Method and system for sending user information to a car

• US 9,564,962 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Telematics Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Yarnold, Christina, Peterson, Mike
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US14/831,037
• Publication Number:
  US 20150358074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/901, 340/988, 455/426.1, 705/6
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

A telematics server manages meeting request messages sent from, and to, a vehicle-coupled device. The server performs authentication services when a subscriber logs in to the server from the vehicle-coupled device, or with a device associated with the subscriber'"'"'s telematics services account. Upon login, the server may append a session identifier to the request message. After the message passes through the server, an application running on a device remote from the vehicle receives the request message and accepts user input that permits the remote device to transmit its current location to the vehicle-coupled device in a confirmation message according to the session identifier. The telematics server can use the session identifier to determine the destination address of the vehicle-coupled device to forward the confirmation message to. The vehicle-coupled device displays the remote user device location on a map. The request and confirmation messages may include a media content file.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a telematics device, a meeting request sent from a first device associated with a vehicle,

the meeting request initiating a telematics service session, and

the meeting request requesting a location of a second device,

the second device being remote from the vehicle and associated with an individual;

forwarding, by the telematics device, the meeting request to the second device,

the meeting request including an identity of a subscriber of the telematics service session,

the subscriber being associated with the vehicle;

receiving, by the telematics device, a confirmation message from the second device permitting the first device to obtain current location information of the second device,

the confirmation message being generated based on an input at a user interface of the second device; and

transmitting, by the telematics device, the confirmation message to the first device,

the confirmation message including the current location information of the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is communicably coupled to a communication bus of the vehicle, and

wherein the first device is configured to communicate with electronic vehicle components and systems that are also communicably coupled to the communication bus.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity of the subscriber of the telematics service session is a user name.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a telematics table associates the user name with one or more device identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

authenticating the subscriber via an application running on the first device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting the confirmation message to the first device comprises:

transmitting the confirmation message to the first device based on authenticating the sub scriber.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber is a driver of the vehicle.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a telematics device, a meeting request sent from a device associated with a vehicle,

the meeting request initiating a telematics service session, and

the meeting request requesting a location of a device remote from the vehicle;

forwarding, by the telematics device, the meeting request to the device remote from the vehicle,

the meeting request including an identity of a subscriber, of the telematics service session, associated with the vehicle;

receiving, by the telematics device and from the device remote from the vehicle, a confirmation message indicating that a user, associated with the device remote from the vehicle, permits the device associated with the vehicle to obtain current location information of the device remote from the vehicle,

the confirmation message being generated based on an input at a user interface of the device remote from the vehicle; and

transmitting, by the telematics device, the confirmation message to the device associated with the vehicle,

the confirmation message including the current location information of the device remote from the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user interface facilitates communicating, over a network, with an application running on the telematics device;

wherein the method further comprises;

providing information contained in the confirmation message to the application, running on the telematics device, that determines an address of the device associated with the vehicle; and

wherein transmitting the confirmation message comprises;

transmitting the information contained in the confirmation message according to a data record associated with the device associated with the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the confirmation message includes location coordinates that identify a current location of the device remote from the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting the confirmation message to the device associated with the vehicle comprises:

transmitting the confirmation message to the device associated with the vehicle,

the current location information of the device remote from the vehicle being extracted from the confirmation message and provided for display on a display device associated with the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 7, where the device associated with the vehicle is:

a navigation device installed in the vehicle;

or

a smartphone communicably coupled to a communication bus of the vehicle.

10. A system, comprising:

one or more devices to;

receive a meeting request sent from a device associated with a vehicle,

the meeting request initiating a telematics service session, and

the meeting request requesting a location of a device remote from the vehicle;

forward the meeting request to the device remote from the vehicle,

the meeting request including an identity of a subscriber of the telematics service session,

the subscriber being associated with the vehicle;

receive a confirmation message from the device remote from the vehicle,

the confirmation message being generated based on an input at a user interface of the device remote from the vehicle, and

the confirmation message indicating that a user, associated with the device remote from the vehicle, permits the device associated with the vehicle to obtain current location information of the device remote from the vehicle; and

transmit, to the device associated with the vehicle, the confirmation message,

the confirmation message including the current location information of the device remote from the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the device associated with the vehicle is communicably coupled to a communication bus of the vehicle, and

wherein the device associated with the vehicle is configured to communicate with electronic vehicle components and systems communicably coupled to the communication bus.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the identity of the subscriber of the telematics service session is a user name.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein a telematics table associates the user name with the device associated with the vehicle.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more devices are further to:

authenticate the subscriber using an application running on the device associated with the vehicle.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more devices, when transmitting the confirmation message to the device associated with the vehicle, are to:

transmit the confirmation message to the device associated with the vehicle based on authenticating the subscriber.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more devices are further to:

perform a table lookup in a database table to determine a contact identifier associated with the vehicle.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the meeting request includes an identity of the vehicle.