Vehicle cabin mobile device sensor system

• US 10,469,589 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2017
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Mueller, Paul, Farrey, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilgrami, Asghar H
• Application Number:
  US15/812,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20190149612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0272 using sensors or detectors for detecting the position of seat parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02213 Receivers arranged in a network for determining the position of a transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3275 mounted on a horizontal surface of the vehicle, e.g. on roof, hood, trunk
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/20 Non-resonant leaky-waveguide or transmission-line antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass

Abstract

A vehicle includes at least one and/or one or more in-vehicle and/or onboard controller(s) that is/are coupled to spaced apart sensor groups that are arrayed within a headliner and/or seats of the vehicle cabin. Each sensor group generally corresponds to and/or with a plurality of and/or one or more seat positions, each having a single seat, and which include a driver zone seat position that has a driver seat. Each sensor group in the array includes at least one signal processor, and a plurality of transceivers, antennas, and/or sensors configured for and tuned to different electromagnetic frequencies and/or powers. Also included are electromagnetically active, directional waveguides that adjust, amplify, and/or attenuate the sensitivity of each of the respective antennas, to electromagnetic energy detected and received from mobile devices located in the vehicle cabin, such that the sensitivity is limited to electromagnetic emissions within a limited effective range for each antenna.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a controller coupled to in-cabin sensor groups each specific to a different seating position and including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication protocol frequency, the controller configured to

detect a mobile device communication using one of the sensor groups, and

generate mobile device and vehicle commands based on the seating position specific to the one sensor group and a keycode received from the mobile device,

detect the mobile device communication using one of second sensor groups, the second sensor groups each being specific to the seating position of a different one of the sensor groups and including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication frequency, the one second sensor group being specific to the seating position that is specific to the one sensor group used to detect the mobile device communication, detect the mobile device communication using one of the second sensor groups, the one second sensor group being specific to the seating position that is specific to the one sensor group used to detect the mobile device communication, identify the mobile device as being located in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group based on the communication detected using the one sensor group and the one second sensor group, and

generate the mobile device and vehicle commands based on identifying the mobile device as being in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each sensor group comprises at least one waveguide configured to establish an effective range for the sensor group substantially limited to the seating position for the sensor group.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein each sensor group is integrated into a headliner of the cabin above the seating position for the sensor group, and the at least one waveguide of each sensor group has a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group downward towards the seating position specific to the sensor group.

4. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein each sensor group is integrated as part of a seat of the seating position specific to the sensor group, and the at least one waveguide of each sensor group has a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group upwards from the seat of the seating position specific to the sensor group.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each antenna of each sensor group is coupled to a different digital signal processor tuned to the different mobile device communication protocol frequency of the antenna.

6. The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the antennas of each sensor group each comprises a waveguide tuned to the mobile device communication protocol frequency to which the antenna is tuned, the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated into a headliner of the cabin above the seating position specific to the sensor group, and the waveguides of each sensor group are configured to establish and project downwards an effective range for the sensor group substantially limited to the seating position for the sensor group.

7. The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the antennas of each sensor group each comprises a waveguide tuned to the mobile device communication protocol frequency to which the antenna is tuned, the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated as part of a seat of the seating position specific to the sensor group, and the waveguides of each sensor group are configured to establish and project upwards an effective range for the sensor group substantially limited the seating position for the sensor group.

18. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a first one of the antennas of each sensor group is tuned to a cellular frequency, and a second one of the antennas of each sensor group is tuned to a bluetooth frequency.

19. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the seating position specific to the one sensor group is a driver seating position, and the controller is configured to, responsive to determining that the keycode is registered with the vehicle, enable the vehicle to be started and apply vehicle preferences associated with the keycode.

8. A system comprising:

sensor groups each associated with a different vehicle seating position and each including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication protocol frequency;

second sensor groups each being specific to the seating position of a different one of the sensor groups and including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication frequency; and

a controller coupled to the sensor groups and configured to detect a mobile device communication using one of the sensor groups, generate a vehicle and/or mobile device command based on the seating position associated with the one sensor group and a the keycode received from the mobile device, detect the mobile device communication using one of the second sensor groups, the one second sensor group being specific to the seating position that is specific to the one sensor group used to detect the mobile device communication, identify the mobile device as being located in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group based on the communication detected using the one sensor group and the one second sensor group, and generate the mobile device and vehicle commands based on identifying the mobile device as being in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein each sensor group includes a waveguide for each antenna of the sensor group, the waveguide being tuned to the frequency of the antenna and being configured to establish an effective range for the sensor group that is substantially limited to the seating position for the sensor group.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein each antenna of each sensor group is coupled to a different signal processor tuned to the frequency of the antenna.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated into a headliner of a vehicle cabin above the seating position for the sensor group, the waveguides and antennas having a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group downwards towards the seating position for the sensor group.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated as part of a single seat of the seating position for the sensor group, the waveguides and antennas having a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group upwards.

13. A method comprising:

by a vehicle controller coupled to in-cabin sensor groups each being specific to a different seating position of the vehicle and including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication protocol frequency detecting a mobile device communication using one of the sensor groups;

generating vehicle and mobile device commands based on the seating position specific to the one sensor group and a keycode received from the mobile device;

detecting the mobile device communication using one of second sensor groups, the second sensor groups each being specific to the seating position of a different one of the sensor groups and including antennas each tuned to a different mobile device communication frequency, the one second sensor group being specific to the seating position that is specific to the one sensor group used to detect the mobile device communication;

identifying the mobile device as being located in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group based on the communication detected using the one sensor group and the one second sensor group; and

generating the mobile device and vehicle commands based on identifying the mobile device as being in the seating position specific to the one sensor group and the one second sensor group.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated into a headliner of the cabin above the seating position specific to the sensor group and have a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group downwards towards the seating position for the sensor group.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein each antenna of each sensor group is coupled to a different signal processor tuned to the frequency of the antenna.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein each sensor group includes a waveguide for each antenna of the sensor group that is configured to establish an effective range for the sensor group substantially limited to the seating position specific to the sensor group.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the antennas and waveguides of each sensor group are integrated as part of a single seat of the seating position for the sensor group and have a directional orientation configured to project the effective range of the sensor group upwards.