TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to the preamble of claim 1 . The invention also relates to a system for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles. The invention also relates to a vehicle. The invention in addition relates to a computer program and a computer program product.

BACKGROUND ART

In order to improve efficiency and productivity it is desired for e.g. owners of vehicle fleets to have good information of the activity of the vehicles, e.g. up- time of the vehicles, how the vehicles are used and time spent on different places and events.

It is further important to have updated registers of locations where the vehicles perform their tasks. It may be difficult to be able to keep such information up to date. US20150077276 a system and method for processing GPS event data to identify frequent stop locations of vehicles and geofences therefor and automatedly categorize them with location types.

Setting up and maintaining geofences to identify and classify locations and activities is an administrative burdening process. There is thus a need for further improving determination of information of activities of vehicles in an easy and efficient way. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles which in an easy and efficient way provides information about vehicle events facilitating improved control of the activity of the vehicles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles in an easy and efficient way provides information about vehicle events facilitating improved control of the activity of the vehicles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects, apparent from the following description, are achieved by a method, a system, a vehicle, a computer program and a computer program product, as set out in the appended independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the method and the system are defined in appended dependent claims.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles. The method comprises the step of determining one or more vehicle events. The step of determining one or more vehicle events comprises the step of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events. The method further comprises the steps of: storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events; making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. The method steps are according to an embodiment performed automatically. The method steps are according to an embodiment performed dynamically. The step of determining one or more vehicle events and the step of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events is according to an embodiment performed automatically.

The step of storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events is according to an embodiment performed automatically.

The step of making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control is according to an embodiment performed automatically.

A vehicle event is according to an embodiment an event occurring in and/or near said at least one vehicle.

The step of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events may comprise any suitable detecting means comprising any suitable detector/detector unit/sensor/sensor unit or set of detectors/sensors. The detecting means used for detecting the character of a vehicle event may depend on the actual vehicle event. The detecting means used for detecting the character of a vehicle event may comprise any suitable cameras/camera units for detecting the surroundings in connection to a vehicle event. The step of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events may comprise detecting a character indicating a failed event or an unfinished event such as running out of fuel, a non-functioning loading/unloading station or the like. The steps of storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events stored in any suitable storage means comprising any suitable internal storage means of the particular vehicle such as a control unit, a computer or the like and/or any suitable external storage means such as a server unit, a personal computer, a tablet, a laptop, a smartphone and/or a so called storage-cloud or the like. Such stored information about vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events may comprise information about location of the event and/or position of the vehicle during the event and is then stored as map data which according to an embodiment is stored together with other map data and/or updates other map data. Such stored information about vehicle events and detected character of said events is according to an embodiment accessible for other vehicles through e.g. map data in a navigator if the event relates to an update/a specification of a fuel station, a loading/unloading station or the like.

If determined, one or more of information of the following may be stored: position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, the surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, official address in connection to vehicle event, contact information in connection to vehicle event, facilities in connection to vehicle event, point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and duration of time of corresponding vehicle events.

The step of making the thus stored information available comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

The step of making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment communicating information related to the event and character of the event within a vehicle-to-vehicle communication arrangement. The step of making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment communicating information related to the event and character of the event within a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication arrangement wherein the information is made available from infrastructure to other vehicle within vehicle-to-infrastructure communication arrangements.

The step of making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to an internal storage means of said vehicles and/or to a navigator of said vehicles.

The thus stored information related to the event and character of the event made available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles may comprise information regarding specified location of a facility related to the vehicle event such as specification of type of fuel of a fuel station, location of an event, existence/non-existence/availability/opening time of a facility related to an event or the like.

The step of making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a central vehicle group monitoring unit. The information may thus comprise several events and characters of the events for one or more vehicles such that a history of vehicle activities is made available. This may comprise detailed information about vehicle events due to the detected character of the vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as time spent on different vehicle events and the like is obtained.

The step of making the thus stored information available for control comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a control unit of one or more vehicle and/or a central control unit for controlling one or more vehicles based upon the thus determined information comprising the character of the event. Other vehicle may hereby receive information that may change the plan for the vehicle such as choosing another fuel station or the particular fuel station where fuelling and type of fuel has been detected as a character of the vehicle event. The information related to the event and character of the event may be made available to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle for control of the vehicle based upon the thus transmitted information. By thus detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events, storing and making the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control more detailed information regarding the vehicle events may be provided in an easy and efficient way facilitating improved control of the activity of the vehicles. This facilitates in an easy way providing information about the position and hence location of the facility related to the character of the vehicle event such as a fuel station, a loading/unloading station, a workshop or the like for e.g. updating map data. Hereby more specific information regarding the character of the event will be easily provided. Hereby no geofences needs to be drawn up which saves time and workload. By thus detecting the character of vehicle events a historic profile may easily and automatically be provided by determining the position of the vehicle in connection to the detected character of the vehicle event. According to an embodiment of the method said at least one vehicle event comprises one or more of: fuelling of the vehicle, loading/unloading of the vehicle, transport of load, failure of the vehicle, parking of the vehicle.

