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Vehicle including a data generating system which obtains or generates information about the vehicle and a communications system coupled to the data generating system for communicating directly with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) to enable the information obtained or generated by the data

Vehicle including a data generating system which obtains or generates information about the vehicle and a communications system coupled to the data generating system for communicating directly with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) to enable the information obtained or generated by the data generating system to be transmitted via the Internet. The data generating system may be a diagnostic system which diagnoses the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle and generates an output indicative or representative thereof. The data generating system may be arranged to obtain or generate information about the operation of the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively, the data generating system may be arranged to obtain or generate information about the presence of contents in the compartment and/or when contents are present, information about contents in the compartment.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A vehicle, comprising: a data generating system arranged on the vehicle to obtain or generate information about the vehicle; and a communications system coupled to said data generating system and that communicates directly with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP)

The invention claimed is: 1. A vehicle, comprising: a data generating system arranged on the vehicle to obtain or generate information about the vehicle; and a communications system coupled to said data generating system and that communicates directly with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) such that the information obtained or generated by said data generating system is transmitted via the Internet from said communications system on the vehicle directly to the wireless ISP. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said data generating system is a diagnostic system which diagnoses the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle and generates an output indicative or representative thereof, the output of said diagnostic system indicative or representative of the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle being transmitted from said communications system directly to the wireless ISP via the Internet. 3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein said communications system is arranged to establish an Internet link between the vehicle and a remote facility via the ISP without manual intervention and send the output of said diagnostic system to the remote facility. 4. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein said diagnostic system comprises a plurality of vehicle sensors mounted on the vehicle, each of said sensors providing a measurement related to a state of said sensor or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location of said sensor, and a processor coupled to said sensors and arranged to receive data from said sensors and process the data to generate the output indicative or representative of the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle, at least one of said sensors being wirelessly coupled to said processor. 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein said processor includes a pattern recognition algorithm trained to generate the output from the data received from said sensors. 6. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein said generated output is that the vehicle is experiencing or has experienced a crash. 7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications system is arranged to establish an Internet link between the vehicle and a remote facility via the ISP, further comprising an occupant sensing system arranged to determine at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle, said communications system being coupled to said occupant sensing system and arranged to transmit the determined property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle directly to the remote facility. 8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said data generating system comprises a plurality of sensors mounted at different locations on the vehicle, each of said sensors providing a measurement related to a state of said sensor or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location of said sensor, and a processor coupled to said sensors and arranged to diagnose the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle based on the measurements of said sensors. 9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein at least one of said sensors includes an RFID or SAW response unit, further comprising at least one RFID or SAW interrogator device, said at least one interrogator device causing said RFID or SAW response unit of said at least one sensor to transmit a signal representative of the measurement of said at least one sensor to said processor. 10. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein at least one of said sensors is arranged to measure at least one of temperature, pressure, the presence of a chemical and the concentration of a chemical. 11. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a location determining system for determining the location of the vehicle, said communications system being coupled to said location determining system and arranged to transmit the determined location of the vehicle via the Internet directly to the wireless ISP. 12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said data generating system is arranged to obtain or generate information about operation of the vehicle. 13. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a frame defining a compartment, said data generating system being arranged to obtain or generate information about the presence of contents in said compartment. 14. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a frame defining a compartment, said data generating system being arranged to obtain or generate information about contents in said compartment. 15. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications system is further arranged to communicate with a remote, non-ISP site to enable the information obtained or generated by said data generating system to be transmitted to the non-ISP site. 16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein said communications system is arranged to select which communications technique to use, whether directly to the wireless ISP via the Internet or with the non-ISP site, based on travel status of the vehicle, the location of the vehicle, the importance of the information obtained or generated by said data generating system and/or the urgency with which the information obtained or generated by said data generating system should be transmitted. 