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`Page 001693
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`430
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`432
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`436
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`19
`
`Page 001694
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`

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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001695
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`

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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001696
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001701
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`Page 001702
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`Page 001704
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`Page 001706
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001707
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`Page 001709
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`Page 001710
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001711
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001713
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001714
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001716
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`
`Page 001717
`
`

`
`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`43
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`Page 001718
`
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`Page 001720
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001721
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`EP 0 935 208 A2
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`Page 001722
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`
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`
`Page 001723
`
`

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`EP 0 935 208 A2
`
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`49
`
`Page 001724
`
`

`
`(19) 9)
`
`Européiisches Patentamt
`
`European Patent Office
`
`Office eu ropéen des brevets
`
`(11)
`
`EP1 164 551 A2
`
`(12)
`
`EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
`
`(43) Date of publication:
`19.12.2001 Bulletin 2001/51
`
`(51)
`
`|ntC|.7: GOTC 5/00
`
`(21) Application number: 01304905.1
`
`(22) Date of filing: 05.05.2001
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU
`MC NL PT SE TR
`Designated Extension States:
`AL LT LV MK RO SI
`
`(71) Applicant: Meritor Heavy Vehicle Tech nology LLC
`Troy, Michigan 48084 (US)
`
`(72)
`
`Inventor: Ramsey, Reno
`Sterling Heights, Michigan 48313 (US)
`
`(30) Priority: 12.06.2000 Us 591970
`
`(74) Representative: Barnfather, Karl Jon, Dr. et al
`Withers 8. Rogers, Goldings House, 2 Hays Lane
`London SE1 2HW (GB)
`
`
`(54)
`
`Personal data computer for vehicle monitoring
`
`A personal computer, generally of the type
`(57)
`commonly available under the trade name Palm Pi-
`|otT""is utilized on a heavy vehicleto obtain information.
`The information may be analyzed by software provided
`on the computer. The computer is removed from a dock-
`ing module on the vehicle and plugged into a docking
`module at a headquarters base. Data can then be down-
`loaded to the headquarters. At the same time, the head-
`quarters can upload information intothe computerwhich
`
`may be then downloaded into the vehicle when the com-
`puter is returned to the vehicle. The information taken
`from the vehicle to the computer may include trip infor-
`mation such as mileage, state line crossing, etc. The in-
`formation uploaded into the computer may include trip
`information which can then provide instructions to a nav-
`igation system on the vehicle. Moreover, the system
`may also provide diagnostic analyses while on the ve-
`hicle.
`
`Z0
`
`
`
`
`
`EP1164551A2
`
`Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARlS (FR)
`
`Page 001725
`
`

`
`1
`
`EP1 164 551 A2
`
`2
`
`Description
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] This invention relates to the use of a personal
`computer which is selectively plugged into a vehicle,
`and into a base facility to selectively gather, analyze and
`transmit data. Heavy vehicles such as trucks, typically
`require a good deal of data storage and gathering.
`In
`particular, on a typical heavy truck trip, the driver must
`gather a good deal of informationwith regard tothe route
`traveled. As an example, taxes must be assessed based
`on the number of state lines crossed, etc. Thus, it is typ-
`ically necessary for a truck driver to prepare detailed
`manual logs during or after a trip.
`[0002]
`It would also be desirable to have a system
`which monitors and analyzes variables during the oper-
`ation ofthe vehicle. As an example, it would be desirable
`to be able to monitor the number of hours driven by an
`operator, such that an operator is not allowed to drive
`fortoo many hours. Moreover, it would be desirable to
`have a system that can monitor variables such as anom-
`alies in the operation of the vehicle, and analyze such
`anomalies.
`
`[0003] On-board computers are known for vehicles.
`However, these on-board computers are typically dedi-
`cated into the control system for the vehicle. Moreover,
`the system is relatively expensive in that hardware and
`software must be individually tailored for the particular
`vehicle. Many heavy vehicles are manufactured in rela-
`tively low runs, and thus, it may not be cost effective to
`prepare individual computers.
`[0004] More recently, the assignee of the present in-
`vention has proposed a system wherein a so-called
`"Smart Card" stores information during operation of a
`vehicle, and may then be taken from the vehicle. This
`card is able to store information with regard to the vehi-
`cle, and with regard to the operator operating the vehi-
`cle. While this Smart Card does provide manyfunctional
`benefits, it is not able to perform any computations on
`the gathered data.
