US-12626538-B2 - Asset and vehicle coupling

US12626538B2US 12626538 B2US12626538 B2US 12626538B2US-12626538-B2

Abstract

An asset tracking system comprises a server ( 6 ), one or more first telematics devices ( 8 ) each carried by an asset, and one or more second telematics devices ( 10 ) each carried by a vehicle capable of transporting an asset. The server ( 6 ) comprises a communications device arranged to communicate with the one or more first and second telematics devices ( 8,10 ). Each first telematics device ( 8 ) is configured to transmit asset travel data ( 12 ) to the server ( 6 ), and each second telematics device ( 10 ) is configured to transmit vehicle travel data ( 14 ) to the server ( 6 ). Each of the asset travel data ( 12 ) and vehicle travel data ( 14 ) comprise a plurality of data travel points each comprising a time stamp, position and a further motion-related parameter. The one or more first and second telematics devices ( 8,10 ) are each configured to communicate independently with the communications device of the server ( 6 ).

Inventors

Jan Schäfer
Jan Bast-Löffler
Martin Marenz
Christian Meißner

Assignees

Webfleet Solutions B.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210406
Priority Date: 20200406

Claims (18)

1 . A method of determining a coupling between an asset and a vehicle from among a plurality of different vehicles capable of transporting the asset, wherein the asset is carrying a first telematics device and the vehicle is carrying a second telematics device, the method comprising: gathering asset travel data from one or more sensors associated with the asset, the asset travel data comprising a plurality of asset travel data points, each asset travel data point comprising an asset time stamp and multiple asset travel parameters associated with the asset time stamp, wherein the multiple asset travel parameters comprise at least asset position and asset speed; gathering vehicle travel data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, the vehicle travel data comprising a plurality of vehicle travel data points, each vehicle travel data point comprising a vehicle time stamp and multiple vehicle travel parameters associated with the vehicle time stamp, wherein the multiple vehicle travel parameters comprise at least vehicle position and vehicle speed; configuring the first telematics device to transmit the asset travel data to a remote server; configuring the second telematics device to transmit the vehicle travel data to the remote server; wherein the first telematics device is configured to transmit the asset travel data to the remote server independently of the second telematics device; and wherein the second telematics device is configured to transmit the vehicle travel data to the remote server independently of the first telematics device; at each asset time stamp, the following steps being carried out at the remote server: comparing the asset position, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle position, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data; comparing the asset speed, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle speed, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data; determining a coupling between the asset and the vehicle based on the similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position at one or more time stamps, and based on the similarity of the asset speed and the vehicle speed at the one or more time stamps; generating signals for displaying and updating a live map on a display device visually indicating relative positions of at least the asset and the plurality of different vehicles, and the determined coupling between the asset and the vehicle.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the speed comprises an instantaneous speed of the vehicle or asset obtained at the time stamp.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first telematics device is configured to transmit asset travel data to the remote server at a first rate; and the second telematics device is configured to transmit vehicle travel data to the remote server at a second rate, the second rate being higher than the first rate.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: comparing the multiple travel parameters of the asset at a given time stamp of the asset travel data by processing the vehicle travel data to interpolate or estimate the same multiple travel parameters of the vehicle at a point in time matching the given time stamp of the asset travel data.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: obtaining an instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the asset and obtaining the same instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the vehicle, each travel data point further comprising the instantaneous travel parameter as one of the multiple travel parameters associated with the time stamp.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the instantaneous travel parameter is chosen from: temperature, ambient light level, road inclination, or a magnetic field reading.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the first telematics device comprises a first sensor arranged to measure the instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the asset and/or the second telematics device comprises a second sensor arranged to measure the instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the vehicle.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second telematics devices each comprise an inertial measurement unit, and the method further comprises using the inertial measurement unit to measure a first instantaneous inclination of the road on which the asset is travelling and a second instantaneous inclination of the road on which the vehicle is travelling, each travel data point further comprising the first or second instantaneous inclination as one of the multiple travel parameters associated with the time stamp.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing the asset travel data to the vehicle travel data, at the remote server, is triggered by the remote server receiving vehicle travel data from the second telematics device.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote server is arranged to store asset travel data and vehicle travel data as historical data, and wherein comparing the asset travel data to the vehicle travel data, at the remote server, includes comparing historical asset travel data to historical vehicle travel data.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: configuring the second telematics device to store the vehicle travel data and to periodically transmit a message to the remote server comprising a plurality of travel data points for the vehicle; and/or configuring the first telematics device to transmit to the remote server each travel data point for the asset contemporaneously with its time stamp.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining the coupling between the asset and the vehicle from among the plurality of different vehicles by comparing the asset travel data to the vehicle travel data for each of the plurality of different vehicles and comparing the multiple travel parameters at a given time stamp to determine a similarity score for each of the plurality of different vehicles.
