A Status Recording and Reporting Network

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a network and system for monitoring and recording data.

Background

ATV related on farm injury or death is one of the highest incident contributors in the New Zealand agricultural sector. There are around 50 major ATV crashes per year, with hundreds of minor incidents unreported. In most cases the crashes are in unmonitored locations, and help can be hours away, so that death is not an uncommon result.

Other farm equipment, such as tractors, effluent spreaders, irrigators and the like, also need to be monitored and controlled so that they do not operate in areas which are inappropriate or unnecessary.

Further, to secure the full benefit from precision farming techniques the rapid collection and collation of data in order to monitor animal, effluent, irrigation, soil and weather states is necessary. This requires reliable real time data flow. I the farm environment this can be highly problematic, and expensive, as often cell phone coverage can be limited, with large areas of farms devoid of any coverage at all. There is therefore a need for on farm guaranteed communications networks.

Similarly, in warehouses and the like problems arise with the use and misuse of fork trucks, particularly electrically operated versions which are generally silent/quiet in operation. The inherent functional activities of fork trucks also gives rise to accidents through operator error or misuse.

Hire equipment, particularly equipment such as generators, hoists and the like also needs to be monitored for status such as location, engine hours, and in the case of mobile equipment, proper care being exercised in operation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a network and system for monitoring and recording data, and for transmitting that data. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for monitoring and recording of vehicle operating parameters, and management thereof and which provides operator feedback. In the alternative it is an object to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Summary of the Invention

In a first broad aspect the system of the present invention comprises a means for collecting status information about a vehicle or item of plant or equipment, such as position, acceleration, rollover, impact, and operating time, and a transmission means to transmit the collected status information to a central base station for recordal, analysis, and if necessary, action.

Preferably the on vehicle or item of plant or equipment device includes an operator feedback means to provide feedback to the operator with a view to provide in substantially real-time feed back to the operator status which is inappropriate or some aspect requiring attention. Desirably the feedback is provided by audible alert such as a distinctive noise, pattern of noise, or pre-recorded message.

Guaranteed communications coverage is important to the system of the present invention. For example in the farming environment data collection in order to monitor animal, effluent, irrigation, soil and weather states requires reliable data flow.

Optionally the vehicle or item of plant or equipment location information is established using a GPS device, with communication being via trunk radio, GSM or CDMA networks.

Alternatively, communication can be established using a Zigbee communication network as described in publish US Patent Application US2009/0117915, the content of which is incorporated fully herein by reference.

ZigBee is a high level communication and applications protocol using small, low-power digital radios based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless networks. It is an open standards protocol developed and supported by a global ecosystem of almost 250 companies as at 2008. It is targeted at RF applications that require a low data transfer rate, low power consumption/long battery life, and secure networking using standards based security [AES128]

Other key features are that systems using the protocol are low maintenance (mesh, self organizing), reliable (self healing), have the ability to scale to thousands of nodes, chipsets available from multiple sources, and the firmware is remotely upgradeable.

Devices incorporating Zigbee have the ability to locate other nodes in the network by signal strength, without the use of GPS.

Advantages of Zigbee technology are that low data transfer rates have very low power requirements, which is important for remote locations. The ability to add propriety network location technologies without GPS is an added bonus.

High power Zigbee modules are currently available having 60mw transceivers. Such transceivers have a range of 1.2km to 1.6km. A standard 1mw Zigbee module sending some simple temperature data, once every second, will have a battery life of 117hrs using one AA cell. If the data is sent once every 5 minutes, that life extends to 4 years. Increasing the radio power 60 times will reduce this. Assuming that the input power increases by 100 times, then a high powered module will still work for 14 days off one AA cell (which has about 1.8A-h of energy). Simply putting 4 rechargeable NI-MH AA cells (2.5A-h) will increase operating time by in the order of 5.33, or to 75 days. The system can be designed to alert when to change batteries.

In a preferred form the system returns real-time feedback to the data source enabling corrective easures to be taken and/or supporting decision making.

Figure 1 compares WiFi, Bluetooth and Zigbee and Cellular networking. The quick comparison gives a good summary of why Zigbee suits certain applications - better range, unique addresses and self-healing mesh networking.

Figure 2 illustrates graphically a Zigbee based network for on farm use in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 shows further features and aspects of an on farm network.

Figure 4 shows a flow chart outlining operational decision making within a monitoring system of the present invention.

A further alternative communication system utilises the GME telemetry system.

The GME telemetry system comprises several major components:

• The TX3600T UHF telemetry transceiver

• A control interface unit and

• A control software program.

A typical system comprises a base station (fixed or mobile) and a number of outstations with TX3600T transceivers providing the radio link. The system is controlled at the base station either by the software installed on a PC or with an RCU3600 remote control display head.

The control interface unit (CIU) provides a protected interface between the outstation transceiver's ports and any external sensors or remote control functions. An outstation's CIU can action up to 8 output commands and accept up to 8 ON/OFF inputs, of which 4 may be analogue. The control software allows the user to control and monitor multiple outstations and receive alarms from those sites along with real-time updating of any device connected to an outstation.

The transmitted signal contains the address ID of the station being called and the input/output ports being addressed, as well as the command or request message being sent or received. The outstation repeats the message back to the base station to confirm it has been correctly received.

The base station can be pre-programmed to retransmit the message a given number of times until the outstation confirmation reply is received. If no reply or an invalid response is received, an appropriate warning message is sent to the user.