`[0005]
`It would be desirable to develop a system
`which can not only gather, but also analyze and respond
`to the gathered data.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In the enclosed embodiment of this invention,
`[0006]
`a removable personal data assistant (PDA) orcomputer,
`is docked in a docking station on the vehicle. The PDA
`gathers operational information from the vehicle. When
`the driver leaves the vehicle the PDA can be taken with
`the operator and brought to a headquarters facility.
`In
`this way, it is relatively simple to download operational
`information from the vehicle to the headquarters. Fur-
`ther, the headquarters can upload information into the
`PDA which can then be transmitted to the vehicle when
`the driver returns to the vehicle.
`
`[0007] Among the types of information which may be
`gathered and stored by the PDA includes operational
`information such as driver identification, trip information,
`operational history for the driver, etc. Moreover, the in-
`formation which hastypically been stored in manual logs
`by the operator can be simply stored on the computer.
`As an example, the number of state lines crossed, etc.,
`may be stored.
`[0008] Moreover, the computer is able to analyze and/
`or store information from the vehicle during operation of
`the vehicle to look for anomalies. As an example, a
`number of particular conditions may be sensed by the
`computer which would be indicative of a particular prob-
`lem. The computer may then send a diagnostic signal
`which will enable the problem to be further identified.
`[0009]
`In a most preferred embodiment, an off-the-
`shelf computer may be utilized.
`In this way, no expen-
`sive hardware or software need be developed. One
`such PDA is typically known and available under the
`trade name Palm PilotT“'. Such a PDA is easily tailored
`to include additional software such that the headquar-
`ters can program the PDA to include particular software
`for any particular function the headquarters would like
`be performed at the vehicle. Again, the use of this sys-
`tem simplifies and facilitates the gathering of data from
`the vehicle.
`[0010] These and other features of the present inven-
`tion can be best understood from the following specifi-
`cation and drawings, the following which is a brief de-
`scription.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`[0011]
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`Figure 1 schematically shows a headquarters and
`vehicle.
`Figure 2 is a schematic view of the PDA mounted
`in a vehicle.
`Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`is a schematic view of a system 20
`Figure 1
`[0012]
`incorporating a heavy vehicle 22 with an onboard com-
`puter or controller 24. Computer 24 communicates
`through a bus line with a docking module 26. A remov-
`able computer 28 is plugged into the docking module 26.
`[0013] A remote headquarters 30 also includes a
`docking module or base 32 to receive the removable
`computer 28. The docking module 32 communicates
`with a headquarters computer 34.
`[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the computer 24 re-
`ceives operational
`information from a number of on-
`board devices 40, 42, 44. Thus, operational information
`is transferred through the data bus, into the module 26,
`and then to the removable computer28. Among the in-
`
`Page 001726
`
`

`
`3
`
`EP1 164 551 A2
`
`4
`
`formation received by the computer 28 is distance
`traveled,
`location, navigation system information, etc.
`The removable computer 28 calculates information ap-
`plicable for taxes such as fuel taxes, and taxes based
`on crossing a state line. The software provided on the
`removable computer 28 is appropriate for receiving the
`information and calculating the required taxes.
`[0015] Moreover, the removable computer 28 may be
`provided with the ability to analyze anomalies in the in-
`formation transferred overthe data bus. As an example,
`if a particular anomaly is indicative of a problem with one
`of the components 40,42, or 44 the computer 28 may
`send a signal which will assist in diagnosing which com-
`ponents is experiencing a failure. That diagnosis is then
`stored atthe computer 28, or a signal can be sent. When
`the removable computer 28 is next loaded into the dock-
`ing module 32 at headquarters, the computer may then
`download the operational information with regard to the
`failing component. Aworker in this art would understand
`the signals, etc. that would provide such diagnostic func-
`tions.
