Abstract:
To manage a fleet of vehicles efficiently, data is obtained concerning vehicle condition; some of this data is recorded in a data packet format on a vehicle and transmitted by radio from the vehicles to a base station, and under some circumstances, transmitted by the internet to a central data station where it is used to determine what should be done with the vehicles, such as for example to determine if the battery of a vehicle must be charged. The data may be transmitted from one vehicle to another vehicle before reaching the base station or the central data station. The data packets can indicate the vehicle to which the data applies, if the battery needs to be charged or replaced and can establish a priority schedule for the charging or replacement of the battery.

Description:
RELATED CASE  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/230,699 filed Aug. 29, 2002, entitled VEHICLE MONITORING SYSTEM. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to battery-operated vehicles and their components, and more particularly, to battery operated vehicle management systems, to methods of using and maintaining battery-operated vehicles and their components and to methods of using and of recording data concerning the use of battery-operated vehicles and their components such as for example battery chargers and battery charger control systems for battery-operated vehicles.  
         [0003]     Vehicle monitoring systems for electrical vehicles are known for monitoring the recharging cycles and energy status of the batteries of vehicles. In one class of such monitoring system, each of a plurality of vehicles stores data concerning the energy status of the batteries. Information stored can be read out of the vehicle in a convenient manner by readout devices such as portable, manually-held, infrared-readout modules that may be taken to the vehicle and used to receive data stored in memory in the vehicle. A central station is provided which is capable of charging vehicles one at a time, with each vehicle monitoring the energy status of its individual battery. Such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,833 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,200, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0004]     One such prior art storage system within the vehicle is capable of not only maintaining a record of the energy state of the battery but also other information such as the number of recharge occurrences and route information to different destinations that will conserve the most energy. Systems of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0005]     The prior art monitoring systems of this class have control systems that permit the vehicles each to be charged at the same charging station but the charging stations themselves do not record information and collect data on the vehicles. The vehicles contain the memory which has data in it and that data is read out from them manually and analyzed by those managing a fleet of such vehicles.  
         [0006]     The prior art monitoring systems have several disadvantages, such as: (1) it is costly to collect data using such systems because data is collected manually from a number of vehicles; (2) it is cumbersome and expensive to utilize such systems with large fleets of electric vehicles; (3) such systems do not provide data in a form that can be easily analyzed to reduce unplanned down time, increase utilization and reliability and control operating expenses of the fleet by real time expense tracking.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel vehicle monitoring system and method of monitoring vehicles.  
         [0008]     It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel vehicle fleet management system.  
         [0009]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a system for monitoring relatively large fleets of vehicles automatically even though some of the vehicles may be remote.  
         [0010]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a cost effective fleet management system.  
         [0011]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a system for obtaining data from vehicles in a cost effective manner that permits ready analysis of several vehicles, several fleets of vehicles at different locations or a large number of vehicles at a single location.  
         [0012]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel system for monitoring battery characteristics.  
         [0013]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel monitoring system which extends battery life.  
         [0014]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel vehicle monitoring system that improves the management of fleets of vehicles and reduces maintenance expenses and the capital outlays.  
         [0015]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel battery-operated vehicle.  
         [0016]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel system for maintaining battery-operated vehicles.  
         [0017]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel system for obtaining long term data for a battery-operated vehicle system.  
         [0018]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel record keeping system that can keep long term records of multiple charging conditions.  
         [0019]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel system for monitoring a battery long-term.  
         [0020]     It is a still further object of the invention to provide a battery-operated vehicle and battery charging system which has lower operating costs, especially by reducing energy use.  
         [0021]     In accordance with the above and further objects of the invention, one or more vehicles have mounted on at least one of them a programmable circuit such as a microcontroller, a data communicating circuit such as a radio transceiver or transmitter and a data storage circuit such as the memory associated with the microcontroller. The programmable circuit causes data words to be formatted with an identification of at least the vehicle and data concerning the operation of the vehicle such as for example the battery condition. Preferably the data words are transmitted by radio to other vehicles and/or to a base station that gathers information in electronic form for use in managing a fleet of such vehicles. The data words may include a history of use, charging cycles, current used and the like.  
         [0022]     The data stored on a vehicle may originate with sensing devices on the same vehicle with sensing devices on other vehicles received by a radio receiver, with already existing records, with manually entered information or with data from central stations. The data storage systems and the measuring systems may also include devices for transmitting information to other vehicles or stations or to other receivers on the same vehicle. The station&#39;s systems may include communication systems for transmitting data to a central station that may monitor several different locations.  
         [0023]     In a preferred embodiment, the temperature of a battery is measured, the measurements are converted to digital information and the digital information is transmitted by radio to a data collection system for storage and later transmission to a central station. The battery temperature measurements are transmitted with a unique coupling device to a transceiver. The transceiver also receives measurements of battery voltage and current supplied to the battery during charging and by regenerative braking and of current drawn from the battery by the vehicle motor. Calculations can be made relating to energy in and energy out of the battery and all of this information can be stored. A transmission system for transmission of information to other vehicles and to a central storage station forms a transmission data packet or digital word.  
