Providing vehicle operating information using a wireless device

• US 9,229,903 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2012
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Swanson, Steven, Cepuran, Lawrence D., Frye, Mark S., Everhart, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): KERRIGAN, MICHAEL V
• Application Number:
  US13/600,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20140067152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• 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: 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 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/06 Hooks; Cradles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A method of collecting vehicle operating information using a wireless device includes the steps of communicatively linking a wireless device located within a vehicle to a vehicle telematics unit; receiving vehicle data at the wireless device from the vehicle telematics unit using the link; recording the received vehicle data at the wireless device; detecting that the wireless device is no longer present in the vehicle; and wirelessly transmitting the recorded vehicle data to a central facility using the wireless capabilities of the wireless device based on the detection.

Claims

1. A method of collecting vehicle operating information using a wireless device, comprising the steps of:

(a) communicatively linking a wireless device located within a vehicle to a vehicle telematics unit;

(b) receiving vehicle data at the wireless device from the vehicle telematics unit using the link;

(c) recording the received vehicle data at the wireless device;

(d) detecting that the wireless device is no longer present in the vehicle;

(e) determining if a cost to transmit the recorded vehicle data to the central facility is above a predetermined rate threshold, and if so, temporarily preventing the wireless transmission of the recorded vehicle data; and

(f) wirelessly transmitting the recorded vehicle data to a central facility using the wireless capabilities of the wireless device when the cost is at or below the predetermined rate threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a status of the link and deciding to transmit vehicle data based on the determined status.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the status further comprises a setting of either “

connected”

or “

disconnected”

.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of determining the status at the vehicle telematics unit.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of determining the status at the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of using the status of the link or a change in the status of the link to determine when to wirelessly transmit the recorded vehicle data from the wireless device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the vehicle data is transmitted when the status of the link changes from “

connected”

to “

disconnected”

.

8. A method of collecting vehicle operating information using a wireless device, comprising the steps of:

(a) communicatively linking a wireless device to a vehicle telematics unit via an in-vehicle hardware dock that physically connects to the wireless device;

(b) receiving vehicle data at the wireless device from the vehicle telematics unit using the in-vehicle hardware dock;

(c) storing the received vehicle data at the wireless device while the wireless device is physically connected with the in-vehicle hardware dock;

(d) determining that the wireless device has been disconnected from the in-vehicle hardware dock;

(e) determining if a cost to transmit the stored vehicle data is above a predetermined rate threshold, and if so, temporarily preventing the wireless transmission of the stored vehicle data to the central facility; and

(f) transmitting the stored vehicle data to a central facility using the wireless capabilities of the wireless device when the cost is at or below the predetermined rate threshold.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of determining at the vehicle telematics unit if the wireless device is communicatively linked to the in-vehicle hardware dock.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of determining at the wireless device if the wireless device is communicatively linked to the in-vehicle hardware dock.

11. A method of collecting vehicle operating information using a wireless device, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an identity of a designated short-range wireless network access point at a wireless device from a telematics service subscriber;

(b) wirelessly linking the wireless device to a vehicle telematics unit via a short-range wireless protocol;

(c) receiving vehicle data at the wireless device from the vehicle telematics unit via the wireless link using the short-range wireless protocol;

(d) storing the received vehicle data at the wireless device while the wireless device is wirelessly linked to the vehicle telematics unit;

(e) detecting that the wireless device has begun wirelessly communicating with the designated short-range wireless network access point; and

(f) transmitting the stored vehicle data from the wireless device to a central facility in response to step (e).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of determining a status of the wireless link between the vehicle telematics unit and the wireless device and deciding to transmit vehicle data based on the determined status.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of determining the status at the vehicle telematics unit.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of determining the status at the wireless device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of using the status of the link or a change in the status of the link to determine when to wirelessly transmit the stored vehicle data from the wireless device to the central facility.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of transmitting the stored vehicle data from the wireless device to the central facility via the short-range wireless network access point based on a change in the status of the wireless link between the vehicle telematics unit and the wireless device.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of transmitting the stored vehicle data from the wireless device to the central facility via a wireless carrier system based on a change in the status of the wireless link between the vehicle telematics unit and the wireless device.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of determining if a cost to transmit the stored vehicle data is above a predetermined rate threshold, and if so, temporarily preventing the wireless transmission of vehicle data to the central facility.