More specific information regarding the character of each event by detecting the character of each event is thus provided automatically. The detected character of a vehicle event in the form of fuelling of the vehicle may comprise information regarding type of fuel, if the fuel station is a public station or a private fuel station e.g. used by only one vehicle fleet, if the fuel station has been shut down/is closed, if the fuel tank for a particular fuel is empty/has run empty or the like. The detected character of a vehicle event in the form of loading/unloading of the vehicle may comprise information about the specific location of the loading/unloading station, availability of the loading/unloading station or the like. The detected character of a vehicle event in the form of transport of load may comprise time of transport, type of transport, weight of transport load or the like. The detected character of a vehicle event in the form of failure of the vehicle may comprise type of failure comprising failure resulting in towing or the like. The detected character of a vehicle event in the form of parking of the vehicle may comprise type of parking, location for the parking, time of the parking or the like.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises the step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle and/or detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled and/or detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle and/or detecting whether the vehicle is moving and/or detecting a possible vehicle failure. According to an embodiment the step of detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises the step of detecting whether there is a change in pressure of the vehicle.

The step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting the weight. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise detecting whether the vehicle is being loaded/unloaded at a loading/unloading station. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise detecting the location of a loading/unloading station where the change of weight took place.

The step of detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise any suitable detector for detecting fuelling. The step of detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise detecting the type of fuel. Detecting the type of fuel may comprise detecting the specification of the vehicle, e.g. the chassis number of the vehicle, in order to obtain information about which kind of fuel the vehicle is using such as diesel fuel, petrol fuel/gasoline fuel, ethanol fuel, hydrogen fuel, gas fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or electric fuel, i.e. whether the vehicle is an electric vehicle requiring electric energy. Detecting the type of fuel may comprise detecting the fuel unit from which the vehicle is receiving fuel, e.g. by means of a camera unit or the like. The step of detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may be used as a basis for detecting the location of the fuel station at which the fuelling was performed. If the vehicle is fuelled the method may comprise the step of determining the time for the fuelling event. The step of determining the time for the fuelling event comprises according to an embodiment determining the time for charging an electric vehicle in order to determine how quick the charging may be performed on different locations.

The step of detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting change in inclination. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the inclination may be used as a basis for determining whether the vehicle is being towed. According to an embodiment it is detected whether the engine/electric machine of the vehicle is activated. If the vehicle has a certain inclination and the engine is deactivated/turned off and the vehicle is moving it may be determined that the vehicle is being towed. The step of detecting whether the vehicle is moving may comprise any suitable detector unit such as a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for continuously determining the position of the vehicle and thus whether the vehicle is moving and/or a camera unit, radar unit, laser scanner unit or the like. The step of detecting a possible vehicle failure may comprise any suitable detector/sensor for detecting any possible failure of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events. By thus determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events information relating to the history of vehicle activities may be provided by information regarding when the events took place which in combination with the detected character of the event may provide detailed information about vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as when different vehicle events occurred and the like will be obtained in an easy and efficient way.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events. By thus determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events information relating to the history of vehicle activities may be provided by information regarding how long the events lasted which in combination with the detected character of the event may provide detailed information about vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as time spent on different vehicle events and the like will be obtained in an easy and efficient way.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event. According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event. The step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event comprises according to an embodiment using a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle. The step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event may be performed continuously or intermittently during the event wherein it may be determined whether the vehicle is moving or not.

By thus determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event a historic profile may easily and automatically be provided by determining the position of the vehicle in connection to the detected character of the vehicle event so that detailed information of activity of vehicles may be provided. This may be a historic profile for one vehicle or for many vehicle. This may be a historic profile for a day, a week, a month or a year. By thus determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event a so called reversed geographic search on the Internet and/or Intranet may be performed so as to determine what is in the vicinity of the vehicle event. By detecting the character of the event more detailed and maybe updated information about the surroundings and facilities relating to the event may be provided which may be used for updating registers, map data and even information on the Internet and/or Intranet.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of creating a historic profile based upon the thus determined position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event. By thus determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event no geofences need to be drawn up which saves time and workload.

