Patent Issued for Image analysis technologies for identifying abnormal vehicle conditions (USPTO 11640717): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2023 MAY 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States) has been issued patent number 11640717, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Li, Yuntao (Champaign, IL, US), Myers, Jeffrey S. (Normal, IL, US), Zhang, Dingchao (Normal, IL, US).

This patent was filed on May 31, 2022 and was published online on May 2, 2023.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Individuals frequently operate or otherwise travel in vehicles, where the environments and conditions of the vehicle operation may be varied. Generally, a given vehicle may have a set of “normal” operation conditions. For example, a vehicle may have associated one or more primary operators, such as an owner of the vehicle. As another example, a vehicle may typically operate with a consistent amount of individuals (i.e., the operator plus any additional passenger(s)).

“However, vehicle technologies are limited in their ability to detect when vehicle operation conditions are abnormal or otherwise not consistent with normal conditions. In particular, existing infotainment components, display monitors, and cameras do not have the ability to detect and/or communicate abnormal conditions. Accordingly, vehicles may continue to operate under abnormal conditions, which may negatively affect vehicle safety, may violate certain policies or regulations, or may indicate illegal activity.

“Therefore, there is an opportunity for techniques and technologies to detect abnormal vehicle operation conditions, and notify appropriate individuals of the abnormal vehicle operation conditions.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In an embodiment, a system for assessing abnormal vehicle occupancy conditions within a vehicle is provided. The system may include a transceiver, at least one image sensor configured to capture image data, a non-transitory memory storing a set of computer-executable instructions, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the at least one image sensor, and the memory. The processor may be configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the processor to: access the image data from the at least one image sensor, the image data comprising a plurality of image frames depicting an interior of the vehicle, determine, from the plurality of image frames, at least a portion of image frames that depict a face of an individual located within the vehicle, analyze at least the portion of image frames to determine that an abnormal condition exists, the abnormal condition associated with the individual located within the vehicle, and in response to determining that the abnormal condition exists: generate a notification indicating the abnormal condition, and transmit, via the transceiver, the notification to an electronic device.

“In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method of assessing abnormal vehicle occupancy conditions within a vehicle is provided. The method may include: accessing image data from at least one image sensor, the image data comprising a plurality of image frames depicting an interior of the vehicle, determining, by a processor from the plurality of image frames, at least a portion of image frames that depict a face of an individual located within the vehicle, analyzing, by the processor, at least the portion of image frames to determine that an abnormal condition exists, the abnormal condition associated with the individual located within the vehicle, and in response to determining that the abnormal condition exists: generating a notification indicating the abnormal condition, and transmitting, via a network connection, the notification to an electronic device.

“The figures depict various aspects of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system comprising: a sensor; a non-transitory memory storing a set of computer-executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions causes the processor to: receive image data from the sensor; determine, based on the image data, that a first individual is located in a driver seat of a vehicle, and that one or more additional individuals are located in the vehicle; receive additional image data indicative of motions of the one or more additional individuals within the vehicle; determine, based at least in part on the additional image data that the one or more additional individuals are participating in a ridesharing arrangement; generate a notification indicating the ridesharing arrangement; and transmit, via a network, the notification to an electronic device.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: determine, based on the image data, that the first individual is an unauthorized individual; in response to determining that the first individual is an unauthorized individual, configure the notification to include an image of the first individual; and transmit, via the network, the notification indicating the unauthorized individual is located in the driver seat to the electronic device.

“3. The system of claim 1, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: identify a portion of the image data depicting the first individual; determine, based at least in part on the portion of the image data, a facial region of the first individual; determine that the facial region of the first individual matches facial region data corresponding to one of a set of authorized individuals; and determine, based on the facial region matching the facial region data, that the first individual is authorized to operate the vehicle.

“4. The system of claim 1, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: determine, based on the image data, that a number of the one or more additional individuals located within the vehicle exceeds a threshold number of individuals permitted within the vehicle; and transmit, via the network, the notification indicating that the number of the one or more additional individuals exceeds the threshold number to the electronic device.

