Vehicle-based remote control system and method

• US 10,553,212 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Goote, Nicholas J., Geerlings, Steven L., Wright, Thomas S.
• Primary Examiner(s): He, Jialong
• Application Number:
  US15/724,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20180096684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/30 Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

A vehicle-based remote control system and method are provided herein. A first in-vehicle device and a second in-vehicle device are provided. The second in-vehicle device includes a user-input mechanism having at least one actuatable member, and a controller programmed to respond to input from the user-input mechanism. Upon actuation of the at least one actuatable member, the controller prompts the first in-vehicle device to transmit a pre-recorded user voice command assigned to the at least one actuatable member. The pre-recorded user voice command is transmitted to a server. The server processes the pre-recorded user voice command and generates a command for executing an action specified by the pre-recorded user voice command. The command is executed by one or more smart devices located remotely from a vehicle.

Claims

1. A remote control system of a vehicle, comprising:

a first in-vehicle device configured to store a semi-generic user voice command in an application of the first in-vehicle device, wherein the semi-generic voice command is updated based on one or more spoken words; and

a second in-vehicle device comprising;

a user-input mechanism comprising at least one actuatable member, wherein the at least one actuatable member is configured to receive an input; and

a controller configured to in response to an input from the user-input mechanism via the at least one actuatable member, prompt the first in-vehicle device to access and transmit the semi-generic user voice command from the application to a server located remotely from the vehicle, and wherein the server processes the semi-generic user voice command, generates a command, and executes the command for an action specified by the semi-generic user voice command.

2. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the first in-vehicle device is a mobile electronic device and the second in-vehicle device is incorporated in a rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle.

3. The remote control system of claim 2, wherein in response to executing the command, an auditory feedback is played over a speaker of the mobile electronic device or a vehicle sound system.

4. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the semi-generic user voice command is pre-recorded and stored on a host server, wherein the electronic communication transmitted from the first in-vehicle device includes an instruction prompting the host server to transmit the semi-generic user voice command to the server.

5. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the semi-generic user voice command is assigned to the user-input mechanism and is transmitted to the server each time the user-input mechanism is actuated.

6. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the command is for controlling one or more smart devices located remotely from the vehicle.

7. The remote control system of claim 6, wherein the one or more smart devices comprises a voice-controlled smart device connected to the server over an internet.

8. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the command is for requesting information from one or more smart devices located remotely from the vehicle.

9. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the command is for requesting a service from a web-based service provider.

10. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the second in-vehicle device further comprises one or more visual indicators for expressing a visual feedback after the command is executed.

11. A remote control system of a vehicle, wherein the remote control system is in communication with a first in-vehicle device and comprising:

a second in-vehicle device comprising;

a user-input mechanism having an at least one actuatable member; and

a controller configured to;

respond to an input from the user-input mechanism upon actuation of the at least one actuatable member;

prompt the first in-vehicle device to transmit a pre-recorded user voice command assigned to the at least one actuatable member, wherein the pre-recorded user voice command includes a generic voice command recording provided by an application of the first in-vehicle device and stored on the first in-vehicle device, wherein the generic voice command is assigned to a remote device being controlled using the pre-recorded user voice command; and

transmit the generic voice command recording to a server in communication with one or more smart devices located remotely from the vehicle and process the generic voice command recording under a user directive by the server.

12. The remote control system of claim 11, wherein the controller is further programmed to automatically prompt the first in-vehicle device to transmit a pre-recorded user voice command in response to the input received from one or more vehicle equipment.

13. The remote control system of claim 11, wherein the one or more smart devices comprises at least one of a voice-controlled smart device and a smart device linked to the voice-controlled smart device.

14. The remote control system of claim 11, wherein the server processes the pre-recorded user voice command and generates a command for executing an action specified by the pre-recorded user voice command, and wherein the command is executed by the one or more smart devices.

15. The remote control system of claim 11, wherein the first in-vehicle device is a mobile electronic device and the second in-vehicle device is incorporated in a rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle.

16. A vehicle-based remote control method, wherein the vehicle-based remote control is in communication with a first in-vehicle device, comprising the method steps of:

providing a second in-vehicle device comprising a user-input mechanism coupled to a controller, the user-input mechanism including at least one actuatable member having a pre-recorded user voice command assigned thereto, wherein the pre-recorded user voice command includes a semi-generic voice command recording provided by an application of the first in-vehicle device stored on the first in-vehicle device;

recording one or more words of the user and storing the one or more words of the user on the first in-vehicle device, wherein the one or more words of the pre-recorded user voice command identify a device controlled by the vehicle-based remote control;

updating the semi-generic voice command based on the recording in the application; and

transmitting the updated semi-generic voice command to a server for processing in response to an actuation of the at least one actuatable member.

17. The remote control system of claim 16, wherein the first in-vehicle device is a mobile electronic device and the second in-vehicle device is incorporated in a rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle.

18. The remote control system of claim 17, wherein in response to executing the command, an auditory feedback is played over a speaker of the mobile electronic device or a vehicle sound system.