INTELLIGENT VEHICLE FOR ASSISTING VEHICLE OCCUPANTS

• US 20140309806A1
• Filed: 04/15/2014
• Published: 10/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoConnect Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Flextronics America LLC (Flextronics International Limited)
• Inventors: Ricci, Christopher P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,082,239 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/52 for indicating emergencies
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1004 Alarm systems characterised by the type of sensor, e.g. current sensing means using door lock sensors B60R25/1001
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/012 Providing warranty services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0265 Vehicular advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 : Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 : Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 : Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/59 : inside of a vehicle, e.g. relating to seat occupancy, driver state or inner lighting conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/15 : Biometric patterns based on physiological signals, e.g. heartbeat, blood flow
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/166 : using acquisition arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/168 : Feature extraction; Face representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 : Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19647 : Systems specially adapted for intrusion detection in or around a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 : indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 : Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 : Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 : where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 : where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 : where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 : located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 : using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 : using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 : using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/68 : Gesture-dependent or behaviour-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/34 : Reselection control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 : for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 : for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 : based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks

Abstract

Methods, systems, and a computer readable medium are provided for maintaining a persona of a vehicle occupant and, based on the persona of the vehicle occupant and vehicle-related information, performing an action assisting the vehicle occupant.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

maintaining, by a microprocessor executable profile identification module, a persona of a vehicle occupant; and

based on the persona of the vehicle occupant and vehicle-related information, performing, by a microprocessor executable vehicle control system, an action assisting the vehicle occupant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle-related information comprises at least one of a current and/or future vehicle location and path of vehicle travel.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the action performed depends on a seating position of the vehicle occupant.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the persona comprises one or more of bioinformatics, medical information, driving history, personal information, private information, travel information, and Internet browsing history and/or browsed content, wherein vehicle related information comprises one or more of vehicle context, state, external surroundings, location, past, current, and/or intended path of travel, waypoint, and destination, and wherein the action is one or more of making an appointment, making a reservation, purchasing an item on line, adding a waypoint or destination to path of travel on a navigation system of the vehicle, adding an entry into the occupant'"'"'s electronic calendar, changing a destination or path of travel on the navigation system, warning the occupant, notifying the occupant, and sending a message to a person at a waypoint or destination of the vehicle regarding an arrival time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the vehicle control system, relevant information other than the persona of the vehicle occupant and the vehicle-related information, the relevant information comprising one or more of a persona of a selected person not currently in the vehicle, a message from a friend or family member of the vehicle occupant, a current activity of the friend and/or family member, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a point and/or location of interest near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a vehicle service facility near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a hotel and/or motel near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a current location of the friend or family member near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, and a road condition along a path of travel of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the vehicle obtains the persona from one or more of a different vehicle driven by the occupant and a home computer and wherein the vehicle synchronizes with the different vehicle and/or home computer when the vehicle is parked in proximity thereto and an ignition of the vehicle is turned off.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintaining of the persona comprises collecting information from one or more vehicle sensors and/or from a remote information source and wherein a type of information collected depends on a seating position of the occupant.

8. A vehicle, comprising:

a microprocessor executable profile identification module operable to maintain a persona of a vehicle occupant; and

a microprocessor executable vehicle control system operable, based on the persona of the vehicle occupant and vehicle-related information, to perform an action assisting the vehicle occupant.

9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the vehicle-related information comprises at least one of a current and/or future vehicle location and path of vehicle travel.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the action performed depends on a seating position of the vehicle occupant.

11. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the persona comprises one or more of bioinformatics, medical information, driving history, personal information, private information, travel information, and Internet browsing history and/or browsed content, wherein vehicle related information comprises one or more of vehicle context, state, external surroundings, location, past, current, and/or intended path of travel, waypoint, and destination, and wherein the action is one or more of making an appointment, making a reservation, purchasing an item on line, adding a waypoint or destination to path of travel on a navigation system of the vehicle, adding an entry into the occupant'"'"'s electronic calendar, changing a destination or path of travel on the navigation system, warning the occupant, notifying the occupant, and sending a message to a person at a waypoint or destination of the vehicle regarding an arrival time.

12. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the vehicle control system is further operable to determine relevant information other than the persona of the vehicle occupant and the vehicle-related information, the relevant information comprising one or more of a persona of a selected person not currently in the vehicle, a message from a friend or family member of the vehicle occupant, a current activity of the friend and/or family member, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a point and/or location of interest near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a vehicle service facility near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a hotel and/or motel near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a current location of the friend or family member near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, and a road condition along a path of travel of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the vehicle obtains the persona from one or more of a different vehicle driven by the occupant and a home computer and wherein the vehicle synchronizes with the different vehicle and/or home computer when the vehicle is parked in proximity thereto and an ignition of the vehicle is turned off.

14. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein maintaining the persona comprises collecting information from one or more vehicle sensors and/or from a remote information source and wherein a type of information collected depends on a seating position of the occupant.

15. A tangible and non-transient computer readable medium comprising microprocessor executable instructions that, when executed, perform functions comprising:

maintaining a persona of a vehicle occupant; and

based on the persona of the vehicle occupant and vehicle-related information, perform an action assisting the vehicle occupant.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the vehicle-related information comprises at least one of a current and/or future vehicle location and path of vehicle travel.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the action performed depends on a seating position of the vehicle occupant.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the persona comprises one or more of bioinformatics, medical information, driving history, personal information, private information, travel information, and Internet browsing history and/or browsed content, wherein vehicle related information comprises one or more of vehicle context, state, external surroundings, location, past, current, and/or intended path of travel, waypoint, and destination, and wherein the action is one or more of making an appointment, making a reservation, purchasing an item on line, adding a waypoint or destination to path of travel on a navigation system of the vehicle, adding an entry into the occupant'"'"'s electronic calendar, changing a destination or path of travel on the navigation system, warning the occupant, notifying the occupant, and sending a message to a person at a waypoint or destination of the vehicle regarding an arrival time.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising the function of determining relevant information other than the persona of the vehicle occupant and the vehicle-related information, the relevant information comprising one or more of a persona of a selected person not currently in the vehicle, a message from a friend or family member of the vehicle occupant, a current activity of the friend and/or family member, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a point and/or location of interest near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a vehicle service facility near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a location, hours of operation, and/or descriptive information about a hotel and/or motel near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, a current location of the friend or family member near the vehicle and/or the vehicle'"'"'s path of travel, and a road condition along a path of travel of the vehicle.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the vehicle obtains the persona from one or more of a different vehicle driven by the occupant and a home computer and wherein the vehicle synchronizes with the different vehicle and/or home computer when the vehicle is parked in proximity thereto and an ignition of the vehicle is turned off.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the maintaining of the persona comprises collecting information from one or more vehicle sensors and/or from a remote information source and wherein a type of information collected depends on a seating position of the occupant.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the maintaining of the persona comprises collecting information from one or more vehicle sensors and/or from a remote information source and wherein a type of information collected depends on one or more of an identity of the occupant, an age of the occupant, and an association of the occupant with the vehicle.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the persona is defined in a format that can be processed by vehicles of different manufacturers.