`information
`[0016] Updated software, or additional
`with regard to the driver, the trip, etc., may be uploaded
`from the headquarters computer 34 into the removable
`computer 28. In this way, chip information, or updated
`information with regard to what the company would like
`to be monitored can be uploaded into the computer 24
`on an ongoing basis. A navigation system which may be
`one of the components 40,42 or 44 may be associated
`with the onboard computer 24, and provide detailed trip
`information to removable computer 28. Further, trip in-
`formation could be uploaded from the headquarters into
`the vehicle, and would then communication with the
`navigation system. Again, the provision of a removable
`computer 28 which is relatively inexpensive thus pro-
`vides valuable benefits.
`[0017]
`Further, while plugged into either module 32 or
`26, the computer is being recharged.
`[0018]
`Figure 3 is a flow chartfor an invention utilizing
`the removable computer 28 into a vehicle. First, the
`computer 28 is plugged into a vehicle.
`It begins to re-
`ceive information and/or transmit information. Informa-
`tion received may be analyzed for purposes of calculat-
`ing required taxes. Further, information may be output-
`ted to the vehicle as in the diagnostic information as
`mentioned above.
`[0019]
`Finally, the removable computer may be un-
`plugged from the vehicle and plugged into a terminal at
`headquarters. At that time data may be downloaded,
`while other information may be uploaded.
`[0020] While preferred embodiments of this invention
`have been disclosed, a worker in this art would recog-
`nize that many modifications would come within the
`scope of this invention. For that reason, the following
`claims should be studied to determine the true scope
`and content of this invention.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`Claims
`
`1. A method of gathering and analyzing data from op-
`eration of a vehicle (22) comprising the steps of:
`
`(i) providing a first docking module (26) on a
`vehicle, and a second docking module (32) at
`a remote location (70);
`(ii) plugging a removable computer (28) into
`saidfirst docking module on the vehicle and op-
`erating said vehicle;
`(iii) storing information from operation of the ve-
`hicle on said removable computer, and analys-
`ing said information; and
`(iv) removing said removable computer from
`said first docking module on said vehicle and
`plugging said removable computer into said
`docking module at said remote location.
`
`2. A method as recited in Claim ‘l,wherein among the
`analyses made is calculating taxes required for op-
`eration of said vehicle.
`
`3. A method as recited in Claim 2 wherein the remov-
`able computer processes data supplied by one or
`more onboard devices (40, 42, 44) on said vehicle
`so as to calculate said taxes.
`
`4. Amethod as recited in any preceding Claim wherein
`information is uploaded into said removable com-
`puter when docked into said second docking mod-
`ule at said remote location, and said information is
`downloaded into said vehicle when said removable
`computer is docked into said first docking module.
`
`5. A method as recited in Claim 4, wherein trip infor-
`mation andlor driver information is uploaded into
`said removable computer and then downloaded into
`said vehicle.
`
`6. A method as recited in any preceding Claim, where-
`in said removable computer analyses operational
`information and identified anomalies, and then
`sends control signals to a vehicle controller while
`docked on said vehicle.
`
`7. A method as recited in Claim 6, wherein the remov-
`able computer sends a signal to assist in diagnosing
`said anomaly, and/or interrogates the vehicle con-
`trol to assist in diagnosis and/or analysis.
`
`8. A method as recited in Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein
`said operational information is at least one of loca-
`tion data, navigational data, data related to passing
`a State Line, and/or distance data.
`
`9. A method as recited in any preceding Claim, where-
`in trip information is downloaded from said vehicle
`
`Page 001727
`
`

`
`5
`
`EP 1 164 551 A2
`
`6
`
`into said computer during step (ii).
`
`10. A method as recited in any preceding Claim, where-
`in the removable computer may be programmed so
`as to store and analyse differing data for differing
`drivers of said vehicle.
`
`11. A system (20) for monitoring operation of a vehicle
`(22) comprising:
`
`A vehicle (22) including a docking module and
`a computer;
`A headquarters (30) having a docking module
`(32); and
`A removable computer (28) which may be
`plugged into said docking module at said head-
`quarters and said docking module on said ve-
`hicle, said computer obtaining data from said
`vehicle during operation of said vehicle, and
`downloading said data to said headquarters
`when removed from said vehicle.
`
`12. A system as set forth in Claim 10, wherein said
`headquarters also uploads information into said
`computer to be downloaded into said vehicle.
