Portable Wireless Device Mediator for Vehicle Disablement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing onboard devices for vehicle financing models, which enable location tracking and remote disabling, are costly due to their sophisticated electronics and communication capabilities, leading to high product and operational costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a portable wireless device, such as a smartphone, to provide location and communication services, reducing the need for expensive onboard device functionality and data transmission costs by using the device to enable or disable the vehicle based on proximity and communication with the onboard device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sophisticated onboard device with GPS and wireless communication capabilities is implemented, then vehicle location tracking and remote disabling functionality is achieved, but device cost and operational communication costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a portable wireless device (mediator) that couples the vehicle owner to the vehicle. This portable device receives location and disablement commands from a data center and relays them to the vehicle's onboard device, eliminating the need for the onboard device to have direct expensive wireless communication capabilities while maintaining full functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the communication functionality from the onboard device and places it in a separate portable wireless device. The onboard device retains only the essential vehicle control functions (location tracking and disablement), while the portable device handles all wireless communication with the data center, thereby reducing onboard device complexity and cost
Data Source
AI summary
Selectively enabling a vehicle by way of a portable wireless device. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are systems: a data center; a portable wireless device; and an onboard device affixed to a vehicle. The onboard device communicates to the data center by way of the portable wireless device. The portable wireless device programmed to: send a command to disable the vehicle to the onboard device by way of a first communication protocol; send a command to enable the vehicle to the onboard device by way of the first communication protocol; and send an indication of location of the vehicle to the data center over a second communication protocol.