Apparatus for Tracking and Recording Vital Signs and Task-Related Information of a Vehicle to Identify Operating Patterns

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and for providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in performing an assigned task with respect to the predetermined goal. A processor on-board the vehicle monitors sensors that provide information regarding state of health of the vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. In response to anomalies in the data from the sensors, the processor records information that describes events leading up to the occurrence of the anomaly for later analysis that can be used to diagnose the cause of the anomaly. The sensors are also used to prompt the operator of the vehicle to operate the vehicle at optimum efficiency.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method for recording operation of a vehicle, the method comprising:
 monitoring positions of a throttle for an engine for the vehicle;   detecting a collision of the vehicle; and   capturing data recording one or more positions of the throttle preceding the detection of the collision.