Abstract:
A motor vehicle includes control apparatus for establishing an interactive human-machine interface (HMI) between a vehicle driver and an on-board communication system that is wirelessly coupled to a nomadic communication device carried by the driver. The on-board communication system has the ability to activate the nomadic communication device to check for messages, and the interactive HMI includes a configurable display through which check-message inquiries are selectively communicated to the driver, and an input device selectively manipulated by the driver to accept a check-message inquiry. An HMI controller responsive to sensed vehicle operating condition data and driver manipulation of the input device determines if and when a check-message inquiry should be communicated to the driver.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an interactive human-machine interface (HMI) for use in a motor vehicle, and more particularly to an interactive nomadic phone message control apparatus that selectively presents check-message opportunities to the driver of the motor vehicle when consistent with safe operation of the vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is widely recognized that there are serious traffic accident risks associated with nomadic phone usage by motor vehicle drivers at times when the full attention of the driver should be directed to the driving task, and vehicle manufacturers have begun equipping certain vehicles with on-board communication systems that simplify or automate nomadic phone usage and thereby mitigate some of the safety concerns. In a typical installation, the communication system is wirelessly coupled to the driver&#39;s nomadic phone, and forms a human-machine interface (HMI) for enabling hands-free phone usage while the driver is operating the vehicle. However, it can be difficult and/or inconvenient to implement certain nomadic phone functions such as message checking without significantly distracting the driver. Also, it is desirable to encourage drivers to only interact with nomadic devices when consistent with safe operation of the vehicle. Accordingly, what is needed is an interactive HMI that allows the driver to selectively listen to nomadic phone messages without introducing any significant driver distraction or safety concerns. 
         [0003]    Of course, interactive HMIs are generally known in the art, and have been used to simplify and streamline the operation and programming of complex consumer electronic devices such as personal computers and entertainment systems. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,454 to Hoffberg et al. discloses a programmable video cassette recorder having an interactive display device for presenting prompts or possible choices to the user, and receiving user input (accept/reject, for example) responsive to the presented prompt or choice. As also disclosed by Hoffberg et al., the inputs elicited from a given user can be used to construct a preference matrix, which then influences future prompts or choices presented to a given user. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is directed to an interactive HMI between a vehicle driver and an on-board communication system that is wirelessly coupled to a nomadic communication device carried by the driver. The communication system has the ability to activate the nomadic communication device to check for messages, and the interactive HMI includes a configurable display through which check-message inquiries are selectively communicated to the driver and an input device selectively manipulated by the driver to accept a check-message inquiry. An HMI-controller responsive to sensed vehicle operating condition data and driver manipulation of the input device determines if and when a check-message inquiry should be communicated to the driver. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a motor vehicle interactive phone message control apparatus according to this invention, including a microprocessor-based HMI-controller for determining if and when check-message inquiries should be communicated to the driver of the vehicle. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram representative of a software routine executed by the microprocessor-based HMI-controller of  FIG. 1  according to this invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0007]    Referring to the drawings, and particularly to  FIG. 1 , the reference numeral  10  generally designates an interactive phone message control apparatus as installed in a motor vehicle. The vehicle driver (D)  12  possesses a nomadic communication device  14  such as a cellular phone or PDA that wirelessly communicates with an external communication network  16  such as a cellular network, and the nomadic communication device  14  is paired to an on-board short-range wireless transceiver  18  such as a Bluetooth or wi-fi transceiver, or an IrDA link. The apparatus  10  includes an HMI  20 , a set of temporal sensors  22 , a microprocessor-based HMI-controller  24 , and a set of functional blocks  26 ,  28 ,  30  pertaining to driver profiling. The HMI  20  includes a reconfigurable display  32  activated by HMI-controller  24  to selectively present check-message inquiries to the driver  12 , and an input device  34  such as a switch (or touch sensor on display  32 ) selectively manipulated by the driver  12  to accept a check-message inquiry. 
         [0008]    The HMI-controller  24  is linked to various on-board vehicle control systems  36  via a bi-directional communication bus  38  for the purpose of acquiring vehicle operating condition data and determining, in view of the data, if it is appropriate to present a check-message inquiry to driver  12  via display  32 . For example, it may be appropriate to present a check-message inquiry to the driver  12  prior to vehicle movement, or while the vehicle is stopped in traffic for a prolonged period. If the driver  12  accepts the inquiry via input device  34 , the HMI-controller  24  acquires the messages from the nomadic communication device  14  and presents them to driver  12 , by either voice (using the vehicle audio system, for example) or text (using reconfigurable display  32 ). 
         [0009]    The functional blocks  26 ,  28 ,  30  illustrate a way of taking into account other considerations pertinent to the determination of whether to present a check-message inquiry to the driver  12 . These considerations involve correlating driver responses (via input device  34 ) over a prolonged period with various conditions (temporal and otherwise) present at the time of the responses, and using the collected information along with current conditions to predict whether the driver  12  will welcome a check-message opportunity. Put another way, the blocks  26 ,  28 ,  30  essentially develop a profile of the driver  12 , as pertains to receptivity to check-message inquiries, and the HMI-controller  24  will only present a check-message inquiry to driver  12  if the vehicle operating conditions are appropriate and the driver&#39;s past actions under conditions similar to the current conditions indicate a willingness to listen to messages. Of course, this assumes that the apparatus  10  is capable of distinguishing among various possible drivers so that profile data for one driver is not influenced by the actions of a different driver. And various generally known means exist for distinguishing among drivers, including key fob identification, nomadic phone identification, and so forth. 
