Method and apparatus for dynamic destination arrival time updating

• US 9,915,541 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 03/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Bankowski, Stefan, Wehrman, Edward, Halash, Elizabeth, Burdette, Kevin, Williams, Heath
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Jerrah
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Kelly D
• Application Number:
  US14/529,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20160123753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects

Abstract

A system includes a processor configured to receive vehicle information including at least location and fuel level. The processor is also configured to determine a current estimated time-of-arrival (ETA) to an event-associated destination based on travel time from the location. The processor is further configured to determine a fuel-level impact on the current ETA. Also, the processor is configured to provide a remote party update, including the current ETA, responsive to the current ETA deviating from a previous ETA by more than a threshold deviance.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive vehicle information including location and fuel level;

determine a current estimated time-of-arrival (ETA) to a destination based on travel time from the location;

determine a fuel-level impact on the current ETA; and

provide a remote-party update, including the current ETA, responsive to the current ETA deviating from a previous ETA by at least a threshold deviance that varies with temporal proximity, such that the shorter the ETA, the lower the deviance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

access a user event-providing account;

retrieve an event from the accessed account; and

determine the destination with respect to the retrieved event.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the destination is determined based on retrieval of an event address from the user event-providing account.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the destination is determined based on event information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the destination is determined based on user input.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to update the event-providing account with the current ETA to provide the remote update.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the event-providing account includes a calendar account and the updating includes updating a user calendar with the current ETA.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the event-providing account includes a social media account and the updating include posting the current ETA to the social media account.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to send a notification directly to an event attendee, via text, other than a current vehicle driver to provide the remote-party update.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

estimate a fuel amount remaining at the destination;

compare the remaining estimated fuel amount to a threshold minimum; and

determine the fuel-level impact as including an estimated refueling time based on the estimated fuel amount remaining being below the threshold minimum, such that the impact includes refueling time even if the driver is projected to have sufficient fuel to reach the destination.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving vehicle information including location and fuel level;

determining a current estimated time-of-arrival (ETA) to a destination based on travel time from the location;

providing a remote party update, including the current ETA, responsive to deviance of the current ETA from a previous ETA exceeding a deviance threshold, the deviance threshold determined based on a message type chosen for providing the remote party update.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

accessing a user event-providing account;

retrieving an event from the accessed account; and

determining the destination with respect to the retrieved event.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the destination is determined based on retrieval of an event address from the user account.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the destination is determined based on event information.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the destination is determined based on user input.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the remote update further includes updating the event-providing account with the current ETA, wherein the deviance threshold for providing the remote update via updating the account is lower than the deviance threshold for providing the remote update via direct messaging, including text or email.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the event-providing account includes a calendar account or social media account.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the remote update further includes sending a direct text or email to a predesignated user, wherein the deviance threshold for providing the remote update via text or email is higher than the deviance threshold for providing the remote update via an event-providing account update.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the deviance threshold further comprises:

determining the deviance threshold based on a message type, wherein deviance thresholds for providing the remote update via direct messaging to a user via text or email are higher than a deviance threshold for providing the remote update via updating a calendar account.