WEB PORTAL SYSTEM FOR MANAGING VEHICLE USAGE AND MOBILITY

• US 20110307119A1
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Appy Risk Technologies Limited (Trak Global Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (Trak Global Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Basir, Otman A., Miners, William Ben, Hawari, Hani, Friesacher, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,919 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A network including a web portal gathers, compiles and formats information on vehicle usage across a vehicle community. The vehicle community is comprised of a plurality of vehicles whose users and owners have joined the network and communicate through the web portal to allow gathering and accumulation of vehicle operation information for various uses including maintaining a record of vehicle operation and determining energy usage and environmental impact.

Claims

1. A method of managing vehicle usage comprising the steps of:

gathering data indicative of vehicle operations from monitoring devices installed with a vehicle;

transmitting the gathered data indicative of vehicle operations with a telematic device installed within the vehicle;

defining a portal accessible on a wide area network by users authorized to receive the gathered data; and

receiving the gathered data indicative of vehicle operations on the wide area network according to defined parameters on a device capable of accessing the wide area network.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least some of the gathered data indicative of vehicle operations is received and accessible in real time.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the users authorized to receive the gathered data comprise a vehicle community including a plurality of vehicles and a plurality of users authorized to receive information relating to at least some of the plurality of vehicles.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, including generating one of an alert and report based on selected portions of the data gathered indicative of vehicle operations and forwarding the one of the alert and report to at one of the users authorized to receive information relating to at least some of the plurality of vehicles.

5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the data gathered indicative of vehicle operations includes a position of at least one vehicle available to the authorized users in real time.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, including selectively blocking access to information relating to vehicle position by a vehicle operator.

7. The method as recited in claim 3, including processing the gathered information to quantify one of a vehicle and a users energy usage.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, including generating a comparison of a plurality of users energy usage.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, including quantifying a users energy usage as compared to an energy usage allowance.

10. A system for managing usage information of a plurality of vehicles among a plurality of users comprising:

a telematic device mounted within each of a plurality of vehicles, the telematic device capable of transmitting information gathered by monitoring devices within each of the plurality of vehicles over a wireless communication network; and

a portal defined for access by a plurality of users on a wide area network, the portal for receiving at least a portion of the gathered information transmitted by the telematic device from each of the plurality of vehicles and arranging the gathered information for viewing in real time by the plurality of users.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the portal includes a first portion that transmits information received from one of the plurality of vehicles to authorized portable communications devices.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the portal includes a second portion for quantifying energy usages of at least one the plurality of vehicles and the plurality of users.

13. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the gathered information includes a current position of a vehicle that is communicated in real time to the plurality of users.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the portal includes a third portion for receiving instructions from one of the plurality of users for restricting access to data gathered and transmitted from a select one of the plurality of vehicles.

15. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the portal comprises a compilation of information accessible by a plurality of authorized users through a computing device.

16. A system for managing information pertaining to a plurality of vehicles the system comprising:

a portal web site connected to a plurality of telematic devices mounted within a corresponding plurality of vehicles through a computer based network, said portal web site including;

a receiving portion for receiving information relating to vehicle operation from the plurality of telematic devices;

a data storage portion for storing the information relating to vehicle operation;

a processing portion for formatting information relating to selected vehicle operating parameters; and

a transmitting portion for communicating information relating to the selected vehicle operating parameters to at least some of a plurality of authorized users.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the each of the plurality of users selects information that is transmitted from the ones of the plurality of vehicles under that users control to the portal web site that are available for viewing by others of the plurality of users.

18. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the processing portion includes a portion for formatting information relating to selected vehicle operating parameters indicative of energy usage.

19. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the transmitting portion includes a portion for transmitting position information of at least some of the plurality of vehicles to portable communications devices authorized by the plurality of users.

20. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the transmitting portion includes a portion for transmitting information relating to vehicle operation to the plurality of users in real time.