U.S. patent application number 14/302805 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-09 for method and system of providing information to an occupant of a vehicle.
This patent application is currently assigned to GORDON*HOWARD ASSOCIATES, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Gordon*Howard Associates, Inc.. Invention is credited to Franco CHIRICO, Jeffrey H. FRANK, Christopher M. MACHECA, Gerald A. MORGAN, Stanley G. SCHWARZ.
Application Number | 20140304053 14/302805 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47830676 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140304053 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SCHWARZ; Stanley G. ; et
al. |
October 9, 2014 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM OF PROVIDING INFORMATION TO AN OCCUPANT OF A
VEHICLE
Abstract
Providing information to an occupant of a vehicle. At least some
of the illustrative embodiments are methods including: identifying
an occupant of a vehicle, the identifying creates an indicia of
occupant identity; determining an identity of the vehicle, the
determining creates an indicia of vehicle identity; tracking
location of the vehicle when occupied by the occupant; and
providing information to the occupant, the information selected
based on the indicia of occupant identity, the indicia of vehicle
identity, and/or the locations of vehicle when occupied by the
occupant.
Inventors: |
SCHWARZ; Stanley G.;
(Indialantic, FL) ; FRANK; Jeffrey H.; (Littleton,
CO) ; MACHECA; Christopher M.; (Centennial, CO)
; MORGAN; Gerald A.; (Littleton, CO) ; CHIRICO;
Franco; (Highlands Ranch, CO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Gordon*Howard Associates, Inc. |
Littleton |
CO |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
GORDON*HOWARD ASSOCIATES,
INC.
Littleton
CO
|
Family ID: |
47830676 |
Appl. No.: |
14/302805 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13229326 |
Sep 9, 2011 |
8781900 |
|
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14302805 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.25 ;
705/14.53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08G 1/0962 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0255 20130101; G06Q 30/0224 20130101;
G06Q 30/0261 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.25 ;
705/14.53 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: identifying an occupant of a vehicle by way
of identifying a portable electronic device carried by the
occupant, the identifying creates an indicia of occupant identity;
determining an identity of the vehicle, the determining creates an
indicia of vehicle identity; tracking location of the vehicle when
occupied by the occupant; and providing information to the occupant
related to a business at which the vehicle with the occupant has
stopped on at least one previous occasion, the information selected
based on the indicia of occupant identity, and the indicia of
vehicle identity.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the occupant is at least one
selected from the group consisting of: the driver of the vehicle;
and a passenger in the vehicle.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the portable
electronic device further comprises communicating with at least one
portable electronic device selected from the group consisting of: a
cellular telephone; a smart phone; a computer system; a personal
digital assistant; and a device comprising a radio frequency
identification tag.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking further comprises reading
global positioning system (GPS) signals received by the portable
electronic device.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking further comprises
tracking location by cellular telephone signals.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing information further
comprises providing the information to a display device coupled to
the vehicle.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein providing information further
comprises providing the information to a display device of the
portable electronic device carried by the occupant.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein providing information further
comprises providing information related to a business along an
expected path of travel of the vehicle when the vehicle is occupied
by the occupant.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein providing information further
comprises providing a coupon for a good or a service provided by
the business.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein providing the coupon further
comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of:
providing an electronic coupon; and providing a link to website at
which the coupon can be downloaded.
11. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the
processor; the memory storing a program that, when executed by the
processor, causes the processor to: create an indication of an
identified driver of a vehicle, the creating by way of identifying
a portable electronic device carried by the driver; track location
of the vehicle as driven by the identified driver; and provide
information to the identified driver related to a business along an
expected path of travel of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated
by the identified driver, the information selected based on the
identity of the identified driver and the locations of vehicle when
driven by the identified driver; and disable the vehicle.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein when the processor provides
information the program causes the processor to provide the
information to a display device of the portable electronic device
carried by the driver.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein when the processor provides
information the program further causes the processor to provide
information related to a business along an expected path of travel
of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated by the identified
driver.
14. The system of claim 11 wherein the portable electronic device
further comprises at least one selected from the group consisting
of: a cellular telephone; a smart phone; a computer system; a
personal digital assistant; and a radio frequency identification
(RFID) tag.
15. The system of claim 11 wherein when the processor provides
information the program further causes the processor to provide
information related to a business along an expected path of travel
of the vehicle when the vehicle is driven by the identified
driver.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein when the processor provides
information, the program further causes the processor to provide a
coupon for a good or a service provided by the business.