The GME telemetry system operates in the 450 - 520 MHz UHF band. This means that if the path between the base station and an outstation can achieve a reliable signal level, ranges of up to 100 km can be attained.

However, if the path is blocked by the topography of the land or to a lesser extent by trees, the range can be reduced to several kilometres.

In one embodiment the invention comprises a device that monitors a farm vehicle in conjunction with a GPS device. The device is integrated with communications coverage to monitor vehicle status and rollover. A G- Force sensor provides a means of alert of an incident.

The device is a substantially passive, vehicle battery powered unit for the monitoring of vehicle safety and status. It has a speaker system for providing voice alerts to the operator.

The device has a two fold purpose. Firstly, in the event of a rollover or a crash, it will sound a siren at the main emergency location (e.g. Dairy Shed) and will alert cell phones via text message of the incident and the location. If the cell phones do not acknowledge, it will move down the list of contact numbers until it receives a confirmation.

Secondly the device monitors vehicle speeds and driver behaviour. It can alert via speaker of over speeding, harsh cornering or excessive accelerating or braking.

The system of this embodiment has the ability to generate monthly reports yo report on vehicle activity.

Desirably the device can also hold a substantial volume of geo fences. It can indicate where the vehicle is (e.g. Paddock or dairy shed) or if it has left the site.

The device comprises a casing within which is housed a G-Force sensor, GPS unit, a USB Port, and related hardware electronics. It integrates with

a GME telemetry system transmitter, and both are powered off the vehicle battery. Each device has its own unique IP address.

Statuses and alerts are transmitted through the data transmitter to the base receiver. From there they are uploaded through the phone line to a central IP Address Gateway and stored in a database. Preferably the handling of all collected data is web based. Issues such as over speed and harsh braking alert the driver via non mutable voice alert as well as creating a status.

Statuses are recorded in the database, and alerts trigger an action protocol based off the client hardware and response configuration (i.e. set the siren off for 45 seconds and text these cell phone numbers).

Monthly reports and billing are handled within an internet application.

The system also allows for tracking and viewing location of vehicles, and items of plant and equipment, and the generation of incident reports.

In the farm context a centralised system offers:

• Monitoring of ATV for location.

• Upload of key geo fences (e.g. Sheds, no coverage zones, house, leaving property)

• Alert to cell phones, and activation of siren at shed for incident alert. GPS co-ordinate.

• Stacking of alerts if confirmation of alert not received. Move on to next phone number.

• Monthly billing system.

Optionally a device could incorporate a CDMA/GSM data card rather than using the GME telemetry system.

Principal vehicle behaviours monitored are excess speeds, harsh braking and harsh cornering.

Vehicle location can be shown graphically overlaid on an aerial photograph, or on a GPS farm map.

For local alert monitoring and vehicle location identification an on-site PC is required to respond to alerts generated on the vehicle. The PC is required to generate a series of messages to alert key staff. The PC specification needed is low, and a unit without a screen or keyboard an option.

The Geo-fenced exclusion zones (hazard zones) can be resolved to the vehicle to prevent entrance to areas where hazards exist (could be too steep or recently sprayed etc etc). Such zones can be updated regularly via the network.

Preferably the alert system is multi dimensional. It triggers different responses at different G-Force thresholds.

1. Operator Alert - 85% of safe operating parameter breached in X or Y axis.

2. Owner Alert - 100% of safe operating parameter breached in X or Y axis. In addition, the Owner alert may be triggered if, say, there are 3 operator alert events within 8 hours.

3. SOS - Roll Over or rapid stop sensed. This may involve an on site alarm being raised, such as horn and flashing lights. In addition an alert message to "owner" would be sent in multiple formats to multiple locations - eg MP3 recorded message sent to multiple phones, something like - "ATV 123 has had a serious incident at Opiki Farm. Log into website for exact

location", and a SMS message - "ATV 123 has had a serious incident at Opiki Farm. Log into website for exact location", and email message - "ATV 123 has had a serious incident at Opiki Farm. Click this link for exact location"

Another embodiment of the invention comprises a fork truck fitted with an Arduino board equipped with a Zigbee module and an accelerometer, would be able to report the position and operation parameters of a forklift working in an enclosed warehouse. From this it is possible to get a picture of where each forklift is, warn drivers of operation outside parameters and reporting etc.

An important advantage of this embodiment, over and above safety considerations, is OSH compliance. It also allows quick locate of equipment through enhanced tracking capabilities.

An extensive array of sensor inputs can be incorporated to gather usage, impact, and operator data, while configurable inputs and events allow collection of data regarding speed, temperature, lift count, travel time, key- on time, and reverse count.

Crash event monitoring and reporting includes the ability to register a driver to a particular fork hoist, and proximity alerts can be provided for people within the operating zone with transponders that warn the driver of pedestrians. Other driver alerts can include height and weight parameters (overweight at full height), warnings and reporting on hoists in restricted areas, speed warnings and reporting in restricted areas, and idle time reporting.

Automatic alerts can be sent to central management via e-mail, text message and phone so as to keep appropriate parties informed about maintenance and training needs.

In a further embodiment the invention provides a device for managing and monitoring hire equipment. It would provide a simple in/out of depot system at low cost, using battery power.

Additional advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the principles in particular form as discussed and illustrated.

Accordingly it will be appreciated that changes may be made to the above described embodiment of the invention without departing from the principles taught herein. For example, where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or components having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Other uses for the system of the present invention, with minimal modification, are expressly contemplated.

Finally it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described or illustrated, but is intended to cover all alterations or modifications which are within the scope of the broadest aspects disclosed.