`
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`(19) 9)
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`Européiisches Pate ntamt
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`European Patent Office
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`Office européen des brevets
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`(11)
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`EP 1 207 499 A2
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`(12)
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`EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
`
`(43) Date of publication:
`22.05.2002 Bulletin 2002/21
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`(51)
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`|ntC|.7: G07C 5/00
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`(21) Application number: 01204375.8
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`(22) Date of filing: 15.11.2001
`
`(71) Applicant: Kuitenbrouwer, Tibor Benediktus
`Stanislas Sebastiaan
`2623 ca Delft (NL)
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU
`MC NL PT SE TR
`Designated Extension States:
`AL LT LV MK RO SI
`
`Inventor: Kuitenbrouwer, Tibor Benediktus
`Stanislas Sebastiaan
`2623 CR Delft (NL)
`(30) Priority: 16.11.2000 NL 1016618
`
`
`(72)
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`(54)
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`System enabling transfer of mileage and other vehicle data as registered, processed and
`stored by the system, to telecommunications and data networks outside the vehicle
`
`System to be used in wheeled vehicles, for reg-
`(57)
`istration, processing and storage of data with respect to
`trips of the vehicle, comprising means for data transfer
`between the system according to the present invention
`and suitable electronic devices in said vehicle or in the
`proximity of said vehicle, characterised by the fact that
`
`the system according to the present invention compris-
`es means to control at least one other electronic device
`in such manner that through said electronic device, trip
`data as registered, processed and stored by the system
`according to the present invention, is transferred to one
`or more telecommunications and/or datanetworks out-
`side the vehicle.
`
`
`
`__.q-ulluu-.,_..'c
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`EP1207499A2
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`Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARlS (FR)
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`EP 1 207 499 A2
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`2
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`Description
`
`FIELD OFTHE INVENTION
`
`[0001] The present invention generally relates to a
`system to be used in wheeled vehicles, enabling regis-
`tration, processing and transferto at least one telecom-
`munications or datanetwork outside the vehicle, of data
`with respect to a trip of the vehicle, like for instance a
`trip number, date and time at the start of a trip, date and
`time at the end of a trip, the odometer reading at the
`start and atthe end of a trip, and an identification of the
`purpose of the trip, for instance private, business or
`commuting.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0002] Traditionally in motorcars and other (motor)ve-
`hicles there's a device present to register the distance
`traveled by the vehicle. Even today the principle of many
`of these "odometers" is based on a mechanical conver-
`sion of wheel or axle rotation into a measure of the dis-
`tance traveled, which measure is displayed through a
`mechanical or electronic counter in the vehicle's dash-
`
`In addition to registration of the total distance
`board.
`traveled by the vehicle since itwas manufactured, many
`odometers offer a possibility to register the distance
`traveled by the vehicle during a specific trip, through the
`use of a so-called "daycounter", which can be reset to
`zero prior to every trip. In the above mentioned conver-
`sion of wheel or axle rotations into mileage information,
`the conversion error may be as large as five percent.
`[0003]
`Presently registration of the distance traveled
`by a vehicle is predominantly achieved through the use
`of electro-mechanical sensors, with the aim to facilitate
`processing of the resulting data in electronic form by the
`measurement and control electronics that take an in-
`creasingly important position in modern road vehicles.
`The wheel or axle rotations are in this case represented
`by electrical pulses, where the number of pulses in a
`specific period oftlme is related to the distance traveled
`by the vehicle during that period of time. In this respect
`it is to be noted that the relation between the number of
`pulses per period and the distance traveled by the ve-
`hicle during that same period is dependent on vehicle
`parameters like the wheel diameter.
`the distance
`[0004] An accurate registration of
`traveled by a vehicle is
`important in many respects.
`Some of the more traditional situations where this reg-
`istration plays a role includeforinstance determining the
`marketvalue of avehiclethat is to be purchased orsold,
`determining when vehicle maintenance is required, de-
`termining the rent when one has rented a vehicle, cal-
`culating the height of the allowance to be paid by an
`employer to an employee when the latter uses his/her
`private vehicle for business purposes, calculating the
`fare for ataxi trip, or registering thefuel consumption of
`a vehicle per unit distance.
