SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SCHEDULING DRIVER INTERFACE TASKS BASED ON DRIVER WORKLOAD

• US 20140081519A1
• Filed: 11/18/2013
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Prakah-Asante, Kwaku O., Tijerina, Louis, Filev, Dimitar Petrov, Chen, Yifan, Greenberg, Jeffrey Allen, Strumolo, Gary Steven, Curry, Reates
• Granted Patent: US 9,213,522 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/087 where the control system corrects or modifies a request from the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00

Abstract

A vehicle includes at least one processor that receives an in-coming communication for a driver, routes the in-coming communication to a mail system in response to a driver workload exceeding a predefined value, and after a predetermined period of time following routing the in-coming communication to the mail system, generates a notification for the driver indicating that a communication was received in response to the driver workload being less than the predefined value at an expiration of the predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. A communication system for a vehicle comprising:

at least one processor configured to

determine a plurality of scaled parameters each representing a driver workload and each based on one of (a) a level of interaction between a driver and one or more driver-vehicle interfaces, (b) a margin between the vehicle'"'"'s current handling condition and limit handling condition, (c) a variability of at least one driver control action input, or (d) a headway between the vehicle and another object,

receive an in-coming communication for a driver, and

selectively route the in-coming communication to a mail system based on the driver workload.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the mail system in response to the driver workload exceeding a predefined value.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, after a predetermined period of time following routing the in-coming communication to the mail system, generate a notification for the driver indicating that a communication was received in response to the driver workload being less than the predefined value at an expiration of the predetermined period of time.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, after the predetermined period of time following routing the in-coming communication to the mail system, increment a delay counter in response to the driver workload being greater than the predefined value at the expiration of the predetermined period of time, and to generate a notification for the driver indicating that a communication was received in response to the delay counter exceeding a predefined number.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the driver regardless of the driver workload in response to the in-coming communication originating from a source identified on an exception list accessible by the at least one processor and specified by the driver.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to restrict a number of sources identified on the exception list to a predefined number of sources.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to selectively route the in-coming communication to the mail system further based on driver type.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the driver regardless of the driver workload in response to the driver type being of a predefined category.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the in-coming communication is a phone call, a text message or a broadcast.

10. A method for influencing driver behavior comprising:

in response to a change in activation state of a driver-vehicle interface while a parameter indicative of driver workload exceeds a predetermined value, generating a notification to alert the driver that the driver workload is in a particular state to discourage the driver from further interacting with the driver-vehicle interface.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the driver workload is based on one of (a) a level of interaction between a driver and one or more driver-vehicle interfaces, (b) a margin between the vehicle'"'"'s current handling condition and limit handling condition, (c) a variability of at least one driver control action input, or (d) a headway between the vehicle and another object.

12. A vehicle comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive an in-coming communication for a driver, route the in-coming communication to a mail system in response to a driver workload exceeding a predefined value, and after a predetermined period of time following routing the in-coming communication to the mail system, generate a notification for the driver indicating that a communication was received in response to the driver workload being less than the predefined value at an expiration of the predetermined period of time.

13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, after the predetermined period of time following routing the in-coming communication to the mail system, increment a delay counter in response to the driver workload being greater than the predefined value at the expiration of the predetermined period of time, and to generate a notification for the driver indicating that a communication was received in response to the delay counter exceeding a predefined number.

14. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the driver regardless of the driver workload in response to the in-coming communication originating from a source identified on an exception list accessible by the at least one processor and specified by the driver.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to restrict a number of sources identified on the exception list to a predefined number of sources.

16. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the mail system further based on driver type.

17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the at least processor is further configured to route the in-coming communication to the driver regardless of the driver workload in response to driver type being of a predefined category.

18. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the in-coming communication is a phone call, a text message or a broadcast.