Patent Description:
A telematics system may gather asset data using a telematics device. The telematics device may be integrated into or located onboard the asset. The asset may be a vehicle ("vehicular asset") or some stationary equipment. The telematics device may collect the asset data from the asset through a data connection with the asset. In the case of a vehicular asset, the telematics device may gather the asset data through an onboard diagnostic port (OBD). The gathered asset data may include engine revolutions-per-minute (RPM), battery voltage, fuel level, tire pressure, engine coolant temperature, or any other asset data available through the diagnostic port. Additionally, the telematics device may gather sensor data pertaining to the asset via sensors on the telematics device. For example, the telematics device may have temperature and pressure sensors, inertial measurement units (IMU), optical sensors, and the like. Furthermore, the telematics device may gather location data pertaining to the asset from a location module on the telematics device. When the telematics device is coupled to the asset, the gathered sensor data and location data pertain to the asset. The gathered asset data, sensor data and location data may be received and recorded by a technical infrastructure of the telematics system, such as a telematics server, and used in the provision of fleet management tools, for telematics services, or for further data analysis. Patent publications <CIT> and <CIT> discuss information that is useful for understanding the background of the invention.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method according to claim <NUM>. The method includes sending telematics data to a telematics server by a telematics device coupled to a vehicle by a telematics device coupled to a vehicle, determining by the telematics server based on the telematics data that a vehicle's engine of the vehicle is running, determining by the telematics server based on the telematics data that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle, sending by the telematics server a message over a network to an operator terminal of the vehicle operator for changing a configuration of the operator terminal in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle, receiving by the operator terminal the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal, and changing by the operator terminal the configuration of the operator terminal in response to receiving the message for changing the configuration. Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that a location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle, receiving inertial motion unit (IMU) data from the operator terminal, and determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator is inspecting the vehicle.

Determining that the location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving the location of the operator terminal from the operator terminal, receiving the location of the vehicle from the telematics device deployed in the vehicle, and determining that a distance between the location of the operator terminal and the location of the vehicle is less than a distance threshold.

Determining that the location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from the operator terminal that the operator terminal_is connected to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from the operator terminal that the operator terminal is connected to the telematics device coupled to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from the telematics device of a near-field communications (NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operator within a prior period of time.

Changing the configuration of the operator terminal may comprise disabling all features except for an ability to make an emergency call.

Changing the configuration of the operator terminal may comprise locking a user interface input device of the operator terminal.

Sending, by the telematics server, the message to the operator terminal for changing the configuration of the operator terminal may be done when a location of the vehicle is outside at least one predetermined geofence.

Sending, by the telematics server, the message to the operator terminal for changing the configuration of the operator terminal may be done when an image indication received from the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is not at a particular type of location.

Sending, by the telematics server, the message to the operator terminal for changing the configuration of the operator terminal may be done after a grace period since cranking of the vehicle's engine has expired.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a telematics system including a telematics server, a network, a telematics device coupled to a vehicle and in communication with the telematics server over the network, and an operator terminal in communication with the telematics server over the network. The telematics system is configured to carry out the previous method.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a telematics system according to claim <NUM> including a telematics server, a network, a telematics device coupled to a vehicle and in communication with the telematics server over the network, and an operator terminal in communication with the telematics server over the network. The telematics device sends telematics data to the telematics server, the telematics server determines based on the telematics data that a vehicle's engine of the vehicle is running, and the telematics server determines based on the telematics data that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle. The telematics server sends a message over the network to the operator terminal of the vehicle operator for changing a configuration of the operator terminal in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle, the operator terminal receives the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal, and the operator terminal changes the configuration thereof in response to receiving the message for changing the configuration.

The operator terminal may change the configuration thereof to disable all features except for an ability to make an emergency call.

The operator terminal may change the configuration thereof to lock a user interface input device thereof.

The telematics server may send the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal when a location of the vehicle is outside at least one predetermined geofence.

The telematics server may send the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal when an image indication received from the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is not at a particular type of location.

The telematics server may send the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal after a grace period since cranking of the vehicle's engine has expired.

In another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method by a telematics server. The method includes determining that a vehicle's engine in a vehicle is running, determining that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle, and sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator disabling at least one feature of the electronic device in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

Determining that the vehicle's engine is running may comprise receiving an indication that the vehicle's engine is running from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle.

The indication may comprise a revolutions-per-minute (RPM) which is greater than zero or a signal indicating that an Electric Vehicle (EV) is active.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is within hours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is within hours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle.

Detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a driver's seatbelt is fastened.

Detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication of a recent interaction with a steering wheel of the vehicle.

Determining that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a dashboard camera has captured an image of vehicle operator registered with the vehicle.