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`[0005] Nowadays the economic importance of (car)
`mobility is very high. In addition to this many corporate
`motor pools consist completely of leased vehicles, lead-
`ing to a situation in which leasing companies are the le-
`gal owners of the vehicles and are in most cases also
`responsible for vehicle maintenance. However, current
`information with respect to the leased vehicles is not
`continuously at the disposal of said leasing companies,
`like for instance the odometer reading, that may be im-
`poitant to determine for instance whether maintance is
`required, or to determine whether the lease contract
`should be revised because the distance traveled with a
`
`specific vehicle significantly exceeds the contract provi-
`sions. Cars in the higher priced segments are in some
`cases equipped with extensive sensor and control sys-
`tems, for instance offering the possibility to send a tele-
`comunications message to the maintenance service
`with respect to (potential) defects in the vehicle's tech-
`nical systems. Such equipment is however quite expen-
`sive, what makes application economically infeasiblefor
`average corporate motor pools. In addition to this comes
`thefactthat such equipment is in most cases specifically
`tailored to a particular brand or even a particulartype of
`car. This makes flexible application of said equipment
`in vehicles of different brand and/ortype virtually impos-
`sible.
`[0006] The patent document US 5 673 018 describes
`a relatively simple passive transponder device that is to
`be affixed to a vehicle wheel. By means of a sensor the
`wheel rotations are registered and converted into a
`measure of the distance traveled by the vehicle. This
`mileage data is stored in an electronic memory in the
`device. When the transponder comes into the range of
`the electro-magnetic field of a special transmitter/re-
`ceiver which is located for instance at the entrance of a
`garage or a fuel station, the transponder emits a signal,
`for instance consisting of an electronic representation
`of said mileage data, which is then received by said re-
`ceiver. The main disadvantage of this device is the fact
`that the mileage data can only be transferred to systems
`outside the vehicle at specific locations.
`In addition to
`this, the affixing of electronics to moving parts of the ve-
`hicle's exterior,
`in this case a wheel, considerably in-
`creases the risk of damage to the device which may re-
`sult in defects.
`[0007]
`Furthermore, devices are known in the art, that
`enable the transfer of vehicle data by means of infrared
`light to receivers outside the vehicle. Also in this case,
`data can only be transferred at specific locations, and
`there is a need for a clear line of sight between the trans-
`mitter inside the vehicle and the receiver outside.
`[0008] Registration of the distance traveled with a ve-
`hicle furthermore plays an important role when a distinc-
`tion has to be made between distance travelled for pri-
`vate purposes and distance travelled for business pur-
`poses. For most companies with a motor pool that main-
`ly consists of leased vehicles this will be the case. In
`some countries people who drive a "company car" that
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`is leased by their employer will be subjected to the pay-
`ment of extra income taxes when the distance travelled
`with the company car for private purposes exceeds a
`specific treshold value. To avoid extra taxation the reg-
`istered user of the leased vehicle is required to keep a
`consistent and accurate mileage record.
`It
`is also re-
`quired that there exits an unambiguous relationship be-
`tween mileage registered as being for business purpos-
`es and a specific business activity. To be able to prove
`such relationship an accurate activity record has to be
`kept. Manually keeping such mileage and activity
`records, for instance by reading the vehicle's odometer
`atthe start and end of everytrip, calculating the distance
`travelled during said trip and writing it down together
`with the corresponding business activity, may easily
`lead to errors, omissions and unnecessary costs.
`[0009]
`In the past, numerous systems have been de-
`velopped to remedy the problems mentioned above by
`automating said mileage registration as well as said ac-
`tivity registration. In the patent document US 5 541 858
`a device is disclosed consisting of a portable unit com-
`prising at least a micro-processor, RAM-memory, a dis-
`play and a keyboard, that can be placed in a docking-
`station in the vehicle. The device makes use of the elec-
`
`tronic odometer signal that is standard available in most
`recent model road vehicles. In addition to this, the de-
`vice offers the possibility to a userto register activities
`by assigning a numerical code to each of the activities.
`The record of an activity, for instance avisit to a specific
`client, may then be logically connected to a vehicle trip
`record by entering the corresponding numerical code,
`after which the data is stored in the portable unit. On the
`portable unit there's an electrical connector present,
`through which the registered data can be transferred at
`a later stage to for instance a personal computerfor fur-
`ther processing.
