Patent Publication Number: US-2015088337-A1

Title: Method and system for vehicle personalization

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The emergence and popularity of mobile computing has made various types of portable electronic devices a staple in today&#39;s marketplace. Mobile networking has afforded such portable electronic devices the ability to communicate with a host of external devices. Meanwhile, modern automobiles are now equipped with on-board computing systems and allow for enhanced technological capabilities. For example, some vehicles include global positioning and navigations systems, Bluetooth™ interfaces for voice-activated calling, and touch-enabled displays for interacting with the operating user or driver. And though users typically operate a number of various vehicles over time, many operate each vehicle in the same manner and with the same desired preferences and/or configurations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features and advantages of the inventions as well as additional features and advantages thereof will be more clearly understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of particular embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of the vehicle personalization system according to an example of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a concept illustration of data exchange between a plurality of portable electronic devices and an automobile via the vehicle personalization system in accordance with an example of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified flow chart of the processing steps for vehicle personalization in accordance with an example of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following discussion is directed to various embodiments. Although one or more of these embodiments may be discussed in detail, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be an example of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. Furthermore, as used herein, the designators “A”, “B” and “N” particularly with respect to the reference numerals in the drawings, indicate that a number of the particular feature so designated can be included with examples of the present disclosure. The designators can represent the same or different numbers of the particular features. 
     The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing. Similar elements or components between different figures may be identified by the user of similar digits. For example,  143  may reference element “ 43 ” in  FIG. 1 , and a similar element may be referenced as  243  in  FIG. 2 . Elements shown in the various figures herein can be added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as to provide a number of additional examples of the present disclosure. In addition, the proportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in the figures are intended to illustrate the examples of the present disclosure, and should not be taken in a limiting sense. 
     Today, some manufacturers and companies have transitioned to some degree of personalization for specific vehicle options. For example, OnStar® provides personalized information to the user related to the current engine diagnostics, tire pressure, and maintenance needs of a particular vehicle. Other solutions allow for vehicle personalization (e.g., custom wheels, transmission options) at the dealership and under the guidance of an experienced sales person. Still other solutions are directed to fleet managers monitoring vehicles in the field for diagnosing the configuration status of a specific vehicle. For example, Patent Publication No. 2009/0079555 discloses a method for remotely reading vehicle setting parameters and configurations so as to control aspects (e.g., speed) of an on-board GPS device while providing alerts based on location-based information of the vehicle. However, there is still a need in the art for allowing a user to consolidate all vehicle data and personalization preferences into one centralized location for enabling automated configuration of a user vehicle. 
     Embodiments of the present invention disclose a system and method for vehicle personalization. According to one embodiment, communication between an electronic device and the vehicle for enables specification and implementation of software-based vehicle configuration. The software-based specification for vehicle configuration may be accomplished using rules and constraints, resulting in personalized vehicle settings for a particular user. Additionally, examples described herein aim to provide a remote user interface with access to one or more vehicles in one location and for multiple users each having a preferred/personalized vehicle configuration settings. Moreover, the configuration and portability of vehicle personalization may be accomplished through loading of user preferred settings stored on an external storage device. 
     Referring now in more detail to the drawings in which like numerals identify corresponding parts throughout the views,  FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of the vehicle personalization system according to an example of the present invention. As shown here, the system  100  includes a computing device  106 , a network-based server  108 , and a vehicle processing unit  102 . The vehicle processing unit  102  represents a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, microprocessor, or logic configured to execute programming instructions associated with the system  100 . The computing device  106  represents a portable electronic or web-based interface configured to communicate with the vehicle through a vehicle interface module  120  so as to attain available and relevant configuration settings. For example, relevant configuration and settings of a particular vehicle may include data relating to in-car entertainment and/or communication, vehicle powertrain settings, and/or vehicle running equipment. According to example embodiment, the relevant configuration settings are attained through readings of devices associated with vehicle such as electronic modules  121 , vehicle sensors  123 , and vehicle controls  125  for example (e.g., seat settings, radio settings, music player, engine, chassis, transmission, etc.). In one example, the connectors  126  interfacing with the specific vehicle components and sensors (i.e.,  121 ,  123 ,  125 ) are capable of assigning a configurable value (e.g., yes/no) to the collected configuration data. Alternatively, manufacturers may define a set of configuration parameters, type, valid values, and the like, for personal customization by the user or driver. Still further, the configuration settings may be retrieved via the internetwork through entry of the vehicle identification number, which may be used to provide an entire list of vehicle equipment and customizable features including the vehicle&#39;s base configuration parameters. 
     Network-based storage device  108  represents a cloud or similar networked online storage device and service for storing preference information associated with a user. More particularly, the cloud network  108  provides a web-based user profile interface  116  for allowing a user to manage and store their profile information (e.g., vehicle identification number of vehicles owned, vehicle preference data, etc.). As the web-based interface parameters  116  are stored in the cloud in accordance with one example embodiment, the profile and preference data is virtual to the user and accessible anywhere. Additionally, the user may also adjust their user profile and preference information in real-time through use of a local and dedicated application running on the computing device  106 . The configuration device  112  is enabled to communicate with the cloud storage network  108  for retrieving user profile data stored therein, and also with the vehicle interface module  110  to retrieve the available configurable settings for vehicle personalization. Rules engine  114  represents a set of configuration parameters and/or thresholds for establishing the compatibility of various configurations. For example, rules engine may establish—for safety precaution—that the driver-side mirror may not be adjusted to the preferred angle setting based on the size and weight of the driver, or based on the preferred seat position. 
