Method and system for vehicle emissions testing at a kiosk through on-board diagnostics unit inspection
DCFirst Claim
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1. A system for vehicle emissions testing, comprising:
- at least one remote data storage location; and
a plurality of inspection locations, each of said inspection locations having an overview camera for capturing images of the vehicle during testing and having at least one kiosk that includesat least one input device for receiving identifying information associated with the vehicle,an OBD scanning device for connecting to the OBD unit of the vehicle for emissions testing, anddata transfer equipment;
wherein information and data solicited by the OBD scanning device is compared to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the solicited information and data, and if not, the identifying information is packaged with the solicited information and data, along with one or more images from the overview camera, into an inspection record for subsequent transmission to said remote data storage location using the data transfer equipment.
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Abstract
A decentralized method and system for vehicle emissions testing uses the OBD unit of the vehicle to be tested and includes a remote data storage location in communication with a plurality of decentralized inspection stations or test locations. Each inspection location is designed to allow for “self-service” inspection through a kiosk that includes all of the hardware and software necessary to carry out the testing process and to communicate test data and information to the remote storage location.
51 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for vehicle emissions testing, comprising:
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at least one remote data storage location; and a plurality of inspection locations, each of said inspection locations having an overview camera for capturing images of the vehicle during testing and having at least one kiosk that includes at least one input device for receiving identifying information associated with the vehicle, an OBD scanning device for connecting to the OBD unit of the vehicle for emissions testing, and data transfer equipment; wherein information and data solicited by the OBD scanning device is compared to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the solicited information and data, and if not, the identifying information is packaged with the solicited information and data, along with one or more images from the overview camera, into an inspection record for subsequent transmission to said remote data storage location using the data transfer equipment.
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2. A system for vehicle emissions testing, comprising:
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at least one remote data storage location; and a plurality of inspection locations, each of said inspection locations having at least one kiosk that includes at least one input device for receiving identifying associated with the vehicle, an OBD scanning device for connecting to the OBD unit of the vehicle for emissions testing, and data transfer equipment; wherein information and data solicited by the OBD scanning device is compared to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the solicited information and data, and if not, the identifying information is packaged with the solicited information and data into an inspection record for subsequent transmission to said remote data storage location using the data transfer equipment. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A kiosk for vehicle emissions testing, comprising:
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a cabinet; a computer housed within said cabinet; a display device operably linked to the computer for providing testing instructions to an individual; an input device for receiving identifying information associated with a vehicle, such identifying information being stored in an inspection record in the computer; an OBD scanning device operably linked to the computer and adapted for connection to an OBD connector of a vehicle, upon such connection, said OBD scanning device interrogating and soliciting information and data from the vehicle and storing said information and data in the inspection record stored in the computer, wherein said computer compares the information and data stored in the inspection record to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the information and data; and a means for communicating the inspection record to a remote storage location provided that no irregularities were identified in the information and data. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for vehicle emissions testing, comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one remote data storage location; providing at least one testing kiosk, including a computer, an OBD scanning device, an input device, and a display device; prompting an individual, through said display device, to input identifying information associated with a particular vehicle via said input device; storing said identifying information in an inspection record in the computer; prompting an individual, through said display device, to connect the OBD scanning device to an OBD connector of the particular vehicle, said OBD scanning device interrogating and soliciting information and data from the vehicle and storing said information and data in the inspection record stored in the computer; comparing the solicited information and data to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the solicited information and data that would indicate fraud; and if no irregularities are identified, completing the testing and communicating the inspection record to the remote data storage location. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for vehicle emissions testing, comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one remote data storage location; providing at least one testing kiosk, including a computer, an OBD scanning device, an input device, and a display device; prompting an individual, through said display device, to input identifying information associated with a particular vehicle via said input device; storing said identifying information in an inspection record in the computer; prompting an individual, through said display device, to connect the OBD scanning device to an OBD connector of the particular vehicle, said OBD scanning device interrogating and soliciting information and data from the vehicle and storing said information and data in the inspection record stored in the computer; capturing one or more images of the vehicle during testing and storing said images in the inspection record stored in the computer; comparing the solicited information and data to a knowledge base of known testing data to identify whether there are any irregularities in the solicited information and data that would indicate fraud; and if no irregularities are identified, completing the testing and communicating the inspection record to the remote data storage location.
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Specification