VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME

• US 20140066049A1
• Filed: 04/30/2012
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Hangyu, Oh, Minseok, Park, Kyujin
• Granted Patent: US 9,532,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/566 Mobile devices displaying vehicle information
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/573 Mobile devices controlling vehicle functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/043 Identity of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/085 Changing the parameters of the control units, e.g. changing limit values, working points by control input
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control system comprising: a user database for storing at least one user profile which designates an initial action for an in-vehicle end device; a fixed and wireless communication unit for establishing a communication channel with a mobile terminal and receiving identity information through the communication channel: and a control unit for extracting the user profile corresponding to the identity information from the user database, and controlling the end device so that the end device executes an initial action as designated by the extracted user profile.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling a vehicle, comprising:

a user database configured to store at least one user profile designating an initial operation of an end device in the vehicle;

a wire/wireless communication unit configured to establish a communication channel with a mobile terminal, and receive identification information through the communication channel; and

a control unit configured to extract a user profile matching the identification information from the user database, and control the end device to operate in accordance with the initial operation designated by the extracted user profile.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein after detecting a vehicle boarding of a user, the control unit configured to control the wire/wireless communication unit to establish the communication channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a sensing unit configured to detect the vehicle boarding of the user.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a proximity sensor configured to detect whether the user is proximately located, a pressure sensor configured to be pressurized if the user is seated on a seat, and a door open/close sensor configured to detect whether a vehicle door is open or closed.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification information comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a phone number of the mobile terminal, an IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) of the mobile terminal and a serial number of the mobile terminal

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of a face image of the user and a fingerprint of the user.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the end device comprises an electronic motor configured to adjust a height of a car seat in the vehicle or inclination of a back support of the car seat in the vehicle.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the user profile comprises at least one of an initial height level of the car seat and an initial inclination level of the back support of the car seat.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the end device comprises a navigation device and wherein the control unit configured to automatically determine a destination based on data received from the mobile terminal and then provide the determined destination to the navigation device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control unit configured to receive a webpage access record from the mobile terminal, extract a keyword from the webpage access record, and control the destination to be determined using the extracted keyword.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an address database configured to store a place and an address of the place, wherein the control unit configured to extract the place matching the extracted keyword from the address database and then set the address of the extracted place as the destination.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a memory configured to receive and save a phonebook including a phone number and an address corresponding to the phone number from the mobile terminal, wherein the control unit configured to receive a call record from the mobile terminal, extract the phone number matching a phone number of a call received or sent through the mobile terminal in the call record from the phonebook, and control the address corresponding to the extracted phone number to be set as the destination.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the communication channel is established, the control unit configured to control the wire/wireless communication unit to enable the phonebook to be synchronized with the mobile terminal

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control unit configured to receive a user schedule list including a start time and a held place from the mobile terminal, determine a next schedule of the user from the user schedule list, and then determine the destination based on the held place of the next schedule.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control unit configured to determine the next schedule as a schedule having the start time arriving in an earliest time with reference to a current hour in the schedule list.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an address database storing a place and an address of the place, wherein the control unit configured to extract the address of the held place of the next schedule from the address database and then control the extracted address to be set as the destination.

17. A method of controlling a vehicle, the method comprising:

establishing a communication channel with a mobile terminal;

receiving identification information through the communication channel;

extracting a user profile matching the identification information; and

controlling an end device in the vehicle to operate in accordance with an initial operation designated by the extracted user profile.