Telecommunications system and method which makes it possible to establish telecommunications with a vehicle user by means of the number plate

• US 9,357,060 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2012
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Person To Vehicle S.L.
• Original Assignee: Person To Vehicle S.L.
• Inventors: Espinar Arcones, Juan Jose, Canto Fuertes, Juan Francisco, De La Fuente Fernandez, Felipe
• Primary Examiner(s): ODOM, CURTIS B
• Application Number:
  US14/375,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20150017955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/625 License plates
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/63 Scene text, e.g. street names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4535 using an address exchange platform which sets up a session between two nodes, e.g. rendezvous servers, session initiation protocols [SIP] registrars or H.323 gatekeepers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13095 PIN / Access code, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters

Abstract

A communication system and method is disclosed which makes it possible to establish telecommunications with the vehicle user by the vehicle number plate code, making it possible to establish telecommunications with the vehicle owner by the public number and unique identification, thereby linking them to a communication system of the owner'"'"'s choice (a mobile telephone number, e-mail, web profile or personal analog communication means), which is hidden from third parties, as well linking the users to certain pre-established communication functions (functionality codes), which respond to concrete needs of the users.

Claims

1. A telecommunication system which makes it possible to establish telecommunications with the user of a vehicle via a public code of its number plate, in order to send messages or notifications to at least one vehicle user via the public code of its number plate, amongst other tasks, comprising the following components:

a transmitter device with telecommunication capacity suitable for sending at least one output message comprising the number plate of a vehicle with which communication is desired, plus a pre-determined communication functionality code;

a dedicated algorithm which is generated by a sequence of information which forms said output message from said transmitter device, said message comprising at least one number plate of a vehicle coded by a codification system and a pre-defined communication functionality code;

a codification system for coding the output message which comprises the coded at least one number plate of a vehicle and a pre-defined communication functionality code, in such a way that it generates an algorithm formed by at least one number plate, which identifies a user plus a pre-defined communication function,

at least a database which comprises a set of records and fields, both public and private, linked to vehicles, to the users of the vehicles and to the telecommunication devices of the users, at least one of these public records being the vehicle number plate and a preferred communication channel being built in, as well as a series of communication functions which have been configured and/or activated by the users;

at least one telecommunications application module or command interpreter built into a server, programmed to provide a consultation service to said database based on the reception or input of said output message issued from the transmission device directed to a vehicle user, using the number plate of said vehicle, said server being applied to a previous sending of an output message via a pre-determined communication channel, which responds to the communication function code included in the input message to the server, in such a way that said application module interprets the algorithm and redirects it to a receptor linked to the number plate of the vehicle with which it wishes to communicate; and

at least a receptor device with telecommunication capacity, linked to a user and to at least one vehicle registered in said database, which receives the output message from the server via a preferred pre-determined communication channel.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the devices linked to the users have an application adapted to send automatic responses in relation to the type of message delivered to the receptor and the pre-determined communication function thereof.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the database comprises public data on vehicles and private data on the vehicle owners, each vehicle being registered and identified by its public number plate and the private registries being exclusively introduced and managed by the vehicle owners.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said codification system comprises means for automating a homogenous sequence which contains the information needed to carry out the desired communication function or message, wherein the message is formed at least, by the vehicle identification registry in the database and the function code of the communication desired to be carried out.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said transmitter device linked to a user is registered in said server, in such a way that the output message from the transmitter device coincides with the output message of the server, when the server communicates with various devices.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said telecommunications application module has a built in geo-localization system in order to geo-localize the telecommunication device linked to a vehicle based on said database.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the telecommunications devices registered in the database comprise internal or native applications for establishing communication with other devices.

8. The system according to claim 1, comprising an application programming interface (API) which enables users to send, receive, store and recover message data, thereby enabling a user to manage the communication functions in which the user wishes to have active at all times, as well as the way (channel) of communicating with the, based on a relation matrix between the functions and the channels, in such a way that all functions that generate automatic notifications via a channel may be activated or deactivated at any time.

