Vehicle information/task manager
First Claim
1. An apparatus to measure and manage information for the purpose of facilitating the safe operation of a vehicle in relation to a driver'"'"'s use of at least one infotainment device disposed in the vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
- an electronic device having memory and operative to receive information from at least one information source and output risk level information;
an information interface in data communication with said electronic device and the at least one infotainment device wherein said information interface is operative to receive said risk level information and transmit a trigger signal to the at least one infotainment device;
a computer program disposed within the electronic device operative to calculate said risk level information based on the information received from the at least one information source and information disposed in said memory, and wherein said apparatus is operative to compare said risk level information with priority level information relative to the at least one infotainment device, and wherein the apparatus generates the trigger signal that causes the at least one infotainment device to be disabled when said risk level information exceeds said priority level information and enabled when said risk level information returns to a value less than said priority level information; and
a user interface in communication with the electronic device, said user interface operative to allow the user to input user-defined priority information relative to at least one function of the at least one infotainment device wherein the at least one function will not be disabled by the apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is operative to disable at least one infotainment device under certain conditions relative to the current driving environment of the user. The system uses a weighted matrix to assign risk to certain sensed conditions while driving. A changed condition is assigned a weight and the weighted risks are summed to calculate risk level information. The risk level information is thereafter compared to priority level information associated with at least one infotainment device. When the risk level information exceeds or is equal to the priority level information of the at least one infotainment device the system temporarily disables the infotainment device until the driving environment changes to a condition where it is safe to operate the infotainment device.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus to measure and manage information for the purpose of facilitating the safe operation of a vehicle in relation to a driver'"'"'s use of at least one infotainment device disposed in the vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
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an electronic device having memory and operative to receive information from at least one information source and output risk level information;
an information interface in data communication with said electronic device and the at least one infotainment device wherein said information interface is operative to receive said risk level information and transmit a trigger signal to the at least one infotainment device;
a computer program disposed within the electronic device operative to calculate said risk level information based on the information received from the at least one information source and information disposed in said memory, and wherein said apparatus is operative to compare said risk level information with priority level information relative to the at least one infotainment device, and wherein the apparatus generates the trigger signal that causes the at least one infotainment device to be disabled when said risk level information exceeds said priority level information and enabled when said risk level information returns to a value less than said priority level information; and
a user interface in communication with the electronic device, said user interface operative to allow the user to input user-defined priority information relative to at least one function of the at least one infotainment device wherein the at least one function will not be disabled by the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for facilitating the safe operation of a vehicle in relation to a driver'"'"'s use of at least one infotainment device disposed in the vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing an electronic device having memory in communication with the at least one infotainment device wherein the electronic device is operative to disable some or all functions of the at least one infotainment device;
providing information relative to an external driving environment of the vehicle to said electronic device;
calculating risk level information using said electronic device wherein said risk level information is calculated using said information relative to the external driving environment and information disposed in said memory of the electronic device;
comparing said risk level information with priority level information relative to the at least one infotainment device;
disabling the at least one infotainment device when said priority level information is less than or equal to said risk level information; and
re-enabling the at least one infotainment device when said priority level information is higher than said risk level information. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification