Method of matching operations between vehicular apparatus and portable terminal, vehicle system including vehicular apparatus and portable terminal, portable terminal, and information center

• US 9,614,946 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2013
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ochi, Hikaru
• Primary Examiner(s): Garcia, Santiago
• Application Number:
  US14/648,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20150304472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,233 Days
• Field of Search: 4555692
• 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: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor

Abstract

A portable terminal accesses an information center by using an address acquired from vehicular apparatus, requests for transmission of dedicated application operable in OS of the portable terminal, and receives the application from the information center. The dedicated application executed by the portable terminal permits the portable terminal to (i) transmit specific information specifying model of the portable terminal to the information center, (ii) receive, in response, data for matching operations between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal, (iii) transmit the received data to the vehicular apparatus, and (iv) receive, in response, an instruction transmitted by the vehicular apparatus, the instruction implementing a function of the portable terminal.

Claims

1. A method in a vehicle system including a vehicular apparatus mounted to a vehicle, a portable terminal, and an information center corresponding to the vehicular apparatus, the information center separating from each of the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal,

the method performing matching operations to establish a connection via a first wireless communication technique between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal, a function of the portable terminal being implemented by an instruction from the vehicular apparatus via the first wireless communication technique,

the information center having a storage device previously storing (i) an application operable in an OS (Operating System) of the portable terminal, and (ii) a data of matching operations between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal, the data being to be specified based on specific information specific to a model of the portable terminal,

the method comprising:

acquiring, by the portable terminal using a second wireless communication technique different from the first wireless communication technique, an address of the information center corresponding to the vehicular apparatus from the vehicular apparatus;

accessing, by the portable terminal using a third wireless communication technique different from each of the first wireless communication technique and the second wireless communication technique, the information center by using the acquired address to make a request for transmission of an application that is operable in an OS (Operating System) of the portable terminal;

transmitting, by the information center using the third wireless communication technique, the application to the portable terminal in response to the request of transmission made by the portable terminal;

transmitting, by the portable terminal using the third wireless communication technique, specific information to the information center by executing the application received from the information center to acquire the specific information from the portable terminal itself, the specific information specifying a model of the portable terminal;

transmitting, by the information center using the third wireless communication technique, data of matching operations between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal to the portable terminal, the data being specified based on the specific information received from the portable terminal;

transmitting, by the portable terminal using the first wireless communication technique, the data that is received from the information center, to the vehicular apparatus by executing the application;

transmitting, by the vehicular apparatus using the first wireless communication technique, an instruction that implements a function of the portable terminal to the portable terminal based on the data that is received from the portable terminal; and

the second wireless communication technique is enabled to acquire the address of the information center from the vehicular apparatus, regardless of any model or any OS of the portable terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising

transmitting, by the portable terminal using the first wireless communication technique, a state of the portable terminal to the vehicular apparatus by executing the application to acquire the state of the portable terminal itself,

wherein, in the transmitting of the instruction to the portable terminal, the vehicular apparatus transmits the instruction to the portable terminal based on the data and the state of the portable terminal that are received from the portable terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1,

wherein, the transmitting of the data to the vehicular apparatus using the first wireless communication technique includes setting, by the portable terminal, a connection between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal by executing the application.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein:

the data includes data of setting a connection between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal; and

the transmitting of the data to the vehicular apparatus using the first wireless communication technique includes setting, by the portable terminal, the connection between the vehicular apparatus and the portable terminal based on the data.

5. The method according to claim 2,

wherein the state of the portable terminal includes an execution state of a different application, which is different from the application and executed by the portable terminal.

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein in the acquiring of the address using the second wireless communication technique, the portable terminal acquires the address from the vehicular apparatus by performing any one of a reading of a QR code (registered trademark), a communication conformed to NFC (Near Field Communication) standard, and an infrared communication.

7. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the specific information includes at least one of a model name of the portable terminal and a model number assigned to the portable terminal.