Near field communication (nfc) vehicle identification system and process

Abstract

An automotive near field communication (NFC) application that includes a process which is implemented as a mobile software application and uses near field communication tags to store and retrieve automotive vehicle information is disclosed. The process does not need a user to access the VIN and then manually enter or scan the VIN. In this process the VIN is written to an NFC tag using an NFC enabled mobile device and placed on the vehicle. A user can bump, touch, or place the NFC enabled mobile device on the NFC tag to retrieve the VIN. The application is configured to generate a vehicle value or vehicle report based, in part, on vehicle information received from the NFC tag.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A device, comprising:
 a hardware processor that performs operations, the operations comprising:
 launching, in response to the device physically contacting and activating a near-field communication (NFC) tag on a vehicle, a software application executing on the device; 
 obtaining, from the NFC tag on the vehicle, data associated with the vehicle by utilizing a NFC receiver/transmitter configured to read from the NFC tag on the vehicle; 
 comparing the data associated with the vehicle to a collection of third-party vehicle information stored in a database; and 
 determining a value for the vehicle based on the comparing of the data associated with the vehicle to the collection of third-party vehicle information. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise causing the value for the vehicle to be displayed on the device. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise transferring the data associated with the vehicle to the database. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise generating a purchase order from for the vehicle based on the data associated with the vehicle obtained from the NFC tag. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise decoding the data associated with the vehicle obtained from the NFC tag to display a vehicle detail on the device. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving additional information associated with the vehicle via an input on the device. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise combining the additional information associated with the vehicle and the data associated with the vehicle to form an order record for the vehicle. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise causing, in response to the device physically contacting the NFC tag, the software application to direct a NFC-embedded module of the device to capture the data associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise outputting a prompt on the device to instruct a user to physically contact the device with the NFC tag on the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise utilizing the software application to perform a write operation on the NFC tag. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise utilizing the software application of the device to store the data associated with the vehicle on the NFC tag. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the data associated with the vehicle comprises a vehicle identification number. 
     
     
         13 . A method, comprising:
 launching, in response to a device physically contacting and activating a near-field communication (NFC) tag on a vehicle, a software application executing on the device, wherein the software application is launched by utilizing a storage device and a processor of the device;   obtaining, from the NFC tag on the vehicle, data associated with the vehicle by utilizing a NFC receiver/transmitter configured to read from the NFC tag on the vehicle;   comparing the data associated with the vehicle to a collection of third-party vehicle information stored in a database; and   calculating a value for the vehicle based on the comparing of the data associated with the vehicle to the collection of third-party vehicle information.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising transmitting a request to input a detail associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising configuring the software application to operate in an on-line mode and an off-line mode. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising, when the software application is in the off-line mode, storing the data associated with the vehicle in the storage device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising decoding the data associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising a outputting a prompt on the device to instruct a user to physically contact the device with the NFC tag. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising causing the software application of the device to communicate with the NFC tag. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon a program that causes a device to execute, by using a processor, a method, the method comprising:
 launching, in response to a device physically contacting and activating a near-field communication (NFC) tag on a vehicle, a software application executing on the device;   obtaining, from the NFC tag on the vehicle, data associated with the vehicle by utilizing a NFC receiver/transmitter configured to read from the NFC tag on the vehicle;   decoding the data associated with the vehicle to display a vehicle detail associated with the vehicle on the device; and   transmitting the data associated with the vehicle to a database for storage and later retrieval by the device.