Vehicle location system

• US 6,489,897 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2001
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RFC Capital Holdings Inc.
• Original Assignee: Payment Protection Services Ltd.
• Inventors: Simon, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US09/954,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20020039071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/992, 340/425.5, 340/988, 342/357.07, 701/30, 701/29, 701/213, 705/22, 705/38, 705/40
• US Class Current: 340/426.19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/08 With time considerations, e.g. temporary activation, valid time window or time limitations
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00658 operated by passive electrical keys
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/30 not involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/24 for parking meters
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

A vehicle location system which operates to provide a location of a vehicle. Specifically, if a payment due date associated with the vehicle has passed and a payment has not been received for the vehicle, the vehicle location system operates to provide the vehicle'"'"'s location to a service agency. The service agency can then locate and repossess the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle location system can be activated if it is detected that the vehicle is being tampered with. The location of the vehicle can be determined using global positioning satellites or by triangulation using base stations in mobile radio systems.

Claims

1. A method for locating a vehicle comprising the steps of:

determining by a device within the vehicle whether a payment due date has passed;

if the payment due date has passed, performing the steps of

activating, without receiving signals from outside of the vehicle, a location determining device;

providing the location of the vehicle from the location determining device to a location providing device; and

sending the location of the vehicle from the location providing device to a service agency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location determining device and the location providing device are a separate components within a single device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein GPS signals are used to determine the location of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a triangulation of signals from base stations associated with a mobile telephone system is used to determine the location of the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing, by the service agency, the location of the vehicle on an Internet web page; and

confiscating the vehicle using the location.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

illuminating a red light when a payment on the vehicle is past due.

7. A system for locating a vehicle comprising:

a vehicle disablement system, wherein the vehicle disablement system disables the vehicle if a code associated with a payment due date is not entered prior to the payment due date;

a location system, the location system comprising

a location determining device, wherein the location determining device determines a location of the vehicle when the vehicle disablement system indicates that a payment due date has passed without receiving a code associated with the payment due date, and wherein the location determining device is activated without receiving signals from outside of the vehicle; and

a location providing device, wherein the location providing device receives the location of the vehicle from the location determining device and provides the location of the vehicle to a service agency.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the location providing device and the location determining device are comprised in a mobile radio telephone, a global positioning system (GPS) module in the mobile radio telephone determines the vehicle position and the mobile radio telephone provides the location of the vehicle to the service agency over an air interface to a base station associated with a radio communication system.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the location providing device comprises only a transmitter portion of a mobile radio telephone.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the service agency has an interest in the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the service agency has a contract with a party who has an interest in the vehicle for determining the location of the vehicle when the payment due date has passed without the vehicle disablement device receiving a code associated with the payment due date.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a red and green light to indicate whether a payment is due.

13. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a tampering detector, wherein if the tampering detector determines that the vehicle disablement device or the location system has been tampered with, the tampering detector activates the location system to provide the location of the vehicle to the service agency.

14. A system for locating a vehicle comprising:

a location determining device, wherein the location determining device determines a location of the vehicle when a payment due date has passed without a payment having been made, wherein the determination of whether a payment due date has passed without a payment having been made is determined within the vehicle; and

a location providing device, wherein the location providing device receives the location of the vehicle from the location determining device and provides the location of the vehicle to a service agency.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the location providing device and the location determining device are comprised in a mobile radio telephone, a global positioning satellite (GPS) module in the mobile radio telephone determines the vehicle position and the mobile radio telephone provides the location of the vehicle to the service agency over an air interface to a base station associated with a radio communication system.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the service agency has an interest in the vehicle.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the service agency has a contract with a party who has an interest in the vehicle for determining the location of the vehicle when the payment due date has passed without the vehicle disablement device receiving a code associated with the payment due date.

18. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a red, yellow and green light and an audible sound to indicate whether a payment is due.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a tampering detector, wherein if the tampering detector determines that the location system has been tampered with, the tampering detector activates the location system to provide the location of the vehicle to the service agency.

20. A method for providing a location of a vehicle comprising the steps of:

activating, without receiving signals from outside of the vehicle, a location determining device if a payment due date associated with the vehicle has passed without a payment associated with the payment due date having been received for the vehicle, wherein the determination is made within the vehicle;

providing the location of the vehicle from a location determining device to a location providing device; and

sending the location of the vehicle from the location providing device to a service agency.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein GPS signals are used to determine the location of the vehicle.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein a triangulation of signals from base stations associated with a mobile telephone system is used to determine the location of the vehicle.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

illuminating a yellow light and producing an audible sound when a payment on the vehicle is coming due; and

illuminating a red light and producing a constant audible sound when a payment on the vehicle is past due.