USER EXPERIENCE OF THE CONNECTED AUTOMOBILE

• US 20130245884A1
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: FORUTANPOUR, Babak, BECKLEY, Jeffrey D., BALASUBRAMANYAM, Shivakumar, RENSCHLER, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 9,417,329 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for initiating at least one process in a vehicle are provided. The apparatus determines an approximate position of the vehicle. In addition, the apparatus determines a shortest time period based on the determined approximate position in which one or more registered drivers of the vehicle is in proximity to the vehicle. Furthermore, the apparatus determines whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle based on the determined time period.

Claims

1. A method for initiating at least one process in a vehicle, comprising:

determining an approximate position of the vehicle;

determining a shortest time period based on the determined approximate position in which a registered driver of the vehicle is in proximity to the vehicle; and

determining whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle based on the determined time period.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a position of the registered driver of the vehicle, wherein the determining the shortest time period comprises comparing the determined approximate position of the vehicle to the received position of the registered driver.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the registered driver of the vehicle is a driver registered with a server, and the position of the registered driver is received from the server.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising registering a driver of the vehicle, wherein the position of the registered driver is received from a wireless device with the registered driver.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the position of the registered driver is received at predetermined time intervals.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein a first position of the registered driver is received upon a predetermined period of time after a last approximate position of the vehicle is determined.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising estimating a travel speed of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel speed of the registered driver.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the travel speed of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) available modes of travel;

(ii) whether traveling by land, water, or air;

(iii) traffic;

(iv) inherent delays associated with the available modes of travel;

or (v) previous travel speed history of the registered driver.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising estimating a travel delay of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel delay of the registered driver.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the travel delay of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) a time of day, (ii) a schedule of the registered driver, or (iii) previous travel delay history of the registered driver.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a process time period for completing the at least one process.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

entering into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

waking upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

requesting the vehicle to enter into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

requesting the vehicle to wake upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one process comprises at least one of heating at least one of an engine or a motor of the vehicle, heating batteries of the vehicle, heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle, charging the batteries of the vehicle, locking doors or compartments of the vehicle, turning off lights of the vehicle, downloading data, uploading data, defragmenting memory in the vehicle, synchronizing data, or performing system tests.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one process comprises heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle and selecting a heating or cooling profile based on a user preference of the registered driver.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is a stopped position of the vehicle determined upon at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle being turned off.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a position of the vehicle periodically while at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle is turned on, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is the position of the vehicle determined immediately before the at least one of the engine and the motor of the vehicle is turned off.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one process comprises charging batteries of the vehicle, and the method further comprises determining a speed of charging the batteries based on the determined time period.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a remaining quantity of power in batteries of the vehicle, wherein the determining whether to initiate the at least one process is further based on the determined remaining quantity of power in the batteries.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining whether to initiate the at least one process is further based on whether the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising determining to initiate the at least one process despite the remaining quantity of the power in the batteries when the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating the at least one process within the vehicle upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising requesting the vehicle to initiate the at least one process upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the approximate position comprises receiving the approximate position from the vehicle.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle is further based on whether the at least one process has been initiated within a threshold time period, and the method further comprises determining to initiate the at least one process despite the determined time period when the at least one process has not been initiated within the threshold time period.

26. An apparatus for initiating at least one process in a vehicle, comprising:

means for determining an approximate position of the vehicle;

means for determining a shortest time period based on the determined approximate position in which a registered driver of the vehicle is in proximity to the vehicle; and

means for determining whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle based on the determined time period.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for receiving a position of the registered driver of the vehicle, wherein the means for determining the shortest time period is further configured to compare the determined approximate position of the vehicle to the received position of the registered driver.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the registered driver of the vehicle is a driver registered with a server, and the position of the registered driver is received from the server.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for registering a driver of the vehicle, wherein the position of the registered driver is received from a wireless device with the registered driver.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the position of the registered driver is received at predetermined time intervals.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein a first position of the registered driver is received upon a predetermined period of time after a last approximate position of the vehicle is determined.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for estimating a travel speed of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel speed of the registered driver.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the travel speed of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) available modes of travel;

(ii) whether traveling by land, water, or air;

(iii) traffic;

(iv) inherent delays associated with the available modes of travel;

or (v) previous travel speed history of the registered driver.

34. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for estimating a travel delay of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel delay of the registered driver.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the travel delay of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) a time of day, (ii) a schedule of the registered driver, or (iii) previous travel delay history of the registered driver.

36. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for determining a process time period for completing the at least one process.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising:

means for entering into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

means for waking upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising:

means for requesting the vehicle to enter into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

means for requesting the vehicle to wake upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

39. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one process comprises at least one of heating at least one of an engine or a motor of the vehicle, heating batteries of the vehicle, heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle, charging the batteries of the vehicle, locking doors or compartments of the vehicle, turning off lights of the vehicle, downloading data, uploading data, defragmenting memory in the vehicle, synchronizing data, or performing system tests.

40. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one process comprises heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle and selecting a heating or cooling profile based on a user preference of the registered driver.

41. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is a stopped position of the vehicle determined upon at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle being turned off.

42. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for determining the position of the vehicle is further configured to determine the position of the vehicle periodically while at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle is turned on, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is the position of the vehicle determined immediately before the at least one of the engine and the motor of the vehicle is turned off.

43. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one process comprises charging batteries of the vehicle, and the method further comprises determining a speed of charging the batteries based on the determined time period.

44. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for determining a remaining quantity of power in batteries of the vehicle, wherein the means for determining whether to initiate the at least one process makes the determination further based on the determined remaining quantity of power in the batteries.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the means for determining whether to initiate the at least one process makes the determination further based on whether the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, further comprising means for determining to initiate the at least one process despite the remaining quantity of the power in the batteries when the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

47. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for initiating the at least one process within the vehicle upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

48. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising means for requesting the vehicle to initiate the at least one process upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

49. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for determining the approximate position is further configured to receive the approximate position from the vehicle.

50. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for determining whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle makes the determination further based on whether the at least one process has been initiated within a threshold time period, and the apparatus further comprises means for determining to initiate the at least one process despite the determined time period when the at least one process has not been initiated within the threshold time period.

51. An apparatus for initiating at least one process in a vehicle, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

determine an approximate position of the vehicle;

determine a shortest time period based on the determined approximate position in which a registered driver of the vehicle is in proximity to the vehicle; and

determine whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle based on the determined time period.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to receive a position of the registered driver of the vehicle, wherein the determining the shortest time period comprises comparing the determined approximate position of the vehicle to the received position of the registered driver.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the registered driver of the vehicle is a driver registered with a server, and the position of the registered driver is received from the server.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processing system is further configured to register a driver of the vehicle, wherein the position of the registered driver is received from a wireless device with the registered driver.

55. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the position of the registered driver is received at predetermined time intervals.

56. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein a first position of the registered driver is received upon a predetermined period of time after a last approximate position of the vehicle is determined.

57. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processing system is further configured to estimate a travel speed of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel speed of the registered driver.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the travel speed of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) available modes of travel;

(ii) whether traveling by land, water, or air;

(iii) traffic;

(iv) inherent delays associated with the available modes of travel;

or (v) previous travel speed history of the registered driver.

59. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processing system is further configured to estimate a travel delay of the registered driver for reaching the proximity to the vehicle from the received position of the registered driver, wherein the shortest time period is determined further based on the estimated travel delay of the registered driver.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the travel delay of the registered driver is estimated based on at least one of (i) a time of day, (ii) a schedule of the registered driver, or (iii) previous travel delay history of the registered driver.

61. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to determine a process time period for completing the at least one process.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

enter into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

wake upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

63. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

request the vehicle to enter into a sleep mode for a sleep time period approximately equal to the determined shortest time period minus the process time period; and

request the vehicle to wake upon expiration of the sleep time period in order to initiate the at least one process such that the at least one process is completed before expiration of the determined shortest time period.

64. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the at least one process comprises at least one of heating at least one of an engine or a motor of the vehicle, heating batteries of the vehicle, heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle, charging the batteries of the vehicle, locking doors or compartments of the vehicle, turning off lights of the vehicle, downloading data, uploading data, defragmenting memory in the vehicle, synchronizing data, or performing system tests.

65. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the at least one process comprises heating or cooling an interior of the vehicle and selecting a heating or cooling profile based on a user preference of the registered driver.

66. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is a stopped position of the vehicle determined upon at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle being turned off.

67. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to determine a position of the vehicle periodically while at least one of an engine or a motor used to propel the vehicle is turned on, wherein the approximate position of the vehicle is the position of the vehicle determined immediately before the at least one of the engine and the motor of the vehicle is turned off.

68. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the at least one process comprises charging batteries of the vehicle, and the method further comprises determining a speed of charging the batteries based on the determined time period.

69. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to determine a remaining quantity of power in batteries of the vehicle, wherein the processing system is configured to determine whether to initiate the at least one process further based on the determined remaining quantity of power in the batteries.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the processing system is configured to determine whether to initiate the at least one process further based on whether the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the processing system is configured to determine to initiate the at least one process despite the remaining quantity of the power in the batteries when the vehicle is within a threshold distance of a battery charging station.

72. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

73. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is further configured to request the vehicle to initiate the at least one process upon determining to initiate the at least one process.

74. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is configured to determine the approximate position by receiving the approximate position from the vehicle.

75. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the processing system is configured to determine whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle further based on whether the at least one process has been initiated within a threshold time period, and the processing system is further configured to determine to initiate the at least one process despite the determined time period when the at least one process has not been initiated within the threshold time period.

76. A computer program product for initiating at least one process in a vehicle, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

determining an approximate position of the vehicle;

determining a shortest time period based on the determined approximate position in which a registered driver of the vehicle is in proximity to the vehicle; and

determining whether to initiate the at least one process within the vehicle based on the determined time period.