KR20070038204A - Method for providing a car repair management service using car image in camera phone - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone. When receiving photograph information of a license plate of a vehicle from the camera phone, the photograph information is processed by the image information and character / number recognition process to process the vehicle number. Recognize and acquire vehicle characteristic information including vehicle type and model information of the vehicle from an external organization by using the recognized vehicle number, and grasp the detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the vehicle type by using the acquired vehicle model information. Calculate the total mileage of the vehicle by using the vehicle's age information and the current date, and determine whether there is a maintenance item in the detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the total mileage of the vehicle. Provide information to the user.

The present invention is provided with a service through the mobile communication network as a whole vehicle maintenance guide using the photo information, to prevent the maintenance can not be forgotten and maintenance or do not know which area to be maintained, to enable safe driving and vehicle It has the effect of extending the life of.

Mileage, Photography, Camera Phone, Maintenance

Description

Method for providing a car repair management service using car image in camera phone}

1 is a network diagram showing a network environment to which the present invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a mobile communication service, and in particular, to grasp the maintenance date for the user vehicle using the photo information of the vehicle provided through the camera phone, and informs the maintenance matters to the camera phone on the maintenance date, the vehicle picture of the camera phone It relates to a vehicle maintenance management service method using.

Vehicles such as cars, buses, and trucks vary in daily mileage according to the driver's characteristics such as the occupation, driving habits, and distance to the company.However, various oils such as engine oil, batteries, etc. Replace consumable vehicle parts and diagnose the vehicle for safer driving at certain mileage.

Since the replacement or diagnosis of parts of a vehicle is related to the mileage or the date of travel, each vehicle manufacturer or the manufacturer of a vehicle component includes a detailed maintenance manual that records detailed maintenance items corresponding to the mileage (or driving date) for a specific vehicle. I am preparing.

However, since the driver does not have the above maintenance manual separately, the driver acquires vehicle maintenance information through the Internet or the like and works on maintenance.

As a result, the driver misses the maintenance date according to the mileage or misses the maintenance date by not knowing what part to be diagnosed at one, two, or three years, which shortens the life of the vehicle and leads to a dangerous situation. It causes problems.

The present invention is to solve the conventional problems, the user can be provided with the maintenance date and maintenance items of the vehicle only by providing the photograph information taken through the camera phone without a separate information input, camera phone To provide a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle picture.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph using a camera phone capable of data communication through a camera function and a mobile communication network. A first step of receiving; A second step of recognizing the vehicle number by performing image processing and character / number recognition processing on the photo information; A third step of acquiring vehicle characteristic information including vehicle type and model information of the corresponding vehicle from an external organization using the recognized vehicle number; A fourth step of grasping detailed maintenance item instructions corresponding to the corresponding vehicle type by using the acquired vehicle type information; A fifth step of calculating a total mileage of the vehicle using the year information and the current date; A sixth step of identifying whether there is a maintenance item of the identified detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the total mileage of the vehicle; And if there is a maintenance item, vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone comprising the seventh step of providing the user with the information of the maintenance item.

In the fifth step, it is preferable to calculate the driving date of the vehicle based on the year information and the current date, and calculate the total driving distance of the vehicle by multiplying the preset daily driving distance from the calculated driving date.

In the seventh step, when the information of the corresponding maintenance item can be transmitted through an SMS message, the information is transmitted to the camera phone as an SMS message, and the information of the corresponding maintenance item includes photo information or is not transmitted through an SMS message. If not, it is desirable to induce the connection by sending an SMS message to the camera phone.

On the other hand, the present invention according to another feature for achieving the above object, in the vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph using a camera phone capable of data communication through a camera function and a mobile communication network, the vehicle model of the service subscriber A first step of receiving photo information transmitted from the camera phone while managing vehicle characteristic information such as age and year in a database; A second step of recognizing the mileage of the vehicle by image processing the photo information and character / number recognition processing; A third step of identifying whether there is a maintenance item corresponding to the mileage of the vehicle by comparing the recognized mileage of the vehicle with a detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the model of the subscriber; And if there is a maintenance item, the vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone comprising a fourth step of providing information of the maintenance item to the user.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention. Terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may be changed according to intentions or customs of users or operators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, a network configuration for the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. 1 is a network diagram showing a network environment to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention provides a camera phone 10, a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) providing a short message service 20, a vehicle management server 30 connected to a mobile communication network and an internet network. ) And the vehicle information providing server 40 located in the Internet network.

