Livio, Inc.

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Myine Electronics, Inc.

Joey Ray Grover

Scott Smereka

Justin Dickow

Joel J Fischer

Jacob R Sigal

Philip Joseph Danne

Corey Maylone

John Byrne

Massimo Baldini

Michael Burke

Andrew T Lenox

John Robert Van Wiemeersch

Omar Makke

Austin Kirk

Theresa Lech

Marco Gatti

Erika Nice

Brett McIsaac

A vehicle system including a vehicle component and a controller is provided. The controller may selectively activate the vehicle component and communicate with a mobile unit including an interface. The controller may be programmed to interact with the mobile unit upon detection by accessing vehicle sleep mode instructions preprogrammed by a user via the interface in which the controller activates the vehicle component according to an escalation sequence schedule to disengage a vehicle sleep mode. The system may further include a sensor in communication with the vehicle component and the controller. The controller may be further programed to activate the vehicle component according to the escalation sequence schedule based on receipt of a signal from a sensor indicating a passenger is asleep.

Vehicle mode and passenger interface

Values may be tracked from wireless sensors of a vehicle indicative of distance between the mobile device and the sensors. When the values over time indicate approach and then departure of the device to a first side of the vehicle and consistent approach of the device to a second side of the vehicle, the device may be associated with a seating zone of an identified closest pair of the sensors. Wireless sensors may be proximate to entrances to a vehicle. The vehicle may track values from the sensors indicative of distance between a mobile device and the sensors; calculate pair values as sums of the values received from pairs of the sensors proximate vehicle entrances; and identify one of the entrances through which the mobile device passed according to the pair value with a minimum value closest to a distance between the pair of the sensors.

Mobile device resident vehicle zone tracking

A system may be configured to scan audio content providers, using at least one receiver, to identify metadata of audio content instances currently being broadcast by the audio content providers, capture audio content instances from the audio content providers, using the at least one receiver, when the metadata of the audio content instances matches desired content information, and add the captured audio content instances to a customized content queue of desired audio content. The system may also be configured to provide, to a content categorization server, user content preferences indicative of properties of audio content instances preferred by a user, receive, from the content categorization server, desired content information indicative of metadata of audio content instances preferred for experiencing by a user based on the user content preferences, and identify audio content instances broadcast from audio content providers as preferred based on the desired content information.

Custom broadcast audio content station

A vehicle may display a user interface of an application based on command information received from a primary-connected device, and send the command information to a secondary-connected device providing an auxiliary user interface. The vehicle may also forward a command message received based on user input to the auxiliary user interface to the application of the primary-connected device. The vehicle may also access paired device data to confirm that the secondary-connected device is authorized to command the application; and forward the user input to the primary-connected device if the secondary-connected device is authorized to command the application.

Secondary-connected device companion application control of a primary-connected device

A memory of a mobile device stores a router service, and a plurality of queues. Each queue includes packets from a respective mobile application to be sent over the transport connection. A processor is programmed to execute instructions of the router service to manage a serial transport connection between the mobile device and a vehicle computing system to route the packets over the connection according to packet wait time, size, and priority.

Mobile device to vehicle output stream packet prioritization

Wireless sensors are included within zones of a physical space. A memory stores feature description data. A processor, in communication with the memory and the wireless sensors, is programmed to send, to a mobile device connected to one of the wireless sensors, a subset of the feature description data applicable to one of the zones in which the mobile device is located. The processor also is programmed to receive a request to update a feature of the one of the zones based on the feature description data, and apply the setting update when the mobile device has permission. The zones of a physical space may be seating zones of a vehicle, and the wireless sensors may be included within doors to the seating zones of the vehicle. The mobile device may determine a seating zone of the vehicle in which the mobile device is located using the wireless sensors.

Feature description data for vehicle zone configuration

A memory stores a message map associating requests with human-machine interface (HMI) notifications. A vehicle receives a request from a secondary-connected device, and sends an HMI notification to a primary-connected device, constructed based on the message map and the request, to simulate user input to the vehicle to cause the primary-connected device to perform the request. A secondary-connected device connected to a vehicle computing platform receives a command, constructs a request message describing the command; and sends the request message to the computing platform, to cause the computing platform to send a HMI notification to a primary-connected device to simulate user input to the vehicle requesting the primary-connected device to perform the command.

Application control of primary-connected devices from secondary-connected devices

A vehicle may identify a highest-ranked seating zone for a mobile device using values determined from signal strengths from wireless sensors, the values indicating probabilities of the mobile device being located in each of a plurality of seating zones. The vehicle may also assign the mobile device to the highest-ranked seating zone if the mobile device indicates a higher probability for the zone than other mobile devices. Responsive to determining the mobile device is located within a vehicle, the mobile device may determine position ranks for each of a plurality of seating zones of the vehicle using signal strength values to vehicle wireless sensors, determine confidence values for each of the seating zones using the position ranks, and receive a seating zone assignment responsive to sending the confidence values to the vehicle.

Vehicle seating zone assignment conflict resolution

A vehicle may include wireless signal sensors surrounding the doors of the vehicle. A processor of the vehicle may be programmed to capture, from the sensors, a first data snapshot when one of the doors is opened and a second data snapshot when the one of the door is closed, and assign a mobile device to a seating zone associated with the one of the doors when the first and second snapshots both indicate the mobile device is closest to the door.

Two-stage event-driven mobile device tracking for vehicles

A vehicle computing system comprising a vehicle auxiliary port and at least one controller. The controller configured to communicate with a nomadic device via a wired connection established between the vehicle auxiliary port and a nomadic device auxiliary port. The controller further configured to transmit data to the nomadic device over the wired auxiliary port connection. The data including one or more control commands for the nomadic device.

Vehicle to device communication over wired audio connection

A base station may include a transceiver, an indicator, and a processor programmed to detect presence of a key fob using one or more inputs. When the key fob is detected, the processor may direct the transceiver to broadcast an interference signal using the transceiver to prevent the key fob from detecting and responding to challenge requests and set the indicator to indicate presence of the broadcast. When an access request is received from a modem, using the transceiver the base station may temporarily discontinue broadcast of an interference signal to send a challenge request to the key fob and receive a challenge response, and send a response to the access request including information based on the challenge response.

Key fob challenge request masking base station

A recipient communications device associated with a vehicle computing system (VCS) may be configured to receive, over a communications network, an incoming communication from a sender communications device, identify a notification type to provide based on a message directive provided by the sender device, retrieve notification settings associated with the notification type, and perform a notification of receipt of the incoming communication using a VCS user interface according to the notification settings.

Categorized handling of electronic communications

A computer-implemented method may include receiving input to a vehicle-associated computing system (VACS) touch-sensitive display, requesting adjustment to a powered state of an accessory device connected to a switch module; providing, responsive to the input, a command from a vehicle computing system to the switch module, running on the VACS, to adjust a controlled output of the switch module; and updating the user interface to reflect a result of the command.

In-vehicle configurable soft switches

An application programming interface (API) is disclosed for interfacing a vehicle electronic component with a smartphone, wherein the vehicle electronic component and the smartphone each make use of a short range wireless transceiver for wirelessly communicating with the other, and wherein the smartphone includes an application running thereon. The API has an interconnect API disposed in the electronic component. The interconnect API also has a software library of command and function definitions that are able to be implemented by the API. A connect library is also used which resides within the smartphone and which is configured to communicate with the application running on the smartphone. The interconnect API and the connect library cooperatively operate as a translation mechanism to implement a plurality of functionalities when communicating with the application, according to the electronic device's capabilities.

System and method for transport layer agnostic programming interface for use with smartphones

A vehicle system includes a processor programed to receive a first layer of navigation map data and a second layer of navigation control data from a wireless device via a transceiver. The first layer may be transmitted at a first rate and the second layer transmitted at a second rate lower than the first rate, or only in response to a user input at a user interface of the wireless device. The processor is further programed to combine the first and second layers for output at a display.

Growing community of inventors

Madison Heights, MI, United States of America

Joey Ray Grover