By thus determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event the position where the vehicle event and detailed information of the vehicle event will be obtained in an easy and efficient way such that detailed information about location of a facility/station or the like where the event took place will be obtained which may be used for updating/correcting a register or the like. For example the position of a fuel station and the type of fuel provided at the fuel station detected as the character of the fuelling event will be provided. Hereby a register and map data for e.g. a navigator unit for a vehicle may be updated with more detailed information such as information that a fuel station providing e.g. fuelling for vehicles being fuelled with gas such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG). A fuel station only providing CNG cannot be used for a vehicle requiring LNG and the information provided by means of detecting the fuelling event will be on that detailed level.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises the step of determining an official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event. A reversed geographic search on the Internet may be performed to determine information relating to official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event. Hereby relevant information of a register such as an electronic address register, a navigator unit of a vehicle or the like may be easily and efficiently updated.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of detecting the character of the vehicle event comprises the step of determining a specification of the vehicle. By thus determining a specification of the vehicle such as chassis number of the vehicle, the type of the vehicle, number of axles of the vehicle, whether the vehicle has a trailer, age of the vehicle or the like additional relevant information for further facilitating specifying the character of the vehicle event may be utilized. According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event. By thus categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event detailed information about location of a facility/station or the like where the event took place will be obtained which may be used for updating/correcting a register or the like.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of performing a reversed geographical search of the surroundings in connection to detecting the character of the vehicle event. According to an embodiment of the method said vehicle event comprises fuelling of said vehicle, wherein the step of detecting the character of the fuelling event further comprises the step of specifying the type of fuel. The type of fuel may comprise any type of fuel used for propelling/driving a vehicle. The type of fuel may comprise diesel fuel, petrol fuel/gasoline fuel, ethanol fuel, gas fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG), or electric fuel, i.e. electric energy for energizing an electric machine for propelling/driving a vehicle. The step of specifying the type of fuel may comprise detecting the fuel unit from which the vehicle is receiving fuel, e.g. by means of a camera unit or the like. The step of specifying the type of fuel may comprise specifying the type of vehicle, i.e. what type of fuel the vehicle is using.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a system for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles. The system comprises comprising means for determining one or more vehicle events. The means for determining one or more vehicle events comprises means for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events. The system further comprises means for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events. The system further comprises means for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or means for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring and/or means for making the thus stored information available for control.

According to an embodiment of the system said at least one vehicle event comprises one or more of: fuelling of the vehicle, loading/unloading of the vehicle, transport of load, failure of the vehicle, parking of the vehicle. Vehicle failure comprises a breakdown of the vehicle due to one or more failures of vehicle components, vehicle systems or the like. Vehicle failure comprises failures in the form of error codes, warnings or the like due to some kind of malfunction which may require an action. According to an embodiment of the system the means for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means for detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle and/or means for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled and/or means for detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle and/or means for detecting whether the vehicle is moving and/or means for detecting a possible vehicle failure.

According to an embodiment the system comprises means for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events and preferably means for determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events.

According to an embodiment the system comprises means for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the system the means for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises means for determining an official address and/or means for determining relevant contact information and/or means for determining further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the system the means for detecting the character of the vehicle event comprises means for determining a specification of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment the system comprises means for categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the system said vehicle event comprises fuelling of said vehicle, wherein the means for detecting the character of the fuelling event further comprises means for specifying the type of fuel.

The system for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles is adapted to perform the methods as set out herein. The system according to the invention has the advantages according to the corresponding method.

Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a vehicle comprising a system as set out herein. Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a computer program for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles, said computer program comprising program code which, when run on an electronic control unit or another computer connected to the electronic control unit, causes the electronic control unit to perform methods as set out herein. Specifically an object of the invention is achieved by a computer program product comprising a digital storage medium storing the computer program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention reference is made to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a side view of a vehicle according to the present invention; Fig. 2a schematically illustrates a plan view of the position of a vehicle in a surrounding in a certain position of a loading/unloading site according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2b schematically illustrates a rear view of vehicle at a fuelling being fuelled according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a system for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter the term "link" refers to a communication link which may be a physical connector, such as an optoelectronic communication wire, or a non- physical connector such as a wireless connection, for example a radio or microwave link. Hereinafter the term "activity of the vehicle" refers to usage/utilization of the vehicle and time spent on different places and events such as loading/unloading, fuelling, delays due to traffic congestions, queuing, driving without load, and time spent in workshops, and aspects such as up-time, utilisation degree and productivity. Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a side view of a vehicle 1 according to the present invention. The exemplified vehicle 1 is a heavy vehicle in the shape of a truck. The vehicle according to the present invention could be any suitable vehicle such as a bus or a car or a motor cycle. The vehicle according to the present invention could be an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle comprises a system I for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to the present invention. The vehicle 1 in fig. 1 is according to an embodiment performing a vehicle event in the form of transport of load along a road R.

The vehicle event is thus transport of load of the vehicle. The character of the vehicle event is according to an embodiment detected by means of detecting movement of the vehicle by means of e.g. position means, a speedometer or the like. The character of the vehicle event is according to an embodiment detected by detecting the weight of the vehicle by means of one or more weight sensors, one or more pressure sensors or the like. The transporting character of the event may in addition or as an alternative be determined by means of detecting the actual activity by means of one or more cameras or the like. Such cameras may also be used to detect the surroundings during transport of load and the actual load being transported. The thus determined vehicle event and the thus detected transport of load is stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

A point in time of thus determined vehicle transport of load event and preferably a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle transport of load event is determined.

The position of the vehicle is continuously or intermittently determined in connection to the transport of load event. A Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to the transport of load event.