9. A telecommunications method which makes it possible to establish telecommunications with a vehicle user by means of the public number plate code of the vehicle, in order to send notifications or messages to vehicle users, amongst other tasks, via the public number plates, the method comprises the steps of:

registering as a user in a database of vehicle user entries, which comprises public and private information on users and the user'"'"'s vehicles, said registering including at least an identification of a telecommunications device linked to said user and a number of telecommunication preferences;

codifying an output message linked to the user registered when the user wants to communicate with at least one vehicle via the number plate of the vehicle, said message including a codified number plate of the vehicle with which communication is desired, plus a pre-determined function code;

sending said output message from a telecommunications device pertaining to the user registered to a telecommunications application module or command interpreter built into a server programmed to provide a consultation service to a database based on the receipt in said telecommunications module of said output message from a transmitter device directed to a user;

consultation, by means of said server, to the database of vehicle user records in response to said output message transmitted by said registered user, in order to check whether the number plate included in the message and linked to the vehicle with which communication is desired is registered in said database;

sending, by means of a dedicated algorithm, a codified output message from the server, the text or format of which corresponds to a pre-determined communication function and which is interpreted by said telecommunications application module after having been verified in the database of vehicle user registers that the vehicle user with whom communication is desired is a registered user in the system, and subsequently transmitting the message or notification sent by said registered user to the desired vehicle; and

receiving the message by a receptor (user registered in the system), which also receives a notification or alert sent by the transmitter via the available channel or channels selected by the receptor.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said output message is composed by at least the following:

country code+receptor'"'"'s number plate+pre-defined communication functionality code.

11. The method according to claim 9, employing an application programming interface (API), which enables users to send, receive, store and recover message data, making it possible for a user to manage the communication functions the user wishes to have active at all times, as well as the way of communicating with the user, based on a matrix related to the functions and the channels, in such a way that all functions that generate automatic notifications via any channel may be activated or deactivated at any time and where it is possible to choose individual or multiple notification channels.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein said output message from the server is sent to the telecommunications device pertaining to a first user if the number plate of the vehicle with which communication is desired is not registered in the database, wherein the message notifies the user of this circumstance.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein said database is updated and modified in real time with information provided by users registered in the database and in that said database is updated and amended at pre-determined intervals.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the sending of messages between the registered user and the server as well as between the server and a user is carried out by one of the following communication channels or by a combination of the following:

text messages, web or internet communications, e-mail, voice communications and/or analog telephone means, communication via native application pertaining to the server and/or video devices and communications.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein sending the output message from the first user is started from a photographic image captured by an optical character recognition means (OCR), such as a camera, arranged in the communication device pertaining to the first user.

16. The method according to claim 9, comprising a search function or search engine for searching for vehicles based on its number plates in said database.

17. The method according to claim 9, wherein the devices associated to the users have an application adapted to implement an internal anti-theft security system or service in the telecommunication method described, by means of applying a communication protocol with the OCR number plate recognition networks, both public and private, in such a way that when said communication function is activated and in an environment in which the system can exchange signals or interact with the various number plate recognition systems with terminals located at various strategic points, a control network or “

grid”

is articulated, by means of which a vehicle listed as stolen cannot drive without its position being detected.

18. The method according to claim 9, wherein the devices linked to users have an application adapted to implement a surface parking geo-localization system and method in the telecommunications method described, by means of geo-localization (GPS) system support, which enables users to synchronize application and request communication functions related to parking needs, in such a way that users looking for parking in a specific area of the city can transmit a request signal which may be received and answered by users who are coming out of a place in the same area requested.

19. The method according to claim 9, wherein the devices linked to the users have an application adapted to implement a function for exchanging points of view of different vehicle users, by means of geo-localization, by means of GPS system support and via cameras of the user'"'"'s communication devices or terminals, in such way that a user may select the point of view of another user who has activated and displayed a visualization function described on an area map and access the image of the environment of another user in real time via the camera signal of the another user, thereby enabling users to have access, amongst other tools, to live visualization of remote places such as traffic states, parking, roads, incidents or any other visual information.

20. The method according to claim 9, wherein the devices linked to the users have an application adapted to implement an internal vehicle sale system in the telecommunication method described, with an automatic messaging management system, which enables a seller, after having received the message from a transmitter device expressing interest in buying the vehicle, to respond with an automatic reply containing all the data of the offer by way of sale advertisement text and the contact means, or data that the user wishes to include, said automatic response message having been previously introduced into the system by the registered user, by means of a template designed to insert automatic response text to the predefined communication message.