Maintenance assistance for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A method to provide navigational maintenance assistance for a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- estimating a range a vehicle can travel before a required maintenance will disable the vehicle;
establishing a location and direction of travel of the vehicle;
searching a database for any service stations within the range of the estimating step and ahead of the location of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle; and
presenting the found service stations from the searching step to a driver of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method to provide navigational maintenance assistance for a vehicle includes a first step of estimating when the vehicle will require maintenance. A next step includes establishing a location and direction of travel of the vehicle. A next step includes searching a database for any service stations within a range of the vehicle and ahead of the location of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle before the vehicle becomes disabled. This step can be provided by a remote service provider. A next step includes presenting the found service stations from the searching step to a driver of the vehicle via a user interface.
91 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method to provide navigational maintenance assistance for a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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estimating a range a vehicle can travel before a required maintenance will disable the vehicle;
establishing a location and direction of travel of the vehicle;
searching a database for any service stations within the range of the estimating step and ahead of the location of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle; and
presenting the found service stations from the searching step to a driver of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method to provide navigational refueling assistance for a vehicle with a communication device, the method comprising the steps of:
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triggering a low fuel warning;
estimating a remaining-fuel range of the vehicle using an existing amount of fuel and a mileage rate of the vehicle;
establishing a location and direction of travel of the vehicle;
contacting a service provider for refueling assistance and sending the location and direction of the vehicle to the service provider;
searching a refueling station database, by the service provider, for any refueling stations within a fuel range of the vehicle in a generally pie-shaped area ahead of the vehicle along a direction thereof at a predetermined angle to either side of the direction and limited by the range from the estimating step;
downloading the found content from the service provider to the communication device; and
presenting the downloaded content to a driver of the vehicle via a user interface. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system to provide navigational refueling assistance for a vehicle, the system comprising:
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a fuel sensor in the vehicle;
a positioning device that can determine a location and direction of travel of the vehicle;
a database of refueling stations;
a processor coupled to the fuel sensor and in communication with the positioning device and database, the processor operable to estimate a remaining-fuel range of the vehicle, establish a location and direction of travel of the vehicle, and find from the database any refueling stations within a fuel range of the vehicle and ahead of the location of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle; and
a user interface coupled to the processor, the user interface accepts information on the found refueling stations from the processor and presents the information to a driver of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification