Method and system for performing programmatic actions based upon vehicle approximate locations

• US 20060129309A1
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Alewine, Neal J., Rusnak, Joseph G., Wrobel, Anthony W. Jr., Gabel, Jonathan L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0252 based on events or environment, e.g. weather or festivals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0266 based on the position of the vehicle

Abstract

A system for communicating between networked applications and vehicles that includes a vehicle response server and a vehicle response agent. The vehicle response server can manage communications between at least one vehicle and at least one application remotely located from the vehicle, wherein the application can provide activation contexts to the vehicle. The vehicle response agent can be disposed in the vehicle. The vehicle response agent can receive the activation contexts and determine event occurrences based in part upon the activation contexts and in part upon a location of the vehicle relative to previously defined geographical boundaries specified by the vehicle response server.

Claims

1. A computerized method where an in-vehicle computing device communicates with at least one computing device outside the vehicle comprising the steps of:

defining a plurality of geographical boundaries;

conveying an activation context from the at least one remote computing device to an in-vehicle device, wherein the activation context is dependent upon geographical boundaries;

as a vehicle including the in-vehicle device travels, determining the geographical boundary in which the vehicle resides;

the in-vehicle device determining an occurrence of a context event specified by the activation context based in part upon the determined geographical boundary; and

the in-vehicle device performing at least one previously determined programmatic action associated with the context event responsive to the occurrence, wherein different context events are actuated as the vehicle travels based upon vehicle location as defined by the geographical boundaries.

2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of geographical boundaries are specified by a vehicle response server, the vehicle response server receiving the conveyed activation context from at least one remotely located application.

3. The computerized method of claim 2, wherein the vehicle response server imposes a geographical boundary constraint upon the activation context received from the at least one remotely located application before conveying the activation context to the in-vehicle device.

4. The computerized method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

administratively modifying the defined geographical boundaries within the vehicle response server; and

conveying the modified geographical boundaries to the in-vehicle device, thereby automatically and dynamically changing conditions for the occurrence the of the context event.

5. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle device receives different activation contexts from different applications, wherein each of the different applications is bound by the geographical boundaries so that context events are only actuated when the vehicle is located within a geographical boundary corresponding to a geographical boundary to which the application that conveyed the associated activation context is bound.

6. The computerized method of claim 5, the step of performing at least one previously determined programmatic action further comprises the step of:

conveying a context indication from the in-vehicle device to the application that conveyed the activation context that triggered the occurrence.

7. The computerized method of claim 6, wherein the context indication includes at lest one value obtained from a vehicle sensor of the vehicle.

8. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein the vehicle sensor indicates a level of fluid within the vehicle.

9. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein data conveyed between the in-vehicle device and the different applications are conveyed to a vehicle response server before being conveyed to an intended destination, where the vehicle response server is a communication intermediary between the in-vehicle device and the different applications.

10. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein data is exchanged between the in-vehicle device and the vehicle response server and between the vehicle response server and the different applications utilizing a standardized vehicle response language specifically designed for vehicle-based information exchanges.

11. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the remote computing device includes a geofencing application, wherein the programmatic action performed by the in-vehicle device alerts the geofencing application when the vehicle travels from one of the geographical boundaries to another.

12. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the remote computing device includes a traffic mapping application, wherein the programmatic action performed by the in-vehicle device provides a speed of the vehicle and a location of the vehicle to the traffic mapping application.

13. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the remote computing device includes a Web browser through which a vehicle tracking application is accessed, wherein the in-vehicle device provides location information to the vehicle tracking application.

14. A system for communicating between networked applications and vehicles comprising:

a vehicle response server configured to manage communications between at least one vehicle and at least one application remotely located from the vehicle, wherein the application provides activation contexts to the vehicle; and

a vehicle response agent disposed in the vehicle configured to receive the activation contexts and determine event occurrences based in part upon the activation contexts and in part upon a location of the vehicle relative to previously defined geographical boundaries specified by the vehicle response server.

15. The system of claim 14, said vehicle response agent further comprising:

a context processor configured to translate said activation contests into vehicle-specific conditions for the event occurrences;

a communication engine configured to wirelessly exchange digitally encoded information with the vehicle response server; and

a sensor monitor configured to receive vehicle sensor input and correlate the vehicle sensor input to the vehicle specific conditions.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the vehicle response server and the vehicle response agent utilize a vehicle response language that includes data types and functions specifically defined for obtaining and processing vehicle sensor input.

17. A machine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

defining a plurality of geographical boundaries;

conveying an activation context from the at least one remote computing device to an in-vehicle device, wherein the activation context is dependent upon geographical boundaries;

as a vehicle including the in-vehicle device travels, determining the geographical boundary in which the vehicle resides;

the in-vehicle device determining an occurrence of a context event specified by the activation context based in part upon the determined geographical boundary; and

the in-vehicle device performing at least one previously determined programmatic action associated with the context event responsive to the occurrence, wherein different context events are actuated as the vehicle travels based upon vehicle location as defined by the geographical boundaries.

18. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, wherein the plurality of geographical boundaries are specified by a vehicle response server, the vehicle response server receiving the conveyed activation context from at least one remotely located application.

19. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, wherein the in-vehicle device receives different activation contexts from different applications, wherein each of the different applications is bound by the geographical boundaries so that context events are only actuated when the vehicle is located within a geographical boundary corresponding to a geographical boundary to which the application that conveyed the associated activation context is bound.

20. The machine-readable storage of claim 19, the step of performing at least one previously determined programmatic action further comprises the step of:

conveying a context indication from the in-vehicle device to the application that conveyed the activation context that triggered the occurrence.