Method and system for dynamic information exchange on a mesh network in a vehicle

• US 8,305,936 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2011
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 2, LLC
• Original Assignee: Mobitrum Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Ray
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moutaouakil, Mounir
• Application Number:
  US13/083,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20110235627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370254-255, 370/338, 370406-408, 370/248, 701/29, 701/30, 701/31, 701/32, 701/33, 701/34, 701/35, 701 291- 344
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/16 Implementing security features at a particular protocol layer
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method and system for dynamic information exchange on a mesh network in a vehicle. The dynamic information exchange includes determining if a vehicle needs immediate repair. And if so, automatically determining a nearest repair facility and sending a message to the nearest repair facility indicating the vehicle will be arriving shortly. The message also includes a list of parts required to repair the vehicle. The dynamic information exchange on the mesh network also includes information about vehicle movement, including, an accident impact, theft or illness or injury to an operator of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for dynamic mesh information interchange, comprising:

receiving on a first mesh network device with one or more processors a first wireless mesh message via a wireless mesh network including a plurality of other mesh network devices each with one or more processors in a vehicle, the first mesh network device communicating with the plurality of mesh network devices monitoring a plurality of different components on the vehicle, the first mesh network device including an ultra wideband wireless transceiver, a mesh network protocol adapter for communicating with the wireless mesh network and a wireless communications network protocol adapter for communicating with a non-mesh wireless communications network and including Complementary Code Keying (CCK), Differential Quaternary Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) encoders;

determining automatically on the first mesh network device whether the first wireless mesh message includes information about a problem detected in the vehicle that requires an immediate repair of the vehicle, and if so,

determining automatically on the first mesh network device a current physical location of the vehicle via a wireless non-mesh communications network,

determining automatically on the first mesh network device a closest vehicle repair facility based on the determined current physical location of the vehicle via the wireless non-mesh communications network, and

sending automatically a wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device to a first server network device with one or more processors via the wireless non-mesh communications network at the determined closest vehicle repair facility via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating the vehicle will be arriving at the determined closest vehicle repair facility for repairs and automatically generating and including a list of replacement parts necessary to repair the vehicle in the wireless non-mesh communications message; and

notifying automatically from the first mesh network device an operator of the vehicle about the detected problem and the determined closest vehicle repair facility via a first audio message or a first visual message displayed inside the vehicle.

2. One or more processors including a non-transitory computer readable medium have stored therein a plurality of software instructions for causing the one or more processors to execute the steps of the method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mesh network device includes a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag, RFID sensor, RFID biometric tag mesh network device, a stand-alone mesh network device, a non-mesh network device including the first mesh network device embedded therein or a non-mesh network device including the first mesh network device connected thereto.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network device further includes a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) sensor portal, RFID tag portal or RFID biometric tag portal, mesh network device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining on the first mesh network device the current physical location of the vehicle includes determining the current physical location of the vehicle with three-dimensional (3D) (X, Y, Z) space coordinates.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining on the first mesh network device the current physical location of the vehicle includes determining the current physical location of the vehicle with Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.

7. The method claim 1 wherein the first wireless mesh network message includes an IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee), IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.16a, 802.16g, Bluetooth or Infrared wireless protocol communications message sent via the mesh communications network.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sending the wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device to the first server network device includes sending the wireless non-mesh communications message using a pre-determined security method over the wireless non-mesh communications network.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the pre-determined security method includes a Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP), Wireless-Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), Robust Security Network (RSN), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), Message Digest-5 (MD-5), Electronic Code Book (ECB), Diffie and Hellman (DH), HyperText Transport Protocol Secure, (HTTPs), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), or a Transport Layer Security (TLS) security method.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sending the wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device to the first server network device over the wireless non-mesh communications network includes sending a cellular telephone, a Packet Cellular Network (PCN), Global System for Mobile Communications, (GSM), Generic Packet Radio Services (GPRS), network/Personal Communications Services network (PCS), a Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/Internet Protocol (IP) network, Voice over IP (VoIP), Short Message Service (SMS), electronic mail (e-mail), facsimile, or social networking, non-mesh wireless communications message.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the wireless non-mesh communications message includes one or more electronic identifiers comprising:

a vehicle identification number (VIN), a vehicle license number, a vehicle owner name, a non-mesh communications network address, a mesh communications network address, a telephone number, an e-mail identifier, an instant message identifier, a text message identifier, a mesh network identifier, a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) identifier, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or a social networking web-site login identifier.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the ultra wideband wireless transceiver on the first mesh network device includes a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) wireless transceiver.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle includes a land vehicle, marine vehicle, aviation vehicle, space vehicle or rail-road vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing from the first mesh network device navigation directions to the determined closest vehicle repair facility via a second audio message or a second visual message displayed inside the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the navigation directions include driving directions, air traffic control directions, marine directions or rail-road switching directions.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a type movement of the vehicle from the first mesh network device;

sending automatically a second wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device in the vehicle to a second server network device with one or more processors via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating a type of detected movement of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the type of movement of the vehicle includes an impact from an accident, a theft of the vehicle or an impact from an injury or illness of the operator of the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

determining on the second server network device whether the detected type of movement includes movement from an emergency situation in or around the vehicle and if so,

sending automatically an emergency wireless non-mesh communications message from server network device to an emergency server network device via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating emergency situation has occurred in or around the vehicle, wherein the emergency wireless non-mesh communications message includes the determined current physical location of the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the emergency wireless non-mesh communications message is a 911, E911 or other emergency message.

20. A system for dynamic information interchange for mesh network devices, comprising in combination:

for receiving on a first mesh network device with one or more processors a first wireless mesh message via a wireless mesh network including a plurality of other mesh network devices each with one or more processors in a vehicle, the first mesh network device communicating with the plurality of mesh network devices monitoring a plurality of different components on the vehicle, the first mesh network device including an ultra wideband wireless transceiver, a mesh network protocol adapter for communicating with the wireless mesh network and a wireless communications network protocol adapter for communicating with a non-mesh wireless communications network and including Complementary Code Keying (CCK), Differential Quaternary Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) encoders;

for determining automatically on the first mesh network device whether the first wireless mesh message includes information about a problem detected in the vehicle that requires an immediate repair of the vehicle, and if so,

for determining automatically on the first mesh network device a current physical location of the vehicle via a wireless non-mesh communications network,

for determining automatically on the first mesh network device a closest vehicle repair facility based on the determined current physical location of the vehicle via the wireless non-mesh communications network, and

for sending automatically a wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device to a first server network device with one or more processors via the wireless non-mesh communications network at the determined closest vehicle repair facility via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating the vehicle will be arriving at the determined closest vehicle repair facility for repairs and including a list of replacement parts necessary to repair the vehicle;

for notifying automatically from the first mesh network device an operator of the vehicle about the detected problem and the determined closest vehicle repair facility via a first audio message or a first visual message displayed inside the vehicle;

for detecting a type movement of the vehicle from the first mesh network device;

for sending automatically a second wireless non-mesh communications message from the first mesh network device in the vehicle to a second server network device with one or more processors via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating a type of detected movement of the vehicle;

for determining on the second server network device whether the detected type of movement includes movement from an emergency situation in or around the vehicle and if so,

for sending automatically an emergency wireless non-mesh communications message from server network device to an emergency server network device via the wireless non-mesh communications network thereby indicating emergency situation has occurred in or around the vehicle, wherein the emergency wireless non-mesh communications message includes the determined current physical location of the vehicle.