Methods and Systems for Vehicle Security and Remote Access and Safety Control Interfaces and Notifications

• US 20180037193A1
• Filed: 10/18/2017
• Published: 02/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emerging Automotive, LLC
• Original Assignee: Emerging Automotive, LLC
• Inventors: Penilla, Angel A., Penilla, Albert S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,286,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/10 actuating a signalling device
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/30 Detection related to theft or to other events relevant to anti-theft systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 : involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 : using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 : Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 : Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 : Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 : Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 : exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 : the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 : dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 : inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• 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 4/44 : for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for managing personal security of a user of a vehicle. The vehicle has a plurality of active sensors. The active sensors include one or more of a first type of sensors that collect data and one or more of a second type of sensors that produce actions. The method includes receiving a first remote request at the vehicle to activate a first level of security. The first remote request is an override signal to actively inform said vehicle to set said first level of security for approaching said vehicle by said user. The method includes recording an area proximate to the vehicle using one of said first type of sensors and illuminating said area proximate to the vehicle using one of said second type of sensors in response to activating the first level of security and the recording producing a media file. The method includes transmitting the media file to Internet storage associated with an account of the user of the vehicle. The first remote request causes the recording and the transmitting.

Claims

1. A method for managing personal security of a user of a vehicle, comprising:

the vehicle having a plurality of active sensors, the active sensors include one or more of a first type of sensors that collect data and one or more of a second type of sensors that produce actions;

receiving a first remote request at the vehicle to activate a first level of security, the first remote request being an override signal to actively inform said vehicle to set said first level of security for approaching said vehicle by said user;

recording an area proximate to the vehicle using one of said first type of sensors and illuminating said area proximate to the vehicle using one of said second type of sensors in response to activating the first level of security, the recording producing a media file; and

transmitting the media file to Internet storage associated with an account of the user of the vehicle, wherein the first remote request causes the recording and the transmitting.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising,

receiving a second remote request at the vehicle to activate a second level of security, the second level of security activating additional ones of said first type of sensors and additional ones of said second type of sensors.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein one of said second type of sensors activated for the second level of security triggers a notification to predefined authorities, the notification including at least part of the media file.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the actions include turning on lights to produce the illumination, controlling vehicle components, controlling recording of audio or video, flashing lights, providing audible responses, sounding alarms, sounding voice messages, or combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising,

transmitting a notification to a predefined destination regarding the first remote request, wherein the transmitting of the notification is saved to history in the account of the user at the Internet storage, such that access to the Internet storage is provided to the user via the account to view or share data regarding the notification.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising,

sending a notification to the user upon activating the first level of security, the notification including data indicative of a danger condition,

wherein the danger condition is determined based on monitored conditions of unauthorized persons proximate to the vehicle before receiving the first remote request,

wherein rules define which ones of the monitored conditions should be considered said danger condition.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the notification is sent to a mobile device of the user that identifies the danger condition, a key fob for the vehicle, a predefined security agent, police, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the media file is one of video, audio, image, sounds and images, a video clip, infrared images, sound waves, impact data, or combinations thereof that can be stored in digital form.

9. A method managing security of a vehicle having electronics for managing the vehicle and for communicating wirelessly with the Internet, comprising:

receiving one or more requests at the vehicle from a wireless device handled by a user of the vehicle, wherein each one of successive requests is predefined to trigger a heightened level of security, and each of said requests is to a same security input made at said wireless device, each of the one or more request associated with an override signal to actively inform said vehicle to execute said heightened level of security for approaching said vehicle by said user;

initiating video recording proximate to the vehicle upon receiving one of the requests;

transmitting, over the Internet, a notification to a predetermined recipient concerning the one more requests received at the vehicle, the notification including at least part of the video recording; and

wherein the notification and the at least part of the video recording is saved at a remote server, connected to the Internet, associated with an account of the user for the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the account of the user for the vehicle is accessed at a website or application and the account identifies a history of events that include saved notifications and provides access to the video recordings associated with the saved notifications.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless device is a key fob having at least one button that functions as the same security input that is selected one or more times to cause the one or more requests that are received by the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless device is a portable computing device having selection options, wherein at least one of the selection options is for said same security input that is selected one or more times to cause the one or more requests that are received by the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the notification is correlated to a geographic location of the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the notification for the vehicle is added to a history database for the geographic location, the history database including notifications from a plurality of vehicles that generate notifications over time, further comprising,

generating safety grades, at a server connected to the Internet, and assigning the safety grades to a plurality of geographic locations based on past occurrences of notifications at or near the plurality of geographic locations.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising,

presenting the safety grades, upon request, to devices requesting safety history for a geographic location.