Determining that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a fingerprint sensor disposed on a steering wheel of the vehicle can detect a fingerprint of the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat may comprise determining that a location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location of the vehicle and determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receiving inertial motion unit (IMU) data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data is below a particular threshold. The IMU data may comprise accelerometer data.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receiving inertial motion unit (IMU) data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator is inspecting the vehicle.

Determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator is inspecting the vehicle may involve providing the IMU data to a machine learning model.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving the location of the electronic device from the electronic device; receiving the location of the vehicle from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle and determining that a distance between the location of the electronic device and the location of the vehicle is less than a particular threshold.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle comprises receiving an indication from the electronic device of the vehicle operator that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from the electronic device of the vehicle operator that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected to a telematics device coupled to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

The short-range communications connection may comprise a Bluetooth connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from a telematics device of a near-field communications (NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operator within a prior period of time.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device may comprise sending a message which causes the electronic device of the vehicle operator to disable all features except for an ability to make an emergency call.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device comprises sending a message which causes the electronic device of the vehicle operator to securely lock the electronic device.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be done when a location of the vehicle is outside at least one predetermined geofence.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be done when an image indication received from the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is not at a particular type of location.

The image indication may comprise an image received from a dashboard camera.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be done after a grace period since cranking of the vehicle's engine has expired.

The grace period may expire in response to detecting motion of the vehicle.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator restricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be done when a particular mode is enabled for the vehicle.

Determining that the vehicle's engine is running may comprise receiving, over a short-range communications connection from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle an indication that the vehicle's engine is running.

The indication comprises a revolutions-per-minute (RPM) which is greater than zero.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receiving inertial measurement unit (IMU) data from IMU sensors in the electronic device and determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary if the IMU data is below a particular threshold.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected to a telematics device coupled to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected, via a short-range communications connection to an I/O expansion adapter coupled to a telematics device which is coupled to the vehicle.

Disabling at least one feature of the electronic device may comprise disabling all features of the electronic device except for an ability to make an emergency call.

Disabling at least one feature of the electronic device comprises securely locking the electronic device.

Exemplary non-limiting embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:.

A large telematics system may collect data from a high number of assets, either directly or through telematic devices. A telematics device may refer to a self-contained device installed at an asset, or a telematics device that is integrated into the asset itself. In either case, it may be said that telematics data is being captured or gathered by the telematics device. <FIG> shows a high-level block diagram of a telematics system <NUM>. The telematics system <NUM> includes a telematics server <NUM>, (N) telematics devices shown as telematics device 200_1, telematics device 200_2. through telematics device 200_N ("telematics device <NUM>"), a network <NUM>, administration terminals 400_1 and 400_2, and operator terminals 450_1, 450_2. through 450_N ("operator terminals <NUM>"). <FIG> also shows a plurality of (N) assets named as asset 100_1, asset 100_2. asset 100_N ("asset <NUM>") coupled to the telematics device 200_1, telematics device 200_2. telematics device 200_N, respectively. Additionally, <FIG> shows a plurality of satellites 170_1, 170_2 and 170_3 ("satellites <NUM>") in communication with the telematics devices <NUM> for facilitating navigation.

The assets <NUM> shown are in the form of vehicles. For example, the asset 100_1 is shown as a truck, which may be part of a fleet that delivers goods or provides services. The asset 100_2 is shown as a passenger car that typically runs on an internal combustion engine (ICE). The asset 100_3 is shown as an electric vehicle (EV). Other types of vehicles, which are not shown, are also contemplated in the various embodiments of the present disclosure, including but not limited to, farming vehicles, construction vehicles, military vehicles, and the like.

The telematics devices <NUM> are electronic devices which are coupled to assets <NUM> and configured to capture asset data from the assets <NUM>. For example, in <FIG> the telematics device 200_1 is coupled to the asset 100_1. Similarly, the telematics device 200_2 is coupled to the asset 100_2 and the telematics device 200_3 is coupled to the asset 100_3. The components of a telematics device <NUM> are explained in further detail with reference to <FIG>.

The network <NUM> may be a single network or a combination of networks such as a data cellular network, the Internet, and other network technologies. The network <NUM> may provide connectivity between the telematics devices <NUM> and the telematics server <NUM>, between the administration terminal <NUM> and the telematics server <NUM>, between the handheld administration terminal <NUM> and the telematics server <NUM>, and between the operator terminals <NUM> and the telematics server <NUM>.

