Vehicle information/entertainment management system

• US 9,970,768 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2014
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FCA US LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: FCA US LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Monroe, Jason J, Denby, Robert M, Zhang, Lei, Maunders, Ross S, Piche, Mark E
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney A
• Application Number:
  US14/577,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20150185030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 701532
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a motor vehicle information management system for use in a motor vehicle. The system incorporates a radio system which has a display system, and a remotely located processor-based inference engine. The inference engine automatically, wirelessly receives information inputs from the radio system in real time pertaining to at least one of a real time location of the vehicle and at least one of a destination of travel of the vehicle or a status of operation of the vehicle. The inference engine may analyzes the information inputs and determines new information, in real time, that is useful to the vehicle operator, and automatically transmits the new information wirelessly to the radio system for use by the user. The display system automatically displays the new information to the vehicle operator.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle information management system for use in a motor vehicle, the system comprising:

a radio system present in the vehicle and including a display system;

a remotely located, vehicle manufacturer management portal for communicating information wirelessly between the manufacturer of the vehicle and an operator of the vehicle to help manage and maintain the vehicle;

a remotely located, processor-based inference engine for automatically, wirelessly receiving information inputs from the radio system in real time pertaining to a real time location of the vehicle and;

a destination of travel of the vehicle; and

a status of operation of at least one subsystem of the vehicle without requiring a parameter input from the operator of the vehicle;

a workload management processor in communication with the radio system;

the processor-based inference engine configured to analyze the information inputs and to determine new information, in real time, that is useful to the operator of the vehicle, and automatically transmitting the new information wirelessly to the radio system for presentation to a user of the vehicle;

wherein the display system of the vehicle is configured to automatically display the new information to the operator of the vehicle; and

wherein the processor-based inference engine is configured to;

access historical information on routes travelled by the vehicle on specific days and specific times of day;

use the historical information on routes previously travelled by the operator to generate an inferred destination of the vehicle and an inferred route of travel; and

consider real time information obtained from the radio system pertaining to the status of operation of the subsystem of the vehicle;

based on the inferred destination of the vehicle and known locations of establishments along the inferred route of travel leading to the inferred destination, using the inference engine to determine a specific establishment able to address the status of operation of the vehicle, and to transmit information to the radio system which informs the operator of the specific establishment along the inferred route of travel at which the status of operation of the subsystem of the vehicle can be addressed; and

the workload management processor being in communication with the process-based inference engine and analyzing the monitored information and communicating suggested information to the operator of the vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the workload management processor includes a computer in communication with the radio system, and configured to monitor and obtain monitored information concerning at least one of:

body control sensors located on the vehicle;

wheel speed sensors located on the vehicle;

accelerometers located on the vehicle;

at least one component associated with the engine of the vehicle;

a real time fuel level of fuel remaining in a fuel tank of the vehicle;

a real time remaining oil life of engine oil associated with an engine of the vehicle;

at least one component associated with the electrical system of the vehicle; and

the workload management processor using the obtained monitored information to determine suggested information to be provided to the operator concerning operation of the vehicle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the work load management processor is further able to receive information from at least one of:

a decision support system (DSS) on-board the vehicle having a camera for monitoring eye movements of the vehicle operator while the vehicle operator is operating the vehicle;

a radar device on-board the vehicle;

a sonar device on-board the vehicle;

a navigation system including maps, the navigation system being on-board the vehicle; and

wherein the work load management processor is able to use the received information to help determine the suggested information to be provided to the operator.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the suggested information to be provided to the user concerning operation of the vehicle includes at least one of:

a suggested alternative route of travel, based on a destination known to the workload management processor;

a suggested action of refueling the vehicle;

a suggested action of having a periodic vehicle maintenance operation performed on the vehicle.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio system further includes a voice recognition engine for processing voice commands received from the operator as the operator operates the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio system further comprises a text-to-speech subsystem for generating audio information to the vehicle operator in accordance with text presented on the display system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio system further comprises a phone/calendar management system for obtaining stored phone numbers and calendar information of the vehicle operator via at least one of:

a near field, wireless communication link with a smartphone of the vehicle operator which is present in the vehicle;

or

a remote server wirelessly accessible by the radio system, wherein the remote server includes the phone numbers and calendar appointments associated with the vehicle operator.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of cloud-based portals wirelessly accessible by the radio system using a wide area network, the cloud-based portals including at least one of:

a portal associated with stored information concerning the operator of the vehicle and the vehicle;

a portal associated with at least one social media website;

a portal associated with a web-based search engine;

a portal associated with real time weather information;

a portal associated with real time traffic information;

a portal associated with a vehicle dealer associated with the operator'"'"'s vehicle;

a portal associated with real time news information; and

a portal associated with a voice recognition engine.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the inference engine is able to obtain additional information from at least two of the portals.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio system display system comprises a touchscreen display.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising an integrated center stack (ICS) subsystem present in the vehicle and accessible by the vehicle operator from during operation of the vehicle, the ICS including:

a human/machine interface (HMI) to assist the operator in interacting with the ICS subsystem;

a cluster touchscreen display system; and

a heads up display system; and

a web browser.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one rear seat electronics subsystem in communication with the radio system, and disposed for use by an occupant seated in a rear seat of the vehicle.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor-based inference engine is further configured to:

access historical information on routes travelled by the vehicle on specific days and specific times of day,

access a calendar of the operator;

use the historical information on routes travelled and appointments contained in calendar information associated with the operator to help in inferring what the destination of the vehicle is; and

based on the inferred destination of the vehicle, to suggest information to the user that is helpful to the user in at least one of;

managing operation of the vehicle in travelling to the inferred destination;

or

determining and suggesting a new route of travel if the processor-based inference engine determines that the user is not likely to reach the destination by an appointment time associated with the destination.

14. An information management system for use in a motor vehicle, the system comprising:

a radio system with an associated processor, and located in the vehicle;

a cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal for communicating information wirelessly between the manufacturer of the vehicle and an operator of the vehicle via the vehicle radio system to help manage and maintain the vehicle;

a cloud-based and processor controlled inference engine for automatically, wirelessly receiving information inputs from the radio system in real time pertaining to a real time location of the vehicle and operation of a subsystem of the vehicle, along with a destination of travel of the vehicle;

a touchscreen display system in the vehicle and accessible by the operator of the vehicle while operating the vehicle;

a workload management processor in communication with the cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal through the vehicle radio system;

a navigation system operably associated with the vehicle for receiving real time navigation information and position information concerning a real time location of the vehicle while the operator is operating the vehicle;

a cloud-based portal containing information pertaining to other vehicle users and being wirelessly accessible by the radio system to enable information to both be provided to the radio system in real time, as well as received from the radio system in real time and made available for use by the other vehicle users in real time;

a zoo system running on the processor for enabling the operator to designate a select subgroup of individuals, using the touchscreen display, who are operating other vehicles which each have a radio system capable of communicating with the operator'"'"'s radio system, and which are each in communication with the zoo system through the cloud-based portal, and to enable the operator to push selected information in real time to radio systems associated with the select subgroup of individuals; and

wherein the inference engine uses information provided from a plurality of subsystems of the vehicle, without requiring an input of user parameters, to determine an inferred destination of the vehicle, an inferred route of travel of the vehicle, and an operating status of a subsystem of the vehicle from operating system information received wirelessly from the vehicle'"'"'s radio system, and providing information on an establishment along the inferred route of travel that is able to address the operating subsystem of the vehicle; and

wherein the cloud-based manufacturer management portal provides suggested information back to the operator based at least in part on the information received from the workload management processor.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the selected information which is pushed to the radio systems of the select subgroup of individuals comprises at least one of:

an email message sent to the select subgroup of individuals through the cloud-based portal;

information sent to the select subgroup of individuals concerning a real time location of the vehicle of the operator, sent through the cloud-based portal;

information concerning a destination and route of travel to the select subgroup of individuals which is sent through the cloud-based portal;

audio content playing on the radio system of the operator which is pushed to an audio system of each one of the select subgroup of individuals, through the cloud-based portal; and