         [0024]     The central station polls vehicle-mounted modules to receive information within a certain distance and periodically, vehicles transmit information from one to another so that one vehicle may store information from other vehicles with an appropriate identification number and supply that information to the central station. While in the preferred embodiment, the vehicles repeatedly transmit data packets and receive and process data packets, the program could instead have vehicles periodically transmit an interrogation signal and the receiving vehicles transmit data only upon receiving an appropriate interrogation signal. The interrogation signals can contain information such as a priority indication or vehicle identification or any other criteria desired to only receive data of a selected type or receive data related to a selected time frame or from selected vehicles or the like. Moreover, priority lists may be maintained such as at a central station and used to select vehicles with a high priority for battery charging or other maintenance work. The modules on the vehicle can monitor the condition of the battery or other components on the vehicle to provide data as to wear and maintenance schedules or charging cycles and the like.  
         [0025]     From the above description, it can be understood that, the vehicle monitoring system of this invention has several advantages, such as: (1) it permits management of the vehicle to provide extended battery life and maintenance; (2) it reduces down time; (3) it permits relatively inexpensive and easy management of large fleets; (4) it provides life-cycle data for analysis and trends; (5) it provides abuse and misuse alerts; (6) it permits automatic acquisition of data; and (7) it permits automatic report generation with management data. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]     The above noted and other features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description when considered with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a vehicle monitoring system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a base station and communication facilities at a facility for a plurality of vehicles in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a software program used in connection with a computer in the base station of  FIG. 2  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of a program for operating the communication system at a base station of  FIG. 2  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a vehicle mounted communication and data gathering and recording system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0032]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a battery temperature sensing and transmission system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0033]      FIG. 7  is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of software used in connection with the temperature sensing and transmission system of  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a data collection module equipped to be mounted on a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0035]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram of a hard wired system as an alternative for some of the software in the system of  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0036]      FIG. 10  is a flow diagram of the operation of the data collection module of  FIG. 8  in storing data and transmitting data packets;  
         [0037]      FIG. 11  is a flow diagram of the operation of the data collection module of  FIG. 8  in responding to a received data packet; and  
         [0038]      FIG. 12  is an illustrative depiction of one type of data word used in an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0039]     In  FIG. 1 , there is shown a system  10  for monitoring a plurality of vehicles or fleets of vehicles having a central data station  18  and a plurality of vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems, three of which are shown at  16 A- 16 C for purposes of explanation. The central data station  18  communicates with the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems  16 A- 16 C by any suitable means of communication, but in the preferred embodiment they communicate through the internet, illustrated in  FIG. 1  by showing a wire connection between each of the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems  16 A- 16 C and a corresponding one of the internet service providers  31 A- 31 C and a wire connection between the central data station  18  and its corresponding internet service provider  31 D. The central data station  18  collects data from the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems  16 A- 16 C, processes the data for each of the vehicle data and acquisition transmission systems  16 A- 16 C and reports back to management for the specific vehicle acquisition and transmission systems or to a central management with reports about battery age, cycles of use of different vehicles and their batteries, and any other information of use to management in managing a particular location. On the other hand, for some management systems, the reports may be prepared at the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems base station.  
         [0040]     One of the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems  16 A is shown in greater detail than the other two  16 B and  16 C but each of them may have the components shown in greater detail for  16 A. As shown in  16 A, each of the vehicle data acquisition and transmission systems  16 A- 16 C may include a base station  12  and a plurality of vehicles, four of which,  14 A- 14 D, are shown in  16 A for illustration although the system is designed to accommodate a very large number of vehicles that may travel over considerable distances in locations that cause direct transmission to the central data station  18  to be difficult.  
         [0041]     The base station  12  may include a battery charger and may acquire information as to the energy left in each of the batteries of the vehicles that it is monitoring, acquiring such data from the vehicle itself. It may also obtain other information such as distance traveled, locations where the vehicles have been, cycles of battery charging, power consumption, time between maintenance or any other data that management may want to transmit to the central data station  18  for processing.  
         [0042]     While the embodiment of  FIG. 1  relates to data being collected by base station  12  by radio from vehicles and transmitted to a central data station  18  for the preparation of reports and/or interpretation of data, other embodiments include only a single base station  12  that receives data from vehicles for interpretation and/or preparation of reports and may receive the information by radio from a distance or by interrogation either by radio or with direct readout devices instead. Still other embodiments may include several base stations in different locations of a facility which may communicate with each other or with a main base station and each may communicate with an outside central data station or data may be gathered by one the main base stations and transmitted to the central data station.  