17. The system of claim 16 wherein when the processor provides the
coupon, the program further causes the processor to provide the
coupon as at least one selected from the group consisting of: an
electronic coupon; and a link to a website at which the coupon can
be downloaded.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/229,326 titled "Method and System of
Providing Information to an Occupant of a Vehicle," filed Sep. 9,
2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. ______), the application of which is
incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in full
below.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Advertisers are always looking for new and innovative ways
to provide advertising information to consumers, and the growing
trend is targeted marketing. Thus, any system or method that
enables advertisers to provide targeted advertisements to consumers
would provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments,
reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0004] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system in accordance with
at least some embodiments;
[0005] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system in accordance with
at least some embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a portable electronic device
in accordance with at least some embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 4 shows a method in accordance with at least some
embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 5 shows a method in accordance with at least some
embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 6 shows a method in accordance with at least some
embodiments; and
[0010] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a computer system in
accordance with at least some embodiments.
NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE
[0011] Certain terms are used throughout the following description
and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled
in the art will appreciate, different companies may refer to a
component by different names. This document does not intend to
distinguish between components that differ in name but not
function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms
"including" and "comprising" are used in an open-ended fashion, and
thus should be interpreted to mean "including, but not limited to .
. . ." Also, the term "couple" or "couples" is intended to mean
either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device
couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct
connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices and
connections.
[0012] "Remote" or "remotely", relative to a vehicle, shall mean a
distance of greater than one kilometer.
[0013] "Identifying" shall mean making a determination as to the
identity of a person or device, but shall not require determining
an absolute identity. For example, determining that the person or
device was not previously identified shall still be considered as
identifying.
[0014] "Portable electronic device" shall mean a handheld device
that has the ability to communicate over a wireless data network,
and is not affixed to a vehicle. The fact that a portable wireless
device may dock with a docking station while in a vehicle shall not
obviate the portable status.
[0015] "Affixed" with respect to a vehicle shall mean that the
portable device is mechanically or electrically coupled to the
vehicle such that the device is not physically accessible by an
occupant properly seated in the vehicle.
[0016] "Location" shall mean a geographic location, but shall not
be read to require precise location. Resolution on location as
large as a state, county, or city shall still be considered
location for purposes of the claims.
[0017] "Advertising" as a noun, and "advertisement(s)" shall mean
information about a good or service of a specific business.
"Advertising" as a noun and "advertisement(s)" shall not encompass
maintenance information about an automobile (e.g., that an
automobile is due for an oil change, or the automobile is due for a
tire rotation).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] The following discussion is directed to various embodiments
of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be
preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or
otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure or claims.
In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the
following description has broad application, and the discussion of
any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment,
and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure or
claims is limited to that embodiment.
[0019] The various embodiments are directed to systems and methods
of providing targeted advertising to one or more consumers in a
vehicle. The developmental context is providing advertising to the
driver of a vehicle, and thus the specification will be based on
the developmental context; however, the developmental context shall
not be read as a limitation as the applicability of the various
embodiments, as advertising may be provided to any occupant of the
vehicle in other embodiments. The advertising provided is selected
based on an identity of the driver of the vehicle, as well as
various locations of the vehicle when driven by the particular
driver. FIG. 1 shows a system in accordance with at least some
embodiments. In particular, the main elements of the illustrative
system of FIG. 1 comprise a data center 100, a wireless data
network 102, and an onboard device 104. Each will be discussed in
turn.
[0020] The data center 100 may comprise one or more computer
systems executing software instructions. In some cases, the one or
more computer systems of the data center may all be located at a
single location; however, in other cases the computer systems of
the data center may be remotely located from one another, yet
functioning as a data center. In a particular embodiment, one or
more computer systems of the data center may be "cloud" computer
systems provided under contract from a cloud computing service
provider, thus the physical location of the computer systems may
not be precisely known to the data center operator, or may change
daily or even hourly depending on the amount of computing resources
used.
