Automatic communication of subscription-specific messages to a telematics equipped vehicle

• US 7,650,229 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Oesterling, Christopher L., Dorfstatter, Walter A., Peterson, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peche; Jorge O
• Application Number:
  US11/426,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20080004788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/33, 701/29, 701/36, 701/208, 701/101, 701/119, 701/118, 701/200, 701/34, 455/466, 455/412.1, 455/345, 455/41.2, 455/556.1, 455/557, 455/553.1, 455/552.1, 455/405, 455/411, 455/420, 455/426.1
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• 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: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing

Abstract

A method of automatically communicating subscription-specific messages to a telematics-equipped vehicle includes the following steps: a) establishing a trigger and a message associated with the trigger; b) setting the trigger; c) monitoring for the occurrence of one or more conditions that satisfy the trigger; and d) determining that the one or more conditions have occurred and, if so, then; e) accessing the message associated with the trigger; and f) playing the message.

Claims

1. A method of automatically communicating subscription-specific messages to a telematics-equipped vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a trigger and a message associated with the trigger;

(b) setting the trigger;

(c) monitoring for occurrence of one or more conditions that satisfy the trigger; and

(d) determining whether the one or more conditions have occurred and, if so, then;

(e) accessing the message associated with the trigger; and

(f) playing the message.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

(g) storing the trigger and the message in a call center; and

(h) downloading the trigger to the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of:

(i) uploading data associated with the trigger from the vehicle to the call center.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of:

(j) downloading the message from the call center to the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishing step comprises generating one or more computer files that specify the trigger and the message.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the setting step comprises setting the trigger in the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring step comprises using a vehicle telematics unit.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining step comprises executing a computer program using a vehicle telematics unit with input from a vehicle system module to determine if the one or more conditions have been satisfied.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing step comprises accessing memory in a call center.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the playing step comprises executing a computer file containing the message.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the playing step comprises executing a computer file containing the message.

11. A method of automatically communicating subscription-specific messages to a telematics-equipped vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a trigger and a message associated with the trigger;

(b) storing the trigger and the message in a call center;

(c) downloading the trigger to the vehicle from the call center;

(d) setting the trigger in the vehicle;

(e) monitoring for occurrence of one or more conditions that satisfy the trigger; and

(f) determining whether the one or more conditions have occurred and, if so, then;

(g) uploading data associated with the trigger from the vehicle to the call center in response to the determining step;

(h) accessing the message associated with the trigger from memory in the call center;

(i) downloading the message from the call center to the vehicle; and

(j) playing the message in the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the establishing step comprises generating one or more computer files that specify the trigger and the message.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the monitoring step comprises using a vehicle telematics unit.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the determining step comprises executing a computer program using a vehicle telematics unit with input from a vehicle system module to determine if the one or more conditions have been satisfied.