points of interest designated by the operator using the radio system, which are pushed to the select subgroup of individuals using the cloud-based portal.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the information points of interest comprise at least one of:

a retail establishment;

a restaurant;

or

a road hazard.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the zoo system is configured to display on the touchscreen display system of the operator'"'"'s vehicle, a real time location of each one of the select subgroup of individuals.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the vehicle operator is able to command pushing a real time location of the operator'"'"'s vehicle to each one of the select subgroup of individuals, via the cloud-based portal, by the operator swiping a finger on the touchscreen display system.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the radio system of any one of the select subgroup of individuals enables a command to be received from its associated user that commands the user'"'"'s radio system to display, on an associated display system, the real time route of the operator'"'"'s vehicle, to enable the user to follow the operator'"'"'s vehicle.

20. A method for obtaining and managing information for use in a motor vehicle by a motor vehicle operator while operating the motor vehicle, the method comprising:

using a remotely located processor-based inference engine for automatically, wirelessly receiving information inputs from a radio system in the vehicle, in real time, pertaining to a real time location of the vehicle a destination of travel of the vehicle and, without requiring a parameter input from the operator of the vehicle, an operating status of a subsystem of the vehicle;

using a cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal for communicating information wirelessly between the manufacturer of the vehicle and the operator of the vehicle to help manage and maintain the vehicle;

using a workload management processor in communication with the cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal through the vehicle radio system, which provides information to the vehicle manufacturer management portal;

using the processor-based inference engine to analyze the information inputs and to determine new information, in real time, that is useful to an operator of the vehicle, and automatically transmit the new information wirelessly to the radio system for presentation to a user of the vehicle on a display system within the vehicle;

using the display system of the vehicle to automatically display the new information to the operator of the vehicle; and

wherein the processor-based inference engine is configured to;

access historical information on routes travelled by the vehicle on specific days and specific times of day;

use the historical information on routes previously travelled by the operator to generate an inferred destination of the vehicle and an inferred route of travel; and

consider real time information obtained from the radio system pertaining to the status of operation of the subsystem of the vehicle; and

based on the inferred destination of the vehicle and known locations of establishments along the inferred route of travel leading to the inferred destination, using the inference engine to determine a specific establishment able to address the operating status of the vehicle, and to transmit information to the radio system which informs the operator of the specific establishment along the inferred route of travel at which the subsystem of the vehicle can be addressed; and

said cloud based vehicle manufacturer management portal providing suggested information back to the operator via the vehicle radio system based on information supplied by the workload management processor.

21. A method for controlling the display of touch controlled widgets on a touchscreen display system of a vehicle radio system, where the widgets provide information and control capabilities associated with the vehicle, based on anticipated needs or preferences of an operator of the vehicle, the method comprising:

using a navigation system to determine a real time location of the vehicle;

displaying at least one touch controlled widget in a first dimension on the touch screen display system;

using a remotely located, processor based inference engine to detect a real time vehicle operating condition, without requiring a parameter input from the vehicle operator, that is expected to be important to the vehicle operator;

using a cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal for communicating information wirelessly between the manufacturer of the vehicle and the operator of the vehicle to help manage and maintain the vehicle;

using a workload management processor in communication with the cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal via the vehicle radio system to supply information relating to operation of the vehicle to the cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal;

using an intelligent display resource manager in communication with the remotely located, processor based inference engine and the vehicle manufacturer management portal, to automatically modify a visual presentation of the at least one touch controlled widget on the touchscreen display system, and to automatically display another touch controlled widget on the touchscreen display system in a manner that signifies a higher priority than the at least one touch controlled widget;

using the inference engine and information supplied from the navigation system to infer a route of travel and a destination of the vehicle, and to determine a specific establishment along the inferred route of travel which is able to address the vehicle operating condition providing information on an establishment along the inferred route of travel that is relevant to the real time condition; and

using the cloud-based vehicle manufacturer management portal to provide suggested information to the operator based on an evaluation of the information received from the workload management processor.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one touch controlled widget is displayed with a plurality of control selections based on learned and monitored past usage of the vehicle operator.