Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8190214?dq=6175559
Timestamp: 2014-11-27 09:52:49
Document Index: 111331045

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 2008', 'Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 2008', 'Application No. 2008', 'Application No. 2008']

Patent US8190214 - In-vehicle handsfree apparatus - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn in-vehicle handsfree apparatus establishes a handsfree profile connection with at least two cellular phones. It may be determined that a first cellular phone and a second cellular phone are receiving incoming calls at the same time, or that while a first cellular phone is calling, a second cellular...http://www.google.com/patents/US8190214?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8190214 - In-vehicle handsfree apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS8190214 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 12/378,709Publication dateMay 29, 2012Filing dateFeb 18, 2009Priority dateFeb 19, 2008Also published asDE102009009695A1, US20090209296Publication number12378709, 378709, US 8190214 B2, US 8190214B2, US-B2-8190214, US8190214 B2, US8190214B2InventorsYousuke Kimura, Hideaki Suzuki, Tooru Kakehi, Takehiro Abeta, Takafumi OkayasuOriginal AssigneeDenso CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (54), Non-Patent Citations (12), Referenced by (4), Classifications (18), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetIn-vehicle handsfree apparatusUS 8190214 B2Abstract An in-vehicle handsfree apparatus establishes a handsfree profile connection with at least two cellular phones. It may be determined that a first cellular phone and a second cellular phone are receiving incoming calls at the same time, or that while a first cellular phone is calling, a second cellular phone is receiving an incoming call. In such a case, based on attributes (for example, a holder or intended use) of the first and second cellular phones, a notice manner of information on incoming call or information on telephone call is differentiated, for instance, in regard to a background color of a display window.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Applications No. 2008-59573 filed on Mar. 10, 2008 and No. 2008-262785 filed on Oct. 9, 2008.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an in-vehicle handsfree apparatus having a handsfree connection section to establish a handsfree communication protocol connection with two or more cellular phones, and a control section to determine whether any one of the cellular phones is in a calling state or in an incoming call receiving state.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Patent document 1: JP-2005-260822 A corresponding to US2005/0202852 A1
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle handsfree apparatus to appropriately notify a user of states of multiple cellular phones with which a handsfree communication protocol connection is established at the same time, thereby improving the user's usability.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be explained with reference to drawings. The following explains an example, in which each of two or more cellular phones has a Bluetooth (registered trademark, referred to as BT) communication function and the cellular phones are brought in a passenger compartment of a vehicle. An in-vehicle handsfree apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted in a vehicle and includes a control section 2, a BT interface section 3, a call sound processing section 4, a storage section 5, a display management section 6, and a touch operation input section 7. The control section 2 may function as an example of a clock means or portion, a connection clock time detection means or portion, and a connection times count portion. The BT interface section 3 may function as an example of a handsfree connection means or section.
When a user registers previously each of the cellular phones 21 to 2 n for permitting a handsfree connection with the in-vehicle handsfree apparatus 1, the above association of the phone information, the holder, and the intended use is registered. Based on the operation of such a registration, the control section 2 causes the storage section 5 to store or record the phone information, holder, and intended use in association with each other. The holder or the intended use are equivalent to an attribute of each of the cellular phones 21 to 2 n. The display apparatus 13 includes a display device 14 having a display screen for displaying a display window and a touch operation input device 15 formed on the screen of the display device 14. The display device 14 may function as an example of a notice section or means. The display management section 6 controls a display operation of the display device 14 based on a display command signal, which is received from the control section 2. The touch operation input section 7 receives an operation detection signal via the touch operation input device 15 according to the user having operated the touch switch formed on the display screen and then outputs the received operation detection signal to the control section 2. The control section 2 analyzes and processes the received operation detection signal.
An operation under the above configuration is explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 18. As illustrated in FIG. 3, five cellular phones 21 to 25 are brought in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. �Phone information A� is registered in the cellular phone 21. �Phone information B� is registered in the cellular phone 22. �Phone information C� is registered in the cellular phone 23. �Phone information D� is registered in the cellular phone 24. �Phone information E� is registered in the cellular phone 25. Further, as a premise, a handsfree profile connection is established by the in-vehicle handsfree apparatus 1 with the five cellular phones 21 to 25 at the same time. Further, for example, when Mr. Higashida registers himself or his name �Higashida O O� as a driver in the in-vehicle handsfree apparatus 1, it is assumed that the control section 2 automatically recognizes that Mr. Higashida is a driver.
