System and method for vehicle assessment and uses thereof

• US 10,417,839 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Navigation Research Company
• Original Assignee: Navigation Research Company
• Inventors: Allen, Jr., A. C., Jump, Dennis, Barrett, Paul E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torchinsky, Edward
• Application Number:
  US15/164,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20170345227A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time

Abstract

A vehicle assessment analyzer is in communication with a vehicle, via the vehicle network computer and the vehicle communication bus. The vehicle assessment analyzer obtains the vehicle VIN from the vehicle and transmits the VIN to a vehicle assessment analytics server. The vehicle assessment analytics server then determines assessment readings to be performed on the vehicle, such as individual electronic sensors therein, to generate an overall vehicle assessment as compared to other vehicles of similar make, model, etc. These assessment readings are sent to the vehicle assessment analyzer which obtains the associated data and transmits the data back to the server for generation of the overall vehicle assessment. The assessment readings may query the vehicle network computer via standard assessment readings, and heightened assessment readings, and may also query the vehicle communications bus directly thereby obtaining any desired electronic information available from the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle assessment analyzer, comprising:

a vehicle interface adapted to couple with at least one of a vehicle network computer and-a vehicle communication bus;

a communication interface adapted to communicate with a vehicle assessment analytics server;

a processor in communication with memory, the memory storing computer readable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the vehicle assessment analyzer to;

transmit an initial data request, for a vehicle identification number (VIN), to the vehicle network computer,

transmit an initial data packet, including the VIN, to the vehicle assessment analytics server,

receive an assessment list from the vehicle assessment analytics server, the assessment list identifying one or more native assessment readings to be performed on the vehicle by the vehicle assessment analyzer, the native assessment readings defining at least one communication to be captured by the vehicle assessment analyzer from at least one individual sensor directly via the vehicle communication bus; and

transmit an assessment data packet to the vehicle assessment analytics server, the assessment data packet including data obtained from the vehicle based on the native assessment readings.

2. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the initial data request including a request to obtain additional initial data including one or more of:

an odometer reading, an RPM reading, and an engine temperature reading, the initial data packet including the additional initial data.

3. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the memory further storing a predefined standard assessment list identifying standard assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to query the vehicle network computer according to standard OBD callouts.

4. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 3, the assessment list including heightened assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to at least one of query or monitor at least one of the vehicle network computer and the vehicle communication bus according to vehicle specific callouts based on the VIN.

5. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 3, the assessment list including heightened assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to query both of the vehicle network computer and the vehicle communication bus according to vehicle specific callouts based on the VIN.

6. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list including heightened assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to query one or both of the vehicle network computer and the vehicle communication bus according to vehicle specific callouts based on the VIN.

7. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 6, the vehicle specific callouts based further on community data.

8. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 6, the assessment list including a standard assessment list identifying assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to query the vehicle network computer according to standard OBD callouts.

9. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list including a standard assessment list identifying assessment readings that control the vehicle assessment analyzer to query the vehicle network computer according to common vehicle network computer callouts common to multiple manufacturers of vehicles.

10. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list including at least one assessment condition;

the vehicle assessment analyzer configured to verify the assessment condition is met prior to performing at least one of the one or more assessment readings.

11. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment data packet including raw data received directly from the vehicle communication bus.

12. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment data packet including transformed data based on a mathematical transform performed on raw data received from the vehicle.

13. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the vehicle network computer being an on-board-diagnostics (OBD) network computer.

14. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the vehicle communication bus being a controller area network (CAN) based communication bus.

15. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the vehicle communication bus being one or more of a local interconnect network (LIN) communication bus and a media oriented systems transport (MOST) based communication bus.

16. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the vehicle interface adapted to simultaneously couple with multiple vehicle communication busses.

17. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the vehicle interface including a vehicle communication bus processor, the assessment readings including a filter to control the vehicle communication bus processor to monitor the vehicle communication bus for messages thereon matching the filter.

18. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the memory further storing instructions for initializing the vehicle assessment analyzer by verifying a first communications link between the vehicle interface and the vehicle and a second communications link between the communications interface and the vehicle assessment analytics server.

19. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list defining a number of times to assess one or more sensors of a vehicle.

20. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list defining a time interval between each assessment reading of each respective sensor of a vehicle.

21. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list further including one or more enhanced electronic control module (ECM) assessments, the ECM assessments defining ECM readings and ECM parameters to be performed by the vehicle assessment analyzer by monitoring one or more of the vehicle ECMs.

22. The vehicle assessment analyzer of claim 1, the assessment list being generated by the vehicle analytics server in response to receipt of the VIN.