In-vehicle services for user-provided devices

• US 8,972,598 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kwivo, LLC
• Original Assignee: Kwivo, LLC
• Inventors: Heron, Alexandra Kathleen, Silva, Julio Toro, Mendis, Manimeldura Janaka
• Primary Examiner(s): SALAD, ABDULLAHI ELMI
• Application Number:
  US13/843,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20140280491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 709/203, 725 74- 77, 705/14.51, 705/26.1, 705/5, 705/6
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• 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

Abstract

An approach to facilitating in-vehicle services for user-provided devices is provided. One or more communication sessions with one or more user-provided devices may be facilitated by an in-vehicle computer system. One or more content items available to the one or more user-provided devices may be stored by the in-vehicle computer system. A list of the one or more content items may be provided by the in-vehicle computer system to the one or more user-provided devices. A selection of at least one content item from at least one user-provided device may be received by the in-vehicle computer system. Access to the at least one content item may be provided, by the in-vehicle computer system via the one or more communication sessions, to the at least user-provided device based on the selection.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating in-vehicle services for user-provided devices, wherein an individual user-provided device is provided and brought on by a user during transit on a vehicle, the method being implemented on an in-vehicle computer system that includes one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

facilitating, by the in-vehicle computer system, one or more communication sessions between the in-vehicle computer system and one or more user-provided devices;

storing, by the in-vehicle computer system, content items available to the one or more user-provided devices, at least some of the content items having a content duration;

receiving, at the in-vehicle computer system, a search request from a user-provided device of the one or more user-provided devices, the search request comprising one or more keywords;

determining, by the in-vehicle computer system, based on an estimated time of arrival to a destination, a time remaining in transit for a user of the user-provided device;

determining, by the in-vehicle computer system, based on the one or more keywords, one or more recommended content items having a content duration less than the time remaining;

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, a list of the one or more recommended content items to the user-provided device via the one or more communication sessions;

receiving, at the in-vehicle computer system, a selection of at least one recommended content item of the one or more recommended content items from the user-provided device; and

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system via the one or more communication sessions, access to the selected content item to the user-provided device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the list of the one or more recommended content items comprises:

providing a list of a first set of content items stored at the in-vehicle computer system and available to the user-provided device without the in-vehicle computer system or the user-provided device having to connect to a network external to the vehicle; and

providing a list of a second set of content items for which related information is stored at the in-vehicle computer system but for which the in-vehicle computer system or the user-provided device has to connect to a network external to the vehicle to obtain a content item of the second set of content items.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item to the user-provided device:

in exchange for payment in accordance with a first set of costs responsive to an indication from the user-provided device to obtain the selected content item from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a third party content store; and

in exchange for payment in accordance with a second set of costs that is different than the first set of costs responsive to an indication to obtain the selected content item via a connection to the third party content store.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected content item is not stored at the in-vehicle computer system at the time of the selection, the method further comprising:

obtaining, by the in-vehicle computer system, the selected content item from a third party content store responsive to the selection; and

storing, at the in-vehicle computer system, the selected content item such that the selected content item is available to the one or more user-provided devices from the in-vehicle computer system without the in-vehicle computer system or the one or more user-provided devices having to connect to a network external to the vehicle for the one or more user-provided devices to obtain the selected content item.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item for temporary storage at the user-provided device such that the selected content item becomes inaccessible via the user-provided device based on the time remaining.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of the one or more recommended content items specifies a first set of content items and a second set of content items different than the first set of content items, the method further comprising:

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, an indication that content items of the first set of content items are obtainable from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the content items of the first set of content items are already stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device; and

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, an indication that content items of the second set of content items are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the content items of the second set of content items are not stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the access to the selected content item is provided to the user-provided device based on a determination that the user is currently in transit.

8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

determining, by the in-vehicle computer system, whether the user is currently in transit; and

revoking, by the in-vehicle computer system, the access to the selected content item based on a determination that the user is no longer in transit.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item for persistent storage at the user-provided device such that the selected content item is accessible after the user is no longer in transit.

10. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

communicating, by the in-vehicle computer system, with one or more computer systems that are external to the vehicle to determine content provisioning information associated with the content items stored at the in-vehicle computer system; and

determining, by the in-vehicle computer system, whether to allow the user-provided device to stream the selected content item or download the selected content item,

wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises;

(i) buffering content of the selected content item for transmission to the user-provided device responsive to a determination to allow the user-provided device to stream the selected content item; and

(ii) transmitting a file that allows playback of the selected content item to the user-provided device responsive to a determination to allow the user-provided device to download the selected content item.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item to the user-provided device without a connection to the Internet.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of the one or more recommended content items specifies a first set of content items that are already stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device, and a second set of content items that are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle but not stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device, the method further comprising:

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, a first indication on a user interface that content items of the first set of content items are obtainable from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a network external to the vehicle; and

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, a second indication on the user interface that content items of the second set of content items are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the first indication and the second indication are provided together on the user interface.

13. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, information indicating a current location of the vehicle to the one or more user-provided devices; and

providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, one or more of media content, an interactive display, or points of interest information to the one or more user-provided devices based on the current location.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an airplane, wherein the in-vehicle computer system is a fixed computer system affixed within the airplane, and wherein the one or more user-provided devices comprise one or more passenger-operated wireless mobile devices programmed with one or more computer program instructions for communicating with the fixed computer system and for performing other general wireless device functionalities.

15. An in-vehicle computer system for facilitating in-vehicle services for user-provided devices, wherein an individual user-provided device is provided and brought on by a user during transit on a vehicle, the in-vehicle computer system comprising:

one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the in-vehicle computer system to;

facilitate one or more communication sessions between the in-vehicle computer system and one or more user-provided devices;

store content items available to the one or more user-provided devices, at least some of the content items having a content duration;

receive a search request from a user-provided device of the one or more user-provided devices, the search request comprising one or more keywords;

determine, based on an estimated time of arrival to a destination, a time remaining in transit for a user of the user-provided device;

determine, based on the one or more keywords, one or more recommended content items having a content duration less than the time remaining;

provide, via the one or more communication sessions, a list of the one or more recommended content items to the user-provided device;

receive a selection of at least one recommended content item from the user-provided device; and

provide, via the one or more communication sessions, access to the selected content item to the user-provided device.

16. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein providing the list of the one or more recommended content items comprises:

providing a list of a first set of content items stored at the in-vehicle computer system and available to the user-provided device without the in-vehicle computer system or the user-provided device having to connect to a network external to the vehicle; and

providing a list of a second set of content items for which related information is stored at the in-vehicle computer system but for which the in-vehicle computer system or the user-provided device has to connect to a network external to the vehicle to obtain a content item of the second set of content items.

17. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein providing the access to the selected content item further comprises providing the access to the selected content item to the user-provided device:

in exchange for payment in accordance with a first set of costs responsive to an indication from the user-provided device to obtain the selected content item from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a third party content store; and

in exchange for payment in accordance with a second set of costs that is different than the first set of costs responsive to an indication to obtain the selected content item via a connection to the third party content store.

18. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the selected content item is not stored at the in-vehicle computer system at the time of the selection, and wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

obtain the selected content item from a third party content store responsive to the selection; and

store selected first content item such that the selected content item is available to the one or more user-provided devices from the in-vehicle computer system without the in-vehicle computer system or the one or more user-provided devices having to connect to a network external to the vehicle for the one or more user-provided devices to obtain the selected content item.

19. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item for temporary storage at the user-provided device such that the selected content item becomes inaccessible via the user-provided device based on the time remaining.

20. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the list of the one or more recommended content items specifies a first set of content items and a second set of content items different than the first set of content items, and wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

provide an indication that content items of the first set of content items are obtainable from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the content items of the first set of content items are already stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device; and

provide an indication that content items of the second set of content items are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the content items of the second set of content items are not stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device.

21. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the access to the selected content item is provided to the user-provided device based on a determination that the user is currently in transit.

22. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

determine whether the user is currently in transit; and

revoke the access to the selected content item based on a determination that the user is no longer in transit.

23. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item for persistent storage at the user-provided device such that the selected content item is accessible after the user is no longer in transit.

24. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

communicate with one or more computer systems that are external to the vehicle to determine content provisioning information associated with the content items stored at the in-vehicle computer system; and

determine whether to allow the user-provided device to stream the selected content item or download the selected content item,

wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises;

(i) buffering content of the selected content item for transmission to the user-provided device responsive to a determination to allow the user-provided device to stream the selected content item; and

(ii) transmitting a file that allows playback of the selected content item to the user-provided device responsive to a determination to allow the user-provided device to download the selected content item.

25. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein providing the access to the selected content item comprises providing the access to the selected content item to the user-provided device without a connection to the Internet.

26. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the list of the one or more recommended content items specifies a first set of content items that are already stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device, and a second set of content items that are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle but not stored at the in-vehicle computer system when the list is provided to the user-provided device, and wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

provide a first indication on a user interface that content items of the first set of content items are obtainable from the in-vehicle computer system without a connection to a network external to the vehicle; and

provide a second indication on the user interface that content items of the second set of content items are obtainable via a connection to a network external to the vehicle, wherein the first indication and the second indication are provided together on the user interface.

27. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the in-vehicle computer system is caused to:

provide information indicating a current location of the vehicle to the one or more user-provided devices; and

provide one or more of media content, an interactive display, or points of interest information to the one or more user-provided devices based on the current location.

28. The in-vehicle computer system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle is an airplane, wherein the in-vehicle computer system is a fixed computer system affixed within the airplane, and wherein the one or more user-provided devices comprise one or more passenger-operated wireless mobile devices programmed with one or more computer program instructions for communicating with the fixed computer system and for performing other general wireless device functionalities.