The telematics server <NUM> is an electronic device executing machine-executable programming instructions which enable the telematics server <NUM> to store and analyze telematics data. The telematics server <NUM> may be a single computer system or a cluster of computers. The telematics server <NUM> may be running an operating system such as Linux, Windows, Unix, or any other equivalent operating system. Alternatively, the telematics server <NUM> may be a software component hosted on a cloud service, such as Amazon Web Service (AWS). The telematics server <NUM> is connected to the network <NUM> and may receive telematics data from the telematics devices <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may have a plurality of software modules for performing data analysis and analytics on the telematics data to obtain useful asset information about the assets <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may be coupled to a telematics database <NUM> for storing telematics data and/or the results of the analytics which are related to the assets <NUM>. The asset information stored may include operator information about the operators <NUM> corresponding to the assets. The telematics server <NUM> may communicate the asset data and/or the operator information pertaining to an asset <NUM> to one or more of: the administration terminal <NUM>, the handheld administration terminal <NUM>, and the operator terminal <NUM>.

The satellites <NUM> may be part of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and may provide location information to the telematics devices <NUM>. The location information may be processed by a location module on the telematics device <NUM> to provide location data indicating the location of the telematics device <NUM> (and hence the location of the asset <NUM> coupled thereto). A telematics device <NUM> that can periodically report an asset's location is often termed an "asset tracking device".

The administration terminal <NUM> is an electronic device, which may be used to connect to the telematics server <NUM> to retrieve data and analytics related to one or more assets <NUM> or to issue commands to one or more telematics device <NUM> via the telematics server <NUM>. The administration terminal <NUM> may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer such as the administration terminal <NUM>, a tablet (not shown), or a smartphone such as the handheld administration terminal <NUM>. The administration terminal <NUM> may run a web browser or a custom application which allows retrieving data and analytics, pertaining to one or more assets <NUM>, from the telematics server <NUM> via a web interface of the telematics server <NUM>. The handheld administration terminal <NUM> may run a mobile application for communicating with the telematics server <NUM>, the mobile application allowing retrieving data and analytics therefrom. The mobile application of the handheld administration terminal may also be used to issue commands to one or more telematics device <NUM> via the telematics server <NUM>. A fleet manager <NUM> may communicate with the telematics server <NUM> using the administration terminal <NUM>, the handheld administration terminal <NUM>, or another form of administration terminals such as a tablet. In addition to retrieving data and analytics, the administration terminal <NUM> allows the fleet manager <NUM> to set alerts and geofences for keeping track of the assets <NUM>, receiving notifications of deliveries, and so on.

The operator terminals <NUM> are electronic devices, such as smartphones or tablets. The operator terminals <NUM> are used by operators <NUM> (for example, vehicle drivers) of the assets <NUM> to both track and configure the usage of the assets <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the operator 10_1 has the operator terminal 450_1, the operator 10_2 has the operator terminal 450_2, and the operator 10_N has the operator terminal 450_N. Assuming the operators <NUM> all belong to a fleet of vehicles, each of the operators <NUM> may operate any of the assets <NUM>. For example, <FIG> shows that the operator 10_1 is associated with the asset 100_1, the operator 10_2 is associated with the asset 100_2, and the operator 10_N is associated with the asset 100_N. However, any operator <NUM> may operate any asset <NUM> within a particular group of assets, such as a fleet. The operator terminals <NUM> are in communication with the telematics server <NUM> over the network <NUM>. The operator terminals <NUM> may run at least one asset configuration application. The asset configuration application may be used by an operator <NUM> to inform the telematics server <NUM> that the asset <NUM> is being currently operated by the operator <NUM>. For example, the operator 10_2 may use an asset configuration application on the operator terminal 450_2 to indicate that the operator 10_2 is currently using the asset 100_2. The telematics server <NUM> updates the telematics database <NUM> to indicate that the asset 100_2 is currently associated with the operator 10_2. Additionally, the asset configuration application may be used to report information related to the operation duration of the vehicle, the number of stops made by the operator during their working shift, and so on. Furthermore, the asset configuration application may allow the operator to configure the telematics device <NUM> coupled to the asset <NUM> that the operator <NUM> is operating.

In operation, a telematics device <NUM> is coupled to an asset <NUM> to capture asset data. The asset data may be combined with location data obtained by the telematics device <NUM> from a location module in communication with the satellites <NUM> and/or sensor data gathered from sensors in the telematics device <NUM> or another device coupled to the telematics device <NUM>. The combined asset data, location data, and sensor data may be termed "telematics data". The telematics device <NUM> sends the telematics data, to the telematics server <NUM> over the network <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may process, aggregate, and analyze the telematics data to generate asset information pertaining to the assets <NUM> or to a fleet of assets. The telematics server <NUM> may store the telematics data and/or the generated asset information in the telematics database <NUM>. The administration terminal <NUM> may connect to the telematics server <NUM>, over the network <NUM>, to access the generated asset information. Alternatively, the telematics server <NUM> may push the generated asset information to the administration terminal <NUM>. Additionally, the operators <NUM>, using their operator terminals <NUM>, may indicate to the telematics server <NUM> which assets <NUM> they are associated with. The telematics server <NUM> updates the telematics database <NUM> accordingly to associate the operator <NUM> with the asset <NUM>. Furthermore, the telematics server <NUM> may provide additional analytics related to the operators <NUM> including work time, location, and operating parameters. For example, for vehicle assets, the telematics data may include turning, speeding, and braking information. The telematics server <NUM> can correlate the telematics data to the vehicle's driver by querying the asset database <NUM>. A fleet manager <NUM> may use the administration terminal <NUM> to set alerts for certain activities pertaining to the assets <NUM>. When criteria for an alert is met, the telematics server <NUM> sends a message to the fleet manager's administration terminal <NUM>, and may optionally send alerts to the operator terminal <NUM> to notify an operator <NUM> of the alert. For example, a vehicle driver operating the vehicle outside of a service area or hours of service may receive an alert on their operator terminal <NUM>. A fleet manager <NUM> may also the administration terminal <NUM> to configure a telematics device <NUM> by issuing commands thereto via the telematics server <NUM>.

