Method for leveraging in-vehicle resources

• US 20030195666A1
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nichols, Daniel K., Mactavish, Thomas J., Reinold, Jurgen
• Granted Patent: US 6,721,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0231 Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P

Abstract

In-vehicle resources (wherein the resources each provide a common category of capacity to effect a particular desired activity) are leveraged by selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, selecting at least one activity, and parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources.

Claims

1. A method of leveraging in-vehicle resources, comprising:

selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity to effect a particular desired activity;

selecting at least one activity;

parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a plurality of in-vehicle resources comprises selecting, for a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity to effect a particular desired activity and wherein each of the plurality of vehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the common category of capacity comprises at least one of:

memory;

computational capacity;

external communications capability; and

specific functionality.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the common category of capacity comprises at least one of:

memory capacity;

type of memory;

computational capacity;

computational capacity per unit of time;

computational capacity compatible with facilitating the at least one activity;

external communications reception capability;

external communications reception bandwidth;

external communications reception compatibility;

external communications transmission capability;

external communications transmission bandwidth;

external communications transmission compatibility; and

specific functionality.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the common category of capacity comprises specific functionality including a software program.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein selecting at least one activity includes selecting facilitating that each of the plurality of plurality of vehicles has a current version of the software program.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regarding their own present version of the software program, and having vehicles with a more current version of the software program provide such more current version of the software program to vehicles with a less current version of the software program.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein selecting, for a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity to effect a particular desired activity and wherein each of the plurality of vehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources further comprises selecting at least two pluralities of the in-vehicle resources, wherein each of the at least two pluralities represents a different common category of capacity.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein at least one of the common categories of capacity comprises at least one of:

memory;

computational capacity;

external communications capability; and

specific functionality.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein each of the common categories of capacity as corresponds to the at least two pluralities of the in-vehicle resources comprises at least one of:

memory;

computational capacity;

external communications capability; and

specific functionality.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein a first one of the common categories of capacity comprises specific functionality including a software program.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein a second one of the common categories of capacity comprises external communications capability.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein selecting at least one activity includes selecting facilitating that each of the plurality of plurality of vehicles has a current version of the software program.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regarding their own present version of the software program, and having vehicles with a more current version of the software program provide such more current version of the software program to vehicles with a less current version of the software program, wherein the external communications capability of a plurality of the vehicles are used to provide such more current version of the software program to at least one of the vehicles having a less current version of the software program.

15. The method of claim 6 wherein selecting at least one activity further includes selecting an additional activity comprising facilitating that each of the plurality of plurality of vehicles has locally relevant parameters to facilitate local operation of the software program.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regarding their own present version of the software program and the parameters, and having vehicles with a more current version of the software program provide such more current version of the software program to vehicles with a less current version of the software program and having vehicles with more relevant local parameters provide the more relevant local parameters to vehicles with less relevant local parameters.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein a second one of the common categories of capacity comprises external communications capability.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regarding their own present version of the software program and the parameters, and having vehicles with a more current version of the software program provide such more current version of the software program to vehicles with a less current version of the software program and having vehicles with more relevant local parameters provide the more relevant local parameters to vehicles with less relevant local parameters, wherein the external communications capability of a plurality of the vehicles are used to provide such more current version of the software program and the more relevant local parameters to at least one of the vehicles.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, includes selecting for one vehicle a plurality of the in-vehicle resources.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the common category of capacity for the plurality of in-vehicle resources comprises at least one of:

memory;

computational capacity;

external communications capability; and

specific functionality.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the common category of capacity comprises computational capacity that can be used to support specific functionality.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein selecting at least one activity includes assuring that at least portions of a software program are processed, thereby ensuring at least partial support of the specific functionality, when a primary processing platform as corresponds to the software program is at least partially non-functional.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of in-vehicle resources distributively process the at least portions of the software program when the primary processing platform is at least partially non-functional.