The information of position of the vehicle in connection to the transport of load event, i.e. the route of the vehicle during the transport, the surrounding corresponding to the transport of load event, point in time of thus determined transport of load event, and duration of time of corresponding transport of load event are according to an embodiment also stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. Fig. 2a schematically illustrates a plan view of the position of the vehicle 1 in a surrounding L in a certain position P4 in said image of the surroundings L according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The surroundings L according to this example is a location where distribution vehicles are intended to drive to certain positions P1 , P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 for loading and/or unloading. The certain positions P1 , P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 thus comprises loading and/or unloading stations for loading and/or unloading said vehicle 1 . The loading and/or unloading stations are here part of a loading and/or unloading site LS. The vehicle event is thus loading/unloading of the vehicle. The character of the vehicle event is according to an embodiment detected by means of detecting change of weight by means of one or more weight sensors, one or more pressure sensors or the like. The loading/unloading character of the event may in addition or as an alternative be determined by means of detecting the actual activity by means of one or more cameras or the like. Such cameras may also be used to detect the surroundings of the loading/unloading site LS and the rest of the surroundings L in connection to the loading/unloading vehicle event. The thus determined loading/unloading vehicle event and the thus detected loading/unloading of said event is stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

A point in time of thus determined vehicle loading/unloading event and preferably a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle loading/unloading event is determined. The position of the vehicle is determined in connection to the loading/unloading event. A Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to the loading/unloading event. An official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information regarding the surroundings such as information about the loading/unloading site is determined in connection to said loading/unloading vehicle event. The information of position of the vehicle in connection to the loading/unloading event, the surrounding corresponding to position of loading/unloading event, official address in connection to loading/unloading event, contact information in connection to loading/unloading event, facilities in connection to loading/unloading event, point in time of thus determined loading/unloading event, and duration of time of corresponding loading/unloading event are according to an embodiment also stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

Here one vehicle 1 is shown, the vehicle according to this example being a distribution vehicle in the form of a truck. The vehicle 1 may be an autonomous vehicle.

Fig. 2b schematically illustrates a rear view of vehicle 1 at a fuelling station F of which one fuel unit FU is shown.

The vehicle event is thus fuelling of the vehicle. The character of the vehicle event is according to an embodiment detected by means of detecting that the vehicle is being fuelled by means of one or more fuel detection sensors. The fuelling event and character of the fuelling event may in addition or as an alternative be determined by means of detecting the actual activity by means of one or more cameras or the like. Such cameras may also be used to detect the surroundings of the fuel station F and the rest of the surroundings in connection to the fuelling vehicle event. The thus determined vehicle event and the thus detected fuelling of said event is stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. A point in time of thus determined vehicle fuelling event and preferably a corresponding duration of time of said fuelling event is determined.

The position of the vehicle is determined in connection to the loading/unloading event. A Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to the fuelling event.

An official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information regarding the surroundings such as information about the fuelling station F is determined in connection to said loading/unloading vehicle event.

The information of position of the vehicle in connection to the fuelling event, the surrounding corresponding to position of fuelling event, official address in connection to fuelling event, contact information in connection to fuelling event, facilities in connection to fuelling event, point in time of thus determined fuelling event, and duration of time of corresponding fuelling event are according to an embodiment also stored and made available for one or more vehicles of a group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a system I for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The system I comprises a unit for processing information/data and/or sending/receiving information/data which is here called electronic control unit 100. The system I thus comprises an electronic control unit 100. The electronic control unit 100 may comprise one or more electronic control units. The electronic control unit 100 may comprise one or more electronic control units in the respective vehicle where more than one vehicle is involved. The electronic control unit 100 may comprise a central control unit. The system I comprises means 1 10 for determining one or more vehicle events. The means 1 10 for determining one or more vehicle events comprises means 1 12 for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events. The means 1 12 for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events may comprise any suitable detecting means comprising any suitable detector/detector unit/sensor/sensor unit or set of detectors/sensors. The detecting means used for detecting the character of a vehicle event may depend on the actual vehicle event. The detecting means used for detecting the character of a vehicle event may comprise any suitable cameras/camera units and/or any suitable Lidar unit for detecting the surroundings in connection to a vehicle event. The step of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events may comprise detecting a character indicating a failed event or an unfinished event such as running out of fuel, a non-functioning loading/unloading station or the like.

According to an embodiment of the system I the means 1 12 for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means 1 12a for detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting the weight. The means 1 12a for detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise means for detecting whether the vehicle is being loaded/unloaded at a loading/unloading station. The means 1 12a for detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise means for detecting the location of a loading/unloading station where the change of weight took place.

According to an embodiment of the system I the means 1 12 for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled. The means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise any suitable detector for detecting fuelling. The means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise means for detecting the type of fuel. Means for detecting the type of fuel may comprise means for detecting the specification of the vehicle, e.g. the chassis number of the vehicle, in order to obtain information about which kind of fuel the vehicle is using such as diesel fuel, petrol fuel/gasoline fuel, ethanol fuel, gas fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG), or electric fuel, i.e. whether the vehicle is an electric vehicle requiring electric energy. Means for detecting the type of fuel may comprise one or more detector for detecting the fuel unit from which the vehicle is receiving fuel, e.g. by means of a camera unit or the like. The information received from the means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may be used as a basis for detecting the location of the fuel station at which the fuelling was performed. The information received from the means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may be used as a basis for updating information in a register or Internet when performing a reversed geographical search on the Internet in connection to detecting the fuelling and type of fuelling.

According to an embodiment of the system I said vehicle event thus comprises fuelling of said vehicle, wherein the means 1 12 for detecting the character of the fuelling event further comprises means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel. Thus, the means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled comprises means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel. The means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel comprises means for detecting the type of fuel.

The type of fuel may comprise any type of fuel used for propelling/driving a vehicle. The type of fuel may comprise diesel fuel, petrol fuel/gasoline fuel, ethanol fuel, gas fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG), or electric fuel, i.e. electric energy for energizing an electric machine for propelling/driving a vehicle. The means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel may comprise means for detecting the fuel unit from which the vehicle is receiving fuel, e.g. by means of a camera unit or the like. The means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel may comprise means for specifying the type of vehicle, i.e. what type of fuel the vehicle is using. The means for specifying the type of vehicle may comprise the means 1 12f for determining a specification of the vehicle described below. According to an embodiment of the system I the means 1 12 for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means 1 12c for detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle. The means 1 12c for detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting change in inclination. The information received from the means 1 12c for detecting whether there is a change in the inclination may be used as a basis for determining whether the vehicle is being towed. According to an embodiment it is detected whether the engine/electric machine of the vehicle is activated. If the vehicle has a certain inclination and the engine is deactivated/turned off and the vehicle is moving it may be determined that the vehicle is being towed.

According to an embodiment of the system I the means 1 12 for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means 1 12d for detecting whether the vehicle is moving. The means 1 12d for detecting whether the vehicle is moving may comprise any suitable detector unit such as a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for continuously determining the position of the vehicle and thus whether the vehicle is moving. The means 1 12d for detecting whether the vehicle is moving may comprise one or more camera units. The means 1 12d for detecting whether the vehicle is moving may comprise may comprise one or more detector for detecting whether the engine is running and whether the coupling is engaged and whether a gear of the transmission is engaged.

According to an embodiment of the system I the means 1 12 for detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises means 1 12e for detecting a possible vehicle failure. The means 1 12e for detecting a possible vehicle failure may comprise any suitable detector/sensor for detecting any possible failure of the vehicle. The vehicle failure may be any vehicle failure such as any vehicle failure preventing the vehicle from being operated/driven. The vehicle failure may be any vehicle failure such as any engine related vehicle failure, any powertrain related failure, any electrical failure, any mechanical failure, flat tire or the like.

According to an embodiment of the system the means 1 12 for detecting the character of the vehicle event comprises means 1 12f for determining a specification of the vehicle. The specification of the vehicle may comprise chassis number of the vehicle, the type of the vehicle, number of axles of the vehicle, whether the vehicle has a trailer, age of the vehicle or the like additional relevant information for further facilitating specifying the character of the vehicle event may be utilized. Information regarding the specification of the vehicle may be stored in any suitable storage means such as the storage means 120 described below. Information regarding the specification of the vehicle may be stored in any suitable internal storage means such as the internal storage means 122 described below. Information regarding the specification of the vehicle may be stored in any suitable external storage means such as the external storage means 124 described below.

According to an embodiment of the system said at least one vehicle event comprises one or more of: fuelling of the vehicle, loading/unloading of the vehicle, transport of load, failure of the vehicle, parking of the vehicle.

The system I further comprises means 120 for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events.

The storage means 120 comprises internal storage means 122 on board the vehicle. The internal storage means 122 may be any suitable means for storing information of determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events such as a control unit, a computer or the like. The internal storage means 122 is according to an embodiment comprised in the electronic control unit 100.

The storage means comprises external storage means 124 external to the vehicle. The external storage means 124 may be any suitable external storage means such as a server unit, a personal computer, a tablet, a laptop, a smartphone and/or a so called storage-cloud or the like. Such stored information about vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events may comprise information about location of the event and/or position of the vehicle during the event and is then stored as map data which according to an embodiment is stored together with other map data and/or updates other map data. Such stored information about vehicle events and detected character of said events is according to an embodiment accessible for other vehicles through e.g. map data in a navigator if the event relates to an update/a specification of a fuel station, a loading/unloading station or the like. The external storage means 124 is according to an embodiment accessible to other vehicles.

The system I further comprises means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles.

The means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment means for communicating information related to the event and character of the event within a vehicle-to-vehicle communication arrangement.

The means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment means for communicating information related to the event and character of the event within a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication arrangement wherein the information is arranged to be made available from infrastructure to other vehicle within vehicle-to-infrastructure communication arrangements.

The means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles comprises according to an embodiment means for transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to an internal storage means of said vehicles and/or to a navigator of said vehicles.

The system I further comprises means 140 for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring. The means 140 for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring comprises according to an embodiment means for transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a central vehicle group monitoring unit. The means 140 for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring comprises according to an embodiment a central vehicle group monitoring unit. The information may thus comprise several events and characters of the events for one or more vehicles such that a history of vehicle activitiess is made available which may comprise detailed information about vehicle events due to the detected character of the vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as time spent on different vehicle events and the like.

