IP Library Granted Patent US 10,957,130
Granted Patent B2
US 10,957,130 · App. 15/425,419 · Granted Mar 23, 2021

Driving event assessment system

Inventor: Wesley M. Mays (Coppell, TX)
Assignee: OMNITRACS, LLC
G07C5/0866G06Q10/06398G07C5/008
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,957,130
App. No.
15/425,419
Granted
Mar 23, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

The described features of the present disclosure generally relate to one or more improved systems for analyzing driver performance with respect to a driving event that is correlated with corresponding image or video data (e.g., video captured by cameras mounted around the truck). Specifically, before the driving event is recorded against the driver's performance assessment, the techniques of the present disclosure analyze the image or video data corresponding to external environmental conditions around the vehicle and corresponding to the driving event (e.g., abrupt application of brakes) in order to determine whether the driver was at fault or if the driver actions were in response to conditions out of the control of the driver.

Claims (53)

1. An apparatus for generating a driver performance assessment, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to:

receive, at a network entity, a vehicle performance parameter from an electronic logging device (ELD) associated with a vehicle, wherein the vehicle performance parameter identifies a driving event detected by the ELD;

receive, at the network entity, image data captured by an image processing device on the vehicle that corresponds to the driving event;

determine, at the network entity, whether the driving event was triggered in response to external environmental conditions based on the image data captured by the image processing device on the vehicle; and

generate the driver performance assessment based on whether the driving event was triggered in response to the external environmental conditions,

wherein the instructions to generate the driver performance assessment further include instructions executable by the processor to deduct a value from a driver performance assessment score when it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle did not trigger the driving event.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to determine whether the driving event was trigged in response to the external environmental conditions are further include instructions executable by the processor to:

determine a first speed of the vehicle based on the image data;

determine a second speed of at least one secondary vehicle in proximity to the vehicle based on the image data; and

identify a distance between the vehicle and the at least one secondary vehicle based on the first speed and the second speed.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

determine whether an action by the at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event based on analyses of at least one or more of the first speed, the second speed, or the distance.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions to generate the driver performance assessment further include instructions executable by the processor to:

discard the driving event from calculation of a driver performance assessment score if it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle performance parameter that identifies the driving event detected by the ELD is based on a determination that a value associated with the vehicle performance parameter exceeds a threshold.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein instructions to receive the image data further include instructions executable by the processor to:

receive a set of still images or video captured by the image processing device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the image data includes image data corresponding to the driving event from a predetermined time period preceding the driving event and to a predetermined time period following the driving event such that the network entity is configured to analyze the received vehicle parameters and image data to consider circumstances surrounding the driving event.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle performance parameter is selected from a group consisting of: air bag deployment, 4-way flasher on or off state, revolutions per minute (RPM), windshield wiper on or off state, fog light on or off state, steering input, wind speed, engine oil pressure, pull-down seat deployment state, seat belt pre-tensioner deployment state, forward vision system input, driver emergency button state, tire-pressure monitoring system information, and automatic traction control information.

9. A method for generating a driver performance assessment, comprising:

receiving, at a network entity, a vehicle performance parameter from an electronic logging device (ELD) associated with a vehicle, wherein the vehicle performance parameter identifies a driving event detected by the ELD;

receiving, at the network entity, image data captured by an image processing device on the vehicle that corresponds to the driving event;

determining, at the network entity, whether the driving event was triggered in response to external environmental conditions based on the image data captured by the image processing device on the vehicle; and

generating the driver performance assessment based on whether the driving event was triggered in response to the external environmental conditions,

wherein the generating the driver performance assessment comprises deducting a value from a driver performance assessment score when it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle did not trigger the driving event.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining whether the driving event was trigged in response to the external environmental conditions comprises:

determining a first speed of the vehicle based on the image data;

determining a second speed of at least one secondary vehicle in proximity to the vehicle based on the image data; and

identifying a distance between the vehicle and the at least one secondary vehicle based on the first speed and the second speed.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

determining whether an action by the at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event based on analyses of at least one or more of the first speed, the second speed, or the distance.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein generating the driver performance assessment comprises:

discarding the driving event from calculation of a driver performance assessment score if it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle performance parameter that identifies the driving event detected by the ELD is based on a determination that a value associated with the vehicle performance parameter exceeds a threshold.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein receiving the image data further comprises receiving a set of still images or video captured by the image processing device.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle performance parameter is selected from a group consisting of: air bag deployment, 4-way flasher on or off state, revolutions per minute (RPM), windshield wiper on or off state, fog light on or off state, steering input, wind speed, engine oil pressure, pull-down seat deployment state, seat belt pre-tensioner deployment state, forward vision system input, driver emergency button state, tire-pressure monitoring system information, and automatic traction control information.

