Real-time vehicle feature customization at point of access

• US 9,842,448 B1
• Filed: 09/23/2016
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Lickfelt, Brian K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Brian
• Application Number:
  US15/274,640
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/0019 the keyless data carrier having only one limited data transmission rangs
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00865 remotely by wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/04 Access control involving a hierarchy in access rights
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• 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

Systems and methods for vehicle customization are disclosed. Customizing a vehicle configuration may include associating a wireless device of a user with the vehicle. The vehicle customization system may detect a first occurrence of an event corresponding to a set of customizable control options for the vehicle. The vehicle customization system may optionally respond to the first occurrence of the event based on a default option of the set of customizable control options. The vehicle customization system may send, to the wireless device, a notification of the event. The vehicle customization system may receive, from the wireless device, a selected control option of the set of customizable control options corresponding to the event. The vehicle customization system may respond to a second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option.

Claims

1. A method of customizing a configuration of a vehicle, comprising:

associating a wireless device of a user with the vehicle;

detecting a first occurrence of an event corresponding to a set of customizable control options for the vehicle;

sending, to the wireless device, a notification of the event;

receiving, from the wireless device, a selected control option of the set of customizable control options corresponding to the event; and

responding to a second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the selected control option corresponding to the event in a persistent memory.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein storing the selected control option comprises storing the selected control option in association with an identifier of the wireless device, wherein responding to the second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option comprises detecting a presence of the wireless device within a proximity of the vehicle and responding to the second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option stored in association with the identifier of the wireless device in response to detecting the presence of the wireless device within the proximity of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the wireless device of the user with the vehicle comprises authenticating the wireless device using a key fob associated with the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the first occurrence of the event comprises detecting that a controller of the vehicle has been activated by the user, the method further comprising responding to the first occurrence of the event based on a default option of the set of customizable control options.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the event is an activation of a lock controller, the responding to the first occurrence of the event includes unlocking a driver door, and the notification includes options for unlocking other doors in addition to the driver door.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the vehicle is stopped, wherein sending the notification is in response to determining that the vehicle is stopped.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notification comprises wirelessly transmitting the notification directly to the wireless device via a short-range wireless protocol.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notification to the wireless device comprises wirelessly transmitting the notification to the wireless device via a remote customization service, separate from the vehicle and the wireless device, that sends the notification to the wireless device.

10. A customizable vehicle configuration system, comprising:

a plurality of vehicle controllers that are operable to control respective components of a vehicle;

a wireless communications interface;

a memory; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless communications interface and the memory, the processor configured to;

associate a wireless device of a user with the vehicle;

detect, from at least one of the plurality of vehicle controllers, a first occurrence of an event corresponding to a set of customizable control options for the vehicle;

send, to the wireless device via the wireless communications interface, a notification of the event;

receive, from the wireless device via the wireless communications interface, a selected control option of the set of customizable control options corresponding to the event; and

respond to a second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option.

11. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to store the selected control option corresponding to the event in the memory, wherein the memory is a persistent memory.

12. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to store the selected control option in association with an identifier of the wireless device, detect a presence of the wireless device within a proximity of the vehicle, and respond to the second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option stored in association with the identifier of the wireless device and the presence of the wireless device.

13. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to authenticate the wireless device using a key fob associated with the vehicle.

14. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, further comprising an electronic control unit configured to detect that one of the plurality of vehicle controllers has been activated by the user.

15. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 14, wherein the event is unlocking a driver door, and the notification includes options for unlocking other doors in addition to the driver door.

16. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the vehicle is stopped and send the notification is in response to determining that the vehicle is stopped.

17. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communications interface is configured to transmit the notification directly to the wireless device via a short-range wireless protocol.

18. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communications interface is configured to transmit the notification to a remote customization service, separate from the vehicle and the wireless device that sends the notification to the wireless device.

19. The customizable vehicle configuration system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to respond to the first occurrence of the event based on a default option of the set of customizable control options.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for customizing a configuration of a vehicle, comprising instructions to:

associate a wireless device of a user with the vehicle;

detect a first occurrence of an event corresponding to a set of customizable control options for the vehicle;

respond to the first occurrence of the event based on a default option of the set of customizable control options;

send, to the wireless device, a notification of the event;

receive, from the wireless device, a selected control option of the set of customizable control options corresponding to the event; and

respond to a second occurrence of the event based on the selected control option.