WEIGH SCALE CERTIFICATION SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

• US 20140019338A1
• Filed: 07/16/2012
• Published: 01/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cat Scale Company
• Original Assignee: Cat Scale Company
• Inventors: Ruud, Eric, Cone, Doyle
• Granted Patent: US 9,830,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/26 Government or public services business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A method and system for remotely exchanging weighment information via a wireless device, such as a cell phone, pertaining to a vehicle, such as truck, at a vehicle weight station. The system and method may include determining a present location of a vehicle to be weighed, verifying identification information of the vehicle to be weighed and receiving a vehicle weight from a server remote from the wireless device. The system and method may also include exchanging payment information between one or more servers and a wireless device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of providing weighment information related to a vehicle weighment, comprising:

determining, via a wireless device, a present location of a vehicle at a weigh scale;

verifying identification information of the vehicle at the weigh scale via the wireless device; and

receiving a vehicle weight via the wireless device from a server remote from the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving notification of a fee due and payable for receiving the vehicle weight.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying the present location of the vehicle at the weigh scale, the identification information, the vehicle weight and the fee on a display of the wireless device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing at least one of the present location of the vehicle, the identification information and the vehicle weight in a memory of the wireless device.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting at least one of the vehicle weight and the fee to a recipient from the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing contact information for a recipient of the weight information in a memory of the wireless device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a present location of the vehicle includes receiving vehicle position information in the wireless device, and comparing the received vehicle position information with position coordinates stored in a memory of the wireless device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a present location of the vehicle includes receiving location information in the wireless device via an input device of the wireless device.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting the present vehicle location to a recipient from the wireless device.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting the present vehicle location to a recipient from the wireless device.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying on the wireless device a scale location located at the received position coordinates when a match is found between the received vehicle position information and position coordinates of stored in the memory.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if the vehicle weighment is a first weigh or a reweigh.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating a weighing process of the vehicle prior to determining the present location of the vehicle.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on the wireless device, at least one of the present location of the weigh scale at which the vehicle is located and a location code corresponding to the weigh scale at which the vehicle is located.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising verifying, by activating a button of the wireless device, at least one of the present location of the weigh scale at which the vehicle is located and a location code corresponding to the weigh scale at which the vehicle is located.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving vehicle weighment information by the wireless device and forwarding a copy of the received vehicle weighment information to at least one third party contact stored in the wireless device.

13. A system comprising at least one server, wherein the server is configured to:

store account information of a wireless device and weighment data of a vehicle weight obtained at a truck scale,

initiate communication with a scale instrument at a present location of a vehicle at the truck scale,

transmit fee data to a wireless device for a vehicle weighment process, and

receive weighment data and account information related to the wireless device.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a remote server operatively connected to a vehicle scale and the server, the remote server configured to;

receive weighment data of a weighed vehicle and account information related to the wireless device,

store the account information of the wireless device and the weighment data of the weighed vehicle obtained at the vehicle scale, and

transmit weighment data to the server.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the remote server is further configured to receive payment for a weighment process.

27. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving vehicle weighment information by the server and forwarding a copy of the received vehicle weighment information to at least one third party contact stored in the server.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium including code that when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining a present location of a vehicle at a weigh scale;

verifying identification information of the vehicle at the weigh scale; and

receiving a vehicle weight from a server remote via the wireless device.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein code further causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving vehicle weighment information by the wireless device; and

forwarding a copy of the received vehicle weighment information to at least one third party contact stored in the wireless device.

17. A method for delivering a vehicle weighment information program for operating on a wireless device connected to a server, the method comprising:

providing a vehicle weighment information program to a wireless device via a server, the server storing at least one downloadable set of instructions;

receiving user identification information and data representative of a selected vehicle weighment information program at the server from the wireless device;

transmitting a vehicle weighment information program from the server to the wireless device in response to the server being accessed by the wireless device.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the vehicle weighment information program includes transmitting instructions that when executed on the wireless device perform:

determining a present location of a vehicle at a weigh scale to be weighed via a wireless device;

verifying identification information of the vehicle at the weigh scale to be weighed via the wireless device; and

receiving a vehicle weight via the wireless device from a server remote from the wireless device.

18. A method for obtaining a vehicle weighment information program for operating on a wireless device, the method comprising:

using the wireless device to access a server;

transmitting user identification information and data representative of a vehicle weighment information program to the server;

downloading the vehicle weighment information program from the server at the wireless device in response to the server being accessed by the wireless device; and

executing the vehicle weighment information program on the wireless device upon receiving the vehicle weighment information program from the server.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein downloading the vehicle weighment information program includes receiving instructions that when executed on the wireless device perform:

determining a present location of a vehicle at a weigh scale to be weighed via a wireless device;

verifying identification information of the vehicle at the weigh scale to be weighed via the wireless device; and

receiving a vehicle weight via the wireless device from a server remote from the wireless device.

19. (canceled)