"Device for monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle"

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TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention The object of the present invention is related to a device for monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle.

When the driver of a motor vehicle is not the owner of the vehicle itself, whether it is a personal vehicle belonging to another person, a company vehicle or a rented vehicle, the driving style of the driver himself may be characterised by a lower level of attention and/or caution, at times to a point of being destructive to the vehicle mechanical system, such to cause early wear of some of its components, and thus have a negative impact on fuel, oil and tyre consumption, and even such to be subsequently hazardous for the subsequent drivers and passengers of the vehicle itself, due to concealed undeclared damages. This type of situation may occur for example in case of a company car temporarily entrusted to a driver, or a personal vehicle lent to the spouse or son/daughter, or also in case of rental vehicles: in all these cases the owner of the vehicle may unknowingly fall victim to possible poor use of the means.

Damaged shock absorbers, early wear of tyres, loss of set-up and wheel balancing, mechanical malfunctions and/or failures of various types may very frequently be the consequence of poor conduct (if not utter carelessness) and not controllable by the driver, and, furthermore, they can be a source of unexpected maintenance costs and early wear of the vehicle.

In particular, in cases where the driver of the vehicle is not always the same, it is practically impossible to hold the driver in question liable with respect to his conduct, in that each driver does not deem himself answerable due to the practical impossibility to identify the individual responsibility: thus, this situation may lead to the driver feeling free to behave in a completely different manner with respect to when driving a personal vehicle. It would be therefore desirable that the owner of the vehicle have the information adapted to allow monitoring the driving style of the driver to whom the vehicle is entrusted from time to time for use.

The possibility of ascertaining the driving style would also be useful in cases where the driver himself is the owner of the vehicle, so as to be reassured regarding the proper quality of his driving style, and possibly improve it and

rectify it whenever deemed necessary.

A further scope of interest is represented by the second hand cars market, wherein while the owner selling a vehicle encounters difficulties to prove his good past driving conduct, the purchaser needs to be reassured particularly regarding this aspect.

Other further objects are represented by the vehicle maintenance management as well as obtaining useful indications to improve fuel consumption and more generally the proper preservation of the vehicle, as well as operations for testing new and/or serviced vehicles and posterior analysis of accident circumstances.

A further scope of interest is that regarding an early analysis of the state of wear of components to which the proper operation of the vehicle is sensitive, alongside the identification cases of engine "over-rev". Prior art Already proposed have been methods and systems for monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle. In particular, known from document EP- Al-1811481 is a system particularly intended for training or self-training the driver of a motor vehicle to acquire proper driving style. The system described in this document comprises a device for monitoring the position of the vehicle in motion, typically of the GPS type, a plurality of sensors adapted to constantly detect parameters regarding the progress of the vehicle (in particular the engine revolutions, motion speed, longitudinal acceleration and deceleration, position of the throttle valve, set speed ratio, fuel consumption, possible malfunctions or failures), and a processor which processes the parameters identified by the various sensors and for generating a profile of the driver indicating the driving style of the latter according to the position of the vehicle, supplying a "feedback" directly to the driver and to a remote station.

A system thus made is on one hand extremely complex, due to the necessity of interfacing the processor with the plurality of sensors to detect the instantaneous conditions of operation of the vehicle as well as with the GPS, which is the "core of the system" in this case, while on the other hand such system does not take into account other parameters which, on the contrary, would be necessary to determine the driving style of the driver in an exhaustive manner. More in particular, given that this known system provides for detecting accelerations and decelerations of the vehicle solely towards the direction of

motion, i.e. along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, such system does not allow to determine inappropriate, if not critical, driving conditions not simply correlated to unusual longitudinal accelerations or decelerations. For example, situations regarding driving through bends, or in presence of potholes or bumps at a high speed, sudden and violent swerving, lateral impacts even though of low significance, etc.; all these cases are extremely common and they are the main reason behind most of the abovementioned irregularities, caused by a poor driving style.

In summary, this system of the prior art essentially reveals three drawbacks: it is extremely complex; regardless of its complexity, it does provide exhaustive or sufficient data for a complete analysis of the of the driving conduct of the driver of the vehicle on which such system is applied; and lastly, considering the large number of sensors it requires, practically such system cannot be used as an "after market" accessory. Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is that of overcoming the abovementioned drawbacks, and in particular providing a device capable of monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle even with explicit reference to irregular driving not necessary depending on irregular longitudinal accelerations or decelerations.

