Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-06
2004-03-02
Nguyen, Tan Q. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
C340S426110, C342S357490, C307S010200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06701231
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring unauthorized usage of a vehicle and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus that detects conditions of a driver and a vehicle that indicate operation of the vehicle is unauthorized and provide a response to the detected conditions.
BACKGROUND ART
Unintended usages of a vehicle, such as a tractor trailer, include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving of a vehicle when fatigued, driving of a stolen vehicle, deviating from a planned route, driving a vehicle into a restricted area, uncoupling a trailer at an unplanned location, and driving a vehicle in need of maintenance.
Driving of a vehicle by an impaired operator greatly increases the chance that the vehicle will be involved in an accident. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Standard #49 C.F.R. 392.3 requires fatigue impaired drivers to stop. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), one out of eight traffic fatalities in 1998 resulted from a collision with a large truck. Alcohol related fatalities accounted for 38% of all traffic fatalities in 1998. According to the Commercial Car Journal (CCJ) survey, 55% of drivers violate hours of service (HOS) rules by driving more than 10 hours without an 8 hour break. Stolen tractors and/or trailers cost fleet owners a large sum of money per occurrence. Vehicles may become unsafe when they are not properly maintained.
Prior art disclosures have dealt with monitoring vehicle drivers. Examples include detecting a drowsy driver by monitoring eyelid movement of the driver, detecting drowsiness by sensing meandering of a vehicle in a lane of a road, monitoring heart rate and skin vibrations to detect the mental condition of the driver, testing a drivers alertness by requiring the driver to move a turn signal lever in a sequence of requested directions, detecting intoxication by monitoring a driver's iris, monitoring acceleration and deceleration and steering irregularities to determine a drivers fitness.
Prior art disclosures have dealt with tampering with a trailer. It is known in the prior art to sense penetration into a trailer. A camera and sound recorder is used during theft. One prior art theft prevention system monitors doors and alerts a central control.
It is known in the prior art to track travel of a long haul truck within an acceptable rectangular zone and report exceptions to a central control or generate an exception report.
What is needed is an interactive monitoring system that detects conditions that indicate unauthorized vehicle usage and provides for a response to the detected conditions that assures that the usage is not unauthorized or shuts the vehicle down.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring unauthorized usage of a vehicle. One embodiment of the method of monitoring unauthorized usage of a vehicle concerns testing the competency of a driver to operate a motorized vehicle. A randomly generated number is displayed in the vehicle for a given period of time. A user interface is provided in the vehicle for the driver to enter digits that correspond to the randomly generated number. The system determines whether the driver has entered the digits that correspond the randomly generated number in a proper sequence within a given period of time. In the exemplary embodiment, a vehicle computer is used to generate the randomly generated number. The user interface is connected to the vehicle computer. A display is coupled to the computer for displaying the randomly generated number. The computer is programmed to determine whether the driver has entered digits that correspond to the randomly generated number in a proper sequence.
In one embodiment of the method of testing the competency of a driver to operate a motorized vehicle, a forward sequence notation or a reverse sequence notation is displayed. The forward or reverse sequence notation provides an indication to the driver to enter the digits in one of a forward sequence or a reverse sequence. The proper sequence corresponds to the displayed sequence notation. A driver reaction time may be logged when it is determined that the driver has entered digits that correspond to the randomly generated number in the proper sequence within the given period of time. The driver is retested after a given period of time. The driver may be required to enter a driver identification code before the randomly generated number is displayed. A new driver is tested when the driver enters a driver identification code. At least one of the driver reaction time and an ability to enter the digits that correspond to the randomly generated number are logged when the driver fails to enter digits that correspond to the randomly generated number in the proper sequence within the given period of time. A central control is notified when the driver has failed to enter the digits that correspond to the randomly generated number in the proper sequence within a given period of time. The vehicle may be disabled when the driver fails to enter digits that correspond to the randomly generated number in the proper sequence within the given period of time.
In one embodiment, a vehicle is disabled when a potential theft occurs. The system determines that a driver is not authorized to operate the vehicle. The system also determines that the vehicle has deviated from a planned route. The vehicle is disabled when it is determined that the driver is not authorized to operate the vehicle and has deviated from the planned route.
Variations of the method of disabling a vehicle when a potential theft occurs include tracking the location of the vehicle and notifying a central control location when it is determined that the driver is not authorized to operate the vehicle and it is determined that the vehicle has deviated from the planned route. In the method, the driver may be requested to enter an authorized driver code and route code within a given period of time. The system will determine whether an authorized driver code has been entered by the driver. The vehicle will be disabled if an authorized driver code is not entered by the driver.
In one embodiment, a vehicle computer and a global positioning system are used to determine that the driver is not authorized to operate the vehicle and the vehicle has deviated from the planned route. The vehicle computer has an interface that allows the driver to enter a driver authorization code. The computer is programmed to determine whether the driver is authorized to operate the vehicle. The global positioning system is coupled to the computer for determining that the vehicle has deviated from the planned route. The computer is programmed to disable the vehicle when the driver is not authorized and the vehicle has deviated from the planned route.
In one embodiment, a vehicle is disabled when a predetermined number of service hours is exceeded. The system determines whether an allowable number of service hours has been exceeded by a driver. A central control is notified when the allowable number of vehicle service hours has been exceeded by the driver. The system determines whether the central control provided authorization to exceed the allowable number of service hours. The driver is notified that the vehicle will be disabled within a given period of time when authorization to exceed the allowable number of vehicle service hours is not granted. The vehicle is then disabled.
In variations of the method for disabling a vehicle when a predetermined number of service hours is exceeded includes reactivating the vehicle by entering a valid drivers code. The driver code may be revalidated after a defined rest period has lapsed.
In one embodiment, a vehicle computer and a communication system are used to disable a vehicle when a predetermined number of service hours is exceeded. The vehicle computer is programmed to determine whether an allowable number of service hours has been exceeded by the driver. The comm
Nguyen Tan Q.
Volvo Trucks North America Inc.
Watts Hoffmann Co. L.P.A.
LandOfFree
Vehicle security and maintenance does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle security and maintenance, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle security and maintenance will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3282157