         [0010]    Given the existence of a receptivity profile for a current driver  12 , the flow diagram of  FIG. 2  illustrates a decision path or matrix carried out by HMI-controller  24 . Following driver entry into the vehicle, the blocks  40 ,  42  and  44  are iteratively executed until a short-range wireless communication link is established between nomadic communication device  14  and the wireless transceiver  18 . 
         [0011]    Once the short-range wireless communication link is established, the HMI-controller  24  executes blocks  46  and  48  to accesses vehicle system data via communication bus  38  and to determine if prescribed vehicle operating conditions are met. For example, the vehicle speed and/or transmission selector position may be acquired to verify that the vehicle is stopped. If the prescribed vehicle operating conditions are not met, the blocks  46  and  48  are re-executed following a delay interval, as designated by the block  50 . However, if the prescribed vehicle operating conditions are met, block  52  is executed to determine if the driver  12  will likely be receptive to a check-message inquiry, based on current conditions and accumulated receptivity profile data. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , this determination is made based on a correlation value supplied to HMI-controller  24  by Correlation block  30 , described below. If the correlation value indicates low driver receptivity to check-message inquiries, block  50  is executed to impose a delay interval before returning to block  46  and re-accessing vehicle operating condition data. However, if the profile correlation value indicates high driver receptivity to check-message inquiries, the HMI-controller  24  executes blocks  54  and  56  to determine if there is a phone message to download, and if so, to present a check-message inquiry to driver  12  via display  32 . The blocks  58  and  60  then scan the input device  34  to determine if the driver  12  accepts the check-message inquiry, and if so, to download the message(s) for presentation to driver  12 . Of course, if no messages are available to download or the driver fails to accept the check-message inquiry, the block  50  is executed as described above to impose a delay interval before returning to block  46  and re-accessing vehicle operating condition data. 
         [0012]    Returning to the block diagram of  FIG. 1 , the Driver Model block  26  develops the driver receptivity profile by pairing driver acceptance of each check-message inquiry with the presence or absence of specified vehicle or temporal condition data at the time of the acceptance. The specified condition data may include, for example, the operating state of the vehicle audio system, the time between successively presented and accepted check-message inquiries, the noise level in the passenger compartment, time-of-day, ambient weather conditions (rain or fog, for example), the operating state of the nomadic communication device  14 , presence of passengers in the vehicle, and so on. The Driver Model block  26  receives vehicle condition data via line  62 , driver acceptance data via line  64 , and temporal sensor data via line  66 . Additionally, the Driver Routine Tracker block  28  may be employed to recognize certain common driver routines (such as listening to news during morning traffic) and provide an indication of the same to Driver Model block  26  via line  68 . In effect, these recognized routines represent a complex set of conditions that may be relevant to driver receptivity to check-message inquiries. Other driver characteristics, such as driving aggressiveness, may be recognized by Driver Routine Tracker block  28  and used as an indication that check-message inquiries should not be presented. 
         [0013]    Over time, the Driver Model block  26  thus accumulates data indicative of the tendency of the driver  12  to accept check-message inquiries presented via display  32 . A given driver, for example, may exhibit a consistent tendency to accept check-message inquiries during operation of the vehicle audio system, but not when conversing with a passenger, and so on. Correlation block  30  designates an apparatus or process initiated when the prescribed vehicle operating conditions for check-message inquiry presentation are met, for evaluating a correlation between current conditions and Driver Model profile data paired with driver acceptance (or rejection) of check-message inquiries. The Correlation block  30  receives vehicle condition data via line  70 , temporal sensor data via line  72 , and receptivity profile data via line  74 . The output of Correlation block  30  is a correlation value that is supplied to HMI-controller  24  via line  76 . A high correlation value signifies high driver receptivity to check-message inquiries, while a low correlation value signifies low driver receptivity to check-message inquiries. The HMI-controller  24  evaluates the correlation value as described above in reference to flow diagram block  52  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0014]    In summary, the interactive nomadic phone message control apparatus of the present invention provides a way of allowing a vehicle driver to easily and safely check nomadic phone messages during operation of the vehicle. The HMI interaction with the driver is minimally invasive, and even adapts to suit driver message-listening preference by pairing driver acceptance with historical vehicle and temporal data and correlating current vehicle and temporal data with the historical data. 
         [0015]    While the present invention has been described with respect to the illustrated embodiment, it is recognized that numerous modifications and variations in addition to those mentioned herein will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the functionality of blocks  22 - 30  may be incorporated into HMI-controller  24 , the apparatus  10  may be responsive to addition items of pertinent data that can be acquired or inferred, such as the location of the vehicle, ambient lighting conditions, indications of driver fatigue, and the time remaining for a traffic signal to change. Communication between HMI-controller  24  and nomadic device  14  can be viewed as a wired communication link as opposed to a wireless communication link. And certain of the parameters influencing the presentation of check message inquiries (vehicle location, vehicle speed, etc.) may be obtained or inferred from the GPS function of the nomadic communication device  14 . Also, the apparatus  10  may be configured to allow the driver  12  to select predefined parameters such as a predefined message receptivity profile or a predefined minimum time interval between successive check-message inquiries, and so forth. Furthermore, a reduced functionality system may be applied to an existing vehicle by implementing the functionality of apparatus  10  in an RF-dongle, and plugging the dongle into the vehicle diagnostic port. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims.