Vehicle profile control and monitoring

• US 8,463,488 B1
• Filed: 06/24/2010
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Paul Hart
• Original Assignee: Paul Hart
• Inventors: Hart, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US12/822,539
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/32.3
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• 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

Methods, systems and apparatus for vehicle control, tracking, and reporting. In an aspect, vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle are compared to profile parameters of a driver. If the vehicle parameters are not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, an out of profile parameter process is performed. The out of profile parameter process includes wirelessly sending a violation report to an administrator device.

Claims

1. A vehicle control and monitoring system, comprising:

a vehicle device comprising a processing subsystem, a communication subsystem that communicates over a wireless network, and a memory subsystem that stores;

a plurality of user profiles, each user profile specifying a profile parameters for the user profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle;

an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device; and

processing instructions that are executable by the processing subsystem and upon such execution cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising;

determine a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle device is installed;

if the profile of the user in one of the user profiles, then;

obtain vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle;

determine whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

in response to determining that a vehicle parameter is not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, perform an out of profile parameter process that includes wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem;

wherein;

the contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device comprises short messaging service (SMS) communication contact information; and

wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem comprises sending a SMS message to the administrator device, the SMS message including location data and the data describing the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits;

the violation report further comprises voice call data that facilitates establishing a voice call with the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle by use of the administrator device;

the voice call data comprises a first cellular telephone number for the vehicle control and monitoring system; and

further comprising software stored in a computer readable storage device, the software being executable by the administrator device and upon such execution cause the administrator device to perform operations comprising;

in response to receiving the violation report by an SMS message;

retrieve the location data from the violation report;

render a map on a display device of the administrator device, the map including the location specified by the latitude and longitude coordinates;

render an icon identifying the location of the vehicle;

render on the map a message that describes the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits; and

rendering on the map a voice call initiation prompt, the voice call initiation prompt being selectable and upon such selection causes the administrator device to initiate a voice call to the vehicle device.

2. A vehicle control and monitoring system, comprising:

a vehicle device comprising a processing subsystem, a communication subsystem that communicates over a wireless network, and a memory subsystem that stores;

a plurality of user profiles, each user profile specifying a profile parameters for the user profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle;

an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device; and

processing instructions that are executable by the processing subsystem and upon such execution cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising;

determine a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle device is installed;

if the profile of the user in one of the user profiles, then;

obtain vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle;

determine whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

in response to determining that a vehicle parameter is not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, perform an out of profile parameter process that includes wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem;

wherein;

the contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device comprises short messaging service (SMS) communication contact information; and

wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem comprises sending a SMS message to the administrator device, the SMS message including location data and the data describing the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits;

the violation report further comprises voice call data that facilitates establishing a voice call with the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle by use of the administrator device;

the voice call data comprises a first cellular telephone number for the vehicle control and monitoring system; and

wherein;

the user profile includes a second cellular telephone number of a cellular telephone for the user associated with the user profile; and

the voice call data comprises the second cellular telephone number;

wherein the system further comprises software stored in a computer readable storage device, the software being executable by the administrator device and upon such execution cause the administrator device to perform operations comprising;

in response to receiving the violation report by an SMS message;

retrieve the location data from the violation report;

render a map on a display device of the administrator device, the map including the location specified by the latitude and longitude coordinates;

render an icon identifying the location of the vehicle;

render on the map a message that describes the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits; and

rendering on the map a voice call initiation prompt, the voice call initiation prompt being selectable and upon such selection causes the administrator device to provide a subsequent selection menu that provides a first option to initiate a voice call to the first cellular telephone number and a second option to initiate a call the second cellular telephone number, the selections of which respectively initiate voice calls to the first and second cellular telephone numbers.

3. A vehicle control and monitoring system, comprising:

a vehicle device comprising a processing subsystem, a communication subsystem that communicates over a wireless network, and a memory subsystem that stores;

a plurality of user profiles, each user profile specifying a profile parameters for the user profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle;

an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device; and

processing instructions that are executable by the processing subsystem and upon such execution cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising;

determine a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle device is installed;

if the profile of the user in one of the user profiles, then;

obtain vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle;

determine whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

in response to determining that a vehicle parameter is not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, perform an out of profile parameter process that includes wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem;

wherein the operational limits comprise threshold limits and instantaneous limits, each threshold limit being associated with a respective threshold time period, and determining whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters comprises;

comparing the vehicle parameters to the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

determining that the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters when the vehicle parameters do not exceed the operational limits defined by the profile parameters;

determining that the vehicle parameters are not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters when at least one vehicle parameter is not within an instantaneous limit; and

determining that the vehicle parameters are not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters when at least one vehicle parameter has not been within a threshold limit in excess of the threshold time period associated with the threshold limit.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device comprises short messaging service (SMS) communication contact information; and

wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem comprises sending a SMS message to the administrator device, the SMS message including location data and the data describing the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the system further includes a global positioning system module, and wherein the location data are latitude and longitude coordinates obtained from the global positioning system module.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

software stored in a computer readable storage device, the software being executable by the administrator device and upon such execution cause the administrator device to perform operations comprising;

in response to receiving the violation report by an SMS message;

retrieve the location data from the violation report;

render a map on a display device of the administrator device, the map including the location specified by the latitude and longitude coordinates;

render an icon identifying the location of the vehicle; and

render on the map a message that describes the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the violation report further comprises data describing additional vehicle parameters, including a profile identifier of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the violation report further comprises voice call data that facilitates establishing a voice call with the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle by use of the administrator device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the voice call data comprises a first cellular telephone number for the vehicle control and monitoring system.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein the processing instructions cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising:

generate an audible warning in response to determining that the vehicle parameters are not within the operational limits defined by the threshold limit for a period of time that is not in excess of the threshold time period associated with the threshold limit.

11. A vehicle control and monitoring system, comprising:

a vehicle device comprising a processing subsystem, a communication subsystem that communicates over a wireless network, and a memory subsystem that stores;

a plurality of user profiles, each user profile specifying a profile parameters for the user profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle;

an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device; and

processing instructions that are executable by the processing subsystem and upon such execution cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising;

determine a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle device is installed;

if the profile of the user in one of the user profiles, then;

obtain vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle;

determine whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

in response to determining that a vehicle parameter is not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, perform an out of profile parameter process that includes wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem;

wherein the operational limits comprise absolute limits and relative limits, each relative limit being associated with an operational limit that varies according to the current location of the vehicle, and determining whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters comprises;

obtaining, for a relative limit, the operational limit of a current location;

determining whether the vehicle parameter is within the operational limit of a current location as modified by the relative limit.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operational limit that varies according to the current location is a speed limit, and the relative limit is a limit in excess of any speed limit.

13. A vehicle control and monitoring system, comprising:

a vehicle device comprising a processing subsystem and a memory subsystem that stores;

a student profile, the student profile associated with a user and storing credited driving time of the user in the operator role of the vehicle;

an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing identification information for an administrator and an administrator password;

a compliance profile, the compliance profile storing learning requirements for obtaining a license as required in a jurisdiction, the learning requirements including a minimum driving time specifying a minimum length of time that a learning user must drive a vehicle under the supervision of the administrator;

processing instructions that are executable by the processing subsystem and upon such execution cause the processing subsystem to perform operations comprising;

determining a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle device is installed;

in response to determining that the profile of the user that is in the operator role of a vehicle is the student profile, requesting the administrator password;

in response to receiving and determining that the administrator password matches the administrator password stored in the administrator profile, crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user;

determining whether the credited driving time exceeds the minimum driving time; and

in response to determining whether that credited driving time exceeds the minimum driving time, generating a notification that the user has fulfilled the minimum length of time that a learning user must drive a vehicle under the supervision of the administrator.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the student profile specify profile parameters for the student profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle; and

crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user comprises;

obtaining vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle; and

crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user with the vehicle parameters being within the operational limits.

15. A method performed by a vehicle mounted data processing apparatus, comprising:

storing a plurality of user profiles, each user profile specifying profile parameters for the user profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle;

storing an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device; and

determining a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle mounted data processing apparatus is installed;

if the profile of the user in one of the user profiles, then;

obtain vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle;

determining whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters of the user profile of the user that is in the operator role of the vehicle;

in response to determining that a vehicle parameter is not within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters, performing an out of profile parameter process that includes wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device;

wherein;

the contact information for wirelessly providing data to an administrator device comprises short messaging service (SMS) communication contact information; and

wirelessly sending a violation report to the administrator device by use of the communication subsystem comprises sending a SMS message to the administrator device, the SMS message including location data and the data describing the vehicle parameters that are not within the operational limits;

the operational limits comprise absolute limits and relative limits, each relative limit being associated with an operational limit that varies according to the current location of the vehicle, and determining whether the vehicle parameters are within the operational limits defined by the profile parameters comprises;

obtaining, for a relative limit, the operational limit of a current location; and

determining whether the vehicle parameter is within the operational limit of a current location as modified by the relative limit.

16. A method performed by a vehicle mounted data processing apparatus, comprising:

storing a student profile, the student profile associated with a user and storing credited driving time of the user in the operator role of the vehicle;

storing an administrator profile, the administrator profile storing identification information for an administrator and an administrator password;

storing a compliance profile, the compliance profile storing learning requirements for obtaining a license as required in a jurisdiction, the learning requirements including a minimum driving time specifying a minimum length of time that a learning user must drive a vehicle under the supervision of the administrator;

determining a profile of a user that is in an operator role of a vehicle in which the vehicle mounted data processing apparatus is installed;

in response to determining that the profile of the user that is in the operator role of a vehicle is the student profile, requesting the administrator password;

in response to receiving and determining that the administrator password matches the administrator password stored in the administrator profile, crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user;

determining whether the credited driving time exceeds the minimum driving time; and

in response to determining whether that credited driving time exceeds the minimum driving time, generating a notification that the user has fulfilled the minimum length of time that a learning user must drive a vehicle under the supervision of the administrator.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the student profile specify profile parameters for the student profile, the profile parameters defining operational limits for an automotive vehicle; and

crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user comprises;

obtaining vehicle parameters that describe the current operation of the vehicle; and

crediting the driving time stored in the student profile for an amount proportional to the time that the vehicle is being operated by the user with the vehicle parameters being within the operational limits.