         [0043]     In the preferred embodiment, the data acquisition and transmission system  16 A includes the base station  12 , a universal transceiver  19  and a plurality of vehicles  14 A- 14 D. The base station  12  communicates with the universal transceiver  19  through a RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  and with the central data station  18  through the internet. It communicates with the internet service provider  31 A through a conventional telephone line. The vehicles  14 A- 14 D communicate within a short range either with each other or with the universal transceiver  19 . The universal transceiver  19  may poll vehicles to obtain transmission of data or may receive all data from any vehicle close enough to be within the reception range of the universal transceiver. In the preferred embodiment, the vehicles transmit data periodically and other vehicles or the universal transceiver  19  receives the data if it is within range.  
         [0044]     In  FIG. 2 , there is shown a block diagram of a base station and communication facilities at a facility for a plurality of vehicles usable in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . It includes the base station  12 , an RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  and an universal transceiver  19  shown connected together with the RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  being connected between the base station  12  and the universal transceiver  19 . The base station  12  may include a battery charger  27  for charging the batteries of vehicles at that location and a personal computer  24  for controlling the central station  12  and for controlling the universal transceiver  19 .  
         [0045]     The universal transceiver  19  includes a microprocessor  22 , a transceiver  20  and an antenna. The microprocessor  22  receives signals from the RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  from the personal computer  24  and supplies information through the bidirectional serial connector  29  to the personal computer  24 . While a specific arrangement of computing ability, transmitting ability, and connectors is shown in  FIG. 2 , there are many alternatives and many different kinds of connectors and communication systems that permit a central station to receive and transmit communications to and from individual vehicles, including data transmissions. Moreover, the battery charging station  27  can be located anywhere and need not be adjacent to the personal computer  24  although it is useful for it to be so. The personal computer  24 , as mentioned above, may communicate through the internet with the data central station  18  but other forms of communication may be used as well, or if there is only one installation, all of the data processing may be within the personal computer  24  and it may not be necessary to communicate with any other station.  
         [0046]     With the arrangement of  FIG. 2 , the base station  12  receives information from the universal transceiver  19  from any of a plurality of vehicles, illustrated in  FIG. 1  as vehicles  14 A- 14 E, and transmits this information to the microprocessor  22  or the personal computer  24 . In one embodiment, the microprocessor  22  also transmits information to a central data station  18  ( FIG. 1 ) through the universal transceiver  19  and may transmit interrogation signals to the vehicles  14 A- 14 E to cause a transmission from memory in the vehicle of data to the transceiver  19 . The battery charger  27  may incorporate battery charger control circuitry but in the preferred embodiment, the vehicles  14 A- 14 E ( FIG. 1 ) include the battery control circuitry that connects to the battery charger  27  for charging the battery within the vehicle under the control of the battery charger control circuitry. It is also possible to supply information to the battery controlled circuitry within the vehicles from the microprocessor  22  such as information concerning the characteristics of the particular battery in the vehicle that may affect the charging rate to control the battery charger  27  by the battery charger control circuitry within the vehicle for maximum benefit from the charging and to avoid likelihood of damage, particularly in the finished charging and in cases where the charging condition is determined by the amount of energy that has been provided by the battery within the vehicle and the total amount of energy that the particular battery has according to historic records of that battery.  
         [0047]     In  FIG. 3 , there is shown a flow diagram  30  of the operation of a program performed in the computer of the base station  12  having an initializing step  32 , a decision step  34  for evaluating whether there are new serial bytes from a universal transmitter such as the universal transmitter  19  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), the subroutine  36  of transmitting a packet of data to the universal transmitter  19  and a subroutine  38  of developing packets of data and transmitting them over the internet to the central data station  18  using internet service providers  31 A and  31 B, for example, as shown in  FIG. 1 . After the programs are initialized in step  32 , the program proceeds to decision step  34  and if decision step  34  decides there are new serial bytes from a universal transmitter, the program proceeds to subroutine  38  and if there are not new serial bytes then the program proceeds to subroutine  36 .  
         [0048]     Subroutine  36  includes the decision step  40  of determining whether to transmit a packet of data to the universal transmitter  19  that is in communication with the base station  12  or not. If this decision step reaches the decision that the packet of data should be transmitted to a universal transmitter such as  19 , then it proceeds to step  42  which transmits the packet to the universal transmitter over a serial port and from there returns to step  34  which is again a decision step. If not, then the program proceeds directly from the decision step  40  back to the start of the decision step  34 .  
         [0049]     If the decision step  34  indicates that there is new serial bytes from the universal transmitter, then the program proceeds to subroutine  38 . Subroutine  38  includes the step  44  of collecting serial bytes from the universal transmitter into a data packet, the step  46  of determining if the data in the data packet is new. If it is determined to be new, then the program proceeds to step  48  of updating the data base within the computer at the base station with the new packet data and from there to step  50  of determining if it is time to transmit data packets to the central data station  18  through the internet. If the data in the packets is determined to not be new, then the program proceeds directly to the decision step  50  of determining if it is time to transmit data packets to the central data station  18  through the internet, and if not, returning to step  34 . If it is time to transmit a packet to the central data station  18  ( FIG. 1 ), then the program proceeds to e-mail the data base at step  52  in the preferred embodiment and to update the base station software in step  54 . While transmitting the data by e-mail is the preferred embodiment, obviously the data may be transmitted or sent to the central station  18  in other ways.  
