Vehicle connectivity systems, methods, and applications

• US 9,333,833 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2011
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Kalhous, Amanda J., Weigert, Norman J., Chau, Jarvis, Chappell, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ma, Wing
• Application Number:
  US13/035,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20110225279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 701/31.4, 340/438, 340/439
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00657 Remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00807 the input being a specific way of measuring or calculating an air or coolant temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0807 Remote means
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/0806 Air condition state
• 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: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A connectivity device is provided. The connectivity device includes at least one network transceiver that communicates with a vehicle network. At least one wireless communication module communicates with a remote device. A message manager module manages communications between the at least one network transceiver and the at least one wireless communication module.

Claims

1. A connectivity device, comprising:

at least one network transceiver that communicates with a vehicle network;

at least one wireless communication module implemented by at least one computer processor, the at least one wireless communication module communicates with a remote device; and

a message manager module implemented by the at least one computer processor, the message manager module communicatively coupled to the at least one network transceiver and the at least one wireless communication module, the message manager module receiving a device application from the remote device via the at least one wireless communication module, the message manager module managing execution of the device application based on a communication received from the remote device, a communication received from the vehicle network, and a dynamically configurable message list of the vehicle network, and the message manager module further managing communications between the at least one network transceiver and the at least one wireless communication module, the device application configured to selectively start and stop the vehicle based on at least one temperature, the at least one temperature includes an outside vehicle temperature and an inside vehicle temperature, the managing execution of the device application comprising;

in response to receiving a request from the remote device for data obtainable from the vehicle, monitoring the vehicle network for a message within the communication received from the vehicle that includes the data and routing the data to a corresponding wireless communication module;

in response to receiving a request within the communication received from the remote device to provide data to the vehicle, assembling the data targeted for the vehicle into a configurable message of the dynamically configurable message list;

evaluating the outside vehicle temperature and the inside vehicle temperature to determine a start stage utilized by the device application to conserve energy, the start stage configured to indicate a type or a length of a vehicle start;

generating vehicle start and vehicle stop requests to the vehicle network via a corresponding network transceiver based the start stage; and

transmitting the configurable message to the vehicle network via the corresponding network transceiver,

wherein the message manager module selectively stores the device application based on a memory management determination.

2. The connectivity device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of network transceivers that each communicate with a different vehicle network, and wherein the message manager module manages the communications between the at least one network transceiver and the plurality of network transceivers.

3. The connectivity device of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of wireless communication modules implemented by the at least one computer processor, the plurality of wireless communication modules each communicate with at least one remote device, and wherein the message manager module manages the communications between the plurality of network transceivers and the plurality of wireless communication modules.

4. The connectivity device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wireless communication modules implemented by the at least one computer processor, the plurality of wireless communication modules each communicate with at least one remote device, and wherein the message manager module manages the communications between the at least one network transceiver and the plurality of wireless communication modules.

5. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wireless communication module is a telecommunications module.

6. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wireless communication module is a long range wireless module.

7. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wireless communication module is a short range wireless module.

8. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wireless communication module is a satellite module.

9. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the connectivity device is a portable device that connects to a connection port of a vehicle.

10. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the message manager module executes instructions of the device application based on the communications between the at least one network transceiver and the plurality of network transceivers.

16. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the device application is configured to perform a vehicle function responsive to receiving at least one of the requests from the remote device, the vehicle function comprising at least one of:

start vehicle engine;

stop vehicle engine;

start vehicle engine based on the temperature reading;

stop vehicle engine based on the temperature reading;

lock vehicle door; and

unlock vehicle door.

17. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the remote device is located in a vehicle associated with the vehicle network.

18. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the device application is an ecostart application configured to selectively start and stop the vehicle based on the at least one temperature to conserve energy.

19. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the type of the vehicle start is an air conditioning start and the length of the vehicle start is a three minutes, a four minutes, a five minutes, or a six minutes.

20. The connectivity device of claim 1, wherein the vehicle stop request is generated after the length of the vehicle start has expired.

11. A vehicle, comprising:

at least one vehicle network;

a connection port in communication with the at least one vehicle network; and

a connectivity device coupled to the connection port that manages wireless communications between the at least one vehicle network and at least one remote device, the connectivity device comprising;

at least one network transceiver that communicates with the at least one vehicle network;

at least one wireless communication module implemented by at least one computer processor, the at least one wireless communication module communicates with the at least one remote device; and

a message manager module implemented by the at least one computer processor, the message manager module receiving a device application from the at least one remote device via the at least one wireless communication module, the message manager module managing execution of the device application based on a communication received from the at least one remote device, a communication received from the vehicle network, and a dynamically configurable message list of the vehicle network, and the message manager module further managing communications between the at least one network transceiver and the at least one wireless communication module, the device application configured to selectively start and stop the vehicle based on at least one temperature, the at least one temperature includes an outside vehicle temperature and an inside vehicle temperature, the managing execution of the device application comprising;

in response to receiving a request from the remote device for data obtainable from the vehicle, monitoring the vehicle network for a message within the communication received from the vehicle that includes the data and routing the data to a corresponding wireless communication module;

in response to receiving a request within the communication received from the remote device to provide data to the vehicle, assembling the data targeted for the vehicle into a configurable message of the dynamically configurable message list;

evaluating the outside vehicle temperature and the inside vehicle temperature to determine a start stage utilized by the device application to conserve energy, the start stage configured to indicate a type or a length of a vehicle start;

generating vehicle start and vehicle stop requests to the vehicle network via a corresponding network transceiver based the start stage; and

transmitting the configurable message to the vehicle network via the corresponding network transceiver,

wherein the message manager module selectively stores the device application based on a memory management determination.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the connectivity device decouples from the connection port, and the connectivity device, when decoupled from the connection port, is a portable device.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the connectivity device further comprises a plurality of network transceivers that each communicate with a different vehicle network, and wherein the message manager module manages the communications between the at least one network transceiver and the plurality of network transceivers.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the connectivity device further comprises a plurality of wireless communication modules implemented by the at least one computer processor, the plurality of wireless communication modules each communicate with at least one remote device, and wherein the message manager module manages the communications between the plurality of network transceivers and the plurality of wireless communication modules.

15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the plurality of wireless communication modules includes a short range wireless communication module, a long range communication module, and a telecommunications module.