Granted Patent B2

US 9,367,973 · App. 14/448,683 · Granted Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

Claims (110)

1. A method of operation in an assessment and notification system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of at least the first vehicle over time by at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system via at least one nontransitory storage medium of the assessment and notification system, the at least one nontransitory storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one circuit;

detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system wherein the identifying includes accessing a set of user preference information which identifies a set of devices for use in communicating with at least one of an owner or a driver of the vehicle;

for each of at least one of the identified devices, formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system; and

transmitting the formatted instances of the service alert to the at least one of the identified devices.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle includes receiving a fault code from a diagnostic system of the vehicle, and further comprising:

evaluating the fault code;

determining a severity of a fault indicated by the fault code; and

determining a description of a fault associated with the fault code.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values includes detecting the serviceable condition based at least in part on both the vehicle operational values and a service history of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein detecting a serviceable condition based at least in part on the vehicle operational values further includes detecting the serviceable condition based at least in part on a build configuration of the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle further includes selecting one or more of the identified devices based on at least one situational awareness criteria indicative of a current situation of at least one of the vehicle, the owner or the driver of the vehicle, or of the devices.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle includes identifying a user interface of a head unit of the vehicle and at least one of a handheld mobile communications device or an electronic mail address logically associated with at least one of the owner or the driver of the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices includes formatting a first instance of the service alert as at least one of an audio or an audiovisual message playable via a head unit of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices includes formatting a second instance of the service alert as at least one of an audio or an audiovisual message playable via at least one of a head unit of the vehicle or handheld mobile communications device or a Web browser executed by a processor-based device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices further includes formatting a third instance of the service alert as a textual description for transmission as an electronic mail or text, providing further details of regarding the serviceable condition and a subsystem to which the serviceable condition relates beyond the audio or the audiovisual message.

10. A method of operation in an assessment and notification system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of at least the first vehicle over time by at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system via at least one nontransitory storage medium of the assessment and notification system, the at least one nontransitory storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one circuit;

detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

determining a user specified level of detail reporting preference;

for each of at least one of the identified devices, formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system wherein the formatting includes

formatting a first instance of the service alert as at least one of an audio or an audiovisual message playable via a head unit of the vehicle,

formatting a second instance of the service alert as at least one of an audio or an audiovisual message playable via at least one of a head unit of the vehicle or handheld mobile communications device or a Web browser executed by a processor-based device, and

formatting a third instance of the service alert as a textual description, based at least in part on the user specified level of detail reporting preference, for transmission as an electronic mail or text, providing further details regarding the serviceable condition and a subsystem to which the serviceable condition relates beyond the audio or the audiovisual messages; and

transmitting the formatted instances of the service alert to the at least one of the identified devices.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

identifying at least one service provider;

determining a number of appointment availabilities for the identified service providers; and

transmitting the determined appointment availabilities to at least one of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle or a driver of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein transmitting the determined appointment availabilities includes transmitting the appointment availabilities for presentation as respective selectable icons.

13. A method of operation in an assessment and notification system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of at least the first vehicle over time by at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system via at least one nontransitory storage medium of the assessment and notification system, the at least one nontransitory storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one circuit;

detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

for each of at least one of the identified devices, formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

transmitting the formatted instances of the service alert to the at least one of the identified devices;

identifying at least one service provider previously used by an owner of the vehicle or a driver of the vehicle;

determining a number of appointment availabilities for the identified service providers; and

transmitting the determined appointment availabilities to at least one of the vehicle, the owner of the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

transmitting an appointment request to the at least one service provider in response to a selection of one of the appointment availabilities.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

identifying at least one scheduled maintenance service that is at least one of overdue or due to be performed in a defined period of a present date;

transmitting a scheduled maintenance service notification to the at least one device notifying at least one of the owner or the driver of the vehicle of the scheduled maintenance service to be performed.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining an amount of time required to perform the scheduled maintenance service on the vehicle; and

accounting for the time required to perform the scheduled maintenance service on the vehicle in addition to the service to correct a fault condition when determining the appointment availabilities.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining whether parts are needed to perform the scheduled maintenance service on the vehicle;

if parts are needed, determining whether the parts are in stock;

if the parts are not in stock, determining an amount of time required to obtain the parts; and

accounting for the time required to obtain the parts when determining the appointment availabilities.

