# US 2014/0152828 A1 · Power management systems for automotive video event recorders

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- Number: US 2014/0152828 A1
- Document ID: US20140152828A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/177,047
- Filed: 2014-02-10
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2006-11-07
- Assignees: SmartDrive Systems, Inc.
- Applicants: SmartDrive Systems, Inc.
- Inventors: James Plante; Ramesh Kasavaraju; Bruce Lightner
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140152828A1

## CPC

- B60R 16/03: for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems {or for (circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00)}
- B60R 11/04: Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
- F02P 5/02: non-automatically; dependent on position of personal controls of engine, e.g. throttle position
- G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)}
- G07C 5/12: in graphical form
- H04N 5/77: between a recording apparatus and a television camera
- H04N 23/65: Control of camera operation in relation to power supply
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F02P: IGNITION, OTHER THAN COMPRESSION IGNITION, FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES; TESTING OF IGNITION TIMING IN COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES ({anti-pollution means for internal-combustion engines F02B17/00}; specially adapted for rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines F02B53/12; {ignition of gas turbine plants F02C7/26; ignition of jet propulsion plants F02K9/95; starting of combustion engines F02N9/00}; ignition of combustion apparatus in general, glowing plugs F23Q; measuring of physical variables in general G01; controlling in general G05; data processing in general G06; electrical components in general see Section H; {ignition coils H01F38/12}; sparking plugs H01T13/00)
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

Video event recorders are coupled to a vehicle power source via an on-board diagnostic system including its power bus, data bus, and scanner port connector. Video event recorders are provided with a power input arranged in conjunction with a standard ODBII type “D” connector. Systems further include an extension cable between the connector and the vehicle event record to accommodate mounting needs associated with each. In advanced versions, both OBD power and data networks are coupled to the vehicle event recorded such that data relating to vehicle diagnostic systems can be captured in a triggered event along with video data. In addition, some versions are provided with special detection mechanism to determine the use state of a vehicle and adjust application of power accordingly. Thus an “in-use” detector is coupled to the vehicle and/or OBD systems to provide feedback which helps to conserve power and regulate the power connections.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An automotive electrical power management system comprising:
a DC electrical power source;
an on-board diagnostics system; and
a video event recorder,
said DC electrical power source is coupled to said on-board diagnostics system to supply direct current electrical power thereto on a prescribed power bus of the on-board diagnostics system,
said video event recorder having a power input electrically coupled to said on-board diagnostics system power bus.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, said video event recorder comprising a cable with a terminating connector suitable for coupling with the on-board diagnostics system, wherein the cable is a video event recorder power supply line coupled to the on-board diagnostics system power bus on an individual pin of the on-board diagnostics system power bus.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system of claim 2, said video event recorder further comprising an auxiliary female connector arranged in parallel and suitably adapted to receive therein an on-board diagnostics system scanner.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising a power management module, said power management module electrically coupled to said on-board diagnostics system power bus and arranged between said on-board diagnostics system power bus and a camera unit of said video event recorder.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system of claim 4, said video event recorder is comprised of a cable with a terminating connector suitable for coupling with the on-board diagnostics system power bus, said power management module is arranged on said cable nearer to the on-board diagnostics system power bus connector than to the camera unit, or directly attached to the on-board diagnostics system power bus.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The system of claim 5, said power management module comprising an auxiliary female connector arranged in parallel and suitably adapted to receive therein an on-board diagnostic systems scanner.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The system of claim 6, further comprising a switch to disable data communications to and from said camera unit while an auxiliary scanner is detected as being connected at an auxiliary port.

### Claim 8

A vehicle electrical power management system comprising:
an electrical power source;
an on-board diagnostics system coupled with the electrical power source configured to receive electrical power from the electrical power source via an on-board diagnostics system power bus;
a video event recorder including a power input electrically coupled to the on-board diagnostics system power bus; and
a power management module electrically coupled to the on-board diagnostics system power bus and arranged between the on-board diagnostics system and the video event recorder,
wherein the power management module comprises an in-use detector and a switch, the in-use detector configured to toggle the switch, the switch arranged on a power supply line between the electrical power source and the video event recorder such that, responsive to the switch being toggled, power is provided to the video event recorder.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the electrical power source is an electrical power source of the vehicle.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the in-use detector comprises one or more sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to physical parameters of the vehicle, the physical parameters of the vehicle including one or more of a voltage on the on-board diagnostics system power bus, a vehicle ignition parameter, or a vehicle motion parameter.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the in-use detector is configured to determine one or more physical parameters of the vehicle and compare individual ones of the physical parameters to corresponding threshold values for the physical parameters, and, responsive to one or more of the physical parameters breaching one or more of the corresponding threshold values, toggling the switch.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the in-use detector is configured such that a threshold voltage on the on-board diagnostics system power bus is 13.2 volts.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the power management module includes a ‘turn-off’ delay, wherein the system is maintained in an ‘on’ state for a prescribed period of time despite the one or more physical parameters returning to pre-threshold breaching values.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the in-use detector toggles the switch responsive to at least two physical parameters breaching corresponding thresholds.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the in use detector toggles the switch responsive to vehicle ignition and then at least one other physical parameter breaching a corresponding threshold.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the in-use detector is configured to toggle the switch responsive to vehicle ignition.

### Claim 17 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the in-use detector further comprises a comparator having a first input coupled to the electrical power source, a second input coupled to a reference voltage, and an output to coupled to the switch.

### Claim 18 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the in-use detector is a motion sensor.

### Claim 19 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the in-use detector is a data traffic sensor coupled to a data bus of the on-board diagnostics system configured to provide a switch toggle signal responsive to a prescribed type of data traffic being present on the data bus.

### Claim 20 (depends on 8)

The system of claim 8, wherein the video event recorder is directly wired to a vehicle bus network of the vehicle and wherein the video event recorder receives power and vehicle data directly from the vehicle bus network.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein in the video event recorder is configured such that the vehicle data includes images from in and/or around the vehicle.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the video event recorder is configured such that the vehicle data does not include images.

### Claim 23 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the video event recorder is configured to detect a vehicle event based on images from in and/or around the vehicle detected by a camera unit of the video event recorder and the vehicle data from the vehicle bus network, the vehicle event detected responsive to the images from in and/or around the vehicle and the vehicle data meeting vehicle event criteria, and
wherein, responsive to detecting the vehicle event, the video event recorder is configured to record images from in and/or around the vehicle and the vehicle data from the vehicle bus network associated with the vehicle event in electronic storage.