Automated enrollment and activation of telematics equipped vehicles

• US 20050027438A1
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Gumushian, Gary M., Rockett, David W., Beiermeister, Frederick J.
• Application Number:
  US10/631,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20050027438A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method for automated enrollment and activation of a mobile telematics system comprising receiving a customer data record of a customer at a communication services database, determining a command signal based on the customer data record, sending the command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle, enrolling the customer in a telematics-unit access system based on the command signal and activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system based on the command signal.

Claims

1. A method for automated enrollment and activation of a mobile telematics system comprising:

receiving a customer data record of a customer at a communication services database;

determining a command signal based on the customer data record;

sending the command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle;

enrolling the customer in a telematics-unit access system based on the command signal; and

activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system based on the command signal.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein sending a command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle further comprises:

sending the command signal from an external telematics database to a communication services manager in a telematics call center; and

sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein sending a command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle further comprises:

sending the command signal from a communication services database in a telematics call center to a communication services manager in the telematics call center; and

sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer data record is received from a source selected from the group consisting of:

an enrollment website, the customer delivery record at a vehicle dealership, a telephone line or from the telematics unit.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer data record is obtained in segments received from more than one source.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the command signal includes customer data.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the command signal includes customer-desired features to be activated in the telematics-unit access system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the customer-desired features are selected from the group consisting of navigation assistance, real-time traffic advisories, directory assistance, roadside assistance, business or residential assistance, information services assistance, emergency assistance, and communications assistance, vehicle personalization, vehicle data upload, vehicle data download, unlock/lock vehicle, flash lights, honk horn, perform diagnostic functions and perform vehicle tracking functions.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system setup further comprises;

configuring the hardware of the telematics unit in the vehicle.

10. A computer usable medium storing a computer program comprising:

computer readable code for receiving a customer data record of a customer at a communication services database;

computer readable code for determining a command signal based on the customer data record;

computer readable code for sending the command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle;

computer readable code for enrolling the customer in a telematics-unit access system based on the command signal; and

computer readable code for activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system based on the command signal.

11. The computer usable medium storing a computer program of claim 10 wherein sending a command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle further comprises:

computer readable code for sending the command signal from an external telematics database to a communication services manager in a telematics call center; and

computer readable code for sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.

12. The computer usable medium storing a computer program of claim 10 wherein sending a command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle further comprises:

computer readable code for sending the command signal from a communication services database in a telematics call center to a communication services manager in the telematics call center; and

computer readable code for sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.

13. The computer usable medium storing a computer program of claim 10 wherein activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system setup further comprises;

computer readable code for instructing a hardware configuration to be set in hardware of the telematics unit in the vehicle.

14. A telematics-unit access system comprising:

means for receiving a customer data record at a communication services database;

means for determining a command signal based on the customer data record;

means for sending the command signal to a telematics unit of a vehicle;

means for enrolling the customer in a telematics-unit access system based on the command signal; and

means for activating the telematics unit of the telematics-unit access system based on the command signal.

15. The telematics-unit access system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for sending the command signal from an external telematics database to a communication services manager in a telematics call center; and

means for sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.

16. The telematics-unit access system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for sending the command signal from a communication services database in a telematics call center to a communication services manager in the telematics call center; and

sending the command signal from the communication services manager in the telematics call center to the telematics unit of a vehicle.