Method and Apparatus For Social Telematics

• US 20150163620A1
• Filed: 02/17/2015
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alexander Flavio Panelli
• Original Assignee: Alexander Flavio Panelli
• Inventors: Panelli, Alexander Flavio
• Application Number:
  US14/624,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20150163620A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/5035 electronic displays
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/544 for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle occupants, e.g. for indicating disabled occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/10 Registration, licensing, or like devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

In a first embodiment, the present invention permits an occupant of a vehicle to enter a message, with a handheld communications device having Wide Area Network (WAN) capability, and to have the message externally displayed for reading by persons who are not occupants of the vehicle. The message is displayed by an on-board telematic unit. In addition to a display, the telematic unit can contain a variety of sensors and/or effectors. Sensor readings from a vehicle X can be updated, approximately continuously, in a record (of a vehicle-oriented database) that stores information particular to vehicle X. The vehicle-oriented database can provide an open Application Programming Interface, in order to serve as a platform for a wide variety of application programs (or Apps). An App is presented that permits a person to contact the occupants, of a vehicle X, based only upon information from vehicle X'"'"'s license plate.

Claims

1. A method for social interaction, comprising:

viewing, by a first person who is not an occupant of a first vehicle, a first license plate of the first vehicle;

extracting, as a result of the viewing, first information from the first license plate;

composing a first address, identifying the first vehicle, by application of an addressing procedure to the first information;

composing, by the first person, a first message;

transmitting the first message and the first address, via a first communications network, to a first data and communication center;

selecting, performed by the first data and communication center using the first address, a first record representing the first vehicle;

identifying, using information from the first record, a first destination to which the first message can be sent; and

transmitting the first message to the first destination, via a second communications network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first person is a second occupant of a second vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is intended for receipt by a first occupant of the first vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of composing a first address further comprises:

combining a first indication of state and a first license plate number, as extracted from the first license plate, to produce an identifier with a high probability of uniquely identifying the first vehicle.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the following step:

viewing, by the second occupant of the second vehicle, a second message displayed by the first vehicle; and

wherein the first message is a intended to be a first response to the second message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of composing a first message further comprises:

entering the first message into a first handheld device, wherein the first handheld device is capable of sending and receiving messages via a cellular communications network.

7. A method for social interaction, comprising:

capturing a first computer-readable image, by a first apparatus on-board a first vehicle, of a second license plate of a second vehicle;

automatically extracting, from the first image, second information from the second license plate;

composing a second address, identifying the second vehicle, by application of an addressing procedure to the second information; and

transmitting a second message and the second address, via a first communications network, to the second vehicle, wherein the second message is composed by a first person occupant of the first vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of transmitting is accomplished with a wireless local area network, to which are connected the first apparatus and a receiver, on-board the second vehicle, of the second message.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of transmitting further comprises:

transmitting the second message to a wide area network; and

receiving, with a second apparatus on-board the second vehicle, the second message, wherein the second apparatus receives the second message via a wide area network.

10. A method for social interaction, comprising:

capturing a first computer-readable image, by a first apparatus on-board a first vehicle, of a second license plate of a second vehicle;

automatically extracting, from the first image, second information from the second license plate;

composing a second address, identifying the second vehicle, by application of an addressing procedure to the second information;

transmitting the second address, via a first communications network, to a first data and communication center; and

selecting, performed by the first data and communication center using the second address, a second record associated with the second vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying, using information from the second record, the second vehicle as subject to an amber alert.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting a message to a law-enforcement authority, in response to the amber alert identification.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, using information from the second record, a second message to the second vehicle, wherein the second message is composed by a first person occupant of the first vehicle.