Systems and processes for managing access to vehicle data

• US 10,430,603 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Hrabak, Robert A., Bai, Fan, Chen, Jinzhu, Grimm, Donald K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Tae K
• Application Number:
  US15/444,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20180247067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/032 Protect output to user by software means
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A gateway apparatus for managing local-device access to vehicle data, including an input/output component for receiving requests for vehicle data from a local device and sending vehicle data to the local device. The apparatus also includes a tangible processing unit in communication with the input/output component and the input/output component, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage device. An access unit of the apparatus has access-unit code that receives, by way of the input/output component, a request for the vehicle data from a local device and determines whether the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request. A control unit has control-unit code that, when executed by the processing unit, determines what vehicle data will be provided. A data unit has data-unit code that prepares the vehicle data to be provided to the local device, and sends the vehicle data to the local device by way of the input/output component.

Claims

1. A gateway apparatus, for managing local-device access to vehicle data, comprising:

an input/output component configured to receive requests for vehicle data from a local device, and send vehicle data to the local device;

a hardware-based processing unit in communication with the input/output component;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device in communication with the hardware-based processing unit and comprising an access unit, a control unit, and a data unit, wherein;

the access unit comprises access-unit code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, receives, by way of the input/output component, a request for the vehicle data from the local device and determines whether the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request;

the control unit comprises control-unit code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines, in response to the access unit determining that the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request, what vehicle data will be provided to the local device;

the data unit comprises data-unit code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, prepares the vehicle data to be provided to the local device by way of the input/output component, and sends the vehicle data to the local device by way of the input/output component;

the control-unit code comprises data-quality-decision-module code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines quality for the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

the quality indicates a resolution of the vehicle data to be provided to the local device; and

the vehicle data is up-sampled by the data-quality-decision-module code, when executed to determine the quality for the vehicle data to be provided to the local device, to provide a higher quality of vehicle data, in one or more ways, than the vehicle data requested by the local device.

2. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the access-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, receives, by way of the input/output component and from a remote source, business-logic instructions; and

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, uses the business-logic instructions in determining the vehicle data to be provided to the local device.

3. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control-unit code comprises data-category-filter code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines the vehicle data will be provided to the local device based on one or more factors selected from a group consisting of (i) a limit on what can be provided by the vehicle and (ii) information authorized to be provided by the gateway apparatus to the local device.

4. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control-unit code comprises a data-format-decision-module code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines a format for vehicle data to be provided to the local device for responding to the request.

5. The gateway apparatus of claim 4, wherein the format for vehicle data determined includes a contextual format generated based on raw vehicle data.

6. The gateway apparatus of claim 4, wherein the format for vehicle data determined includes a substantially non-processed form of raw vehicle data.

7. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein the quality further indicates one or more of:

a frequency by which the vehicle data will be provided to the local device;

an accuracy of the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

a volume of the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

a quality of service for the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

a latency with which the vehicle data will be provided to the local device;

a throughput by which the vehicle data will be provided to the local device;

level of the vehicle data, in the form of raw vehicle data, to be provided to the local device; and

level of the vehicle data, in the form of contextual vehicle data, to be provided to the local device.

8. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein other vehicle data is down-sampled by the data-quality-decision-module code, when executed to determine the quality for the other vehicle data to be provided to the local device, to provide a lower quality of vehicle data, in one or more ways, than the other vehicle data requested by the local device.

9. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the downsampling is performed in response to determining at least on factor selected from a group consisting of:

(i) a limit on what can be provided by the vehicle; and

(ii) a limit on quality authorized to be provided to the local device.

10. The gateway apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the local device is a first local device;

said request is a first request corresponding to a first application operating at the local device;

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, receives a second request corresponding to a second application operating at the first local device or at another local device; and

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, merges the first request and the second request, yielding a merged request.

11. The gateway apparatus of claim 10, wherein the data-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit:

prepares a combined vehicle data file comprising vehicle data for satisfying both the first request and the second request;

splits the combined vehicle data file into a first vehicle data file, corresponding to the first request, for meeting first vehicle-data needs of the first application, and a second vehicle data file, corresponding to the second request, for meeting second vehicle-data needs of the second application; and

in sending the data to the local device by way of the input/output component, sends, by way of the input/output component, the first vehicle data file to the first local device for use by the first application, and the second vehicle data file for use by the second application.