         [0050]     In  FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow diagram  55  of the operation of the universal transmitter  19  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) including the step  56  of initializing the program, the step  58  of providing an output identification signal through the RS232 interface, which may include a copyright notice, the step  60  of deciding if serial data from the RS232 interface is present on a port of the interface, the step  62  of forming a RF (radio frequency) packet of data and the step  64  of transmitting an RF packet. If the decision  60  determines that there is serial data from the RS232 port, then the program proceeds to subroutine  62 , and if it determines that there is no serial data at the RS232 port, then the program proceeds to subroutine  64 .  
         [0051]     The subroutine  62  includes the step  68  of receiving serial data from the base station personal computer, the step  70  of formatting the serial data from the base station into an RF packet and step  72  of transmitting the RF packet to subroutine  64 . With this process, data such as data of a characteristic of the battery that might be measured in the vehicle such as its energy state or the like is formed into a standard packet of data in which there are several sections of one or more bytes indicating information.  
         [0052]     The subroutine  64  includes the step  74  of receiving data from the RF interface, the step  76  of transmitting the RF data over the RS232 port to the microprocessor  22 , the decision step  78  of determining if it is time to send a heartbeat signal indicating data to be transmitted and the step  80  of transmitting the heartbeat signal over the RS232 port to the universal transmitter  19 . With these steps, packets of data proceed to step  74  when present, but if at step  74  data is not received from the RF interface, then the program proceeds back to decision step  60 . If data has been received, then the data is transmitted through the RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  to the microprocessor  22  in the universal transmitter  19 . At this time, the universal transmitter determines if it is time to send a heartbeat signal and if not, the program proceeds back to decision step  60 . If it is time, then the heartbeat signal is transmitted from the personal computer  24  through the RS232 bidirectional serial connector  29  to the universal transmitter  19  for transmission as indicated by the step  80  and then the program proceeds back to step  60 .  
         [0053]     In  FIG. 5 , there is shown a block diagram of a vehicle control and data collection system  82  having a temperature sensing and transmitting module  86 , a data collection module  88 , an on-board computer with related control and read-out devices  90 , a motor control unit  92 , an on-board battery charger control system  91 , the battery charger system  27  and a battery  94 , with the motor control unit  92  being connected to a vehicle drive system  84  to drive a corresponding one of the vehicles  14 A- 14 D. A suitable on-board computer related control and read-out device system  90  is illustrated in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,833 assigned to the same entity as this application, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. Similarly a suitable vehicle drive system and motor control system  84  and  92  are disclosed therein driven by a suitable battery  94 . As described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,833, a battery charger control system is mounted on the vehicle and is connected to the battery charger  27  ( FIG. 2 ) to control charger.  
         [0054]     As shown in this system, the data collection module  88  includes an antenna and receives signals with data from the on-board computer and related control and read-out devices  90  as well as from RF signals broadcast to it from the other vehicles  14 A- 14 E ( FIG. 1 ) or from the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86 . The temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  measures the temperature of the battery and transmits that data to the data collection module  88 . The on-board computer with related control and read-out devices  90  measures parameters such as current in and current out of a battery, calculates other values such as energy in and energy out and total energy and supplies this data to the data collection module  88  for transmission to the universal transmitter  19  located with the base station  12  and connected thereto by the RS 232 bi-directional serial connector  29 .  
         [0055]     In operation, the universal transceiver module  19  ( FIG. 1 ) is electrically in communication with the personal computer  24  ( FIG. 2 ) in the base station  12 . The personal computer  24  ( FIG. 2 ) communicates with an internet service through a modem and a standard telephone line. Radio frequency data is received by the universal transceiver  19  from one or a plurality of data collector modules  88  ( FIG. 5 ) attached to the batteries of electric vehicles such as forklifts and lift trucks. Each data collection module transmits its data on a periodic basis and the received data is sent to a data central collection station  18  ( FIG. 1 ) via a modem, the Internet and an E-mail process. The transceiver  20  within the universal transmitter  19  operates at a frequency of 916.500 mhz. Data is transmitted using on/off keying at a data rate of approximately 12 Khz.  
         [0056]     In a first mode of operation, the base station/universal transceiver may poll the data collection modules at predetermined periods of time that may extend from a few minutes to seven days or operate in a listen only mode. It then processes and formats all data received, initiates a call to a local internet service provider through the internal modem, and transmits the data in the form of an E-mail to a central collection site. In a second mode of operation, the universal transceiver  19  receives and processes data from data collection modules  88  which periodically transmit their data to one another even in the absence of a poll. Each data collection module  88  has sufficient memory to hold the data buffer from at least one other data collection module. Data may therefore be propagated from one module to the next until it reaches the base station/universal transceiver for processing. At any time, when a data collection module transmits its data, its internal buffer is cleared and the data collection process begins all over again.  
         [0057]     Transmissions are thus infrequent and short, such as for example a total of 200 bytes of data is transmitted in the preferred embodiment during an interchange between a data collection module  88  and a universal transmitter  19 . Data is transmitted at a rate of approximately  12   k  bits per second. A typical transaction takes approximately 200 milliseconds to complete. The goal of the system is to take data from each data collection module at least once per battery charge cycle. In a very large system employing 1000 data collection modules, the total “airtime” consumed during a 24 hour period would be no more than 5 minutes or 0.0035 percent.  
         [0058]     The universal transmitter  19  consists of a microprocessor  22  and a hybrid radio frequency transceiver  20 , connected to the base station  12  by a RS232 serial data interface port. Power is supplied to the unit through a wire in the serial data cable that attaches the universal transmitter to the base station&#39;s personal computer  24  ( FIG. 2 ). Microprocessor  22  is operated at a frequency of 8.00 mhz. In the preferred embodiment it is an ATMEGA 163-8AC sold by Atmel at 2325 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, Calif. 95131.  
         [0059]     Microprocessor  22  ( FIG. 2 ), which in the preferred embodiment is a National Semiconductor LP 2980AIMS5-5.0 microprocessor, controls the transmit/receive function of RF transceiver  20 , which is a model TRIOOO IC manufactured by RF Monolithics, Inc., 4347 Sigma Road, Dallas, Tex. 75244-4589, and is of the amplified sequential hybrid variety. This type of transceiver is distinguished from typical TRF or Superhet designs by virtue of the fact that it has no oscillator and thus produces no spurious emissions in the radio frequency range. The nature of this type of receiver is that it bit slices the incoming data and thus has no need for such circuit functions as a local oscillator. Switching of the antenna between the receive and transmit functions is accomplished internally to the transceiver  20 . The antenna used in this application is a tuned ¼ wave permanently attached marine type.  
         [0060]     While the data acquisition and transmission system of this invention has been described in terms of a vehicle monitoring system, data can be collected from stationary batteries not mounted on a moving vehicle but used to power other apparatuses. Similarly, the data collected from stationary batteries can be transmitted directly from the data collection module to a universal transceiver at a base station for analysis along with data from other stationary batteries on vehicles or a combination of the two or can be received by a near-by stationary battery data collection module or a near-by data collection module on a vehicle for later transmission. The data relating to stationary batteries can of course be transmitted by several base stations to a central data station.  
         [0061]     In  FIG. 6 , there is shown a block diagram of a temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  having an antenna  96 , a transmitter  98 , a microcontroller  100  and a temperature sensor  102 . The temperature sensor  102  is attached to the battery of the vehicle. It senses the temperature of the battery and supplies a digitized signal indicating that value to the microcontroller  100  that controls the transmitter  98  for transmission at a predetermined time. The microcontroller  100  causes the signal to be transmitted through transmitter  98  and antenna  96  as an RF signal to the data collection module  88  ( FIG. 5 ) where it is received and stored for later transmission with other values in a data packet to the universal transceiver  19  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) for transmission to the storage or to use in the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ), and periodically in some systems, for transmission to a central data station  18  ( FIG. 1 ). Power is supplied to the module through a 1-ampere hour, 3-volt lithium coin cell. Transmission is one-way and is purposely designed to be short range. The temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  operates at a frequency of 916.500 MHz.  
         [0062]     The temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  periodically transmits battery temperature data to nearby data collection modules  88  ( FIG. 5 ). The data collection module  88  closest to the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  receives the greatest number of successful transmissions. The data collection module  88  stores the battery temperature data along with battery charge and voltage data in an internal data buffer. Periodically, each data collection module transmits its data to other nearby data collection modules or to a universal transceiver  19  at the base station  12 . This data is then E-mailed by the universal transmitter  19  at the base station  12  to a central location for processing. Transmissions are thus infrequent and short. A total of less than 20 bytes of data is transmitted during an interchange between the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  and the data collection module  88 . Data is transmitted at a rate of approximately five kilobits per second. A typical transaction takes approximately 250 milliseconds to complete.  
         [0063]     The data is transmitted from the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  in an omnidirectional pattern in the preferred embodiment, but a directional pattern aimed at the antenna of the data collection module  88  on the same vehicle could be used. Its range should be sufficient to be received by the antenna of the data collection module  88  on the same vehicle and should not be so large as to be received by data collection modules on a large number of other vehicles or be received frequently by another vehicle. It should be in the range of 6 inches and 200 feet but in the preferred embodiment is 100 feet. In the preferred embodiment, the signal from the temperature sensing and transmitting module may provide information directly to a base station which can use the data to determine the temperature in the building.  