Further details relating to the telematics device <NUM> and how it interfaces with an asset <NUM> are shown with reference to <FIG> depicts an asset <NUM> and a telematics device <NUM> coupled thereto. Selected relevant components of each of the asset <NUM> and the telematics device <NUM> are shown.

The asset <NUM> may have a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs). An ECU is an electronic module which interfaces with one or more sensors for gathering information from the asset <NUM>. For example, an oil temperature ECU may contain a temperature sensor and a controller for converting the measured temperature into digital data representative of the oil temperature. Similarly, a battery voltage ECU may contain a voltage sensor for measuring the voltage at the positive battery terminal and a controller for converting the measured voltage into digital data representative of the battery voltage. A vehicle may, for example, have around seventy ECUs. For simplicity, only a few of the ECUs <NUM> are depicted in <FIG>. For example, in the depicted embodiment the asset <NUM> has three electronic control units: ECU 110A, ECU 110B, and ECU 110C ("ECUs <NUM>"). The ECU 110A, the ECU 110B, and the ECU 110C are shown to be interconnected via an asset communications bus, such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus <NUM>. ECUs <NUM> interconnected using the CAN bus <NUM> send and receive information to one another in CAN data frames by placing the information on the CAN bus <NUM>. When an ECU places information on the CAN bus <NUM>, other ECUs <NUM> receive the information and may or may not consume or use that information. Different protocols may be used to exchange information between the ECUs over a CAN bus. For example, ECUs <NUM> in trucks and heavy vehicles use the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) J1939 protocol to exchange information over a CAN bus <NUM>. Most passenger vehicles use the SAE J1979 protocol, which is commonly known as On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) protocol to exchange information between ECUs <NUM> on their CAN bus <NUM>. In industrial automation, ECUs use a CANOpen protocol to exchange information over a CAN bus <NUM>. An asset <NUM> may allow access to information exchanged over the CAN bus <NUM> via an interface port <NUM>. For example, if the asset <NUM> is a passenger car, then the interface port <NUM> is most likely an OBD-II port. Data accessible through the interface port <NUM> is termed the asset data <NUM>. In some embodiments, the interface port <NUM> includes a power interface for providing electric power to a telematics device <NUM> connected thereto.

The telematics device <NUM> includes a controller <NUM> coupled to a memory <NUM>, an interface layer <NUM> and a network interface <NUM>. The telematics device <NUM> also includes one or more sensors <NUM> and a location module <NUM> coupled to the interface layer <NUM>. The telematics device <NUM> may also contain some optional components, shown in dashed lines in <FIG>. For example, the telematics device <NUM> may contain one or more of: a near-field communications (NFC) module such as NFC module <NUM>, a short-range wireless communications module <NUM>, and a wired communications module such as a serial communications module <NUM>. In some embodiments (not shown), the telematics device <NUM> may have a dedicated power source or a battery. In other embodiments, the telematics device <NUM> may receive power directly from the asset <NUM>, via the interface port <NUM>. The telematics device <NUM> shown is an example. Some of the components shown in solid lines may also be optional and may be implemented in separate modules. For example, some telematics devices (not shown) may not have a location module <NUM> and may rely on an external location module for obtaining the location data <NUM>. Some telematics devices may not have any sensors <NUM> and may rely on external sensors for obtaining sensor data <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may include one or any combination of a processor, microprocessor, microcontroller (MCU), central processing unit (CPU), processing core, state machine, logic gate array, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or similar, capable of executing, whether by software, hardware, firmware, or a combination of such, the actions performed by the controller <NUM> as described herein. The controller <NUM> may have an internal memory for storing machine-executable programming instructions to carry out the methods described herein.