Herein, it is assumed that before one of the cellular phones 21 to 25 comes to be in an incoming call receiving state, none of the cellular phones 21 to 25 is in an incoming call receiving state. In such a case, when one of the cellular phones 21 to 25 receives an incoming call, the control section 2 determines that there is no cellular phone having been already in an incoming call receiving state (S1: NO). It is then determined at S2 whether the holder of the cellular phone in the incoming call receiving state is a driver. When it is determined that the holder of the cellular phone receiving the incoming call is a driver (S2: YES), it is then determined at S3 whether the intended use of the cellular phone receiving the incoming call is a business use. Based on the result of the determination at S2, S3, the control section 2 displays information relative to the incoming call (referred to as incoming call information) at S4 to S6. Herein, the incoming call information includes the following: (i) a message which indicates �incoming call receiving� or �in an incoming call receiving state�; (ii) a call source telephone number (also referred to as a caller telephone number) of an incoming call, which is informed by the cellular phone receiving the incoming call; (iii) a registration name which is registered in the phonebook data corresponding to the notified caller telephone number; and (iv) a holder and an intended use, which are registered in association with the cellular phone receiving the incoming call.
That is, if the cellular phone 21 receives an incoming call, the control section 2 displays an incoming call information item 41 with the background color green in a right upper region of the display screen of the display device 14 at S4 (see FIG. 5). The incoming call information item 41 indicates that the cellular phone 21, which has registration data of �HIGASHIDA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. If the cellular phone 22 receives an incoming call, the control section 2 displays an incoming call information item 42 with the background color green in a right lower region of the display screen of the display device 14 at S5 (see FIG. 6). The incoming call information item 42 indicates that the cellular phone 22, which has registration data of �HIGASHIDA OO� as the holder and �PERSONAL� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. Further, if the cellular phone 23 receives an incoming call, the control section 2 displays an incoming call information item 43 with the background color yellow in a left upper region of the display screen of the display device 14 at S6 (see FIG. 7). The incoming call information item 43 indicates that the cellular phone 23, which has registration data of �NISHIMURA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, receives an incoming call.
That is, in case that the cellular phone 22 has been already receiving an incoming call when the cellular phone 21 receives an incoming call newly, the following is performed by the control section 2. That is, in FIG. 8, an incoming call information item 44 is initially displayed with the background color green in a right lower region of the display screen of the display device 14. Herein, the incoming call information item 44 indicates that the cellular phone 22 has registration data of �HIGASHIDA OO� as the holder and �PERSONAL� as the intended use. Then, an interrupting incoming call information item 45 is additionally displayed with the background color green in a right upper region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 45 indicates that the cellular phone 21, which has registration data of �HIGASHIDA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. The incoming call information item 44 of the cellular phone 22 and the incoming call information item 45 of the cellular phone 21 are thus displayed simultaneously at S10.
Further, in case that when the cellular phone 23 has been already receiving an incoming call, the cellular phone 21 receives an incoming call newly, the following is performed by the control section 2. That is, in FIG. 9, an incoming call information item 46 is initially displayed with the background color yellow in a left upper region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 46 indicates that the cellular phone 23, which has registration data of �NISHIMURA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, is receiving an incoming call. Then, an interrupting incoming call information item 47 is additionally displayed with the background color green in a right upper region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 47 indicates that the cellular phone 21, which has registration data of �HIGASHIDA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. The incoming call information item 46 of the cellular phone 23 and the incoming call information item 47 of the cellular phone 21 are displayed simultaneously at S11.
That is, in case that when the cellular phone 23 has been already receiving an incoming call, the cellular phone 24 receives an incoming call newly, the following is performed by the control section 2. In FIG. 10, an incoming call information item 48 is initially displayed with the background color yellow in a left upper region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 48 indicates that the cellular phone 23, which has registration data of �NISHIMURA OO� as the holder and �BUSINESS� as the intended use, is receiving an incoming call. Then, an interrupting incoming call information item 49 is additionally displayed with the background color yellow in a left lower region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 49 indicates that the cellular phone 24, which has registration data of �NISHIMURA OO� as the holder and �PERSONAL� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. The incoming call information item 48 of the cellular phone 23 and the incoming call information item 49 of the cellular phone 24 are displayed simultaneously at S14.
Further, in case that when the cellular phone 24 has been already receiving an incoming call, the cellular phone 25 receives an incoming call newly, the following is performed by the control section 2. That is, in FIG. 11, an incoming call information item 50 is initially displayed with the background color yellow in a left upper region of the display screen of the display device 14. Herein, the incoming call information item 50 indicates that the cellular phone 24, which has registration data of �NISHIMUARA OO� as the holder and �PERSONAL� as the intended use, is receiving an incoming call. Then, an interrupting incoming call information item 51 is additionally displayed with the background color blue in a left lower region of the display screen of the display device 14. The incoming call information item 51 indicates that the cellular phone 25, which has registration data of �MINAMINO OO� as the holder and �PERSONAL� as the intended use, receives an incoming call. The incoming call information item 50 of the cellular phone 24 and the incoming call information item 51 of the cellular phone 25 are displayed simultaneously at S15.
