DETERMINING EXIT FROM A VEHICLE

• US 20150050923A1
• Filed: 10/28/2013
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tu, Xiaoyuan, Kandangath, Anil K.
• Granted Patent: US 9,264,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

Methods and mobile devices determine an exit from a vehicle. Sensors of a mobile device can be used to determine when the user is in a vehicle that is driving. The same or different sensors can be used to identify a disturbance (e.g., loss of communication connection from mobile device to a car computer). After the disturbance, an exit confidence score can be determined at various times, and compared to a threshold. A determination of the exit of the user can be determined based on the comparison of the exit confidence score to the threshold. The mobile device can perform one or more functions in response to the exit confidence score exceeding the threshold, such as changing a user interface (e.g., of a navigation app) or obtaining a location to designate a parking location.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an exit of a user of a mobile device from a vehicle, the method comprising:

determining, with the mobile device, that the mobile device is in a driving state, the driving state indicating the vehicle is moving and that the user is inside the vehicle, the determination being based on one or more sensors of the mobile device;

monitoring, with the mobile device, the one or more sensors;

detecting, with the mobile device, a disturbance based on measurements from the one or more sensors, the disturbance indicating a possibility that the user exited the vehicle;

in response to the disturbance, determining a confidence score of whether the user has exited the vehicle, the determination being made by the mobile device at a plurality of times after the disturbance, wherein the confidence score is determined based on measurements from the one or more sensors at the plurality of times;

comparing, with the mobile device, the confidence score to a first threshold; and

in response to the confidence score exceeding the first threshold at a first time, identifying the user as exited from the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the disturbance is detected by detecting at least one of:

a change in a connection of the mobile device to a computer of the vehicle, a change in a tilt angle of the mobile device, and a change in a classification of motion of the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the confidence score includes:

increasing or decreasing the confidence score from a value obtained at a previous time to obtain the confidence score at a current time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the confidence score further includes:

determining a plurality of contributions for changing the confidence score, each contribution corresponding to a different state of the mobile device determined from the one or more sensors; and

summing the plurality of contributions to obtain the confidence score at the current time.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining a motion state of the mobile device based on the one or more sensors, wherein different motion states of the mobile device cause a different increase in the confidence score.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

stopping a determination of the confidence score in response to a change in a device state of the mobile device, the device state being used to detect the disturbance and being determined based on measurements from the one or more sensors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the disturbance is determined from a first sensor.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first sensor is not used to determine the confidence score, and wherein the confidence score is based on a second sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the confidence score exceeding the first threshold at a first time, performing a first function with the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first function is changing a user interface of a software application on the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the software application is a navigation application.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the software application is an application that identifies a location of the vehicle, and wherein the first function is storing the location of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to the confidence score exceeding a second threshold at a second time, performing a second function with the mobile device, the second threshold being lower that the first threshold and the second time being before the first time, wherein the second function obtains information used by the first function.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second function obtains location information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first function includes storing the location of the vehicle for retrieval by an application that identifies a parked location.

16. A computer product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions that when executed control a computer system to detecting an exit of a user of a mobile device from a vehicle, the instructions comprising:

determining that the mobile device is in a driving state, the driving state indicating the vehicle is moving and that the user is inside the vehicle, the determination being based on one or more sensors of the mobile device;

monitoring the one or more sensors;

detecting a disturbance based on measurements from the one or more sensors, the disturbance indicating a possibility that the user exited the vehicle;

in response to the disturbance, determining a confidence score of whether the user has exited the vehicle, the determination being made by the mobile device at a plurality of times after the disturbance, wherein the confidence score is determined based on measurements from the one or more sensors at the plurality of times;

comparing the confidence score to a first threshold; and

in response to the confidence score exceeding the first threshold at a first time, identifying the user as exited from the vehicle.

17. A mobile device comprising:

one or more sensors;

a disturbance detector configured to detect a change in the one or more sensors to identify a disturbance of the mobile device, the disturbance indicating a possibility that the user exited the vehicle;

a confidence module configured to determine a confidence score of whether the user has exited the vehicle, the determination being made at a plurality of times after the disturbance, wherein the confidence score is determined based on measurements from the one or more sensors at the plurality of times; and

an exit detection module configured to identifying the user as exited from the vehicle when the confidence score exceeds a first threshold.

18. The mobile device of claim 17, further comprising:

a motion classifier configured to classify a motion of the mobile device based on the one or more sensors of the mobile device,

wherein the confidence module is configured to;

receive a motion classification from the motion classifier; and

use the received motion classification to determine the confidence score.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the disturbance detected is configured to:

receive a motion classification from the motion classifier; and

use the received motion classification to identify the disturbance.

20. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the disturbance detected is configured to send a signal to the confidence module, and wherein the confidence module is configured to being determining the confidence score in response to the signal.