“5. The system of claim 1, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: access, based at least in part on the motions of the one or more additional individuals, insurance policy information associated with the vehicle, the insurance policy information indicating that the vehicle is not to be used as part of a ridesharing service; and determine that a violation of an insurance policy exists based at least in part on the indication that the one or more additional individuals are participating in the ridesharing arrangement.

“6. The system of claim 1, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: determine, based on the image data, that the one or more additional individuals include a child; determine, based at least in part on the motion of the one or more additional individuals, that only the child is present within the vehicle and the rest of the one or more additional individuals left the vehicle; and transmit, via the network, the notification indicating the child being left unattended to the electronic device.

“7. The system of claim 6, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions further causes the processor to: determine, based on the image data, that a particular individual of the one or more additional individuals is sitting in a car seat; and determine, based at least in part on the particular individual sitting in the car seat, that the particular individual is a child.

“8. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving image data from a sensor disposed on a vehicle; determining, based at least in part on the image data, that a first individual is located in a driver seat of the vehicle, and that one or more additional individuals are located in the vehicle; receiving additional image data indicative of motions of the one or more additional individuals within the vehicle; determining, based at least in part on the additional image data, that the one or more additional individuals are participating in a ridesharing arrangement; generating a notification indicating the ridesharing arrangement; and transmitting, via a network, the notification to an electronic device.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: determining, based on the image data, that the first individual is an unauthorized individual; in response to determining that the first individual is an unauthorized individual, configuring the notification to include an image of the first individual; and transmitting, via the network, the notification indicating the unauthorized individual is located in the driver seat to the electronic device.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: identifying a portion of image data depicting the first individual; determining, based on the portion of the image data, a facial region of the first individual; determining that the facial region of the first individual matches facial region data corresponding to one of a set of authorized individuals; and determining, based on the facial region matching the facial region data, that the first individual is authorized to operate the vehicle.

“11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: accessing, based at least in part on the motions of the one or more additional individuals, insurance policy information associated with the vehicle, the insurance policy information indicating that the vehicle is not to be used as part of a ridesharing service; and determining that a violation of an insurance policy exists based at least in part on the indication that the one or more additional individuals are participating in the ridesharing arrangement.

“12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: determining, based on the image data, that a number of the one or more additional individuals located within the vehicle exceeds a threshold number of individuals permitted within the vehicle; and transmitting, via the network, the notification indicating that the number of the one or more additional individuals exceeds the threshold number to the electronic device.

“13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: determining, based on the image data, that the one or more additional individuals include a child; determining, based at least in part on the additional image data, that only the child is present within the vehicle and the rest of the one or more additional individuals left the vehicle; and transmitting, via the network, the notification indicating the child being left unattended to the electronic device.

“14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, based on the image data, that a particular individual of the one or more additional individuals is sitting in a car seat; and determining, based at least in part on the particular individual sitting in the car sea, that the particular individual is a child.

“15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising: one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive image data from a sensor disposed on a vehicle; determine, based at least in part on the image data, that a first individual is located in a driver seat of the vehicle, and the one or more additional individuals are located in the vehicle; receive additional image data indicative of motions of the one or more additional individuals within the vehicle; determine, based at least in part on the additional image data, that the one or more additional individuals are participating in a ridesharing arrangement; generate a notification indicating the ridesharing arrangement; and transmit, via a network, the notification to an electronic device.

“16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein executing the one or more instructions further causes the one or more processors to: identify a portion of the image data depicting the first individual; determine, based at least in part on the portion of the image data, a facial region of the first individual; determine that the facial region of the first individual matches facial region data corresponding to one of a set of authorized individuals; and determine, based on the facial region matching the facial region data, that the first individual is authorized to operate the vehicle.

“17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein executing the one or more instructions further causes the one or more processors to: determine, based on the image data, that a number of the one or more additional individuals located within the vehicle exceeds a threshold number of individuals permitted within the vehicle; and transmit, via the network, the notification indicating that the number of the one or more additional individuals exceeds the threshold number to the electronic device.”

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

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Li, Yuntao. Image analysis technologies for identifying abnormal vehicle conditions. U.S. Patent Number 11640717, filed May 31, 2022, and published online on May 2, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11640717)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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