System and methods of monitoring driver behavior for vehicular fleet management in a fleet of vehicles using driver-facing imaging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10339401-B2
Application number	US-201715810029-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 11, 2017
Priority date	Nov 11, 2017
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

Systems and methods monitor driver behavior for vehicular fleet management in a fleet of vehicles using driver-facing imaging device. The systems and methods herein relate generally to vehicular fleet management for enhancing safety of the fleet and improving the performance of the fleet drivers, and further relate to monitoring the operation of fleet vehicles using one or more driver-facing imaging devices disposed in the fleet vehicles for recording activities of the fleet drivers and their passengers, storing information relating to the monitored activities, selectively generating warnings related to the monitored activities, and reporting the monitored activities to a central fleet management system for use in enhancing the safety of the vehicles of the fleet and for helping to improve the performance of the fleet drivers.

First claim

It is now claimed:

1. A safety system monitoring a seatbelt worn condition of an associated vehicle during operation of the associated vehicle by an associated driver, the system comprising:
an imaging device disposed in the associated vehicle, the imaging device capturing an image of the associated driver in the associated vehicle and generating image data representative of the captured image of the associated driver; and
a control device comprising:
a processor;
an image data input operatively coupled with the processor, the image data input receiving the image data from the imaging device;
a non-transient memory device operatively coupled with the processor, the non-transient memory device storing safe model data comprising a recommended value range of a seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
control logic stored in the non-transient memory device, the control logic being executable by the processor to:
process the image data to determine an operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle by:
inspecting the image data to locate a head of a human; and
inspecting the image data to determine one or more pairs of discontinuous collinear seatbelt lines below the located head of the human;

perform a comparison between the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle and the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
determine a state of vehicle operation compliance as a one of:
a seatbelt non-compliance state in accordance with a first result of the comparison between the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter and the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle, wherein the control logic is executable by the processor to generate seatbelt use non-compliance data in accordance with the first result, or
a seatbelt use compliance state in accordance with a second result of the comparison between the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter and the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and

an output operatively coupled with the processor, the output selectively receiving the seatbelt use non-compliance data from the processor and generating a seatbelt use non-compliance signal representative of the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition being outside of the recommended value range of the safe model data.

2. The safety system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control logic is executable by the processor to generate seatbelt use compliance data in a accordance with the second result; and
the output is operable to selectively receives the seatbelt use compliance data from the processor and generate a seatbelt use compliance signal representative of the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition being within the recommended value range of the safe model data.

3. The safety system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the non-transient memory device stores a plurality of calibration images of a plurality of drivers wearing a seatbelt, each of the plurality of calibration images having an origin point relative to an image of an interior of the associated vehicle as the safe model data comprising the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
the control logic stored in the non-transient memory device is executable by the processor to determine a particular first driver of the associated vehicle and to process the image data to determine, based on a calibration image corresponding to the determined particular first driver having the origin point, a disposition of a seatbelt in the image data as the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle.

4. The safety system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the non-transient memory device stores a generic model of a physical appearance of a buckled seatbelt as the safe model data comprising the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
the control logic stored in the non-transient memory device is executable by the processor to process the image data to determine, based on the generic model of the physical appearance of a buckled seatbelt, a disposition of a seatbelt in the image data as the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle.

5. The safety system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the non-transient memory device stores one or more of a calibration image and/or a generic model of a position relative to the imaging device of a buckle of an unbuckled seatbelt as the safe model data comprising the recommended value range of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
the control logic stored in the non-transient memory device is executable by the processor to process the image data to determine, based on the position relative to the imaging device of the buckle of the unbuckled seatbelt of the one or more of the calibration image and/or the generic model, a disposition of a seatbelt buckle in the image data as the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle.

6. The safety system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the control logic stored in the non-transient memory device is executable by the processor to process the image data to determine the operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle by:
inspecting the image data to locate a person;
retrieving from the memory a seatbelt position model; and
comparing the retrieved seatbelt model with a position of the person located in the image data relative to a preferred line orientation of an image of the seatbelt.

7. A safety system monitoring a seatbelt worn condition of an associated vehicle during operation of the associated vehicle by an associated driver, the system comprising:
an imaging device disposed in the associated vehicle, the imaging device capturing an image of the associated driver in the associated vehicle and generating image data representative of the captured image of the associated driver; and
a control device comprising:
a processor;
an image data input operatively coupled with the processor, the image data input receiving the image data from the imaging device;
a non-transient memory device operatively coupled with the processor, the non-transient memory device storing a generic model of a physical appearance of a seatbelt buckled without the associated driver as safe model data comprising an outside of recommended value range of a seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle; and
control logic stored in the non-transient memory device, the control logic being executable by the processor to:
process the image data to determine, based on the generic model of the physical appearance of the seatbelt buckled without the associated driver, a disposition of a seatbelt in the image data as an operational value of the seatbelt use parameter of the monitored seatbelt worn condition of the associated vehicle;
perform a comparison between the recommended value range of the seatbelt use

Assignees

• Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems Llc

Inventors

• Kuehnle Andreas U
• Li Zheng
• Molin Hans M
• Boon Cathy L

Classifications

• G06F18/00

  Pattern recognition · CPC title

• G07C5/008

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title

• G06Q10/06398

  Performance of employee with respect to a job function · CPC title

• G06Q10/00 Primary

  Administration; Management · CPC title

• B60W40/09 Primary

  Driving style or behaviour · CPC title