Promotional correlation with selective vehicle modes

• US 8,392,101 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Kare, Jordin T., Nugent, Thomas J. Jr., Tegreene, Clarence T., Whitmer, Charles, Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): EL CHANTI, HUSSEIN A
• Application Number:
  US12/587,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20110029357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 701109-110, 701/123
• US Class Current: 701/123
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates

Abstract

Exemplary methods, systems and components enable selective control of an operational mode for a vehicle that is subject to an administrative standard. In some instances a qualified person or entity may attain a possible consequential result related to a user-selected vehicle operation mode that may involve a vehicle operation paradigm and/or a vehicle travel route and/or a vehicle travel destination. In some embodiments, implementation of the selected vehicle operation mode may modify a conformity status of the vehicle relative to the administrative standard. Various accessible records may be maintained regarding administrative compliance states and their respective benefits, as well as regarding certification of preferable consequential results available to qualified recipients based on a correlated vehicle operational mode.

Claims

1. A method for promotional correlation with selective vehicle modes, comprising:

using one or more processors to perform the steps of;

identifying a compliance state relative to a given administrative standard defining one or more predetermined vehicle operation modes of a first type of a vehicle traveling via a particular route or area, the compliance state corresponding to a first benefit that accrues based on conformity with the given administrative standard;

establishing a preferred promotional result that is different from the first benefit, which preferred promotional result correlates with at least one different type of vehicle operation mode implemented during an applicable travel period via the particular route or area subject to the given administrative standard;

providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result; and

receiving a notification confirming a conformity status of the vehicle based on the implemented vehicle operation mode that is sufficient to qualify for the preferred promotional result.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing preferred promotional result information that indicates the correlation between the preferred promotional result and the at least one type of vehicle operation mode.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

correlating the preferred promotional result with the at least one type of vehicle operation mode implemented during all or a portion of the applicable travel period.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to the notification, making the preferred promotional result available to a qualified recipient associated with the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to the notification, authorizing the preferred promotional result to be available to a qualified recipient associated with the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving the notification confirming the conformity status of the vehicle includes:

receiving directly or indirectly from the vehicle the notification that indicates the implemented vehicle operation mode.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available includes:

making the preferred promotional result available based on a qualification with two or more implemented vehicle operation modes during travel via the particular route or area.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result that is correlated with the type of vehicle operation mode implemented during travel via one or more possible travel routes or areas having different respective compliance states and/or different respective accrued benefits pursuant to their respective administrative standards.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing preferred promotional result information that is indicated on a communication device accessible in the vehicle or accessible remotely from the vehicle or accessible on a mobile communication device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing preferred promotional result information that is indicated on a communication device accessible to an operator or driver or passenger or owner or lessor or lessee or fleet manager of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing preferred promotional result information that is accessible prior to a user-selected implementation of one or more optional vehicle operational modes.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing promotional result information that is accessible prior to a user-selected choice of a type of vehicle to travel via the particular route or area subject to the given administrative standard.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing promotional result information that is accessible prior to the vehicle proceeding along the particular route or area subject to the given administrative standard.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said identifying the compliance state includes:

identifying the compliance state that includes one or more of the following types of qualification requirements;

number of passengers, HOV lane account status, toll road account status, public road standard, public area standard, private road standard, private area standard, electric power mode, combustion/electric hybrid mode, combustion fuel content, bio-fuel content, natural gas fuel, engine efficiency, miles/per/gallon calibration, combustion emission, zero-emissions, exhaust content, maximum speed limitation, safety metric, environmental guideline.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing the preferred promotional result includes:

establishing two or more preferred promotional results which are respectively based on detection of different implemented vehicle operation modes.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving the notification that confirms the conformity status includes:

receiving the notification directly or indirectly from a detection and/or monitoring device in the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving vehicle identifier data indicative of one or more identification characteristics for the vehicle traveling via the particular route or area.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

receiving vehicle identifier data from a communication device located in the vehicle or external to the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said receiving vehicle identifier data includes:

receiving vehicle identifier data from a communication device associated with the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said receiving vehicle identifier data includes:

receiving vehicle identifier data from a communication device associated with one or more of the following;

operator or driver or passenger or owner or lessor or lessee or fleet manager of the vehicle.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving identifier data indicative of one or more identification characteristics for a qualified recipient of the preferred promotional result.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said receiving identifier data indicative of one or more identification characteristics includes:

receiving identification characteristics for one or more of the following type of qualified recipients;

operator or driver or passenger or owner or lessor or lessee or fleet manager of the vehicle.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to a qualified recipient includes:

making an award or value or advantage available to a qualified recipient as part of the preferred promotional result.

