VEHICLE KEY ACTIVATED TRAVEL LOG SYSTEM

• US 20170236342A1
• Filed: 02/17/2017
• Published: 08/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: MATTSSON, Jan Linus
• Application Number:
  US15/436,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20170236342A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/21 having a variable access code
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration

Abstract

A vehicle key activated travel log system of a vehicle includes a first key with a first key identification code; a second key with a second key identification code different from the first key identification code; and a travel log unit to identify first key and the second key. The system generates a first log book when the first key is identified to start the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle key activated travel log system of a vehicle, comprising

a first key with a first key identification code;

a second key with a second key identification code different from the first key identification code; and

a travel log unit to identify the first and second keys and generate a first log book responsive to identifying the first key as being used to start the vehicle.

2. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 1, wherein the first key is a work key for business travel, and the second key is a private use key for personal travel.

3. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 2, further comprising:

a key code transceiver to receive the first and second key identification codes and transmit the first and second key identification codes to the travel log unit;

a memory to store the first log book; and

a user interface for a user to input travel-related information and display data from the first log book.

4. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 2, wherein the travel log unit is communicated with an odometer of the vehicle to obtain readings of an odometer, and

wherein the first log book includes a date of a work trip, a work trip start time, a work trip end time, an odometer reading at a start of the work trip, and an odometer reading at an end of the work trip.

5. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 4, wherein the first log book further includes a mileage of a current work trip and a cumulative mileage of previous work trips up to the current work trip, or a fuel consumption of the current work trip and a cumulative fuel consumption of work trips during a tax year.

6. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 5, wherein the travel log unit is communicated with a human machine interaction (HMI) device of the vehicle to enable a user to input trip information via a user interface of the HMI device and display data from the first log book to the user interface of the HMI device.

7. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 6, wherein the trip information includes a purpose of the work trip, or a company or people visited.

8. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 5, wherein the travel log unit is communicated to a navigation unit of the vehicle, wherein a work trip starting location is recorded when the vehicle is started, and wherein a work trip ending location is recorded when the vehicle is stopped.

9. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 2, wherein information from the first log book is retrievable by a user via a user'"'"'s account with a telematics server.

10. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 2, further comprising a second work key for business travel having a third key identification code, wherein the travel log unit is activated to generate a second log book when a key identification unit recognizes that the second work key is used to start the vehicle.

11. A vehicle key activated travel log system in a vehicle, comprising

a work key for business travel having a first identification code;

a private use key for personal travel having a second identification code different from the first identification code;

a key code transceiver;

a travel log unit activated to generate a log book when a key used to start the vehicle is identified as the work vehicle key;

a travel log display subunit in a human machine interface (HMI) device to display information from the log book; and

an input and output subunit in the HMI device for input and output of travel-related information and data.

12. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 11, wherein the log book includes a date of a work trip, a work trip start time, a work trip end time, an odometer reading at a start of the work trip, and an odometer reading at an end of the work trip.

13. The vehicle key activated travel log system of claim 11, further comprising a data port for transferring data of the log book, wherein the data port is disposed in a HMI device of the vehicle, or in the work key.

14. A method of generating a travel log for a vehicle comprising:

receiving a first key identification code embedded in a work key or a second key identification code embedded in a private use key, each of the work key and the private key for starting the vehicle; and

generating a log book by a travel log unit responsive to the first key identification code being identified as starting the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the log book comprises recording a date of a work trip, a work trip start time, a work trip end time, an odometer reading at a start of the work trip and an odometer reading at an end of the work trip.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving vehicle location information, and recording a work trip start location and a work trip end location into the log book.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving an input from a user via a user interface of a human machine interface (HMI) device in the vehicle and recording the input into the log book, wherein the input includes a purpose of the trip, a company visited, or people visited.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein only the input by the user can be modified by the user.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting information from the log book to a personal computing device or a storage device via a data port of a human machine interface (HMI) device in the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the travel log unit is not activated when the second key identification code is identified to start the vehicle.