Communications based on vehicle diagnostics and indications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016140776-A1
Application number	US-201514927196-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 29, 2015
Priority date	Nov 16, 2011
Publication date	May 19, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Methods and systems for communicating vehicle conditions based on vehicle component diagnostics and indications are provided. Specifically, various components of a vehicle may provide diagnostic information that can be collected and interpreted by a diagnostics module. The diagnostics module may determine to present the diagnostic information to a third party and/or vehicle occupant according to predetermined settings. Such diagnostic information may be presented in a conversational manner. Moreover, diagnostic information may be automatically evaluated in determining to provide course of action advice and other communications via the diagnostic module.

First claim

1 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A method of providing conversational vehicle diagnostic information to a receiving party, comprising:
receiving, at a microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a signal from one or more components of a vehicle, the signal representing one or more of a code, warning, and indication; interpreting, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a meaning associated with the signal; determining, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a conversational meaning based on one or more rules to represent the meaning associated with the signal; providing the conversational meaning to an occupant of the vehicle via a conversational presentation device, wherein the conversational presentation device includes at least one of a display and a speaker; querying, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, other vehicle components for operational state information in response to receiving the signal; identifying, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, an actual or potential malfunction associated with at least one of the other vehicle components based on at least one of a result of the query and a relationship between the at least one of the other vehicle components and the one or more components of the vehicle providing the signal; and providing, via the conversational presentation device, conversational advice to the occupant of the vehicle, wherein the conversational advice includes information configured to at least alert the occupant of the vehicle of the actual or potential malfunction associated with at least one of the other vehicle components.

22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising:
storing the meaning associated with the signal in memory; and determining to transmit the meaning associated with the signal to a third party.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the conversational meaning further comprises:
referring to a set of data, wherein the set of data includes a plurality of conversational meanings mapped to corresponding signals; and selecting an appropriate conversational meaning from the plurality of conversational meanings based on the set of data.

24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the conversational meaning is provided to the occupant of the vehicle as a visual text output via a display associated with the vehicle or as an audible output via at least one speaker associated with the vehicle.

25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein prior to providing the conversational advice to the occupant of the vehicle, the method further comprises:
contacting, by the microprocessor executable diagnostics module, a remote node for additional information relevant to the received signal, the additional information including the conversational advice to be provided to the vehicle operator.

26 . The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
transmitting the meaning associated with the signal to the third party automatically and based at least partially on the one or more rules.

27 . The method of claim 22 , wherein providing the conversational meaning to the occupant of the vehicle, further comprises:
providing additional information to the occupant of the vehicle, wherein the additional information is associated with the conversational meaning.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the additional information includes one or more options provided for a selectable input from the occupant of the vehicle.

29 . The method of claim 28 , further comprising:
transmitting the meaning associated with the signal to the third party based at least partially on the selectable input from the occupant of the vehicle.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the third party is at least one of a vehicle manufacturer, dealer, repair facility, mechanic, and code recording storage.

31 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the signal is received via a remote node in wireless communication with the vehicle, and wherein the signal represents information relating to the one or more components of the vehicle.

32 . The method of claim 31 , wherein the remote node is associated with at least one of a vehicle manufacturer, parts manufacturer, dealer, repair facility, mechanic, and government entity.

33 . A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform the method comprising:
receiving, at a microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a signal from one or more components of a vehicle, the signal representing one or more of a code, warning, and indication; interpreting, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a meaning associated with the signal; determining, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, a conversational meaning based on one or more rules to represent the meaning associated with the signal; providing the conversational meaning to an occupant of the vehicle via a conversational presentation device, wherein the conversational presentation device includes at least one of a display and a speaker; querying, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, other vehicle components for operational state information in response to receiving the signal; identifying, by the microprocessor executable diagnostic module, an actual or potential malfunction associated with at least one of the other vehicle components based on at least one of a result of the query and a relationship between the at least one of the other vehicle components and the one or more components of the vehicle providing the signal; and providing, via the conversational presentation device, conversational advice to the occupant of the vehicle, wherein the conversational advice includes information configured to at least alert the occupant of the vehicle of the actual or potential malfunction associated with at least one of the other vehicle components.

34 . The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33 , wherein the method further comprises:
storing the meaning associated with the signal in memory; and determining to transmit the meaning associated with the signal to a third party.

35 . The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the method further comprises:
providing additional information to the occupant of the vehicle, wherein the additional information is associated with the conversational meaning, the additional information including one or more options provided for a selectable input from the occupant of the vehicle; and transmitting the meaning associated with the signal to the third party based at least partially on the selectable input from the occupant of the vehicle.

36 . The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 34 , wherein the method further comprises:
transmitting the meaning associated with the signal to the third party automatically and based at least partially on the one or more rules.

37 . The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33 , wherein the signal is received via a remote node in wireless communication with the vehicle, and wherein the signal represents information relating to the one or more components of the vehicle.

38 . A system for providing conversational vehicle diagnostic information to a receiving party, comprising:
a vehicle having one or more components; at least one sensor operatively connected to the one or more components; a memory; and a microprocessor executable diagnostic module operable to:
receive a signal from at least one of

Assignees

• Autoconnect Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Ricci Christopher P

Classifications

• B60W2540/221

  Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs · CPC title

• B60W2540/043

  Identity of occupants · CPC title

• B60W2555/60

  Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way · CPC title

• H04W4/50

  Service provisioning or reconfiguring · CPC title

• G06Q50/26

  Government or public services (business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40) · CPC title