U.S. patent application number 16/827246 was filed with the patent office on 2020-07-09 for vehicle monitoring systems and methods.
The applicant listed for this patent is Key Control Holding, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert T. BROCKMAN, Carlan COOPER, Christopher COOPER.
Application Number | 20200217970 16/827246 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54538999 |
Filed Date | 2020-07-09 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200217970 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
COOPER; Christopher ; et
al. |
July 9, 2020 |
VEHICLE MONITORING SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Abstract
An embodiment includes a lot management system. The lot
management system includes a transmitter comprising a location
determination module having a GPS data pathway to an RF
transmission module and a receiver including an RF antenna and a
receiver processor.
Inventors: |
COOPER; Christopher;
(College Station, TX) ; COOPER; Carlan; (Bryan,
TX) ; BROCKMAN; Robert T.; (Houston, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Key Control Holding, Inc. |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54538999 |
Appl. No.: |
16/827246 |
Filed: |
March 23, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14700910 |
Apr 30, 2015 |
10656280 |
|
|
16827246 |
|
|
|
|
61992503 |
May 13, 2014 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07C 5/008 20130101;
H04W 4/029 20180201; G01S 19/13 20130101; G08G 1/127 20130101; G08G
1/20 20130101; H04W 4/40 20180201 |
International
Class: |
G01S 19/13 20060101
G01S019/13; G08G 1/127 20060101 G08G001/127; G07C 5/00 20060101
G07C005/00; H04W 4/40 20060101 H04W004/40; H04W 4/029 20060101
H04W004/029; G08G 1/00 20060101 G08G001/00 |
Claims
1. A method for managing an automobile dealership comprising the
steps of: a) providing an inventory comprising multiple vehicles;
b) providing a plurality of transmitters, each transmitter
associated with a vehicle of the inventory, each transmitter
comprising a vehicle information module and a location
determination module, each transmitter adapted to collect vehicle
information about the associated vehicle, wherein the collected
vehicle information comprises at least a first and a second detail
about the associated vehicle, the first and second details being
selected from the group consisting of make, model, color, options
installed, model year, body style, condition, cylinder type,
mileage, stock number, VIN, battery voltage, fuel level, and
vehicle location; c) providing a receiver in electronic
communication with the transmitters; d) transmitting the collected
vehicle information about the multiple vehicles to the receiver; e)
using the collected vehicle information received by the receiver to
perform at least one of the following: i) identify and display the
location of at least one of the multiple vehicles having a desired
detail, and ii) display aggregated data about multiple
vehicles.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining which of
the multiple vehicles have a running engine; and for each of the
vehicles having a running engine, using the vehicle information
module to provide a third detail selected from the group consisting
of alternator voltage, engine RPMs, vehicle speed, run time since
engine start, and distance traveled.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step (e), when the engine of
at least one vehicle is running, the transmitter associated with
the at least one vehicle transmits vehicle location more frequently
than when the engine of the vehicle is not running.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the item displayed in step e)
comprises aggregated data received from multiple transmitters and
the aggregated data that is displayed is selected from the group
consisting of reports on which vehicles have low fuel, reports on
which vehicles have low battery voltage, and reports on which
transmitters have not reported for a pre-determined period of
time.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the item displayed in step e)
further comprises information about whether a vehicle has been
outside a perimeter for a pre-determined period a time, information
about whether a vehicle is outside a perimeter after a
pre-determined time of day, information about whether the amount of
fuel in the vehicle is below a pre-determined level, or information
about whether the charge level of a vehicle battery is lower than a
pre-determined voltage.
6. The method of claim 1, further including providing at least one
handheld device in electronic communication with the receiver,
wherein the location or aggregated data displayed in step e) is
displayed on the at least one handheld device.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising powering each
transmitter from a vehicle battery from the vehicle associated with
the transmitter.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising plugging each of the
vehicle information modules into the OBD-II port of the associated
vehicle.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle location is
transmitted only when the transmitter is within a car lot.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 14/700,910, filed Apr.