In this case, any one of IS-95A / B / C, cdma2000 1x, cdma2000 1x EVDO, and WCDMA may be used as the mobile communication network to which the present invention is applied. Good.

The camera phone 10 is different from the built-in mobile communication module according to the type of mobile communication network to be used, and a mobile phone or PDA (personal data communication terminal) or digital camera capable of data communication using a mobile communication network and a camera function Can be.

Here, as a method of accessing the vehicle management server 30 through the camera phone 10, using a special number set by the mobile communication service provider for the service of the present invention, or a menu item provided by default in the camera phone 10 In the case of using the Nate Drive (SK Telecom service name) menu, or using a maintenance item in the Nate Drive menu, or directly enter the URL of the vehicle management server (30).

The method of accessing the vehicle management server 30 may be applied at least one according to the type of mobile communication network or the model of the camera phone 10.

In addition, in the camera phone 10, an application drive and a menu item for connection to the vehicle management server 30 have a menu item that allows the user to select a type of a picture to be transmitted. It is preferable to transmit the photographed picture and the photographed picture of the driving distance separately.

The vehicle management server 30 is a service server for providing a service of the present invention, and stores maintenance guide information for each vehicle, and calculates the mileage of the vehicle when vehicle identification information of a subscriber subscribed as a member is received. Determine if there are any maintenance items corresponding to the calculated mileage. And if there is a maintenance item corresponding to the calculated mileage, it transmits a short message or photograph information and maintenance contents showing the maintenance part through the data channel. Vehicle management server 30 stores and manages the maintenance history for each subscriber for customer management.

The SMSC 20 delivers the SMS message received from the vehicle management server 30 to the camera phone of the subscriber.

The vehicle information providing server 40 manages a vehicle DB (not shown) including feature information of vehicles for each vehicle owner. The vehicle DB is directory information that can identify the owner of the vehicle based on the vehicle number or the vehicle number. Vehicles such as model name, model year, displacement, insurance information, accident history information, etc. are corresponding to each vehicle number (or vehicle number). It stores property information.

The vehicle information providing server 40 may be, for example, a server of a police agency that manages a history of a vehicle, a server managed by an insurance development agency, which is an insurance institution, and a server having the vehicle DB.

Hereinafter, the vehicle management server 30 will be described in more detail. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle management server 30 includes an image information receiver 31, a photo reader 32, a vehicle information determiner 33, a maintenance manager 34, an output processor 35, and a vehicle. Each maintenance DB 36, individual maintenance history DB 37 and subscriber information DB (38) is included.

The image information receiving unit 31 performs subscriber authentication and receives a picture transmitted from the camera phone 10 of the subscriber and stores it in the maintenance history DB 37 for each subscriber based on the phone number of the camera phone 10. . The subscriber authentication method receives a phone number and personal information of the camera phone 10 from a subscriber who wants to register as a member, generates a subscriber information DB 38, and then receives a multimedia message (photo and calling terminal) through a data channel. The phone number of the calling terminal (camera phone) is compared with the phone number stored in the subscriber information DB (38) to authenticate the subscriber.

The type of picture provided by the camera phone 10 to the image information receiver 31 is classified into two types. One is a picture of the vehicle number, and the other is a picture of the mileage displayed on the mileage instrument panel of the vehicle.

The image information receiver 31 determines whether the photograph is for a vehicle number or a mileage through an identifier included in the photograph data received from the camera phone 10. Here, it is preferable that the image information receiving unit 31 be guided so as to select a kind of picture to be provided to the user who is connected specially or by direct URL.

The photograph reading unit 32 is interlocked with the image information receiving unit 31 and, as disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 92-9163, extracts a license plate area or a mileage meter area of a vehicle from a photograph, It automatically recognizes the number or mileage of the vehicle by extracting letters and number zones.

