Enhanced smartphone in-vehicle accommodation

• US 8,526,930 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Watkins, Gary A., Vanitvelt, Richard C., Nieman, Leonard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): MITCHELL, NATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US13/178,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20130012179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418
• US Class Current: 455/418
• 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
• 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 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A system and method for configuring communications between a wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit over a short-range wireless communication link includes receiving a serial port profile (SPP) software application at a wireless device from a central facility; storing the SPP software application at the wireless device; identifying third-party software applications stored on the wireless device using the SPP software application; sending the identity of the third-party software applications to the central facility; and communicating between the wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit via a short-range wireless communication link using the stored SPP software application and data transmitted using one or more software templates that have been received by the vehicle telematics unit in response to the identity of the third-party software applications sent.

Claims

1. A method of configuring communications between a wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit over a short-range wireless communication link, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a serial port profile (SPP) software application at a wireless device from a central facility;

(b) storing the SPP software application at the wireless device;

(c) identifying third-party software applications stored on the wireless device using the SPP software application;

(d) sending the identity of the third-party software applications to the central facility; and

(e) communicating between the wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit via a short-range wireless communication link using the stored SPP software application and data transmitted using one or more software templates that have been received by the vehicle telematics unit in response to the identity of the third-party software applications sent during step (d).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

storing a software aggregator at the vehicle for translating data sent to and received from the wireless device; and

displaying data sent from the wireless device using one or more of the received software templates.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of selecting the software templates at the direction of the software aggregator based on data communications received via the SPP software application.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving the SPP software application at the wireless device from a personal computer (PC) through a wired communication link.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving the SPP software application at the wireless device from a personal computer (PC) through a short-range wireless communication link between the PC and the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the SPP software application includes a list of third-party software applications that have corresponding software templates.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of translating data generated by one or more third-party software applications using the SPP software for transmission to the vehicle telematics unit over the short-range wireless link.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of controlling one or more third-party software applications on the wireless device via the short-range wireless link using the SPP software application and one or more software templates.

9. A method of facilitating the configuration of communications between a wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit over a short-range wireless communication link, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a request at a central facility to provide a serial port profile (SPP) software application to a wireless device;

(b) transmitting the SPP software application to the wireless device;

(c) receiving at the central facility identities generated by the SPP software application of one or more third-party software applications stored on the wireless device;

(d) comparing the received identities with a plurality of software templates used to communicate data between a vehicle telematics unit and the wireless device via a short range wireless communication link;

(e) determining if the received identities match at least one of the plurality of software templates; and

(f) if so, transmitting the matched software template to the vehicle telematics unit.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of transmitting a software aggregator to the vehicle telematics unit for translating data sent to and received from the wireless device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of transmitting the SPP software to a personal computer (PC).

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the SPP software application includes a list of third-party software applications that have corresponding software templates.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of associating the wireless device with one or more vehicles.

14. A method of configuring communications between a wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit over a short-range wireless communication link, comprising the steps of:

(a) sending from a wireless device to a central facility a request for a serial port profile (SPP) software application;

(b) receiving the SPP software application at the wireless device from the central facility;

(c) identifying one or more third-party software applications resident on the wireless device using the received SPP software application;

(d) sending the identity of the third-party software applications from the wireless device to the central facility;

(e) searching for one or more software templates that correspond with the identity of the third-party software applications and that are used for communicating between the wireless device and a vehicle telematics unit via a short-range wireless communication link;

(f) if one or more software templates correspond with the identity of the third-party software applications, then transmitting the software templates from the central facility to a vehicle that is associated with the wireless device;

(g) receiving and storing the transmitted software templates at the vehicle; and

(h) initiating a communication session between the vehicle and the wireless device for operating the third-party software applications using the SPP software application and the transmitted software templates.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

storing a software aggregator at the vehicle for translating data sent to and received from the wireless device; and

displaying data sent from the wireless device using one or more of the transmitted software templates.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising selecting the one or more software templates at the direction of the software aggregator based on data communications received via the SPP software application.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of receiving the SPP software at the wireless device from a personal computer (PC) through a wired communication link.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the SPP software includes a list of third-party software applications that have software templates that correspond to each third-party software application.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of translating data generated by one or more third-party software applications using the SPP software for transmission to the vehicle telematics unit over the short-range wireless link.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of controlling one or more third-party software applications on the wireless device via the short-range wireless link using the SPP software application and one or more software templates.