The system I further comprises means 150 for making the thus stored information available for control.

The means 150 for making the thus stored information available for control comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a control unit of one or more vehicle and/or a central control unit for controlling one or more vehicles based upon the thus determined information comprising the character of the event. Other vehicle may hereby receive information that may change the plan for the vehicle such as choosing another fuel station or the particular fuel station where fuelling and type of fuel has been detected as a character of the vehicle event. The information related to the event and character of the event may be made available to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle for control of the vehicle based upon the thus transmitted information.

According to an embodiment the system I comprises means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events. The means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events comprises any suitable means for determining the point in time of the vehicle events comprising any suitable clock, watch or the like providing time which may be stored in a storage means such as the storage means 120. The means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events comprises means for determining the date of the vehicle events. The means for determining the date of the vehicle events may comprise any suitable electronic calendar.

According to an embodiment the system I comprises means 170 for determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events. The means 170 for determining the duration of time of said vehicle events may comprise any suitable calculation means such as any suitable calculator. The means 170 for determining the duration of time of said vehicle events may comprise said means the means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events configured to determine the start of the vehicle events and the end of the vehicle events for determining the duration of the vehicle events. According to an embodiment the system comprises means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event. The means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises determining the position of the vehicle in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event. The means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle comprises according to an embodiment a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle. The means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event may be arranged to be performed continuously or intermittently during the event wherein it may be determined whether the vehicle is moving or not.

The means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event comprises according to an embodiment means 180a for determining the geographical surroundings corresponding to the determined position. The means 180a comprises according to an embodiment means for performing a reversed geographical search based upon the thus determined position by means of the Internet or other means where such information is accessible/retrievable. According to an embodiment of the system the means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises means 182 for determining an official address. The means 182 for determining an official address comprises according to an embodiment means for performing a reversed geographical search based upon the thus determined position by means of the Internet or other means where address information is accessible/retrievable. The means 182 for determining an official address comprises according to an embodiment detection means such as camera for detecting address signs and the like.

According to an embodiment of the system the means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises means 184 for determining relevant contact information. The means 184 for determining relevant contact information comprises according to an embodiment means for performing a reversed geographical search based upon the thus determined position by means of the Internet or other means where contact information is accessible/retrievable. According to an embodiment of the system the means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises means 186 for determining further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event. The means 186 for determining further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event comprises means for determining the surroundings in connection to the position of the vehicle such as facilities related to the vehicle event. The means 186 for determining further relevant event information such as facilities comprises according to an embodiment means for performing a reversed geographical search based upon the thus determined position by means of the Internet or other means where such information is accessible/retrievable. The means 186 for determining further relevant event information such as facilities comprises according to an embodiment detection means such as camera for detecting facilities, buildings, stations and the like. The means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event comprises according to an embodiment means 188 for categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event.

The system I thus comprises means 188 for categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 10 for determining one or more vehicle events via a link 10. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 10 arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 10 representing data for vehicle event. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12a for detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle via a link 12a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12a arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12a representing data for vehicle weight. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12b for detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled via a link 12b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12b arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12b representing data for fuelling. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12b-1 for specifying the type of fuel via a link 12b-1 . The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12b-1 arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12b-1 representing data for type of fuel.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12c for detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle via a link 12c. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12c arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12c representing data for vehicle inclination.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12d for detecting whether the vehicle is moving via a link 12d. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12d arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12d representing data for vehicle movement.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12e for detecting a possible vehicle failure via a link 12e. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12e arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12e representing data for vehicle failure.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12f for determining a specification of the vehicle via a link 12f. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12f arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12f representing data for vehicle specification. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12 for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events via a link 12-1 . The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12-1 arranged to send a signal to said means 1 12 representing data for one or more of vehicle weight, fuelling, type of fuel, vehicle inclination, vehicle movement, vehicle failure and vehicle specification.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 1 12 for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events via a link 12-2. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 12-2 arranged to receive a signal from said means 1 12 representing data for character of said one or more vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 120 for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events via a link 20a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 20a arranged to send a signal to said means 120 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events. The electronic control unit 100 may further via the link 20a be arranged to send signals to said means 120 representing any of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 120 for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events via a link 20b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 20b arranged to receive a signal from said means 120 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. The electronic control unit 100 may further via the link 20b be arranged to receive signals from said means 120 representing any of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the internal storage means 122 via a link 22a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 22a arranged to send a signal to said means 122 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the internal storage means 122 via a link 22b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 22b arranged to receive a signal from said means 122 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the external storage means 124 via a link 24a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 24a arranged to send a signal to said means 124 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the external storage means 124 via a link 24b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 24b arranged to receive a signal from said means 124 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles via a link 30a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 30 arranged to send a signal to said means 130 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 130 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles via a link 30b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 30b arranged to receive a signal from said means 130 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 140 for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring via a link 40a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 40 arranged to send a signal to said means 140 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 140 for making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring via a link 40b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 40b arranged to receive a signal from said means 140 representing data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 150 for making the thus stored information available for control via a link 50a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 50 arranged to send a signal to said means 150 representing data for control based on data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 150 for making the thus stored information available for control via a link 50b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 50b arranged to receive a signal from said means 150 representing data for control based on data for stored vehicle events and the detected character of said events. Said data may further comprise one or more of data for position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, data for surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, data for official address in connection to vehicle event, data for contact information in connection to vehicle event, data for facilities in connection to vehicle event, data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events via a link 60a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 60 arranged to send a signal to said means 160 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events. The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 160 for determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events via a link 60b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 60b arranged to receive a signal from said means 160 representing data for point in time of thus determined vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 170 for determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events via a link 70a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 70 arranged to send a signal to said means 170 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 170 for determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events via a link 70b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 70b arranged to receive a signal from said means 170 representing data for duration of time of vehicle events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event via a link 80a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 80a arranged to send a signal to said means 180 representing data for vehicle events and the detected character of said events.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 180 for determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event via a link 80b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 80b arranged to receive a signal from said means 180 representing data for the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 180a for determining the geographical surroundings corresponding to the determined position via a link 80a. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 80 arranged to send a signal to said means 180 representing data for the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 180a for determining the geographical surroundings corresponding to the determined position via a link 80b. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 80b arranged to receive a signal from said means 180 representing data for geographical surroundings corresponding to the determined position.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 182 for determining an official address via a link 82. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 82 arranged to receive a signal from said means 182 representing data for official address in connection to a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 184 for determining relevant contact information via a link 84. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 84 arranged to receive a signal from said means 184 representing data for contact information in connection to a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 186 for determining further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event via a link 86. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 86 arranged to receive a signal from said means 186 representing data for further relevant event information comprising according to an embodiment data for facilities in connection to a vehicle event.

