Granted Patent B1

US 7,174,243 · App. 10/841,724 · Granted Feb 6, 2007

Abstract

Claims (36)

1. A method of characterizing a vehicle, comprising:

(a) wirelessly receiving, by a host computer from a vehicle, a diagnostic data set and a location data set, the diagnostic data set comprising at least one diagnostic datum, the location data set comprising at least one GPS datum;

(b) analyzing both the diagnostic and location data sets to characterize the vehicle;

(c) displaying the results of the analyzing on at least one internet-accessible web page; and

(d) repeating the wirelessly receiving and analyzing for a plurality of vehicles,

wherein the displaying the results includes displaying a real-time pattern map associated with the plurality of vehicles, wherein the pattern map displays emissions patterns.

2. A programmed apparatus, programmed to execute a method of detecting a change in a vehicle's location, comprising:

(a) wirelessly receiving, by a host computer from a vehicle, a location data set comprising at least one GPS datum;

(b) analyzing the received location data set to characterize a change in the vehicle's location, wherein the analyzing comprises comparing a GPS datum determined from the location data set with a previous GPS datum to determine a change in the vehicle's location;

(c) based at least in part on the analyzing, electronically reporting the vehicle's location, the reporting including at least one of sending an electronic mail message, sending an electronic instant message, and generating a phone call, wherein the reporting includes sending the vehicle's location and an internet-based link to a map that displays the vehicle's location;

(d) dispatching at least a second vehicle to attempt to recover the vehicle; and

(e) notifying a law enforcement entity of the vehicle's location,

wherein the vehicle is a stolen vehicle.

3. A programmed apparatus, programmed to execute a method of detecting a change in a vehicle's location, comprising:

(a) wirelessly receiving, by a host computer from a vehicle, a diagnostic data set and a location data set, the diagnostic data set comprising at least one diagnostic datum, the location data set comprising at least one GPS datum;

(b) analyzing both the diagnostic and location data sets to characterize the vehicle, wherein the analyzing includes analyzing the diagnostic data set to determine the vehicle's speed, and wherein the analyzing includes analyzing both the GPS datum and the vehicle's speed from the diagnostic data set to determine the vehicle's location; and

(c) based at least in part on the analyzing, electronically reporting the vehicle's location, wherein the electronically reporting comprises sending the vehicle's location and an internet-based link to a map that displays the vehicle's location.

4. The programmed apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the sending includes sending an internet-based link to a map that displays the current vehicle's location and at least one previous location.

5. The programmed apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the sending includes sending an internet-based link to a map that displays an internet-based map and a track indicating a route that the vehicle has traveled.

6. A machine-readable medium encoded with a plurality of processor-executable instructions for:

(a) wirelessly receiving, by a host computer from a vehicle, a diagnostic data set and a location data set, the diagnostic data set comprising at least one diagnostic datum, the location data set comprising at least one GPS datum;

(b) analyzing both the diagnostic and location data sets to characterize the vehicle, wherein the analyzing includes analyzing the diagnostic data set to determine the vehicle's speed, and wherein the analyzing includes analyzing both the GPS datum and the vehicle's speed from the diagnostic data set to determine the vehicle's location; and

(c) based at least in part on the analyzing, electronically reporting the vehicle's location, wherein the electronically reporting comprises sending a message, wherein the sending includes sending an internet-based link to a map that displays the vehicle's location.

7. A graphical user interface for displaying information associated with a detected change in a-vehicle's location, comprising:

a viewing device displaying a graphical user interface including,

(a) a message interface including a hyperlink and information associated with a detected change in a vehicle's location; and

(b) a map representation at least in part depicting the vehicle's location,

wherein the hyperlink includes a link to the map representation.

8. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the message interface is associated with an instant message.

9. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the information includes text information.

10. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the information is at least in part indicative of when the vehicle was moved.

11. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the map representation is provided in a website.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the map representation includes an initial location of the vehicle.

13. The graphical user interface of claim 12 , wherein the map representation depicts a route traversed by the vehicle.

14. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the displayed graphical user interface is formatted using at least one wireless access protocol (WAP).

15. The graphical user interface of claim 7 , wherein the viewing device is one of a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a computer.

Assignments (11)