Patent Application
20170259729
This invention generally relates to government safety compliance systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for ensuring safety and government compliance of Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations regarding lighting on over-the-road vehicles.
In order to ensure safety on the roads for commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, the government mandates that every lamp, reflex reflector, and conspicuity treatment (device) must be permanently attached to commercial motor vehicles in the location specified by the government, and that they must comply with all applicable requirements prescribed for them by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 and the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 (FMVSS/CMVSS 108). The face of any device on the front/rear and sides of such commercial vehicles should be, respectively perpendicular and parallel to vehicle centerline, unless it is photometrically certified at installation angle. It is further mandated that no part of the vehicle shall prevent any device from meeting its prescribed requirements unless an auxiliary device meeting all prescribed requirements is installed.
Indeed, section 393.9 of Part 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, entitled “Lamps operable, prohibition of obstructions of lamps and reflectors,” specifies that all lamps required by this subpart be capable of being operated at all times. This and other regulations for lights and reflectors on a commercial motor vehicle must be followed at all times that the vehicle is in operation in order to be compliant with the rules and to avoid compromised safety and the associated penalties attendant thereto.
Currently, however, there is no way for a commercial motor vehicle to detect which if any of its lights are out, other than having a person physically checking all of them. Checking the light operation consumes time and can be overlooked by operators. Further, such spot checks can only be adequately performed while the commercial vehicle is out of service, i.e. there is no reliable way for such person to know if one of the many lights required to be in operation has gone out during service.
Embodiments of the present invention provide such a system and method to ensure compliance with these government regulations and to continue to operate safely and efficiently. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the embodiments of the present invention provided herein.
In one aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for vehicle system diagnostics, reporting, and DOT compliance.
In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a DOT lighting monitor that can automatically detect when any of the exterior lights on the vehicle fail/burn out and alert the driver to which one(s) have failed/burned out. Such systems and methods avoid the commercial motor vehicle being placed out of service during a roadside DOT inspection, or being subject to infractions and fines. They also reduce chances of being stopped by legal authorities for improper lighting violation.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, such systems and methods help to avoid potentially hazardous conditions. Such systems and methods also help to provide greater peace of mind for driver and managers, and eliminate the need for a lighting pre-check.
In yet another aspect, embodiments of the present invention utilize the information provided by the lighting monitor system and additional sensors to provide enhanced functionality for the commercial motor vehicle. Such enhanced functionality includes one or more of intelligent high beam control, pedestrian spot lighting, brake light failure support, automatic management notification, automatic replacement ordering, headlight failure support, app integration, predictive maintenance, automatic puddle lights, cargo lights, active corning lights, and automatic headlights in an integrated and scalable solution that is both cost effective and time efficient, while increasing vehicle safety and driver comfort.
Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
As illustrated in
In one type of commercial vehicle (e.g., such as the commercial vehicle 10 shown in
Because the systems and methods disclosed herein are applicable to vehicles of a variety of sizes, which have various lighting requirements, the number of connected lights can be more or less than the number of lights listed herein. Additionally, the types of lights can be different than those listed above. In embodiments, the light controller 40 monitors at least four connected lights, such as, e.g., both front headlights and both rear brake lights. However, other combinations of connected lights are monitored by the light controller 40 in different embodiments.
Further, as depicted in the embodiment of
In embodiments, the light controller 40 indicates when a minimum or maximum current is detected by the monitor circuit 160. Such deviations outside thresholds are used to indicate a pending failure or degraded operation that requires attention. For example, if an LED array in a brake light normally draws 1 amp, the light controller 40 provides an indication when the current drops below a predetermined threshold, such as 0.75 amp, or rises above a predetermined threshold, such as 1.25 amp. In this way, the operator would be notified that potentially 25% or more of the LEDs are out or that there has been a short, and more technical information could be determined. In other embodiments, the thresholds are higher or lower, such as +/−5%, +/−10%, +/−20%, etc. In an incandescent light embodiment, the light controller 40 instead determines whether current is or is not flowing through the incandescent light or if there has been a short.
In one embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 also provides intelligent high beam control, i.e., automatic activation and deactivation of high beam lights 170 depending on ambient lighting conditions. With an integrated light sensor 130 directed forward, the light controller 40, in embodiments, turns on the high beam lights 170 when the path in front of the vehicle is dark enough. Additionally, in embodiments, the light sensor 130 detects the lights from an oncoming vehicle and turns off the high beam lights 170. When the oncoming vehicle has passed, the light controller 40 then reactivates the high beam lights 170. Such intelligent high beam control has the potential to increase the safety of a driver by keeping the road better illuminated and allowing the driver to use the vehicle's high beam lights 170 more than would be used via manual control.