FIG. 18A illustrates an example of a display window in the display screen of the display device 14. In this example, two relevant cellular phones in incoming call receiving states have an identical intended use. From one of the cellular phones, �090******01� is received as a caller telephone number; �TOKUGAWA OO� is stored in the phonebook data as a registration name corresponding to the received caller telephone number; and �090******01� as a caller telephone number and �TOKUGAWA OO� as a registration name are displayed in a left half screen portion in the display screen of the display device 14. Further, simultaneously, �090******02� is received as a caller telephone number is received from the other cellular phone; �ODA OO� is stored in the phonebook data as a registration name corresponding to the received caller telephone number; and �090******02� as a caller telephone number and �ODA OO� as a registration name are displayed in a right half screen portion in the display screen of the display device 14.
FIG. 18B illustrates another example of a display window in the display screen of the display device 14. In this example, two relevant cellular phones in incoming call receiving states have mutually different intended uses. From one of the two cellular phones in incoming call receiving states, �090******01� is received as a caller telephone number; �TOKUGAWA OO� is stored in the phonebook data as a registration name corresponding to the received caller telephone number; and �090******01� as a caller telephone number and �TOKUGAWA OO� as a registration name are displayed in a left half screen portion in the display screen of the display device 14. Further, simultaneously, �090******03� is received as a caller telephone number from the other cellular phone; �TOYOTOMI OO� is stored in the phonebook data as a registration name corresponding to the received caller telephone number; and �090******03� as a caller telephone number and �TOYOTOMI OO� as a registration name are displayed in a right half screen portion in the display screen of the display device 14.
Herein, the control section 2 determine whether the following conditions are satisfied at the same time: (i) the cellular phone assigned with a telephone number �090******01� is for the business use; (ii) the cellular phone assigned with a telephone number �090******03� is for the personal use; and (iii) the present day is a non-business day. When the above conditions are determined to be satisfied at the same time, the control section 2 gives priority to the cellular phone for the personal use, and displays information indicating that the cellular phone for the personal use is given the priority. For instance, such information is exemplified by character information �PRIORITY� included in the incoming call information item 73 in FIG. 18B.
In addition, the display of the character information �PRIORITY� is used as a method for giving notice of giving a priority in the above. Alternatively, the background color or character color may be differentiated to give notice of giving a priority. Further, the lighting pattern or blinking pattern may be used for differentiating or highlighting the prioritized portion. For instance, the lower-priority one is lighted on or turned on while the higher-priority one is blinked. Further, the display position in the display screen can be also used for differentiating or highlighting the prioritized portion. For example, the prioritized portion or prioritized information can be located, within the display screen, at a half screen portion closer to a driver than the other half screen portion.
The layouts or display positions for giving notice of an incoming call information item or a calling information item may be differentiated from the above explanation. The attribute of the cellular phone may be a class other than the holder or the intended use. When the caller telephone number is not received from the cellular phones 21 to 2 n, a display message �CALLER ID BLOCK� indicating that a caller telephone number is not received from the source telephone may be displayed.
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No. 13/378,707.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8473012 *Jan 3, 2012Jun 25, 2013ParrotArchitecture of a multimedia and hands-free phone equipment for a motor vehicleUS20120172087 *Jan 3, 2012Jul 5, 2012ParrotArchitecture of a multimedia and hands-free phone equipment for a motor vehicleUS20130065523 *Sep 12, 2012Mar 14, 2013Lg Electronics Inc.Mobile terminal and method of transmitting information using the sameDE102012016111A1 *Aug 15, 2012Apr 3, 2014Volkswagen AktiengesellschaftMethod for operating telecommunication system in vehicle i.e. motor car, navigation system, involves controlling telecommunication connection between telecommunication device of vehicle and external telecommunication device by push buttons* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification455/567, 455/569.2, 455/88, 455/575.9, 455/569.1, 455/556.1International ClassificationH04M1/247Cooperative ClassificationH04M9/04, H04W92/08, H04M1/56, H04M1/663, H04M1/575, H04M19/048, H04M1/6091European ClassificationH04M1/60T2C2A, H04M1/56, H04M1/57P, H04M9/04Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 18, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: DENSO CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KIMURA, YOUSUKE;SUZUKI, HIDEAKI;KAKEHI, TOORU;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:022323/0137;SIGNING DATES FROM 20090205 TO 20090210Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KIMURA, YOUSUKE;SUZUKI, HIDEAKI;KAKEHI, TOORU;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20090205 TO 20090210;REEL/FRAME:022323/0137RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google