     Once the settings are configured, the vehicle processing unit  102  may save the user preference information for each operator of the vehicle locally as driver profile data  116 . The profile data  116  may then be managed directly on the vehicle via a display or interface module  110 . Such a configuration allows for personalization of the same vehicle for multiple operators as will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . Moreover, in the event that the target vehicle is not configured with network access, the system  100  and configurable vehicle settings may be personalized by the vehicle operator through settings transfer from an external device  104  such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) adapter, smart Card, electronic key fob (RFID), or via auxiliary input for example. 
       FIG. 2  is a concept illustration of data exchange between a plurality of portable electronic devices and an automobile via the vehicle personalization system in accordance with an example of the present invention. As shown here, the system  200  includes multiple computing devices  206   a - 206   c  used to personalize configurable settings of a vehicle  205 . As described in the previous example embodiment, the computing devices  206   a - 206   c  are utilized by an operating user and communicate with network  208  for configuring user profile and preference information. The profile information may include the user&#39;s physical characteristics such as height and weight for establishing a driving comfort range, in addition to preferences and/or driving parameters (e.g., highway/city driving, engine tuning, transmission shifting, chassis setup, etc.). Examples of configurations and/or settings that may be personalized and transferred between multiple vehicles include: pre-configured radio stations (e.g., AM, FM, Sirius/XM), metric system for dashboard, Bluetooth® pairing information, personal phone directory and address contact list from a cell phone and/or email account, settings relating to downloadable music, mirror/seat positioning, software configurable vehicle suspensions, and the like. Moreover, operating users may transfer their personal configuration directly from the computing device  206   a - 206   c  such as a smartphone for example, to the vehicle  205  via Bluetooth® or similar communication interface/protocol  215 . Specifically, each computing device  206   a - 206   c  may include distinct user profile information that causes the vehicle computing device to adjust configurable settings of the vehicle  205  based upon receiving a configuration change request from a particular device (via a short-range communication interface), or through proximity detection of each computing device (e.g, configuration adjustment only for the driver&#39;s computing device when multiple passengers/devices present). 
       FIG. 3  is a simplified flow chart of the processing steps for vehicle personalization the in accordance with an example of the present invention. In step  304 , configuration and setting (“C&amp;S”) data of the vehicle are retrieved. According to one example embodiment, retrieval of vehicle C&amp;S information may be accomplished at the manufacturing level, through online lookup of the vehicle&#39;s VIN number, or via a computing device and vehicle interface module. Next, in step  304 , the system determines the customizable features of the configuration and settings data. That is, given the present list of configurations and settings associated with the vehicle, a determination is made as to which configurations and settings are capable of being personalized by the operating user. The determination may be accomplished through manufacturer&#39;s listing of preset configurable parameters; analysis of data parameters encoded with the configuration or setting of a particular device/sensor or connector; or via an online database of vehicle identification information tagged by VIN or the make and year of the vehicle. Upon receiving a configuration change request in step  306  (via proximity detection or manually), preference settings associated with the requesting user are then downloaded and received at the vehicle interface module of the target vehicle in step  308 . As discussed above, the user profile and vehicle preference settings may be obtained via the cloud network, directly from the user computing device, or via an external storage device. Next, in step  310  the preferred settings of the user are analyzed by the rules engine for validating compatibility of the user preferred settings with other configurations and/or settings of the vehicle. In step  312 , the user profile and preference settings are then applied to configuration module so as to adjust the current configuration and/or settings of the vehicle (e.g., adjust current seat settings to accommodate physical characteristics of user). Lastly, in step  314 , the user profile and settings may then be stored locally on the vehicle processing unit for subsequent retrieval. For example, the preference settings of the current driver may be associated with the Bluetooth pairing information of the user&#39;s portable electronic device such that when the user enters the car in the future, the vehicle processing unit is able to automatically pair with this device and then apply all of the user&#39;s stored preference settings. 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide system and method for vehicle personalization. Many safety and other advantages are afforded by the vehicle personalization system disclosed herein. For example, the automated aspect of the present examples helps to greatly reduce the time required to setup a vehicle with driver preferences. And since the driver is not preoccupied physically configuring the vehicle during transit, the driver&#39;s ability to focus on the road and other drivers is greatly improved. Still further, the present system also allows drivers to take preferred configurations and settings from vehicle to vehicle with minimal setup time via the cloud-based user profile. 
     Furthermore, while the invention has been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. For example, although exemplary embodiments depict a smartphone as the computing device, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the disclosed computing device may be a netbook, a tablet personal computer, or any other electronic device capable of communication with the vehicle interface module. Thus, although the invention has been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.