         [0064]     The microcontroller  100  is a MSP430F1121PW chip manufactured and sold by Texas Instruments. It is connected to a 32,768 hz watch type crystal. This frequency is used to control a PLL circuit internal to the microcontroller  100  which sets its operating frequency of 2 MHz. The microcontroller also controls the operation of the digital temperature sensor  102 , which is a LM77CIM-3 chip sold by National Semiconductor Corporation. The temperature sensor  102  is normally powered down until a temperature reading is taken. Once the temperature data is read, the temperature sensor  102  is turned off. The microprocessor  100  is connected to receive signals from the digital temperature sensor  102  and in response to activate the transmitter  98 , which is a TX6000 chip manufactured by Texas Instruments Incorporated, 12500 TI Blvd., Dallas, Tex. 75243-4136. The serial data is then sent to the transmitter  98  which operates at a frequency of 916.500 MHz. The antenna on the personal computer board consists of a personal computer board trace approximately one-quarter (¼) wavelength in size. Once assembled, the entire device is potted in a urethane compound.  
         [0065]     In  FIG. 7 , there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  including the step  106  of initializing the program, the step  108  of obtaining the current temperature, the step  110  of creating the RF temperature packet, the step  112  of transmitting the RF temperature packet, the step  114  of turning off all non-essential electronics and the step  116  of causing the microprocessor program to go into the sleep mode for a random amount of time as timed within the module. After that time, the program proceeds from the step  116  back to the step  108  of obtaining another temperature reading. The temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  transmits frequently when the microcontroller  100  is first started but after a period of time of between 6 hours and 48 hours transmits much less frequently in the range of between 5 minutes and fifteen minutes to conserve the power of the battery of the microcontroller  100 . In the preferred embodiment, the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  transmits data every 4 second for the first 24 hour period after the microprocessor is turned on and then transmits at intervals that vary between 8 minutes, thirty two seconds and twelve minutes forty eight seconds.  
         [0066]     The data packets that are formed and transmitted are of two different formats in the preferred embodiment although any number of different formats may be formulated in accordance with the design of the circuits herein. In the preferred embodiment, one format is that for the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86 . The battery temperature is measured and the resulting signal is digitized and transmitted in the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  to an adjacent data collection module where it may be added to other data in a standard packet format and transmitted on to the universal transmitter  19  coupled to the base station  12 .  
         [0067]     In  FIG. 8 , there is shown a block diagram of the data collection module  88  having a transceiver  124 , a microcontroller  126  and a battery coupling  130 . The transceiver  124  communicates with an antenna  122  to transmit data to or receive signals from the universal transceiver  19  ( FIG. 1 ) or to receive data from the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  ( FIG. 5 ) or to transmit data to or receive data from other data collection modules in other vehicles. The microcontroller  126  controls the transceiver  124  in each of these processes.  
         [0068]     Firstly, the microcontroller  126  receives data from the battery coupling  130  which is a Hall effect current sensor. This data includes, for example, current into and from the battery of the vehicle. The microcontroller  126  may calculate energy into and energy from the battery from this data for transmission to the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ) through the universal transceiver  19  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) directly if it is sufficiently close or through another vehicle as an intermediate step. The base station  12  may use this information to determine the need for a battery charge or to set priorities between vehicles in the facility for charging and transmit signals back to the vehicle indicating that it should proceed to the battery charger. In the alternative, the microcontroller  126  may determine the condition of the battery and signal the operator when it is time to proceed to the battery charger as disclosed in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,833.  
         [0069]     Secondly, the microcontroller  126  may itself perform the computer operations disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,833 and may in addition calculate the number of cycles of battery charging and vehicle operations performed, may record data concerning maintenance of the vehicle and transmit this information to the universal transmitter  19  for use at the base station  12  or for transmission to the central data station  18 .  
         [0070]     Thirdly, the transceiver  124  receives temperature information from the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  and transmits it to the microcontroller  126  which uses this data to determine the condition of the battery. This information is formatted into an information packet for transmission to the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ) and may be used to determine replacement and/or special charging conditions It may also be transmitted to the central data station  18  ( FIG. 1 ).  
         [0071]     Fourthly, the transceiver  124  may transmit data periodically under the control of the microcontroller  126  and this data may be received by other data collection modules on other vehicles. The other data collection modules may transmit this data to the central station by the other vehicles. The central station  18  will maintain the most current data related to the same vehicle. The transmission pattern of the data collection modules is preferably omnidirectional and generally has a range sufficient to reach other vehicles and to reach the base station when it is near the base station. It should be at least 20 feet and in the preferred embodiment is 150 feet.  
         [0072]     Fifthly, the transceiver  124  may receive data from other vehicles and transmit this data to the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ) under the control of the microcontroller  126  which may in turn transmit it to the data central station  18  ( FIG. 1 ). Moreover, the microcontroller  126  may receive data directly during charging from the base station and may receive data by coupling to the on-board computer circuits or other measuring devices on the vehicle as well as data entered manually by the vehicle operator. Similarly, other values such as the voltage values or cell density values from a probe can be converted and transmitted to the microcontroller  126 , which can translate density values into voltage values. Similarly values measured and stored on circuit boards within the vehicle can be supplied through inputs  132  to the microcontroller  126 , which may be values indicating the number of cycles or the distance the vehicle has moved or the number of recharge cycles or maintenance records or the like.  