30, 2015 with itself claims priority from U.S. provisional
application No. 61/992,503, filed May 13, 2014, each of which is
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD/FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates to vehicle management
systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] Automobile dealerships often have horizontally-spread
inventory of new and/or used vehicles across a car lot, many of
which may appear similar but have different options packages.
Further, the location of these vehicles may change, for instance,
due to turnover in inventory, customer test drives, or other
vehicle movement. In addition, as vehicles remain on the lot, there
may be a need to perform limited maintenance to assure the vehicle
remains ready for purchase.
SUMMARY
[0004] An embodiment includes a lot management system. The lot
management system includes a transmitter comprising a location
determination module having a GPS data pathway to an RF
transmission module and a receiver including an RF antenna and a
receiver processor.
[0005] Another embodiment is directed to a process. The process
includes providing a vehicle management system. The vehicle
management system includes a transmitter in electrical contact with
a vehicle, wherein the transmitter comprises a location
determination module having a GPS data pathway to an RF
transmission module and a vehicle information module having a
vehicle information data pathway to the RF transmission module. The
vehicle management system further includes a receiver having an RF
antenna, a receiver processor, and a receiver database. The
receiver database includes a non-transitory, tangible computer
readable storage medium. The process further includes determining a
location of the transmitter using the location determination module
and transmitting the location of the transmitter using the RF
transmission module. In addition, the process includes receiving
the location of the transmitter using the RF antenna and storing
the location of the transmitter in the receiver database.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The present disclosure is best understood from the following
detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is
emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the
industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the
dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or
reduced for clarity of discussion.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic of a lot management system consistent
with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic of a transmitter of a lot management
system consistent with at least one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a receiver of a lot management
system consistent with at least one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic of a receiver of a lot management
system consistent with at least one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] It is to be understood that the following disclosure
provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing
different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of
components and arrangements are described below to simplify the
present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are
not intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure
may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various
examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and
clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the
various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
[0012] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure are directed
to systems and methods for locating vehicles on a car lot. The
embodiments may include at least one receiver station and one or
more transmitters. FIG. 1 is a schematic of one embodiment of lot
management system 100 consistent with the present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 1 depicts receiver 110 and a plurality of transmitters
120. Transmitters 120 may be associated with individual vehicles.
Transmitters 120 and associated vehicles are shown in FIG. 1 as
located on car lot 130.
[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, transmitters 120 include location
determination module 210 and transmission module 220. Location
determination module 210 may be any module capable of determining
the location of the vehicle on car lot 130 within 30 feet, 20 feet
or 10 feet of the actual location of transmitter 120. In certain
non-limiting embodiments, location determination module 210 is a
GPS locator module which is configured to receive a GPS signal and
may calculate or determine a GPS location based on that signal.
Transmission module 220 as shown in FIG. 2 is a radio frequency
(RF) transmitter. Transmission module 220 receives GPS location
information from location determination module 210 through location
GPS data pathway 212. Transmission module 220 may be configured to
transmit the GPS location only while transmitter 120 is located
within car lot 130. Transmission module 220 may transmit in the UHF
bandwidth. In some embodiments, transmission module 220 does not
transmit a cellular signal. In certain non-limiting embodiments of
the present disclosure, transmission module 220 may transmit
signals that conform to the JenNet or ZigBee.RTM. protocol.
[0015] In certain embodiments, transmitter 120 may further include
vehicle information module 230. In other embodiments (not shown),
transmitter 120 does not include vehicle information module 230.
Vehicle information module 230 may be adapted to communicate with
one or more computer systems of the vehicle. Vehicle information
module 230 may gather vehicle information from the vehicle and pass
that information to transmission module 220 through vehicle
information data pathway 222.