[0021] In accordance with various embodiments the data center 100
further comprises an advertisement database 106, a driver/location
database 108, and an advertisement selection program 110. The
advertisement database 106 comprises advertisements for one or more
businesses. The advertisements may take many forms. In some cases
the advertisements may be informational, such as advertisements
indicating a current or upcoming sale. In other cases, the
advertisements may comprise electronic images of coupons or other
incentives for short term purchases by the consumer. The
advertisement selection program 110 may select one or more
advertisements from the advertisement database 106, the selection
based on any or all of: previous routes driven by the driver in the
vehicle, the previous routes stored on the driver/location database
108; identity of the driver of the vehicle; and/or current location
of the vehicle. The selection of advertisements, as well as
delivery to the driver, is discussed more below.
[0022] In the illustration of FIG. 1, the onboard device 104 is
coupled to a vehicle, such as automobile 112. That is, the onboard
device 104 is mechanically and electrically coupled to the
automobile 112, and in some cases at least a portion of the onboard
device 104 is not physically accessible by an occupant properly
seated in the vehicle. In many cases, some or all the onboard
device 104 may reside under or within the dashboard of the
automobile 112. In other cases, the onboard device 104 may be at
any suitable location within the car, such as in an electrical
compartment under the hood, or within the luggage compartment. In a
particular embodiment, the onboard device 106 both mechanically and
electrically couples to the automobile 108 by way of a connector
114. That is, connector 114 may provide mechanical support that
holds the onboard device 104 in place, and by way of the connector
114 the onboard device 104 may electrically couple to other
components of the automobile 112, such as the onboard computer or
starter solenoid. In one embodiment, the connector 114 is an
onboard diagnostic (OBD) version two (hereafter just OBD-II) port.
Coupling the onboard device 104 to the OBD-II port thus gives the
onboard device 104 the ability to communicate with one or more
computer systems of the automobile 112.
[0023] The onboard device 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a
processor 116 coupled to a memory 118 by way of a bus 120. The
memory 118 stores programs executed by the processor 116, and in
some cases may be the working memory for the processor 116. For
example, the memory 118 may be random access memory (RAM) (e.g.,
dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory), programmable
read-only memory (PROM), or combinations. While FIG. 1 shows the
processor 116 and memory 118 as separate components, in other cases
the processor and memory are an integrated component, such as
microcontroller. The processor 116 may communicate with sub-systems
of the automobile over the connector 114, such as computer systems
of the automobile. The onboard device 104 configured to couple to
the OBD-II port may also have the ability to read or determine data
associated with the vehicle, such as determining the identity of
the vehicle (e.g., by reading the VIN number), and may also have
the ability to command computer systems of the automobile to
disable certain functions (e.g., starting, spark ignition, fuel
system) such that automobile may be disabled at the command of the
onboard device 104.
[0024] The onboard device 104 further comprises a wireless
communication system 122 coupled to the processor 116. By way of
the wireless communication system 122, programs executed by the
processor 116 may communicate with other devices. In some
embodiments, the wireless communication system 122 is the system
over which data transmission to and from the data center 100 may
take place, as illustrated by antenna 123 coupled to the wireless
communication network 102 and thus the data center 100. The
wireless communication system 122 thus implements a wireless
communication system and/or protocol (i.e., radio frequency
communication by way of electromagnetic waves propagating through
air). Any suitable communication protocol may be implemented by the
wireless communication system 122 and the wireless communication
network 102, such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)
compliant protocol, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) compliant
protocol, or a Personal Communications Service (PCS) compliant
system. In one embodiment the wireless communication system 122
will employ only data communications, but in other embodiments
audio and/or voice communication from the data center 100 may be
implemented.
[0025] Still referring to FIG. 1, illustrative onboard device 104
further comprises a display device 124 coupled to the processor
116. The display device 124 may be any display device upon which
text and/or images may be formed. While in some embodiments
portions of the onboard device 104 may not be accessible by the
driver when properly seated, in a particular embodiment at the
least the display device 124 is installed in such a way that the
driver and/or other occupants of the automobile can see the display
when properly seated. Though not specifically shown in FIG. 1, the
display device may be overlaid with a transparent touch sensitive
device such that the onboard device 104 implements "touch screen"
functionality.
[0026] The illustrative onboard device 104 further comprises a GPS
receiver 126. The GPS receiver 126 receives signals from an array
of GPS satellites orbiting the earth, and based on timing
associated with arrival of those signals, a location of the onboard
device 104 can be determined. In some cases, the GPS receiver 126
has sufficient functionality to calculate location, and thus the
data passed to processor 116 may be a direct indication of
location. In other cases, the functionality to determine location
may be shared between the GPS receiver 126 and software executing
on the processor 116. That is, the GPS receiver 126 may receive the
plurality of GPS signals and pass the information to a program on
the processor 116, which program may then make the determination as
to location of the onboard device 104, and thus the location of the
automobile 112.
