Method and system for driver tailored interaction time alert

• US 10,099,700 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2014
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Prakah-Asante, Kwaku O., Yang, Hsin-hsiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith-Stewart, Demetra R
• Application Number:
  US14/265,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20150314791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,630 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

A vehicle comprising at least one controller in communication with a transceiver, and the transceiver capable of communication with one or more infotainment features. The at least one controller may be configured to receive a configurable constraint for the one or more infotainment devices. The at least one controller may be further configured to monitor an interaction between a driver and the one or more infotainment devices based on the configurable constraint. The at least one controller may be further configured to generate an alert if the configurable constraint is exceeded in the interaction.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive a plurality of user-configurable use-constraints, defining permissible device interaction under differing vehicle-detectable driving conditions, for a connected mobile device;

select a use-constraint, based on vehicle-detected driving conditions, from the plurality of use-constraints;

monitor driver interaction with the device, during a monitoring time window, to determine if an alert should be generated based on violation of permissible interaction defined by the selected use-constraint; and

reset the monitoring time window if no interaction is detected for a threshold time period.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to:

detect a change in driving conditions; and

select a new use-constraint from the plurality of use-constraints based on the change in driving conditions.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the alert includes at least one of voice, visual, and haptic.

4. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform the method comprising:

receiving a user-configurable use-constraint, including permissible interaction volume over a specified time period, for a device interface of a device wirelessly connected to a vehicle;

monitoring driver interaction with the interface, to determine if an alert should be generated based on the permissible interaction volume being exceeded in less than the specified time period; and

resetting a monitoring time window, defining a duration of driver interaction monitoring, if no interaction is detected for a threshold time period.

5. The computer-program product of claim 4, wherein the monitoring includes monitoring the interface for a number of touch inputs received within the specified time period.

6. The computer-program product of claim 4, to the method further comprising:

receiving an environmental state; and

adjusting the user-configurable use-constraint based on the environment state.

7. The computer-program product of claim 4, wherein the alert includes at least one of voice, visual, and haptic.

8. A system comprising:

a vehicle-based processor configured to;

select a user-configurable constraint defining user-interaction limits for an HMI of a device wirelessly connected to a vehicle including the processor;

receive weather conditions;

select a new user-configurable constraint defining new user-interaction limits based on the weather conditions; and

monitor driver interaction with the device HMI to determine if an alert should be generated based on the interactions exceeding the user-configurable constraint during a predetermined time-window.