Patent Issued for Methods, apparatuses, and systems for monitoring and maintaining vehicle condition (USPTO 11625957): Assurant Inc.

2023 MAY 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Assurant Inc. (New York, New York, United States) has been issued patent number 11625957, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Garcia, Angel (Miami, FL, US), Gronsbell, Dan (Marietta, GA, US), Perkna, Ronnie Blake (Smyrna, GA, US).

This patent was filed on January 23, 2020 and was published online on April 11, 2023.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Modern vehicles provide indications, such as a check engine light, to users when there are potential malfunctions in a vehicle. However, without sophisticated tools, most users are unable to pinpoint the cause without expensive trips to mechanics. Additionally, many warranties require regular maintenance that can often be forgotten during everyday life. Even with the advancement in technology, most of the responsibility for vehicle repair and maintenance remains on the vehicle owner to notice or understand the malfunctions. Dangerous situations can occur where a user cannot identify a malfunction or declines to repair a malfunction.

“The applicant has discovered problems with current methods, systems, and apparatuses for managing network devices. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solved many of these identified problems by developing a solution that is embodied by the present invention, which is described in detail below.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Embodiments are provided herein of systems, platforms, methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media for improving the accuracy, speed, convenience, and efficiency of vehicle monitoring and tracking as well as associated onboarding, diagnostic, and repair activities. A method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are provided for determining one or more terms of a complete dataset. In an example embodiment, a method, apparatus and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be provided that receive partial datasets that are used to determine one or more terms of the complete dataset. In this regard, the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of an example embodiment, may allow for data relating to vehicle protection plans to be collected and aggregated without requiring manual input of a complete dataset. The method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of an example embodiment may allow for maintaining vehicle condition.

“In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code instructions, the computer program code instructions configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to determine one or more terms of a complete dataset. The computer program code instructions may be configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to receive a partial dataset for a certain type of dataset. The partial dataset may include a partial dataset indicator. The partial dataset indicator may provide an indication of the one or more terms of a complete dataset. The computer program instructions may be further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to provide at least one complete dataset indicator. The at least one complete dataset indicator may provide an indication of one or more terms of the complete dataset. The computer program instructions may also be configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to determine at least one of the one or more terms of the complete dataset based on a comparison of the partial dataset indicator and at least one of the at least one complete dataset indicator. The computer program instructions may be further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to cause the transmission of at least one of the one or more determined terms of the complete dataset for use by an application.

“In an example embodiment, the complete dataset relates to a vehicle protection plan for a vehicle. In such an embodiment, the one or more terms of the complete dataset may include at least one of a contract start date, a contract end date, a mileage limitation, an original vehicle mileage, or a scope of coverage. In an example embodiment, the computer program computer program instructions may be configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to receive a signal relating to the vehicle indicating a type of malfunction and determine a remedial measure based on the type of malfunction and at least one of the one or more terms of the complete dataset. In an example embodiment, the determination of the remedial measure may include determining if the type of malfunction is covered by the vehicle protection plan. In some embodiments, the signal may be received from an On-Board Diagnostics receiver connected to the vehicle.

“In an example embodiment, the computer program code instructions may be further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to receive, from a user, information relating to the complete dataset, wherein the user inputs at least one or more terms of the complete dataset. In some embodiments, the partial dataset may be an insurance policy, a manufacturer warranty, an extended vehicle protection plan, a GAP insurance plan, a tire and wheel coverage plan, or a prepaid maintenance plan. In an example embodiment, the computer program code instructions may be further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to receive a plurality of partial dataset indicators for a vehicle, wherein the plurality of partial dataset indicators provide an indication of one or more terms of a plurality of complete datasets.

“In an example embodiment, the computer program code instructions are further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to cause the transmission of one or more default terms of the complete dataset based on the certain type of dataset. In some embodiments, the computer program code instructions are further configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to transform the partial dataset indicator using optimal character recognition before comparing the partial dataset indicator and at least one of the at least one complete dataset indicator. In such an embodiment, the transformed partial dataset indicator is used to determine at least one of the one or more terms of the complete dataset.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method of flexibly scaling vehicle monitoring system functionality: receiving vehicle data from an on-board vehicle computing system; searching the vehicle data for a presence or an absence of a vehicle identification data object within the vehicle data received from the on-board vehicle computing system; triggering an operational level from a plurality of operational levels in response to detecting the presence or the absence of the vehicle identification data object; in an instance in which the presence of the vehicle identification data object is detected in the vehicle data, triggering the operational level comprises setting a first operational level from the plurality of operational levels; receiving first vehicle data from the on-board vehicle computing system; and causing rendering of a graphical user interface comprising one or more first renderable data objects associated with the first operational level, wherein the one or more first renderable data objects are based on the first vehicle data.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein in an instance in which the vehicle data does not comprise the vehicle identification data object, causing rendering of an input graphical user interface comprising a request for input of the vehicle identification data object.