The memory <NUM> may include read-only-memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, magnetic storage, optical storage, and similar, or any combination thereof, for storing machine-executable programming instructions and data to support the functionality described herein. The memory <NUM> is coupled to the controller <NUM> thus enabling the controller <NUM> to execute the machine-executable programming instructions stored in the memory <NUM> and to access the data stored therein. The memory <NUM> may contain machine-executable programming instructions, which when executed by the controller <NUM>, configures the telematics device <NUM> for receiving asset data <NUM> from the asset <NUM> via the asset interface <NUM>, and for receiving sensor data <NUM> from the sensors <NUM> and/or location data <NUM> from the location module <NUM> via the sensor interface <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may also contain machine-executable programming instructions for combining asset data <NUM>, sensor data <NUM> and location data <NUM> into telematics data <NUM>. Additionally, the memory <NUM> may further contain instructions which, when executed by the controller <NUM>, configures the telematics device <NUM> to transmit the telematics data <NUM> via the network interface <NUM> to a telematics server <NUM> over a network <NUM>. In some embodiments, the memory <NUM> only stores data, and the machine-executable programming instructions for carrying out the aforementioned tasks are stored in an internal memory of the controller <NUM>.

The location module <NUM> may be a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver or another type of location determination peripheral that may use, for example, wireless network information for location determination. The location module <NUM> is coupled to the controller <NUM> and provides location data <NUM> thereto. The location data <NUM> may be in the form of a latitude and longitude, for example.

The sensors <NUM> may be one or more of: a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, an optical sensor, a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or any other suitable sensor indicating a condition pertaining to the asset <NUM> to which the telematics device <NUM> is coupled. The sensors provide sensor data <NUM> to the controller <NUM> via the sensor interface <NUM>.

The interface layer <NUM> may include a sensor interface <NUM> and an asset interface <NUM>. The sensor interface <NUM> is configured for receiving the sensor data <NUM> from the sensors <NUM>. For example, the sensor interface <NUM> interfaces with the sensors <NUM> and receives the sensor data <NUM> therefrom. The asset interface <NUM> receives asset data <NUM> from the asset <NUM>. In the depicted embodiment, the asset interface <NUM> is coupled to the interface port <NUM> of the asset <NUM>. The asset data <NUM>, received at the telematics device <NUM>, from the asset <NUM> may be in the form of data messages, such as CAN data frames. The asset data <NUM> may describe one or more of any of: a property, a state, and an operating condition of the asset <NUM>. For example, where the asset <NUM> is a vehicle, the data may describe the speed at which the vehicle is travelling, a state of the vehicle (off, idle, or running), or an engine operating condition (e.g., engine oil temperature, engine revolutions-per-minutes (RPM), or a battery voltage). In addition to receiving the asset data <NUM>, in some embodiments the asset interface <NUM> may also receive power from the asset <NUM> via the interface port <NUM>. The interface layer <NUM> is coupled to the controller <NUM> and provides both the asset data <NUM> and the sensor data <NUM> to the controller <NUM>.

The network interface <NUM> may include a cellular modem, such as an LTE-M modem, CAT-M modem, other cellular modem, Wi-Fi modem, or any other communication device configured for communication via the network <NUM> with which to communicate with the telematics server <NUM>. The network interface <NUM> may be used to transmit telematics data <NUM> obtained from the asset <NUM> to the telematics server <NUM> for a telematics service or other purposes. The network interface <NUM> may also be used to receive instructions from the telematics server <NUM> for configuring the telematics device <NUM> in a certain mode and/or requesting a particular type of the asset data <NUM> from the asset <NUM>.

The NFC module <NUM> may be an NFC reader which can read information stored on an NFC tag. The NFC module <NUM> may be used to confirm the identity of the operator <NUM> by having the operator <NUM> tap an NFC tag onto the telematics device <NUM> such that the NFC tag is read by the NFC module <NUM>. The information read from the NFC tag may be included in the telematics data <NUM> sent by the telematics device <NUM> to the telematics server <NUM>.

The short-range wireless communications module <NUM> is a component intended for providing short-range wireless communication capability to the telematics device <NUM>. The short-range wireless communications module <NUM> may be a Bluetooth™. wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee™, or any other short-range wireless communications module. The short-range wireless communications module <NUM> allows other devices to communicate with the telematics device <NUM> over a short-range wireless network.

The serial communications module <NUM> is an example of a wired communications module. The serial communications module <NUM> is an electronic peripheral for providing serial wired communications to the telematics device <NUM>. For example, the serial communications module <NUM> may include a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) providing serial communications per the RS-<NUM> protocol. Alternatively, the serial communications module <NUM> may be a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus, or an inter-integrated circuit (I<NUM>C) bus. As another example, the serial communications module <NUM> may be a universal serial bus (USB) transceiver.