In another embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 provides headlight failure support. If the headlights 180 burn out or otherwise fail, the light controller 40 switches either just the failed headlight 180 or both headlights 180 over to the corresponding high beam light or lights 170. Further, in some embodiments, the light controller 40 also reduces the lighting intensity of the high beam lights 170. In this way, the driver still has enough light to drive by at night without overly obstructing the vision of drivers in oncoming traffic.
In further embodiments, the light monitoring and control system 100 reactively controls the headlights 180. For example, a steering sensor 190 is connected to the light controller 40 such that, when the steering sensor 190 detects that the vehicle is rounding a corner, the light controller 40 causes the headlights 180 rotate into the turn, illuminating potential objects in the vehicle's path. In this way, the driver is provided better vision at night, which enhances the safety of the trip. Further, in embodiments, the light controller 40 automatically activates the headlights 180 and/or tail lights 200 when the light sensor 130 detects a predetermined level of darkness. In this way, the light controller 40 triggers the headlights 180 and tail lights 200 without user interaction, which reduces demand on the driver and maintains the driver's attention on the road.
In still another embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 provides pedestrian spot-lighting. In such an embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 has an integrated object detection system 140, such as forward collision avoidance systems. Using information collected by the object detection system 140, the light controller 40 controls a spot light 210 or causes the headlights 180 to rotate so as to illuminate a pedestrian on the road. In this way, the driver is alerted to pedestrians in the area, allowing for a better reaction time.
In a further embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 provides brake light failure support. If the brake lights 220 burn out or fail on the vehicle, then the light controller 40 activates the hazard lights 230 (i.e., four-way flashers). In some embodiments, the light controller 40 only activates the rear hazard lights 230, while in other embodiments, the light controller 40 activates both the front and rear hazard lights 230. In this way, following vehicles are warned that there is an issue with the vehicle in front, and the hazard lights 230 help to keep the drivers in following vehicles attentive enough to avoid a potential collision that might result from the failed brake lights 220.
Additionally, to provide monitoring flexibility, an embodiment of the present invention provides mobile or computer application integration. In such embodiments, the light monitoring and control system 100 connects to an external display device 240, such as a cellular device, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, etc. through either a wired communication means, such as USB, or wireless communication means, including forms of near field communication (such as Bluetooth® (e.g., IEEE 802.15.1)), WiFi (IEEE 802.11), etc., allowing the user to view the light controller 40 when not in the vehicle. In this way, application integration provides a user with the ability to initiate a routine check of the exterior lights 110 and/or interior lights 120, such as by triggering all or certain exterior lights 110 and/or interior lights 120 for pre- and/or post-drive checks.
In yet another embodiment, the light monitoring and control system 100 provides automatic puddle lights 250, i.e., exterior lights that illuminate at least partially around the vehicle. Door sensors 150 alert the light controller 40 that a door of the vehicle has been opened. In response, the light controller 40 activates the puddle lights 250 to illuminate the vehicle's surroundings. In embodiments, the puddle lights 250 illuminate an area adjacent to the driver's side door, passenger side door, and/or cargo bay door. In further embodiments, the puddle lights 250 are programmed to activate only near the door that has been opened, to last for a set period of time, and/or to keep the area around the vehicle illuminated until the driver returns from dropping off a package. In this way, driver safety is enhanced by reducing the chance of accidents as the result of uneven ground and other obstacles. In still further embodiments, the door sensors 150 are used to automatically activate cargo bay lights 260 when the vehicle's interior or rear cargo door is opened. In such embodiments, the system automatically turns on the interior cargo bay lights 260 when the interior or rear cargo door is opened. In this way, both efficiency and safety are enhanced as the driver can quickly get to any needed items while reducing fumbling.
As illustrated in
In embodiments, the management notification system 300 provides predictive maintenance information. In such an embodiment, the light controller 40 tracks the timing of failures, allowing the light controller 40 to calculate the mean time before lights burn out. In embodiments, the mean time before failure is based on engine hours, run time, miles, or another metric. In this way, fleet managers are provided a better idea of when lights actually burn out. Accordingly, lights are replaced closer to the end of their usable life, thereby reducing waste but without sacrificing safety. In exemplary embodiments, the fleet management system 360 compares current service time of a light to the mean time before failure and alerts the operator, manager, and/or service technician that the life of the light has been, e.g., 75%, 90%, 95% etc., expended and replacement is likely imminent.
Further, in some embodiments, such an automatic management notification system 300 provides automatic replacement ordering. For example, when the system 300 is tied into a fleet management system 360, the light controller 40 sends a request for a new light back to a fleet management office. There the request is automatically run against a bill of material for the lights and the right part is placed on order within minutes of the part's failure on the connected vehicle 310. This helps to reduce any connected vehicle 310 downtime and to maintain an appropriate level of replacement parts in the shop.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non- claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/305,306, filed Mar. 8, 2016, the entire teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62305306 | Mar 2016 | US |
