Patent Application
20160241699
The present invention relates generally to a device, system and method for providing wireless data transfer service for mobile devices by using the Wireless Wide Area Network (“WWAN”) and Wireless Personal Area Network (“WPAN”) communications capabilities of in-vehicle telematics systems.
Many employers wish to allow their mobile workers (e.g. employees and/or contractors) to use their personal mobile devices (e.g. smart phones, personal digital assistants, laptops, tablets, etc.) to run specific, authorized applications (“apps”) such as business-specific apps, but elect not to do so for a variety of reasons, including security concerns and obligations to subsidize or reimburse workers for expenses related to the business use of the data plan for the personal mobile device.
Alternatively, employers may wish to provide less expensive mobile devices that do not have built-in WWAN capabilities to their mobile workers but cannot because the desired business-specific apps require occasional or regular network access to data and/or services hosted on remote servers in order to be effective.
In many cases, these mobile workers use employer provided vehicles in the performance of their daily tasks. These vehicles may even contain in-vehicle telematics devices to capture and wirelessly transmit a variety of asset, location, and movement data to centralized computer software systems (e.g. Fleet Management System).
Conventional in-vehicle telematics systems having such wireless data transmission capabilities are unable to provide data transfer services to other devices such as personal mobile devices, particularly in a fashion that supports certain authorized apps, such as business-specific apps, but not personal apps.
The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited by this summary.
The present invention relates generally to a device, system and method for providing wireless data transfer service for mobile devices by using the WWAN and WPAN communications capabilities of in-vehicle telematics systems. This invention will allow data transfer services in situations where the mobile device does not have WWAN capability and in situations where there is a desire not to use the WWAN capability of a mobile device, i.e., the mobile device is a non-secure personal device. This invention will enable businesses to allow its mobile workers to use a variety of mobile devices to run certain authorized, i.e. business-specific, applications to make the mobile workers and the business more efficient and effective.
In an embodiment of the present invention, an in-vehicle telematics device is plugged into a diagnostic port of a vehicle, such as an OBD-II port or a J1939 port. Most personal vehicles have OBD-II ports located near the engine or the dashboard. Commercial vehicles will generally have a J1939 diagnostic port. In an embodiment of the present invention, one component of the telematics device is the communications electronics to support a WWAN connection over one or more of the standard cellular data protocols that are available. Another component is the communications electronics to support a WPAN connection over standard wireless data protocols such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Through these components, the in-vehicle telematics device is able to establish a WWAN connection to a remote server and a WPAN connection to a mobile device. In this embodiment of the present invention, an additional component or feature of the in-vehicle telematics device is software that supports a secure and authenticated WPAN connection between mobile devices running specified software applications that are designed and authorized to utilize such a connection and designed to refuse or disallow a connection from any other mobile devices and/or software. In this embodiment, an additional feature of the in-vehicle telematics device is a software application-programming interface (“API”) that provides low-level access to many of its components. In this embodiment, an authorized app on a mobile device, such as a business-specific app that is designed to use the API, has the ability to send commands to the in-vehicle telematics device via the WPAN connection and request a network connection from the WWAN component. In this example, once a WWAN connection has been provided to the authorized app, it can send and receive data to/from a remote server without a mobile device having or using its own WWAN capability.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the in-vehicle telematics device includes components that support the electronics and associated software required to capture and log a variety of telematics data such as GPS information (e.g., location, speed, and heading); accelerometer & gyroscope data (e.g., acceleration, deceleration, yaw, cornering force); and vehicle data (e.g., vehicle identification, fuel level, fuel efficiency, active engine diagnostic codes, etc.). This data is captured, logged, and transmitted via the WWAN connection established through the in-vehicle telematics device to a centralized computer system for subsequent review and analysis.
In a further embodiment, the present invention includes an app loaded on a mobile device wherein the app is designed and authorized to use the API for the in-vehicle telematics device and has the ability to make requests from specific components of the in-vehicle telematics device via the WPAN connection. Such requests may include real-time GPS information (e.g., location, speed, and heading) and real-time vehicle information (e.g., vehicle identifier, fuel level, active engine diagnostic codes, etc.).
In yet another embodiment, the present invention includes an app on a mobile device wherein the app is authorized and designed to use the API for the in-vehicle telematics device and has the ability to access previously logged vehicle telematics data via the WPAN connection. In a preferred embodiment, the app is authorized to use the WPAN provided through the in-vehicle telematics device by making the connection through the API by providing a required security token.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In the case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions will control.
The accompanying figures are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification for the present invention and further illustrate the present invention:
The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed drawings and description set forth herein. Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to the drawings is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond the limited embodiments described. For example, in light of the teachings of the present invention, those skilled in the art will recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, depending upon the needs of the particular application, to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown. That is, numerous modifications and variations of the invention may exist that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within the scope of the invention.
The present invention should not be limited to the particular methodology, compounds, materials, manufacturing techniques, uses, and applications, described herein, as these may vary. The terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is a reference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a reference to “a step” or “a means” may be a reference to one or more steps or means and may include sub-steps and subservient means. Also, singular words should be read as plural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, where appropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply that the two are mutually exclusive.
All conjunctions used herein are to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, a group of items linked with the conjunction “and” should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be present in the grouping, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction “or” should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Structures described herein are to be understood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures. Language that may be construed to express approximation should be so understood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and are not to be limited to a special or customized meaning unless expressly so defined herein.
Terms and phrases used in this application, and variations thereof, especially in the appended claims, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing, the term “including” should be read to mean “including, without limitation,” “including but not limited to,” or the like; the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least”; the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to”; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; and use of terms like “preferably,” “preferred,” “desired,” “desirable,” or “exemplary” and words of similar meaning should not be understood as implying that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the invention, but instead as merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the invention.
Those skilled in the art will also understand that, if a specific number for a claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of claim recitations is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C” is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).
All numbers expressing dimensions, quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the specification are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about” unless expressly stated otherwise. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth herein are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained.
To illustrate embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings.
The embodiment of an in-vehicle telematics device 100 shown in
The in-vehicle telematics device 100 may further include a microprocessor 108 and memory card 111 as well as a battery 106 for providing backup power to the components. The in-vehicle telematics device 100 may also include a USB port 134 for internal testing and diagnostics purposes. Other components such as a GPS receiver, an accelerometer, a compass, and a gyroscope also may be included in the in-vehicle telematics device 100.
Through these components, the in-vehicle telematics device 100 can act as a communications hub for authorized software on a mobile device that is specifically designed to use the API for the in-vehicle telematics device 100 while excluding similar use by other software on the mobile device, thereby enabling certain specifically authorized software to communicate with remote software systems 130 without requiring its host mobile device to have or use its own WWAN capabilities.
The embodiment of the communications system of
The embodiment of the communications system of
The embodiment of the communications system of
The communications system of
In reference to the communications system of
It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims.
