公开(公告)号：US6044315A

公开(公告)日：2000-03-28

申请号：US661303

申请日：1996-06-13

Applicant: Brian S. Honeck ,  Colin R. Smidstra

Inventor： Brian S. Honeck ,  Colin R. Smidstra

IPC: G01C17/30 ,  G01C21/00 ,  G06F7/00

CPC classification number: G01C21/00 ,  G01C17/30

Abstract: An electronic vehicle accessory includes a non-volatile memory, and a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle's current speed. The controller determines when the vehicle's current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable data in the non-volatile memory when the vehicle's speed is below the predetermined threshold. The electronic vehicle accessory may be an instrument panel, an electronic compass, and/or a mini-trip computer, which may be housed in an overhead housing. By storing variable data in the non-volatile memory as a function of the vehicle's speed, the present invention ensures that the most up-to-date data is stored in the non-volatile memory before the vehicle's ignition is turned off while eliminating excessive stores that shorten the lifetime of the non-volatile memory. Further, by storing data as a function of vehicle speed, the connection to a battery powerline may be eliminated and the manufacturing and installation costs may be significantly reduced. Additionally, excessive battery drain resulting from the electronic accessory being locked in a failure mode may be prevented.

Abstract translation: 电子车辆附件包括非易失性存储器，以及耦合到非易失性存储器和车辆的速度传感器的控制器，用于接收表示车辆当前速度的速度数据。 控制器确定车辆当前速度何时低于预定阈值，并且当车辆速度低于预定阈值时，将可变数据存储在非易失性存储器中。 电子车辆附件可以是可以容纳在架空壳体中的仪表板，电子罗盘和/或微型行程计算机。 通过根据车辆速度将可变数据存储在非易失性存储器中，本发明确保在车辆点火关闭之前将最新数据存储在非易失性存储器中，同时消除过多的存储 缩短了非易失性存储器的使用寿命。 此外，通过存储作为车速的函数的数据，可以消除与电池电力线的连接，并且可以显着降低制造和安装成本。 此外，可以防止由电子附件被锁定在故障模式中导致的过多的电池耗尽。