Control and diagnostic system for vehicles
First Claim
1. A remote diagnostic system for vehicles, the system comprising:
- a base station having a processor associated with a transceiver;
a remote unit installed in a vehicle, said remote unit having a controller associated with a transceiver, said controller operable to gather diagnostic data; and
said remote unit controller configured to transmit a vehicle identification signal in conjunction with diagnostic data to said base station transceiver such that said base station processor monitors said diagnostic data for said vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for a remote diagnostic system for motorized vehicles. Apparatus according to this aspect of the invention includes a base station having a processor associated with a transceiver and a remote unit installed in a vehicle. The remote unit includes a controller associated with a transceiver, where the controller gathers diagnostic data. The remote unit controller transmits a vehicle identification signal in conjunction with diagnostic data to the base station transceiver such that the base station processor monitors the diagnostic data for the vehicle.
Another aspect of the invention further includes a mapping processor associated with a memory. The memory stores a virtual map of a local operating area having areas that are allowable and restricted. The controller is coupled to the mapping processor and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver is coupled to the mapping processor. The GPS receiver determines a current vehicle location and the mapping processor correlates the current vehicle location to a corresponding location on the virtual map. The mapping processor determines whether the vehicle is about to enter a restricted area thereby causing the mapping processor to annunciate a warning to a user. The vehicle transceiver is configured to transmit a vehicle identification signal and location to the base station transceiver such that the base station processor monitors the location and status for each of the motorized vehicles.
122 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A remote diagnostic system for vehicles, the system comprising:
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a base station having a processor associated with a transceiver;
a remote unit installed in a vehicle, said remote unit having a controller associated with a transceiver, said controller operable to gather diagnostic data; and
said remote unit controller configured to transmit a vehicle identification signal in conjunction with diagnostic data to said base station transceiver such that said base station processor monitors said diagnostic data for said vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A control system for vehicles, the system comprising:
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a remote unit installed in a vehicle, said remote unit having a mapping processor associated with a memory, said memory storing a virtual map of a local operating area having areas that are allowable and restricted;
a controller operably coupled to said mapping processor; and
a global positioning system (GPS) receiver operably coupled to said mapping processor to determine a current vehicle location and correlate said current vehicle location to a corresponding location on said virtual map wherein said mapping processor determines whether said vehicle is about to enter a restricted area thereby causing said mapping processor to provide a warning at the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of vehicle control comprising:
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reading a virtual map of a local area having restricted and allowable areas from a memory device;
determining a current vehicle position using a navigation device;
anticipating entry into a restricted area using a mapping processor in conjunction with said current vehicle position; and
providing a warning at the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A vehicle control system comprising:
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means for reading a virtual map of a local area having restricted and allowable areas from a memory device;
means for determining a current vehicle position using a navigation device;
means for anticipating entry into a restricted area using a mapping processor in conjunction with said current vehicle position; and
means for providing a warning at the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A method of charging a vehicle battery, comprising:
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obtaining battery related information for a specific vehicle using a controller;
transmitting said battery related information from said specific vehicle to a base station;
receiving said battery related information at said base station;
storing said battery related information for said specific vehicle at said base station;
determining a battery charge schedule for said specific vehicle from said stored battery related information at said base station; and
transmitting said battery charge schedule from said base station to said specific vehicle controller.
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49. A battery charging system, comprising:
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means for obtaining battery related information for a specific vehicle using a controller;
means for transmitting said battery related information from said specific vehicle to a base station;
means for receiving said battery related information at said base station;
means for storing said battery related information for said specific vehicle;
means for determining a battery charge schedule for said specific vehicle from said stored battery related information at said base station; and
means for transmitting said battery charge schedule from said base station to said specific vehicle controller.
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Specification