Vehicle usage data tracking system

• US 20030182033A1
• Filed: 01/10/2003
• Published: 09/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Craig "Tim" Underdahl
• Original Assignee: Craig "Tim" Underdahl
• Inventors: Amundson, Ronald, Underdahl, Craig T.
• Application Number:
  US10/339,917
• Publication Number:
  US 20030182033A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/202 Personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/04 operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/302 using recording means, e.g. black box
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/04 Access control involving a hierarchy in access rights
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks

Abstract

A system for tracking usage habits of a vehicle having a standard vehicle data port includes an anchor that fixedly couples the system to the vehicle. A connector is electrically couplable to the standard vehicle data port. A communication port transmits data to and receives data from a remote data device. A data storage medium records data received from the standard vehicle data port relating to the usage habits of the vehicle. A programmable processor is in data communication with the connector, the communication port and the data storage medium and is programmed to record in the data storage medium user-specific usage data relating to use of the vehicle and transmit the user specific usage data from the data storage medium to the data device via the communication port in response to an authorized data query received from the data device.

Claims

1. A system for tracking usage habits of a vehicle having a standard vehicle data port, comprising:

a. an anchor that fixedly couples the system to the vehicle;

b. a connector that is electrically couplable to the standard vehicle data port;

c. a communication port that is capable of transmitting data to and receiving data from a remote data device;

d. a data storage medium that is able to record data received from the standard vehicle data port relating to the usage habits of the vehicle; and

e. a programmable processor that is in data communication with the connector, the communication port and the data storage medium, the programmable processor programmed to execute the following steps;

i. record in the data storage medium user-specific usage data relating to use of the vehicle; and

ii. transmit the user specific usage data from the data storage medium to the data device via the communication port in response to an authorized data query received from the data device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein connector comprises an SAE J1850-compatible data connector.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication port comprises an infra-red data transceiver.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication port comprises a one-wire contact data port.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the recording step comprises:

a. upon receiving an authorized user identification, record user identification, date and time that the vehicle is started, and starting odometer reading in the data storage medium;

b. until an engine shutoff is sensed, record maximum speed of the vehicle in the data storage medium; and

c. upon sensing engine shutoff, recording shutoff time and odometer reading at time of shutoff in the data storage medium.

6. An apparatus for communicating data with a system for tracking usage habits of a vehicle having a standard vehicle data port, comprising:

a. a wireless data port;

b. a one-wire data device; and

c. a processor in data communication with the wireless data port and the one-wire data device, the processor programmed to;

receive a security code from the one-wire data device;

transmit the security code to the wireless data port so as to cause the wireless data port to transmit the security code to the system for tracking usage habits of a vehicle;

receive data from the system for tracking usage habits through the wireless data port;

transmit the data to the one-wire data device for storage by the one-wire data device.

7. A data transmission system for transmitting data received from a system for tracking usage habits of a vehicle to a global computer network server, comprising:

a. a security code generator capable of generating a plurality of security codes;

b. a one-wire data device interface;

C. a PDA data interface;

d. a master clock capable of generating a date and time reference; and

e. a programmable processor, in data communication with the security code generator and the one-wire data device interface, the processor capable of being put in data communication with a global computer network, the processor programmed to execute the following steps;

i. receive the date and time reference from the master clock and to transmit the date and time reference to the PDA data interface and the one-wire data device interface;

ii. receive a security code from the security code generator and transmit the security code to the one-wire data device interface to facilitate storage of the security code by a one-wire data device;

iii. receive data from the one-wire data device interface, the data corresponding to data received from a one-wire data device; and

iv. transmit the data received from the one-wire data device interface to a server through the global computer network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the PDA data interface comprises a 485 interface.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the security code generator comprises

a. a SHA FIPS-180 security code processor;

and

b. a security code storage memory.

10. A method of tracking usage habits of a vehicle having a standard vehicle data port, comprising the steps of:

a. upon receiving an authorized user identification, recording in a local vehicle data storage medium a user identification, a start date, a start time, and a start odometer reading;

b. upon sensing engine shutoff, recording in the local vehicle data storage medium a shutoff date, a shutoff time and a shutoff odometer reading;

c. receiving a request for vehicle usage information from an off-board data storage device;

d. in response to the request, transmitting, from the local vehicle data storage medium to the off-board data storage device, the user identification, the start date, the start, the start odometer reading, the shutoff date, the shutoff time and the shutoff odometer reading.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

a. until an engine shutoff is sensed, recording maximum speed of the vehicle; and

b. in response to the request, transmitting, from the local vehicle data storage medium to the off-board data storage device, the maximum speed of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting data to an infra-red data transceiver.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting data to a one-wire data device.

14. A method of tracking performance of a vehicle salesperson with respect to a plurality of vehicles, each vehicle including a standard vehicle data port, comprising the steps of:

a. reading, from a salesperson-specific identification device, a salesperson identification;

b. storing the identification input in a vehicle-specific data storage medium;

c. receiving odometer and speed data from the standard vehicle data port during a predetermined period after reading the identification input;

d. storing a start time and an end time for the predetermined period and a preselected set of the odometer and speed data in a data storage medium;

e. in response to a query from a data reading device, transferring the start time and end time and the preselected set of the odometer and speed data and an identification of the vehicle to the data reading device; and

f generating a report indicating at least one performance factor relative to the vehicle salesperson based on at least a preselected subset of data received by the data reading device.