US 6415207

Analysis of U.S. Patent 6,415,207

Date of Analysis: May 11, 2026

This report provides a concise summary of United States Patent 6,415,207, including its bibliographic details and a plain-language overview of its independent claims. A search of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for 2026 was also conducted.

Patent Summary

Title	System and method for automatically providing vehicle status information
Assignee	At the time of this report, the assignee of record is SHIPPING AND TRANSIT, LLP. The patent has a history of several assignments, originally granted to Global Research Systems Inc.
Inventor(s)	Martin Kelly Jones
Filing Date	March 1, 2000
Issue Date	July 2, 2002
Abstract	The patent describes a system for monitoring and reporting the status of a vehicle. The system includes a database to store vehicle status information, a communication interface to interact with remote devices, and a system manager. This manager updates the vehicle's status in the database based on messages received from the vehicle. When a remote user communicates with the system, it automatically receives caller identification information. The system manager uses this caller ID to retrieve and transmit the relevant vehicle status information to the user's device without requiring manual input from the user.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

U.S. Patent 6,415,207 has three independent claims: 1, 5, and 10. Below is a simplified explanation of each.

Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a system for monitoring and reporting the status of vehicles. The core of the system is a database that stores the current proximity of a vehicle. The system can receive updates from the vehicle to keep this information current. When a person calls into the system, it automatically identifies the caller through their caller ID. Based on this identification, the system automatically finds and sends the relevant vehicle status information to the caller.

Independent Claim 5: This claim outlines a system with several key components for monitoring and reporting vehicle status. It includes a way to maintain information about a vehicle's current proximity, a method for communicating with a remote device that includes receiving automatic caller identification, a function to use that caller ID to automatically locate the right vehicle status information, and a means to then automatically send that information to the remote device.

Independent Claim 10: This claim details a method for monitoring and reporting vehicle status. The process involves several steps: first, maintaining up-to-date information on a vehicle's proximity. Next, establishing communication with a remote device. During this communication, the system automatically receives caller identification. This caller ID is then used to automatically find the correct vehicle status information, which is then automatically retrieved and sent to the remote device.

CAFC Docket Search

A search of the CAFC dockets for the year 2026 for cases involving U.S. Patent 6,415,207 yielded no results. There is no indication of any pending or new litigation before the Federal Circuit involving this patent in the specified year as of the date of this report. It should be noted that the patent is listed as having expired, which would preclude infringement litigation for any activities post-expiration.