Inter vehicle communication system

• US 20010034768A1
• Filed: 01/11/2001
• Published: 10/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: BUMP Network, Inc.
• Original Assignee: BUMP Network, Inc.
• Inventors: Bain, David, Paseur, John Ray
• Application Number:
  US09/757,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20010034768A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and network for transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient wherein the sender has no previous knowledge of the recipient'"'"'s address. A network is provided for registering a user with an internet service by providing correlating data on the user'"'"'s e-mail address and vehicle license plate number and other vehicle identifying information. A sender observing a recipient'"'"'s can send a message to the recipient by logging onto the service and sending a message including the license plate number of the vehicle or other vehicle identifying information. The service will forward the message to the recipient by looking up the vehicle information and providing the corresponding e-mail address to the message and sending to the recipient.

Claims

1. A method for directing an e-mail from a sender to a recipient comprising the steps of:

a. receiving a message from a sender including a license plate corresponding to the vehicle of the recipient;

b. matching the license plate of the recipient with an e-mail address of the recipient;

c. constructing an e-mail message addressed to the e-mail address of the recipient;

d. attaching the message from the sender to the e-mail message;

e. sending the e-mail message to the recipient'"'"'s e-mail address.