Livio, Inc.

Myine Electronics, Inc.

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Scott Smereka

Joey Ray Grover

Jacob R Sigal

Justin Dickow

Joel J Fischer

Corey Maylone

Donald J Ebben

Philip Joseph Danne

John Byrne

Massimo Baldini

Michael Burke

Andrew T Lenox

John Robert Van Wiemeersch

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 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 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 system is disclosed for inserting stored advertising content into broadcast content being played over an audio system. The system may have a smartphone in wireless communication with the audio system which runs an application relating to a specific broadcast station that is broadcasting the broadcast content. The audio system may have a processing system for detecting breaks in program content that forms part of the broadcast content. The audio system may further be configured to obtain predetermined advertisements and to play back the predetermined advertisements over the audio system during each break in the program content, in place of advertisements contained in the broadcast content.

System and method for providing targeted advertisements and geolocation information to an operator of a vehicle

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 service may provide media content metadata describing available media content to reader devices, the service including a zeroth characteristic indicating a count of additional data characteristics of the service and a count of read cycles of the data characteristics to retrieve the metadata. Each of the data characteristics may include an indication of the read cycle of the data characteristic, a data element including a portion of the metadata, and an indication of a data offset of the data element into the media content metadata. Responsive to all subscribed reader devices downloading data from one of the data characteristics, including update data of a next read cycle in the characteristic.

Low energy data streaming service

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

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

Values may be tracked from wireless sensors of a vehicle that indicate distances between the mobile device and the sensors. When the signal strength values indicate the mobile device is within the vehicle, the device may be associated with a seating zone of the vehicle corresponding to the one of the sensors that provided signal strength values that peaked earliest in time. The mobile device may be determined to be within the vehicle by using a hypothesis test comparing a threshold signal strength value to the signal strength values.

Passenger zone detection with signal strength data aided by physical signal barriers

A vehicle key base station is configured to comprise at least one controller in communication with a key fob and a nomadic device using one or more transceivers. The at least one controller may be configured to receive a security code request from the nomadic device. The at least one controller may be further configured to verify the nomadic device is approved to communicate with vehicle key fob based on a pre-registration configuration. If the nomadic device is approved, the at least one controller may be further configured to transmit the request to the key fob and receive the vehicle security code from the key fob. The at least one controller may be further configured to transmit the vehicle security code to the nomadic device.

Method and system for a key fob base station enabling remote car access using a nomadic device

A mobile device may be associated with a vehicle for verification of software updates. The mobile device may be configured to receive a message including an encryption key with which a software update for the vehicle is encrypted, provide a user interface requesting user verification of installation of the software update, and responsive to receipt of the user verification, provide the encryption key to the vehicle to allow the vehicle to decrypt the software update. An update server may be configured to send a software update encrypted using an encryption key to a vehicle, receive a request from the vehicle requesting that the encryption key used to encrypt the software update be provided to a mobile device associated with the vehicle for verification of software updates, and send the encryption key to the mobile device responsive to the request.

Vehicle software update verification

A vehicle infotainment system includes a vehicle processor connected to a transceiver and programmed to transmit human-machine interface (HMI) data to a connected mobile device using websockets via the transceiver. The vehicle processor is further programmed to, in response to the connected mobile device via the transceiver, receive a message requesting HMI data being outputted at a vehicle display. The vehicle processor is further programmed to transmit the HMI data to the mobile device via websockets and receive a parameter adjustment via a remote procedure call for a parameter associated with the HMI data.

Methods and systems for a mobile device to emulate a vehicle human-machine interface

One or more controller may extract voice commands from retrieved web content, format the web content according to vehicle computing system (VCS) specific formatting information, provide the formatted web content for display by the VCS, and update the recognized voice commands of the VCS according to the extracted voice commands. A server may identify whether a received web request for web content is directed to a vehicle sub-domain for providing an in-vehicle-specific version of the content, identify whether the received web request is for presentation of web content via a VCS, and redirect the web request to the vehicle sub-domain when the request is not directed to the vehicle sub-domain and is for presentation via the VCS.

Growing community of inventors

Warren, MI, United States of America

Scott Smereka