Systems and Methods for Controlling the Collection of Vehicle Use Data Using a Mobile Device

• US 20130046510A1
• Filed: 10/24/2012
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Insurance (State Farm)
• Inventors: Bowne, Benjamin F., Baker, Nicholas R., Christopulos, Nick U., Wilkerson, Bryan T.
• Granted Patent: US 10,977,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking

Abstract

A mobile device may include at least one sensor that detects a characteristic of the mobile device selected from distance traveled, location, time, and g-force dynamics; a processor; and a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed on by the processor, are programmed to automatically detect that a wireless connection has been established between the mobile device and a vehicle, and in response to detecting the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically start collecting vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor. The mobile device may automatically stop collecting the vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being turned off.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

at least one sensor that detects a characteristic of the mobile device selected from distance traveled, location, time, and g-force dynamics;

a processor; and

a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed on by the processor, perform the following steps;

automatically detecting that a wireless connection has been established between the mobile device and a vehicle; and

in response to detecting the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically starting to collect vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle is automatically established in response to the vehicle being started, such that the mobile device automatically connects with the vehicle and starts collect vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being started, without interaction between the mobile device and a user.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to transmit the collected vehicle operation data from the mobile device to a remote processing computer.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to:

continue to collect vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor while the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle is maintained;

automatically detect that the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle has been disconnected; and

in response to detecting the disconnection of the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically stop collecting vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to automatically stop collecting vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being turned off

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further configured to:

automatically obtain vehicle identification information from the vehicle; and

link the vehicle identification information with the collected vehicle operation data for storage or transmission of the collected vehicle operation data.

7. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the vehicle identification information comprises a MAC address associated with the vehicle.

8. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the vehicle identification information comprises a Bluetooth MAC address associated with the vehicle.

9. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a device selected from smartphone, cell phone, mobile telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop computer, and tablet-style computer.

10. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a GPS device.

11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the wireless connection is a Bluetooth connection.

12. A method for automatically recording vehicle operation data, the method comprising:

automatically detecting that a wireless connection has been established between a mobile device and a vehicle associated with the mobile device; and

in response to detecting the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically starting to collect vehicle operation data via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle is automatically established in response to the vehicle being started, such that the mobile device automatically connects with the vehicle and starts collect vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being started, without interaction between the mobile device and a user.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting the collected vehicle operation data from the mobile device to a remote processing computer.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

continuing to collect vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor while the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle is maintained;

automatically detecting that the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle has been disconnected; and

in response to detecting the disconnection of the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically stopping the collection of vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor.

16. The method of claim 12, comprising automatically stopping the collection of vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being turned off.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

automatically obtaining vehicle identification information from the vehicle; and

linking the vehicle identification information with the collected vehicle operation data for storage or transmission of the collected vehicle operation data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the vehicle identification information comprises a MAC address associated with the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the vehicle identification information comprises a Bluetooth MAC address associated with the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the wireless connection is a Bluetooth connection.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein collecting vehicle operation data via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device comprises collecting a characteristic of the mobile computing device selected from distance traveled, location, time, and g-force dynamics via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device.

22. Computer instructions embodied in a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer instructions being executable by a processor to:

automatically detect that a wireless connection has been established between a mobile device and a vehicle associated with the mobile device; and

in response to detecting the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically start to collect vehicle operation data via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device, without interaction between the mobile device and a user.

23. The computer instructions of claim 22, further comprising transmitting the collected vehicle operation data from the mobile device to a remote processing computer.

24. The computer instructions of claim 22, wherein the computer instructions are further configured to:

continue to collect vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor while the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle is maintained;

automatically detect that the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle has been disconnected; and

in response to detecting the disconnection of the wireless connection between the mobile device and the vehicle, automatically stop collecting vehicle operation data via the at least one sensor.

25. The computer instructions of claim 22, wherein the computer instructions are configured to stop collecting vehicle operation data in response to the vehicle being turned off.

26. The computer instructions of claim 22, wherein the computer instructions are further configured to:

automatically obtain from the vehicle a MAC address associated with the vehicle; and

link the vehicle MAC address with the collected vehicle operation data for storage or transmission of the collected vehicle operation data.

27. The computer instructions of claim 22, wherein collecting vehicle operation data via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device comprises collecting a characteristic of the mobile computing device selected from distance traveled, location, time, and g-force dynamics via at least one sensor provided by the mobile device.