`[0010] The patent document US 6 064 929 discloses
`a device wherein the above mentioned portable unit is
`a portable personal computer (notebook computer, lap-
`top computer), equipped with software for keeping an
`extensive activity record. The odometer signal that is
`available in the vehicle is lead to the computer by means
`of a cable and is combined in said computerwith a time
`and activity record.
`[0011]
`A significant drawback of the lattertwo devices
`known in the art, is that said portable unit as well as said
`personal computer are in fact assigned to aspecific user
`and not to a specific vehicle. It is the personal respon-
`sibility of this userto transport the device from the vehi-
`cle to, for instance, an office location where the stored
`information can be read out of the device and entered
`into, for instance, the company's accounting system.
`The electronic odometer signal however, is dependent
`on vehicle specific parameters like for instance the
`wheel diameter. Consequently, when the above men-
`tioned systems are used in another vehicle than the ve-
`hicle used for the previous registration, the distance
`measurement needs to be calibrated before the first trip
`
`In most cases such calibration re-
`in this new vehicle.
`quires reading the odometer and entering the resulting
`data into the device at least twice, which may lead to
`errors and omissions. Another drawback ofthe registra-
`tion ofodometer readings with the help of a portable per-
`sonal unit, like a portable computer, is the fact that if a
`vehicle is used by a second person between two trips
`of a first person, and this second person does not use
`the same portable unit, the mileage record will not be
`consistent anymore. The most recent odometer reading
`stored in the portable unit of the first person will in this
`case differ from the current odometer reading in the ve-
`hicle. Preceding a next registration with said first porta-
`ble computer, a user will then have to enter again the
`current odometer reading into the device, with the afore-
`mentioned drawbacks as a potential consequence.
`[0012] The system according to the present invention
`means to remedy the drawbacks of devices known in
`the art in this field. To this effect a system for use in
`wheeled vehicles will be proposed, enabling registra-
`tion, processing and storing data with respect to trips of
`saidvehicle.The system comprises meansforthetrans-
`fer of data between said system and suitable other elec-
`tronic devices in the vehicle and/or in the proximity of
`the vehicle. Said other electronic devices may include
`for instance mobile cellulartelephones en portable com-
`puters (like laptop computers, notebook computers,
`palmtop computers, personal digital assistants) which
`can nowadays be regarded as more or less belonging
`to the standard equipment of professional users of
`wheeled vehicles, and will, as such, be present in said
`vehicles at least during normal business hours.
`[0013] The system according to the present invention
`is characterised by the fact that it comprises means to
`control said electronic devices in the vehicle or in the
`proximity of the vehicle in such a fashion that through
`said electronic devices, data with respect to trips of said
`vehicle, as registered, processed and stored by the sys-
`tem according to the present invention, can be trans-
`ferred to at least one telecommunications and/or data-
`network outside the vehicle.
`[0014]
`In this way a user has a high degree offreedom
`in selecting a telecommunications and/or datanetwork
`through which the data transfer will take place, for in-
`stance a GSM (Global System for Mobile communica-
`tion)-network, satelite networks, networks similar to the
`Dutch Traxys-network or the future UMTS (Universal
`Mobile Telecommunications System)-network, as well
`as a high degree of freedom in selecting a format ac-
`cording to which the communication will take place, for
`instance in the form of S.M.S. (Short Message Service)-
`messages, email-messages or facsimile-messages. A
`significant advantage of the use of such networks is the
`fact that a vehicle does not have to be at a specific lo-
`cation to be able to transfer the trip data stored in the
`system according to the invention. Electronic devices
`like mobile cellular telephones and portable computers
`are commonly available and relatively low-priced. For
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`etc.). In this way a consistent combination of mileage
`registration and activity registration can be achieved,
`which may lead to reduced taxation. Furthemwore said
`extra infonnation may comprise the vehicle location at
`the start and at the end of the trip, which information
`could be provided by for instance a G.P.S. (Global Po-
`sitioning System)-system in the vehicle. Said vehicle lo-
`cation could also be determined by detecting automati-
`cally, for instance by means of a mobile cellular tele-
`phone, in which cell ofacellular networkfor mobile com-
`munications the vehicle is located and by using the
`known geographical location of said cell as an approxi-
`mation forthe location of said vehicle. In addition to this
`ext