[0027] In other embodiments, location determinations by the onboard
device may be by mechanisms other than strictly GPS signals. For
example, in some embodiments location may be fully or partially
determined based on the signals of the wireless communication
network 102 (which in some cases is a cellular telephone network).
For example, location may be broadly determined by knowing the
location of a particular tower of the wireless communication
network 102 with which the onboard device 104 is communicating. In
other cases, location may be determined by triangulation if
multiple towers are in communication range of the wireless
communication system 122 of the onboard device 104. In some cases,
the determination of location based on the wireless communication
network is performed by the processor 116 of the onboard device,
but in other cases the tower information is sent to the data center
100 to perform the bulk of the location calculations.
[0028] Still referring to FIG. 1, the illustrative onboard device
further comprises an identification system 128. The identification
system 128 may take many forms, examples of which are discussed
more below. So as not to unduly complicate the discussion, consider
for now that the identification system 128 can determine identity
of the driver of the automobile in some form. It is noted, however,
that a determination of an exact identity is not recited or
required. Even a determination that the particular driver has not
been previously identified may be sufficient in many
embodiments.
[0029] When the driver approaches and/or enters the automobile 112,
the onboard device 104, by way of the identification system 128,
identifies the driver thus creating indicia of driver identity.
Moreover, the onboard device 104 determines an identity of the
vehicle, thereby creating indicia of vehicle identity. It is noted
that, in some embodiments, the onboard device 104 need not
re-identify the automobile each and every time a driver approaches
and/or enters the automobile. In some cases, the onboard device 104
may only identify the automobile when the onboard device 104 is
initially installed. In other cases, the onboard device 104 may
identify the vehicle at any suitable time, such as after a loss of
power that could indicate the onboard device 104 has been moved
between automobiles.
[0030] Once the driver and the automobile have been identified, the
onboard device 104, by way of the GPS receiver 126, tracks the
location of the automobile as driven by the driver by determining a
series of locations of the automobile over time. Tracking location
can take many forms. In one embodiment, the onboard device 104
tracks the vehicle with high precision, thus one may be able to
identify the street and block at which the automobile is passing at
any given time (though the onboard device may not necessarily have
or contain street level databases). In other cases, the onboard
device 104 may act only to determine the end-points of each trip.
Because the end-point of the previous trip is, by nature, the
beginning point of the next trip, the onboard device 104 can
determine the beginning and ending location of each trip, but not
necessarily the route taken. In yet still further embodiments, the
spatial resolution of the tracking may be large, such as a city,
state, or country. For example, in one embodiment the onboard
device may determine position with enough accuracy only to
determine the state within which the automobile is currently being
driven. In a particular embodiment, the onboard device 104 sends
the identity of the driver and automobile to the data center 100 by
way of the wireless communication network 102. The data center 100,
in turn, may store the information in the driver/location database
108.
[0031] The advertisement selection program 110 selects
advertisements from the advertisement database 106, and sends the
advertisements to the onboard device 104 by way of the wireless
communication network 102. The onboard device 104, in turn,
provides the information of the advertisement to the driver in any
suitable form, such as by displaying the advertisement on the
display device 124.
[0032] Consider, for purposes of explanation, a driver of
automobile 112 drives to work every business day along
substantially the same route. Over time, the driver/location
database 108 may contain enough information to reliably predict the
path of travel of the automobile 104. With that history, on a
particular day the advertisement selection program 110 may select
an advertisement from the advertisement database 106 for a business
that resides along the expected route of travel, and the
advertisement is delivered to the onboard device 104. As the driver
approaches the business for which the advertisement has been
downloaded, the onboard device 104 may provide the advertisement to
the driver by way of the display device 124. For example, for
morning commutes business such as restaurants, doughnut shops, and
coffee shops, just to name a few, may provide pinpoint advertising
to the driver as a potential customer.
