JPH0551086B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Industrial Application Field" The present invention is integrated with automobiles and is adapted to the use of individual automobiles and the working conditions in which the driver of each automobile engages in several trips with various requirements. The present invention relates to an automatic driving monitoring device controlled by a microcomputer that can automatically print out subsequent records of stored information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Particularly when vehicles are used for commercial purposes, it is often desirable to have data regarding the day-to-day usage of the vehicle. In other words, managers probably want to monitor the daily work status of employees who travel around by car. More specifically, when employees use cars to perform various tasks, if information such as the distance the car is driven, the hours it is used, and the average driving speed between various locations is known, managers can This will allow you to monitor the efficiency of your employees, and if employees use the owner's car for personal use, you will be able to identify who used it. In addition, when a business owner requests a fee for an employee's time from a customer, the amount of time can be clarified. Furthermore, by monitoring the average speed of vehicles, management can
You can pay attention to employees who are pushing beyond their limits, and you can set up a responsibility system accordingly. Furthermore, if information about cars is recorded as computer data for many years, business owners can consider the use of cars as subject to taxation, and the data can be prepared for future vehicle inspections.

Monitoring devices are generally known and allow the collection and recording of information regarding the usage status of a vehicle. For example, the following patents and patent applications can be cited as examples of this type of monitoring device.

U.S. Patent Application No. 3983372 (September 28, 1976) 〃 4072850 (February 7, 1978) 〃 4188618 (February 12, 1980) 〃 4258421 (March 24, 1981) 〃 4395624 (July 26, 1983) (Japanese) British Patent Application No. 2119095 (November 9, 1983) "Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, all conventional monitoring devices are complex devices, which is a drawback. In other words, a large number of complex sensors and interlocking electronic parts are used to collect information about the vehicle's driving, which not only increases production costs but also makes handling them difficult. Furthermore, many devices of this type are not suitable for users to easily exchange information.

"Means and Effects for Solving Problems" To summarize, the present invention relates to a monitoring/recording device that is controlled using a computer integrated with a vehicle, and is capable of monitoring and recording devices at various locations according to various requirements. The present invention relates to a device provided to accurately provide information regarding the driving of a vehicle that has traveled on a road. This monitoring device includes a microcomputer mounted on the vehicle and a recording device. The recording device further contains driving data corresponding to the time, date, distance traveled and codes indicating requirements. The monitoring and recording device also includes sensors that can be easily connected to existing ignition systems and odometers, for example.
The remote printer installed in the car prints symbols corresponding to the data input to the recording device, such as the time of use of the car, the date, the time required for each requirement, and the average speed when traveling between requirements. Print out. The configuration of this device is as described above, so that management records such as the work status of car drivers can be easily retrieved for the purpose of inspection and inspection.

``Embodiment'' Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle running monitoring device constituting the present invention. This running monitoring device is
It is controlled by a central processing unit (cpu) 2. This CPU 2 may be, for example, a commercially available microcomputer such as part No. 80c48 manufactured by Intel Corporation. The CPU 2 is connected to the on-board storage devices 4 and 6 via a system bus 30. The first storage device 4 is a commercially available random access memory device such as part No. HM6264 manufactured by Hitachi.
Memory is fine. The role of the storage device 4 in this monitoring device is to record the user's destination, time, date, etc.
The purpose is to store data with codes that correspond to several parameters such as travel distance. The second located storage device 6 may be a commercially available programmable read-only memory, such as part no. 2764 manufactured by Intel Corporation. The role of the storage device 6 in this monitoring device is to store a specific command program used by the CPU 2 to check whether the device is operating properly.

This monitoring device includes a subsystem 40 for providing support. The subsystem 40 further includes time and date indicators, peripheral logic circuits 10 and support logic circuits 12.
Contains. Support subsystem 40
may be made in advance as a custom-made IC according to the needs of the vehicle owner. Of course, the subsystem 40 may be made by combining separate devices into one. sub·
The system 40 is interconnected with the CPU 2 and the storage devices 4 and 6 via the bus 30.

More specifically, the time and date indicator 8 of subsystem 40 may be a conventional clock chip, such as Part No. ICM7170 manufactured by Intersil Corporation. The role of the indicator 8 in this monitoring device is to create data regarding the actual time and date when the vehicle is traveling. Peripheral logic circuit 10 functions to connect between CPU 2 and external input/output devices. That is, the peripheral logic circuit 10 connects the bus 30 and the display 1, for example.
4. It functions as a level translator between input/output devices such as the printer 16 and the input device keyboard 18. Although the output device is described as the printer 16, this may of course be replaced with an external recording device such as a floppy disk drive, or may be used in combination.

Further, as an example, the peripheral logic circuit 10
has one counter-timer chip and a pair of parallel interface chips. The counter timer chip is part No. manufactured by Jirotsugu.
Z80CTC may be used, and the parallel interface chip may be part No. Z80PI0, also made by Jirotsu. The circuitry of the first pair of counter-timer chips counts input signals from a conventional distance measuring device (e.g., an odometer) mounted on a motor vehicle. A second pair of counter-timer chip circuits provide internal timing signals for use by CPU2. Therefore, the distance traveled per unit time can be measured. A pair of parallel interface chips are each split in half to create a total of four circuits. The first circuit then moves the segment of the display 14 to the second circuit.
A third circuit provides a timing signal to monitor the position of the print head of printer 16, and a fourth circuit receives input data provided by the user. The keyboard 18 is scanned to detect the .

