# US 2019/0318555 A1 · Black box with volatile memory caching

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- Number: US 2019/0318555 A1
- Document ID: US20190318555A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/955,604
- Filed: 2018-04-17
- Published: 2019-10-17
- Earliest claimed: 2018-04-17
- Assignees: Lyft, Inc.
- Applicants: Lyft, Inc.
- Inventors: George James Hansel; Yi Lu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190318555A1

## CPC

- G07C 5/0858: {wherein the data carrier is removable}
- G11C 5/04: Supports for storage elements {, e.g. memory modules}; Mounting or fixing of storage elements on such supports
- G11C 5/141: {Battery and back-up supplies}
- G11C 7/04: with means for avoiding disturbances due to temperature effects
- G11C 11/005: {comprising combined but independently operative RAM-ROM, RAM-PROM, RAM-EPROM cells}
- G11C 11/4072: Circuits for initialization, powering up or down, clearing memory or presetting
- G11C 11/5621: {using charge storage in a floating gate}
- G11C 16/10: Programming or data input circuits
- G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)}
- G11C 7/24: Memory cell safety or protection circuits, e.g. arrangements for preventing inadvertent reading or writing; Status cells; Test cells
- G11C 2207/2245: Memory devices with an internal cache buffer
- 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
- G11C: STATIC STORES (semiconductor memory devices H10B)

## Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a volatile memory module configured to store vehicle data; a non-volatile memory module coupled to the volatile memory module; and an energy-storage module configured to provide power to the volatile memory module and the non-volatile memory module during a data transfer between the volatile memory module and the non-volatile memory module. The energy is provided to the non-volatile memory module for writing the vehicle data to non-volatile memory. The apparatus further includes a collision-detector module configured to identify a collision event of the vehicle; and a controller coupled to the energy-storage module and the collision-detector module. The controller is configured to initiate a transfer of the vehicle data stored in the volatile memory module to the non-volatile memory module in response to receiving an indication from the collision-detector module that a collision has occurred.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus comprising:
a volatile memory module configured to store vehicle data;
a collision-detector module configured to identify a collision event of a vehicle has occurred;
a refrigeration module coupled to the controller and the volatile memory module, wherein the refrigeration module is configured to lower the temperature of the volatile memory module in response to receiving a signal initiating lowering the temperature of the volatile memory and in response to receiving energy from an energy-storage module; and
a controller coupled to the collision-detector module and the energy-storage module, wherein in response to receiving an indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred, the controller is configured to:
initiate lowering a temperature of the volatile memory module by the refrigeration module; and
initiate a transfer of energy stored in the energy-storage module to the refrigeration module.

### Claim 2

(canceled)

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the refrigeration module comprises a barrier separating a chamber containing a first material and a chamber containing a second material, wherein:
the barrier separating the chamber containing the first material and the chamber containing the second material is removed in response to receiving the signal initiating lowering the temperature of the volatile memory module; and
the first and second materials have a reaction causing lowering of the temperature of the volatile memory once the first and second materials are mixed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first material and the second material comprise water and ammonium salt, water and ammonium chloride, water and ammonium nitrate, water and potassium chloride, barium hydroxide octahydrate crystals and dry ammonium chloride, or thionyl chloride (SOCl2) and cobalt(II) sulfate heptahydrate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the refrigeration module is a thermoelectric refrigerator.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the volatile memory module, refrigeration module, collision-detector module, and controller are housed in a black box enclosure.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the volatile memory module is configured to receive sensor data and vehicle information from one or more processing units.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data comprises video or images from infrared cameras or optical cameras, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging data, radar data, global positioning system (GPS) data, inertial measurement unit data, or accelerometer data.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data comprises computational logs, intermediate computation results, object detection results, speed information, or sensor status information.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data comprises image data from one or more optical cameras or imaging data from one or more LiDAR receivers.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the energy-storage module and a non-volatile memory module, wherein the energy-storage module is configured to store power for writing the vehicle data stored in the volatile memory module on the non-volatile memory module.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a non-volatile memory module, wherein the vehicle data is written on the non-volatile memory module only when the collision event has occurred.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a storage capacity of the volatile memory module is sufficient to store at least 30 seconds of imaging and LiDAR data gathered by one or more sensors of the vehicle.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data stored in the volatile memory module comprises sensor data or navigation decision data.

### Claim 15

A method comprising, by a computing device:
receiving an indication from a collision-detector module that a collision event of a vehicle has occurred;
initiating a transfer of energy stored in an energy-storage module to the refrigeration module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred; and
transmitting a signal to the refrigeration module initiating lowering a temperature of a volatile memory module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred, wherein the refrigeration module is configured to lower the temperature of the volatile memory module in response to receiving energy from the energy-storage module.

### Claim 16

(canceled)

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method claim 15, wherein the signal transmitted to the refrigeration module initiates a mixing of water with an ammonium salt for lowering the temperature of the volatile memory module.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting a signal to a bus controller initiating a transfer of vehicle data stored in the volatile memory module to a non-volatile memory module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred.

### Claim 19

One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receive an indication from a collision-detector module that a collision event of a vehicle has occurred;
initiate a transfer of energy stored in an energy-storage module to the refrigeration module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred; and
transmit a signal to the refrigeration module initiating lowering a temperature of a volatile memory module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred, wherein the refrigeration module is configured to lower the temperature of the volatile memory module in response to receiving energy from the energy-storage module.

### Claim 20

(canceled)

### Claim 21 (depends on 19)

The media of claim 19, wherein the software is further operable to transmit a signal to a bus controller initiating a transfer of vehicle data stored in the volatile memory module to a non-volatile memory module in response to receiving the indication from the collision-detector module that the collision event has occurred.

### Claim 22 (depends on 19)

The media of claim 19, wherein the signal transmitted to the refrigeration module initiates a mixing of water with an ammonium salt for lowering the temperature of the volatile memory module.

### Claim 23 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a heat sink, heat pipe, or heat spreader in contact with the volatile memory module.