Further object of the invention is that of providing a device capable of allowing monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle in a sufficiently exhaustive manner, without necessarily requiring the use of a large number of sensors for detecting the operation parameters of the engine or of the relative transmission, therefore not even interfacing it with such sensors, and hence being not only suitable to be easily applied directly - by the vehicle manufacturer - as a standard accessory, but also as an "after market" accessory.

A further object of the invention is that of providing a monitoring and analysing device not only useable for ascertaining and identifying possible erroneous and careless conduct by the driver, but also for self-training the driver to acquire a proper driving style, as well as for assessing the behaviour of new vehicles during test or comparison operations, by detecting simply different, if not irregular, situations even in case of appropriate driving conduct.

In order to attain these and other objects, the invention has the object of providing a device for monitoring and analysing the driving of a motor vehicle,

including a unit mountable on board the vehicle, the main characteristic of such device lying in the fact that such unit is designed to detect and record - at least temporarily - vibrations vibrations/accelerations along three axis substantially oriented longitudinally, transversely and vertically with respect to the vehicle, during the motion of the latter.

Due to this solution idea, the device according to the invention allows identifying irregular driving conducts in an exhaustive manner, i.e. not only those deriving from excessive longitudinal accelerations or decelerations due to inappropriate actuation of the accelerator or brake pedal respectively, as well as due to front or rear impacts, but also in case of bends taken at an excessively high speed, violent swerving (cases of oversteer and understeer), possible lateral impacts as well as overspending in presence of potholes, ramps, bumps or uneven surfaces.

Furthermore, in case of impacts or accidents, the circumstances preceding the event may be detected through the combination of the accelerations detected on three axis. Through the numeric integration of the accelerations detected it is also possible to trace the linear or angular speed of the vehicle immediately prior to the event, thus allowing - if necessary - to ascertain the compatibility of such speed with the road condition at the time when the event occurred (speed limit, traffic, visibility etc.). In particular, in case of an accident the numeric integration would start in an inverse order right from the final moment after the occurrence of the accident, characterised by the ascertained speed equivalent to zero.

The accelerations detected along the three axis and stored in the device further allow obtaining "feed back" information regarding the progress of the state of wear of the components of the vehicle on which the vehicle is mounted, such as tyres, shock absorbers and mechanical parts in general which generate irregular vibrations, i.e. at levels exceeding the reference threshold. For example, a worn- out shock absorber or a tyre not inflated appropriately shall generate - during the motion - irregular movements of the vehicle which shall have an impact on the vibration/acceleration components detected by the device.

Even possible cases of vehicle engine over-rev, caused by the driver, may be detected in terms of temporary peaks of the vibrations imparted onto the vehicle framework by the engine itself: in particular the accelerometer sensors may detect the characteristic frequency of vibration of the engine, and using it the device may easily calculate the engine revolutions.

According to a preferred implementation, the device unit according to the invention includes accelerometer transducer means regarding the abovementioned three axis, a microcontroller including a processor, made for acquiring and processing signals coming from the abovementioned accelerometer transducer means, and means for storing the data processed by said processor.

The accelerometer transducers may be arranged according to three cartesian coordinates of the vehicle on which the device is mounted during use, or according to a non orthogonal triad of axis of the vehicle or of the unit which such transducers include. In such case, the transducers shall not necessarily be arranged along the three axis - respectively longitudinal, transverse and vertical axis - of the vehicle, but according to axis depending on the mechanical installation of the device unit and reset to the cartesian coordinates of the vehicle through data rotation by numeric/software means subsequent to a "reset" event, through which the device is supplied with information regarding actual position. For example, should the device unit be mounted for example on the windscreen - generally tilted in an accentuated manner - of the vehicle, the unit definitely shall not have the reference internal cartesian coordinate system coinciding with that of the vehicle. In such case, required shall be the abovementioned reset "event" to detect the reference system of the device unit with respect to that of the vehicle, calculating the consequent offsets and, for all future uses, the device shall use such offsets in order to numerically reset the reference system to that of the motor vehicle.