Support logic 12 provides additional memory and input/output encoding in the device. To elaborate by way of example, support logic circuit 12 comprises a pair of chips, such as Texas Instruments Part No. 74HC139. The chip of this support logic circuit 12 decodes the address interface from the CPU 2 and selectively accesses the peripheral logic circuit 10 or one of the external input/output devices 14, 16, 18, so that the chip of the external input/output device is One of them is connected to the CPU 2 via a bus 30.

As mentioned above, the peripheral logic circuit 10 is connected to the CPU 2 and external input/output devices such as a display 14, a printer 16, and a keyboard 18. At this time, the display 14 is a liquid crystal or LED display to provide visual output information to the user so as to maintain smooth information transmission between the device and the user.
It can be any display display. For example, if keyboard data is entered in an incorrect format, pressing the keyboard will provide visual instructions to the user when setting the time and date. Printer 16 may be a commercially available printer, such as an Epson printer, equipped with a paper tape drive. Furthermore, the printer 16 may or may not be installed in the vehicle as long as a permanent record of the vehicle's travel can be obtained. keyboard 1
8 is installed in the car, so the driver first enters the coded destination number into the device, enters the time and date set in the indicator 8, and operates the printer 16 to print out information related to the car. You can interact with the device by printing out the odometer and entering the odometer processing values. Keyboard 18 may be a conventional 12-key keyboard similar to those found on push-button telephones.

Further, a sensor interface 22 is connected to the peripheral logic circuit 10. Sensor interface 22, which may be a mechanical-electrical or electro-mechanical interface, is arranged to receive a pair of input signals corresponding to particular parameters relating to the operation of the vehicle. The first input signal is from the vehicle's ignition system and is connected to the interface 22.
gives an indication of whether the car is running or not. A second input signal is provided to the interface 22 from one of the odometers, driveshafts, etc., and is a series of pulses that provide an indication of the distance traveled by the vehicle as it travels through various requirements. In this way, any input signals can be collected from existing equipment installed in the vehicle.

In this way, an input signal is given to the device, and if the car is driving, it is possible to display the number indicating the requirements and the distance traveled while driving. Other data, such as the time, date, and the value on the scale of the distance meter before driving, are stored in the storage device 4, and provided to the CPU 2 from the storage device 4.

Input voltage adjustment detection device 2 with reference to FIG.
6 will be explained. This device is connected to a conventional 12 volt automobile battery and changes the battery voltage to provide the appropriate power (e.g., 5 volts DC) to each component of the device shown in FIG. The input voltage regulation sensing device 26 is also connected to a back-up battery 28. The back up battery 28 may be a 3.6 volt single lithium battery, such as a Sanyo product. This device 26 is designed to apply an output battery voltage Vb to the random accelerator memory 4 and time/date indicator 8 (FIG. 1) in response to turning off the ignition switch of another vehicle. Therefore, the memory 4 is designed to update and store information regarding the running of the car while the car is not being driven and is at rest.

When the ignition switch is turned to the ON position, the input voltage adjustment detection device 26 outputs a delayed signal and stores it in the memory 4.
Next, the power is stabilized until CPU2 starts operating. When the ignition switch is turned to the OFF position, the input voltage adjustment detection device 26 outputs a delayed output again, but during this time the calculation in progress is completed, and the calculation results are communicated before the CPU 2 and memory 4 simultaneously stop their activities. .

The input voltage adjustment and detection device 26 is equipped with a chip for detecting battery voltage, such as Part No. ICL8211 manufactured by Intersil Corporation. An obvious advantage of the present invention is that when the vehicle battery voltage drops below 12 volts, the input voltage regulation detection device detects this drop. If the battery voltage drops below a predetermined value (for example, 7 volts) due to temperature, battery wear, etc., this detection device detects this drop and starts power-down sequence control, Update and protect your data.

FIG. 3 is an example of a printout from the printer 16 shown in FIG. 1, which allows the usage and driving conditions of a vehicle equipped with this device to be easily and accurately summarized in the form of a report. To explain while referring to Figures 1 and 3 at the same time, when starting a new requirement, the driver first presses the keyboard 1.
A numerical code 62 determined by requirements etc. is entered from 8. When using the car with different requirements, the driver must enter a numerical code corresponding to each requirement from the keyboard 18 each time.

The code on the first line of the printout 60 indicates when the vehicle started traveling according to the first requirement, and displays the date 64 on which the vehicle was used for traveling. Time 6
6 is printed next to indicate that the run started (or ended) at this time. As mentioned above, an indication of the time and date appears in the time and date indicator 8. As already mentioned, the peripheral logic circuit 10 controls the ignition switch via the sensor interface 22.
Receive information on whether it is ON or OFF. In this way, depending on the position of the ignition switch, it is possible to tell the CPU 2 to start and end running. What is printed next to the time 66 is the elapsed time 68.
Once a run is interrupted within a single requirement, the elapsed time of the interruption is recorded. Since the numerical code on the first line indicates the start of the first run, the elapsed time is zero. The elapsed time is
It is either the time between the start and end of one run, or the end of one run and the start of the next, and is calculated by CPU2. In other words, regarding what I just mentioned, the ON/OFF position of the ignition switch indicates the start and end points of the run.

The first line of the printout 60 further includes the value 70 of the car's odometer scale at the start (or end) of the first trip, the distance 72 the car traveled in the first trip, and the number 72 of the car's odometer scale at the start (or end) of the first trip. An average speed of 74 (mile 1 hour) for the trip is shown. As mentioned above, the peripheral logic circuit 10 also receives information about the distance traveled from the odometer via the sensor interface 22. The CPU 2 is programmed to calculate the average speed in miles per hour by dividing the distance traveled 72 by the elapsed time 68 of the trip. Since the code on the first line of the printout indicates the start time of the first run, both the travel distance 72 and the average speed 74 at the start of this run are zero.

The second line of printout 60 indicates the end of the first run of the first requirement when the driver turns the ignition switch OFF. That is, the second line shows the time 66 when the first run ended and the time 68 required for the first run. Specifically, CPU2 subtracts the time when the first run started (i.e., the time when the ignition switch was turned on) from the time when the first run ended (i.e., the time when the ignition switch was turned off). , is programmed to calculate the time required for the first run. Furthermore, on the second line, the value 70 of the odometer scale at the end of the first run, the first travel distance 72, and the average speed 74 are printed. The CPU 2 is programmed to calculate the first mileage by subtracting the value on the odometer scale at the end of the first run from the value on the odometer scale at the start of the first run. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the CPU 2 is programmed to calculate the average speed 74 by dividing the travel distance 72 by the time 68 required for travel.

By the way, let's assume that a driver takes a break once while driving under certain conditions. At this time, the code related to the requirement is not input from the keyboard 18 since it is a continuation of the same requirement when the vehicle starts running after the intermediate break.
The third line of the printout 60 indicates, at such times, the elapsed time between the end of the first run and the start of the second run. Printer 1
6 starts the second run and prints the date on the third line when the ignition switch is turned on. In addition to the date, the third line shows the time 66 when the new (i.e. second) run started, and the first and second runs.
The elapsed time between runs is shown. The number 70 on the odometer scale at the start of the second run is the same as the number 70 at the end of the first run. The print on the third line is a display related to the second run, so the second run distance 72 and average speed 74 are both zero at the start.

Line 4 of printout 60 shows data for the second trip of the first requirement when the driver again turns the ignition switch to the OFF position. The data printed on the fourth line is the same in content as the data on the second line, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. In other words, when the driver wants to go out with new requirements, he can input the appropriate requirement number from the keyboard 18 and then turn the ignition switch on.
When turned off, some driving data related to the requirements will be displayed in the printer 1 as shown in Figure 3.
It will be printed from 6 onwards.

At the end of each day's work, the printer 16 reports the work and usage status of the driver and his/her car. In other words, in the example of FIG. 3, the fifth line of the printout 60 shows the total usage time and total mileage of the car. That is, the CPU 2 is programmed to calculate the time 66 between the end of the last trip and the start of the first trip to indicate the total time of use of the vehicle. Additionally, to indicate the total distance traveled, the CPU 2 is programmed to calculate the total distance 72 for each trip of the day.

The sixth line of the printout 60 shows the total actual running time of the car and the overall average speed. To show the total actual driving time of the car, CPU 2 is programmed to sum the time spent on each trip, and is also programmed to calculate the grand average of the average speed during each trip. .

From the foregoing detailed description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that the system of the invention may be modified and used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. for example,
The printout 60 shown in FIG. 3, shown for illustrative purposes only, represents the output of a 40 column printer. Of course, other formats are possible depending on the printer's capabilities and the wishes of the car owner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an automobile running monitoring device constituting the present invention. Second
The figure shows a device that can be connected to the block diagram of FIG. 1 for adjusting inputs and sensing voltages. Figure 3 shows how to print out the information provided by this monitoring device when retrieving a record of the driver's work status.
This is an example of out.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A monitoring and recording device built into a motor vehicle, etc. to keep records of the driving and use of the motor vehicle, etc., and a computer for controlling the device;
a response device connected to a means for detecting the start and end of driving based on the position of the ignition switch and detecting distance traveled from an odometer, and a clock device for inputting the time;
a memory connected to the computer, the response device, and the clock device for storing travel start and end times and actual mileage data; and an output connected to the memory for outputting the data stored in the memory. When the device and the ignition switch are in the ON position, the vehicle battery voltage is changed to apply an appropriate voltage to each part of the device, and when the ignition switch is turned OFF, the voltage that cuts off the power to everything other than the clock device and memory after a predetermined period of time. An automatic driving monitoring device comprising: an adjusting device;