IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,940,089

Granted Patent B2

US 9,940,089 · App. 15/252,446 · Granted Apr 10, 2018

Vehicle information display and management

Inventors: Michael Bender (Rye Brook, NY); Santosh S. Borse (Ossining, NY); Keith R. Walker (Austin, TX)

Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation

G06F3/147 B60K35/00 G06F17/30011 G06F17/30991 G06Q30/018 G09F21/04 G09G3/2096 B60K2350/1076 B60K2350/2052 G06F1/1652

View Patent ↗

Loading inventors, assignments & file history…

Monitor This Case

Get email alerts when status or documents change.

Order Certified Copies

Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.

Order via The Patent Place →

Pre-filled with this patent's details

Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 9,940,089
App. No.: 15/252,446
Granted: Apr 10, 2018
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

Approaches presented herein include an electronic, programmable vehicle window display device and a method of managing the same. Specifically, an electronic, programmable vehicle window display device is provided for displaying a registration or other vehicle information in a window of a vehicle. The device displays a vehicle information document having an expiration date. The device, at pre-specified times, queries a vehicle database for an updated version of the document having a later expiration date. If an updated document is found, the device retrieves the updated document and saves the updated document in a storage area of the device. The device then modifies the display to show the updated document.

Claims (62)

1. A method of managing a programmable vehicle window display device, the method comprising:

scheduling a display rotation of a plurality of documents stored on the programmable vehicle window display device based on a location schedule associated with a vehicle displaying the programmable vehicle window display device, the plurality of documents comprising at least a first type of document and a second type of document, wherein display of the second type of document is necessary for access to a location of the location schedule;

displaying, according to the scheduled display rotation, a first vehicle information document of the first type of document of the plurality of documents on a display of the programmable vehicle window display device, the first vehicle information document having a first validity end date;

querying a vehicle information database for a second vehicle information document of the first type of document having a second validity end date subsequent to the first validity end date;

retrieving, responsive to the second validity end date being subsequent to the first validity end date, the second vehicle information document;

saving the second vehicle information document in a storage area of the programmable vehicle window display device;

replacing the first vehicle information document of the first type of document of the plurality of documents with the second document in the scheduled display rotation;

displaying the second vehicle information document on the display according to the scheduled display rotation;

verifying, periodically, the second document with the vehicle information database;

invalidating the second document in the case of a verification failure; and

displaying, responsive to the invalidation, an invalidation indicator on the display.

2. The method of claim 1 , the querying further comprising submitting a query to the vehicle information database at a preset interval, the query comprising a vehicle identifier and the first validity end date.

3. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising displaying a notification on the display within a threshold time period prior to the first validity end date.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

receiving a third vehicle information document;

saving the third vehicle information document in the storage area of the programmable vehicle window display device;

displaying on the display, daily at a first time period, the third vehicle information document; and

displaying on the display, daily at a second time period, the second vehicle information document.

5. The method of claim 1 , the second information document being generated in response to a renewal of a permission granted by the first information document.

6. The method of claim 5 , the first information document and the second information document being a same type of document, and the type of document being selected from the group consisting of: a registration document, a parking document, and an access document.

7. The method of claim 1 , the display having a flexible screen and the programmable vehicle window display device having a mechanism for attachment to a vehicle window.

8. The method of claim 7 , the programmable vehicle window display device having a mechanism to electronically invalidate the programmable vehicle window display device in the event of removal of the programmable vehicle window display device from a vehicle window.

9. A computer system for managing a programmable vehicle window display device, the computer system comprising:

the programmable vehicle window display device, comprising:

a memory medium comprising program instructions;

a bus coupled to the memory medium; and

a processor for executing the program instructions comprising a vehicle window display engine, the instructions causing the system to:

display, according to the scheduled display rotation, a first vehicle information document of the first type of document of the plurality of documents on a display of the programmable vehicle window display device, the first vehicle information document having a first validity end date;

query a vehicle information database for a second vehicle information document of the first type of document having a second validity end date subsequent to the first validity end date;

retrieve, responsive to the second validity end date being subsequent to the first validity end date, the second vehicle information document;

save the second vehicle information document in a storage area of the programmable vehicle window display device;

replace the first vehicle information document of the first type of document of the plurality of documents with the second document in the scheduled display rotation;

display the second vehicle information document on the display according to the scheduled display rotation;

verify, periodically, the second document with the vehicle information database;

invalidate the second document in the case of a verification failure; and

display, responsive to the invalidation, an invalidation indicator on the display.

10. The computer system of claim 9 , the instructions further causing the system to submit a query to the vehicle information database at a preset interval, the query comprising a vehicle identifier and the first validity end date.

11. The computer system of claim 9 , the instructions further causing the system to display a notification on the display within a threshold time period prior to the first validity end date.

12. The computer system of claim 9 , the instructions further causing the system to:

receive a third vehicle information document;

save the third vehicle information document in the storage area of the programmable vehicle window display device;

display on the display, daily at a first time period, the third vehicle information document; and

displaying on the display, daily at a second time period, the second vehicle information document.

13. The computer system of claim 9 , the second information document being generated in response to a renewal of a permission granted by the first information document.

14. The computer system of claim 13 , the first information document and the second information document being a same type of document, and the type of document being selected from the group consisting of: a registration document, a parking document, and an access document.

15. The computer system of claim 9 , the display having a flexible screen and the programmable vehicle window display device having a mechanism for attachment to a vehicle window.

16. The computer system of claim 15 , the programmable vehicle window display device having a mechanism to electronically invalidate the programmable vehicle window display device in the event of removal of the programmable vehicle window display device from a vehicle window.

17. A computer program product for managing a programmable vehicle window display device, the computer program product comprising a computer readable hardware storage device, and program instructions stored on the computer readable hardware storage device, to:

schedule a display rotation of a plurality of documents stored on the programmable vehicle window display device based on a location schedule associated with a vehicle displaying the programmable vehicle window display device, the plurality of documents comprising at least a first type of document and a second type of document, wherein display of the second type of document is necessary for access to a location of the location schedule;