Obtaining vehicle usage information from a remote location

• US 20030171860A1
• Filed: 03/08/2002
• Published: 09/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: At Road Incorporated
• Inventors: Fan, Rodric C., Nguyen, Kenny Man D.
• Granted Patent: US 6,832,140 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/002 for traffic control, mobile tracking, guidance, surveillance or anti-collision
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/008 using a mobile telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

Presented are a method and a system by which an individual can obtain usage information of a vehicle. A mobile unit, which may be located inside a vehicle, receives data from a part of the vehicle (e.g., the odometer) and/or Global Positioning System satellites and derives parameters such as the velocity and the travel distance from the received data. Using these parameters, the mobile unit may determine time information such as the amount of time the vehicle is traveling, in idle, or in a parked state within a given time period. Alternatively, the mobile unit may transmit the parameters to a remote computer, which then determines the time information. When a user submits a query requesting a parameter or a mathematical operation on a parameter, either the mobile unit or a remote computer prepares a response and transmits the response to the appropriate user interface.

Claims

1. A method of maintaining vehicle usage information, said method comprising:

receiving an information through a vehicle status bus, said information comprising data regarding a part of a vehicle;

processing said information; and

transmitting at least one of said information and a result of said processing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said information is a first information, further comprising:

receiving a second information through a receiver;

processing said second information; and

transmitting at least one of said second information and a result of processing said second information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said processing said first information comprises using said first information to calculate a first parameter and wherein said processing said second information further comprises using said second information to calculate a second parameter.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising storing said first parameter and said second parameter in a database.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said second information comprises Global Positioning System code sequences and said second parameter comprises at least one of a location of said vehicle, a velocity of said vehicle, and a travel distance of said vehicle within a predefined time period.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said first parameter comprises the ignition status of said vehicle.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining a third parameter based on said first parameter and said second parameter.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said third parameter comprises at least one of idle time, travel time, and parked time of said vehicle within a predefined time period.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

performing a mathematical operation on at least one of said first parameter, said second parameter, and said third parameter in response to a user request; and

transmitting a result of said mathematical operation to a sender of said user request.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said mathematical operation comprises:

comparing a first value indicated in said user request against a second value; and

indicating in said result whether said first value and said second value fulfill a predefined relationship.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said first parameter comprises an ignition status and an odometer reading of said vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said processing said first information further comprises calculating a parameter based on said odometer reading.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said parameter comprises at least one of a velocity and a travel distance of said vehicle within a predefined time period.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said predefined time period is defined by said ignition status.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising storing at least one of said ignition status, said odometer reading, said velocity, and said travel distance in a database.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising deriving another parameter from at least one of said ignition status, said odometer reading, said velocity, and said travel distance.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

performing a mathematical operation on said parameters in response to a user request; and

transmitting a result of said mathematical operation to a sender of said user request.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said mathematical operation comprises:

comparing a first value indicated in said user request against a second value; and

indicating in said result whether said first value and said second value fulfill a predefined relationship.

19. An apparatus for tracking vehicle usage, said apparatus comprising:

a vehicle status bus;

a processor connected to said vehicle status bus; and

a transmitter connected to said processor.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a receiver.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said processor processes an information received via said vehicle status bus to obtain a first parameter and an information received via said receiver to obtain a second parameter.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising a database coupled to said processor, said database storing at least one of said first parameter and said second parameter.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said apparatus is located in a vehicle and comprises an ignition status of said vehicle.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said apparatus is located in a vehicle and said second parameter comprises at least one of a location, a velocity, and a travel distance of said vehicle.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising determining a third parameter based on said first parameter and said second parameter.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said apparatus is located in a vehicle, wherein said third parameter comprises at least one of idle time, travel time, and parked time of said vehicle within a predefined time period.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said processor performs a mathematical operation on at least one of said first, second, and third parameters in response to a user request and transmits a result to a sender of said user request.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said mathematical operation comprises comparing a first value indicated in said user request against a second value to determine whether said first value and said second value fulfill a predefined relationship.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said processor calculates a first parameter using an information received via said vehicle status bus.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said apparatus is located in a vehicle, wherein said information indicates at least one of an ignition status and an odometer reading.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said apparatus is located in a vehicle, wherein said parameter comprises at least one of a velocity and a travel distance of said vehicle within a predefined time period.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein said predefined time period is defined by the ignition status.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising a database coupled to said processor, said database storing said parameter.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein said processor performs a mathematical operation on said parameter in response to a user request and transmits a result of said mathematical operation to a sender of said user request.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein said mathematical operation comprises:

comparing a first value indicated in said user request against a second value; and

indicating in said result whether said first value and said second value fulfill a predefined relationship.