24. The method of claim 4 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to the qualified recipient includes:

making an award or value or advantage available to one or more of the following type of qualified recipients based on the implemented vehicle operation mode;

vehicle, operator, driver, passenger, vehicle owner, vehicle lessor, vehicle lessee, vehicle fleet owner, vehicle fleet manager.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

correlating the preferred promotional result with the at least one predetermined vehicle operation mode implemented during travel via alternative routes or areas that are respectively subject to an applicable given administrative standard.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to the qualified recipient associated with the vehicle includes:

making one or more preferred promotional results respectively available upon arrival at one or more of the following types of specified destinations;

primary destination, secondary destination, alternate destination, intermediate destination.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said making one or more preferred promotional results respectively available upon arrival includes:

making the preferred promotional result available at one or more of the following types of specified destination;

battery recharge station, battery renewal facility, high-voltage recharge station, low-voltage recharge station, battery replacement station, priority battery service, fuel supply station, diesel combustion fuel station, gasoline combustion fuel station, natural gas fuel station, bio-fuel station, priority fuel service.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein said making one or more preferred promotional results respectively available upon arrival includes:

making the preferred promotional result available at one or more of the following types of specified destination;

parking facility, overnight accommodation, residence, office facility, vehicle repair station, vehicle accessory store, Internet access location, public transit station, private transit site, rented-vehicle return site, vehicle inspection location, jurisdictional border, licensing authority, tax assessment site, monitoring unit, detection lane.

29. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

correlating the preferred promotional result with the at least one predetermined vehicle operation mode that is implemented during a temporal period of travel having different respective compliance states and/or different corresponding accrued benefits.

30. The method of claim 4 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to the qualified recipient includes:

making one or more of the following type of award or value or advantage available as part of the preferred promotional result;

priority access to battery recharge station, priority battery servicing, reduced cost for battery recharge, free battery renewal service, customized battery recharge, discounted cost for battery replacement, special warranty on new battery purchase, higher quality battery purchase at standard price.

31. The method of claim 4 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to the qualified recipient includes:

making one or more of the following type of award or value or advantage available as part of the preferred promotional result;

reduced vehicle registration fees, reduced fuel price, priority fuel purchase, preferred parking location, reduced parking fee, tax credit, traffic lane usage, bridge usage, reduced toll rate, financial rebate, store discount, product discount, membership offer.

32. The method of claim 4 wherein said making the preferred promotional result available to the qualified recipient includes:

making an award or value or advantage available upon arrival at one or more of the following types of destination;

parking lot, road exit, traffic lane entry, traffic lane exit, bridge entry, bridge exit, retail store, service store, event location, event ticket office, transit station.

33. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

presenting a certification of an actual award or value or advantage included as part of the preferred promotional result.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

presenting to a qualified recipient the certification provided by or on behalf of a person or entity associated with the preferred promotional result.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

encoding the certification on an electronic record associated with the vehicle.

36. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

encoding the certification on an electronic record associated with an operator or driver or passenger or owner or lessor or lessee or fleet manager of the vehicle.

37. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

posting the certification to an account record or an electronic card associated with the vehicle.

38. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

posting the certification to an account record or an electronic card associated with an operator or driver or passenger or owner or lessor or lessee or fleet manager of the vehicle.

39. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

presenting to a qualified recipient the certification of the actual award or value or advantage provided by or on behalf of one or more of the following;

vehicle manufacturer, vehicle sales entity, governmental entity, environmental entity, insurance company, insurance sales agent, fuel manufacturer, fuel sales entity, vehicle engine/component manufacturer, vehicle engine/component sales entity, “

green”

product company, “

green”

services company, “

green”

rebate entity.

40. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

presenting the certification to a qualified recipient upon arrival at a specified destination associated with the preferred promotional result.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein said presenting the certification to the qualified recipient upon arrival at the specified destination includes:

presenting the certification to one or more of the following type of qualified recipients upon arrival at the specified destination associated with the preferred promotional result;

operator, driver, passenger, vehicle owner, vehicle lessor, vehicle lessee, vehicle fleet owner, vehicle fleet manager.

42. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

presenting the certification that delineates an identification of the qualified recipient of the actual award or value or advantage.

43. The method of claim 33 wherein said presenting the certification includes:

presenting the certification that includes a description of the actual award or value or advantage.

44. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving the notification confirming the conformity status of the vehicle includes:

receiving confirmation of the implemented vehicle operation mode sufficient to attain the preferred promotional result, wherein such implemented vehicle operating mode also enables conformity with one or more possible compliance states relative to the given administrative standard.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving the notification confirming the conformity status of the vehicle includes:

receiving confirmation of the modified conformity status that provides an accrued second benefit of different or lesser value as compared to the accrued first benefit.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing the preferred promotional result includes:

establishing the preferred promotional result that correlates with the implemented vehicle operation mode to cause an over-ride or cancellation of a default vehicle operational mode during travel on the particular route or area and/or during travel during a temporal period, which is subject to the given administrative standard.

47. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing preferred promotional result information that indicates the correlation between the preferred promotional result and a specified time period for implementing the vehicle operation mode.

48. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving the notification indicating a partial achievement of a required implementation of the vehicle operation mode during the applicable travel period.

49. The method of claim 48 further comprising:

authorizing a reduced or lesser preferred promotional result based on the partial achievement of the required implementation of the vehicle operation mode.

50. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing notice of the implemented vehicle operation mode to an entity associated with giving an award or value or advantage to a qualified recipient.

51. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

making a data record of an actual award or value or advantage that is included as part of the preferred promotional result obtained by a qualified recipient.

52. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result includes:

providing preferred promotional result information regarding one or more of the following types of qualification criteria;

redemption expiration, non-transferability, geographic redemption boundaries, cumulative vehicle performance, previous promotional result status, value limitation, multiple/duplicate award disqualification.

53. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having encoded instructions, the encoded instructions configured to be executed by a processor to perform the following method:

identifying a compliance state relative to a given administrative standard defining one or more predetermined vehicle operation modes of a first type of a vehicle traveling via a particular route or area, the compliance state corresponding to a first benefit that accrues based on conformity with the given administrative standard;

establishing criteria for a preferred promotional result that correlates with at least one different type of vehicle operation mode implemented during an applicable travel period via the particular route or area subject to the given administrative standard;

providing user-accessible information regarding the preferred promotional result; and

processing a notification confirming a conformity status of the vehicle based on the implemented vehicle operation mode that is sufficient to qualify for the preferred promotional result.

54. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein the method further includes:

providing preferred promotional result information that indicates the correlation between the preferred promotional result and the at least one type of vehicle operation mode.

55. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein the method further includes:

correlating the preferred promotional result with the at least one type of vehicle operation mode implemented during all or a portion of the applicable travel period.

56. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein the method further includes:

responsive to the notification, making the preferred promotional result available to a qualified recipient associated with the vehicle.

57. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein the method further includes:

responsive to the notification, authorizing the preferred promotional result to be available to a qualified recipient associated with the vehicle.

58. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein the method feature processing the notification confirming the conformity status of the vehicle includes:

receiving directly or indirectly from the vehicle the notification that indicates the implemented vehicle operation mode.

59. A system for promotional correlation with selective vehicle modes, comprising:

means for identifying a compliance state relative to a given administrative standard defining one or more predetermined vehicle operation modes of a first type of a vehicle traveling via a particular route or area, wherein the compliance state corresponds to a first benefit that accrues based on conformity with the given administrative standard;

means for indicating established criteria for a preferred promotional result that correlates with at least one different type of vehicle operation mode implemented during an applicable travel period via the particular route or area subject to the given administrative standard; and

compliance means for receiving and processing notification from a vehicle detection or monitoring device to confirm a conformity status of the vehicle based on the implemented vehicle operation mode that is sufficient to qualify for the preferred promotional result.

60. The system of claim 59 further comprising:

certification means for authorizing the preferred promotional result that includes an award or value or advantage to a qualified recipient based on notification from the vehicle detection or monitoring device confirming the implemented vehicle operation mode.