13 . A server for determining a coupling between an asset and a vehicle from among a plurality of different vehicles capable of transporting the asset, wherein the asset is carrying a first telematics device configured to transmit asset travel data to the server and the vehicle is carrying a second telematics device configured to transmit vehicle travel data to the server; wherein the server is configured to gather asset travel data from one or more sensors associated with the asset, the asset travel data comprising a plurality of asset travel data points, each asset travel data point comprising an asset time stamp and multiple asset travel parameters associated with the asset time stamp, wherein the multiple asset travel parameters comprise at least asset position and asset speed; wherein the server is further configured to gather vehicle travel data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, the vehicle travel data comprising a plurality of vehicle travel data points, each vehicle travel data point comprising a vehicle time stamp and multiple vehicle travel parameters associated with the vehicle time stamp, wherein the multiple vehicle travel parameters comprise at least vehicle position and vehicle speed; wherein the first telematics device is configured to transmit the asset travel data to the remote server independently of the second telematics device; wherein the second telematics device is configured to transmit the vehicle travel data to the remote server independently of the first telematics device; wherein the server comprises at least one processor configured to determine if a time interval between the asset travel data points is lower than a predetermined threshold, and i) when the time interval is lower than the predetermined threshold, to, at a given asset or vehicle time stamp: compare the asset position, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle position, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data to calculate a similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position; compare the asset speed, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle speed, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data to calculate a similarity of the asset speed and the vehicle speed; and determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle based on the similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position at one or more time stamps, and based on the similarity of the asset speed and the vehicle speed at the one or more time stamps; and generate signals for displaying and updating a live map on a remote display terminal visually indicating relative positions of at least the asset and the plurality of different vehicles, and the determined coupling between the asset and the vehicle; ii) when the time interval is not lower than the predetermined threshold, to, at a given asset or vehicle time stamp: compare the asset position, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle position, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data to calculate a similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position; to determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle based on the similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position; and generate signals for displaying and updating the live map on a remote display terminal visually indicating relative positions of at least the asset and the plurality of different vehicles, and the determined coupling between the asset and the vehicle.
14 . An asset tracking system comprising a server, one or more first telematics devices each carried by an asset, one or more sensors associated with the asset, one or more second telematics devices each carried by a vehicle of a plurality of vehicles capable of transporting an asset, and one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; wherein the server is configured to gather asset travel data from the one or more sensors associated with the asset, the asset travel data comprising a plurality of asset travel data points, each asset travel data point comprising an asset time stamp and multiple asset travel parameters associated with the asset time stamp, wherein the multiple asset travel parameters comprise at least asset position and asset speed; wherein the server is configured to gather vehicle travel data from the one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, the vehicle travel data comprising a plurality of vehicle travel data points, each vehicle travel data point comprising a vehicle time stamp and multiple vehicle travel parameters associated with the vehicle time stamp, wherein the multiple vehicle travel parameters comprise at least vehicle position and vehicle speed; wherein each first telematics device is configured to transmit the asset travel data to the server independently of each second telematics device, and each second telematics device is configured to transmit the vehicle travel data to the server independently of each first telematics device; wherein the server comprises at least one processor configured to determine if a time interval between asset travel data points is lower than a predetermined threshold, and, i) when the time interval is lower than the predetermined threshold, to, at a given asset or vehicle time stamp: compare the asset position, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle position, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data; compare the asset speed, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle speed, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data; and determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle based on the similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position at one or more time stamps, and based on the similarity of the asset speed and the vehicle speed at the one or more time stamps; and generate signals for displaying and updating a live map on a remote display terminal visually indicating relative positions of at least the asset and the plurality of different vehicles, and the determined coupling between the asset and the vehicle; ii) when the time interval is not lower than the predetermined threshold, to, at a given asset or vehicle time stamp: compare the asset position, associated with the time stamp, from the asset travel data to the vehicle position, associated with the time stamp, from the vehicle travel data; determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle based on the similarity of the asset position and the vehicle position; and generate signals for displaying and updating a live map on a remote display terminal visually indicating relative positions of at least the asset and the plurality of different vehicles, and the determined coupling between the asset and the vehicle.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the first telematics device comprises a first sensor arranged to measure an instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the asset and/or the second telematics device comprises a second sensor arranged to measure the same instantaneous travel parameter relating to the travel environment of the vehicle, each travel data point further comprising the instantaneous travel parameter as one of the multiple travel parameters associated with the time stamp.
16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein each first telematics device comprises a battery as a power source and/or each second telematics device comprises an input for connection to a vehicle power source.
17 . The system of claim 14 , wherein each second telematics device comprises a buffer arranged to store the vehicle travel data and each second telematics device is configured to periodically transmit a message to the remote server comprising a plurality of travel data points from the stored vehicle travel data.
18 . The system of claim 14 , wherein, after determining a coupling between the asset and the vehicle, the at least one processor is arranged to determine one of the multiple travel parameters for the asset at a given point in time based on a corresponding one of the multiple travel parameters for the vehicle from a travel data point comprising a time stamp closest to the given point in time, so as to determine a travel path for the asset based on a travel path of the vehicle; and further comprising an output terminal arranged to communicate with the server and display the determined travel path for the asset and the travel path of the vehicle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of determining a coupling between an asset and a vehicle, a telematics device associated with a moveable asset, a server for determining a coupling between an asset and a vehicle, and an asset tracking system. BACKGROUND It is known to use a telematics control unit (TCU) to track the positions of fleets of vehicles and assets associated with the vehicles. This enables a fleet owner to view the live position and movements of the complete fleet on a map, as well as a historical overview of the behaviour of all vehicles and assets. However, such remote tracking requires information to be provided about which assets and vehicles are coupled together. One common process is to manually maintain a list of which vehicle uses which asset. Another process is to have additional hardware on the TCUs, allowing for local communication between the TCU installed in the asset and the TCU installed in the vehicle. When the vehicle starts a trip, its TCU can scan which assets are within the local communication range. After driving for a while, the only assets within the local communication range should be the one which are physically coupled with that vehicle. However this is not reliable in all situations, for example when multiple vehicles and assets start out from the same depot or when multiple vehicles are following the same route in a convoy. Current systems for remote fleet tracking are not able to determine with certainty which assets and vehicles are coupled together without the need for additional hardware installed on the vehicle or asset, or manual intervention. There remains a need for improved ways to remotely determine a coupling between an asset and a vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining a coupling between an asset and a vehicle capable of transporting the asset, wherein the asset is carrying a first telematics device and the vehicle is carrying a second telematics device, the method comprising: configuring the first telematics device to transmit asset travel data to a remote server at a first rate;configuring the second telematics device to transmit vehicle travel data to the remote server at a second rate, the second rate being higher than the first rate;the asset travel data and vehicle travel data comprising a plurality of travel data points, each travel data point comprising at least a time stamp and one or more travel parameters; andcomparing one or more travel parameters of the asset travel data to one or more travel parameters of the vehicle travel data, at the remote server, to determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle. It will be appreciated that in this method the first and second telematics devices are configured to transmit travel data to the remote server at two different rates. In principle this provides a way for the server to distinguish between asset travel data and vehicle travel data, and possibly verify the source of incoming travel data, although usually the asset travel data is transmitted with an asset ID and the vehicle travel data is transmitted with a vehicle ID. A benefit of the first telematics device transmitting asset travel data to the server at a lower rate is that this device can be powered by a battery that will not need recharging during a typical journey, rather than relying on an external power supply (which may not even be available, depending on the type of asset e.g. a trailer or equipment transported by a trailer). The second telematics device may be installed on a vehicle with a connection to consume power from the onboard powertrain, and hence better able to support a higher rate of transmission for the vehicle travel data. The present invention realises that the server can still compare one or more travel parameters between the asset travel data and the vehicle travel data, to determine a coupling between the asset and the vehicle, despite the first and second rates being different. In some embodiments the first rate may correspond to asset travel data being transmitted approximately once every 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, or 10 minutes. In some embodiments the first rate may correspond to asset travel data being transmitted approximately once every 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, or more. In some embodiments the first rate may correspond to asset travel data being transmitted only once every hour on average. In some embodiments the second rate may correspond to vehicle travel data being transmitted approximately once every 1 s, 2 s, 3 s, 4 s, 5 s, 6 s, 7 s, 8 s, 9 s, or 10 s at least. In some embodiments the second rate may correspond to vehicle travel data being transmitted approximately once every 10 s, 20 s, 30 s, 40 s, 50 s, or 60 s at least. In some embodiments the second rate may correspond to vehicle travel data being transmi