[0033] In some cases, the location determined by the onboard device
104 may only be a position on the face of the earth, for example
latitude and longitude. The data center 100, receiving a stream of
locations from the onboard device 104, may correlate to streets and
addresses. In other cases, the onboard device 104 may have
sufficient memory and computing functionality to not only determine
position in a latitude and longitude sense, but also to correlate
the position to cities, streets, block numbers and addresses. Thus,
in some cases the data center 100, particularly the advertisement
selection program 110, sends the advertisement at the desired time
based on a stream of location indications sent from the onboard
device 104. In other cases, the data center 100 sends the
advertisement to the onboard device 104 with an indication of at
what upcoming location the advertisement should be provided to the
driver. The onboard device 104, in turn, holds the advertisement
(e.g., in memory 118) until the automobile is at or near the
predetermined location, and then provides the advertisement without
further prompting by the data center 104.
[0034] The selection of advertisements, however, is not limited to
merely businesses along the expected path of travel. In yet still
further embodiments, the advertisement selection program 110 may
select advertisements based on previous locations at which the
driver and automobile have stopped. For example, if the
advertisement selection program 110 determines the driver stops
most mornings at a particular business (e.g., a coffee shop), the
advertisement selection program may select an advertisement based
on the knowledge. The illustrative advertisement selected and
provided may be with respect to the business where the driver has
previously stopped (e.g., advertising a customer loyalty special or
sale), or from a competing good or service provider as an attempt
to lure the customer away.
[0035] In yet still further cases, the advertisement selected and
provided to the onboard device 104 for delivery to the driver may
be selected based on the automobile. If the automobile is a
FORD.RTM. brand product, for example, the advertisement selection
program may select advertisements for goods and services related to
the automobile 112, such as service specials (e.g., oil change
specials at the dealership) trade-in rebate programs, and the like.
The advertisements selected based on the automobile may likewise be
position based, providing the advertisements to the driver as the
driver and automobile 112 approach the dealership.
[0036] The identity of the driver may also be taken into
consideration by the advertising selection program 110. For
example, the advertisements selected and provided for an adult
driver of the automobile 112 may be different than the
advertisements selected and provided for a teenage driver of the
same automobile 112, even along the same route. Stated more
generically then, either the identity of the driver, the identity
of the automobile, or both are taken into consideration when
selecting advertisements. Further still, in addition to the
identity of the driver and/or automobile, the past and/or current
location of the automobile may be taken into consideration when
selecting an advertisement to be provided to the driver.
[0037] In yet still other embodiments, the advertisement selection
program 110 may select one or more advertisements, and provide the
advertisements to the onboard device 104 in advance, with
instructions and/or criteria of when and/or where to provide the
advertisements to the driver. Thus, the final selection of
advertisements may be by instructions executed by the processor 116
of the onboard device 104 selecting among a group of possible
advertisements.
[0038] The specification now turns to illustrative embodiments of
identifying the driver of the automobile by the onboard device 104.
In some embodiments the identification system 128 directly
identifies the driver by gathering some form of biometric
information of the driver. For example, in some embodiments the
identification system 128 may be a fingerprint scanner. The onboard
device 104 may place the automobile in a disabled state (as
discussed above) until the driver places her or his finger on the
identification device the form of a fingerprint scanner. Once
scanned, the onboard device 104 can enable the automobile for use.
Thus, with the fingerprint scanned the onboard device 104 has
indicia of driver identity that can be kept locally and/or sent to
the data center 100. Here again, it is noted that a precise
identity of the driver need not be known in all cases. The fact
that a unique driver is identified by way of the fingerprint may be
sufficient in many embodiments.
[0039] As another example of gathering biometric information of the
driver, in some embodiments the identification system 128 may be a
retinal scanner. The onboard device 104 may place the automobile in
a disabled state (as discussed above) until the driver scans her or
his retina on the identification device 128 the form of a retinal
scanner. Once scanned, the onboard device 104 can enable the
automobile for use. Thus, with the retinal scan the onboard device
104 has indicia of driver identity that can be kept locally and/or
sent to the data center 100. Here again, it is noted that a precise
identity of the driver need not be known in all cases. The fact
that a unique driver is identified by way of the retinal scan may
be sufficient in many embodiments.
[0040] As another example of gathering biometric information of the
driver, in some embodiments the identification system 128 may be a
voice recognition system. The onboard device 104 may place the
automobile in a disabled state (as discussed above) until the
driver speaks her or his predetermined word or phrase into the
identification device 128 in the form of a voice recognition
system. Once recognized, the onboard device 104 can enable the
automobile for use. Thus, with the voice recognition the onboard
device 104 has indicia of driver identity that can be kept locally
and/or sent to the data center 100. Here again, it is noted that a
precise identity of the driver need not be known in all cases. The
fact that a unique driver is identified by way of the voice
recognition system may be sufficient in many embodiments. Thus, not
only does the onboard device 104 provide targeting advertisement,
but may also serve the function of a theft deterrent device.
