Address book sharing system and method for non-verbally adding address book contents using the same

• US 8,521,235 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Nixon, Timothy R., Stewart, Gregory B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Zhiyu
• Application Number:
  US12/057,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20090249323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/569.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading
• 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 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface

Abstract

An address book sharing system includes a vehicle, a short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit embedded in the vehicle, and a short-range enabled wireless device. The short-range enabled wireless device is configured to be paired with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit when positioned in the vehicle, and to download an address book to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit in response to an address book request trigger generated by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit. Methods for non-verbally adding address book contents using the address book sharing system are also disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for non-verbally adding address book contents to an in-vehicle address book, the method comprising:

programming a short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit with a wireless device ID that will be recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit so that non-designated wireless device IDs are not recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

positioning a short-range enabled wireless device in a vehicle containing the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

determining, by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, that a wireless device ID of the short-range enabled wireless device is the recognizable wireless device ID;

pairing the short-range enabled wireless device with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

generating an address book request trigger from the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

downloading, in response to the address book request trigger, contents of an address book from the short-range enabled wireless device to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

storing the downloaded contents of the address book in the in-vehicle address book; and

subsequently allowing user access to the in-vehicle address book only when the short-range enabled wireless device is within proximity of the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising removing the short-range enabled wireless device from the vehicle.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, further comprising:

repositioning the short-range enabled wireless device in the vehicle containing the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

pairing the short-range enabled wireless device with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit again;

determining whether the address book from the short-range enabled wireless device includes an update;

if the address book from the short-range enabled wireless device includes the update, then generating an other address book request trigger from the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit; and

downloading, in response to the other address book request trigger, the update from the short-range enabled wireless device to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising rendering the downloaded address book available to a user via grapheme-to-phoneme conversion.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, further comprising overwriting the grapheme-to-phoneme conversion with verbally created voice models.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the programming includes programming the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit with a wireless device ID of a second short-range enabled wireless device that will be recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, and wherein the method further comprises:

positioning the second short-range enabled wireless device in the vehicle;

recognizing, by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, the wireless device ID of the second short-range enabled wireless device;

pairing the second short-range enabled wireless device with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

generating an other address book request trigger from the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit; and

downloading, in response to the other address book request trigger, contents of an address book from the second short-range enabled wireless device to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, further comprising storing the contents of the address book from the short-range enabled wireless device and the contents of the address book from the second short-range enabled wireless device in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit as personalized and separate address books.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, further comprising subsequently enabling, via the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, access to at least one of the personalized and separate address books when a corresponding one of the short-range enabled wireless device and the second short-range enabled wireless device is within proximity of the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising blocking, by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, a wireless device that is associated with a non-designated wireless device ID from pairing with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

17. The method as defined in claim 9, further comprising blocking an other short-range enabled wireless device that is associated with one of the non-designated wireless device IDs from downloading its address book to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

18. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising denying user access to the in-vehicle address book when the short-range enabled wireless device is outside of the vehicle.

10. An address book sharing system, comprising:

a vehicle;

a short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit embedded in the vehicle;

a blocking system in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, the blocking system including a designated wireless device ID that identifies a short-range enabled wireless device that is recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, wherein non-designated wireless device IDs are not recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit;

the short-range enabled wireless device associated with the designated wireless device ID configured i) to be paired with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit when positioned in the vehicle, and ii) to download contents of an address book to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit in response to an address book request trigger generated by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit; and

an in-vehicle address book stored in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit and including the downloaded contents of the address book;

the blocking system further configured to block user access to the in-vehicle address book when the short-range enabled wireless device is out of proximity of the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

11. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 10 wherein the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit includes a memory configured to store the downloaded contents of the address book in the in-vehicle address book.

12. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 10, further comprising a call center in operative communication with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

13. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 10 wherein the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit is configured to render the downloaded contents of the address book available to a user via grapheme-to-phoneme conversion.

14. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 10 wherein the blocking system:

further comprises a second designated wireless device ID that identifies a second short-range enabled wireless device that is recognizable by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit, the second short-range enabled wireless device configured i) to be paired with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit when positioned in the vehicle, and ii) to download contents of a second address book to a second in-vehicle address book stored in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit in response to an other address book request trigger generated by the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit; and

is further configured to block user access to the second in-vehicle address book when the second short-range enabled wireless device is out of proximity of the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.

15. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 14 wherein the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit includes a memory configured to store the in-vehicle address book and the second in-vehicle address book in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit as personalized and separate address books.

16. The address book sharing system as defined in claim 10 wherein the blocking system in the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit is configured to block an other short-range enabled wireless device that is associated with one of the non-designated wireless device IDs from downloading its address book to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit.