Automated social network interaction system for a vehicle

• US 9,807,196 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2015
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Pisz, James T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ziaeianmehdizadeh, Navid
• Application Number:
  US14/639,695
• Publication Number:
  US 20150180999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/161 Explanation of functions, e.g. instructions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/797 at the vehicle exterior
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/65 Instruments specially adapted for specific vehicle types or users, e.g. for left- or right-hand drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 37/00 Dashboards as road-vehicle superstructure sub-units B62D25/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3688 Systems comprising multiple parts or multiple output devices (not client-server), e.g. detachable faceplates, key fobs or multiple output screens
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• 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: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00698 actuated in function of displayed informations
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a system and a related non-transitory computer-readable medium for performing operations incorporating social networking functions into a vehicle. The system can include a user identification subsystem that is configured to detect and identify a user. The system can also include an interactive display subsystem that is configured to generate output for display on a vehicle window. The displayed output generally includes social networking content. The social networking content can include “upload content,” “download content,” or both.

Claims

1. A system for automatically presenting a vehicle user with social media updates, the system comprising:

a user identification subsystem configured to detect a user and determine the user'"'"'s identity;

a user location subsystem configured to determine a user location inside the vehicle;

a control subsystem configured to;

access a user profile associated with the determined user'"'"'s identity, and containing login information for at least one social networking service based on the user'"'"'s identity;

transmit the login information to the at least one social networking service;

retrieve social media content from the at least one social networking service based on the login information;

identify a vehicle window proximate to the user location; and

an interactive display subsystem configured to display, on the identified vehicle window, the social media content retrieved by the control subsystem, the displayed social media content oriented to be read from the user location inside the vehicle.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the displayed social media content includes a social networking page.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the displayed social media content includes a map that identifies a location of a social networking associate of the user.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the system is configured to access a user profile that contains social network service registration information for the user.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an input subsystem in communication with the control subsystem, the input subsystem configured to receive upload content from a user,

wherein the system is configured to transmit the upload content to the social networking service.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the system is configured to automatically generate and transmit upload content to the social networking service.

7. A system for a vehicle, comprising:

a user identification subsystem configured to identify a first user and a second user;

a user location subsystem configured to determine a location of the first user and of the second user;

an interactive display subsystem configured to show a first display content on a first vehicle window and to show a second display content on a second vehicle window; and

a control subsystem in communication with the user identification subsystem, the user location subsystem and the interactive display subsystem,

wherein the system is configured to login to at least one social networking service account for each of the first user and the second user;

to receive a first download content for the first user from the at least one social networking service and to receive second download content for the second user from the at least one social networking service; and

wherein the first display content is derived from the first download content if the first user is located nearer the first window than the second window and the first display content is derived from the second download content if the first user is located nearer the second vehicle window than the first vehicle window.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, associated with a vehicle, and having instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform operations comprising:

identifying a user of a vehicle;

determining a user location inside the vehicle;

identifying a vehicle window proximate to the user location;

logging the user into a social networking service;

receiving download content from the social networking service; and

displaying the download content on the identified vehicle window, the displayed download content oriented to be read from the user'"'"'s location inside the vehicle.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting upload content to the social networking service.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the upload content is automatically generated by a vehicle device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 10, wherein the vehicle device is a camera.