Car black box

Abstract

 This invention is a complex electronic unit with autonomous feeding which is absolutely tamper-proof and protected from any form of physical trauma which could take place in a vehicle. It is capable of memorizing all parameters which concern motion and are indicative of its components with the aim of ascertaining responsability after an impact or infringement.

Description

[0001] This invention is a complex electronic unit with autonomous feeding which is absolutely tamper-proof and protected from any form of physical trauma which could take place in a vehicle. It is capable of memorizing all parameters which concern motion and are indicative of its components.

[0002] The purpose of this invention is to supply a recent history of vehicle trajectory and the commands activated by the driver as well as altimetry variation and transversal displacement after impact or order so as to permit a precise definition of the driver's responsability in the case of accidents and infringements.

[0003] The reading of a memorized situation will be carried out on the unit itself through a processor, which is able to decode and produce an intelligible and univocal graoh of the above described parameters.

[0004] As already mentioned the"Car Black Box"unit can be programmed to memorize the history of motion just before impact or tampering not only afterwards but also in reply to an order, for instance by remote control, through assigned personnel, in order to ascertain the execution of an infringement or verify the mechanisms of the accident.

[0005] The unit can be made up of an intelligent section with an integrated circuit which is able to work out and codify data coming from a series of sensors placed throughout the vehicle, as described below, and store them in a memory.

[0006] The writing takes place in closed loops (shift register). In this way the stored history is being continuously up-dated according to the last sampling base element and the element which is temporarily further away is subtracted.

[0007] When an interruptive phenomenon, as already described, takes place, it is registered by the relevant sensory system and the control unit consolidates and stabilizes the memory after a preset delay making it accessible only to systems or personnel authorized to the reading.

[0008] The sealing on the system may be either traditional and mechanical (rivets, lead sealing, welding, etc.) or electronic (complex activation codes, pass words, etc.).

[0009] The system will be a self-checking type and capable of informing the driver and other systems of breakdowns, malfunctions and tampering.

[0010] The system will be suitably protected both electrically (in case of input and/or data absence or overloading) and mechanically (so as to overcome any conceivable physical shocks).

[0011] In reference to a particular application, the system may be put into effect as shown in the diagram in which the Multiplexer/ vectorization speed unit registers the wheel speed, the steering angle and the land slope from special sensors and supplies carefully prepared and digitized data of the vectorized speed through another Multiplexer to a control unit which also reads the digitized data in a gyroscopic reference. This is useful for indicating the drift and side skid and also for the image-sensory device, indicating the complete horizontal view of the vehicle registered through a CCD or another optoelectronic converting system and captates binary data relative to the driver's commanding (gear-shifting, clutching, brake pedalling, indicating).

[0012] The control unit verifies the precision of received data and, when positive, it transfers them, in order, to the loop memory.

[0013] Each command and impact sensation supplies an immediate or de_- layed memory inhibition command. This is accessible only from outside. Each malfunction is signalled by the control unit which has specific consistency routines. As to tampering, the control unit continuously analyzes the specific sensors.

Claims

1) The "Car Black Box" system is used for memorizing all parameters relevant to motion and the driving of a vehicle with the aim of ascertaining responsability after an impact or infringement.

2) The integrated electronic unit is capable of transfering vectorized data of a vehicle's speed to the memory, elaborating data deriving from special sensors.

3) A digitized gyroscopic reference which joins wheel speed information and vehicle drift information.

4) An optoelectronic sensor which will supply a sufficiently defined digitized image of the total vehicle horizon with appropriate enlargement and opening.

5) The electronic unit as in 2) is also capable of conveying information relevant to the driver's commanding (brake pedalling, clutching, gear shifting, using parking brakes, indicating, accelerating) to the memory system, with suitable timing.

6) The electronic unit as in 2) and 5) is also capable of checking malfunctions emitting signals relevant to these malfunctions.

7) A loop memory which retains all the above mentioned data from a given time in the present to a preset time in the past with sampling intervals which are suitable for the purpose of the system.

8) A switching gate which inhibits the memorizing of subsequent writings when an external command and/or impact promotes the consolidation in a given instance; it may be contemporary or delayed in respect to the original command.

9) A loop memory as in 7) that is capable of transfering already registered and consolidated data after a coded reading command.

10) An electric protection system which makes as much as explained in 1) and 9) indestructable through sensory, command and feed input and data and command output.

11) A mechanical system which protects as much as described in 1) and 10) from all thermic, mechanical and chemical shocks and stress relevant to the surroundings in which the unit is operating.

12) A metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit which performs block diagrams.

13) A fixed or portable computer, with or without a printing unit and video unit, which is capable of reading the meorized data mentioned in 7) and 9) and working them out giving the user a clear and decipherable diagram relevant to the motion of the vehicle (memorizing the initial preset time interval antichrono- logically from a command or an impact), to the distance covered to the commands carried out by the driver and to the image of the situation around the vehicle.

Drawing