The picture reading unit 32 stores the recognized vehicle number or driving distance in the individual maintenance history DB 37 or / and the subscriber information DB 38.

The vehicle information grasping unit 33 is interlocked with the picture reading unit 32 to grasp the characteristic information (vehicle type, year, insurance information, displacement, etc.) of the vehicle having the vehicle number. The vehicle information grasping unit 33 connects to the specific vehicle information providing server 40 when the vehicle number is received and obtains the characteristic information of the vehicle corresponding to the vehicle number. The vehicle information grasping unit 33 matches the characteristic information of the vehicle obtained from the vehicle information providing server 40 to the phone number and the vehicle number of the camera phone and stores it in the individual maintenance history DB 37.

The maintenance manager 34 identifies a vehicle requiring maintenance by using the maintenance DB DB 37 and the maintenance DB 36 for each vehicle.

There are two ways to identify a vehicle that needs maintenance.

First, there is a first method of identifying a maintenance target vehicle by calculating a mileage by itself based on the year and the current date of the vehicle, and a method of identifying the maintenance target vehicle based on the mileage information provided by the user.

Hereinafter, the first method will be described with reference to FIG. 3, and the second method will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

On the other hand, the output processing unit 35 performs an operation to enable the camera phone 10 to receive the information received from the maintenance management unit 34.

At present, no mobile IP is given to the camera phone, regardless of whether it is given a fixed flow. Therefore, even if the Internet server knows the mobile phone number, if the mobile IP is not known, the data cannot be downloaded to the camera phone.

For this reason, the output processing part 35 provides the camera phone 10 with the information received from the maintenance management part 34 using the method normally used.

Typical methods include, for example, a method using general SMS and a method using callback URL SMS.

In general, the method of using the SMS is to provide the camera phone using the SMS service when the length of the maintenance guide is short, and the method of using the callback URL SMS is a vehicle information providing server ( 40 is a method of inducing a connection of the camera phone 10 to the vehicle information providing server 40 through the callback URL by transmitting an SMS message having the URL of the callback URL to the camera phone 10.

In addition, the output processor 35 may use a method using a video mailbox (MMC) constructed for 3G mobile communication (ie, WCDMA). In the method of using a video mailbox, the output processing unit or the maintenance manager stores the maintenance picture information to be provided to the user in the video mailbox, and the output processing unit informs the user that the user has a picture to be provided to the user using a general SMS message. It is a way to access the video mailbox to receive the maintenance picture.

That is, the method of using a video mailbox may be the same as the method of using a voice mailbox currently provided by a CDMA mobile communication network.

Hereinafter, a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, a user registers as a service subscriber of the present invention through a customer care center or a homepage of a mobile communication service provider. In this case, it is preferable that the user provide information on the distance of use of the vehicle by day.

When the user purchases a vehicle after registering as a service subscriber, as shown in FIG. 3, the user photographs the license plate with the camera phone 10 (S301) and manages the camera phone 10 through the wireless Internet. After connecting to the server 30, the photographed picture is transmitted to the vehicle management server 30 (S302).

The image information receiver 31 of the vehicle management server 30 processes user authentication for the connected camera phone 10 using the subscriber information DB 38, and photographs the vehicle number through the identification information included in the photo data. Find out that. The received picture is then provided to the picture reading unit 32.

The photo reader 32 recognizes the vehicle number from the license plate photograph by using image processing and character reading technology (see Korean Patent No. 92-9163) in the received photograph (S303).

The picture reading unit 32 provides the recognized vehicle number to the vehicle information identifying unit 33, and the vehicle information identifying unit 33 is connected to the vehicle information providing server 40 to provide vehicle characteristic information corresponding to the vehicle number. Acquire and store the acquired vehicle characteristic information in the maintenance history DB of the corresponding subscriber (S304). The picture reading unit 32 stores the vehicle characteristic information and then provides the maintenance number 34 to the vehicle number and the phone number of the camera phone 10 to instruct maintenance of the corresponding subscriber vehicle.

