METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REMOTELY TRACKING VEHICLE-CENTRIC DATA AND USER-CENTRIC DATA

• US 20120078497A1
• Filed: 09/23/2010
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Burke, Robert William Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,963 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions

Abstract

A system and method for tracking a vehicle-centric data and a user-centric data with respect to a vehicle. A vehicle-based device can be configured with a vehicle-based application in order to collect and cache the vehicle-centric data. Additionally, an existing vehicle data interface can provide such vehicle-centric data and other data. A GPS-enabled wireless communications device configured with a vehicle and user data tracking module can be interfaced with the vehicle-based device via a wireless technology in order to retrieve the vehicle-centric data with respect to the vehicle. The user-centric data can also be collected from the wireless communications device via a wireless application when the user is external to the vehicle. The vehicle-centric data and the user-centric-data can be then transmitted to a centralized server in order to track a historical and real time GPS location and navigation data.

Claims

1. A vehicle tracking system, comprising;

a vehicle-based device located in a vehicle configured with a vehicle-based application, wherein said vehicle-based device collects and caches vehicle-centric data with respect to said vehicle;

a wireless communications device having a vehicle and user data tracking application, wherein said wireless communications device interfaces with said vehicle-based device via a wireless technology in order to retrieve said vehicle-centric data and user-centric data with respect to said vehicle; and

a centralized server that collects said vehicle-centric data and said user-centric-data from said wireless communications device in order to track historical and real time location and navigation data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said vehicle-based device collects and caches said vehicle-centric data from an existing vehicle data interface associated with said vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a data-processing unit interfaced with said vehicle-based device via a communications medium in order to collect said vehicle-centric data.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said communications medium comprises at least one of the following:

a wireless communications module;

a hard wired communications connection; and

a defined communications access point.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a wireless module configured with said wireless communications device, wherein said wireless module collects said user-centric data from said wireless communications device when a user is external to the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein said communications medium further comprises a GPS module that wirelessly communicates GPS data with respect to said vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said vehicle-based device synchronizes with said vehicle and said user data tracking module to exchange said vehicle-centric data and status information.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising an update with respect to said vehicle and user data tracking module and said vehicle-based application from said centralized server transmitted to said wireless communications device and said vehicle-based device.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a data transportation medium for transmitting said user-centric and said vehicle-centric data between said wireless communications device and said server.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said data transportation medium comprises at least one of the following types of medium:

a short message service;

an electronic mail;

a hypertext transfer protocol;

a hypertext transfer protocol secure;

a simple object access protocol;

a mobile data service; and

a business to business application.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless technology comprises a Bluetooth technology.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said wireless communications device comprises at least one of the following types of devices:

a laptop computer;

a mobile communications device;

a personal digital assistant; and

a Smartphone.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said vehicle-based device comprises an on-board diagnostic interface device.

14. A method, comprising:

collecting vehicle-centric data with respect to a vehicle via a vehicle-based device located in said vehicle configured with a vehicle-based application;

interfacing a wireless communications device having a vehicle and user data tracking module and said vehicle-based device via a wireless technology in order to thereafter retrieve said vehicle-centric data and a user-centric data with respect to said vehicle via said wireless communications device; and

transmitting said vehicle-centric data and said user-centric-data from said wireless communications device to a centralized server in order to track a historical and real time location and navigation data.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising interfacing said vehicle-based device with a vehicle data-processing unit via said wireless technology in order to collect said vehicle-centric data.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising collecting said user-centric data via a wireless application configured with said wireless communications device when a user is external to said vehicle.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

caching said vehicle centric data until said vehicle-centric data is pushed/pulled to said wireless application; and

querying in real time, said vehicle data-processing unit and/or an existing vehicle data interface associated with said vehicle, when said wireless communications device and said vehicle-based device are synchronized in order to collect said vehicle centric data from said vehicle data-processing unit.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising synchronizing said vehicle-based device with said mobile application to exchange said vehicle-centric data and status.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting an update with respect to said vehicle and user data tracking module and said vehicle-based application from said centralized server to said wireless communications device and said vehicle-based device.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting said user-centric and said vehicle-centric data between said wireless communications device and said server via a data transportation medium.