Vehicle status notification and operator identification

• US 9,135,758 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2014
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mojio Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mojio Inc.
• Inventors: Giraud, Damon
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US14/274,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20140333425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/426.1, 340/541, 340565-567, 340/576, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/414.1, 455/422.1, 455/435.1, 455/456.1, 455/90.1, 455/345
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks

Abstract

A computing system located on-board a vehicle issues an event notification responsive to detection of an event condition. The on-board computing system detects the presence of wireless-enabled devices located within the vehicle or within proximity to the vehicle over a wireless communications link. The on-board computing system seeks to determine the identity of one or more persons that enter, attempt to enter, or operate the vehicle based on identifiers obtained from one or more wireless-enabled devices carried by those persons. The on-board computing system distinguishes multiple users from each other by designating one user as the vehicle operator, and one or more other users as passengers of the vehicle. The on-board computing system may include a removable on-board interface device that interfaces with an on-board vehicle control system.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computing device located on-board a vehicle and physically interfacing with an on-board vehicle control system of the vehicle via a wired communications link, the method comprising:

detecting a motion event or an auditory event via one or more sensors of the computing device;

responsive to detecting the motion event or the auditory event, initiating scanning to detect presence of one or more wireless devices via a wireless transceiver;

for a wireless device of the one or more wireless devices detected via the wireless transceiver, obtaining an identifier from the wireless device over a wireless local area network or wireless personal area network via the wireless transceiver; and

reporting detection of the wireless device from which the identifier was obtained to a network service hosted at a remote server system by transmitting the identifier or an indication of the identifier over a wireless wide area network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating data received from the on-board vehicle control system via the wired communications link with a user account associated with the identifier or the indication of the identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein associating the data with the user account includes reporting the data or a processed form thereof to the network service for association with the identifier or the indication of the identifier in a data store of the remote server system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a first wireless device detected via the wireless transceiver, and wherein the method further comprises:

obtaining an additional identifier from a second wireless device over the wireless local area network or an additional wireless personal area network via the wireless transceiver, the second wireless device being detected as present contemporaneously with the first wireless device;

reporting detection of the second wireless device to the remote server system by transmitting the additional identifier or an indication of the additional identifier over the wireless wide area network;

receiving a vehicle operator status message over a wireless network, the vehicle operator status message indicating either a user account associated with the first wireless device or a user account associated with the second wireless device as being associated with an operator of the vehicle; and

associating data received from the on-board vehicle control system via the wired communications link with the user account indicated by the vehicle operator status message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the wireless network over which the vehicle operator status message is received includes the wireless wide area network, and wherein the vehicle operator status message is transmitted by and received from the remote server system responsive to reporting detection of the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the wireless network over which the vehicle operator status message is received includes the wireless local area network or the wireless personal area network or the additional wireless personal area network, and wherein the vehicle operator status message is transmitted by and received from the first wireless device or the second wireless device.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

responsive to the second wireless device being detected as present contemporaneously with the first wireless device, directing one or both of the first wireless device and the second wireless device to initiate a prompt for a user to provide an indication of the operator of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

waking the wireless transceiver from a sleep state responsive to detecting the motion event or the auditory event prior to initiating said scanning via the wireless transceiver.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving profile information of a user account associated with the identifier or the indication of the identifier, the profile information indicating whether the user account is for a primary registered user of the computing device and/or the vehicle; and

if the user account is not for the primary registered user, directing an event notification to a designated point of contact associated with the vehicle and/or the computing device located on-board the vehicle.

10. A method performed by a server system, the method comprising:

receiving one or more reporting messages over a wide area network originating from and transmitted by a computing device located on-board a vehicle and physically interfacing with an on-board vehicle control system of the vehicle via a wired communications link, the one or more reporting messages including or indicating;

a first identifier of a first wireless device wirelessly detected by the computing device via a wireless local area network or a first wireless personal area network, and

a second identifier of a second wireless device wirelessly detected as being present contemporaneously with the first wireless device by the computing device via the wireless local area network or a second wireless personal area network; and

responsive to receiving the one or more reporting messages, transmitting a vehicle operator status request message to the first wireless device and the second wireless device, the vehicle operator status request message directing the first wireless device and the second wireless device to initiate a prompt for a user to provide an indication of an operator of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a vehicle operator status message from the first wireless device and/or the second wireless device responsive to the vehicle operator status request message, the vehicle operator status message indicating either a user account associated with the first wireless device or a user account associated with the second wireless device as being associated with the operator of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

associating data reported by and received from the computing device located on-board the vehicle with the user account indicated as being associated with the operator of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

referencing a data store for an application program associated with the user account indicated as being associated with the operator of the vehicle; and

executing the application program at the server system, wherein execution of the application program causes the server system to process data reported by and received from the computing device located on-board the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein execution of the application program causes the server system to process the data by aggregating the data and reporting the aggregated data to a registered contact address associated with the user account indicated as being associated with the operator of the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

referencing a data store for an application program associated with the user account indicated as being associated with the operator of the vehicle; and

transmitting the application program or an identifier of the application program to the computing device located on-board the vehicle for execution of the application program at the computing device located on-board the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more reporting messages include or indicate a third identifier of the computing device located on-board the vehicle;

and

wherein the method further comprises, responsive to receiving the one or more messages, referencing a data store for a primary registered user of the computing device located on-board the vehicle;

if neither the first identifier nor the second identifier are associated with the primary registered user in the data store, then transmitting a notification message to a registered contact address of the primary registered user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more reporting messages originate from and are transmitted by the computing device located on-board the vehicle following detection of a motion event or an auditory event;

and

wherein the notification message indicates detection of the motion event or auditory event at the vehicle, and further indicates a user account associated with the first identifier and/or a user account associated with the second identifier.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a notification response message originating from the registered contact address, the notification response message indicating whether a user account associated with the first identifier and/or a user account associated with the second identifier is associated with a user permitted to enter and/or operate the vehicle.

19. A computing device located on-board a vehicle and physically interfacing with an on-board vehicle control system of the vehicle via a wired communications link, the computing device comprising:

one or more motion sensors to detect a motion event;

a vehicle interface to interface with the vehicle control system via the wired communications link;

a communications subsystem to communicate with wireless devices via a local area network or personal area network;

a logic subsystem to execute instructions;

a storage subsystem having instructions stored thereon executable by the logic subsystem to;

responsive to detection of a motion event via the one or more motion sensors, wake a wireless transceiver from a sleep state and initiate a scan for wireless devices via the wireless transceiver;

for each wireless device detected via the wireless transceiver, obtain an identifier from that wireless device over a wireless local area network or a wireless personal area network established with that wireless device via the wireless transceiver;

if two or more wireless devices are detected via the wireless transceiver, then receive a vehicle operator status message, the vehicle operator status message indicating either a user account associated with a first wireless device or a user account associated with a second wireless device as being associated with an operator of the vehicle; and

receive data from the on-board vehicle control system via the wired communications link; and

associate the data received from the on-board vehicle control system via the wired communications link with the user account indicated as being associated with the operator of the vehicle.

20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further executable by the logic subsystem to:

report detection of the two or more wireless devices to a network service hosted at a remote server system by transmitting an identifier or an indication of the identifier for each wireless device over a wireless wide area network via the communications subsystem; and

receive the vehicle operator status message from the network service over the wireless wide area network via the communications subsystem.