18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

identifying at least one warranty service that is at least due to be performed;

transmitting a warranty service notification to the at least one device notifying at least one of the owner or the driver of the vehicle of the warranty service to be performed.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

determining an amount of time required to perform the warranty service on the vehicle; and

accounting for the time required to perform the warranty service on the vehicle in addition to the service to correct a fault condition when determining the appointment availabilities.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining whether parts are needed to perform the warranty service on the vehicle;

if parts are needed, determining whether the parts are in stock;

if the parts are not in stock, determining an amount of time required to obtain the parts; and

accounting for the time required to obtain the parts when determining the appointment availabilities.

21. A method of operation in an assessment and notification system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of at least the first vehicle over time by at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system via at least one nontransitory storage medium of the assessment and notification system, the at least one nontransitory storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one circuit;

detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

for each of at least one of the identified devices, formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

transmitting the formatted instances of the service alert to the at least one of the identified devices;

identifying at least one service provider;

determining a number of appointment availabilities for the identified service providers; and

transmitting the determined appointment availabilities to at least one of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle or a driver of the vehicle; and

transmitting to the at least one service provider a report which provides at least a fault code.

22. A method of operation in an assessment and notification system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for at least a first vehicle, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of at least the first vehicle over time by at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system via at least one nontransitory storage medium of the assessment and notification system, the at least one nontransitory storage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one circuit;

detecting a serviceable condition based at least on the vehicle operational values by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

identifying one or more devices logically associated with at least one of the vehicle or an individual logically associated with the vehicle by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

for each of at least one of the identified devices, formatting at least one instance of a service alert based on at least one characteristic of the respective at least one of the identified devices by the at least one circuit of the assessment and notification system;

transmitting the formatted instances of the service alert to the at least one of the identified devices;

identifying at least one service provider;

determining a number of appointment availabilities for the identified service providers; and

transmitting the determined appointment availabilities to at least one of the vehicle, an owner of the vehicle or a driver of the vehicle;

identifying at least one service that is at least one of overdue or due to be performed on the vehicle within a defined period of a current date; and

transmitting a scheduled service notification to the at least one device notifying at least one of the owner or the driver of the vehicle of the service to be performed.

23. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:

determining an amount of time required to service the vehicle to correct a fault condition; and

accounting for the time required to service the vehicle to correct the fault condition when determining the appointment availabilities.

24. The method of claim 23 , further comprising:

determining whether parts are needed to service the vehicle to correct the fault condition;

if parts are needed, determining whether the parts are in stock;

if the parts are not in stock, determining an amount of time required to obtain the parts; and

accounting for the time required to obtain the parts when determining the appointment availabilities.

25. A method of operation in a vehicle assessment system, the method comprising:

receiving respective vehicle operational values from a plurality of transducers for each of a plurality of vehicles of a first make and model of vehicle by at least one circuit of the vehicle assessment system, the vehicles of the first make and model of vehicles having respective ones of a number of build configurations, the vehicle operational values specifying operational values for a plurality of at least one of functions or subsystems of a respective one of the vehicles over time;

receiving an event definition, the event definition specifying at least one of: driver demographic specifying information, environmental condition specifying information, geographic area specifying information, driver behavior specifying information, vehicle build configuration specifying information; and

compiling data from each of the vehicles that fit within or which operation fits within the event definition.

26. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

performing statistical trend analysis of the complied data.

27. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

sampling data for a first set of functions at a first frequency over a first period; and

sampling data for a second set of functions at a second frequency over the first period.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein receiving an event definition includes receiving driver demographic specifying information that specifies a set of driver age ranges.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein receiving an event definition includes receiving environmental condition specifying information that specifies a set of climate zones.

30. The method of claim 25 wherein receiving an event definition includes receiving environmental condition specifying information that specifies a portion of vehicles to be sampled from each of at least two different climate zones.

31. The method of claim 25 wherein receiving an event definition includes receiving driver behavior specifying information that specifies at least one of a driver braking profile or acceleration profile.

32. The method of claim 25 wherein receiving an event definition includes receiving vehicle build configuration specifying information that specifies at least one sales code that identifies a subset from all vehicles of the first make and model of vehicles.

33. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

for each of the plurality of vehicles, receiving respective environmental data indicative of ambient environmental conditions in which the vehicle is operating, the environmental data correlatable with the operational values by the at least one circuit of the vehicle assessment system.

Assignments (12)