Split sensing method

• US 9,830,662 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2014
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Baker, Nicholas R., Thurber, David W., Rutkowski, Paul Christopher, Bowne, Benjamin F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tinkler, Muriel
• Application Number:
  US14/215,789
• Time in Patent Office: 1,352 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

Client side and server side methods for combining data originating from an On Board Diagnostics (OBD) cap with data originating from a client computing device are presented. The method includes receiving, from a client computing device via a computer network, a plurality of OBD cap data originating from an OBD cap and receiving, from the client computing device via the computer network, a plurality of client computing device data originating from the client computing device. The method also includes selecting, at a processor, a first data parameter from the plurality of OBD cap data and selecting, at the processor, a second data parameter from the plurality of client computing device data. The method further includes analyzing, at the processor, the first data parameter and the second data parameter and flagging, at the processor, an insurance account associated with the OBD device as a result of the analysis.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, from an On Board Diagnostic (OBD) cap, a plurality of OBD cap data, the plurality of OBD cap data being generated by the OBD cap and indicating a location of a vehicle in which the OBD cap is located;

generating, by a client computing device, a plurality of client computing device data indicating a location of the client computing device while being located in the vehicle,

transmitting, by the client computing device to a data server via a computer network, the plurality of OBD cap data and the plurality of client computing device data as combined data, the combined data including location data that is augmented by acceleration data included in the plurality of OBD cap data such that an accuracy of a location of the vehicle indicated by the plurality of client computing device data is increased due to the OBD cap being mechanically coupled to the vehicle in a stationary position while the OBD cap data is generated;

selecting, via the data server, one or more first data parameters from the plurality of OBD cap data;

selecting, via the data server, one or more second data parameters from the plurality of client computing device data;

determining, via the data server, whether the one or more first data parameters and the one or more second data parameters match one another based upon at least one of (i) the location of the vehicle as indicated by the plurality of OBD cap data matching that of the plurality of client computing device data, or (ii) by correlating timing of the one or more first data parameters to the one or more second data parameters and determining whether the correlation meets a threshold correlation amount; and

flagging, via the data server, an insurance account associated with the OBD cap when the one or more first data parameters and the one or more second data parameters do not match one another.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of OBD cap data is encrypted, and further comprising:

decrypting, via the data server, the plurality of OBD cap data.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, via the data server, if one or more data parameters are missing from the one or more first data parameters selected from the plurality of OBD cap data.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

when one or more data parameters are not missing from the one or more first data parameters, determining, via the data server, whether a subset of the plurality of OBD cap data matches a digital fingerprint; and

flagging, via the data server, an insurance account associated with the OBD cap when the subset of the plurality of OBD cap data does not match the digital fingerprint.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

extracting, via the data server, a first client computing device identifier from the client computing device data;

retrieving, via the data server, a second client computing device identifier associated with a customer account;

determining, via the data server, whether the first client computing device identifier matches the second client computing device identifier; and

flagging, via the data server, an insurance account associated with the client computing device when the first client computing device identifier does not match the second client computing device identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first data parameters include first acceleration data, wherein the one or more second data parameters include second acceleration data, and further comprising:

determining whether the one or more first data parameters and the one or more second data parameters match one another by correlating the timing of the first acceleration data and the second acceleration data and determining whether the correlation meets a threshold correlation amount.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the client computing device via the computer network, a plurality of additional OBD cap data generated by a second OBD cap;

selecting, via the data server, one or more third data parameters from the plurality of additional OBD cap data; and

determining, via the data server, whether the one or more first data parameters match the one or more third data parameters.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

flagging, via the data server, an insurance account associated with the first OBD cap when the one or more first data parameters do not match the one or more third data parameters.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first data parameters further include acceleration data originating from the OBD cap, and

wherein the one or more second data parameters further include acceleration data originating from the client computing device.

10. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, via a wireless personal area network, first data from an On Board Diagnostic (OBD) cap located in a vehicle, the first data being generated by the OBD cap and indicating a location of the vehicle;

recording, via an internal sensor associated with a client computing device, second data indicating a location of the client computing device while being located in the vehicle;

combining, via the client computing device, the first data and the second data into third data;

transmitting, via the client computing device, the third data to a data server when communication between the OBD cap and the client computing device is established, the third data including location data that is augmented by acceleration data included in the plurality of OBD cap data such that an accuracy of a location of the vehicle indicated by the plurality of client computing device data is increased due to the OBD cap being mechanically coupled to the vehicle in a stationary position while the OBD cap data is generated;

determining, via the data server, whether (i) one or more first data parameters associated with the first data, and (ii) one or more second data parameters associated with the second data, match one another based upon at least one of (i) the location of the vehicle as indicated by the plurality of OBD cap data matching that of the plurality of client computing device data, or (ii) by correlating timing of the one or more first data parameters to the one or more second data parameters and determining whether the correlation meets a threshold correlation amount; and

flagging, via the data server, an insurance account associated with the OBD cap when the one or more first data parameters and the one or more second data parameters do not match one another.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first data is encrypted.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

retrieving, via the data server, a client computing device identifier.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the internal sensor is an accelerometer and the second data further includes acceleration data.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, from the OBD cap via the wireless personal area network, OBD data generated by a second OBD cap.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, via the data server, whether the client computing device identifier matches an identifier corresponding to a vehicle insurance account associated with the client computing device; and

flagging, via the data server, the vehicle insurance account associated with the client computing device when the client computing device does not match the identifier.

15. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving, from an On Board Diagnostic (OBD) cap, a plurality of OBD cap data including OBD acceleration data and OBD Global Positioning System (GPS) data, the plurality of OBD cap data being generated by the OBD cap while located in a vehicle;

generating, by a client computing device, a plurality of client computing device data including client computing device acceleration data and client computing device GPS data while being located in the vehicle;

transmitting, by the client computing device, the plurality of OBD cap data and the plurality of client computing device data as combined data, the combined data including the Global Positioning System (GPS) data generated by the client computing device that is augmented by acceleration data included in the plurality of OBD cap data such that an accuracy of a location of the vehicle indicated by the plurality of client computing device data is increased due to the OBD cap being mechanically coupled to the vehicle in a stationary position while the OBD cap data is generated;

extracting, via one or more processors associated with a data server, the OBD acceleration data and the OBD GPS data from the plurality of OBD cap data;

extracting, via one or more processors associated with the data server, client computing device acceleration data and client computing device GPS data from the plurality of client computing device data;

determining, via one or more processors associated with the data server, whether the OBD GPS data corresponds to the client computing device GPS data based upon at least one of (i) the location of the vehicle as indicated by the plurality of OBD cap data matching that of the plurality of client computing device data, or (ii) by correlating timing of the OBD acceleration data and the client computing device acceleration data and determining whether the correlation meets a threshold correlation amount; and

when it is determined that the OBD GPS data does not correspond to the client computing device GPS data, adjusting, via one or more processors associated with the data server, an insurance premium of a vehicle insurance account associated with the client computing device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

when one or more data parameters are missing from the plurality of OBD cap data, flagging, via one or more processors associated with the data server, an insurance account associated with the OBD cap.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

when a subset of the plurality of OBD cap data does not match a digital fingerprint, flagging, via one or more processors associated with the data server, an insurance account associated with the OBD cap.