Vehicle email notification based on customer-selected severity level

• US 7,551,063 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Inbarajan, Krishnaraj
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFSASS, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US11/618,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20070171029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 340/425.2, 340/539, 340/539.22, 340/539.24, 701 29- 36
• US Class Current: 340/425.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/908 Local area network

Abstract

A vehicle email notification method and system that uses customer-selected severity settings to send special notifications to the subscriber. The notification system uses triggers to initiate the generation and transmission of email messages that provide diverse types of dynamic vehicle information to the subscriber. The email notifications are triggered by different events, some of which are independent of the vehicle (e.g., a monthly trigger), and others of which occur at the vehicle, such as a mileage or low oil life trigger. The notification system builds and sends to the subscriber an email message that contains the dynamic vehicle information along with a diagnostic result indicative of the severity level of a vehicle condition. That diagnostic result is compared to a customer-supplied severity setting to determine whether additional contact with the subscriber is needed. This allows the subscriber to receive special notification when a more severe condition exists.

Claims

1. A method of providing vehicle information to an owner or other recipient, comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing vehicle data using a telematics unit of the vehicle;

(b) transmitting the vehicle data from the telematics unit to a central data system;

(c) determining from the vehicle data a diagnostic result indicating a severity level of one or more vehicle conditions;

(d) accessing a customer-specified severity setting corresponding to the vehicle condition(s);

(e) determining whether the severity level is at or above the customer-specified severity setting and, if so, then sending a notification message concerning the vehicle condition(s) to a recipient.

2. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises performing a diagnostic check at the vehicle, generating the vehicle data from the diagnostic check, and then providing the vehicle data to the telematics unit.

3. The method set forth in claim 2, wherein step (a) is carried out automatically under software control in response to a trigger that occurs at the vehicle.

4. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises determining a general diagnostic result having one of a plurality of severity levels.

5. The method set forth in claim 4, wherein step (d) further comprises accessing a customer-specified severity setting corresponding to one the severity levels.

6. The method set forth in claim 4, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of generating an electronic message containing the general diagnostic result, and sending the electronic message to the recipient using an electronic messaging service.

7. The method set forth in claim 6, wherein the step of generating the electronic message further comprises generating an email using a markup language and a colored graphic representing the general diagnostic result.

8. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein the colored graphic is primarily, red, yellow, or green.

9. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein the colored graphic is primarily composed of one of a plurality of distinguishable colors.

10. The method set forth in claim 9, wherein the customer-specified severity setting is associated with one of the colors.

11. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises the step of generating an electronic message containing the diagnostic result, and sending the electronic message to the recipient using an electronic messaging service.

12. The method set forth in claim 11, wherein the electronic message is an email sent using a global computer network.

13. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the diagnostic result is associated with one of the following vehicle conditions:

oil life, mileage, tire pressure, engine system, air bag system, antilock brakes, and the telematics unit.

14. The method set forth in claim 1, further comprising, prior to step (a), the step of receiving from the recipient the severity setting along with contact information.

15. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein step (e) further comprises sending the notification message as a voice message, text message, or page.

16. A method of providing vehicle information to an owner or other recipient, comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing account data concerning a vehicle ancillary service;

(b) determining from the account data an account status result indicating a severity level of the ancillary service'"'"'s account status;

(c) accessing a customer-specified severity setting corresponding to the ancillary service;

(d) determining whether the severity level is at or above the customer-specified severity setting and, if so, then sending a notification message concerning the ancillary service'"'"'s account status to a recipient.

17. The method set forth in claim 16, wherein the ancillary service comprises one of the following:

a vehicle telematics subscription, a hands free telephone service, or a satellite radio service.

18. The method set forth in claim 16, wherein steps (a)-(d) are carried out in response to a trigger occurring at the vehicle.

19. The method set forth in claim 16, further comprising, prior to step (a), the steps of accessing vehicle data at the vehicle and transmitting the vehicle data to a central data system, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of determining a diagnostic result using the vehicle data, incorporating the diagnostic result and account status result into an email, and sending the email to the recipient.

20. The method set forth in claim 16, wherein step (d) further comprises sending the notification message as a voice message, text message, or page.