[0041] It is noted that, with respect to the gathering of biometric
information for determining driver identity, the onboard device 104
need not solely make the determination, particularly when the
determinations are processor intensive (e.g., voice recognition).
That is, in some cases the identification system 128 may gather
data, and send the data to a remote computer (e.g., the data center
100) for further processing. For example, data gathered by the
identification system 128 may be sent by the onboard device 104 to
an identification program 140 executed by computer systems of the
data center 100. The identification program, in turn, performs the
processor intensive work of identification (e.g., performing voice
analysis, analyzing the retinal scan).
[0042] In yet still other embodiments, identification may be more
indirect than reading information directly from the driver. FIG. 2
shows an automobile 112 with an onboard device 104 in accordance
with alternative embodiments. In particular, the identification
system 128 in the illustrative embodiments is in the form of a
short-range wireless device 200. The short-range wireless device
200 may take many forms, but has a limited distance over which
communication may take place. The range of over which communication
may take place need not extend beyond the passenger compartment of
the automobile 112, but because the passenger compartment of an
automobile has windows and doors, the range may extend beyond the
automobile for a relatively short distance (e.g., two meters). The
protocol over which the short-range wireless device 200
communicates may likewise take many forms. In one embodiment, the
short-range wireless device 120 implements a Bluetooth
communication protocol. Another example protocol includes
ZIGBEE.RTM. brand network protocols, where the ZIGBEE.RTM.
trademark is owned by Zigbee Alliance. Regardless of the type of
protocol, and range, implemented by the short-range wireless device
200, when the onboard device 104 is installed and remotely located
from the data center 100 the short-range wireless device 200 cannot
directly communicate with the data center 100 over the short-range
wireless device 200 (though communication are still possible over
the wireless communication system 122, or through an intervening
device).
[0043] In accordance with some embodiments, the onboard device 104
identifies the driver by way of the short-range wireless device
200. More particularly, the short-range wireless device 200 may
establish communication with a portable electronic device carried
by the driver, and thereby identify the driver. That is, assuming
that the driver usually carries the same portable wireless device,
identifying the presence of the portable wireless device is thus an
indirect identification of the driver. Portable wireless devices
carried by the driver may take many forms. For example, the
portable wireless device may be in the form of a cellular phone or
smart phone 202, which smart phone 202 may provide personal digital
assistant functionality.
[0044] In yet still further embodiments, the portable wireless
device may be a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag 204
carried by the driver. For example, the driver may carry an access
card for a building (e.g., work, gym) where the access card has an
embedded RFID tag. The onboard device 104 may determine the driver
identity by establishing communication with the RFID tag 204. In
yet still further embodiments, the portable wireless device may be
a laptop computer system 206 carried by the driver, where the
laptop computer system 206 implements a short range communication
system.
[0045] In the case of identifying by way of a portable wireless
device then, identifying the device may thus indirectly identify
the driver. However, these illustrative embodiments shall not be
read to require that the full identity (e.g., full name) of the
driver could or should be determined from the portable wireless
device. In some cases merely knowing that a driver that regularly
carries the particular portable wireless device may be sufficient.
However, in some cases full identity may be determined, such as by
reading the name entered by the user of the smart-phone 202, or
perhaps reading a name encoded on the RFID tag 204.
[0046] In some embodiments, the only role played by the portable
wireless device is assisting in identifying the driver. However, in
other embodiments the portable wireless device may provide a more
active role in delivery of advertisements to the driver. For
example, illustrative smart phone 202 has a display device 208. In
some embodiments, the advertisement is provided to the driver by
way of a display device 208 of the driver's smart phone 202 (or,
for that matter, the display device 210 of the driver's laptop
computer system 206). The advertisement displayed may take many
forms. In some cases the advertisement is text message (e.g., short
messaging service (SMS) text communication, or multimedia messaging
service (MMS) communication). That is, rather than delivering the
advertisement through the onboard device 104, the data center 100
may send the advertisement directly to the driver's smart phone in
the form of a SMS or text message. In yet still other embodiments,
the message may take the form of series of packet-based messages
(e.g., TCP/IP) exchanged between a program executing on the smart
phone 202 and the computer systems of the data center 100 by way of
the onboard device 104. That is, the advertisement may be sent from
the data center 100, through the wireless communication network
102, through the onboard device 104, and then to the smart phone
202. In yet still further embodiments, the advertisement may be
sent directly to the portable wireless device over the wireless
communication network 102, and thus not through the onboard device
104.
