WO2013150559A1

WO2013150559A1 - Device for detecting the data regarding operation of a vehicle and their correlation with position detected by gps

Info

Publication number: WO2013150559A1
Application number: PCT/IT2013/000099
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fabio Sbianchi; Giuseppe Zuco; Marco AMENDOLAGINE
Original assignee: Octo Telematics S.P.A.
Priority date: 2012-04-04
Filing date: 2013-04-04
Publication date: 2013-10-10
Also published as: ITRM20120141A1

Abstract

A device (1) for detecting, storing, and transmitting the data regarding operation and position of a vehicle, comprises : first means (4), directly connected to the on-board electronic control unit (2), designed to detect parameters regarding operation of the vehicle; second means (5), designed to measure the spatial co¬ ordinates associated to the device (1) itself and defined with respect to a reference system fixed with respect to the Earth, said means (5) being provided with absolute time reference; - third means (6), connected to said first means (4) and second means (5), designed to associate said absolute time reference to said parameters regarding operation of the vehicle; fourth means (7), connected to said third means (6), designed to store the processing results of said third means ( 6); and fifth means (8), connected to said third means (6) and fourth means (7), designed to exchange data with a second device (3), which is designed to process the data treated by said third means (6).

Description

DEVICE FOR DETECTING THE DATA REGARDING OPERATION OF A VEHICLE AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH POSITION DETECTED BY GPS

* * * * * *

The present invention relates to a device designed to detect and record the data regarding operation of a vehicle, which can be acquired by a connection to the onboard electronic systems, and is also able to detect the position of the vehicle in real time.

The device is likewise able to transmit the information recorded via radio.

It is envisaged that the invention is installed on board vehicles such as cars, small four-wheeled vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, vans, lorries, articulated vehicles, caravans and buses.

To save on the insurance policy for motor vehicles, there is an increasing use of a means that consists of a sort of black box, i.e., a device installed on the motor vehicle for detecting the data regarding driving of the vehicle and saving them in the event of possible accidents .

Said device basically comprises a GPS {Global Positioning System) satellite navigation system, a chronometer, and a computer .

The GPS system receives signals from satellites orbiting around the Earth, processing of which enables precise determination of the position of the vehicle on which said system is installed. By differentiating twice the position with respect to time, the device is able to calculate the speed of advance of the vehicle and its acceleration. An accident is detected if the accelerations to which the vehicle is subjected are not compatible with its technical characteristics. In this case, an alarm signal is emitted that can be sent to a remote receiver, which sends a breakdown or rescue crew. The device is then pre-arranged for keeping intact, in the event of an accident, the information recorded in a lapse of time of some tens of seconds before and after impact, so as to provide the person responsible with a set of information useful for reconstructing the dynamics thereof.

A black box for motor vehicles can be equipped with means designed for radio transmission, by connecting up to the cellular network, in order to communicate the data in real time. It is obvious that the use of such a device renders fraud more difficult so that it is possible to reduce the insurance premium significantly.

Said devices of the known art do not, however, enable detection of a set of parameters regarding the driving style of the driver and that could supply the data necessary for personalizing the policy more, leading to further significant reductions in the premium. If it were to emerge that the driving style of the subject concerned were such as to minimize the risks of accident, the insurance company could propose a considerable reduction of the premium to the virtuous driver, with mutual advantage. In fact, the insurance company would have an edge over its competitors in so far as it would be facilitated in acquiring drivers with a low accident risk .

The data regarding acceleration and speed, which can be obtained with the devices of the known art by means of appropriate processing of the signals supplied by the GPS device are not sufficient to define the driving style completely.

The present invention solves the problem posed with a device, according to Claim 1, which is able to detect a large number of parameters regarding operation and driving of the vehicle, said device interacting with a second device, of a known type and transmitting said detected data to a remote system for subsequent processing .

The necessary additional information may be obtained from the on-board electronic control unit, by now present in all motor vehicles, through the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) connector.

The device according to the invention, via connection to the OBD socket of the vehicle is able to acquire information regarding the vehicle and the state of operation thereof such as:

• chassis number of the vehicle;

• speedometer signal;

• odometer signal;

• flow rate of the fuel to the engine;

• flow rate of air of the engine;

• engine r .p.m. ;

• engine load;

• other information made available by the on-board electronic systems of the vehicle, such as, for example, marked deceleration (communicated by the control unit of the ABS/ESP) , or opening of the safety systems (airbags) or activation of systems for the reduction of impact damage (pre-safe systems) present in some automobiles.

In practice, the device according to the invention is able to determine at every moment the position and speed of the vehicle on which it is installed with respect to the Earth. Moreover, it is possible to store periodically the positions and the distances travelled, also accompanied by date and time and speed, in a purposely provided memory. The information may be transmitted to a second device via radio immediately after storage, or subsequently.

The invention will now be described, by way of non- limiting illustration, according to a preferred embodiment, with reference to the attached figures, in which:

• Figure 1 shows the device according to the invention connected to the on-board electronic control unit and to a second device for processing the data sent;

• Figure 2 is the block diagram of the device according to the invention; and

• Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the device according to the invention.

With reference to Figure 1, designated by (1) is a device according to the invention, installed on board a vehicle (not represented) and connected to the on-board electronic control unit (2) via a standard 16-pin OBD connector (10). Said device (1) is then connected via radio with a second device (3), which is also present on board the vehicle. The device (3) may be a device of a black-box type, or else a cellphone (smartphone) , a palmtop, or a portable PC.