The maintenance manager 34 performs vehicle maintenance management for the subscribers who are instructed by the vehicle information grasping unit 33.

That is, the maintenance manager 34 first reads the detailed maintenance guide for each vehicle type stored in the maintenance DB 36 for each vehicle to determine the driving date for each maintenance item for each vehicle type (S305). Then, the driving date of the vehicle is calculated using the individual model year and the current date stored in the individual maintenance history DB 37, and the total driving distance of the vehicle is estimated by applying the daily driving distance set in the vehicle driving date. (S306). Since the fuel consumption varies depending on the displacement and the vehicle type, the daily mileage is preferably set in consideration of this.

The maintenance manager 34 compares the predicted (calculated) mileage with the mileage for each maintenance item of the corresponding vehicle model recorded in the above guidelines. It is determined that the diagnosis of the maintenance item is necessary (S307).

 If, in the determination (S307), the maintenance management unit 34 determines that the maintenance of the vehicle is necessary, the guidance for the maintenance item stored in the maintenance DB 36 for each vehicle and the specific part of the vehicle to which the corresponding maintenance item is applied. After reading the photo information, the information on the corresponding maintenance item and / or photo information and the phone number of the camera phone registered by the owner of the vehicle is provided to the output processing unit 35 (S308).

The output processor 35 notifies the SMSC 20 of the phone number of the camera phone 10 if the received maintenance data is small enough to be transmitted as an SMS message, and the maintenance item information is sent to the camera phone 10 as an SMS message. To be transmitted (S312).

On the other hand, the output processing unit 35 transmits the callback URL SMS message to the camera phone 10 through the SMSC 20 when the received maintenance data has a large amount of data or photo information so that it cannot be transmitted as an SMS message. In order to induce connection of the camera phone 10 (S309).

Accordingly, the user accesses the vehicle management server 30 in response to the callback URL SMS message received through the camera phone 10, and the output processor 35 checks the accessor's mobile phone number and displays the corresponding maintenance item information. Download to the camera phone 10 via the data call path (S310).

Since the downloaded information is a picture of the maintenance guide and the part of the vehicle to be repaired, the user will come to the repair shop for maintenance of the corresponding part when the user determines that the state of the vehicle needs maintenance.

Meanwhile, the user who receives the general SMS message checks the maintenance item through the SMS message. Maintenance items identified through normal SMS messages are for consumables such as oil replacement / replenishment or battery or tire replacement.

After the maintenance is over, the user photographs the repaired part and provides it to the vehicle management server 30, and the vehicle management server 30 stores the information received from the service level for managing the maintenance history of the user vehicle. 37) (S38). In this case, the S38 process may be processed as an option.

Hereinafter, a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of a camera phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The operation of the second embodiment of the present invention is performed after the user registers as a service subscriber and has already informed the vehicle management server 30 of the vehicle number.

As shown in FIG. 4, the user takes a mileage instrument panel to inquire whether there are maintenance matters according to his current state (S401), and the photographed vehicle management server 30 through the camera phone 10. (S402).

Then, the image information receiver 31 of the vehicle management server 30 authenticates the user with the telephone number of the camera phone 10, and if the authentication is successful, provides a picture to the photo reader 32.

The picture reading unit 32 recognizes the travel distance through the received picture through image processing and alphanumeric reading, and provides the travel distance information to the maintenance manager 34 (S403).

The maintenance manager 34 compares the detailed maintenance guidebook and the mileage stored in the vehicle bee maintenance DB 36 to search whether there is a maintenance item corresponding to the mileage.

In this search, if there is a maintenance item (S405), the maintenance management unit 34 provides the output processing unit 35 with a guide letter and / or a picture of the maintenance item, and the output processing unit 35 is different from the above-described first embodiment. In the same manner, an SMS message is transmitted (S408), or a callback URL SMS message for inducing a user's access is transmitted (S406).

Accordingly, the user accesses the vehicle management server 30 in response to the callback URL SMS message received through the camera phone 10, and the output processor 35 checks the accessor's mobile phone number and displays the corresponding maintenance item information. Download to the camera phone 10 via the data call path (S407).

