Cloud processing system and method for fabricating objects based on expected occupancy of vehicle aggregation location

• US 9,967,329 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2017
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: William Reber LLC
• Original Assignee: William Reber LLC
• Inventors: Reber, William L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lindsay, Bernard G
• Application Number:
  US15/471,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20170201570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 406 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/00 Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/18 Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form G05B19/418 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining, making 3D objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49023 3-D printing, layer of powder, add drops of binder in layer, new powder
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5094 where the allocation takes into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• 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: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A cloud computing system includes a network interface for interfacing with a wide area network. At least one wireless transceiver engages in bidirectional communication with a plurality of vehicle cloud processing devices within a corresponding plurality of vehicles in at least one vehicle aggregation location. A network control device receives requests for at least one cloud computing service via the wide area network and facilitates the at least one cloud computing service via the bidirectional communication with the plurality of vehicle cloud processing devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

communicating via a wide area network with a plurality of cloud processing devices at a plurality of vehicle aggregation locations in a region that spans one or more time zones, wherein the plurality of cloud processing devices includes a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) fabrication devices in a plurality of vehicles;

collecting registry data corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, wherein the registry data includes an expected time of day occupancy and a parking duration associated with each of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations;

maintaining a registry that includes the registry data corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations;

receiving requests for cloud tasks from client devices, via the wide area network, each request indicating a 3D product to be fabricated;

allocating the cloud tasks to the plurality of cloud processing devices in the region, wherein allocating at least one of the cloud tasks is based on the registry data indicating the expected time of day occupancy in a corresponding time zone and the parking duration from the registry corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, in conjunction with a time constraint associated with the at least one of the cloud tasks that indicates a length of time to fulfill the at least one of the cloud tasks, and wherein at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices fabricates the 3D product via at least one of the plurality of 3D fabrication devices in the plurality of vehicles; and

scheduling and managing performance of the cloud tasks via the plurality of cloud processing devices, wherein the managing includes receiving cloud task results data from the plurality of cloud processing devices indicating when the cloud tasks are completed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating the at least one of the cloud tasks is further based on an estimated time that at least one of the plurality of vehicles will be parked at at least one of the plurality of vehicle locations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the estimated time is generated from input by a user of the at least one of the plurality of vehicles.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one user of at least one vehicle containing the at least one of the plurality of 3D fabrication devices receives, in exchange for use of the at least one of the plurality of 3D fabrication devices, at least one of:

monetary compensation or non-monetary compensation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a billing usage application tracks compensation for users of the plurality of vehicles in response to the cloud tasks that are completed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a billing usage application bills corresponding users of the client devices in response to the cloud tasks that are completed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a security application secures data communicated with the client devices, the cloud computing system and the plurality of cloud processing devices via the wide area network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices is paired with a cloud computing system at the at least one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices, once paired with the cloud computing system at the at least one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, is automatically associated with the cloud computing system upon subsequent visits by a corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices to the at least one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices is paired with the cloud computing system at the at least one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations based on input to an integrated vehicle system by a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices is configured to be selectively enabled and selectively disabled based on input to an integrated vehicle system by a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices can directly interact with the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices via a wireless communication device of the user, upon authentication or pairing between the wireless communication device of the user and the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices includes a user interface device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cloud processing devices shares a vehicle user interface device with at least one other vehicle system.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D product comprises a plurality of components for assembly and wherein scheduling and managing performance of the cloud tasks via the plurality of cloud processing devices includes managing fabrication of the plurality of components of the 3D product.

16. A method comprising:

communicating via a wide area network with a plurality of cloud processing devices at a plurality of vehicle aggregation locations in a region that spans one or more time zones, wherein the plurality of cloud processing devices includes a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) fabrication devices in a plurality of vehicles each of the plurality of vehicles having at least one of the plurality of 3D fabrication devices, wherein registry data is collected corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, wherein the registry data includes an expected time of day occupancy and a parking duration associated with each of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, and wherein a registry is maintained that includes the registry data corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations;

receiving requests for cloud tasks from client devices, via the wide area network, each request indicating an object or article to be fabricated;

allocating the cloud tasks to the plurality of cloud processing devices in the region, wherein allocating one of the cloud tasks is based on the registry data indicating the expected time of day occupancy in the corresponding time zone and the parking duration, wherein the parking duration includes an estimated time that one of the plurality of vehicles will be parked at one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations in the region, in conjunction with a time constraint associated with the one of the cloud tasks that indicates a length of time to fulfill the one of the cloud tasks, and wherein the estimated time is generated based on input from a user'"'"'s wireless communication device upon authentication or pairing between the user'"'"'s wireless communication device and one of the plurality of cloud processing devices associated with the one of the plurality of vehicles and wherein the one of the plurality of cloud processing devices fulfills the one of the cloud tasks by fabricating the object or article; and

receiving cloud task results data via the wide area network from the plurality of cloud processing devices indicating when the cloud tasks are fulfilled.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a billing usage application bills corresponding users of the client devices in response to the cloud tasks that are completed.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein a security application secures data communicated with the client devices, the cloud computing system and the plurality cloud processing devices via the wide area network.

19. A method comprising:

communicating via a wide area network with a plurality of cloud processing devices at a plurality of vehicle aggregation locations in a region that spans one or more time zones, wherein the plurality of cloud processing devices includes a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) fabrication devices in a plurality of vehicles each of the plurality of vehicles having at least one of the plurality of 3D fabrication devices, wherein registry data is collected corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, wherein the registry data includes an expected time of day occupancy and a parking duration associated with each of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, and wherein a registry is maintained that includes the registry data corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations;

receiving requests for cloud tasks from client devices, via the wide area network, each request indicating an object or article to be fabricated;

allocating the cloud tasks to the plurality of cloud processing devices in the region, wherein allocating at least one of the cloud tasks is based on the registry data indicating the expected time of day occupancy in the corresponding time zone and the parking duration corresponding to the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, in conjunction with a time constraint associated with the at least one of the cloud tasks that indicates a length of time to fulfill the at least one of the cloud tasks, wherein the plurality of cloud processing devices fulfill each request by fabricating the object or article, wherein one of the plurality of cloud processing devices is paired with a cloud computing system at one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, wherein the one of the plurality of cloud processing devices, once paired with the cloud computing system at the one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations, is automatically associated with the cloud computing system upon subsequent visits by a corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the one of the plurality of cloud processing devices to the one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations; and

receiving cloud task results data via the wide area network from the plurality of cloud processing devices indicating when the cloud tasks are fulfilled.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one of the plurality of cloud processing devices is paired with the cloud computing system at the one of the plurality of vehicle aggregation locations based on input to a vehicle user interface by a user of the corresponding one of the plurality of vehicles containing the one of the plurality of cloud processing devices.