Patent ID: 9014160
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for providing a valet mode for a vehicle, said valet mode selectively operable to determine whether said vehicle has moved more than a predetermined radius from an initial location determined at the time said valet mode is activated or has traveled at a speed in excess of a predetermined speed while said valet mode is activated, said method comprising: providing a mobile router in said vehicle, said mobile router comprising a wireless wide area network transceiver to access a wide area network, and a mobile wireless local area network movable with said vehicle comprising a wireless local area network transceiver, said mobile router operable to connect a wireless mobile device in said vehicle to said mobile wireless local area network and to maintain a connection to said wide area network; providing said mobile router with a valet mode program executable to provide said valet mode operable to determine whether said vehicle has moved more than said predetermined radius from said initial location or has traveled at a speed in excess of said predetermined speed; operating said mobile router to determine said initial location of said vehicle; providing a valet application program to a wireless device; utilizing said valet application program to program said wireless device to provide a valet user interface, said valet application program being executable by said wireless device such that said wireless device is usable to activate and deactivate said valet mode; utilizing said valet user interface to activate and deactivate said valet mode via one of said wireless wide area network interface and said wireless local area network interface; operating said mobile router such that at the time said valet mode is activated, said mobile router determines said initial location of said vehicle and activates a predetermined boundary of predetermined radius about said initial location of said vehicle; automatically operating said mobile router when said valet mode is activated to detect if said vehicle travels beyond said predetermined boundary; and operating said mobile router to automatically cause a notification to be sent to said wireless device via one of said wide area network and said mobile wireless local area network upon said mobile router detecting that said vehicle travels beyond said predetermined boundary.