Centralized management of mobile-assisted motor vehicle software upgrading and vehicle data analytics

• US 10,180,835 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2018
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Karma Automotive LLC (Wanxiang Group Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Airbiquity Incorporated
• Inventors: Hong, Leon
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeon, Jae U
• Application Number:
  US16/024,525
• Publication Number:
  US 20180307477A1
• Time in Patent Office: 200 Days
• Field of Search: 717171-178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/122 by diverting traffic away from congested entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6075 adapted for handsfree use in a vehicle H04M1/6058 takes precedence; arrangements for holding telephones in a vehicle B60R11/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0231 based on communication conditions dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition based on channel quality criteria H04W72/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

In an example, a system is provided and the system includes a motor vehicle component client, a server located in the cloud, and an application to be installed on a personal portable device, such as mobile phone or other portable, mobile electronic device. In some examples, the system enables efficient vehicle software updates to the Engine Control Unit (ECU), the head unit, or the like, or combinations thereof, and/or enables efficient wireless transmission of vehicle data analytics associated with diagnostic information, location information, or the like, or combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A system including a portable, mobile electronic device, the portable, mobile electronic device including a memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device of the portable, mobile electronic device, cause the processing device of the portable, mobile electronic device to perform operations comprising:

downloading, from a remote server, a configuration file of a pair of configuration files, wherein a first configuration file of the pair includes a mapping indicating different priorities for different types of data sets generated by a motor vehicle, and a second configuration file of the pair maps priority to connection information, wherein the connection information is based on service region or user preference, wherein the downloaded configuration file comprises the second configuration file of the pair;

identifying a communication from the motor vehicle, the communication including content of a data set of information output from the motor vehicle and metadata indicating one of the priorities of the first configuration file;

parsing the metadata of the identified communication to identify the indicated priority;

comparing the indicated priority to the second configuration file; and

determining, based on a result of the comparing, whether to cache a portion of the content conditioned on accessibility to the remote server via a first interface of the portable, mobile electronic device or transmit said portion of the content to the remote server using a second different interface of the portable, mobile electronic device or the first interface;

in response to a determination to cache the portion of the content, holding the portion of the content in a data cache of the portable, mobile electronic device if the remote server is not currently accessible via the first interface of the portable, mobile electronic device until the remote server is accessible via the first interface; and

in response to a determination to transmit the portion of the content, uploading the portion of the content to the remote server over the second different interface of the portable, mobile electronic device if the remote server is not currently accessible via the first interface.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first interface includes a WLAN (wireless local area network) interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second interface includes a cellular interface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the portion of the content comprises a first portion of the content, and wherein the operations further comprise uploading said first portion of the content to the remote server on one of the first and second interfaces, and uploading a second different portion of said content to the remote server on the other one of the first and second interfaces.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first portion of said content includes vehicle speed information, engine speed information, odometer information, or ignition status information.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the second portion of said content includes location information or instantaneous fuel economy information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the portable, mobile electronic device is communicatively coupled to the motor vehicle over a wired or short range wireless connection.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

segmenting said portion of said content into a plurality of segments;

beginning upload of the plurality of segments to the remote server over the first interface;

if communication with the remote server over the first interface is disrupted prior to uploading all of the plurality of segments, selecting an action, based on the result of the comparing, the action comprising at least one of caching a remaining segment of the plurality of segments, caching the plurality of segments, or uploading said remaining segment to the remote server over the second interface; and

executing the selected action.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a motor vehicle component installed in the motor vehicle, the motor vehicle component including a memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device of the motor vehicle component, cause the processing device of the motor vehicle component to perform operations comprising;

collecting a vehicle data set from a vehicle bus installed in the motor vehicle;

associating the collected vehicle data set to a motor vehicle code;

comparing the associated motor vehicle code to the first configuration file to identify a result and generating the metadata that indicates the priority responsive to the result; and

transmitting the communication to the portable, mobile electronic device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

downloading, from the remote server, a software update for the motor vehicle;

wherein the portable, mobile electronic device is communicatively coupled to the motor vehicle over the wired or short range wireless connection, and wherein the operations further comprise;

downloading the software update to the motor vehicle over the wired or short range wireless connection.

11. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining, by a processor of a portable, mobile electronic device situated in a motor vehicle, a configuration file of a pair of configuration files, wherein a first configuration file of the pair includes a mapping indicating different priorities for different types of data sets generated by the motor vehicle, and a second configuration file of the pair maps priority to connection information, wherein the connection information is based on service region or user preference, wherein the obtained configuration file comprises the second configuration file of the pair;

generating, by a processor of the motor vehicle, a communication including content of a data set of information output from the motor vehicle and metadata indicating one of the priorities of the first configuration file and passing the communication to the processor of the portable, mobile electronic device, wherein the processor of the portable, mobile electronic device comprises a first processor and the processor of the motor vehicle comprises a second different processor;

parsing, by the first processor, the metadata of the communication to identify the indicated priority;

comparing the indicated priority to the second configuration file;

determining, based on a result of the comparing, whether to cache a portion of the content conditioned on accessibility to a remote server via a first interface of the portable, mobile electronic device or transmit said portion of the content to the remote server using a second different interface of the portable, mobile electronic device or the first interface;

in response to a determination to cache the portion of the content, holding the portion of the content in a data cache of the portable, mobile electronic device if the remote server is not currently accessible via the first interface of the portable, mobile electronic device until the remote server is accessible via the first interface; and

in response to a determination to transmit the portion of the content, upload the portion of the content to the remote server over the second different interface of the portable, mobile electronic device if the remote server is not currently accessible via the first interface.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the first interface includes a WLAN (wireless local area network) interface.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the second interface includes a cellular interface.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the portion of the content comprises a first portion of the content, the method further comprising uploading said first portion of said content to the remote server on one of the first and second interfaces of the portable, mobile electronic device, and uploading a second different portion of said content to the remote server on the other one of the first and second interfaces.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the first portion of said content includes vehicle speed information, engine speed information, odometer information, or ignition status information.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the second portion of said content includes location information or instantaneous fuel economy information.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the first processor is communicatively coupled to the second processor by a wired or short range wireless connection.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

segmenting said portion of said content into a plurality of segments;

beginning upload of the plurality of segments to the remote server over the first interface;

if communication with the remote server over the first interface is disrupted prior to uploading all of the plurality of segments, selecting an action, based on the result of the comparing, the action comprising at least one of caching a remaining segment of the plurality of segments, caching the plurality of segments, or uploading said remaining segment to the remote server over the second interface; and

executing the selected action.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

collecting a vehicle data set from a vehicle bus installed in the motor vehicle;

associating the collected vehicle data set to a motor vehicle code; and

comparing, by the second processor of the motor vehicle, the associated motor vehicle code to the first configuration file to identify a result and generating the metadata that indicates the priority responsive to the result.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

downloading, from the remote server and by the processor of the portable, mobile electronic device, a software update for the motor vehicle;

wherein the portable, mobile electronic device is communicatively coupled to the motor vehicle over a wired or short range wireless connection, and wherein the operations further comprise;

transmitting, by the processor of the portable, mobile electronic device and to the processor of the motor vehicle, the software update over the wired or short range wireless connection.