Controlling navigation software on a portable device from the head unit of a vehicle
First Claim
1. A method for controlling navigation service applications via head units of vehicles, the method comprising:
- creating, using a companion application executed at a portable device by one or more processors, a mapping between a plurality of controls of the head unit and a plurality of functions of a navigation service application executing on the portable device to utilize the plurality of controls on the head unit as an external input device of the portable device, wherein the companion application and the navigation service application execute as separate tasks on an operating system of the portable device, including;
receiving, at the companion application via a communication link between the portable device and the head unit, a corresponding control actuation event for each of a plurality of controls actuated at the head unit, andreceiving, at the companion application via a user interface of the portable device, selections of respective functions for each of the plurality of controls;
subsequently to creating the mapping, receiving, by the companion application, an indication that one of the plurality of controls has been actuated, via the communication link between the portable device and the head unit;
selecting, by the companion application, a function from among the plurality of functions of the navigation service application in accordance with the created mapping and the received indication, including passing an indication of the selected function from the companion application to the navigation service application; and
executing, by the navigation service application, the selected function of the navigation service application.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mapping between controls of the head unit of a vehicle and functions of a navigation service application running on a portable device is received. Subsequently, an indication that one of the controls has been actuated is received via a communication link between the portable device and the head unit. A function is selected from among the functions of the navigation service application in accordance with the received mapping and the received indication. The selected function of the navigation software application then is executed. In this manner, the navigation service application is safely and efficiently controlled via the head unit.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for controlling navigation service applications via head units of vehicles, the method comprising:
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creating, using a companion application executed at a portable device by one or more processors, a mapping between a plurality of controls of the head unit and a plurality of functions of a navigation service application executing on the portable device to utilize the plurality of controls on the head unit as an external input device of the portable device, wherein the companion application and the navigation service application execute as separate tasks on an operating system of the portable device, including; receiving, at the companion application via a communication link between the portable device and the head unit, a corresponding control actuation event for each of a plurality of controls actuated at the head unit, and receiving, at the companion application via a user interface of the portable device, selections of respective functions for each of the plurality of controls; subsequently to creating the mapping, receiving, by the companion application, an indication that one of the plurality of controls has been actuated, via the communication link between the portable device and the head unit; selecting, by the companion application, a function from among the plurality of functions of the navigation service application in accordance with the created mapping and the received indication, including passing an indication of the selected function from the companion application to the navigation service application; and executing, by the navigation service application, the selected function of the navigation service application. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A portable device comprising:
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one or more processors; a user interface; a short-range network interface to communicate with a head unit of a vehicle via a short-range communication link, wherein the head unit includes a plurality of controls; a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon (i) first instructions that implement a navigation service application executable on the one or more processors, wherein the navigation service application supports a plurality of user-selectable functions, and (ii) second instructions that implement a companion application that executes on the one or more processors as a task separate from the navigation service application, wherein the companion application is configured to; receive, via the short-range network interface, control actuation events indicative of controls actuated at the head unit and, via the user interface, selections of corresponding functions of the navigation service application to create a mapping between the controls and the functions; subsequently to creating the mapping, receive, via the short-range network interface, an indication that one of the plurality of controls on the head unit has been actuated, select a function from among the plurality of user-selectable functions based on the received indication in accordance with the mapping, and pass an indication of the selected function to the navigation service application; wherein the navigation service application is configured to execute the selected function in response to the indication. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a portable device, cause the portable device to:
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create, using a companion application, a mapping between a plurality of controls on a head unit of a vehicle and a plurality of navigation functions supported by the portable device to utilize the plurality of controls on the head unit as an external input device of the portable device using (i) indications of a plurality of controls actuated at the head unit, received via a communication link between the portable device and the head unit, and (ii) respective one of the plurality of functions selected via a user interface of the portable device; subsequently to creating the mapping, receive, by the companion application, an indication of one of the plurality of controls being actuated on the head unit; select, by the companion application, a navigation function from among the plurality of navigation functions in accordance with the received mapping and the received indication; provide an indication of the selected navigation function to a navigation service application that executes as a task separate from the companion application; execute the navigation function using the navigation service application, and provide, from the navigation service application, a result of executing the navigation function to the head unit via the companion application. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification