SYSTEM AND METHODS TO FACILITATE SAFE DRIVING

• US 20170201619A1
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Published: 07/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saverone 2014 Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Saverone 2014 Ltd.
• Inventors: COHEN, Yossef, GUR GERASI, Amiram, GUR, Eliyahu
• Granted Patent: US 10,075,581 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6075 adapted for handsfree use in a vehicle H04M1/6058 takes precedence; arrangements for holding telephones in a vehicle B60R11/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724098 Interfacing with an on-board device of a vehicle for hands-free speaking in vehicles H04M1/6075
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A vehicle safety system operating on a driver'"'"'s cellphone and comprising selective blocking apparatus, controlled by a processor, for blocking specified functionalities of the cellphone only when the cellphone is in a moving vehicle; and communication functionality operative to receive from a remote server and feed to said processor, updates which determine which specified functionalities to block.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A vehicle safety system operating on a driver'"'"'s cellphone and comprising:

selective blocking apparatus, controlled by a processor, for blocking specified functionalities of the cellphone only when the cellphone is in a vehicle in motion; and

communication functionality operative to receive from a remote server and deliver updates which determine which specified functionalities the selective blocking apparatus is to block.

30. A system according to claim 29 wherein said specified functionalities comprise apps.

31. A system according to claim 29 wherein only specified functionalities deemed dangerous, according to programmable cellphone functionality safety criteria, are blocked by said Selective blocking apparatus.

32. A system according to claim 31 and also comprising:

a mobile app; and

at least one remote server having a dynamic repository of cellphone functionality safety data which sends downloads to the mobile app via said communication functionality, for each of a multiplicity of vehicles.

33. A system according to claim 32 wherein said dynamic repository comprises:

at least one cellphone functionality safety-ranking list; and

corresponding functionality, in the server and in the mobile app, operative to update said at least one cellphone functionality safety-ranking list.

34. A system according to claim 33 wherein said dynamic repository comprises a plurality of “

white lists”

of apps corresponding respectively to a plurality of fleets of vehicles and wherein the communication functionality in an individual vehicle downloads an individual white list of apps from among said plurality thereof, depending on the individual fleet from among said plurality thereof, to which the individual vehicle belongs.

35. A system according to claim 29 wherein the processor controls said Selective blocking apparatus to block certain functionalities of the cellphone only when the vehicle is in a first type of geographic location and not when the vehicle is in a second type of geographic location.

36. A system according to claim 35 wherein the first type of geographic location comprises a high-risk road or portion thereof.

37. A system according to claim 29 wherein the communication functionality resides in a mobile application on the driver'"'"'s cellphone, which is updated on occasion by a remote application server.

38. A system according to claim 29 wherein the communication functionality comprises a radio transmitter.

39. A system according to claim 29 wherein the processor receives real-time data from at least one of the driver'"'"'s cellphone and the vehicle via at least one of a wireless connection and a wired connection.

40. A system according to claim 37 wherein the mobile application is operative for sending driver data to a server.

41. A system according to claim 38 wherein the radio transmitter circuit is operative to output RF signals to interface with mobile communications.

42. A system according to claim 29 wherein Driver identification apparatus is installed in the vehicle and remains there irrespective of whether the driver and/or his cellphone is or is not in the vehicle.

43. A system according to claim 29 wherein the Selective blocking apparatus has at least one of the following modes of operation:

(i) idle mode—

Selective blocking apparatus is inactive since vehicle is parked, enables full functionality of the driver'"'"'s cellphone

(ii) active/safe mode—

selective blocking apparatus is controlled by the processor to be active in blocking cellphone functionality while vehicle is driving;

(iii) undesirable/alert mode—

Selective blocking apparatus is unable to operate (e.g. because main unit can'"'"'t communicate with the mobile application and/or radio transmitter circuit or driver disconnects Bluetooth or removes mobile app) so the processor cause an undesirable outcome from the driver'"'"'s point of view to occur; and

(iv) safe mode in which the system is disabled.

44. A system according to claim 43 wherein said undesirable outcome comprises at least one of:

all phone communications from the driver'"'"'s cellphone are blocked;

activation of an alert e.g. alarm audible to the driver.

45. A system according to claim 44 and also comprising an alarm controlled by the processor to operate if and only if the Selective blocking apparatus is in undesirable mode.

46. A system according to claim 29 wherein the processor comprises cellphone identification functionality which enables the processor to control the Selective blocking apparatus for blocking specified functionalities of only the driver'"'"'s cellphone without affecting functioning of other cellphones present in a moving vehicle.

47. A system according to claim 46 wherein said cellphone identification functionality utilizes at least Time-Differential-Of-Arrival (TDOA) technology to distinguish the driver'"'"'s cellphone from other cellphones present in a vehicle whose engine is on.

48. A system according to claim 46 wherein said cellphone identification functionality utilizes at least Channel Fingerprinting technology to distinguish the driver'"'"'s cellphone from other cellphones present in a vehicle whose engine is on.

49. A system according to claim 46, wherein said cellphone identification functionality utilizes at least one of the following technologies to distinguish the driver'"'"'s cellphone from other cellphones present in a moving vehicle:

Angle-Of-Arrival (AOA)/Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA) technology;

Time-Of-Arrival (TOA) technology.

50. A system according to claim 48 wherein said Channel Fingerprinting technology utilized by said cellphone identification functionality comprises Power Level based technology.

51. A system according to claim 48 wherein said Channel Fingerprinting technology utilized by said cellphone identification functionality comprises Delay-spread based technology.

52. A system according to claim 29 wherein the Selective blocking apparatus is controlled by the processor for blocking at least one manually operated functionality of the cellphone and wherein at least one voice-operated functionality of the cellphone is not blocked.

53. A system according to claim 52 wherein the Selective blocking apparatus is controlled by the processor for blocking at least some text-operated apps of the cellphone.

54. A system according to claim 34 and also comprising at least one “

white list”

database.

55. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a vehicle safety method operating on a driver'"'"'s cellphone and comprising:

controlling a processor for selectively blocking specified functionalities of the cellphone only when the cellphone is in a vehicle in motion; and

controlling communication functionality operative to receive from a remote server and deliver updates which determine which specified functionalities the selective blocking apparatus is to block.

56. A vehicle safety method operating on a driver'"'"'s cellphone and comprising:

using a processor for selectively blocking specified functionalities of the cellphone only when the cellphone is in a vehicle in motion; and

using communication functionality operative to receive from a remote server and deliver updates which determine which specified functionalities the selective blocking apparatus is to block.