METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING PROBABLE CAUSE RELATING TO VEHICLE NON-COMPLIANCE
First Claim
1. A system for determining a status of a vehicle, comprising:
- a control system database for storing one or more records, each record having status information for a particular vehicle and an associated vehicle identification number for the particular vehicle;
a control system server configured to acquire the one or more records from an external database associated with an external server and store the one or more records in the control system database, the control system being further configured to determine a status for the particular vehicle associated with the vehicle identification number based on the status information in a respective record stored in the control system database;
a broadcast transmitter configured to transmit a control signal, wherein the broadcast transmitter is further configured to receive the control signal communicated from the control system via the network, and wherein the control signal includes one or more instructions based on the status for the particular vehicle as determined by the control system; and
an indicator device having a receiver configured to receive the transmitted control signal from the broadcast transmitter,wherein the control system is in communication with the external server associated with the external database such that the status information of each of the one or more records is communicated from the external server to the control system via the network, andwherein the indicator device is attached to the particular vehicle, the indicator device being further configured to display or send a detectable indication based on the instructions of the control signal received by the indicator device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides systems, methods and devices to generate an indication or signal by an indicator device of a vehicle that is detectable near the vehicle regarding one or more statuses of the vehicle, such as insurance policy, registration, crimes, wanted persons, etc. The indicator device may produce the indication or signal based on a control signal sent from a remote control system to the indicator device via a network and/or broadcast transmitter. The control system may determine the control signal and vehicle status based on information from external database(s). The indicator device may also receive local status information regarding the vehicle or any person associated with the vehicle. Such local status information may be sent back to the control system as a report signal, which may be stored in a remote database. The indicator signal or report signal may be detected by law enforcement near the vehicle.
50 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A system for determining a status of a vehicle, comprising:
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a control system database for storing one or more records, each record having status information for a particular vehicle and an associated vehicle identification number for the particular vehicle; a control system server configured to acquire the one or more records from an external database associated with an external server and store the one or more records in the control system database, the control system being further configured to determine a status for the particular vehicle associated with the vehicle identification number based on the status information in a respective record stored in the control system database; a broadcast transmitter configured to transmit a control signal, wherein the broadcast transmitter is further configured to receive the control signal communicated from the control system via the network, and wherein the control signal includes one or more instructions based on the status for the particular vehicle as determined by the control system; and an indicator device having a receiver configured to receive the transmitted control signal from the broadcast transmitter, wherein the control system is in communication with the external server associated with the external database such that the status information of each of the one or more records is communicated from the external server to the control system via the network, and wherein the indicator device is attached to the particular vehicle, the indicator device being further configured to display or send a detectable indication based on the instructions of the control signal received by the indicator device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An indicator device for coupling with a vehicle, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive a control signal from a remote control system server, the control signal sent by the control system server to the indicator device via a broadcast transmitter, the control signal having one or more instructions that are determined by the control system server based on status information for the vehicle; a controller configured to determine if the control signal is addressed to the indicator device based on a unique device identification number associated with the indicator device or a vehicle identification number associated with a vehicle; and an indicator configured to display or send a detectable indication, wherein the controller controls the display or sending of the detectable indication of the indicator based on the one or more instructions of the control signal if the control signal is determined by the controller to be addressed to the indicator device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for determining a status of a vehicle, comprising:
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(a) acquiring by a control system server one or more records from an external database associated with an external server, the one or more records acquired via a network, wherein each record includes status information for a particular vehicle and a device identification number for an indicator device or an associated vehicle identification number for the particular vehicle; (b) determining a status of the particular vehicle by the control system server based on the status information in a respective record for the particular vehicle; and (c) transmitting a control signal via a broadcast transmitter, wherein the control signal is communicated from the control system server to the broadcast transmitter via the network, wherein the control signal includes one or more instructions based on the status for the particular vehicle as determined by the control system server. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A method comprising the following steps:
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(a) receiving by an indicator device a control signal transmitted by a control system to the indicator device via a broadcast transmitter, wherein the indicator device is attached to a particular vehicle, and wherein the control signal includes one or more instructions based on a status for the particular vehicle as determined by the control system; (b) determining by a controller of the indicator device whether the received control signal is addressed to the indicator device based on a device identification number for the indicator device or a vehicle identification number for the particular vehicle; (c) displaying or sending a detectable indication by the indicator device based on the instructions of the control signal received by the indicator device if the control signal is determined in step (b) to be addressed to the indicator device. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification