Nomadic device self user-identification

• US 9,628,619 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2014
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Fischer, Joel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Prez-Gutirrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, MARTIN N
• Application Number:
  US14/193,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20150249741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• 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

Abstract

A controller may send a user-identification request to connected nomadic devices requesting each of the devices to provide an interface to receive user input regarding which device is a driver nomadic device; determine a driver nomadic device based on at least one user-identification response received from the devices responsive to the input; and integrate the connected devices with the controller accounting for which device is the driver nomadic device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one controller programmed to;

send a user-identification request to connected nomadic devices requesting each of the connected nomadic devices to provide an interface to receive user input regarding which connected nomadic device is a driver nomadic device;

determine a driver nomadic device based on at least one user-identification response received from the connected nomadic devices responsive to the input;

send, to each of the connected nomadic devices, a notification identifying which of the connected nomadic devices is the driver nomadic device; and

integrate the connected nomadic devices with the controller accounting for which device is the driver nomadic device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to provide the driver nomadic device with priority over other connected nomadic devices to integrate applications with the at least one controller.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to, in accordance with the user-identification, at least one of (i) load driver preferences corresponding to a user profile associated with the driver nomadic device, and (ii) request the driver nomadic device to lock at least one input device of the driver nomadic device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to determine which connected nomadic device is the driver nomadic device according to one of (i) receiving a user-identification response indicating that one of the connected nomadic devices is the driver nomadic device;

and (ii) by receiving user-identification responses indicating that one of the connected nomadic devices is a passenger nomadic device from all but one of the connected nomadic devices.

5. A computer-implemented method comprising:

sending, by a controller, a user-identification request to connected devices requesting each of the connected devices to provide an interface to receive user input regarding which connected device is a driver device;

determining, by the controller, a driver device based on at least one user-identification response received from the connected devices; and

sending, to each of the connected devices, a notification identifying which of the connected devices is the driver device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing the driver device with priority over other connected devices to integrate applications with the controller.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising, in accordance with the user-identification, at least one of (i) loading driver preferences corresponding to a user profile associated with the driver device, and (ii) requesting the driver device to lock at least one input device of the driver device.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining which device is the driver device according to one of (i) receiving a user-identification response indicating that one of the connected devices is the driver device;

and (ii) receiving user-identification responses indicating that one of the connected devices is a passenger device from all but one of the connected devices.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising sending a user-identification notification to each of the connected devices identifying which connected device is the driver device.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising integrating the connected devices with the controller accounting for which connected device is the driver device.