| Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reportingRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Vehicles, Navigation, And Relative Location, Vehicle Control, Guidance, Operation, Or Indication, Vehicle Diagnosis Or Maintenance IndicationDriver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070038343, Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The invention relates to driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting. BACKGROUND [0002] One of the largest government-mandated paperwork and cost burdens imposed upon any segment of private industry are the reporting requirements relating to commercial motor vehicles (CMV). Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) and their respective drivers and carriers are required by various federal regulations and international agreements to comply with rules governing the safe operation of the vehicles and the reporting of fuel taxes. In 1937, the federal government imposed hours-of-service (HOS) regulations upon commercial motor vehicle drivers operating commercial vehicles in the domestic motor carrier industry to ensure highway safety. Under direction of Congress, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has scrutinized and periodically revised the hours-of-service regulations to aid in the reduction of driver fatigue and sleep disorder related incidents on the nation's highways. [0003] Federal regulations relating to the safe operation of Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) are defined in 49 CFR Part 395 and 49 CFR Part 390.5, the entirety of each of which are incorporated by reference. One way in which safety is promoted in the hours-of-service regulations is to prohibit drivers from operating or being forced to operate their vehicles more than a specified amount of time between mandatory off-duty periods. In 1987, the FMCSA permitted carriers the flexibility of using an automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRD) instead of the traditional reporting method involving manual data entry and filing of reports by the CMV drivers and/or their carriers. [0004] The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is an agreement among jurisdictions in the United States, Mexico and Canada that simplifies the reporting of fuel-use tax for diesel, gasoline, gasohol, propane, and natural gas consumption by commercial motor vehicles. Fuel-use tax is included in the purchase price of the fuel and then later redistributed to those jurisdictions where the vehicle actually was driven while consuming fuel. For example, a driver of a CMV may purchase diesel fuel in the state of Texas and travel outside of Texas to a neighboring state, e.g., Louisiana, using the same diesel fuel purchased in Texas. IFTA requires carriers to report actual mileage driven in each jurisdiction so that the actual taxes collected may be later apportioned to Texas and Louisiana in accordance with actual vehicle operation. Each day, some 6.4 million drivers complete HOS logs to track driver compliance with HOS regulations. In addition, fuel tax logs are created daily for some 10 million trucks. The cost of compliance with these reporting requirements is extraordinarily burdensome. It is estimated that the annual cost of complying with reporting requirements using paper logs is approximately $2,000.00 per driver and $2,000.00 per commercial motor vehicle. This results in a paper log compliance cost of $31 billion dollars per year imposed upon private industry. SUMMARY [0005] In one aspect, a method for logging and reporting driver activity and vehicle operation includes identifying a driver of a vehicle and recording operating data. The operating data is recorded with an on-board recorder that is hard-wired to a data bus, for example, an engine control module, of the vehicle, coupled to a vehicle mileage sensing system, and linked to a global navigation satellite system. The operating data includes mileage obtained from at least one of the vehicle mileage sensing system and the vehicle data bus; engine use, time, and date obtained from the vehicle data bus; and location, time, and date obtained from the global navigation satellite system. The method includes recording a duty status of the driver. The duty status includes (a) off duty status, (b) sleeper berth status, (c) driving-on duty status, and (d) not driving-on duty status. [0006] The method further includes creating an hours of service log from time, date, and duty status, the hours of service log including a change in duty status of the driver, time and date the change occurred, hours within each duty status, total hours driven today, total hours on duty for seven days, and total hours on duty for eight days; creating a fuel tax log from mileage obtained from the vehicle mileage sensing system, location obtained from the global navigation satellite system, time obtained from at least one of the vehicle data bus and the global navigation satellite system, and date obtained from at least one of the vehicle data bus and the global navigation satellite system, the fuel tax log including miles traveled between periodic recording intervals, and location, time, and date recorded at each periodic recording interval; comparing the driver's hours of service log to an applicable requirement, for example, law or regulation; indicating to the driver with the on-board recorder whether the driver is in-compliance or out-of-compliance with the applicable requirement; automatically uploading the hours of service log and the fuel tax log to a receiver external to the vehicle using a wireless telecommunications network; and emitting a compliance signal representative of whether the driver is in-compliance or out-of-compliance with the applicable requirement to a second receiver external to the vehicle and under control of authorities. [0007] Embodiments of this aspect may include one or more of the following features. [0008] The method includes identifying the driver of the vehicle by interfacing with a portable memory device, and importing a driver's hours of service log through the portable memory device or the wireless network. The portable memory device is, for example, a smart card or contact memory button. The method further includes verifying the identity of the driver of the vehicle using, for example, biometric verification, and enabling the vehicle to be started, moved, or engine idled in response to identifying the driver of the vehicle. [0009] Recording operating data includes