ELECTRONIC GLOVEBOX FOR A VEHICLE

• US 20140279019A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Cheney, David S., Schwinke, Steven P., Elnajjar, Hassan A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,154,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.62
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A method and a system for providing access to a cloud computer from a vehicle. The method carried out by the system includes providing at least one client (e.g., an e-glovebox device). The method also includes configuring a cloud server to allow access to one or more clients and accessing the cloud server using the e-glovebox. The access may include uploading one or more data members to the cloud server. The access may also include downloading one or more data members from the cloud server.

Claims

1. A method of accessing a data member located in a cloud server from a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one client, wherein a first client is an e-glovebox device in a first vehicle;

configuring a cloud server to allow the at least one client access thereto; and

accessing the cloud server using the e-glovebox device, wherein the access comprises either;

uploading one or more data members to the cloud server, wherein the one or more data members are accessible to the at least one client for download, or

downloading one or more data members from the cloud server, wherein the one or more data members have been uploaded by the first client or by a second client, wherein the one or more data members are accessible to the at least one client.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the e-glovebox device initiates the uploading step or downloading step and communicates with the cloud server using a telematics unit in the first vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second client includes one of a call center, a telematics unit in a second vehicle, an e-glovebox device in a second vehicle, a mobile device associated with the first client, or a personal computer associated with the first client.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the accessing step includes both the uploading and downloading steps.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising deleting one or more data members uploaded to the cloud server.

6. A method of cloud computing from a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

uploading a data member from a second client to a cloud server;

storing the data member at the cloud server; and

downloading the data member by a first client in a first vehicle from the cloud server, wherein at least one of the clients is an e-glovebox device.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first client and the second client are the same client.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising downloading the data member by the second client.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising deleting one or more data members uploaded to the cloud server.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the downloading steps of the first and second clients occurs synchronously.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein the first client is the e-glovebox device and the second client is one of a call center, a telematics unit in a second vehicle, an e-glovebox device in a second vehicle, a mobile device associated with the first client, or a personal computer associated with the first client.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein the data member uploaded by the second client is an advertisement.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the advertisement includes a discount for goods and services.

14. The method of claim 6 further comprising re-uploading the data member after modifying the data member, comprising the steps of:

archiving a copy of the data member at the first client after the downloading step;

altering at least one characteristic of the data member at the first client; and

re-uploading the altered data member to the cloud server.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the re-uploading step further comprises replacing the data member originally downloaded from the cloud server with the altered data member.

16. The method of claim 6 wherein the data member is a data file.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the data file is one of a technical manual associated with the vehicle, vehicle maintenance information, vehicle maintenance updates, emergency information, or one or more entertainment file.

18. The method of claim 6 wherein the data member is a software application.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the data member is one of:

a technical manual application associated with the vehicle;

application software associated with vehicle maintenance information;

application software associated with the vehicle, a manufacturer, or a dealership;

application software associated with receiving vehicle maintenance updates;

application software associated with emergency information;

or application software associated with entertainment and infotainment media.