Efficiency-of-use techniques

• US 20120150550A1
• Filed: 07/12/2011
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Belady, Christian L., Bernard, Rob, Calvo, Angel Sarmento, Cochrane, Larry, Garms, Jason, Hyde, Roderick A., Levien, Royce A., Lord, Richard T., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Pollard, Jennifer Mame, Rinaldo, John D. Jr., Tegreene, Clarence T., Vega, Rene A., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Zhao, Feng
• Application Number:
  US13/135,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20120150550A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/30 Administration of product recycling or disposal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/84 Greenhouse gas [GHG] management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 90/00 Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation

Abstract

A method for associating an efficiency-of-use-score may include, but is not limited to: associating a physical product with a user account in response to a signal indicating that a user has control of the physical product; generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product; and associating the efficiency-of-use score with the user account.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

associating a physical product with a user account in response to a signal indicating that a user has control of the physical product;

generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product; and

associating the efficiency-of-use score with the user account.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein associating a physical product with a user account in response to a signal indicating that a user has control of the physical product further comprises:

associating the physical product with the user account in response to receiving a device-readable indicator associated with the physical product.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the information associated with how the physical product was used from the physical product.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the information associated with how the physical product was used from a device.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the efficiency-of-use score to a device associated with the user account.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the efficiency-of-use score to the physical product.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information that defines an efficiency-of-use pattern for the physical product.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information that defines an efficiency-of-use pattern for the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score using information set by a service provider.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information that defines an efficiency-of-use pattern for the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score using information set by a group of users.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information that defines an efficiency-of-use pattern for the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information defining an efficiency-of-use pattern generated from monitored user behavior.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating, at predetermined time intervals, an efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with how the physical product is being used.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a signal to the physical product and/or a device associated with the user account in response to a determination that the physical product is being used efficiently or inefficiently.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least temperature data generated by a temperature monitoring sensor.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least pressure data generated by a pressure monitoring sensor.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information obtained from at least one image.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information obtained by a laser.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least vibration information generated from a vibration monitoring sensor.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least impact data generated by an impact sensor.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least corrosion data generated by a corrosion sensor.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least an output of a sensor configured to measure concentrations of metallic elements in a lubricant.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from information obtained by a diagnostic computing device associated with the physical product.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least revolutions per minute data generated by a tachometer.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least status information associated with a battery.

24. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with processor utilization over the period of time that the physical product was used.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with an amount of energy consumed over the period of time that user has control of the physical product.

26. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with an estimated amount of work per unit of fuel achieved by the physical product.

28. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least sound information for the physical product generated by a microphone.

29. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with an amount of light reflected by the physical product.

30. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with an amount of bandwidth used by the physical product over the period of time that the user has control of the physical product.

31. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with mileage driven over the period of time that the physical product was used.

32. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product further comprises:

generating the efficiency-of-use score from at least information associated with an amount of physical damage to the physical product that occurred during the time period that the user has control of the physical product.

33. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

dissociating the user account with the physical product in response to a signal identifying that the user has given up control of the physical product.

34. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

adjusting a cumulative-efficiency-of-use-score associated with the user account based at least on the efficiency-of-use score.

35. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

generating a webpage that includes information based at least in part on the efficiency-of-use-score.

36. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

converting the efficiency-of-use score to a monetary value.

37. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

charging the user account a fee based on the efficiency-of-use score.

40. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

associating a reward with the user account in response to a comparison between the efficiency-of-use score and a threshold.

44. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein associating a penalty with the user account in response to a comparison between the efficiency-of-use score and a threshold, further comprises:

associating a penalty with the user account in response to a comparison between the efficiency-of-use score and a threshold.

48. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

sending the efficiency-of-use score to a monitoring organization.

49. The computer implemented method of claim 1 that includes generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product, further comprising:

causing the efficiency-of-use score to be published.

27. (canceled)

38-39. -39. (canceled)

41-43. -43. (canceled)

45-47. -47. (canceled)

50. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising:

instructions for associating a physical product with a user account in response to a signal indicating that a user has control of the physical product;

instructions for generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product; and

instructions for associating the efficiency-of-use score with the user account.

51-98. -98. (canceled)

99. A computer system, comprising:

circuitry for associating a physical product with a user account in response to a signal indicating that a user has control of the physical product;

circuitry for generating an efficiency-of-use score based on information associated with how the physical product is used during a period of time that the user has control of the physical product; and

circuitry for associating the efficiency-of-use score with the user account.

100-147. -147. (canceled)