System for providing profile information

• US 8,744,397 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2011
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Gee, Robert, Seymour, Shafer
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEDRICK, CHARLES TERRELL
• Application Number:
  US13/038,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20120225634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/404.1, 701/45
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A system and method for providing profile information for occupants of a vehicle to a service provider. The system may communicate with at least one mobile device to receive an identification from each mobile device. The system may store profile information of an occupant associated with each identification. The system may communicate with the service provider to transmit the profile information associated with the mobile devices if a crash condition is identified and communication with the mobile device occurred during a time period just prior to the crash condition.

Claims

1. A system for providing profile information to a service provider, the profile information being information pertaining to a user of a mobile device, who is an occupant of a vehicle, and who has the mobile device, in the vehicle, the system comprising:

a telematics controller coupled to the database and having a first transceiver configured to wirelessly detect the presence of and to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device in the vehicle, the telematics controller being configured to receive from a detected mobile device, an identification of the mobile device, and to receive from the detected mobile device, profile information of a user of the detected mobile device, the telematics controller being additionally configured to store the profile information of the user, and configured to receive and store a prioritized contact list;

a network access device coupled to the database and having a second transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with the service provider, wherein the network access device is configured to transmit the profile information of the user of the detected mobile device if a crash condition is identified and the detected mobile device was in communication with the telematics controller during a time period just prior to the crash condition, the network access device being additionally configured to transmit the prioritized contact list, if a crash condition is identified.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone and a crash condition initiates a phone call between at least one of:

the network access device and the telematics controller, and the mobile phone.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface connected to the telematics controller, the user interface being configured to allow entry of profile information.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the user interface is configured to prompt a user to enter user profile information upon detecting an unknown mobile device.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein user profile information comprises said prioritized contact list.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein profile information comprises seating information.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the telematics controller is configured to determine seating information periodically and configured to store determined seating information in a non-transitory memory device.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of transceivers coupled to the telematics controller and which are located at different locations in the vehicle.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers is located in the back seat area of the vehicle and configured to determine if an occupant is in the back seat area of the vehicle based on signal strength from a corresponding mobile device of the at least one mobile device.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein at least one transceiver of the plurality of receivers is located in the right side of the vehicle and configured to determine if an occupant is seated on the right side of the vehicle based on signal strength from a corresponding mobile device of the at least one mobile device.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the service provider is configured to automatically place a call to one of the at least one mobile devices detected in the vehicle after the crash condition is detected.

12. A system for providing profile information, for occupants of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a mobile phone having an identification and having profile information for a user of the mobile phone, the mobile phone being configured to be able to wirelessly communicate using Bluetooth;

a telematics controller coupled to the database and having a first Bluetooth transceiver configured to wirelessly detect the presence of a mobile phone in the vehicle and to wirelessly receive the identification from the mobile phone, receive the profile information from the mobile phone and configured to store the identification and the received profile information, the telematics controller being additionally configured to receive and store a prioritized list of contacts to call in an emergency;

a network access device coupled to the database and having a second transceiver, which is configured to wirelessly communicate with a service provider using a cellular network protocol;

the network access device being configured to communicate with a service provider through the second transceiver, wherein the network access device is configured to transmit the profile information of the user of the mobile phone to a service provider if a crash condition is identified and the mobile phone was in communication with the telematics controller during a time period just prior to the crash condition, and configured to transmit the prioritized list of contacts if a crash condition is identified.

13. The system according to claim 12, further comprising a user interface connected to the telematics controller, wherein the user interface is configured to prompt a user to enter user profile information comprising age, gender, and health information upon detecting an unknown mobile device.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the profile information includes seating information, and wherein the telematics controller is configured to determine the seating information periodically using a plurality of transceivers located at different locations in the vehicle, the determined seating information being stored by the telematics controller in a non-transitory memory device.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein at least one first transceiver of the plurality of transceivers is located in the back seat area of the vehicle and wherein the telematics controller is configured to determine if a user of a mobile phone is in the back seat area of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone and wherein at least one second transceiver of the plurality of receivers is located in the right side of the vehicle, and wherein the telematics controller is additionally configured to determine if a user of a mobile phone is seated on the right side of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone.

16. A method for providing profile information, for occupants of a vehicle, the method comprising:

detecting a mobile device and after the mobile device is detected, communicating with the mobile device to receive an identification from the mobile device and to receive profile information about a user of the mobile device and receive a prioritized list of contacts to be called in an emergency;

storing user profile information and storing the prioritized list of contacts;

transmitting the user profile information and the prioritized list of contacts if a crash condition is identified and if communication with the mobile device occurred during a time period just prior to the crash condition.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

prompting a user to enter user profile information comprising at least one of;

age, gender, and health information upon detecting an unknown mobile device.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the profile information includes seating information, the seating information being determined periodically using a plurality of transceivers located at different locations in the vehicle.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein at least one first transceiver of the plurality of transceivers is located in the back seat area of the vehicle to determine if an occupant is in the back seat area of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone and at least one second transceiver of the plurality of receivers is located in the right side of the vehicle to determine if an occupant is seated on the right side of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions executable by a programmed processor for providing profile information for occupants of a vehicle, the storage medium comprising instructions for:

detecting and wirelessly communicating with a mobile device;

receiving an identification from the mobile device and receiving from the mobile device, profile information for a user of the mobile device and receiving a prioritized list of contacts that are to be called in an emergency;

storing profile information for a user of the mobile device in a database and storing the prioritized list of contacts;

communicating with a service provider;

transmitting the profile information for a user of the mobile device and transmitting the prioritized list of contacts, if a crash condition is identified and if the mobile device was in communication with a telematics controller during a time period just prior to the crash condition.

21. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 20, further comprising instructions for prompting a user to enter user profile information comprising at least one of:

age, gender, and health information upon detecting an unknown mobile device.

22. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 20, wherein the profile information includes seating information, the seating information being determined periodically using a plurality of transceivers located at different locations in the vehicle.

23. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 22, wherein at least one first transceiver of the plurality of transceivers is located in the back seat area of the vehicle to determine if an occupant is in the back seat area of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone and at least one second transceiver of the plurality of receivers is located in the right side of the vehicle to determine if an occupant is seated on the right side of the vehicle based on signal strength from the mobile phone.