After that, the user who visited the repair shop will take a picture of the repaired vehicle part and provide the corresponding picture to the vehicle management server 30 (S409).

On the other hand, the maintenance condition of the vehicle is generally not determined as a specific mileage or a driving date, but as a range of driving days such as six months or one year, or two years, or ten years after shipment, It is estimated to have a range of approximately mileage, such as 10,000 kilos and 30,000 kilos.

Therefore, the mileage comparison of the present invention determines that the maintenance item corresponding to the set range is the target when the mileage is included in the set range.

In addition, for a more accurate service, after finding a maintenance item for the vehicle mileage, it is preferable to check whether there is something that has not been previously maintained through the maintenance history DB 37 for each individual to make the overall maintenance management.

The technical spirit of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but this is by way of example only and not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, it is obvious that any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and imitations without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

The present invention is provided with a service through the mobile communication network as a whole vehicle maintenance guide using the photo information, to prevent the maintenance can not be forgotten and maintenance or do not know which area to be maintained, to enable safe driving and vehicle It has the effect of extending the life of.

Claims (7)

In the vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph using a camera phone capable of data communication through a camera function and a mobile communication network, A first step of receiving picture information transmitted from the camera phone; A second step of recognizing the vehicle number by performing image processing and character / number recognition processing on the photo information; A third step of acquiring vehicle characteristic information including vehicle type and model information of the corresponding vehicle from an external organization using the recognized vehicle number; A fourth step of grasping detailed maintenance item instructions corresponding to the corresponding vehicle type by using the acquired vehicle type information; A fifth step of calculating a total mileage of the vehicle using the year information and the current date; A sixth step of identifying whether there is a maintenance item of the identified detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the total mileage of the vehicle; And If there is a maintenance item, vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of the camera phone comprising the seventh step of providing the information of the maintenance item to the user. The method of claim 1, In the fifth step, the driving date of the vehicle is calculated based on the year information and the current date, and the total driving distance of the vehicle is calculated by multiplying the preset daily driving distance from the calculated driving date. Vehicle maintenance management method using vehicle photos. The method of claim 2, The seventh step, If the information of the corresponding maintenance item can be transmitted through the SMS message, it is transmitted to the camera phone as an SMS message, and if the information of the corresponding maintenance item includes the photo information or cannot be transmitted through the SMS message, a callback URL SMS message is sent. Vehicle maintenance management method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone, characterized in that the transmission to the camera phone to induce connection. The method of claim 2, The seventh step, After storing the maintenance picture information to be provided to the user in the video mailbox, and informs the user that the maintenance picture information in the video mailbox through the SMS message, the user can download the maintenance picture from the video mailbox, characterized in that Vehicle maintenance management method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone to. In the vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph using a camera phone capable of data communication through a camera function and a mobile communication network, In the state that manages the vehicle characteristic information such as the model, year, etc. for the model of the service subscriber, A first step of receiving picture information transmitted from the camera phone; A second step of recognizing the mileage of the vehicle by image processing the photo information and character / number recognition processing; A third step of identifying whether there is a maintenance item corresponding to the mileage of the vehicle by comparing the recognized mileage of the vehicle with a detailed maintenance item guide corresponding to the model of the subscriber; And If there is a maintenance item, vehicle maintenance management service method using a vehicle photograph of the camera phone comprising the fourth step of providing information of the maintenance item to the user. The method of claim 5, The fourth step, If the information of the corresponding maintenance item can be transmitted through an SMS message, the message is transmitted to the camera phone as an SMS message, and if the information of the corresponding maintenance item includes the photo information or cannot be transmitted through an SMS message, a callback URL SMS message Vehicle maintenance management method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone, characterized in that to induce a connection by transmitting to the camera phone. The method of claim 5, The fourth step, After storing the maintenance picture information to be provided to the user in the video mailbox, and informs the user that the maintenance picture information in the video mailbox through the SMS message, the user can download the maintenance picture from the video mailbox, characterized in that Vehicle maintenance management method using a vehicle picture of the camera phone to.

Images