Vehicle systems for providing access to vehicle controls, functions, environment and applications to guests/passengers via mobile devices

• US 9,916,071 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2017
• Issued: 03/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emerging Automotive, LLC
• Original Assignee: Emerging Automotive, LLC
• Inventors: Penilla, Angel A., Penilla, Albert S.
• Primary Examiner(s): PACHECO, ALEXIS BOATENG
• Application Number:
  US15/723,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20180024725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 161 Days
• Field of Search: 320109, 320107, 320104, 320116, 320132, 320149, 320162, 320122, 320134, 320137, 320152, 320160, 320119, 180 651, 180 6521, 701 22
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/00 Input parameters relating to vehicle conditions or values, not covered by groups B60W2510/00 or B60W2520/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Systems of a vehicle for sharing vehicle controls are provided. One system includes an on-board computer that is part of the vehicle and communications circuity having connection to the on-board computer. The communications circuitry is configured to interface with a wireless network for accessing the Internet. The on-board computer is configured to execute instructions for enabling wireless connection to portable devices that enter the vehicle and are provided with access to said wireless connection. Vehicle electronics are interfaced with one or more vehicle systems and the on-board computer. The on-board computer is configured to provide access to at least one graphical user interface to the portable device via the wireless connection. The at least one graphical user interface includes input options that enable control for features of a vehicle system of the vehicle. A wireless signal of the wireless connection with the portable device is processed by the on-board computer to identify a location of the portable device within the vehicle. The location of the portable device is utilized to identify a seating location in the vehicle and provide the portable device with access said vehicle system that pertains to an environment area associated with the seat location that was identified.

Claims

1. A system of a vehicle for sharing vehicle controls, comprising,

an on-board computer that is part of the vehicle;

communications circuity having connection to the on-board computer, the communications circuitry configured to interface with a wireless network for accessing the Internet, the on-board computer is configured to execute instructions for enabling wireless connection to portable devices that enter the vehicle and are provided with access to said wireless connection; and

vehicle electronics interfaced with one or more vehicle systems and the on-board computer;

the on-board computer is configured to provide access to at least one graphical user interface to the portable device via the wireless connection, the at least one graphical user interface includes input options that enable control for features of a vehicle system of the vehicle,

wherein a wireless signal of the wireless connection with the portable device is processed by the on-board computer to identify a location of the portable device within the vehicle, the location of the portable device being utilized to identify a seating location in the vehicle and provide the portable device with access said vehicle system that pertains to an environment area associated with the seat location that was identified.

2. A system of claim 1, wherein processing the wireless signal of the wireless connection to identify the location of the portable device within the vehicle includes estimating a distance of the portable device to one or more sensors disposed in vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising,

processing one or more wireless signals of the wireless connection to identify the location of the portable device within the vehicle to identify a time of flight of one or more of said wireless signals to one or more sensors of the vehicle.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising,

processing one or more wireless signals of the wireless connection to identify the location of the portable device within the vehicle to process a triangulation detection of said one or more wireless signals of the portable device with sensors of the vehicle.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising,

processing one or more wireless signals of the wireless connection to identify the location of the portable device within the vehicle to process a strength of said one or more wireless signals as measured by one or more sensors of the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein program instructions executed by the on-board computer executes instructions to identify additional vehicle systems that pertain to the environment area of the seat location and filters out at least some of the systems of the vehicle that do not relate to the environment area, and further providing controls to entertainment systems provided via the vehicle to input/output systems that pertain to the seat location and the environment area.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein program instructions executed by the on-board computer executes instructions to communicate with an application executing on the portable device, the application provides access to a user interface, the user interface is rendered on one or more pages associated with the application, wherein one of the pages provides options to select or confirm the identified seat location or select another seat location for associating with the portable device to another environment area within the vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein program instructions executed by the on-board computer executes instructions to interface with electronics of the vehicle to access status data for one or more other systems of the vehicle, to make input settings to one or more of the systems, or to provide data to the graphical user interface that exposes or lists the systems of the vehicle that are accessible for the seat location and that relate to the environment area in the vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications circuitry is used to connect to web server executed by a processor of the on-board computer, the web server is configured to enable a browser of the portable device to render the graphical user interface in a form of one or more web pages that provide controls for enabling access to settings inputs to one or more of the vehicle systems.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment area in which the seat location is located in the vehicle includes systems for controlling positions of a seat, or systems for controlling air and heat from vents proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling lighting proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling volume of speakers proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling video to be displayed on a screen proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling heat of the seat, or systems for controlling window operation proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling digital glare of a window proximate to the seat, or systems for controlling a select set of global setting of the vehicle beyond the environment area, or systems for controlling applications of the vehicle, or systems for sharing applications of the vehicle with the portable device.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising,

