System and method for wireless vehicle content determination

• US 9,786,102 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Bullister, Kevin Michael, Chronowski, David, Woloszyn, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Melton, Todd
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROBERSON, JASON R
• Application Number:
  US13/832,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20140277828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction

Abstract

A fleet management system providing a manager with a tailored user interface based on the enabled features recognized in a vehicle. The fleet management system may monitor two or more vehicles, wherein each vehicle may have one or more processors. The one or more processors may receive an initialization signal from the fleet management system. The one or more processors may perform a query of one or more vehicle modules for enabled features in response to the initialization signal received from the fleet management system. The query of enabled vehicle features may be based on one or more criteria. The system may transmit to a server a signal indicating the enabled vehicle features installed in the vehicle. The system may output the enabled vehicle features to a user while tailoring the user screen data based on the enabled features.

Claims

1. A fleet management system comprising:

a first processor configured to;

wirelessly receive an initialization signal originating from a fleet management server in communication with the first processor;

responsive to the initializing signal, query vehicle modules for enabling data indicating optional features installed in a vehicle, wherein the query is based on one or more criteria;

wirelessly transmit a signal indicating the installed features to the fleet management server;

wherein the fleet management server is configured to tailor a user screen responsive to indicated installed features received from the first processor.

2. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the one or more criteria includes comparing a module software size.

3. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the one or more criteria includes analysis of calibration variable settings.

4. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the one or more criteria includes hardware configuration.

5. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the server is configured to output the enabled features to a cellular phone.

6. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the server is configured to output the enabled features to a personal computer.

7. The fleet management system of claim 1 wherein the query based on one or more criteria includes a query of one or more configuration settings for the module.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

wirelessly receiving an initialization signal from a fleet management server;

querying vehicle modules for enabling data indicating optional features installed in a vehicle, responsive to the initialization signal on a vehicle data bus, the query being based on one or more criteria;

wirelessly transmitting a signal indicating the installed features to the fleet management server; and

tailoring an output display at the fleet management server based on the indicated installed features.