[0047] Having a portable device to which to send advertisements
enables yet still further functionality. For example, an electronic
coupon for a good or service may be provided to the smart phone
202, where the driver may then carry the smart phone 202 into the
establishment as the means to use the coupon. In yet still other
embodiments, the data center 100 may send to the smart phone 202 a
link to a website at which a coupon can be downloaded.
[0048] So as not to unduly complicate the description, the
specification to this point has assumed that the driver is
identified, and advertisements directed to the driver are provided.
However, in further embodiments the identified person need not be
the driver. For example, by any of the various mechanisms discussed
above, any occupant of the automobile 112 may be identified.
Moreover, while the discussion is based on identifying a single
individual, in other cases multiple individuals may be identified
as being within the automobile. Thus, in these further embodiments,
the advertisements provided may be directed to occupants other than
the driver. In the particular case of each occupant having a
separate portable wireless device (such as each occupant having
their own smart phone), the data center 100 may send different
advertisements to each occupant, the advertisements selected as
discussed above.
[0049] FIG. 3 shows an electrical block diagram of a portable
electronic device 300 in accordance with at least some embodiments.
The portable electronic device 300 is illustrative of devices that
could be carried by the driver of the automobile, such as the smart
phone 202. In particular, the portable electronic device 300
comprises a processor 302, memory 304, graphics controller 306,
display device 308, global positioning system (GPS) receiver 310,
cellular phone/data transceiver 312, short range communication
transceiver 314, and battery 316. The processor 302 is coupled to
memory 304, such as by a bus 303. The memory 304 stores programs
executed by the processor 302, and in some cases may be the working
memory for the processor 302. In some cases, the memory 304 may be
random access memory (RAM) (e.g., dynamic random access memory
(DRAM), flash memory). The memory 304 may store programs used by
the portable electronic device for operation, such as a mobile
operating system (e.g., iOS.TM. brand mobile operating system from
Apple, Inc., or the ANDROID.TM. brand mobile operating system from
Google, Inc.) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) installed
programs (e.g., applications to implement placing and receiving
cellular phone calls, or messaging services).
[0050] An occupant who carries the portable electronic device 300
may interface with the various programs executed on the device 300
by way of display device 308. The display device 308 may be any
display device upon which text and/or images may be formed, such as
a liquid crystal display (LCD). In some cases, the display device
is controlled by graphics controller 306, but in other cases the
graphics controller functionality may be implemented within the
processor 302. Though not specifically shown in FIG. 2, the display
device may be overlaid with a transparent touch sensitive device
such that the portable wireless device implements "touch screen"
functionality.
[0051] The illustrative portable electronic device 300 further
comprises a GPS receiver 310. The GPS receiver 310 receives signals
from an array of GPS satellites orbiting the earth, and based on
timing associated with arrival of those signals, a location can be
determined. In some cases, the GPS receiver 310 has sufficient
functionality to calculate location, and thus the data passed to
processor 302 may be a direct indication of location. In other
cases, the functionality to determine position may be shared
between the GPS receiver 310 and software executing on the
processor 302. That is, the GPS receiver 310 may receive the
plurality of GPS signals and pass the information to a program on
the processor 300, which program may then make the determination as
to location of the portable electronic device 300.
[0052] Still referring to FIG. 2, the portable electronic device
further comprises a cellular phone/data transceiver 312, over which
voice and data transmission may take place. The transceiver 312
thus implements a wireless communication system and/or protocol
(i.e., radio frequency communication by way of electromagnetic
waves propagating through air). Any suitable communication protocol
may be implemented by the transceiver 312, such as those
implemented by the wireless communication network 102 (FIG. 1).
While it is contemplated that in most cases the transceiver 312
will employ both voice and data communications, in some embodiments
only a data communication system is implemented (e.g., an IPAD.TM.
brand product available from Apple, Inc.). That is, in some cases
the portable electronic device 300 does not provide voice
services.