In operation, an ECU <NUM>, such as the ECU 110A, the ECU 110B, or the ECU 110C communicates asset data over the CAN bus <NUM>. The asset data exchanged, between the ECUs <NUM>, over the CAN bus <NUM> are accessible via the interface port <NUM> and may be retrieved as the asset data <NUM> by the telematics device <NUM>. The controller <NUM> of the telematics device <NUM> receives the asset data <NUM> via the asset interface <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may also receive sensor data <NUM> from the sensors <NUM> over the sensor interface <NUM>. Furthermore, the controller <NUM> may receive location data <NUM> from the location module <NUM>. The controller <NUM> combines the asset data <NUM> with the sensor data <NUM> and the location data <NUM> to obtain the telematics data <NUM>. The controller <NUM> transmits the telematics data <NUM> to the telematics server <NUM> over the network <NUM> via the network interface <NUM>. Optionally, an operator <NUM> may tap an NFC tag to the NFC module <NUM> to identify themself as the operator <NUM> of the asset <NUM>. Additionally, an external peripheral, such as a GPS receiver, may connect with the telematics device <NUM> via the short-range wireless communications module <NUM> or the serial communications module <NUM> for providing location information thereto. In some embodiments, the telematics device <NUM> may receive, via the network interface <NUM>, commands from the telematics server <NUM>. The received commands instruct the telematics device <NUM> to be configured in a particular way. For example, the received commands may configure the way in which the telematics device gathers asset data <NUM> from the asset <NUM> as will be described in further detail below.

The telematics data <NUM> which is comprised of asset data <NUM> gathered from the asset <NUM> combined with the sensor data <NUM> and the location data <NUM> may be used to derive useful data and analytics, by the telematics server <NUM>. However, there are times when additional data, which is not provided by the asset <NUM>, the sensors <NUM> or the location module <NUM> may be needed. The telematics device <NUM> may have a limited number of sensors <NUM> such as accelerometers or gyroscopes providing limited information about the motion of the asset <NUM> on which the telematics device <NUM> is deployed. The location module <NUM> may provide location and direction information. However, in some cases, more information may be needed to derive useful data and analytics pertaining to the asset <NUM>. One example of information that is not typically provided by the telematics device <NUM> is video capture data. Another example of information that is not typically provided by the telematics device <NUM> is any proprietary signaling provided by devices which does not follow any of the standard protocols (OBD-II, J1939 or CANOpen). Some equipment may not have a CAN bus and may provide proprietary digital and/or analog signals. Examples of such devices include industrial equipment, winter maintenance equipment such as salt spreaders, farming equipment, and the like. Additionally, the telematics device <NUM> may not have an NFC module <NUM> or a short-range wireless communications module <NUM> thus limiting its connectivity capabilities.

To capture and provide information or services not provided by the asset <NUM> or the telematics device, to produce an output, or to perform an action not supported by the telematics device, the telematics device <NUM> may be modified to allow an input/output expander device ("I/O expander") to connect thereto, as shown in <FIG> shows a telematics device <NUM>' coupled to an asset <NUM>. An I/O expander <NUM> is coupled to the telematics device <NUM>'.

The asset <NUM> is similar to the asset <NUM> of <FIG> and therefore the internal components thereof are not shown in <FIG> for simplicity.

The telematics device <NUM>' has a somewhat similar configuration as the telematics device <NUM> of <FIG>, but some of the optional components have been removed. Furthermore, the telematics device <NUM>' adds an I/O expander interface <NUM> for interfacing with the I/O expander <NUM>. The I/O expander interface <NUM> is coupled to the controller <NUM> and may be configured for exchanging I/O expander data <NUM> with the I/O expander <NUM>.

The I/O expander <NUM> of <FIG> is an example I/O expander which is designed to provide additional connectivity options to a telematics device <NUM>, which has more limited features than the one shown in <FIG>. For example, the telematics device <NUM>' shown in <FIG> does not have an NFC module, a short-range wireless communications module, or a serial communications module. Instead, the telematics device <NUM>' has an I/O expander interface <NUM>.

The I/O expander <NUM> may be an input device configured to capture additional data such as video frames, audio frames, or proprietary signals and provide that data to the telematics device <NUM>'. Alternatively, or additionally, the I/O expander <NUM> may be configured as an output device and may include a display for displaying information and/or an audio output device for broadcasting messages pertaining to the asset <NUM>.

