RECEIVING A SERVICE IN A VEHICLE BASED ON LOCATION DATA OF A MOBILE DEVICE WITHIN THE VEHICLE

• US 20140206392A1
• Filed: 01/24/2013
• Published: 07/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Mauti, Thomas K. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,363,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A method and a system for providing a vehicle service to a vehicle based on the location data of a mobile device. The method carried out by the system includes a step of receiving at a call center vehicle location data from a vehicle. After receiving vehicle location data, the method may then include receiving at the call center mobile device location data from the mobile device. The method may include determining whether the mobile device is located within the vehicle based upon the vehicle location data and the mobile device location data. And if the mobile device is located within the vehicle, the method may include initiating at least one vehicle service from the call center in response to the determination.

Claims

1. A method of providing a vehicle service to a vehicle based on the location data of a personal wireless device, comprising the steps of:

receiving at a call center vehicle location data from a vehicle;

receiving at the call center mobile device location data from a mobile device;

determining whether the mobile device is located within the vehicle based upon the vehicle location data and the mobile device location data; and

if the mobile device is located within the vehicle,

initiating at least one vehicle service from the call center in response to the determination.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle location data is received from a vehicle telematics unit.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving mobile device location data is in response to a push notification sent from the call center.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprises authenticating that the mobile device is associated with the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle location data and the mobile device location data each include at least one of the following:

position data, clock data, or heading data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the vehicle position data and the mobile device position data includes at least one of the following:

latitude data (φ

) and longitude data (λ

);

wherein the vehicle clock data and the mobile device clock data each include a timestamp data (ts) corresponding with their respective position datas; and

wherein the vehicle heading data and the HCD heading data includes at least one of the following;

speed data (v) or velocity data ( ).

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the determination of whether the mobile device is located within the vehicle is determined based at least in part on speed data (v) from the vehicle location data and a determined distance (d₁) the vehicle is estimated to have traveled during a latency between a first timestamp (ts₁) and a second timestamp (ts₂), wherein the first timestamp is associated with the vehicle location data and the second timestamp is associated with the mobile device'"'"'s location data.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the determination of whether the mobile device is located within the vehicle is determined based at least in part on a determined distance (d₂) which is associated with the position data of the vehicle and the position data of the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the determination further depends on whether the value of d₁ is within 40% of the value of d₂.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving vehicle location data occurs during a call between the call center and the vehicle prior to the establishment of a voice call over a voice channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one vehicle service includes providing navigation assistance.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of periodically requesting updated mobile device location data from the mobile device and then receiving updated mobile device location data, wherein the initiating step is based upon the updated mobile device location data.

13. A method of receiving vehicle services based on the location data of a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

initiating an opening of a voice channel or accepting an initiation of an opening of a voice channel for communication between a call center and a vehicle telematics unit;

transmitting to the call center first location data associated with the vehicle, wherein the transmission is from the telematics unit over a data channel prior to opening the voice channel; and

receiving a vehicle service initiated by the call center based on second location data associated with a mobile device that the call center has determined is within the vehicle, wherein the determination is made based upon the first location data and the second location data.

14. A computer-readable medium, comprising a non-transitory data storage device upon which is stored instructions executable by a computer apparatus that cause the computer apparatus to determine whether a mobile device is within a vehicle associated with the mobile device and to initiate a service for the vehicle, wherein the instructions when executed by the computer apparatus utilize location data received from the mobile device and from a telematics unit in the vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the instructions include an instruction to send a push notification to the mobile device requesting location data from the mobile device after receiving location data from the telematics unit.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein both the location data received from the telematics unit and from the mobile device includes clock data, wherein the determination is based at least in part on a latency calculated using the telematics unit clock data and the mobile device clock data.