automatically recording the mileage from the vehicle mileage sensing system; the mileage, engine use, time, and date obtained from the vehicle data bus; and the location, time, and date obtained from the global navigation satellite system. Recording the duty status can include automatically determining a change in the duty status and at least one of the time, date and location of the change in the duty status from the operating data. Recording the duty status includes logging a change in the duty status from a manual input by the driver. [0010] The fuel tax log is used to create an IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) compliant fuel tax report. The method includes manually inputting an indication of a border crossing. [0011] When team driving, the method includes logging the duty status of a first driver of the vehicle with the on-board recorder; identifying a next driver of the vehicle with the on-board recorder; logging the duty status of the first driver and the next driver of the vehicle with the on-board recorder; and importing data for an hours of service log for the next driver into the on-board recorder from at least one of a portable memory device and a wireless telecommunications network. The fuel tax log can be created for a single vehicle having the first driver and the second driver. [0012] The method includes calibrating mileage received from the vehicle mileage sensing system using data received from the global navigation satellite system or using vehicle tire size, and providing mileage from the recorder to an odometer display and to the vehicle data bus. [0013] An exceptions report can be created from the comparison of the driver's hours of service log to the applicable requirement, and a cause of being out-of-compliance displayed to the driver. [0014] The method includes encrypting the operating data, the hours of service log, the fuel tax log, and the compliance signal emitted from the recorder to ensure data integrity. [0015] Operating data can be modified by a driver input and/or by a fleet carrier input, and any alterations of operating data recorded with a track changes function of the on-board recorder and/or on the host server. [0016] The hours of service log can be displayed, for example, inside or outside the vehicle on an external display, as a graphical grid. [0017] Automatically uploading includes uploading over a pager connection, a cellular telephone connection, a wide area network connection, an infrared connection, a radio connection, and/or a satellite connection. Automatically uploading includes uploading during an off-peak operating period, for example between 1:00 am and 5:00 am and/or on a weekend, for a wireless telecommunications network. Automatically uploading includes attempting to upload at least daily first over a least expensive connection and, if unsuccessful, then over at least one next least expensive connection, and uploading over a satellite connection when successive daily uploads are unsuccessful. Automatically uploading includes attempting to upload at least daily first over a predetermined wireless telecommunications network connection and, if unsuccessful, then over another predetermined wireless telecommunications network. Automatic uploading is an uploading of the current day, previous days, or day prior to the previous day hours of service and/or fuel tax logs. [0018] The method includes uploading to the second receiver external to the vehicle when a compliance status check is requested by law enforcement, and/or when the vehicle is within a predetermined range of the second receiver. The second receiver is located, for example, on a handheld device, along a highway, at a weigh station, or within a law enforcement vehicle. The compliance signal is uploaded, for example, through a wired or wireless connection connected to a data port inside or outside of the vehicle. [0019] The hours of service log is output to, for example, a display on the on-board recorder, a display on an external display device, the second receiver, or a wired connection connected to a data port inside or outside of the vehicle. The output of the hours of service log occurs responsive to a request from, for example, the driver, a fleet carrier, or the authorities. A data transfer and storage device can be placed in communication with the on-board recorder; and the hours of service log, fuel tax log, and the compliance signal uploaded to the data transfer and storage device. [0020] The receiver to which the logs are automatically uploaded is, for example, a host server, and the fuel tax logs are uploaded from the host server to an external server that creates and files fuel tax reports. [0021] In particular embodiments, the method may include notifying the driver if a particular event occurs, for example, notifying the driver to log into the recorder if the vehicle moves and the driver has not logged in, emitting an out-of-compliance signal if the driver is not logged in within a predetermined period, notifying the driver to log operating data on a paper log if the recorder is malfunctioning, and notifying a driver when the driver is nearing the end of an hours of service parameter. The driver can be notified by, for example, a text message, a visual indicator, and/or an audible signal. Compliance can be indicated by red, yellow, and green lights. A light on the recorder can be flashed when the driver is within a first predetermined time period of the end of the parameter, and another light on the recorder flashed when the driver is within another predetermined time period of the end of the parameter. The carrier can also be notified when the driver is nearing the end of a parameter. The method can also include emitting a signal indicating whether the recorder is present. Continue reading about Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting... Full patent description for Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Apparatus, system, and method for improving engine development Next Patent Application: In-vehicle communication system, on-board terminal, portable device and in-vehicle communication method Industry Class: Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Driver activity and vehicle operation logging and reporting patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.14464 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Software: Finance , AI , Databases , Development , Document , Navigation , Error 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