17. A method for communicating with a vehicle, comprising: obtaining or generating information about the vehicle using a vehicle-based data generating system; and using a communications system to transmit the information obtained or generated by the data generating system from the vehicle directly to a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) via the Internet. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of obtaining or generating information about the vehicle comprises diagnosing the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle by means of a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing the information transmitted to the wireless ISP to an entity interested in the vehicle. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting update data and programs to a vehicle-resident computer via the wireless ISP. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: determining the location of the vehicle; determining which update data and programs are transmitted to the vehicle-resident computer based on the determined location of the vehicle, and then transmitting the determined update data and programs to the vehicle-resident computer directly from the wireless ISP to the communications system on the vehicle via the Internet. 22. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmission of information directly from the communications system to the wireless ISP via the Internet uses XMax. 23. The method of claim 17, wherein the communications system comprises an IEEE 802.xx compliant system including an antenna on the vehicle. 24. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of obtaining or generating information about the vehicle comprises obtaining or generating information about operation of the vehicle. 25. The method of claim 17, wherein the vehicle includes a frame defining a compartment, the step of obtaining or generating information about the vehicle comprising obtaining or generating information about the presence of contents in the compartment. 26. The method of claim 17, wherein the vehicle includes a frame defining a compartment, the step of obtaining or generating information about the vehicle comprising obtaining or generating information about contents in the compartment. 27. The method of claim 17, further comprising selectively transmitting the obtained or generated information to a remote, non-ISP site. 28. The method of claim 17, further comprising: enabling the obtained or generated information to be transmitted to a remote, non-ISP site via the communications system; and determining whether the obtained or generated information is to be transmitted by the communications system to the wireless ISP or to the remote, non-ISP site based on travel status of the vehicle, the location of the vehicle, the importance of the obtained or generated information and/or the urgency with which the obtained or generated information should be transmitted. 29. A vehicle, comprising: a data generating system arranged on the vehicle to obtain or generate information about the vehicle; a location determining system that determines the location of the vehicle; and a communications system coupled to said data generating system and said location determining system and arranged to enable the information obtained or generated by said data generating system to be transmitted to a remote site in one of a plurality of different communications techniques and select which of the plurality of different communications techniques to use based on the location of the vehicle as determined by said location determining system, said communications system being arranged to communicate directly with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) such that the information obtained or generated by said data generating system is transmitted via the Internet from said communications system on the vehicle directly to the wireless ISP, the direct transmission of the information obtained or generated by said data generating system from said communications system to the wireless ISP being one of the plurality of communications techniques and being used when a wireless ISP is detected. 30. The vehicle of claim 29, further comprising a wireless ISP detection system that detects one or more wireless ISPs with which said communications system can communicate based on the location of the vehicle, said communications system communicating directly with one of the detected wireless ISPs. 31. The vehicle of claim 29, wherein said data generating system is arranged to obtain or generate information about operation of the vehicle. 32. The vehicle of claim 29, further comprising a frame defining a compartment, said data generating system being arranged to obtain or generate information about the contents or the presence of contents in said compartment. 33. A vehicle, comprising: a data generating system arranged on the vehicle to obtain or generate information about the vehicle; an ISP detection system that detects the existence of an available and useable wireless Internet service provider; and a communications system coupled to said data generating system and said ISP detection system and arranged to enable the information obtained or generated by said data generating system to be transmitted to a remote site in one of a plurality of different communications techniques based on the availability of a wireless ISP as determined by said ISP detection system such that whenever a wireless ISP is detected by said ISP detection system, said communications system communicates directly with the detected wireless ISP to provide the obtained or generated information via the Internet, the communication by said communications systems directly with the detected wireless ISP via the Internet being one of the plurality of communications techniques. 34. The vehicle of claim 33, wherein said data generating system is arranged to obtain or generate information about operation of the vehicle. 35. The vehicle of claim 33, further comprising a frame defining a compartment, said data generating system being arranged to obtain or generate information about contents or the presence of contents in said compartment. 36. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a wireless ISP detection system that detects one or more wireless ISPs with which said communications system can communicate, said communications system communicating directly with one of the detected wireless ISPs and transmitting the information obtained or generated by said data generating system via the Internet from said communications system on the vehicle directly to that wireless ISP. 37. The method of claim 17, further comprising using a wireless ISP detection system to detect one or more wireless ISPs with which the communications system can communicate, the communications system communicating directly with one of the detected wireless ISPs and transmitting the information obtained or generated by the data generating system via the Internet from the communications system on the vehicle directly to that wireless ISP.