System and method for communicating vehicular information with a remote location

• US 7,893,818 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Embarq Holdings Company LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Shane M., Smoyer, Clinton J.
• Primary Examiner(s): La; Anh V
• Application Number:
  US11/656,708
• Publication Number:
  US 20080176537A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.2, 340/425.5, 340/426.1, 340/429, 340/426.11, 340/426.12, 340/426.13, 340/426.16, 340/426.22, 340/426.17, 340/438, 340/539.1, 455/414.1, 455/99
• US Class Current: 340/426.12
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0027 Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A system and method for communicating vehicular information with remote locations may include communicating data from a wireless interface of a vehicle with a locally positioned wireless device. The wireless device may be configured to enable a user to communicate with other users of wireless devices. Receipt of the internal signal may cause the wireless device to communicate the data to a remote location. The remote location may be a service provider or public safety organization located on a network, such as the public switched telephone network or wireless communications network (e.g., mobile telephone network).

Claims

1. A system for communicating vehicular information with a remote location, said system comprising:

a computing unit in communication with at least one component of a vehicle; and

a wireless interface in communication with said computing unit and configured to communicate a wireless signal with a locally positioned wireless device, the wireless device including a user interface to enable a user to communicate with other users of wireless devices, said computing unit further configured to receive data from the at least one component of the vehicle and communicate the data in an internal signal via said wireless interface to the wireless device to cause the wireless device to communicate the data to the remote location, said computing unit being further configured to receive an external signal from the remote location via the wireless device and said wireless interface, and communicate data contained in the external signal to the at least one component of the vehicle, the external signal including data to cause said computing unit to alter the at least one component of the vehicle, the at least one component of the vehicle being an electromechanical component, the data of the external signal further causing said computing unit to disable the vehicle, the wireless device being configured with a mechanism configured to cause the wireless device to communicate a disable signal to the wireless interface to cause said computing unit to disable the vehicle a predetermined amount of time after the external signal is received.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a mobile telephone.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said wireless interface is configured to transmit a wireless signal using at least one of a Bluetooth®

and WiFi®

communications protocol.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the vehicle is a collision sensor and the internal signal data is indicative of the collision sensor sensing a collision.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data of the external signal causes said computing unit to unlock a door of the vehicle.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to communicate with a network to which the remote location is in communication.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the remote location includes a service provider.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said computing unit is configured to communicate a message to the wireless device for display of the message to a user thereof.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the locally positioned wireless device is within 100 feet of the vehicle.

10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice menu configured to enable a user to selectively disable the vehicle.

11. A method for communicating vehicular information with a remote location, said method comprising:

communicating data from a wireless interface of a vehicle with a locally positioned wireless device, the wireless device configured to enable a user to communicate with other users of wireless devices, an internal signal causing the wireless device to communicate the data to the remote location;

receiving an external signal from the wireless device;

communicating data contained in the external signal generated by the remote location and communicated via the wireless device to at least one component in the vehicle to cause the at least one component in the vehicle to be altered; and

in response to a user selecting a mechanism, receiving a disable signal by the wireless interface to cause the vehicle to become disabled a predetermined amount of time after the external signal is received.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating with the locally positioned wireless device includes communicating with a mobile telephone.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating includes communicating using at least one of a Bluetooth®

and WiFi®

communications protocol.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising receiving data from at least one component of the vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein receiving data from at least one component of the vehicle includes receiving data that is indicative of a collision by the vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein receiving the external signal includes receiving data causing at least one electromechanical component of the vehicle to be altered.

17. The method according to claim 11, further comprising disabling the vehicle in response to receiving the data of the external signal.

18. The method according to claim 11, further comprising unlocking a door of the vehicle in response to receiving the data of the external signal.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating the data with the wireless device causes the wireless device to communicate with a network to which the remote location is connected.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating the data with the wireless device causes the wireless device to communicate with a public safety organization.

21. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating the data with the wireless device causes the wireless device to display a message to the user.

22. The method according to claim 11, wherein communicating includes broadcasting the data within approximately 100 feet of the vehicle.

23. The method according to claim 11, further comprising generating a voice menu to enable a user to selectively disable the vehicle.