OPERATION REGULATION METHOD, OPERATION REGULATION PROGRAM PRODUCT, MOBILE TERMINAL, VEHICULAR APPARATUS, AND VEHICULAR COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20150056976A1
• Filed: 04/17/2013
• Published: 02/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ukai, Hiroki, Kuwahara, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,313,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed

Abstract

A mobile terminal requiring operation regulation is communicably connected with a vehicular apparatus via wireless communication and executes an application for cooperating with the vehicular apparatus. An operation regulation method performed by the mobile terminal and the vehicular apparatus includes transmitting, from the vehicular apparatus to the mobile terminal, vehicle information indicating whether a vehicle including the vehicular apparatus is in a traveling state, determining, with the mobile terminal, whether the vehicle is in the traveling state based on the vehicle information when the vehicular apparatus is connected with the mobile terminal based on handsfree communication protocol, and, when the mobile terminal determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state, performing, with the mobile terminal, a regulation process for regulating one of (i) an operation of the application for cooperating with the vehicular apparatus or (ii) all or part of functions provided to the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. An operation regulation method, which is performed by a mobile terminal that requires an operation regulation and a vehicular apparatus, the mobile terminal being communicably connected with the vehicular apparatus via a wireless communication and executing an application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus,

the operation regulation method comprising:

transmitting, from the vehicular to the mobile terminal, vehicle information that indicates whether a vehicle provided with the vehicular apparatus is in a traveling state, using the wireless communication established between the mobile terminal and the vehicular apparatus based on a data communication protocol;

determining, with the mobile terminal, whether the vehicle is in the traveling state based on the vehicle information when the wireless communication between the vehicular apparatus and the mobile terminal is established based on a handsfree communication protocol other than the data communication protocol;

performing a regulation process when the mobile terminal determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state, in the regulation process, the mobile terminal regulating one of (i) an operation of the application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus or (ii) all or part of functions provided to the mobile terminal; and

determining, with the mobile terminal, whether the wireless communication between the mobile terminal and the vehicular apparatus is established based on the data communication protocol but not based on the handsfree communication protocol in order to disable the regulation process.

2. The operation regulation method according to claim 1,

wherein the vehicular apparatus communicates, via the same wireless communication, with a plurality of mobile terminals including the mobile terminal.

3. The operation regulation method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, from the mobile terminal to the vehicular apparatus, a vehicle information transmission request that requests for a transmission of the vehicle information; and

transmitting, from the vehicular apparatus to the mobile terminal, the vehicle information in response to the vehicle information transmission request.

4. The operation regulation method according to claim 1,

wherein the mobile terminal further performs a control process that controls the vehicular apparatus, via the application, to perform a process corresponding to a manipulation made by a user on the mobile terminal,

wherein the control process includes an acquisition sub-process that acquires instruction information indicating the manipulation made by the user and a transmission sub-process that transmits the instruction information to the vehicular apparatus, and

wherein, when the mobile terminal determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state, the mobile terminal regulates at least one of the acquisition sub-process or the transmission sub-process in the regulation process.

5. The operation regulation method according to claim 1,

displaying, on a screen of the mobile terminal, all or part of a display window of the application in an identifiable manner during the regulation process.

6. An operation regulation program product stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium, comprising instructions to be executed by a computer for implementing the operation regulation method according to claim 1.

7. A mobile terminal communicably connected with a vehicular apparatus via a wireless communication, the mobile terminal comprising:

a terminal-side control portion executing an application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus;

a terminal-side communication portion communicating with the vehicular apparatus based on a data communication protocol and receiving vehicle information indicating whether a vehicle provided with the vehicular apparatus is in a traveling state, wherein;

when the mobile terminal is connected with the vehicular apparatus based on a handsfree communication protocol other than the data communication protocol, the terminal-side control portion determines whether the vehicle is in the traveling state based on the vehicle information received by the terminal-side communication portion, and

when the terminal-side control portion determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state, the terminal-side control portion performs an operation regulation by regulating at least one of (i) an operation of the application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus or (ii) all or part of functions provided to the mobile terminal; and

a determination portion determining whether the wireless communication between the mobile terminal and the vehicular apparatus is established based on the data communication protocol but not based on the handsfree communication protocol in order to disable the operation regulation.

8. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. A vehicular communication system comprising:

a mobile terminal; and

a vehicular apparatus communicably connected with the mobile terminal via a wireless communication and cooperating with the mobile terminal,

wherein the mobile terminal includes;

a terminal-side communication portion communicating with the vehicular apparatus based on a data communication protocol and receiving vehicle information indicating whether a vehicle provided with vehicular apparatus is in a traveling state; and

a terminal-side control portion executing an application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus, wherein;

when the mobile terminal is connected with the vehicular apparatus based on a handsfree communication protocol other than the data communication protocol, the terminal-side control portion determines whether the vehicle is in the traveling state based on the vehicle information received by the terminal-side communication portion; and

when the terminal-side control portion determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state, the terminal-side control portion performs an operation regulation by regulating at least one of (i) an operation of the application that controls the mobile terminal to cooperate with the vehicular apparatus or (ii) all or part of functions provided to the mobile terminal; and

a determination portion determining whether the wireless communication between the mobile terminal and the vehicular apparatus is established based on the data communication protocol but not based on the handsfree communication protocol in order to disable the operation regulation,

wherein the vehicular apparatus includes;

a vehicle information acquisition portion acquiring the vehicle information;

a vehicle-side communication portion communicating with the mobile terminal and transmitting the vehicle information to the mobile terminal; and

a vehicle-side control portion wherein, when the mobile terminal is connected with the vehicular apparatus via the wireless communication based on the handsfree communication protocol, the vehicle-side control portion controls the vehicle-side communication portion to transmit the vehicle information to the mobile terminal connected based on the handsfree communication protocol in response to a transmission request from the mobile terminal or at a predetermined time interval, and

wherein the vehicular apparatus is communicably connected with a plurality of mobile terminals including the mobile terminal via the wireless communication.

11. The vehicular communication system according to claim 10,

wherein, when the wireless communication established between the vehicular apparatus and the mobile terminal based on the handsfree communication protocol is disconnected, the vehicle-side control portion searches for another one of the plurality of mobile terminals, which is connectable based on the handsfree communication protocol, and establishes a connection with the another one of the plurality of mobile terminals based on the handsfree communication protocol.