Patent Issued for Autonomous vehicle infrastructure communication device (USPTO 11127290): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2021 OCT 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Bennett, Shawn C. (Le Roy, IL, US), Binion, Todd (Bloomington, IL, US), Bryant, Ronny S. (Bloomington, IL, US), Chan, Aaron Scott (Lisle, IL, US), Cielocha, Steven C. (Bloomington, IL, US), Csanda, Carol Marie (Normal, IL, US), Fields, Brian Mark (Normal, IL, US), Gorsuch, Stacey (Bloomington, IL, US), Huang, Chien Che (Normal, IL, US), Kohaus, Stephen (Normal, IL, US), Main, Craig M. (Hagerstown, MD, US), Novak, Richard A. (Bloomington, IL, US), Quakenbush, Terry (Normal, IL, US), Wazeer, Mohamed A. (Normal, IL, US), Wollenschlager, Torri (Bloomington, IL, US), Wu, Weixin (Aurora, IL, US), filed on November 6, 2015, was published online on September 21, 2021, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11127290 is assigned to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Vehicles are typically operated by a human vehicle operator who controls both steering and motive controls. Operator error, inattention, inexperience, misuse, or distraction leads to many vehicle accidents each year, resulting in injury and damage. Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles augment vehicle operators’ information or replace vehicle operators’ control commands to operate the vehicle in whole or part with computer systems based upon information from sensors within the vehicle.

“Vehicle or automobile insurance exists to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic accidents and against liability that could arise therefrom. Typically, a customer purchases a vehicle insurance policy for a policy rate having a specified term. In exchange for payments from the insured customer, the insurer pays for damages to the insured which are caused by covered perils, acts, or events as specified by the language of the insurance policy. The payments from the insured are generally referred to as “premiums,” and typically are paid on behalf of the insured over time at periodic intervals. An insurance policy may remain “in-force” while premium payments are made during the term or length of coverage of the policy as indicated in the policy. An insurance policy may “lapse” (or have a status or state of “lapsed”), for example, when premium payments are not being paid or if the insured or the insurer cancels the policy.

“Premiums may be typically determined based upon a selected level of insurance coverage, location of vehicle operation, vehicle model, and characteristics or demographics of the vehicle operator. The characteristics of a vehicle operator that affect premiums may include age, years operating vehicles of the same class, prior incidents involving vehicle operation, and losses reported by the vehicle operator to the insurer or a previous insurer. Past and current premium determination methods do not, however, account for use of autonomous vehicle operating features. The present embodiments may, inter alia, alleviate this and/or other drawbacks associated with conventional techniques.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may be related to autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle functionality, including driverless operation, accident avoidance, or collision warning systems. These autonomous vehicle operation features may either assist the vehicle operator to more safely or efficiently operate a vehicle or may take full control of vehicle operation under some or all circumstances. The present embodiments may also facilitate risk assessment and premium determination for vehicle insurance policies covering vehicles with autonomous operation features. For instance, a consumer may opt-in to a rewards program that rewards them, such as in the form of insurance discounts, for affirmatively sharing data related to their vehicles and/or autonomous features with an insurance provider.

“In accordance with the described embodiments, the disclosure herein generally addresses systems and methods for communicating information regarding an infrastructure component to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle. An infrastructure communication device may (1) receive information regarding the infrastructure component associated with the infrastructure communication device from one or more sensors; (2) determine a message based upon the information regarding the infrastructure component; (3) transmit the determined message; and/or (4) cause part or all of the determined message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle. The infrastructure component may comprise at least one of a bridge, an overpass, a viaduct, an elevated roadway, a traffic signal, a crossing gate, a road segment, a fueling station, a rest area, a toll booth, a point of historical interest, a weigh station, and/or a parking facility. In some embodiments, the message may include a warning regarding the infrastructure component, which warning may indicate ice may be present on the infrastructure component.

“In further embodiments, the message may include an indication of a sponsoring entity associated with the infrastructure component device, which may be caused to be presented to the vehicle operator together with the information regarding the infrastructure component. In some embodiments, prior to transmission, the message may be encoded by the infrastructure communication device in a manner requiring non-public information to decode the message. Additionally, or alternatively, the infrastructure communication device may receive a request from the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to transmit the message, whereupon the infrastructure communication device may transmit the determined message in response to the received request.