Such "reset" event may be performed, regarding the horizontal axis, by measuring the static component of the gravitational acceleration positioning the vehicle in a flat surface while, regarding the transverse component, a self-training event may be used.

The device unit according to the invention can perform its functions to the sole advantage of the driver, through the indications provided to the latter through a possible display and a possible indicator of the visual and/or acoustic alarm or an alarm of any other type (vibration, etc.) adapted to directly signal to the driver - for self-training purposes - the occurrence of irregular situations, or it can also be conveniently but not necessarily provided with a connection interface for transferring the processed data out from the device.

It should be observed that the device unit according to the invention is conceived and made for operating without requiring to detect the absolute position

of the vehicle on which it is installed.

Description of the invention

Now, the invention shall be described in detail with reference to the attached drawing, strictly provided for exemplifying and non-limiting purposes, diagrammatically showing a diagram of the monitoring and analysing device according to the invention.

Referring to the drawing, shown is a monitoring and analysing device according to the invention indicated in its entirety with 1, consisting in a unit mountable on board a motor vehicle as an standard device (and in such case it shall be integrated through suitable communication protocols with the control unit already provided on all motor vehicles of recent manufacture) or as an "after market" accessory.

The unit 1 , which shall typically have quite a small overall dimension, may be mounted on board the vehicle at a position directly accessible and visible by the driver, or it may be located at a position not accessible directly. In the first case the unit shall conveniently be equipped with an external display 2, for example of the

LCD type.

The unit 1 includes an accelerometer transducer 3 made for detecting, during the motion of the vehicle, the accelerations to which the vehicle the vehicle is subjected to along the three axis, respectively longitudinal, transverse and vertical.

For example, the accelerometer transducer 3 may include three accelerometers of the conventional type according to the three axis of the unit 1 to detect accelerations/vibrations respectively forwards and backwards (longitudinal axis), rightwards and leftwards (transverse axis) and upwards and downwards (vertical axis). The three axis system, cartesian or even non-orthogonal, of the unit 1 may be numerically reset to the system of the three axis - longitudinal, transverse and vertical - of the vehicle.

As already explained, the three accelerometers may thus may thus be arranged according to the three cartesian coordinates of the vehicle on which the deVice is mounted during use, or according to a non-orthogonal triad of axis of the vehicle or of the unit 1 included in such accelerometers, depending on the mechanical installation of the unit 1 and reset to the cartesian directions of the vehicle through data rotation by numeric/software means after a "reset" event, through which the device is supplied with information regarding actual position. The "reset" event shall detect the reference system of the device unit 1 with

respect to that of the vehicle, calculating the consequent offsets and, for all future uses, the device shall use such offsets in order to numerically reset the reference system to that of the motor vehicle.

As already clarified, the "reset" event may be performed, regarding the horizontal axis, by measuring the static component of the gravitational acceleration positioning the vehicle in a flat surface. Regarding the transverse component, a self-training event may be used.

The signals coming from the accelerometer transducer 3 are sent to a microcontroller 4, provided with a dedicated software for acquiring vibration/acceleration data transmitted by the accelerometer transducer 3, processing them and then storing them at least temporarily in a flash memory 5.

Storage may possibly be performed in a partial and targeted manner, taking only the relevant data into account, in such a manner to limit the capacity of the flash memory whose cost is notoriously high. The microcontroller 4 is further provided with a RAM memory for quick processing of the data and selecting the data to be stored on the flash memory 5.

The latter shall be sufficiently dimensioned to hold the data recorded between two consecutive readings up to the transfer of such data - with consequent deletion - to an external processing device 6, typically made up of a remote processor for a more detailed analysis of the data. Regarding transfer from the flash memory 5 to the external unit 6, the unit 1 is conveniently provided with a communication interface of the conventional type, schematically indicated with 7, via cable or through a wireless connection.

For obvious safety reasons and for applications such as assessing of the wear of the personal vehicle, also provided for may be non-deletable flash memory systems, in order to render the data hard to falsify.

In case the driver is not the owner of the vehicle it is deemed that the deletion operation might be intrinsically more difficult: however, the abovementioned precaution would definitely be efficient in this case too. Operatively associated to the microcontroller 4 might also be an alarm signal

8 of the acoustic type or also of the visual type in case the unit 1 is provided with a display 2.

