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Memory management in event recording systemsRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Vehicles, Navigation, And Relative Location, Vehicle Control, Guidance, Operation, Or Indication, Vehicle Diagnosis Or Maintenance Indication, With Data Recording DeviceMemory management in event recording systems description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070150138, Memory management in event recording systems. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS [0001] 1. Field [0002] The following invention disclosure is generally concerned with electronic data storage and specifically concerned with memory allocation and writing schemes in vehicle event recording devices. [0003] 2. Prior Art [0004] Video recording systems are commonly used to monitor places where activity sometimes includes that which a record is desirable. For example, in a security zone criminal activity may be recorded if video monitors are arranged about space to be monitored. When an incident occurs, a video record of the criminal activity is available from the recording system. During periods when no cruel activity occurs, a considerable amount of data is generated by the video recording system. However, this data has little or no value. Thus, it can be readily discarded without loss. The act of `discarding` data amounts to merely rewriting new data over old recorded data. Indeed, most video security systems are arranged with a recording medium that is reused continuously. When a video camera generates enough image data to fully consume available memory, additional collected data is recorded at the beginning of the memory. The act of writing newly acquired data is also an act which discards the old the data; i.e. the old data is lost to the `write` operation with respect to the newly collected data. [0005] In old videotape systems, this is sometimes called a `round robin` arrangement. A memory medium fashioned as a tape in a continuous loop provides the data storage for these video security systems. In such systems the tape has no end, and no beginning--but rather the tape continuously passes a recording head where new images are written to the tape at the same time old images are discarded. [0006] When an incident of interest occurs, the tape may be stopped to prevent loss of data which relates to the important incident. View images may be recovered from the tape and transferred to a permanent medium, while the tape is returned to the video system for further recording. Such re-use of memory is well known in these arts. [0007] In a round-robin scheme, the data which is being overwritten (discarded) is the data which came into the system earliest--or was `first in` the system. Sometimes recall the system's "first-in, first overwritten"--which is analogous to its close cousin, "first-in, first-out" well known from electronic buffer systems. In both cases, we refer to this method as FIFO. [0008] A FIFO base system is generally a very good system for buffer management. This is due to the fact that the oldest data in a buffer is typically the least valuable. Therefore the oldest data, or the least valuable data, may be discarded without regard for its loss. It is not always the case in buffer systems that the earliest received data, the `first-in` data, is the least valuable data in some cases is better not to overwrite the oldest data, but rather to provide an overwrite scheme which preserves certain special portions of the oldest data. [0009] Vehicle event recorders are video recorder systems mounted within the vehicle to provide a video record relating to the environment surrounding a vehicle during its operation. These systems are well known and have been made famous for their use in conjunction with police activity. Many police departments in the United States are equipped with vehicle event recorders, which capture activity, sometimes criminal, which occurs in the presence of a police vehicle. [0010] Of course, the vehicle event recorders use is not limited to police vehicles. More and more commercial vehicles are being equipped with systems to record activity associated with the use of the vehicle and within the environments in which the vehicle is used. The systems are particularly advantageous to fleet vehicles which are occasioned by heavy professional use and frequent incidents. These incidents may include traffic type accidents, theft, vandalism, among others. With a video record, vehicle fleet managers are better equipped to manage and control costs associated with operations of large vehicle fleets. Safety is improved, driver of performance is improved, confidence is gained in an understanding of accidents which do occur, and other benefits are associated with use of vehicle recorder systems. [0011] Some of the more advanced vehicle recorder systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,389,340; 6,405,112; 6,449,540; and 6,718,239. These inventions are all presented by inventor Rayner of San Diego, Calif. Primarily these inventions relate to a small device, which is mounted to vehicle rearview mirror to capture video images of traffic incidents ahead of the vehicle. [0012] The '112 claims in combination of vehicle which includes a vehicle operator performance monitor. This monitor presumably records video of the vehicle operator, which may be used to determine how the operators actions affect use of the vehicle. [0013] The '540 patent is an event recorder mounted in a vehicle which includes one or more wave pattern detectors for detection and recognition of the presence of the predetermined wave produced external the vehicle and for producing a trigger signal denoting predetermined wave presence. A detective wave is of the type which is produced by a police or fire department emergency vehicle. Detection of this wave triggers a capture function which stores video images a long-term storage memory. [0014] The '329 patent includes a one-way hash function to perform a validation function. In this way the integrity of the video data which is recorded can be protected. [0015] Finally, Rayner teaches in the '340 patent a very important relationship between two different types of memory. A first memory is arranged to store video for a short-term, and to transfer some of that stored video in response to a trigger event. Data from this short term memory is transferred to a more durable and long-term memory. Did in the short term memory is continuously overwritten in a scheme which is described by Rayner has "first-in, first-overwritten". In this way Rayner couples a high-speed, high-performance volatile semiconductor memory, with a flashlight memory good for long-term storage of large amounts of data even when power is removed. As will be described in detail later, Rayner's first in first overwritten scheme necessarily creates a loss of important and valuable data. [0016] While systems and inventions of the art are designed to achieve particular goals and objectives, some of those being no less than remarkable, these inventions have limitations which prevent their use in new ways now possible. Inventions of the art are not used and cannot be used to realize the advantages and objectives of the inventions taught herefollowing. SUMMARY OF THESE INVENTIONS [0017] Comes now, James Plante with inventions of memory allocation schemes in vehicle event recording systems including devices and methods. It is a primary function of these systems to provide improved memory allocation and writing schemes to preserve data over extended time periods. It is a contrast to prior art methods and devices that those known systems do not record over a large time range with respect to a prescribed size-limited memory. A fundamental difference between memory allocation of these newly presented inventions and those of the art can be found when considering its time dilation, which may be applied on the extremities of discrete capture periods. The invention thus stands in contrast to methods and devices known previously. [0018] A memory of limited size is subject to an advanced managed loop memory allocation scheme. The storage frame rate is adjusted throughout a prescribed capture time period. At the time period extremities, a frame capture process is subject to reduced frame rate. Nearer to some instant of interest, an `event moment`, the frame rate is increased to improve detail (temporal) around that particular time. The scheme permits one to accommodate a greater temporal range at the expense of temporal resolution. Losses in temporal resolution are judiciously pushed away from the event moment and allocated to the capture time period extremities. [0019] An overwrite scheme selects which frames are expired and subject to discard. At any random moment, video is continuously captured at a maximum frame rate. However, these frames are not put into memory in a conventional first-in, first overwritten manner, but rather, these frames are added to the memory locations which are determined to be available in accordance with the overwrite scheme. It is strictly not the case that the oldest frame is overwritten. Quite contrarily, an overwrite action is generally applied to a frame which is newer than at least one other frame stored in the memory. [0020] As a result, newly acquired frames are placed into memory in processes which necessarily cause older frames to be discarded. However, the newly captured frames are written to memory positions in an `interleaved` fashion whereby some of older frames are preserved. When a capture event occurs, data in memory may be transferred to a more permanent storage. When data is transferred, a timeline is reconstructed. The recorded timeline is unique in that it contains various frame rates over the capture period. At both the beginning and end of the capture period, the frame rate is modest. At the point of greatest interest in the capture period, the frame rate is maximum. This throttling of frame rate, permits a memory of given size to accommodate a timeline of greater temporal extent. OBJECTIVES OF THESE INVENTIONS [0021] It is a primary object of these inventions to provide high-performance memory allocation systems for vehicle event recorders. Continue reading about Memory management in event recording systems... 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