US 7430471

Summary of U.S. Patent 7,430,471

A concise summary of U.S. Patent 7,430,471 is provided below, based on a review of the patent documentation as of April 26, 2026.

Title: Method and system for monitoring a vehicle.

Assignee: The listed current assignee is Rfc Lenders Of Texas LLC. The original assignee was Payment Protection Systems Inc.

Inventor: Franklin C. Simon.

Filing Date: October 25, 2005.

Issue Date: September 30, 2008.

Abstract: A method for monitoring a vehicle includes detecting movement or activation of the vehicle, transmitting a signal indicating movement or activation of the vehicle, to a control center, transmitting any received operator identification information to the control center, and determining whether an operator identification was received within a time interval of the detected movement or activation of the vehicle.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

U.S. Patent 7,430,471 contains two independent claims, which are the broadest claims in the patent. The following is a plain-language explanation of each:

Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for monitoring a vehicle. The core of the method involves the vehicle detecting that it has been moved or activated in some way. When this happens, the vehicle sends a signal to a remote control center to report the activity. The vehicle is also equipped to receive some form of operator identification. Any identification information it receives is also sent to the control center. A key step is determining whether this operator identification was received within a specific time window relative to when the vehicle was moved or activated. A unique aspect of this claim is that the vehicle can also detect the presence of a "landmark" and can then transmit data identifying that landmark and/or its location to the control center.

Independent Claim 15: This claim is very similar to the first, outlining a method for monitoring a vehicle by detecting its movement or activation and reporting this to a control center. It also includes the step of transmitting any operator identification to the control center and verifying if that identification was received within a certain time frame of the vehicle's activation. The main difference in this claim is the role of the "landmark." Instead of the vehicle detecting the landmark, the landmark itself is described as detecting the presence of the vehicle. The landmark then transmits data that identifies the vehicle and the landmark's own location to the control center.

A search of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) 2026 dockets for proceedings related to U.S. Patent 7,430,471 did not yield any specific results. However, the patent's file history indicates that it has been the subject of litigation in U.S. District Courts.