Vehicle occupant response system

• US 7,174,171 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2002
• Issued: 02/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT & T Investments UK Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jones, Alan Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Application Number:
  US10/232,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20030079135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/415, 455/466, 455/550.1, 455/414.2, 4554561-4566, 455/569.2, 455344-345, 455/422.1, 455/424, 340988-992, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 701/1, 701/207, 701200-201, 701/213
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

In a vehicle occupant response system, a vehicle navigation system supplies a vehicle location information to a computer which formulates messages for SMS transmission by a cellular telephone device. The messages are relayed by a GSM network to an Internet server. The server identifies a user account, for example from the telephone number of the device embedded in each message. The server then runs an application which is specific to a user which may comprise sending messages containing desired information to the vehicle and making available the current location of the vehicle to a user of a personal computer.

Claims

1. A vehicle information system for providing user-specified and location-specific information services during the course of the vehicle'"'"'s journey, comprising:

a reader located on board a vehicle and arranged to read identifying information sufficient to identify a person;

a wireless transmitter located on board said vehicle and arranged repeatedly during the course of the vehicle'"'"'s journey to transmit a first message;

said first message;

containing sufficient of said identifying information to identify a user account of said person on a server; and

containing location data from an on-board vehicle navigation system representing a location of said vehicle;

a server located remotely from said vehicle and arranged to receive each said first message, to identify said user account from each said first message, to permit an application available to said identified user account to be specified by said person from a plurality of applications available through the server, and to perform in response to receipt of each of at least some of said first messages said application specified by said person; and

a wireless receiver located on board said vehicle for receiving second messages from said server;

said application specified by said person sending said second messages to said wireless receiver;

each said second message containing information in at least one category selected by said person and including information based on the current vehicle location;

said specified application further sending a third message to an address, external to the server, that was previously selected by said person, said third message including tracking information relating to the location of said vehicle enabling others selected by said person and adapted for receiving information at the user selected address to monitor the progress of the vehicle;

wherein the third message sent to the selected address contains information indicating when the vehicle has been parked, thereby indicating that messages and telephone calls can be made to the vehicle so as to avoid distracting the occupant while driving the vehicle.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, in which said address previously selected by said person for said third message sent by the application selected by the person comprises an e-mail address accessible with a personal computer.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, in which said address previously selected by said person for said third message sent by the application selected by the person comprises a Web page address displaying vehicle location information accessible to those having access to the Web page.