12. The gateway apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the data-quality-decision-module code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines data quality for vehicle data to be used to satisfy first vehicle-data needs, of the first application, and second vehicle-data needs, of the second application;

the first request includes request for vehicle data of a first type at a first quality;

the second request includes request for vehicle data of the first type at a second quality; and

the data-quality-decision-module code determines, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, to upsample regarding the first request, corresponding to the first application, determining to provide higher-quality vehicle data than requested in the first request, in response to the second quality being higher than the first quality.

13. A gateway apparatus, for managing local-device access to vehicle data, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device;

an access unit comprising access-unit code positioned at the non-transitory computer-readable storage device, wherein the access-unit code, when executed by a hardware-based processing unit, receives, by way of an input/output component, a request for the vehicle data from a local device and determines whether the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request;

a control unit, comprising control-unit code positioned at the non-transitory computer-readable storage device, wherein the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines, in response to the access unit determining that the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request, what vehicle data will be provided to the local device; and

a data unit, comprising data-unit code positioned at the non-transitory computer-readable storage device, wherein the data-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, prepares the vehicle data to be provided to the local device by way of the input/output component, and sends the vehicle data to the local device by way of the input/output component;

wherein the local device is a first local device;

the request is a first request corresponding to a first application operating at the first local device;

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, receives a second request corresponding to a second application operating at the first local device or at another local device;

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, merges the first request and the second request, yielding a merged request; and

the data-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit;

prepares a combined vehicle data file comprising vehicle data for satisfying both the first request and the second request, wherein the combined vehicle data file is constructed based on the merged request;

splits the combined vehicle data file into a first vehicle data file, corresponding to the first request, for meeting first vehicle-data needs of the first application, and a second vehicle data file, corresponding to the second request, for meeting second vehicle-data needs of the second application; and

in sending the data to the local device by way of the input/output component, sends, by way of the input/output component, the first vehicle data file to the first local device for use by the first application, and the second vehicle data file for use by the second application.

14. The gateway apparatus of claim 13, wherein:

the access-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, receives, by way of the input/output component and from a remote source, business-logic instructions; and

the control-unit code, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, uses the business-logic instructions in determining the vehicle data to be provided to the local device.

15. The gateway apparatus of claim 13, wherein the control-unit code comprises one or more sets of code selected from a group consisting of:

data-category-filter code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines the vehicle data will be provided to the local device based on one or more factors selected from a group consisting of (i) a limit on what can be provided by the vehicle and (ii) information authorized to be provided by the gateway apparatus to the local device;

data-format-decision-module code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines a format for vehicle data to be provided to the local device for responding to the request; and

data-quality-decision-module code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, determines quality for the vehicle data to be provided to the local device.

16. The gateway apparatus of claim 15, wherein the format for vehicle data determined includes one or both of:

a contextual format generated based on raw vehicle data; and

a substantially non-processed form of raw vehicle data.

17. A process, performed using a gateway apparatus, for managing local-device access to vehicle data, comprising:

receiving, by a hardware-based processing unit executing access-unit code positioned at a non-transitory computer-readable storage device, and by way of a tangible input/output component, a request for the vehicle data from a local device;

determining, by the hardware-based processing unit executing the access-unit code, whether the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request;

determining, by the hardware-based processing unit executing control-unit code positioned at the non-transitory computer-readable storage device, and in response to the processing unit determining that the gateway apparatus may satisfy the request, what vehicle data will be provided to the local device;

determining quality for the vehicle data to be provided to the local device based on the request, wherein the quality indicates a resolution of the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

determining to up-sample the vehicle data to be provided to the local device;

preparing, by the hardware-based processing unit executing data-unit code positioned at the non-transitory computer-readable storage device, the vehicle data to be provided to the local device by way of an input/output component, wherein the vehicle data to be provided to the local device is up-sampled to provide a higher quality of vehicle data, in one or more ways, than the vehicle data requested by the local device; and

sending, by the hardware-based processing unit executing the data-unit code, the vehicle data to the local device by way of the input/output component.