METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SENDING INFORMATION FROM A USER DEVICE TO A CAR

• US 20120044089A1
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Published: 02/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: HTI IP LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Yarnold, Christina, Peterson, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 8,730,033 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/901
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

A telematics server manages meeting request messages sent from, and to, a vehicle-coupled device. The server performs authentication services when a subscriber logs in to the server from the vehicle-coupled device, or with a device associated with the subscriber'"'"'s telematics services account. Upon login, the server may append a session identifier to the request message. After the message passes through the server, an application running on a device remote from the vehicle receives the request message and accepts user input that permits the remote device to transmit its current location to the vehicle-coupled device in a confirmation message according to the session identifier. The telematics server can use the session identifier to determine the destination address of the vehicle-coupled device to forward the confirmation message to. The vehicle-coupled device displays the remote user device location on a map. The request and confirmation messages may include a media content file.

Claims

1. A method for sending a meeting request to a device in a vehicle, comprising:

receiving a meeting request and information message sent from a user device remote from the vehicle to an intended subscriber device in the vehicle;

comparing a subscriber unique identifier included in the received meeting request and information message with a subscriber identifier field in a subscriber database;

retrieving an intended subscriber record from the subscriber database having information in the subscriber identifier field corresponding to the unique identifier included in the received meeting request and information message, wherein the intended subscriber record includes a vehicle device address of the device in the vehicle; and

transmitting request information included in the meeting request and information message to the vehicle device address.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the subscriber unique identifier is an e-mail address.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the subscriber unique identifier is a user name and wherein the subscriber unique identifier is associated with one, or more, unique device identifiers.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the one, or more, unique device identifiers include IMEI numbers corresponding to multiple devices.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the subscriber unique identifier is an SMS number.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the request information includes a media content file.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the sending user device recorded the media content file substantially contemporaneously with sending the request message.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving from the intended subscriber device a request for notifications of one, or more, meeting request and information messages that user devices remote from the vehicle may have sent;

wherein the step of transmitting the request and related information included in the meeting request and information message to the intended vehicle device address includes queuing the request and related information until receipt of the request for notifications, transmitting notifications of meeting request and information messages that user devices remote from the vehicle may have sent; and

receiving a request message from the device in the vehicle for meeting requests and related information corresponding to one of the notifications of meeting request and information messages that user devices remote from the vehicle may have sent.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the device in the vehicle generated the request for notifications substantially simultaneously with a user thereof activating a voice channel between the device in the vehicle and a wireless telephony network.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle device is coupled to a communication bus of the vehicle and wherein the vehicle device is configured to communicate with electronic vehicle components and systems that are also coupled to the vehicle communication bus.

11. A method for sending a meeting request to a device in a vehicle, comprising:

receiving a meeting request and information message sent from a device associated with the vehicle, wherein the meeting request and information message requests the location of a device remote from the vehicle;

transmitting the meeting request and information message to the device remote from the vehicle according to a unique identifier associated with a user remote from the vehicle;

receiving a confirmation message from the device remote from the vehicle that that the user associated with the remote device will permit the device in the vehicle to obtain current location information of the remote device; and

transmitting a confirmation message that includes current location information of the device remote from the vehicle to the vehicle device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the vehicle device is coupled to a communication bus of the vehicle and wherein the vehicle device is configured to communicate with electronic vehicle components and systems that are also coupled to the vehicle communication bus.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the unique identifier is a user name.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein a telematics table associates the user name with one, or more, device identifiers.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the association of the device associated with the vehicle that initiates the meeting request and information message occurs when a telematics subscriber authenticates himself, or herself, to a telematics server using an application running on the initiating device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the telematics server routes the confirmation message and information contained therein to a vehicle device associated with the telematics subscriber based on the subscriber'"'"'s authentication to the telematics server.

17. A method for sending a meeting request to a device associated with a vehicle, comprising:

receiving a meeting request and information message sent from a device associated with the vehicle, wherein the meeting request and information message requests the location of a device remote from the vehicle, and wherein the meeting request and information message is transmitted to the device remote from the vehicle according to a unique identifier associated with a user remote from the vehicle; and

transmitting a confirmation message from the device remote from the vehicle to a telematics operations server that that the user associated with the remote device will permit the device in the vehicle to obtain current location information of the remote device.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising providing a user interface for selecting whether transmit location information to the device associated with the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the user interface facilitates communicating over a network with a location information processing software application running on the telematics operations server, wherein the telematics operations server presents information contained in the confirmation message to an application running on the telematics server, which determines an address of the vehicle device to transmit the information contained in the confirmation message to according to a data record associated with the device that sent the meeting request and information message.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the confirmation message includes location coordinates that describe the current location of the device remote from the vehicle.