logic for handling pairing for access of portable devices with the wireless connection, wherein pairing includes exchange of credential information, the credential information identifying a user account for the access via the portable device, wherein the credential information includes one of a user name, or a password, or biometric data of a passenger, or a pin, or code, or a name, or a word, or combinations of two or more thereof;

the graphical user interface provided upon pairing for the user account includes one or more saved user preferences regarding one or more of the systems of the vehicle, said saved user preferences being synchronized with a cloud service for enabling use of the said user preferences in one more vehicles when the user account is used in said one or more vehicles.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user account is registered with said cloud service that include servers and storage accessible over the Internet, the cloud services are configured to store setting inputs from time to time from the vehicle or the portable device, the inputs usable to recall previous settings for use and usable to identify patterns of setting inputs made.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said patterns are used to predict one or more future settings and to generate recommendations of settings for the user account.

14. The system of claim 1, further including logic for enabling pairing by portable devices to the vehicle in a guest mode, the guest mode provides limits to settings of one or more of said systems of the vehicle.

15. The system of claim 1, further including logic for reverting settings back to a standard state after the portable device of a passenger is no longer associated with the seat location of the vehicle.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the graphical user interface enables selection of a new seat in the vehicle, the selection of the new seat for the passenger associates a new environment area for the new seat, and the graphical user interface updates the controls for enabling setting inputs to one or more of the systems associated with the new environment area for the new seat.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controls provided via the graphical user interface of the portable device further enable setting inputs to applications of the vehicle that are shared to the portable device, enable setting display of content for the applications being rendered on the portable device and for particular content also rendering content of select applications on one or more displays of the vehicle;

wherein access to certain of the applications of the vehicle and features of the applications of the vehicle being limited by privileges as set an administrator of the vehicle, the setting of the privileges being by way of interfaces on of the vehicle, interfaces on devices that have access to cloud services, wherein cloud services include a user account for the administrator and the user account of the administrator including one or more of an identification of the vehicle and the settings and privileges managed by the administrator, or prior settings made by the portable device, or a history of settings made by a plurality of portable devices over time, or combinations thereof.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising,

logic for obtaining data from sensors of the vehicle;

and

logic for providing information regarding the data to the graphical user interface that is to be displayed on the portable device;

wherein the sensor data includes information associated with one of speed of the vehicle, or location of the vehicle, or temperature of the vehicle, or health of engine or operations of the vehicle, or metrics of use of the vehicle, or seat sensor data identifying presence of occupancy, or sensors for locating wireless devices within the vehicle, or sensors for detecting position of a passenger within the vehicle, or sensors for triggering image capture or video capture in or around the vehicle, or combinations of two or more thereof;

wherein additional sensors of the vehicle include one of a weight sensor, a heat sensor, a motion sensor, a sound sensor, an inertial sensor, a compression sensor, a camera sensor, a proximity sensor, or combinations of two or more thereof.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the access to certain systems is a restricted access to a granular set of systems, including one or more of seat controls, or climate controls, or audio controls, or heating and cooling controls, or window glare control, or window controls, or controls to select applications of the vehicle,

wherein said granular set of systems are limited to systems in a sphere of influence of a passenger or depending on provided privileges of the passenger as set by an administrator or set by a default setting.