[0053] Still referring to FIG. 2, illustrative portable electronic
device 300 further comprises a short range communication
transceiver 314. By way of the short range communication
transceiver 214, programs executed by the processor 302 may
communicate with other devices, such as the onboard device 104. The
protocol over which the short range communication transceiver 314
communicates may take many forms, but will be compatible with the
protocol of the short range wireless communication device 200 of
the onboard device 104.
[0054] A portable wireless device 300 such as shown in FIG. 3
enables additional functionality. For example, in some embodiments
the GPS receiver 310 receives the satellite signals and determines
location, and passes the location information to the onboard device
104. Moreover, as mentioned above the advertisements may be
directly communicated to the portable electronic device 300 by way
of the cellular phone/data transceiver 312, thus providing the
advertisement to the driver without the advertisement passing
through the onboard device.
[0055] FIG. 4 shows a method, some of which may be implemented by
way of software, in accordance with at least some embodiments. In
particular, the method starts (block 400) and comprises:
identifying an occupant of a vehicle, the identifying creates an
indicia of occupant identity (block 402); determining an identity
of the vehicle, the determining creates an indicia of vehicle
identity (block 404); tracking location of the vehicle when
occupied by the occupant (block 406); and providing information to
the occupant, the information selected based on the indicia of
occupant identity, the indicia of vehicle identity, and/or the
locations of vehicle when occupied by the occupant (block 408).
Thereafter, the method ends (block 410), possibly to be
re-started.
[0056] FIG. 5 shows a method, some of which may be implemented by
way of software, in accordance with at least some embodiments. In
particular, the method starts (block 500) and comprises:
identifying the occupant of the vehicle (block 502); tracking
location of the vehicle to thereby create location data (block
504); sending an indication of identity of the occupant and/or the
location data to the data center (block 506); and relaying
information to the occupant sent from the data center (block 508).
Thereafter, the method ends (block 510), possibly to be
re-started.
[0057] FIG. 6 shows a method, some of which may be implemented by
way of software, in accordance with at least some embodiments. In
particular, the method starts (block 600) and comprises: receiving
an indication of identity from the electronic device (block 602);
receiving location data from the electronic device (block 604); and
sending information to the electronic device, the information
selected based on both the identity of the driver and current or
previous location of the vehicle (block 606). Thereafter, the
method ends (block 608), possibly to be re-started.
[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system 700 in accordance with
at least some embodiments, and upon which at least some of the
various embodiments of the data center 100 may be implemented. That
is, some or all of the various embodiments may execute on a
computer system such as shown in FIG. 7, multiple computers systems
such as shown in FIG. 7, and/or one or more computer systems
equivalent to the FIG. 7, including after-developed computer
systems.
[0059] In particular, the computer system 700 comprises a processor
702, and the processor couples to a main memory 704 by way of a
bridge device 706. In some embodiments, the bridge device may be
integrated with the processor 702. Moreover, the processor 702 may
couple to a long term storage device 708 (e.g., a hard drive) by
way of the bridge device 706. Programs executable by the processor
702 may be stored on the storage device 708, and accessed when
needed by the processor 702. The programs stored on the storage
device 708 may comprise programs to implement the various
embodiments of the present specification, including storing
driver/location information in the driver/location database 108,
selecting advertisements from the advertisement database 106, and
sending selected advertisements to the onboard device 104. In some
cases, the programs are copied from the storage device 708 to the
main memory 704, and the programs are executed from the main memory
704. Thus, both the main memory 704 and storage device 708 are
considered non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums.
[0060] In the specification and claims, certain components may be
described in terms of algorithms and/or steps performed by a
software application that may be provided on a non-transitory
storage medium (i.e., other than a carrier wave or a signal
propagating along a conductor). The various embodiments also relate
to a system for performing various steps and operations as
described herein. This system may be a specially-constructed device
such as an electronic device, or it may include one or more
general-purpose computers that can follow software instructions to
perform the steps described herein. Multiple computers can be
networked to perform such functions. Software instructions may be
stored in any computer readable storage medium, such as for
example, magnetic or optical disks, cards, memory, and the
like.
[0061] References to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "a
particular embodiment" indicate that a particular element or
characteristic is included in at least one embodiment of the
invention. Although the phrases "in one embodiment", "an
embodiment", and "a particular embodiment" may appear in various
places, these do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
[0062] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the
principles and various embodiments of the present invention.
Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those
skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.
It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace
all such variations and modifications.
* * * * *