[0016] In some non-limiting embodiments, vehicle information module
230 is configured to meet OBD-II standards in terms of, for
example, diagnostic connector and its pinout, electrical signaling
protocols and messaging format. In certain embodiments of the
present disclosure, vehicle information module 230 may receive
power from the vehicle's battery through a power pin connector (not
shown). Power pin connector may be configured in accordance with
OBD-II standards. Vehicle information module 230 may gather
information such as, but not limited to VIN, battery voltage,
alternator voltage, fuel level, engine RPMs, vehicle speed,
distance traveled since codes last cleared, run time since engine
start and other parameters, such as those specified in the OBD-II
standard. Vehicle information module 230 may be configured in
accordance with OBD-II standards to plug into or be removed from a
vehicle's OBD-II port. When so configured, transmitter 120 may be
removable from the vehicle, for instance, when the vehicle is
purchased, and reused on a different vehicle.
[0017] Transmitter 120 may be associated with a particular
identifier, such as a serial number, that may be transmitted via
transmitter module 220 to receiver 110. The particular identifier
may be stored in a transmission module processor or memory
associated with a transmission module processor. In certain
embodiments, vehicle information module 230, transmitter module 220
and location determination module 210 may be powered by the vehicle
battery, such as through the power pin connector. In other
embodiments, vehicle information module 230, transmitter module 220
and location determination module 210 are powered with a battery
other than that of the vehicle battery. In still other embodiments,
vehicle information module 230, transmitter module 220 and location
determination module 210 are powered by the vehicle battery and a
battery other than that of the vehicle battery.
[0018] Transmission module 220 may contain a transmission module
processor that controls and processes data received from, for
instance, location determination module 210 and vehicle information
module 230, which is described below. The transmission module
processor of transmission module 220 may include in the processor
or memory associated with the transmission module processor code
instructions to transmit information to receiver station 110
continuously, at pre-determined times, or may use the information
obtained from location determination module 210 or vehicle
information module 230 to determine when to transmit information to
receiver station 110. The code instructions may be stored on a
non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium. As an
example, when vehicle information module 230 communicates to
transmission module 220 that the measured voltage is such that the
engine of the vehicle is running, transmission module may transmit
vehicle location more frequently than if the measured voltage is
such that the engine of the vehicle is not running As another
example, if the engine of the vehicle is running, transmission
module 220 may transmit location information every two seconds,
every five seconds, or every 10 seconds. If the engine of the
vehicle is not running, transmission module 220 may transmit
location information once every two hours, once every hour, or once
every 30 minutes, for example. Similarly, the duration of the
transmission of vehicle information by transmission module 220 may
be for a set time or based on vehicle information.
[0019] In some embodiments, transmitter 120 may be limited in range
in that the signal of transmitter 120 may be received less than a
mile, less than 2500 feet or less than 1500 feet from transmitter
120.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic of receiver 110 in accordance with
certain embodiments of the present disclosure. Receiver 110
includes RF antenna 330. RF antenna 330 receives the RF signal from
transmitter 120. RF antenna 330 provides data received from
transmitter 120 through receiver data path 322 to receiver
processor 320. Receiver processor 320 stores, manipulates, and/or
prepares data received through receiver data path 322 for display
and/or query from a user. As recognized by one of ordinary skill in
the art with the benefit of this disclosure, receiver processor 320
may be any electronic equipment capable of storing, manipulating,
and/or preparing data received through receiver data path 322. In
certain non-limiting embodiments, receiver processor 320 may be a
laptop or desktop computer, a handheld device such as a PDA or
smartphone, or tablet. Receiver processor 320 may provide output to
display 310 through display data path 312 for display to a user. In
an alternative embodiment, such as that shown in FIG. 4, receiver
processor 320 may provide data and accept queries from remote
processor 340. Remote processor 340 may be a device, for instance,
carried by a user for use in locating or determining other
information about the vehicle to which transmitter 120 is attached.
