Patent ID: 9573566
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: B60R

Claim:
1. A method of selectively carrying out a vehicle passive door lock function, comprising the steps of: (a) detecting a vehicle operator's exit from a vehicle having at least one lockable door for passenger entry and exit, wherein the vehicle is configured to automatically carry out a passive operator departure process in a first mode, wherein the first mode comprises carrying out two or more door lock functions following the operator's exit, and wherein a first one of the door lock functions comprises automatically locking the vehicle door, and a second one of the door lock functions comprises automatically providing a notification indicating that the vehicle door has been automatically locked; (b) determining whether the vehicle is at a lock function exempt location; (c) automatically carrying out the passive operator departure process in the first mode when it is determined that the vehicle is not at the exempt location; and (d) automatically carrying out the passive operator departure process in a second mode following the operator's exit when it is determined that the vehicle is at the exempt location, wherein the passive operator departure process in the second mode comprises carrying out at least one of the door locking functions performed when in the first mode while foregoing the second one of the door lock functions, whereby no automatic notification is provided indicating that the vehicle door has been automatically locked.