An I/O expander <NUM>, which connects with the telematics device <NUM>', varies in complexity depending on the purpose thereof. <FIG> shows an I/O expander <NUM> containing several components which may or may not all be present in other I/O expanders. For example, the I/O expander <NUM> includes a controller <NUM>, an NFC module <NUM>, an output device <NUM>, a short-range communications module <NUM>, an image sensor (not shown), a serial communications module <NUM>, an uplink interface <NUM> and a downlink interface <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may be similar to the controller <NUM>. In some embodiments, the controller <NUM> is a microcontroller with versatile I/O capabilities. For example, the controller <NUM> may be a microcontroller which has a plurality of I/O ports such as general-purpose inputs and outputs (GPIOs), serial ports, analog inputs, and the like. In some embodiments, the controller <NUM> may have built-in persistent memory such as flash memory on which machine-executable programming instructions for carrying out the functionality of the I/O expander <NUM> may be stored. In other embodiments, the controller <NUM> may be coupled to a persistent memory module (not shown) that contains the machine-executable programming instructions for carrying out the functionality of the I/O expander <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may also have built-in volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM) for storing data. Alternatively, the I/O expander <NUM> may be connected to an external volatile memory for storing data.

The uplink interface <NUM> is an electronic peripheral interface coupled to the controller <NUM> and is used to provide data exchange and/or power capabilities to the I/O expander <NUM>. The uplink interface <NUM> allows the I/O expander <NUM> to transmit and receive I/O expander data. The uplink interface <NUM> is configured to use the same protocol and signaling as the I/O expander interface <NUM> of the telematics device <NUM>'. Accordingly, the I/O expander <NUM> may exchange the I/O expander data with the telematics device <NUM>'. In some embodiments, the uplink interface <NUM> may also include power pins connected to corresponding power pins in the I/O expander interface <NUM>, thus allowing the I/O expander <NUM> to be powered via the telematics device <NUM>'. In other embodiments (not shown), the I/O expander <NUM> may have its own power source instead of or in addition to the power provided by the telematics device <NUM>' via the uplink interface <NUM>.

The downlink interface <NUM> is an electronic peripheral interface coupled to the uplink interface <NUM>. The downlink interface <NUM> is configured to interface with the uplink interface <NUM> of another I/O expander <NUM> (as will be described below). Allowing the uplink interface <NUM> to connect to the downlink interface <NUM> of another I/O expander <NUM> allows the daisy chaining of I/O expanders <NUM>.

In the above-mentioned figures, a telematics device is shown as a separate entity connected with a corresponding asset. The telematics device, however, may have its components integrated into the asset <NUM> at the time of manufacture of the asset <NUM>. This may be the case when the asset <NUM> is a connected car having an asset network interface. For example, with reference to <FIG>, there is shown an asset <NUM>' with the components of a telematics device integrated therein, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The asset <NUM>' is similar to the asset <NUM> but, being a connected asset such as a connected car, it has an asset network interface <NUM>. In the depicted embodiment, the controller <NUM> is directly connected to the asset communications bus, which is a CAN bus <NUM> and may directly obtain the asset data <NUM> therefrom. The sensors <NUM> and the location module <NUM> are also integrated into the asset <NUM> and provide the sensor data <NUM> and the location data <NUM> to the controller <NUM> as described above. The asset network interface <NUM> belongs to the asset <NUM>' and may be used by the asset <NUM> to communicate with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server, to a roadside assistance server, or for other purposes. The controller <NUM> may utilize the asset network interface <NUM> for the transmission of telematics data <NUM> provided by the controller <NUM>. In order to support further not provided by the integrated peripherals such as the sensors <NUM> and the location module <NUM>, the asset has an I/O expander interface <NUM> coupled to the controller <NUM> so that an I/O expander <NUM> may be connected to the asset <NUM>' therethrough. The asset <NUM>' may have an interface port <NUM> for connecting other devices other than a telematics device <NUM>, such as a diagnostic tool including, but not limited to, an OBD-II reader device.

In some jurisdictions, there are by-laws which restrict the use of an electronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet while behind the wheel of a vehicle and the engine is running. While most vehicle operators may comply with the by-laws, some will not. It is, therefore, advantageous to provide methods and systems for restricting features of a vehicle operator's electronic device.

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for restricting features of an electronic device of a vehicle's operator when the vehicle's operator is behind the wheel and the vehicle's engine is running.

An electronic device may be a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, or the like. <FIG> depicts an example of an electronic device in the form of a vehicle operator terminal ("operator terminal") <NUM>, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The operator terminal <NUM> comprises a controller <NUM>, a network interface <NUM> coupled to the controller <NUM>, one or more IMU sensors <NUM> coupled to the controller <NUM>, and a memory <NUM> coupled to the controller <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> is similar to the controller <NUM> of the telematics device <NUM>.

The network interface <NUM> is similar to the network interface <NUM> of the telematics device <NUM> and it enables the operator terminal <NUM> to communicate with the telematics server <NUM>.

The location module <NUM> is similar to the location module <NUM> of the telematics device. The location module <NUM> reports the location of the operator terminal <NUM> to the controller <NUM>.

The inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors <NUM> may comprise accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers. The IMU sensors <NUM> provide an indication to the controller <NUM> as to whether the operator terminal <NUM> is generally stationary or in motion.

