Vehicle motion logger

Claim 2

Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising: means for acquiring electrical information responsive to the motion of the vehicle; means for classifying said information into a plurality of groups of data, with each group containing data about the motion of the vehicle which occurred between at least two stops of the vehicle; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for placing a plurality of said classified data groups into said memory means; and means for merging together groups of classified data contained in said memory means, with said merging placing a group of data corresponding to a particular stop into the data of another group which corresponds to a stop of duration which is longer than said particular stop; said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle.

Claim 3

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 including: means for calculating motion dependent quantities from the information contained in said classified data groups, said means being located within the same enclosure as said classified means; and means for indicating said motion dependent quantities.

Claim 4

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 wherein the memory means has a capacity to store a predetermined maximum number of data groups, and wherein only the longest stops of the vehicle are included in separate data groups.

Claim 5

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 including means for detecting and storing in the memory means when the apparatus has been separated from its power source.

Claim 6

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 including: means for powering-down part of the apparatus circuitry when the vehicle has not been in motion for a predetermined time period; and means for powering-up said part of the apparatus circuitry when the vehicle starts moving.

Claim 7

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information about the motion of the vehicle includes the relative distance, duration, date, and time of the second stop.

Claim 8

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information about the motion of the vehicle includes the relative maximum speed at which the vehicle travelled between said two stops, and the relative mileage, date, and time said maximum speed occurred.

Claim 9

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information about the motion of the vehicle includes the total time duration of all intermediate stops.

Claim 10

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 1 including: means for calculating and indicating motion dependent quantities from the information contained in said classified data groups, said means being remotely located from said classified means when it is functioning to classify said information; and means for transferring said classified data groups to said calculating and indicating means.

Claim 11

The vehicle motion logging apparatus of claim 9 wherein said means for transferring includes input and output ports connectable to permit the transfer of logic levels to said calculating and indicating means.

Claim 12

Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising: sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the relative distance travelled and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said motion information which occurred between and during vehicle stops; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying the data group originally associated with the shortest stop; and means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing and indicating; said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle.

Claim 13

Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising: sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the relative distance travelled and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said motion information which occurred between and during vehicle stops; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying the data group originally associated with the shortest stop; and means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing and indicating; said merging of data dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle.

Claim 14

The logging apparatus of claim 11 wherein the classified motion information includes the maximum relative speed between stops.

Claim 15

The logging apparatus of claim 11 including means for determining when the apparatus has been separated from its power source.

Claim 16

The logging apparatus of claim 11 including means for acquiring programming information from another device, said programming information including time information to set the clock means, the number of stops to be classified without merging motion data between stops, and the length of time the vehicle must be stopped before a stop is registered.

Claim 19

The logging method of claim 15 wherein the stored data also corresponds to the maximum speed of the vehicle between each stop.

Claim 20

The logging method of claim 15 including the step of sensing when the power to the apparatus which is used for the logging has been disconnected.

Claim 21

The logging method of claim 15 including the step of receiving programming information from an external device, said programming information specifying the length of time the vehicle must not be in motion to be regarded as a stop.

Claim 22

Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising: sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the distance travelled, the maximum speed, and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said data groups in said memory means, said data groups containing motion information representative of the mileage, date, time, and duration of a vehicle stop, and the mileage, date, time, and magnitude of the maximum vehicle speed which occurred since the previous stop; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying a data group originally associated with the shortest stop and dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle; means for determining when the apparatus has been separated from its power source and for indicating such a condition in the stored data; means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing; and means for acquiring time, number of stops, and minimum stop length programing information from another device.

Claim 23

Vehicle motion logging apparatus comprising: sensor means for acquiring an electrical signal responsive to the motion of the vehicle; clock means for providing date and time data; means for determining, from said sensor and clock means, motion data representative of the distance travelled, the maximum speed, and the date, time, and duration of vehicle stops; memory means for storing data for later retrieval; means for classifying said motion data into data groups and for storing said data groups in said memory means, said data groups containing motion information representative of the mileage, date, time, and duration of a vehicle stop, and the mileage, date, time, and magnitude of the maximum vehicle speed which occurred since the previous stop; means for merging data groups together in the memory means, with the merging modifying a data group originally associated with the shortest stop and dividing the memory means into data groups corresponding to the longest stops of the vehicle; means for determining when the apparatus has been separated from its power source and for indicating such a condition in the stored data; means for transferring the stored data to an external device for processing; and means for acquiring time, number of stops, and minimum stop length programing information from another device.