Patent Issued for Reward system related to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system (USPTO 11295391): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 APR 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Slusar, Mark V. (Chicago, IL, US), filed on February 19, 2020, was published online on April 5, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11295391 is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Many vehicles include sensors and internal computer systems designed to monitor and control vehicle operations, driving conditions, and driving functions. Advanced vehicles systems can perform such tasks as monitoring fuel consumption and optimizing engine operation to achieve higher fuel efficiency, detecting and correcting a loss of traction on an icy road, and detecting a collision and automatically contacting emergency services. Various vehicle-based communication systems allow vehicles to communicate with other devices inside or outside of the vehicle. For example, a Bluetooth system may enable communication between the vehicle and the driver’s mobile phone. Telematics systems may be configured to access vehicle computers and sensor data, including on-board diagnostics systems (OBD), and transmit the data to a display within the vehicle, a personal computer or mobile device, or to a centralized data processing system. Data obtained from vehicle sensors and OBD systems has been used for a variety of purposes, including maintenance, diagnosis, and analysis. Additionally, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication systems can be used to provide drivers with safety warnings and collision alerts based on data received from other nearby vehicles. Additionally, vehicles can include autonomous driving systems that assume all or part of real-time driving functions to operate the vehicle without real-time input from a human operator.

“When out on the road, vehicles and drivers may engage in many different types of driving behaviors, including various “social interactions” with other vehicles and drivers. An example social interaction can include vehicle drafting where one vehicle follows another vehicle to reduce the overall effect of drag and improve fuel efficiency. Another example social interaction can include autonomous vehicle droning where a vehicle engages in at least partial autonomous driving based on the driving of a lead or pilot vehicle.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.

“Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods and computer devices for receiving and transmitting driving data, analyzing driving data, and determining whether a first vehicle is engaged in a drafting relationship with at least a second vehicle and allocating a drafting reward based on the drafting relationship. A drafting characteristic of the drafting relationship can be determined using vehicle operational data. Example drafting characteristics can include a vehicle spacing, vehicle speed, and/or vehicle type. A drafting property associated with the first or second vehicle can be determined using the drafting characteristic. Example drafting properties can include a drafting fuel savings rate, a drafting savings amount, and/or a percentage increase in miles-per-gallon. Example drafting rewards can include a cash payment, a carbon credit, a fuel credit, a tax credit, a rebate, and at least a portion of a drafting fuel savings amount associated with the first vehicle driving analysis computer.

“In accordance with further aspects of the present disclosure, a property of an insurance policy may be determined by receiving and analyzing driving data from vehicles engaged in an autonomous droning relationship where a vehicle engages in at least partial autonomous driving based on information from another vehicle. A characteristic of the autonomous droning relationship can be determined from, for example, the received driving data. Example characteristics of an autonomous droning relationship include identification of a lead vehicle and a drone vehicle, an amount of time a vehicle is the lead or drone vehicle, and the amount of driving distance a vehicle is the lead or drone vehicle. Example properties of an insurance policy can include a premium for the first insurance policy, a deductible of the first insurance policy, and a coverage amount of the first insurance policy. Aspects of the disclosure also include determining an autonomous droning insurance factor using vehicle operational data and/or a characteristic of the autonomous droning relationship. The autonomous droning insurance factor can be used to determine the property of the first insurance policy using the autonomous droning insurance factor.

“Aspects of the present disclosure provide incentives for beneficial social interactions between vehicles and drivers. Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An autonomous droning reward system comprising: a vehicle operational data collector, wherein the vehicle operational data collector is configured to collect driving data from at least one of vehicle sensors, vehicle OBD systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems; and an autonomous droning reward device, comprising: a processing unit comprising at least one computer processor; a memory unit; and a wireless receiver; wherein the autonomous droning reward device is configured to: receive, via the wireless receiver, the driving data; determine, from the driving data, whether a lead vehicle is m an autonomous droning relationship with a following vehicle, wherein the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle so long as the lead vehicle transmits commands to the following vehicle and the following vehicle uses the commands to follow the lead vehicle and automate driving based on the driving of the lead vehicle; calculate a reward amount based on at least an amount of time spent while the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle; determine an account associated with the lead vehicle; and credit the account associated with the lead vehicle by the reward amount.

“2. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the following vehicle is a drone vehicle comprising: a short-range wireless communications circuitry configured to receive commands generated by the lead vehicle; and an interface to a vehicle control computer of the drone vehicle, wherein the commands are sent to the vehicle control computer through the interface to cause the drone vehicle to alter its driving characteristics.

“3. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous droning reward device is further configured to: adjust the reward amount based on at least one of congestion level on a roadway, weather conditions on the roadway, historical occurrence of incidents on the roadway, time of day when the lead vehicle is operated, vehicle characteristics of the lead vehicle, and driving risk characteristics of the lead vehicle.

