Method and system for monitoring and reporting to an operator greenhouse gas emission from a vehicle

• US 8,478,603 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2009
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Boss, Gregory Jensen, Hamilton, Rick Allen II, Martino, Jacquelyn Annette, Pickover, Clifford Alan, Sanders, Anne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): KELLEY, HEIDI RIVIERE
• Application Number:
  US12/490,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20100332241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 73/351.5
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring greenhouse gas emission from a vehicle. The vehicle is monitored for greenhouse gas emission, which includes identifying a running total of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle into an external environment that is external to the vehicle and activating a payment triggering condition when the emission exceeds the expected total. Satisfaction of a payment triggering condition that triggers collection of a required payment pertaining to the identified running total of greenhouse gas emitted is detected. Responsive to detecting the satisfaction of the payment triggering condition the required payment is computed as a function of the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring greenhouse gas emission from a vehicle, said method comprising:

a processor of a computer system monitoring the vehicle for greenhouse gas emission, said monitoring comprising identifying a running total of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle into an external environment that is external to the vehicle;

said processor detecting satisfaction of a payment triggering condition that triggers collection of a required payment pertaining to the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted, wherein the detected payment triggering condition comprises a payment system detection condition or an excess emission condition, wherein the payment system detection condition is a detection of a payment system configured to collect the required payment, and wherein the excess emission condition is that the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted exceeds a specified gas measure threshold;

responsive to said detecting satisfaction of the payment triggering condition, said processor computing the required payment as a function of the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted that exceeds the specified gas emission measure threshold; and

said processor of a computer system providing notice of the required payment to a party selected from the group consisting of an operator of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle, a collecting party authorized to collect the required payment, a responsible party responsible for submitting the required payment to the collecting party, and combinations thereof.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the method comprises:

prior to said monitoring, said processor receiving a specification of at least one greenhouse gas to be monitored;

wherein said monitoring comprises selectively monitoring the vehicle for greenhouse gas emission of the specified at least one greenhouse gas; and

wherein said identifying comprises identifying the running total of the quantity of the specified at least one greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle into the external environment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle since the vehicles was last purchased.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle since the payment triggering condition had been previously detected prior to said monitoring.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle over a specified period of previous time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment triggering condition comprises detection of a payment system in a fuel station by a detection sensor in the vehicle after the vehicle has entered the fuel station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment triggering condition comprises a monetary removal cost of removing a quantity of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere exceeding a specified monetary removal cost threshold, and wherein the quantity of greenhouse gas is equal to the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said computing the required payment comprises computing the required payment as a function of the monetary removal cost.

9. A computer program product comprising a computer readable physically tangible storage medium having a computer-readable program code stored therein, said computer-readable program code containing instructions that when executed by a processing unit of a computing system implement the method of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises the computer system, and wherein the processing unit is the processor.

10. A computing system, comprising a processing unit coupled to a computer-readable physically tangible memory unit, said memory unit comprising a software application, said software application comprising instructions that when executed by the processing unit, implement the method of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises the computer system, and wherein the processing unit is the processor.

11. A process for supporting computer infrastructure, said process comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code in a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is configured to perform a method for monitoring greenhouse gas emission from a vehicle, said method comprising:

a processor of the computing system monitoring the vehicle for greenhouse gas emission, said monitoring comprising identifying a running total of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle into an external environment that is external to the vehicle;

said processor detecting satisfaction of a payment triggering condition that triggers collection of a required payment pertaining to the identified running total of greenhouse gas emitted, wherein the detected payment triggering condition comprises a payment system detection condition or an excess emission condition, wherein the payment system detection condition is a detection of a payment system configured to collect the required payment, and wherein the excess emission condition is that the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted exceeds a specified gas measure threshold;

responsive to said detecting satisfaction of the payment triggering condition, said processor computing the required payment as a function of the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted that exceeds the specified gas emission measure threshold; and

said processor providing notice of the required payment to a party selected from the group consisting of an operator of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle, a collecting party authorized to collect the required payment, a responsible party responsible for submitting the required payment to the collecting party, and combinations thereof.

12. The process of claim 11,

wherein the method comprises:

prior to said monitoring, said processor receiving a specification of at least one greenhouse gas to be monitored;

wherein said monitoring comprises selectively monitoring the vehicle for greenhouse gas emission of the specified at least one greenhouse gas; and

wherein said identifying comprises identifying the running total of the quantity of the specified at least one greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle into the external environment.

13. The process of claim 11, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle since the vehicles was last purchased.

14. The process of claim 11, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle since the payment triggering condition had been previously detected prior to said monitoring.

15. The process of claim 11, wherein the running total denotes a quantity of greenhouse gas emitted by the vehicle over a specified period of previous time.

16. The process of claim 11, wherein the payment triggering condition comprises detection of a payment system in a fuel station by a detection sensor in the vehicle after the vehicle has entered the fuel station.

17. The process of claim 11, wherein the payment triggering condition comprises the stored running total exceeding a specified gas emission measure threshold.

18. The process of claim 11, wherein the payment triggering condition comprises a monetary removal cost of removing a quantity of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere exceeding a specified monetary removal cost threshold, and wherein the quantity of greenhouse gas is equal to the stored running total of greenhouse gas emitted.

19. The process of claim 18, wherein said computing the required payment comprises computing the required payment as a function of the monetary removal cost.