Vehicle information/task manager

• US 20060142917A1
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toyota Technical Center USA, Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Goudy, Roy Wesley
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1868 according to driving situations
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/195 Blocking or enabling display functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• 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

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.

Claims

1. A method of information task management for a vehicle having an infotainment device, said method including the steps of:

sensing a predetermined condition associated with the vehicle using a sensing means, and transmitting information regarding the sensed condition to an information task manager, wherein the information task manager includes a processor, a memory and an input/output means;

assigning a risk level to the sensed condition using a weighting matrix stored in the memory of the information task manager, wherein the weighting matrix is a matrix of risk values associated with the predetermined vehicle condition; and

comparing the assigned risk level to a predetermined priority level associated with the infotainment device, and disabling the infotainment device if the assigned risk level is greater then the priority level.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of the user defining the priority level for the infotainment device.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the predetermined priority level for the infotainment device indicates a level of importance of sustaining activity of the infotainment device.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of assigning a risk value for each predetermined condition sensed by the sensing means and summing together each assigned risk value to determine the risk level.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 further including the step of assigning a weighted risk value to each predetermined condition sensed by the sensing means, and combining the weighted values to determine the risk level.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of adaptively updating the weighting matrix used to assign a risk level based on previously learned driving conditions.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of identifying, by the user, a high priority infotainment device that cannot be disabled.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of prompting the user to discontinue use of the infotainment device and disabling the infotainment device after the use is discontinued.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of enabling the infotainment device if the risk level is less than the priority level.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of providing the user with a visual indicator that the infotainment device is disabled.

11. The method as set forth in claim 1 further including the step of using a timing device to disable the infotainment device a predetermined period of time before enabling the infotainment device.

12. A method of information task management for a vehicle having an infotainment device, said method including the steps of:

sensing a predetermined condition associated with the external driving environment of the vehicle using a sensing means,

assigning a weighted risk value for each predetermined condition sensed by the sensing means using a weighting matrix stored in the memory of the information task manager, wherein the weighting matrix is a matrix of risk values associated with the predetermined vehicle condition and summing together each assigned risk value to determine the risk level by an information task manager, wherein the information task manager includes a processor, a memory and an input/output means;

assigning a predetermined priority level for the infotainment device that indicates a level of importance of sustaining activity of the infotainment device;

comparing the assigned risk level to the predetermined priority level associated with the infotainment device, and disabling the infotainment device if the assigned risk level is greater then the priority level.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of the user defining the priority level for the infotainment device.

14. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of adaptively updating the weighting matrix used to assign a risk level based on previously learned driving conditions.

15. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of identifying, by the user, a high priority infotainment device that cannot be disabled.

16. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of prompting the user to discontinue use of the infotainment device and disabling the infotainment device after the use is discontinued.

17. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of enabling the infotainment device if the risk level is less than the priority level.

18. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of providing the user with a visual indicator that the infotainment device is disabled.

19. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including the step of using a timing device to disable the infotainment device a predetermined period of time before enabling the infotainment device.

20. A system of information task management for a vehicle having an infotainment device, comprising:

a sensing means for sensing a predetermined condition associated with the vehicle; and

an information task manager having a processor, a memory and an input/output means that receives information regarding the sensed condition and assigns a risk level to the sensed condition using a weighting matrix stored in the memory of the information task manager, wherein the weighting matrix is a matrix of risk values associated with the corresponding predetermined vehicle condition, and the information task manager compares the assigned risk level to a predetermined priority level associated with the infotainment device and disables the infotainment device if the assigned risk level is greater then the priority level.

21. The system as set forth in claim 20 wherein a plurality of sensing means monitor an environment outside of the vehicle, a vehicle position, a driver input to the vehicle and vehicle dynamics.