Method for granting permission to access a transport network

• US 9,135,757 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2014
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Transport Certification Australia, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Transport Certification Australia, Ltd.
• Inventors: Koniditsiotis, Chris, Edwards, Brian, Taylor, Graham, Lippiatt, Greg
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US14/152,521
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 701/33.4, 701/31.4, 701/517, 701/32.3, 701/33.6, 701/31.5, 701/32.8, 701/519, 177/136, 344/38, 705/305, 342/51
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A method for granting permission for a vehicle to access a transport network includes an applicant electing in an electronic datafile one or more desired conditions of vehicle use for accessing the network and transmitting the electronic datafile via electronic transmission means to a third party for approval. If the electronic datafile is approved, the third party appends approval data to the datafile, such that the applicant is granted temporary permission to access the network in accordance with the elected desired conditions conditional upon, in a prescribed time frame monitoring hardware being installed in the vehicle, and a monitoring service being engaged to monitor use of the vehicle when accessing the network. When the third party is notified that the hardware has been installed and the service has been engaged the datafile is finalized, granting continued permission to access the transport network.

Claims

1. A software implemented method for granting permission for a specific vehicle to access a transport network, comprising the steps of:

(a) electing in an electronic application datafile one or more desired conditions of vehicle use for the specific vehicle to access the transport network;

(b) transmitting the application datafile to an approval software module;

(c) the approval software module creating an approval datafile by appending approval data to the application datafile, wherein the approval datafile defines approved conditions for the vehicle access to the transport network;

(d) transmitting the approval datafile to an activation software module;

(e) the activation soft module creating an activation datatile by appending

an In Vehicle Unit (IVU) identifier to the approval datafile, wherein the IVU identifier is received from an electronic IVU installed in the specific vehicle; and

(f) transmitting the activation datafile to the approval software module;

wherein permission is granted automatically when the approval software module receives the activation datafile.

2. A method for assessing a vehicle'"'"'s compliance with one or more conditions of vehicle use specific to the vehicle being assessed and defined in an activation datafile according to claim 1, comprising the steps of:

(a) operating a processor to process a timemarked log containing vehicle data for one or more parameters of vehicle use obtained from the IVU while the vehicle accesses the transport network;

(b) using the processor to compare the vehicle data in the time-marked log with one or more vehicle use conditions defined in the activation datafile; and

(c) where the comparison indicates that noncompliant activity has occurred, the processor generating an electronic noncompliance report.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein for each record in the time-marked log, the comparison comprises:

(i) the processor identifying, based on the vehicle use conditions defined in the activation datafile, those conditions which are relevant to the record;

(ii) arranging the relevant vehicle use conditions into an order of precedence; and

(iii) comparing the vehicle data in the record with the relevant vehicle use conditions as ordered and assessing if the vehicle is compliant.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the order of precedence for a spatial access condition is:

absolute inclusion;

exclusion;

inclusion; and

background.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the relevant vehicle use conditions comprise conditions which are in effect based on one or more applicable temporal access conditions, and the method comprises identifying the in effect conditions.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein the processor automatically and electronically communicates details of a noncompliance report to a third party.

7. A computer program product for assessing a vehicle'"'"'s compliance with one or more vehicle use conditions granted to a specific vehicle according to the method of claim 1, the computer program product storing instructions in non-transitory tangible media for performing a method comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing a time-marked log containing vehicle data for one or more parameters of vehicle use obtained from an IVU installed in the vehicle while accessing the transport network;

(b) for each record in the time-marked log of vehicle data;

(i) identifying, based on the one or more designated vehicle use conditions in the activation datafile, those conditions which are relevant to vehicle data in the record;

(ii) arranging the relevant vehicle use conditions into an order of precedence; and

(iii) comparing the vehicle data in the record with the relevant vehicle use conditions as ordered and assessing whether the vehicle is compliant.

8. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein the order of precedence for spatial access conditions is:

absolute inclusion;

exclusion;

inclusion; and

background.

9. The computer program product according to claim 7 wherein the method includes the step of selecting those vehicle use conditions which are in effect based on one or more applicable temporal access conditions.