System and method for processing vehicle requests

• US 10,169,825 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2017
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smartcar, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Smartcar, Inc.
• Inventors: Katta, Sanketh Suresh, Katta, Sahas Suresh
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Isaac G
• Application Number:
  US15/828,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20180158263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 701 296
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A method and system for processing requests for vehicular data, including receiving a vehicle request for a vehicle parameter from a client system (e.g., third party application); verifying client access to the vehicle parameter; determining one or more parameter values for the requested vehicle parameter; and transmitting the one or more parameter values to the client system.

Claims

1. A method for processing requests for vehicular data, the method comprising:

sampling a first value for a vehicle parameter at a vehicle at a first time;

transmitting the first value from the vehicle to a remote system;

at the remote system, caching the first value in association with a vehicle identifier identifying the vehicle;

at the remote system, receiving a first vehicle request for the vehicle parameter from a first third party application, the first vehicle request comprising the vehicle identifier and a system access token;

at the remote system, verifying, based on the system access token, first third party application access to the vehicle parameter for the vehicle identifier;

at the remote system, in response to verifying first third party application access to the vehicle parameter for the vehicle identifier, transmitting a resource query for the vehicle parameter to a vehicle resource associated with the vehicle identifier, wherein the first resource query comprises a resource access token;

in response to the vehicle resource accepting the resource query based on the resource access token, transmitting a second value for the vehicle parameter from the vehicle resource to the remote system, the second value sampled at the vehicle at a second time after the first time;

in response to the vehicle resource rejecting the resource query, retrieving the first value at the remote system; and

at the remote system, fulfilling the first vehicle request, wherein fulfilling the first vehicle request comprises transmitting at least one of the first value and the second value from the remote system to the third party application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the remote system:

receiving a second vehicle request comprising a vehicle command and the vehicle identifier;

generating control instructions based on the vehicle command;

transmitting the control instructions to the vehicle based on the vehicle identifier; and

operating the vehicle based on the control instructions.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the remote system:

storing the vehicle identifier in association with a first permission setting for the first third party application, the first permission setting granting access to the vehicle resource; and

storing the vehicle identifier in association with a second permission setting for a second third party application, the second permission setting different from the first permission setting.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a code from the remote system to a user device associated with a user identifier stored at the remote system;

receiving the code at the vehicle from the user;

transmitting the code and the vehicle identifier from the vehicle to the remote system; and

in response to receiving the code at the remote system, storing the vehicle identifier in association with the user identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle resource is physically separate and remote from the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, at the remote system:

evaluating a network strength of a wireless communication network communicably connecting the vehicle resource and the vehicle to the remote system, wherein the vehicle resource rejecting the resource query comprises the vehicle resource rejecting the resource query in response to is based on the network strength falling below a threshold, and wherein the vehicle resource accepting the resource query comprises the vehicle resource accepting the resource query in response to is baded on the network strength falling above the threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle parameter comprises a location parameter, and wherein fulfilling the vehicle request comprises:

at the remote system, retrieving historic location parameter values for the vehicle, the historic location parameter values comprising at least one of the first value and the second value for the location parameter;

retrieving historic odometry values associated with the historic location parameter values for the vehicle;

determining a proportion of travelled miles within a geographic region, relative to total miles driven, based on the historic location parameter values and historic odometry values; and

transmitting the proportion to a taxing entity system associated with the third party application.

8. A method for processing requests for vehicular data, the method comprising at a remote system:

receiving a first value for a first vehicle parameter from a first vehicle resource, the first value sampled by a first vehicle at a first time;

caching the first value in association with a first vehicle identifier identifying the first vehicle;

receiving a first vehicle request for the first vehicle parameter from a first third party application, the first vehicle request comprising the first vehicle identifier;

in response to verifying first third party application access to the first vehicle parameter associated with the first vehicle identifier, transmitting a resource query for the first vehicle parameter to a first vehicle resource associated with the first vehicle identifier, wherein the resource query comprises a first resource access token;

receiving a second value for the first vehicle parameter from the first vehicle resource after the first vehicle resource accepts the resource query based on the first resource access token, wherein the second value is sampled at the first vehicle at a second time after the first time;

retrieving the first value at the remote system after the first vehicle resource rejects the resource query; and

transmitting at least one of the first value and the second value from the remote system to the first third party application.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first vehicle request further comprises a system access token, wherein first third party application access is verified based on the system access token.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, prior to receiving the first vehicle request at the remote system:

receiving a system access request from the first third party application; and

transmitting the system access token from the remote system to the third party application.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising, at the remote system, generating the first resource query from the first vehicle request.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the first resource query from the first vehicle request comprises translating the first vehicle request into the first resource query with an adapter module associated with the first vehicle resource.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first vehicle request is translated into the first resource query based on a first subset of communication protocol rules associated with the first vehicle resource.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the first resource access token is stored in association with a first user identifier, wherein the first user identifier is associated with the first vehicle identifier.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first user identifier is stored in association with a second resource access token granting access to a second vehicle resource, different from the first vehicle resource.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first resource access token is associated with a first permission level granting access to the first vehicle parameter at the first vehicle resource, and wherein the second resource access token is associated with a second permission level granting access to a second vehicle parameter at the second vehicle resource.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first vehicle request for the first vehicle parameter further comprises a second vehicle identifier, the second vehicle identifier associated with the second vehicle resource.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising, at the remote system:

generating the first resource query, comprising the first resource access token, based on a first subset of communication protocol rules associated with the first vehicle resource; and

generating a second resource query, comprising the second resource access token, based on a second subset of communication protocol rules associated with the second vehicle resource.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising, at the remote system, receiving a second vehicle request from the first third party application, the second vehicle request comprising a second vehicle parameter associated with the first vehicle identifier.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein generating the first resource query further comprises aggregating the first and the second vehicle parameters requested in the first and the second vehicle requests and translating the aggregated vehicle requests into a single resource query comprising the first resource access token.