         [0073]     While in the preferred embodiment, the data measurements, processing and communication is done in microcontrollers and microprocessors under the control of programs as described above and hereinafter, it is clear that the invention could be done with hardware but generally at a higher cost. For example, in  FIG. 9 , there is shown a block diagram  134  of a circuit which could be entirely or at least partly implemented by known types of hardware to perform the functions performed by software and microcontrollers in the preferred embodiment.  
         [0074]     The generally hardware circuit  134  has as its principal parts a data gathering system  136 , a sequencer  138 , a permanent data section  140  and a data packet forming circuit  142 . The data gathering system  136  and permanent data section  140  supply data to the data packet forming circuit  142  under the control of the sequencing circuit  138 . To supply data to the data packet forming circuit  142 , the data gathering system  136  includes a plurality of vehicle sensors  144 , a packet identification section  146 , a receiver  148  for receiving information transmitted by radio, an analog-to-digital converter  150  and a shift register  152 . In this data gathering system  136 , the plurality of vehicle sensors  144  such as a Hall effect current measuring circuit and/or temperature measuring circuits such as thermocouples have an output connected to the input of the analog-to-digital converter  150 . The packet ID section  146  includes a keyboard and/or firmware or microcontroller memory for supplying a packet identification for the data to be entered. The radio receiver  148  receives information transmitted to it for use in the data packet. The vehicle sensors  144 , the packet ID section  146  and the radio receiver  148  are all electrically connected to the ring sequencing circuit  138  which sequences them in order into the packet data forming circuit  142  along with data from the permanent data section  140 , with analog data from the vehicle sensors  144  being converted to digital form by the A/D converter  150 .  
         [0075]     The sequencing circuit  138  includes a ring counter  154  and a clock  156  which steps the ring counter from position to position, opening gates to provide information in sequence from the vehicle sensors  144 , the packet ID section  146  and the receiver  148  to the shift register  152  for stepping into position at the parallel outputs of the shift register  152 . The permanent data section  140  includes data such as a serial number generator  158  that is specific to the vehicle with which the circuit  138  is associated and a semi-permanent memory  160  stores data that may be keyboarded into it such as the destination of the packet of information.  
         [0076]     The outputs of the shift register  152 , the serial number generator  158  and the semi-permanent memory  160  are all connected to the data packet memory  166  for storage in parallel form. Calculations may be performed on the variable data from the shift register  152  in a microprocessor or other processing hardware  164  and that may also be applied to the data packet of memory  166 . For example, this may be a calculation of power from measurements of current into or out of the battery and of the voltage. This data may be serially read from the data packet memory  166  by a read-out circuit  162 .  
         [0077]     In  FIG. 10 , there is shown a flow diagram  168  of the program that operates the data collection module in the preferred embodiment having an initializing section  170 , a radio frequency transmitting section  172  and a data packet response section  174 . The initializing software section  170  includes in the stated sequence, the step  176  of initializing the microprocessor, the step  178  of delaying the operation of the microprocessor for four seconds and illuminating both red and green light emitting diodes, the step  180  of storing readings of temperature, voltage and amperage and the decision step  182  of determining if a radio frequency packet has been received. If a radio frequency packet has not been received, the decision step  182  proceeds to the transmission section  172 .  
         [0078]     The transmission section  172  includes the decision step  184  of determining if the RF packets are ready to transmit, the step  186  of transmitting the RF packet, and the step  188  of blinking red or green light emitting diodes. If the decision step  184  indicates that it is not ready to transmit an RF packet, then the program proceeds to the step  188  of blinking the red or green light emitting diodes and then proceeds back to the beginning of the step  180  of storing readings of temperature, voltage and amperage. If the decision step  184  indicates that the microprocessor is ready to transmit a radio frequency data packet then the program proceeds to transmit the radio frequency data packet at step  186  and from there to the step  188  of blinking the red or green light emitting diodes and back to the step  180  of storing the readings of temperature, voltage and amperage.  
         [0079]     If the decision step  182  indicates that a radio frequency packet has been received, then the program proceeds to the sub routine  174  of responding to a radio frequency data packet. The sub routine  174  includes the step  190  of turning on both red and green light emitting diodes and going to the sub routine of responding to the radio frequency data packet at step  192 . After the sub routine  192  is performed, the program returns from that sub routine at step  194  and turns off both the green and red light emitting diodes at step  196 , at which time the program proceeds to blinking red or green light emitting diodes at step  188  and returning to the step  180  of storing readings of temperature, voltage and amperage.  