“4. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the driving data comprises at least one of: speed of the lead vehicle, location of the lead vehicle, and amount of distance traveled in the autonomous droning relationship, wherein the autonomous droning reward device is further configured to: increase the reward amount as the amount of distance traveled in the autonomous droning relationship increases; increase the reward amount if the speed of the lead vehicle stays within a threshold speed range while in the autonomous droning relationship; and increase the reward amount if the location of the lead vehicle stays within a predetermined geographic region while in the autonomous droning relationship.

“5. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the reward amount comprises a percentage discount of an insurance policy premium associated with at least one of the lead vehicle and the following vehicle.

“6. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, further comprising: a short-range wireless communications circuitry configured to communicate commands between the lead vehicle and the following vehicle; and a long-range wireless communications circuitry configured to communicate the driving data.

“7. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the account is an auto insurance policy account, and wherein the reward amount is a dollar amount at least partially credited against a premium of the auto insurance policy account.

“8. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous droning reward device is further configured to: determine an account associated with one of the following vehicle; and debit the account associated with the following vehicle by the reward amount.

“9. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous droning reward device is further configured to: determine an account associated with the following vehicle; and credit the account associated with the following vehicle by no more than the reward amount.

“10. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, further comprising: a display screen configured to display at least the reward amount, wherein the display screen is in at least one of the lead vehicle, the following vehicle, and a mobile phone.

“11. The autonomous droning reward system of claim 1, further comprising a driving analysis computing device configured to: determine a drafting property associated with the following vehicle; and calculate a drafting reward based on the drafting property associated with the following vehicle; and credit the account associated with the lead vehicle by the drafting reward.

“12. A method comprising: receiving, by a wireless receiver of an autonomous droning reward device, driving data collected by a vehicle operational data collector, wherein the vehicle operational data collector is configured to collect the driving data from at least one of vehicle sensors, vehicle OBD systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems; determining, by a processing unit of the autonomous droning reward device, from the driving data whether a lead vehicle is in an autonomous droning relationship with a following vehicle, wherein the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle so long as the lead vehicle transmits commands to the following vehicle such that the following vehicle uses the commands to follow the lead vehicle and automate driving based on the driving of the lead vehicle; calculating, by a processing unit of the autonomous droning reward device, a reward amount based on at least a determination that a speed of the lead vehicle stays within a threshold speed range while the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle; and crediting the reward amount to one or more accounts associated with at least one of the lead vehicle and the following vehicle.

“13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more accounts includes an auto insurance policy account, and wherein the reward amount is a dollar amount at least partially credited against a premium of the auto insurance policy account.

“14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: adjusting, by the autonomous droning reward device, the reward amount based on at least one of congestion level on a roadway traveled by the lead vehicle, weather conditions on the roadway, historical occurrence of incidents on the roadway, time of day when the lead vehicle is operated, vehicle characteristics of the lead vehicle, and driving risk characteristics of the lead vehicle.

“15. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more accounts includes an auto insurance policy account, and wherein the reward amount is a dollar amount at least partially credited against a premium due on the auto insurance policy account.

“16. The method of claim 12, wherein the driving data comprises at least one of: location of the lead vehicle, amount of distance traveled in the autonomous droning relationship, and amount of time spent in the autonomous droning relationship, the method further comprising at least one of: increasing the reward amount as the amount of time spent in the autonomous droning relationship increases; increase the reward amount as the amount of distance traveled in the autonomous droning relationship increases; and increasing the reward amount if the location of the lead vehicle stays within a predetermined geographic region while in the autonomous droning relationship.

“17. The method of claim 12, wherein the reward amount comprises a percentage discount of an insurance policy associated with at least one of the lead vehicle and the following vehicle.

“18. An autonomous droning reward system comprising: a vehicle operational data collector, wherein the vehicle operational data collector is configured to collect driving data from at least one of vehicle sensors, vehicle OBD systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems; and an autonomous droning reward device, comprising: a processing unit comprising at least one computer processor; a memory unit; and a wireless receiver; wherein the autonomous droning reward device is configured to: receive, via the wireless receiver, the driving data; determine, from the driving data, whether a lead vehicle is in an autonomous droning relationship with a following vehicle, wherein the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle so long as the lead vehicle transmits commands to the following vehicle and the following vehicle uses the commands to follow the lead vehicle and automate driving based on the driving of the lead vehicle; calculate a reward amount based on at least a determination that a location of the lead vehicle stays within a predetermined geographic region while the lead vehicle is in the autonomous droning relationship with the following vehicle; and a display screen configured to display, in real-time, at least the reward amount, wherein the display screen is in at least one of the lead vehicle, the following vehicle, and a mobile phone.”

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

URL and more information on this patent, see: Slusar, Mark V. Reward system related to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. U.S. Patent Number 11295391, filed February 19, 2020, and published online on April 5, 2022. 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=11295391.PN.&OS=PN/11295391RS=PN/11295391

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