It is also possible to provide for the actuation of a particularly emphasised alarm signal, possibly linked and ensuing a more restricted field of cases regarding particularly serious irregularities.

The operation of the monitoring and analysing unit 1 is as follows.

During the motion of the vehicle on which the unit 1 is mounted, each accelerometer of the accelerometer transducer 3 constantly detects and measures - or detects and measures with a sampling frequency sufficient for an accurate detection of the of the events - the accelerations/vibrations intensity of the vehicle along the relative axis, and sends corresponding signals to the microcontroller 4, which performs - for each of the three fundamental axis of the vehicle - the comparison between the level of the detected and processed vibrations/accelerations and one or more preset comparison values, fixed (in that defined permanently depending on the type of vehicle) or generated by reference models, and the analysis of the level variations of the detected vibrations/accelerations, comparing them also with limit reference values and/or preset models.

Each time an irregular value is identified, in particular exceeding the reference values, the microcontroller 4 records the trend at the time when each event occurred on the flash memory 5, indicating its intensity curve, its divergence with respect to the reference value, and possibly the absolute value of the accelerations according to the three axis with high definition.

Such values, integrable with respect to the duration of the event, are allocated to a given date and time, and they can be correlated to further data for example regarding the speed of the vehicle prior to the event (such value being calculated by the system itself integrating the accelerations in an inverse order), to the engine revolutions (whose value is calculated by the system itself due to the detection of the of the characteristic vibrations of the engine), as well as other data possibly available.

In order to attain this, it is necessary to store - in a RAM memory zone - a temporary "window", constant for a few seconds, which is copied in the flash memory only in case of significant events or in case numeric integration events are required to be performed. Should the device be preset by the driver for a self-training purposes, any irregular situations regarding detected accelerations exceeding the comparison thresholds shall be indicated on the display 2 and/or signalled acoustically or visually through the alarm indicator 8. Obviously it shall be possible to maintain the recorded track of the events, as described above, to the advantage of the possibility to perform possible posterior analysis (even of the comparative type) of

the driving conduct.

It is possible to provide for a system for remote transmission of the alarm to a remote control unit, in case of irregularities of significant importance, for example via sim card . As mentioned, the data stored in the flash memory 5 can be downloaded through the connection interface 7 using any suitable means (USB cable, memory card, RS232 output, infrared connections, bluetooth, wifi, etc.) and possibly encrypted to avoid manipulation, thus allowing further analysis and processing through external processors 6, stored in a safe manner and possibly printed. Obviously the unit 1 shall be supplied with electrical power, in an independent manner through batteries or integrated photovoltaic cells, or through a permanent or temporary connection to the electrical system on board. In any case, the unit shall preferably be provided with its own buffer battery.

The monitoring and analysing device according to the invention is thus capable - due to the sole presence of the three accelerometer transducers 3 and without requiring any further specific sensors for detecting operation parameters of the engine and/or the transmission of the vehicle, or a GPS position tracker - of recording:

- sudden braking or acceleration, as well as knocks and impacts, including slight ones, in longitudinal direction, due to the vibrations/accelerations detection by the sensor along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle,

- travelling at an excessive speed through bends, as well as violent swerving, skidding, understeer or oversteer conditions, as well as lateral impacts and knocks - including slight ones - due to the vibrations/accelerations detected by the sensor along the transverse axis of the vehicle,

- over-speeding in the presence of potholes, ramps, bumps or uneven surfaces due to the vibrations/accelerations detected by the sensor along the vertical axis.

Furthermore, in case of more or less significant accidents, the circumstances prior to the accident may be analysed through the combination of signals coming from the three accelerometers and, through the integration of the detected accelerations in an inverse order. It shall also be possible to retrace the speed level and direction of motion preceding the accident, verifying their compatibility with the road condition. Immediate knowledge and awareness of the driving conduct by the driver

conscious of the fact that the data is being recorded, and subsequently by the owner and/or manager or the person hiring the vehicle out, may first and foremost allow creating a disciplined driving consciousness, to a point of discouraging and eliminating careless driving, as well as possibly allowing "awarding" users who have a good driving conduct record over given periods of time, in various manners.