         [0080]     In  FIG. 11 , there is shown the subroutine  192  of responding to the radio frequency data packet in the data collection module. The subroutine  192  includes the step  200  of responding to the radio frequency data packet, the decision step  202  of determining if it has received a data request packet, the decision step  206  of determining if it has received a buffered data request packet, (buffered data packets are packets received by a data collection module from a transmitter rather than collecting it from sensors or the like and than transmitted on or relayed) the step  208  of creating a buffer data packet, the step of creating a data packet  204  and the step of returning from the response to the radio frequency packet  210 . The subroutine  192  of responding to the radio frequency data packet at  200 , proceeds to the decision step  202  of determining rather a data request packet has been received. If it has not, the program proceeds to the step  206  of determining rather it has received a buffered data request packet. If it has not, the program goes to the step  210  which is to return to the program  168  ( FIG. 10 ). If the decision step  206  determines that it has received a buffered data request packet, it proceeds to the step  208  of creating a buffered data packet and from there it returns at step  210  to the program  168  ( FIG. 10 ). If the decision step  202  determines that is has received a data request packet, it proceeds to the step  204  of creating a data packet and from there to the step  210  of returning to the program  168  ( FIG. 10 ).  
         [0081]     In the preferred embodiment, there are two significant data packets that are formed on the vehicles and transmitted from the vehicles. One format is that of the data collection module  88  ( FIG. 5 ) and the other is that of the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  ( FIG. 5 ). The data from the temperature sensing packet is transmitted by the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  and is received at least by the data collection module  88  of the same vehicle and included in the data packet of the data collection module that is transmitted to other vehicles and to the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0082]     In  FIG. 12 , there is shown a data packet  212  for which is formatted as a temperature sensing data packet as an example of the data packet formation. In this data packet  212 , there are eight sections to each data word, with a single byte section  214  indicating the type of the data packet, which in this case is a temperature sensing data packet, a second one-byte section  216  that gives a version of the data word, with the versions numbered in sequential order, the next section  218  is a four-byte section indicating the source of the packet such as the serial number of the vehicle, the next section  220  is a four-byte section indicating the destination of the packet such as to the data collection module of the same vehicle, the next section  222  is the temperature reading last obtained, the next section  224  is the last digitally controlled oscillator tap settings, the next section  226  is a four-byte section indicating the number of seconds since the temperature sensing unit was turned on and the last section  228  indicates the CRC-32 checksum used as a error checking code for the data word. Thus 22 bytes of information are in the temperature sensing and transmitting module  86  packet that is transmitted a short distance to at least the data collection module on the same vehicle. It may be received by other near-by vehicles but because of the frequency of transmission, only the data collection module on the same vehicle is likely to retain it so that it is the one transmitted to the base station  12  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0083]     The data collection data packet includes 32 sections and eighty five bytes, which are: (1) a one-byte section indicating the type of packet; (2) a one-byte section indicating the packet version; (3) a four-byte section indicating the source of the packet; (4) a four-byte section indicating the destination of the packet; (5) a four-byte section indicating the data collection module that last recorded the data; (6) a four-byte section indicating the data collection modules time in Unix format; (7) a four-byte section indicating the total amp hours of discharge from the battery; (8) a four-byte section indicating the total discharge time in seconds; (9) a four-byte section indicating the total charge received by the battery in ampere hours; (10) a four-byte section indicating the total discharge time in seconds; (11) a four-byte section indicating the time when the last charge started; (12) a two-byte section indicating the minimum voltage during the last charge cycle; (13) a two-byte section indicating the maximum voltage during the last charge cycle; (14) a two-byte section indicating the accumulated temperature when the charge cycle is started; (15) a two-byte section indicating the accumulated temperature of the battery at the end of a charge; (16) a two-byte section indicating the accumulated temperature of the battery at the beginning of discharge; (17) a two-byte section indicating the total number of charge-discharge cycles; (18) a one-byte section indicating the number of times the data collection module has been reset; (19) the digitally controlled oscillator tap settings of the temperature sensing unit; (20) a four-byte section indicating the number of times the temperature sensing unit has been heard from; (21) a two-byte section indicating the last voltage reading; (22) a two-byte section indicating the last amperage reading; (23) a two-byte section indicating the last data collection module interval temperature reading; (24) a two-byte section indicating the latest temperature sensing unit reading; (25) a four-byte section indicating the temperature sensing unit identification unit; (26) a four-byte section indicating the time when the data collection module locked onto the temperature sensing unit; (27) a two-byte section indicating the time the last temperature sensing unit packet was received from the locked temperature sensing unit; (28) a one-byte section indicating the number of hops from the base to the data collection module for the hot list; (29) a one-byte section indicating the number of document collection modules that the data packet was received by; (30) a two-byte section indicating the total number of times the locked temperature sensing unit has been heard from; (31) a two-byte section indicating the total number of times a nonlocked temperature sensing unit has been heard from; and (32) a four-byte section indicating the CRC-32 checksum.  
         [0084]     Although in the preferred embodiment, data words are formatted on the vehicles to include identification information of the vehicles and the destination, they may in known manners be generated in the transmission of the data and formatted by the receiving station. Moreover, while some advantages are obtained by using data packets, each item of information could be transferred individually or in other packets and the packets, when used can be formatted in different ways and into different numbers of formats.  
         [0085]     Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed with some particularity, many variations and modifications in the preferred embodiment may be made with out deviating from the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.