VEHICLE FLEET EMAIL NOTIFICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20080039995A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Reeser, Brad
• Application Number:
  US11/618,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20080039995A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• 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: Y10S 370/908 Local area network

Abstract

A vehicle fleet email notification system and method which assists in management of vehicle fleets by allowing fleet managers to send messages to fleet drivers as well as receive email messages that provide diverse types of dynamic vehicle information about the fleet vehicles. The email notifications are triggered by different events, some of which are independent of the vehicle (e.g., a monthly trigger), and others of which occur at the vehicle, such as a mileage or low oil life trigger. The notification system builds and sends to the fleet manager and/or drivers an email message that contains the dynamic vehicle information and identifies any detected vehicle condition for which action is needed. Messages from the fleet manager can be included in the emails that are sent to the drivers. GPS information from the fleet vehicles can be included in the emails to inform the fleet manager of the vehicles'"'"' locations.

Claims

1. A method of providing fleet drivers with vehicle information and messages from a fleet manager, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a message from a fleet manager;

(b) accessing vehicle data from each of a plurality of fleet vehicles using a telematics unit on each of the vehicles;

(c) transmitting the vehicle data from the telematics units to a central data system;

(d) constructing, for each of the fleet vehicles, a notification message containing the fleet manager'"'"'s message and at least some of the vehicle data obtained from that fleet vehicle; and

(e) sending the notification message for each fleet vehicle to that fleet vehicle'"'"'s driver via an electronic messaging system.

2. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises receiving the fleet manager'"'"'s message at the central data system.

3. The method set forth in claim 2, wherein step (b) comprises the steps of contacting each of the vehicles in response to receiving the fleet manager'"'"'s message, and accessing the vehicle data in response to being contacted.

4. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the steps of generating a trigger in response to receiving the fleet manager'"'"'s message, sending the trigger to the telematics units in the fleet vehicles via a cellular communication system, and, for each vehicle, upon occurrence of the trigger, receiving dynamic vehicle data at the telematics unit from vehicle system modules in the vehicle.

5. The method set forth in claim 4, wherein the trigger comprises an immediate callback trigger.

6. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the steps (a) through (e) is carried out automatically under software-control.

7. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (d) further comprises constructing each notification message so that it contains (1) at least some of the vehicle data represented in language characters, (2) vehicle identification information unique to the vehicle, and (3) a diagnostic result indicating whether some action is required to address one or more of the vehicle conditions.

8. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein step (d) further comprises constructing each notification message as an email message using a markup language.

9. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein step (d) further comprises constructing the notification message so that it contains the vehicle mileage or oil life, or both, represented in language characters.

10. A method of providing fleet vehicle information to a fleet manager, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining location data at each of a plurality of fleet vehicles using a GPS unit on the vehicle;

(b) transmitting the location data from the vehicle to a central data system;

(c) constructing a notification message using the location data; and

(d) sending the notification message to a fleet manager via an electronic messaging system.

11. The method set forth in claim 10, further comprising carrying out steps (a) through (d) in response to receiving a message from a fleet manager.

12. The method set forth in claim 10, further comprising the steps of receiving the fleet manager'"'"'s message at the central data system, generating a trigger in response to receiving the fleet manager'"'"'s message, sending the trigger to the fleet vehicles via a cellular communication system, and, for each vehicle, upon occurrence of the trigger, obtaining the GPS location data from the GPS unit on the vehicle.

13. The method set forth in claim 10, wherein step (c) further comprises constructing a notification message for each of the fleet vehicles and step (d) further comprises sending each of the notification messages to the fleet manager.

14. The method set forth in claim 13, wherein step (c) further comprises constructing each notification message as an email message containing a map showing the location of the vehicle associated with the notification message.

15. The method set forth in claim 10, wherein step (c) further comprises constructing a single notification message as an email message containing a map showing the location of each of the fleet vehicles.

16. A method of providing vehicle information to a fleet manager, comprising the steps of:

establishing at a fleet vehicle a trigger that is based on location;

monitoring at the vehicle for the occurrence of the trigger using location information obtained from a GPS unit on the vehicle and, in response to determining that the trigger has occurred;

contacting an electronic message generating system from the vehicle via a wireless communication system; and

sending a notification message to the fleet manager from the electronic message generating system via an electronic messaging system.

17. The method set forth in claim 16, further comprising the step of providing vehicle data concerning one or more vehicle conditions to the electronic message generating system in response to occurrence of the trigger.

18. The method set forth in claim 17, further comprising the step of constructing the notification message such that it includes information concerning the one or more vehicle conditions.

19. The method set forth in claim 17, further comprising the step of constructing the notification message as an email message using a markup language.

20. The method set forth in claim 19, wherein the step of constructing the email message further comprises constructing an email message containing a map showing the location of the vehicle.