16. A computer readable medium for generating a driver performance assessment, comprising code for:

receiving, at a network entity, a vehicle performance parameter from an electronic logging device (ELD) associated with a vehicle, wherein the vehicle performance parameter identifies a driving event detected by the ELD;

receiving, at the network entity, image data captured by an image processing device on the vehicle that corresponds to the driving event;

determining, at the network entity, whether the driving event was triggered in response to external environmental conditions based on the image data captured by the image processing device on the vehicle; and

generating the driver performance assessment based on whether the driving event was triggered in response to the external environmental conditions,

wherein generating the driver performance assessment includes deducting a value from a driver performance assessment score when it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle did not trigger the driving event.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein code for determining whether the driving event was trigged in response to the external environmental conditions further comprises code for:

determining a first speed of the vehicle based on the image data;

determining a second speed of at least one secondary vehicle in proximity to the vehicle based on the image data; and

identifying a distance between the vehicle and the at least one secondary vehicle based on the first speed and the second speed.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 , further comprising code for:

determining whether an action by the at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event based on analyses of at least one or more of the first speed, the second speed, or the distance.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein generating the driver performance assessment comprises:

discarding the driving event from calculation of a driver performance assessment score if it is determined that an action by at least one secondary vehicle triggered the driving event.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the vehicle performance parameter is selected from a group consisting of: air bag deployment, 4-way flasher on or off state, revolutions per minute (RPM), windshield wiper on or off state, fog light on or off state, steering input, wind speed, engine oil pressure, pull-down seat deployment state, seat belt pre-tensioner deployment state, forward vision system input, driver emergency button state, tire-pressure monitoring system information, and automatic traction control information.

Assignments (7)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE INCORRECT PATENT NUMBER D856640 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 056601 FRAME 0630. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE FIRST LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT. Recorded Nov 17, 2021
From: OMNITRACS, LLC; ROADNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SMARTDRIVE SYSTEMS, INC.; XRS CORPORATION; HYPERQUEST, LLC (F/K/A HYPERQUEST, INC.); AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, LLC (F/K/A AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, INC.); CLAIMS SERVICES GROUP, LLC; DMEAUTOMOTIVE LLC; ENSERVIO, LLC (F/K/A ENSERVIO, INC.); MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY, LLC; SEE PROGRESS, LLC (F/K/A SEE PROGRESS, INC.); SOLERA HOLDINGS, LLC (F/K/A SOLERA HOLDINGS, INC.); EDRIVING FLEET LLC; FINANCE EXPRESS LLC
To: GOLDMAN SACHS LENDING PARTNERS LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 058174/0907 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE INCORRECT PATENT NUMBER D856640 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 056598 FRAME 0059. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECOND LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT. Recorded Nov 17, 2021
From: OMNITRACS, LLC; ROADNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SMARTDRIVE SYSTEMS, INC.; XRS CORPORATION; HYPERQUEST, LLC (F/K/A HYPERQUEST, INC.); AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, LLC (F/K/A AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, INC.); CLAIMS SERVICES GROUP, LLC; DMEAUTOMOTIVE LLC; ENSERVIO, LLC (F/K/A ENSERVIO, INC.); MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY, LLC; SEE PROGRESS, LLC (F/K/A SEE PROGRESS, INC.); SOLERA HOLDINGS, LLC (F/K/A SOLERA HOLDINGS, INC.); EDRIVING FLEET LLC; FINANCE EXPRESS LLC
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 058175/0775 →
SECOND LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 16, 2021
From: OMNITRACS, LLC; ROADNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SMARTDRIVE SYSTEMS, INC.; XRS CORPORATION; HYPERQUEST, LLC (F/K/A HYPERQUEST, INC.); AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, LLC (F/K/A AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, INC.); CLAIMS SERVICES GROUP, LLC; DMEAUTOMOTIVE LLC; ENSERVIO, LLC (F/K/A ENSERVIO, INC.); MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY, LLC; SEE PROGRESS, LLC (F/K/A SEE PROGRESS, INC.); SOLERA HOLDINGS, LLC (F/K/A SOLERA HOLDINGS, INC.); EDRIVING FLEET LLC; FINANCE EXPRESS LLC
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 056598/0059 →
FIRST LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 16, 2021
From: OMNITRACS, LLC; ROADNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SMARTDRIVE SYSTEMS, INC.; XRS CORPORATION; HYPERQUEST, LLC (F/K/A HYPERQUEST, INC.); AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, LLC (F/K/A AUDATEX NORTH AMERICA, INC.); CLAIMS SERVICES GROUP, LLC; DMEAUTOMOTIVE LLC; ENSERVIO, LLC (F/K/A ENSERVIO, INC.); MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY, LLC; SEE PROGRESS, LLC (F/K/A SEE PROGRESS, INC.); SOLERA HOLDINGS, LLC (F/K/A SOLERA HOLDINGS, INC.); EDRIVING FLEET LLC; FINANCE EXPRESS LLC
To: GOLDMAN SACHS LENDING PARTNERS LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 056601/0630 →
SECURITY INTEREST RELEASE (REEL/FRAME: 053983/0570) Recorded Jun 8, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS GRANTEE
To: OMNITRACS, LLC
Reel/Frame 056518/0684 →
SECOND LIEN PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 6, 2020
From: OMNITRACS, LLC
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
Reel/Frame 053983/0570 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2017
From: MAYS, WESLEY M.
To: OMNITRACS, LLC
Reel/Frame 041183/0803 →