System and method for cell phone restriction

• US 10,145,960 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2012
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Miller, Thomas Lee, Bennie, Brian, Hatton, David Anthony, Elliott, Doron M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Evans, Garrett F
• Application Number:
  US13/362,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20120221169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,499 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In at least one embodiment, a vehicle system comprising a vehicle communication module is provided. The vehicle communication module is configured to receive first global positioning system (GPS) data indicative of a location of a vehicle and to receive a first signal indicative of the vehicle being in a drive state. The vehicle communication module is further configured to transmit the first GPS data to an occupant communication device (OCD) in response to the first signal to restrict at least a portion of the operation of the OCD and to reduce power consumption of the OCD.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a communication module with a transmitter and a receiver within a vehicle for communicating with an occupant communication device (OCD), the OCD including an internal global positioning system (GPS) positioned therein to provide first GPS data indicative of a location of the OCD;

receiving, at the communication module, second GPS data indicative of a location of the vehicle;

electrically determining, at the communication module, that the vehicle is in a drive state; and

transmitting the second GPS data to the OCD to provide the location of the OCD instead of the first GPS data and to disable at least one switch positioned on the OCD with the second GPS data to minimize driver distraction in response to the vehicle being in the drive state.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the second GPS data to the OCD further comprises transmitting the second GPS data to the OCD to disable the internal GPS.