Vehicle maintenance event reporting system

• US 8,155,817 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2011
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Oesterling, Christopher L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US13/047,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20110166739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• Field of Search: 701 29- 36, 340442-447
• US Class Current: 701/29
• 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 maintenance event reporting system and method that utilizes a vehicle email notification system in which triggers are used to initiate the generation and transmission of email messages that provide diverse types of dynamic vehicle information to the owner or other authorized 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. Maintenance service events such as an oil change reset are detected and used to trigger email reporting to the subscriber as well as to transmit the oil change reset event back to a central data system where it is included in a vehicle maintenance record.

Claims

1. A system for providing vehicle information to an owner or other recipient, comprising:

a vehicle having a telematics unit and other onboard electronics; and

a central data system that communicates with the vehicle via the telematics unit over a wireless communication system;

wherein the telematics unit electronically detects a maintenance service event from the onboard electronics, establishes a communication session with the central data system, and reports the maintenance service event over the communication session; and

wherein the central data system operates automatically in response to the reported maintenance service event to send a notification message to a recipient.

2. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the telematics unit includes a processor and memory storing a computer readable program that operates upon execution by the processor to carry out the step of detecting an oil change reset as the maintenance service event.

3. The system set forth in claim 2, wherein the onboard electronics includes a driver information center and wherein the telematics unit is further operable upon execution of the program to detect a manual resetting of a calculated oil life via the driver information center.

4. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the central data system operates to send the notification message such that it contains (1) vehicle data represented in language characters, (2) vehicle identification information unique to the vehicle, and (3) a diagnostic result indicating whether some action is required to address one or more vehicle conditions.

5. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the central data system operates to send the notification message as an email containing dynamic vehicle data.

6. The system set forth in claim 5, wherein the central data system generates the email using a markup language.

7. The system set forth in claim 1, wherein the telematics unit is programmed to set a trigger on the vehicle in response to the maintenance service event and wherein the telematics unit establishes the communication session over a cellular communication system via a call placed from the telematics unit to the central data system.

8. The system set forth in claim 1, further wherein the central data system operates to record the maintenance service event in a maintenance record for the vehicle.

9. A system for providing vehicle maintenance information, comprising:

a vehicle having a telematics unit and other onboard electronics; and

a central data system that communicates with the vehicle via the telematics unit over a wireless communication system;

wherein the telematics unit electronically detects a maintenance service event from the onboard electronics, establishes a communication session with the central data system, and reports the maintenance service event over the communication session; and

wherein the central data system operates automatically in response to the reported maintenance service event to record the maintenance service event in a maintenance record for the vehicle.

10. The system set forth in claim 9, wherein the telematics unit includes a processor and memory storing a computer readable program that operates upon execution by the processor to carry out the step of detecting an oil change reset as the maintenance service event.

11. The system set forth in claim 10, wherein the onboard electronics includes a driver information center and wherein the telematics unit is further operable upon execution of the program to detect a manual resetting of a calculated oil life via the driver information center.

12. The system set forth in claim 9, wherein the central data system sends a notification message to a recipient in response to the reported maintenance service event.

13. The system set forth in claim 12, wherein the central data system operates to send the notification message as an email containing dynamic vehicle data.

14. The system set forth in claim 13, wherein the central data system generates the email using a markup language.

15. The system set forth in claim 9, wherein the telematics unit is programmed to set a trigger on the vehicle in response to the maintenance service event and wherein the telematics unit establishes the communication session over a cellular communication system via a call placed from the telematics unit to the central data system.

16. A system for providing vehicle information to an owner or other recipient, comprising:

a central data system;

a vehicle having a telematics unit that includes a processor and memory storing a program accessible by the processor, wherein the telematics unit operates upon execution of the program to carry out the steps of;

(a) detecting an oil change reset on a vehicle equipped to electronically determine a remaining oil life;

(b) setting a trigger in the vehicle in response to the oil change reset;

(c) detecting occurrence of the trigger;

(d) establishing a communication session between the telematics unit and the central data system in response to the occurrence of the trigger; and

(e) transmitting dynamic vehicle data from the vehicle to the central data system over the communication session; and

an electronic message generating system that is in communication with the central data system and that includes at least one programmed computer that automatically generates and sends an email message utilizing at least some of the dynamic vehicle data by executing one or more centralized software-controlled processes that carry out the steps of;

(f) incorporating the received dynamic vehicle data into an email message along with static vehicle data and one or more predetermined textual messages; and

(g) sending the email out over a global public computer network using an electronic messaging system.

17. The system set forth in claim 16, wherein the central data system comprises a vehicle data upload system.

18. The system set forth in claim 16, wherein the dynamic vehicle data incorporated into the email message includes vehicle mileage and oil life represented in language characters.

19. The system set forth in claim 16, wherein the dynamic vehicle data comprises vehicle data that changes as a result of operation of the vehicle and wherein the static vehicle data comprises vehicle data that does not change in response to operation of the vehicle.

20. The system set forth in claim 16, wherein the telematics unit operates upon execution of the program to transmit the oil change reset to the central data system and wherein the central data system records the oil change reset in a maintenance record for the vehicle.