Methods and Systems for Aggregating and Implementing Preferences for Vehicle-Based Operations of Multiple Vehicle Occupants

• US 20120296492A1
• Filed: 05/19/2011
• Published: 11/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Gusikhin, Oleg Yurievitch, Schunder, Mark, MacNeille, Perry Robinson
• Application Number:
  US13/111,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20120296492A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel

Abstract

A method and system may include aggregating and implementing preferences associated with vehicle occupants for vehicle-based operations. The occupants may be identified in a vehicle, each occupant having one or more preferences relating to a plurality of vehicle-based operations. The common preferences between the vehicle occupants may be identified, merged, and implemented in a vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing shared preferences between vehicle occupants for vehicle-based operations in a vehicle, the system comprising:

at least one vehicle-based computer configured to;

receive information identifying two or more occupants in a vehicle, each occupant having one or more preferences relating to a plurality of vehicle-based operations;

identify the two or more occupants in a vehicle;

receive one or more common preferences between the two or more vehicle occupants relating to the plurality of vehicle-based operations, wherein the common preferences are identified based on a search of one or more data storage systems storing the preferences for each vehicle occupant; and

implement the one or more identified common preferences in the vehicle.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle-based computer is further configured to merge the one or more common preferences between the two or more vehicle occupants for implementation in the vehicle.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein information identifying two or more occupants in a vehicle include at least one of a mobile identification number (MIN), a name, a fingerprint, a voiceprint, a unique keyphrase, a unique code, a unique graphic, an electronic mail address, or a combination thereof.

4. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the one or more data storage systems storing the preferences for each vehicle occupant further store a level of acceptability for the vehicle-based operations for each vehicle occupant.

5. The computer system of claim 4 where the at least one vehicle-based computer is further configured to:

filter the preferences for each vehicle occupant for the vehicle-based operations based on the level of acceptability to obtain a filtered set of preferences for the vehicle-based operations; and

identify the common preferences based on the filtered set.

6. The computer system of claim 4 wherein the at least one vehicle-based computer is configured to identify one or more unfavorably ranked vehicle-based operations, wherein the unfavorably ranked vehicle-based operations are excluded from implementation in the vehicle.

7. The computer system of claim of claim 1 wherein the vehicle-based operations include at least one of navigation routes, points-of-interest (POI), HVAC settings, media genres, media artists, radio stations, vehicle speed, news sources, traffic sources, sources of RSS feeds, cabin lighting, time of arrival, and time of departure.

8. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the at least vehicle-based computer configured to implement the one or more common preferences is further configured to:

determine that at least one common preference is satisfied; and

implement the one or more common preferences in the vehicle that are satisfied.

9. A computer-program product for providing in a vehicle shared preferences between vehicle occupants for vehicle-based operations, the computer-program product executing on a computer-readable medium and including instructions for:

receiving information identifying a number of occupants in a vehicle, each occupant having one or more preferences relating to a plurality of vehicle-based operations;

based on the identified number of occupants, identifying the preferences relating to the plurality of vehicle-based operations for a single occupant or a plurality of occupants;

if a single occupant, receiving the preferences for the single occupant;

if a plurality of occupants, receiving one or more common preferences between the plurality of vehicle occupants relating to the plurality of vehicle-based operations; and

preparing the one or more identified preferences for implementation at one or more vehicle-based systems.

10. The computer-program product of claim 9 wherein the instructions for preparing include instructions for merging the one or more common preferences between the two or more vehicle occupants for implementation in the vehicle.

11. The computer-program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions for implementing the one or more identified preference at the one or more vehicle-based systems.

12. The computer-program product of claim 9 wherein information identifying a number of occupants in a vehicle include at least one of a mobile identification number (MIN), a name, a fingerprint, a voiceprint, a unique keyphrase, a unique code, a unique graphic, an electronic mail address, or a combination thereof.

13. The computer-program product of claim 9 wherein at least some of the preferences are based on time, weather, or both.

14. The computer-program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions for:

monitoring for confirmation that at least two occupants comprising the plurality of occupants are present in the vehicle; and

preparing the one or more identified preferences at the one or more vehicle-based systems for implementation for the plurality of occupants that are confirmed.

15. The computer-program product of claim 14 further comprising instructions for:

monitoring a passage of time based on a defined time period within which to receive the confirmation; and

preparing the one or more identified preferences for implementation if the confirmation is received within the time period.

16. The computer-program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions for determining a change in the number of occupants based on the identifying information.

17. A method comprising:

receiving information at one or more computers that two or more occupants are in a vehicle;

receiving at the computer(s) preferences relating to a plurality of vehicle-based operations for each vehicle occupant;

determining at the computer(s) a presence of common preferences between each occupant relating to the plurality of vehicle-based operations;

identifying the common preferences; and

preparing the identified common preferences for implementation in the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein preparing the identified common preferences includes merging each preference for the first occupant that is common with a preference for the second occupant.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising implementing the one or more identified preference at the one or more vehicle-based systems.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

presenting the identified common preferences in the vehicle;

receiving a selection of at least one common preference for implementation in the vehicle; and

implementing the at least one selected common preference.