Represented in Figure 2 is the block diagram of the device (1) according to the invention, which comprises: first means (4), directly connected to the on-board electronic control unit (2) via said OBD connector (10), for detection of the quantities of interest, which will be specified in what follows;

second means (5) designed to measure the spatial coordinates associated to the device (1) itself and defined with respect to a reference system fixed with respect to the Earth, said means (5) being provided with absolute time reference (for example, by means of GPS or Glonass, or a combination of a number of systems ) ;

third means (6) , for the treatment of the data coming from said first means (4) and second means (5), to which they are connected for associating the aforesaid absolute time reference to the events recorded;

fourth means (7), connected to said third means (6) for storing the processing results of said third means ( 6) ;

fifth means (8) for short-range radio transmissions (for example, Bluetooth, WiFi) , connected to said third means (6) and fourth means (7) for exchange of data with said second device (3) that processes the data treated by said third means (6) .

device (1) can send to the device (3) all the data read through the OBD socket and also the GPS location data. The device (3) is designed to transmit the data to a remote processing centre via GSM/GPRS or UMTS and/or to process the data in order to identify particular events such as engine fault, braking, exceeding of speed limits, etc .

The device (3) is designed to send to the device (1) commands regarding extraction of some particular data from the OBD system of the automobile and/or to carry out updating of said fifth means (8) for short-range radio transmissions of the device (1) .

There are then present means (not represented) for electrical supply of the circuits, which may be proper to the terminal and rechargeable when the vehicle housing the device is moving and with the control panel switched on, or else directly connected to the electrical system of the vehicle housing the device, via connection to the OBD socket.

Said means (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) are modules connected to one another, as illustrated in Figure 2, each of which performs the function described.

In particular, the first module (4) is directly connected to the control unit (2), via the OBD connector (10), and to the third module (6) via the line (11) . In turn, the second module (5) is also connected, via the line (12), to the third module (6) .

The parameters supplied by the control unit (2) to the first module (4) are the following:

• chassis number of the vehicle;

• speedometer signal;

• odometer signal;

• flow rate of the fuel to the engine;

• flow rate of air of the engine;

• engine r . p .m. ;

• engine load.

Where available, other information may be supplied, made available by the on-board electronic systems of the vehicle, such as, for example, a marked deceleration (communicated by the control unit of the ABS/ESP) , or opening of the safety systems (airbags) or activation of systems for the reduction of impact damage (pre-safe systems) present in some automobiles.

The third module (6) acquires from the first module (4) the operating parameters of the motor vehicle and from the second module (5) the co-ordinates regarding location of the vehicle and the absolute time reference. Consequent processing, carried out by the third module (6), consists of associating the operating parameters to the geometrical parameters of location and setting them in relation with the data and the reference time. The data processed by the third module (6) are transmitted, via the line (13), to the fourth module (7) for storage and, via the line (14), to the fifth module (8) to be transmitted to the second device (3).

The data stored in the fourth module (7) can be transferred subsequently, through the line (15), to the fifth module (8) for transmission to the second device (3) .

Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the device (1) according to the invention. A case of small dimensions (roughly, 45 x 25 x 35 mm) is provided including the standard 16-pin OBD connector (10) (reference standard: SAE J1962), enclosed in which are all the components of the invention.

The device (1), as described, is connected to the onboard electronic control unit (2) via said OBD connector (10) . However, the connection could be obtained also with a dedicated wiring in order to leave the OBD socket (10) free for the operations of maintenance of the vehicle, or else may be integrated in the control unit itself.

As emerges clearly from the foregoing description, the device (1) according to the invention enables detection of the operating parameters of the vehicle and association thereof to other parameters regarding driving to enable a complete definition of the driving style of the driver. Other major features are the extremely small dimensions of the device and the ease of installation in so far as it is sufficient to insert the OBD connector (10) into the corresponding socket present on board the vehicle .

The invention has been described, by way of non-limiting illustration, according to a preferred embodiment. The person skilled in the sector may devise numerous other embodiments, all of which fall within the sphere of protection of the annexed claims.

Claims

1. A device (1) for detecting, storing, and transmitting the data regarding operation and position of a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises:

• first means (4), directly connected to the on-board electronic control unit (2) , designed to detect parameters regarding operation of the vehicle;

• second means (5) , designed to measure the spatial co-ordinates associated to the device (1) itself and defined with respect to a reference system fixed with respect to the Earth, said means (5) being provided with absolute time reference;

• third means (6), connected to said first means (4) and second means (5), designed to associate said absolute time reference to said parameters regarding operation of the vehicle;

• fourth means (7), connected to said third means (6), designed to store the processing results of said third means (6); and

• fifth means (8), connected to said third means (6) and fourth means (7), designed to exchange data with a second device (3), which is designed to process the data treated by said third means (6).

2. The device (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that said first means (4), designed to detect parameters regarding operation of the vehicle, are directly connected to the on-board electronic control unit (2) via an OBD connector (10) .

3. The device (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is integrated in the on-board electronic control unit (2) .

4 . The device (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that said fifth means (8), designed to exchange data with a second device (3) , comprise a device for short-range radio transmissions.

5. The device (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that said device for short-range radio transmissions is of the Bluetooth or WiFi type.

6. The device (1) according to at least one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said device (3) is designed to transmit the data to a remote processing centre via GSM/GPRS or UMTS and/or to process said data in order to identify particular events such as engine fault, braking, exceeding of speed limits, etc.

7. The device (1) according to at least one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said device (3) is designed to send to said device (1) commands regarding extraction of some particular data from the on-board diagnostics (OBD) system of the automobile and/or to carry out updating of said fifth means (8) for short- range radio transmissions of the device (1) .

8. The device (1) according to Claim 6, characterized in that said device (3) is a black box or a cellphone (smartphone) or a palmtop or a portable PC.