“3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving the manual input of the vehicle identification data object via the input graphical user interface.

“4. The method of claim 1 wherein in an instance in which the vehicle data does not comprise the vehicle identification data object, determining a second operational level of the plurality of operational levels, receiving second vehicle data from the on-board vehicle computing system, and causing rendering of a second graphical user interface comprising one or more second renderable data objects associated with the second operational level, wherein the one or more second renderable data objects are based on the second vehicle data.

“5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second operational level is defeatured relative to the first operational level.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first operational level from the plurality of operational levels comprises comparing the vehicle identification data object with a predetermined vehicle identification data object associated with a registered account, determining whether the vehicle identification data object matches the predetermined vehicle identification object associated with the registered account; and in an instance in which the vehicle identification data object matches the predetermined vehicle identification object associated with the registered account, retrieving supplemental data associated with the predetermined vehicle identification data object or the registered account, wherein the one or more first renderable data objects are further based on the supplemental data; and in an instance in which the vehicle identification data object does not match the predetermined vehicle identification data object associated with the registered account, the one or more first renderable data objects are not based on the supplemental data.

“7. The method of claim 6, wherein a vehicle apparatus, comprising the processor, is in electrical communication with the on-board vehicle computing system, and wherein the registered account is associated with the vehicle apparatus and the predetermined vehicle identification data object.

“8. The method of claim 7, wherein the vehicle apparatus is configured to cause the graphical user interface to be rendered on a user mobile device.

“9. The method of claim 1, wherein a vehicle apparatus, comprising the processor, is in electrical communication with the on-board vehicle computing system.

“10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of operational levels comprises at least the first operational level associated with a first portion of a complete vehicle information set, and a second operational level associated with a second portion of the complete vehicle information set, and wherein different portions of the complete vehicle information set are associated with different access to data from the on-board vehicle computing system based at least in part on the operational level, and wherein the one or more first renderable data objects are associated with at least the first portion of the complete vehicle information set.

“11. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer program code stored thereon, the computer program code configured, in execution with at least one processor, to: receive vehicle data from an on-board vehicle computing system; searching the vehicle data for a presence or an absence of a vehicle identification data object within the vehicle data received from the on-board vehicle computing system; triggering an operational level from a plurality of operational levels in response to detecting the presence or the absence of the vehicle identification data object; in an instance in which the presence of the vehicle identification data object is detected in the vehicle data, trigger the operational level comprises setting a first operational level from the plurality of operational levels; receive first vehicle data from the on-board vehicle computing system; and cause rendering of a graphical user interface comprising one or more first renderable data objects associated with the first operational level, wherein the one or more first renderable data objects are based on the first vehicle data.

“12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein in an instance in which the vehicle data does not comprise the vehicle identification data object, the computer program code is configured to cause rendering of an input graphical user interface comprising a request for input of the vehicle identification data object.

“13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the computer program code is further configured to receive the manual input of the vehicle identification data object via the input graphical user interface.

“14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein in an instance in which the vehicle data does not comprise the vehicle identification data object, the computer program code is configured to determine a second operational level of the plurality of operational levels, receiving second vehicle data from the on-board vehicle computing system, and cause rendering of a second graphical user interface comprising one or more second renderable data objects associated with the second operational level, wherein the one or more second renderable data objects are based on the second vehicle data.

“15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the second operational level is defeatured relative to the first operational level.

“16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein determining the first operational level from the plurality of operational levels comprises comparing the vehicle identification data object with a predetermined vehicle identification data object associated with a registered account, determining whether the vehicle identification data object matches the predetermined vehicle identification object associated with the registered account; and in an instance in which the vehicle identification data object matches the predetermined vehicle identification object associated with the registered account, retrieving supplemental data associated with the predetermined vehicle identification data object or the registered account, wherein the one or more first renderable data objects are further based on the supplemental data; and in an instance in which the vehicle identification data object does not match the predetermined vehicle identification data object associated with the registered account, the one or more first renderable data objects are not based on the supplemental data.

“17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein a vehicle apparatus, comprising the processor, is in electrical communication with the on-board vehicle computing system, and wherein the registered account is associated with the vehicle apparatus and the predetermined vehicle identification data object.

“18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the vehicle apparatus is configured to cause the graphical user interface to be rendered on a user mobile device.

“19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein a vehicle apparatus, comprising the processor, is in electrical communication with the on-board vehicle computing system.”

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

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Garcia, Angel. Methods, apparatuses, and systems for monitoring and maintaining vehicle condition. U.S. Patent Number 11625957, filed January 23, 2020, and published online on April 11, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11625957)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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