Vehicular information and monitoring system and methods
DC
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An information management and monitoring system for monitoring components on a vehicle during operation of the vehicle on a road, comprising:
- a vehicle monitoring system arranged on the vehicle and including a plurality of sensors for monitoring components of the vehicle during operation of the components;
a diagnostic module arranged on the vehicle, said diagnostic module being coupled to said vehicle monitoring system and arranged to receive and process data about the monitored components from said vehicle monitoring system, said diagnostic module being arranged to derive diagnostic data from the data about the monitored components provided by said sensors of said vehicle monitoring system to determine whether any of the monitored components are operating in a non-optimal manner;
at least one remote service center each for servicing at least one of the monitored components to fix or replace the monitored component when said diagnostic module on the vehicle determines that the monitored component is not operating optimally; and
a wireless communication system arranged on the vehicle and coupled to said diagnostic module for enabling wireless communications of derived diagnostic data from said diagnostic module to said remote service center during operation of the vehicle on the road, including data about the presence and identity of any non-optimally operating component, such that said remote service center receives data about the monitored components of the vehicle prior to the vehicle being brought to said remote service center to enable preparation for the fixing or replacement of the non-optimally operating monitored component.
1 Assignment
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Information management and monitoring system for a vehicle including a vehicle monitoring system including a plurality of sensors for monitoring vehicular components, a diagnostic module arranged on the vehicle and coupled to the vehicle monitoring system to receive and process data about the components therefrom, and a remote service center capable of servicing the components. A communication system, e.g., a cellular telephone capable of voice communications, is arranged on the vehicle and coupled to the diagnostic module to enable communications of data from the diagnostic module to the remote service center such that the remote service center receives data about the vehicular components. The remote service center can be situated at a dealer which can have its personnel contact the driver, e.g., via the telephone, to schedule service of the vehicle, the service being determined based on the communicated data from the diagnostic module on the vehicle.
390 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. An information management and monitoring system for monitoring components on a vehicle during operation of the vehicle on a road, comprising:
-
a vehicle monitoring system arranged on the vehicle and including a plurality of sensors for monitoring components of the vehicle during operation of the components; a diagnostic module arranged on the vehicle, said diagnostic module being coupled to said vehicle monitoring system and arranged to receive and process data about the monitored components from said vehicle monitoring system, said diagnostic module being arranged to derive diagnostic data from the data about the monitored components provided by said sensors of said vehicle monitoring system to determine whether any of the monitored components are operating in a non-optimal manner; at least one remote service center each for servicing at least one of the monitored components to fix or replace the monitored component when said diagnostic module on the vehicle determines that the monitored component is not operating optimally; and a wireless communication system arranged on the vehicle and coupled to said diagnostic module for enabling wireless communications of derived diagnostic data from said diagnostic module to said remote service center during operation of the vehicle on the road, including data about the presence and identity of any non-optimally operating component, such that said remote service center receives data about the monitored components of the vehicle prior to the vehicle being brought to said remote service center to enable preparation for the fixing or replacement of the non-optimally operating monitored component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method for information management and monitoring of components on a vehicle during operation of the vehicle on a road, comprising:
-
arranging a vehicle monitoring system including a plurality of sensors on the vehicle to monitor components of the vehicle during operation of the components; arranging a diagnostic module on the vehicle; directing data about the monitored components from the vehicle monitoring system to the diagnostic module for analysis and processing thereby; deriving diagnostic data in the diagnostic module from the data about the monitored components provided by the sensors of the vehicle monitoring system to determine whether any of the monitored components are operating in a non-optimal manner; coupling a wireless communication system on the vehicle to the diagnostic module; and establishing wireless communications between the diagnostic module and at least one remote service center, each for servicing at least one of the monitored components to fix or replace the monitored component when the diagnostic module on the vehicle determines that the monitored component is not operating optimially, during operation of the vehicle on the road to enable transmission of derived diagnostic data between the diagnostic module and the remote service center, including data about the presence and identity of any non-optimally operating component, such that the remote service center receives data about the monitored components of the vehicle prior to the vehicle being brought to the remote service center to enable preparation for the fixing or replacement of the non-optimally operating monitored component. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method for scheduling servicing of a vehicle during operation of the vehicle on a road, comprising:
-
arranging a vehicle monitoring system including a plurality of sensors on the vehicle to monitor components of the vehicle during operation of the components; arranging a diagnostic module on the vehicle; directing data about the monitored components from the vehicle monitoring system to the diagnostic module for analysis and processing thereby; deriving diagnostic data in the diagnostic module from the data about the monitored components provided by the sensors of the vehicle monitoring system to determine whether any of the monitored components are operating in a non-optimal manner; coupling a wireless communication system on the vehicle to the diagnostic module; establishing wireless communications between the diagnostic module and a dealer having access to apparatus for servicing the monitored components to fix or replace the monitored component when the diagnostic module on the vehicle determines that the monitored component is not operating optimally, during operation of the vehicle on the road, to enable transmission of derived diagnostic data between the diagnostic module and the dealer, including data about the presence and identity of any non-optimally operating component, such that the dealer receives data about the monitored components of the vehicle prior to the vehicle being brought to the dealer to enable preparation for the fixing or replacement of the non-optimally operating monitored component; and upon receiving data from the diagnostic module at the dealer about the non-optimally operating monitored component, contacting the vehicle owner to schedule repair or maintenance of the vehicle to fix or replace the non-optimally operating component. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for information management and monitoring of a plurality of vehicles during operation of the vehicles on roads, comprising:
-
arranging a vehicle monitoring system including a plurality of sensors on each vehicle to monitor components of the vehicle; arranging a diagnostic module on each vehicle; directing data about the monitored components from the vehicle monitoring system to the diagnostic module for analysis and processing thereby; deriving diagnostic data in the diagnostic module from the data about the monitored components provided by the sensors of the vehicle monitoring system to determine whether any of the monitored components on the vehicle are failing or have failed; coupling a wireless communication system on each vehicle to the diagnostic module; establishing wireless communications between the diagnostic module and a data gathering facility which accumulates information about the failure rate of the monitored components, during operation of the vehicles on the roads, to enable transmission of derived diagnostic data between the diagnostic module and the data gathering facility, including data about the expected or actual failure of any of the monitored components, such that the data gathering facility receives data about the monitored components of the vehicle; and accumulating data from the vehicle at the data gathering facility to enable calculation of statistics about failure rate of the components. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
-
Specification
-
- Resources
Litigation Campaign Assessment
Thank you for your request. You will receive a custom alert email when the Litigation Campaign Assessment is available.
×
Litigation Data
-
Current AssigneeAmerican Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
-
Original AssigneeAutomotive Technologies International Incorporated
-
InventorsBreed, David S.
-
Primary Examiner(s)Beaulieu, Yonel
-
Application NumberUS11/039,129Publication NumberTime in Patent Office552 DaysField of Search701/29, 701/36, 701/34, 340/425.5, 702/127, 702/182, 702/183, 706/20US Class Current701/36CPC Class CodesB60N 2/0272 using sensors or detectors ...G07C 5/008 communicating information t...G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data...
