claimed in claim 33 when dependent on claim 29, wherein recorded data is automatically uploaded to said remote server.

35. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a/the electronic information carrier is a smart card.

36. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, in use, tachograph data is written to a/the electronic information carrier.

37. A digital tachograph as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising means for receiving two electronic information carriers at any one time.

38. A display for a digital tachograph, wherein the display includes pages of information that are accessible to the driver only when the digital tachograph indicates that the vehicle with which it is associated is parked.

39. A method of preventing the operation of a vehicle if any of one or more conditions are not met, the method comprising the step of obtaining data regarding a person requesting permission to drive the vehicle from data stored on an electronic information carrier.

40. A method as claimed in claim 39, wherein said one or more conditions include one or more of: whether a/the person requesting permission to drive the vehicle is authorised to drive the vehicle; whether the vehicle is suitably insured; whether the vehicle is suitably taxed; whether the level of the license of the driver is sufficient to drive the vehicle; whether the driver is banned from driving the relevant class of vehicle; whether the weight of the vehicle is within specified limits; whether the hours worked by the driver enable said driver to legally drive the vehicle; and whether the tyre pressure of each tyre of the vehicle is within specified limits.

41. A method of preventing the need for manual input of data by a driver to a digital tachograph, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining data relating to said driver from an electronic information carrier inserted into an interface of a tachograph; and automatically writing data relating to the driver and any journeys made by the driver to said electronic information carrier.

42. A method of indicating when a compulsory rest break is required by a driver of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining data relating to the driver' s working and driving hours from data stored on an electronic information carrier inserted into an interface of a tachograph; calculating the time at which a compulsory rest break will be required; and outputting a signal to an alarm system shortly before the next compulsory rest break is required.

43. A method of displaying digital tachograph data using a display, wherein the display includes pages of information that are accessible to the driver only when a digital tachograph indicates that the vehicle with which it is associated is parked.