The electronic control unit 100 is operably connected to the means 188 for categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event via a link 88. The electronic control unit 100 is via the link 88 arranged to receive a signal from said means 188 representing data for category of vehicle stop position in connection to a vehicle event. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the embodiment the method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles comprises a step S1 . In this step one or more vehicle events are determined.

The step S1 of determining one or more vehicle events comprises a step S1 a of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events.

According to the embodiment the method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles comprises a step S2. In this step the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events is stored.

According to the embodiment the method for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles comprises a step S3. In this step the thus stored information is made available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control.

The step S1 a of detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events may comprise any suitable detecting means comprising any suitable detector/detector unit/sensor/sensor unit or set of detectors/sensors. The detecting means used for detecting the character of a vehicle event may depend on the actual vehicle event.

The steps S2 of storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events stored in any suitable storage means comprising any suitable internal storage means of the particular vehicle such as a control unit, a computer or the like and/or any suitable external storage means such as a server unit, a personal computer, a tablet, a laptop, a smartphone and/or a so called storage-cloud or the like. Such stored information about vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events may comprise information about location of the event and/or position of the vehicle during the event and is then stored as map data which according to an embodiment is stored together with other map data and/or updates other map data. If determined, one or more of information of the following may be stored: position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event, the surrounding corresponding to position of vehicle event, official address in connection to vehicle event, contact information in connection to vehicle event, facilities in connection to vehicle event, point in time of thus determined vehicle events, and duration of time of corresponding vehicle events.

The step S3 of making the thus stored information available comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. The thus stored information related to the event and character of the event made available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles may comprise information regarding specified location of a facility related to the vehicle event such as specification of type of fuel of a fuel station, location of an event, existence/non-existence/availability/opening time of a facility related to an event or the like.

The step S3 of making the thus stored information available for vehicle group monitoring comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a central vehicle group monitoring unit. The information may thus comprise several events and characters of the events for one or more vehicles such that a history of vehicle activitiess is made available. This may comprise detailed information about vehicle events due to the detected character of the vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as time spent on different vehicle events and the like is obtained.

The step S3 of making the thus stored information available for control comprises according to an embodiment transmitting information related to the event and character of the event to a control unit of one or more vehicle and/or a central control unit for controlling one or more vehicles based upon the thus determined information comprising the character of the event. The information related to the event and character of the event may be made available to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle for control of the vehicle based upon the thus transmitted information.

According to an embodiment of the method said at least one vehicle event comprises one or more of: fuelling of the vehicle, loading/unloading of the vehicle, transport of load, failure of the vehicle, parking of the vehicle. Of course the vehicle may be driving with no extra load, e.g. after having unloaded the vehicle, which is also a vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of detecting the character of a thus determined vehicle event comprises the step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle and/or detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled and/or detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle and/or detecting whether the vehicle is moving and/or detecting a possible vehicle failure.

The step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting the weight. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the weight of the vehicle may comprise detecting whether the vehicle is being loaded/unloaded at a loading/unloading station.

