MEDIA FILTER IN A VEHICLE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM

• US 20130205026A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AutoConnect Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Flextronics America LLC (Flextronics International Limited)
• Inventors: Ricci, Christopher P.
• Application Number:
  US13/829,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20130205026A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a media filter for filtering and/or processing a third party sourced signal received by an onboard component of the vehicle in a manner consistent with one or more rules, the one or more rules pertaining to one or more of a whitelist, blacklist, sensed occupant context, and/or a law and/or regulation.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a microprocessor executable media filter operable to filter and/or process a third party sourced signal received by an onboard component of the vehicle in a manner consistent with one or more rules, the one or more rules pertaining to one or more of a whitelist, blacklist, sensed occupant context, and/or a law and/or regulation.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules is a whitelist and wherein the whitelist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the whitelist indicating third party signal sources privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules is a blacklist and wherein the blacklist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the blacklist indicating third party signal sources not privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules is based on sensed occupant context and wherein sensed occupant context comprises one or more of an operating mode of a vehicle display associated with the occupant, a current spatial location of the vehicle, an operating state of the vehicle, a role of the occupant in the vehicle, a physical characteristic of the occupant, and a preference of the occupant.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the one or more rules is based on one or more of whether the vehicle is parked or moving, a geopolitical location of the vehicle, whether the occupant is operating the vehicle, and an age of the occupant.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules is based on a federal, state, provincial, and/or local law and/or regulation applicable to a current geopolitical location of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules require the third party sourced signals to be processed for a first occupant of the vehicle in a manner different than a different second occupant of the vehicle.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the media filter determines a spatial location of an external computational device located within the vehicle and, based on the determined spatial location of the computational device, applies the one or more rules.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules is related to a received strength of the third party sourced signal, a physical location of the vehicle relative to a broadcast range of third party signal source, an operating state of the vehicle, and a request by the third party to provide additional content to the vehicle and wherein, in response to the one or more rules, content from the third party signal source is cached for later presentation to the vehicle occupant.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein, based on the one or more rules, a media form and/or type is altered to present at least part of the payload of the signal to the vehicle occupant.

11. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein at least one of the following steps is performed in response to application of the one or more rules:

(i) video content in a payload of the signal is not presented to the vehicle occupant while audio content of the payload is presented to the vehicle occupant; and

(ii) text content in the payload is converted into an analogous audio stream and presented audibly to the vehicle occupant.

12. A non-transient, tangible computer readable medium comprising microprocessor executable instructions that, when executed, filter and/or process a third party sourced signal received by an onboard component of the vehicle in a manner consistent with one or more rules, the one or more rules pertaining to one or more of a whitelist, blacklist, sensed occupant context, and/or a law and/or regulation.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules is a whitelist and wherein the whitelist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the whitelist indicating third party signal sources privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules is a blacklist and wherein the blacklist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the blacklist indicating third party signal sources not privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules is based on sensed occupant context and wherein sensed occupant context comprises one or more of an operating mode of a vehicle display associated with the occupant, a current spatial location of the vehicle, an operating state of the vehicle, a role of the occupant in the vehicle, a physical characteristic of the occupant, and a preference of the occupant.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more rules is based on one or more of whether the vehicle is parked or moving, a geopolitical location of the vehicle, whether the occupant is operating the vehicle, and an age of the occupant.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules is based on a federal, state, provincial, and/or local law and/or regulation applicable to a current geopolitical location of the vehicle.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules require the third party sourced signals to be processed for a first occupant of the vehicle in a manner different than a different second occupant of the vehicle.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the media filter determines a spatial location of an external computational device located within the vehicle and, based on the determined spatial location of the computational device, applies the one or more rules.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more rules is related to a received strength of the third party sourced signal, a physical location of the vehicle relative to a broadcast range of third party signal source, an operating state of the vehicle, and a request by the third party to provide additional content to the vehicle and wherein, in response to the one or more rules, content from the third party signal source is cached for later presentation to the vehicle occupant.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein, based on the one or more rules, a media form and/or type is altered to present at least part of the payload of the signal to the vehicle occupant.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein at least one of the following steps is performed in response to application of the one or more rules:

(i) video content in a payload of the signal is not presented to the vehicle occupant while audio content of the payload is presented to the vehicle occupant; and

(ii) text content in the payload is converted into an analogous audio stream and presented audibly to the vehicle occupant.

23. A method comprising:

filtering and/or processing a third party sourced signal received by an onboard component of the vehicle in a manner consistent with one or more rules, the one or more rules pertaining to one or more of a whitelist, blacklist, sensed occupant context, and/or a law and/or regulation.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules is a whitelist and wherein the whitelist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the whitelist indicating third party signal sources privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules is a blacklist and wherein the blacklist is at least one of predetermined by a manufacturer of the vehicle and configured by and unique to the vehicle occupant to receive the third party sourced signal, the blacklist indicating third party signal sources not privileged to send signals to the vehicle occupant.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules is based on sensed occupant context and wherein sensed occupant context comprises one or more of an operating mode of a vehicle display associated with the occupant, a current spatial location of the vehicle, an operating state of the vehicle, a role of the occupant in the vehicle, a physical characteristic of the occupant, and a preference of the occupant.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the one or more rules is based on one or more of whether the vehicle is parked or moving, a geopolitical location of the vehicle, whether the occupant is operating the vehicle, and an age of the occupant.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules is based on a federal, state, provincial, and/or local law and/or regulation applicable to a current geopolitical location of the vehicle.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules require the third party sourced signals to be processed for a first occupant of the vehicle in a manner different than a different second occupant of the vehicle.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the media filter determines a spatial location of an external computational device located within the vehicle and, based on the determined spatial location of the computational device, applies the one or more rules.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more rules is related to a received strength of the third party sourced signal, a physical location of the vehicle relative to a broadcast range of third party signal source, an operating state of the vehicle, and a request by the third party to provide additional content to the vehicle and wherein, in response to the one or more rules, content from the third party signal source is cached for later presentation to the vehicle occupant.

32. The method of claim 23, wherein, based on the one or more rules, a media form and/or type is altered to present at least part of the payload of the signal to the vehicle occupant.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein at least one of the following steps is performed in response to application of the one or more rules:

(i) video content in a payload of the signal is not presented to the vehicle occupant while audio content of the payload is presented to the vehicle occupant; and

(ii) text content in the payload is converted into an analogous audio stream and presented audibly to the vehicle occupant.