# US 9,043,041 B2 · Monitoring aggressive driving operation of a mobile asset > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,043,041 B2 - Document ID: US9043041B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/086,086 - Filed: 2011-04-13 - Published: 2011-08-18 - Granted: 2015-05-26 - Earliest claimed: 2010-02-12 - Assignees: Webtech Wireless Inc. - Applicants: Richard Ernest Willis; Richard Ian McIntyre; Gerald Alexander West; Peter Robert Henderson McConnell - Inventors: Richard Ernest Willis; Richard Ian McIntyre; Gerald Alexander West; Peter Robert Henderson McConnell - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9043041B2 ## CPC - G01C 21/185: {for gravity} - G01C 21/188: {for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems} - G07C 5/085: {using electronic data carriers} - B60T 2201/04: Hill descent control - B60T 2210/36: Global Positioning System [GPS] - B60T 2220/02: Driver type; Driving style; Driver adaptive features - G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)} - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - 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 - B60T: VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL (electrodynamic brake systems for vehicle, in general B60L; brakes per se, i.e. devices where braking effect occurs, including ultimate brake actuators, F16D); ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES ## Abstract The acceleration of a mobile asset is sensed and compared to threshold acceleration levels when the speed of the mobile asset is above a threshold speed. When the acceleration exceeds a threshold a report is created allowing aggressive driving behavior to be logged. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of monitoring operation of a mobile asset installed with a monitoring device comprising: installing in the mobile asset an accelerometer device for providing outputs representing accelerations along three orthogonal axes: low-pass filtering the outputs with one or more filters; transforming, by said monitoring device, the low-pass filtered outputs to represent acceleration along orthogonal forward, sideways and vertical axes of the mobile asset; configuring, in said monitoring device, one or more acceleration envelopes to correspond to one or more events, each acceleration envelope defined by a duration of time and an amplitude; determining, by said monitoring device. a speed of the mobile asset; comparing, by said monitoring device, the determined speed of the mobile asset to a threshold speed; determining, by said monitoring device, that the determined speed is above the threshold speed; determining, by said monitoring device, an acceleration profile of the mobile asset by: recording over a duration of time a plurality of values of acceleration of the mobile asset, wherein the transformed, low-pass filtered outputs are used to determine the values of acceleration of the mobile asset; compensating said values of acceleration for gravity (G); low pass filtering the acceleration along the vertical axis to obtain âz; calculating a pitch of a slope upon which the mobile asset is moving: ρ=cos−1(âz/G); determining a sign of the slope; and correcting the acceleration along the forward axis by subtracting therefrom G·sin ρ; comparing, by said monitoring device, the determined acceleration profile of the mobile asset to said acceleration envelopes; determining, by said monitoring device, that the determined acceleration profile of the mobile asset lies entirely outside at least one of said acceleration envelopes; and reporting the event that corresponds to said one of said acceleration envelopes. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1 wherein each low-pass filtering is achieved by averaging a series of acceleration data points. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: prior to reporting said event, determining, by said monitoring device, that the mobile asset is no longer accelerating; and additionally determining, by said monitoring device, attitude of the mobile asset. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) A method according to claim 3 wherein the reporting of the event includes the attitude determined by said monitoring device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1, in which gravity is compensated for by high pass filtering the acceleration along the forward axis. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing said values of acceleration in memory in said monitoring device to establish a temporal record of acceleration of the mobile asset. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1 wherein the reported event is reported as cautionary when the determined acceleration profile of the mobile asset is outside a first acceleration envelope or reported as aggressive when the determined acceleration profile of the mobile asset is outside a second envelope, wherein the second envelope is higher and/or longer in duration than the first envelope. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1 wherein a heading of the mobile asset is determined, by said monitoring device, and the event is based on the heading. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A method according to claim 1 wherein the speed is determined, by said monitoring device, from said accelerations. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A method according to claim 9 wherein the event is reported because: the monitoring device determines that the mobile asset experiences a deceleration greater than a threshold deceleration over a predetermined period; and the monitoring device determines that the mobile asset velocity decreases over said period from above the threshold speed to near zero. ### Claim 11 An apparatus for monitoring operation of a mobile asset comprising: three orthogonal accelerometers for providing outputs representing accelerations along three orthogonal axes, said accelerometers installed in the mobile asset; a low-pass filter connected to each accelerometer output for providing filtered outputs; a device for transforming the filtered outputs into accelerations along orthogonal forward, sideways and vertical axes of the mobile asset; a further low-pass filter for further filtering the acceleration along the vertical axis of the mobile asset; and a device into which is input the further filtered acceleration along the vertical axis and the filtered accelerations along the forwards and sideways axes and which outputs compensated accelerations along orthogonal forward, sideways and vertical axes of the mobile asset; wherein said device compensates said filtered and further filtered accelerations for gravity (G) and slope on which the mobile asset is moving by: low pass filtering the acceleration along the vertical axis to obtain âz; calculating a pitch of a slope: ρ=cos−1(âz/G); determining a sign of the slope; and correcting the acceleration along the forward axis by subtracting therefrom G·sin ρ; a monitoring device, operative when the mobile asset is moving and the speed of the mobile asset is above a threshold speed, wherein said monitoring device: records over a duration of time a plurality of values of compensated acceleration of the mobile asset to form an acceleration profile; compares the acceleration profile to a predetermined accelerating envelope that is defined by the duration of time and an amplitude; determines that the profile of compensated acceleration lies entirely outside the acceleration envelope; and reports an event that corresponds to said acceleration envelope.