System for advertising vehicle information wirelessly

• US 9,349,223 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2013
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dashlogic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Dashlogic Incorporated
• Inventors: Palmer, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Algahaim, Helal A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wallace, Donald J
• Application Number:
  US13/860,428
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• 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: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

A system and apparatus for advertising vehicle information using network names includes a wireless transceiver removably attached to the data port of a vehicle. The transceiver creates a wireless network having a unique name. The transceiver advertises vehicle specific information as part of the wireless network name. The transceiver communicates the network name to an app running on a wireless user computing device. A plurality of unique network names may be collected by the app and stored for use in researching additional information about each vehicle having such a transceiver mounted thereon.

Claims

1. A system for wirelessly advertising vehicle specific information comprising:

a device adapted to be removably attached to a vehicle diagnostic data port;

the device being configurable by a vehicle operator or other user;

the device being capable of communicating through the vehicle diagnostic data port with at least one built-in vehicle electronic control module;

the device being capable of communicating over a wireless communications system external to the vehicle diagnostic data port;

the device configured to read or request or communicate vehicle specific information from the vehicle diagnostic data port; and

the device incorporating the vehicle specific information as part of a wireless communications system name, whereby the vehicle specific information is visible on an external independent user computing device without requiring a user to open a wireless communications connection or socket between the device and the external independent user computing device, and whereby the device automatically changes the wireless communications system name in real time upon receiving a change in the vehicle specific information obtained from the vehicle through the vehicle diagnostic port.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle specific information includes at least one of the following items:

VIN, calibration identifiers, model numbers, part numbers, vehicle sensor data, vehicle codes, vehicle parameters, dealer stock numbers, battery voltage levels, odometer readings, engine hours, oil life, service interval information, average speed, fuel economy information, trouble codes, service related information, operational state, GPS coordinates or vehicle location.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the device supports wireless communications on at least one of:

802.11 WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID, Near Field Communication, Infrared, Microwave, or Cellular.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the device communicates vehicle specific information over more than one wireless system simultaneously.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the device reads vehicle specific information immediately upon being connected to a vehicle diagnostic data port.

6. The system of claim 1 where the device reads vehicle specific information upon vehicle startup, power-on, or ignition-on.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the device transmits a user configured identifier as part of the wireless communications system name until the device has been able to read vehicle specific information.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the device transmits vehicle specific information to an external server and receives a response back and incorporates at least part of the server response as part of the wireless communications system name.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the server response includes at least one of the following items:

vehicle price/rebates/discounts/fees/special deals/tax incentives/guarantees, warranty information, number of previous owners, vehicle condition or damage, title status, number of times serviced, if serviced regularly, vehicle certification, vehicle location, test drive information, tire wear, vehicle aftermarket accessories, vehicle color, or other vehicle attributes.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the device transmits battery voltage, trouble codes, vehicle service related information, operational state, or other vehicle data to an external server for vehicle maintenance or service tracking purposes.

11. The system of claim 8 where the device transmits vehicle information to an external server upon, during, or after vehicle startup, power-on, or ignition-on.

12. The system of claim 1 where the device only selectively, intermittently or periodically transmits a wireless signal, thereby reducing vehicle battery or energy consumption.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the device detects a predetermined battery condition or voltage level and alters the wireless signal or enters a sleep mode to reduce or to eliminate vehicle battery or energy consumption.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the device uses a predetermined delimiter sequence comprising one or more predetermined characters in the wireless communications system name to separate multiple unique fields or distinct pieces of vehicle or other data.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the device incorporates GPS or location tracking functionality.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the device powers up or reads location functionality only during vehicle startup, power-on, or ignition-on.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the device allows pass-thru communication with the vehicle in a bidirectional manner using either a wireless or wired connection.

18. The system of claim 1 further comprising an app that runs on a wireless user computing device, the app configured to read the wireless communications system name and thereby permit a user to learn information about the vehicle from the wireless communications system name.

19. A system for wirelessly advertising a unique vehicle identifier comprising:

a device adapted to be removably attached to a vehicle diagnostic data port;

the device being capable of communicating over a wireless communications system external to the vehicle diagnostic data port; and

the device incorporating the unique vehicle identifier as part of a wireless communications system name, whereby the unique vehicle identifier is visible on an external independent user computing device without requiring a user to open a wireless communications connection or socket between the device and the external independent user computing device, and whereby the device automatically changes the unique vehicle identifier as part of the wireless communications system name in real time upon receiving a change in the unique vehicle identifier obtained from the vehicle through the vehicle diagnostic.

20. An apparatus for wirelessly advertising vehicle specific information comprising:

a device adapted to be removably attached to a vehicle diagnostic data port;

the device being configurable by a vehicle operator or other user;

the device being capable of communicating through the vehicle diagnostic data port with at least one built-in vehicle electronic control module;

the device being capable of communicating over a wireless communications system external to the vehicle diagnostic data port;

the device configured to read or request or communicate vehicle specific information from the vehicle diagnostic data port; and

the device incorporating the vehicle specific information as part of a wireless communications system name, whereby the vehicle specific information is visible on an external independent user computing device without requiring a user to open a wireless communications connection or socket between the device and the external independent user computing device, and whereby the device automatically changes the wireless communications system name in real time upon receiving a change in the vehicle specific information obtained from the vehicle through the vehicle diagnostic port.