Remote processor 340 may also be a laptop or other computer located
remotely from processor 320. Remote processor 340 may communicate
with a display. In still other embodiments, remote processor 340
may be a remote controller, such as that described as "remote
controller 54" in U.S. Pat. No. 7,342,494, filed Jan. 27, 2004,
which is hereby incorporated fully by reference. In these
embodiments, receiver processor 320 may query remote processor 340
for such information that may be provided by "remote controller 54"
as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,342,494 and further described
below. In some non-limiting embodiments, remote processor 340 may
include multiple processors, such as for instance, multiple
handheld devices, handheld devices and a remote controller, or
handheld devices and a laptop or other computer. Remote controller
54 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) such that a user
may, through such means as a touch screen, request and receive data
regarding the location or vehicle data regarding a vehicle.
[0021] Receiver processor 320 or remote processor 340 may
communicate with receiver database 350 through processor data path
352. Receiver database 350 may include data relating to location
information and vehicle information associated with transmitters
120. Receiver database 350 may include a non-transitory, tangible
computer readable storage medium.
[0022] Data may be transferred along data paths 212, 222, 312, 322,
and 352 using any appropriate methods, including, but not limited
to wired connection, wireless connection, internet connection, RF
connection or combinations thereof When data is transferred along
processor data path 352 through the internet, location information
and vehicle information may be obtained by remote processor 340
through such methods as a web browser or mobile application.
[0023] In certain embodiments, receiver processor 320 may
communicate to display 310 or remote processor 340 location or
vehicle information upon certain events based on information
received or previously received by RF antenna 330 from transmitter
120. In non-limiting examples, receiver processor 320 may
communicate to display 310 or remote processor 340 if transmitter
120 has been outside the perimeter of lot 130 for a pre-determined
period a time, if transmitter 120 is outside the perimeter of lot
130 after a pre-determined time of day, if the amount of fuel in
the vehicle is below a certain level, or if the charge level of a
vehicle battery is lower than a set voltage. This communication may
be, for instance, by text or e-mail.
[0024] In certain embodiments, receiver processor 320 may aggregate
data received from multiple transmitters 120 and communicate
aggregate location data and vehicle information to display 310 or
remote processor 340. Non-limiting examples of such aggregate data
compilation include reports of which vehicles have low fuel, which
vehicles have low battery voltage, or transmitters 120 that have
not reported for a pre-determined period of time, such as 24
hours.
[0025] In some embodiments, processor 320 or remote processor 340
or databases associated with receiver processor 320 or remote
processor 340 may have stored a map of lot 130. In these
embodiments, the location of transmitter 120 may be displayed on a
map of lot 130 on display 310 or remote processor 340. Map 130 may
be created, for instance, by physically mapping the GPS coordinates
of the edges of lot 130 or by determining the edges of lot 130 from
a previously constructed map of the lot site, such as through an
internet mapping site.
[0026] Database 350 may be configured such that only transmitters
120 associated with a pre-determined set of identifiers that are
transmitted by transmission module 220 are stored in processor 320
or are communicated to display 310 or remote processor 340.
[0027] In embodiments where at least one remote processor 340 is a
remote controller such as that described as "remote controller 54"
in U.S. Pat. No. 7,342,494, filed Jan. 27, 2004, additional
information may be communicated to display 310 or another
interactive remote processor 340. As transmitters 120 may be
associated with particular vehicles, processor 320 may query remote
controller 54 to determine vehicle details regarding that
particular vehicle including such information as make, model,
color, options installed, year of vehicle, body style, condition,
cylinder type, mileage, stock number, VIN, and other information
that may be stored in remote controller 54. Processor 320 may then
communicate this information to remote processor 340, such as a
handheld device, laptop or other computer or to display 310. Thus,
location, vehicle information and vehicle details are made
available to a user. Further, in certain embodiments, vehicle
location and vehicle information may be communicated to remote
controller 54; remote controller 54 may make such information
available to a user when the vehicle key is made available to the
user.
[0028] The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so
that a person of ordinary skill in the art may better understand
the aspects of the present disclosure. Such features may be
replaced by any one of numerous equivalent alternatives, only some
of which are disclosed herein. One of ordinary skill in the art
should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure
as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and
structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the
same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. One of
ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent
constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the
present disclosure and that they may make various changes,
substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
* * * * *