Furthermore, cases where the driver is aware of being monitored regarding his driving conduct but not tracked to identify his position through a GPS tracker, excludes the need of consent regarding privacy and/or complex confidential information processes regarding storing the detected data, in that such data cannot be used to retrace the positions and the route of the vehicle; on the other hand, by recording the date and time of the irregular event in question, it is also possible to determine the person who had been entrusted with the vehicle at that moment without any doubt whatsoever. The monitoring operation performed according to the invention may also have positive effects on the vehicle insurance policy coverage, potentially lowering the risk class of the driver in case of proved and long-lasting good driving conduct.

Furthermore, monitoring the driving conduct may also have positive effects on the evaluation of the price of second hand vehicles when it comes to selling such vehicles.

In particular, in all cases regarding programmed periodic maintenance, the analysis of the record regarding the period of time elapsed from the previous maintenance operation helps and guides the technicians when checking and/or repairing the parts of the vehicle directly subjected to irregular stresses, with noticeable effects on the efficiency and effectiveness of the maintenance operation performed.

The device according to the invention allows attaining advantageous effects also in terms of safety, due to the fact that it is possible to subject a vehicle whose monitoring shows signs of accidents - including slight accidents which would otherwise be unnoticeable - to extraordinary servicing (for example servicing shock absorbers or rims, typically subjected to irregular impacts non-retraceable without using the device according to the invention, unless in case of visible irregularities). Furthermore, the device according to the invention is advantageously

capable of providing information regarding the progress of the state of wear of the components of the vehicle on which it is mounted, such as tyres, shock absorbers and mechanical parts in general which generate irregular vibrations detected by the three-directional accelerometer transducer of the unit. As a matter of fact, each type of vehicle shall be characterised by a behaviour of the vibrations depending on the size, robustness and set-up of the vehicle itself. Such overall condition represents a reference system for retracing possible alterations linked to wear phenomena which might thus be retraced in advance and thus subjected to a corrective measure performable timely, thus avoiding duration of risky situations over time as well as the extension of the phenomenon to other areas consequent to the irregularity itself (take for example an unbalanced wheel, which would lead to an early wear of the bearing over time for example).

Also possible over-revs of the engine caused by the driver may be detected and monitored ensuing consequent irregular vibrations or after simple comparison of the current number detected, with the preset maximum limit.

The device according to the invention may also be possibly provided with a self-training function, by means of recording the vibrations/accelerations corresponding to the driving style of a professional driver in situations classifiable under different categories (urban cycle, highway, combined, uneven surface, etc.), useable as reference models for training driving techniques.

As a further application, the device according to the invention may be advantageously used for tests on new and second hand vehicles, as well as for comparative tests between vehicles of different make/type under identical test conditions, in such a manner to evaluate and compare the capacity of such vehicles to absorb vibrations generated by their movement, counter sudden stresses, and reduce the pitch and roll to the minimum.

The unit 1 according to the invention thus allows, through suitable programming of the microcontroller 4, performing one or more of the following functions:

- selecting the set of relevant data linked to irregularities and relative storage by said storage means;

- selective deletion of data from said storage means;

- inhibiting non-authorised deletion of data from said storage means; - determining the speed and route of the vehicle through integration in

inverse order;

- alarm management;

- managing scheduled and extraordinary maintenance of the vehicle;

- interfacing the device with possible data coming from outside the device; - awarding points in terms of travelling comfort of the vehicle;

- comparing the driving / travelling comfort between different vehicles under the same road / traffic / driving conditions.

Furthermore, the unit may be programmed for functions regarding awarding points for the driving style of the driver of the vehicle on which the unit is mounted, as well as possibly also for optimising fuel consumption.

Obviously, the construction details and the embodiments of the device may widely vary with respect to the description and illustration provided above, without for this reason departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims. Thus, for example, it is possible to provide for a multiple application, instead of only one, of the unit according to the invention on board a motor vehicle. In particular, it is possible to combine two units, for the following possible purposes:

- differentiating the vertical accelerations/vibrations detected on the front and rear axis,

- definite identification of understeer and understeer phenomena, by comparing the lateral accelerations detected along the axis of the vehicle at a front zone and a rear zone.

It is also possible to provide for mounting four combined units, associated to the four tyres, for differentiating the vertical accelerations/vibrations detected thereon.