“In each of the embodiments or aspects described above, the methods may be provided in corresponding computer systems including at least one or more processors and a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions. The computer systems may further include or be communicatively connected to one or more sensors, communication components or devices, or other equipment as described herein. In yet another aspect, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions corresponding to each of the embodiments or aspects described above may be provided. Each of the methods or executable instructions of the computer systems or computer-readable media may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method for communicating information regarding an infrastructure component to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, comprising: receiving, at an infrastructure communication device associated with a sponsoring entity, from one or more sensors disposed at the infrastructure component and communicatively connected to the infrastructure communication device, information regarding the infrastructure component; determining, by the infrastructure communication device, a message for transmission to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, wherein the message is determined based upon the information regarding the infrastructure component and includes an indication of an environmental condition associated with the infrastructure component, and wherein the message is encoded with non-public information associated with the sponsoring entity; identifying, by the infrastructure component, a particular vehicle having an account with the sponsoring entity; receiving, at the infrastructure communication device, a request from the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to transmit the message; transmitting, from the infrastructure communication device to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle in response to the received request, the encoded message; causing, by an on-board computer of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, the message to be decoded using the non-public information; and causing, by the on-board computer of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, an adjustment to an operating parameter of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon the environmental condition indicated in the message transmitted from the infrastructure component.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising causing, by the infrastructure communication device, part or all of the message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, and wherein the message includes a warning regarding the infrastructure component.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the warning indicates ice may be present on the infrastructure component.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the infrastructure component comprises at least one of a bridge or an overpass.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising causing, by the infrastructure communication device, part or all of the message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, and wherein the message includes an indication of the sponsoring entity.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein causing part or all of the message to be presented to the vehicle operator includes causing information regarding the sponsoring entity to be presented to the vehicle operator.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: causing, by the infrastructure communication device, one or more options regarding the message to be presented to the vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more options includes an option to receive information regarding the sponsoring entity at a later time.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure component comprises at least one of the following: a traffic signal, a crossing gate, a road segment, a fueling station, a rest area, a toll booth, a point of historical interest, or a parking facility.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the infrastructure component is received from a plurality of sensors disposed within the infrastructure component.

“11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure communication device determines the message based upon information indicating the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle is approaching the infrastructure component.

“12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring, by one or more processors, sensor data regarding the operation of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle following transmission of the message; determining, by one or more processors, an adjustment to a cost associated with an insurance policy associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon the sensor data, wherein the cost associated with the insurance policy includes at least one of the following: a premium, a discount, a surcharge, a rate level, a cost based upon a distance traveled, a cost based upon a vehicle trip, or a cost based upon a duration of vehicle operation; and causing, by one or more processors, the adjustments to the cost associated with the insurance policy.

“13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, by the infrastructure communication device associated with the infrastructure component and disposed at the infrastructure component, the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon a probability that the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle is within transmission range of the infrastructure communication device; and establishing, by the infrastructure communication device, a communication connection between the infrastructure communication device and the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

“14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising causing, by the infrastructure communication device, part or all of the message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

“15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising determining, by an on-board computer of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode.

“16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising causing, by the infrastructure communication device, part or all of the message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.

“17. A computer system for communicating information regarding an infrastructure component to an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, comprising: an infrastructure communication device associated with a sponsoring entity disposed at the infrastructure component and having one or more processors; one or more sensors disposed at the infrastructure component and communicatively connected to the one or more processors of the infrastructure communication device; one or more transmission components disposed at the infrastructure component and communicatively connected to the one or more processors of the infrastructure communication device; and a program memory communicatively connected to the one or more processors of the infrastructure communication device and storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computer system to: receive, at the infrastructure communication device from the one or more sensors, information regarding the infrastructure component associated with the infrastructure communication device; determine a message for transmission to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, wherein the message is determined based upon the information regarding the infrastructure component and includes an indication of an environmental condition associated with the infrastructure component, and wherein the message is encoded with non-public information associated with the sponsoring entity; identifying, by the infrastructure component, a particular vehicle having an account with the sponsoring entity; receive, at the infrastructure communication device, a request from the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to transmit the message; transmit, from the one or more transmission components to the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle in response to the received request, the encoded message; causing, by an on-board computer of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, the message to be decoded using the non-public information; and cause the on-board computer of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to adjust an operating parameter of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon the environmental condition indicated in the message transmitted from the infrastructure component.

“18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein: the program memory further causes the computer system to cause part or all of the message to be presented to a vehicle operator of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, the message includes a warning indicating ice may be present on the infrastructure component, and the infrastructure component comprises at least one of a bridge, an overpass, a viaduct, or other elevated roadway.

“19. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the message includes an indication of the sponsoring entity.

“20. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the program memory causes the computer system to: monitor sensor data regarding the operation of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle following transmission of the message; determine an adjustment to a cost associated with an insurance policy associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle based upon the sensor data, wherein the cost associated with the insurance policy includes at least one of the following: a premium, a discount, a surcharge, a rate level, a cost based upon a distance traveled, a cost based upon a vehicle trip, or a cost based upon a duration of vehicle operation; and adjust the cost associated with the insurance policy.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent, see: Bennett, Shawn C. Autonomous vehicle infrastructure communication device. U.S. Patent Number 11127290, filed November 6, 2015, and published online on September 21, 2021. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11127290.PN.&OS=PN/11127290RS=PN/11127290

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)