The step of detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise any suitable detector for detecting fuelling. The step of detecting whether the vehicle is fuelled may comprise detecting the type of fuel. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the inclination of the vehicle may comprise any suitable detector for detecting change in inclination. The step of detecting whether there is a change in the inclination may be used as a basis for determining whether the vehicle is being towed. The step of detecting whether the vehicle is moving may comprise any suitable detector unit such as a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for continuously determining the position of the vehicle and thus whether the vehicle is moving and/or camera unit and/or radar unit and/or Lidar unit. The step of detecting a possible vehicle failure may comprise any suitable detector/sensor for detecting any possible failure of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events. By thus determining a point in time of thus determined vehicle events information relating to the history of vehicle activities may be provided by information regarding when the events took place which in combination with the detected character of the event may provide detailed information about vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as when different vehicle events occurred and the like will be obtained in an easy and efficient way.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events. By thus determining a corresponding duration of time of said vehicle events information relating to the history of vehicle activities may be provided by information regarding how long the events lasted which in combination with the detected character of the event may provide detailed information about vehicle events so that detailed information about up-time, the use of the vehicle, efficiency of the use such as time spent on different vehicle events and the like will be obtained in an easy and efficient way. According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event. According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event. The step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event comprises according to an embodiment using a Global Navigation satellite System, GNSS, e.g. a global positioning system, GPS, for determining the position of the vehicle. The step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event/ in connection to detecting the character of a vehicle event may be performed continuously or intermittently during the event wherein it may be determined whether the vehicle is moving or not.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of creating a historic profile based upon the thus determined position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event and/or detection of character of a vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of determining the position of the vehicle in connection to a vehicle event comprises the step of determining an official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event. A reversed geographic search on the Internet may be performed to determine information relating to official address and/or relevant contact information and/or further relevant event information in connection to said vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the method the step of detecting the character of the vehicle event comprises the step of determining a specification of the vehicle. The specification of the vehicle may comprise chassis number of the vehicle, the type of the vehicle, number of axles of the vehicle, whether the vehicle has a trailer, age of the vehicle or the like. According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of categorizing a vehicle stop position based upon the thus detected character of a vehicle event.

According to an embodiment the method comprises the step of performing a reversed geographical search of the surroundings in connection to detecting the character of the vehicle event.

According to an embodiment of the method said vehicle event comprises fuelling of said vehicle, wherein the step of detecting the character of the fuelling event further comprises the step of specifying the type of fuel. The type of fuel may comprise any type of fuel used for propelling/driving a vehicle. The type of fuel may comprise diesel fuel, petrol fuel/gasoline fuel, ethanol fuel, hydrogen fuel, gas fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or electric fuel, i.e. electric energy for energizing an electric machine for propelling/driving a vehicle. The step of specifying the type of fuel may comprise detecting the fuel unit from which the vehicle is receiving fuel, e.g. by means of a camera unit or the like. The step of specifying the type of fuel may comprise specifying the type of vehicle, i.e. what type of fuel the vehicle is using.

The method steps are according to an embodiment performed automatically. The method and the method steps described above with reference to fig. 4 are according to an embodiment performed with the system I according to fig. 3.

With reference to figure 5, a diagram of an apparatus 500 is shown. The control unit 100 described with reference to fig. 3 may according to an embodiment comprise apparatus 500. Apparatus 500 comprises a nonvolatile memory 520, a data processing device 510 and a read/write memory 550. Non-volatile memory 520 has a first memory portion 530 wherein a computer program, such as an operating system, is stored for controlling the function of apparatus 500. Further, apparatus 500 comprises a bus controller, a serial communication port, l/O-means, an A/D-converter, a time date entry and transmission unit, an event counter and an interrupt controller (not shown). Non-volatile memory 520 also has a second memory portion 540.

A computer program P is provided comprising routines for determining the activity of at least one vehicle in a group of vehicles. The program P comprises routines for determining one or more vehicle events. The routines for determining one or more vehicle events comprises routines for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events. The program P comprises routines for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events. The program P comprises routines for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. The computer program P may be stored in an executable manner or in a compressed condition in a separate memory 560 and/or in read/write memory 550. When it is stated that data processing device 510 performs a certain function it should be understood that data processing device 510 performs a certain part of the program which is stored in separate memory 560, or a certain part of the program which is stored in read/write memory 550.

Data processing device 510 may communicate with a data communications port 599 by means of a data bus 516. Non-volatile memory 520 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 513. Separate memory 560 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 51 1 . Read/write memory 550 is adapted for communication with data processing device 510 via a data bus 515. To the data communications port 599 e.g. the links connected to the control units 100 may be connected.

When data is received on data port 599 it is temporarily stored in second memory portion 540. When the received input data has been temporarily stored, data processing device 510 is set up to perform execution of code in a manner described above. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for determining one or more vehicle events. The signals used for determining one or more vehicle events comprises signals used for detecting the character of said one or more vehicle events. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for storing the thus determined vehicle events and the thus detected character of said events. The signals received on data port 599 can be used by apparatus 500 for making the thus stored information available for one or more vehicles of said group of vehicles and/or for vehicle group monitoring and/or control. Parts of the methods described herein can be performed by apparatus 500 by means of data processing device 510 running the program stored in separate memory 560 or read/write memory 550. When apparatus 500 runs the program, parts of the methods described herein are executed.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.