The memory <NUM> is similar to the memory <NUM> of the telematics device <NUM>. The memory <NUM> stores a number of software or firmware modules including an operating system <NUM>, an applications permission module <NUM>, a phone application <NUM>, a driver telematics application <NUM>, and other applications <NUM>.

The operating system <NUM> configures the operator terminal for context switching between applications, may include firmware drivers, user interfaces, and other modules. Examples of the operating system <NUM> include Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile.

The driver telematics application <NUM> allows a vehicle operator to register with a particular vehicle and report the registration to the telematics server <NUM>. Accordingly, the telematics server <NUM> may correlate the telematics data <NUM> collected by the telematics device <NUM> coupled to the particular vehicle with the vehicle operator.

The phone application <NUM> allows making telephone calls including emergency calls from the operator terminal <NUM>.

The application permission module <NUM> may disable certain applications from running based on a command from the operating system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the application permission module <NUM> may be an integral part of the operating system <NUM> or a standalone component coupled to the operating system <NUM>.

The other applications <NUM> may be any type of application such as a calendar, email application, a web browser, a chat program, a social networking application, and the like.

A block diagram of the telematics server <NUM> is shown in <FIG>. The telematics server <NUM> includes a controller <NUM>, a network interface <NUM> and a memory <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may also be coupled to a telematics database <NUM> as shown in <FIG>.

The controller <NUM> is similar to the controllers <NUM> and <NUM> discussed above with reference to the telematics device <NUM>, and the operator terminal <NUM>.

The network interface <NUM> is similar to the network interfaces <NUM> and <NUM> discussed above with reference to the telematics device <NUM>, and the operator terminal <NUM>. The network interface <NUM> allows the telematics server <NUM> to communicate with both a telematics device <NUM> and an operator terminal <NUM> over a network such as the network <NUM> as shown in <FIG>.

The memory <NUM> is similar to the memory <NUM> and the memory <NUM> discussed above with reference to the telematics device <NUM> and the operator terminal <NUM>. The memory <NUM> stores software modules including the operating system <NUM>, the driver telematics module <NUM>, the vehicle telematics module <NUM>, and the applications permission module <NUM>.

The operating system <NUM> manages task scheduling and hardware interfacing on the telematics server <NUM>. Examples of the operating system include Unix, Linux, and Windows.

The driver telematics module <NUM> communicates with one or more operator terminals <NUM> to gather driver telematics information. The driver telematics information includes a registration of the driver with a particular vehicle, the hours-of-service (HOS) for the driver on the vehicle, as well as information from the operator terminal <NUM> including location information and IMU data. The driver telematics module <NUM> may receive the driver telematics information, via the network interface <NUM>, from an operator terminal <NUM> of a vehicle operator. The registration may include an identifier of the driver and/or an identifier of the operator terminal <NUM> of the driver. The HOS information may include the start time at which the operator will start to use the vehicle, the estimated end time at which their use of the vehicle is completed, and any breaks in-between. The location information may be the location of the operator terminal <NUM> as reported by a GPS module disposed in the operator terminal <NUM>. The IMU data may be accelerometer data or other sensor data indicating whether the operator terminal <NUM> is in motion. The driver telematics module <NUM> may store the registration information in the telematics database <NUM>. The driver telematics module <NUM> may also make the gathered driver telematics available to the applications permission module <NUM> as will be described below.

The vehicle telematics module <NUM> communicates with one or more telematics devices <NUM> to gather telematics data <NUM>. The telematics data <NUM> may be comprised of asset data <NUM>, location data, sensor data, connectivity data, and in some cases I/O expansion data. For example, the asset data of the telematics data may include RPM data indicating whether the vehicle's engine is running. The asset data may also include an indication as to whether a driver's seatbelt is fastened. The location data may include GPS location in the form of a latitude and a longitude, or a location based on a connection to a network. The sensor data may include IMU data. The connectivity data may include the status and identity of devices connected with the telematics device <NUM>. For example, if a device such as the operator terminal <NUM> is connected to the telematics device via the short-range wireless communications module <NUM> or the serial communications module <NUM>, then an operator terminal <NUM> identifier and the status of the connection may form part of the connectivity data received by the vehicle telematics module <NUM> from the telematics device. The connectivity data may also include an indication of a tap by an NFC tag on the NFC module <NUM> and a vehicle operator identifier corresponding to the NFC tag. In this case, the vehicle telematics module <NUM> may forward the vehicle operator identifier and a vehicle identifier (obtained as part of the asset data) to the driver telematics module <NUM>. The indication of the tap may include a timestamp of the tap. The I/O expansion data may include a type of I/O expander <NUM> connected to the telematics device <NUM> and the identifier of an operator terminal <NUM> connected to the I/O expander <NUM>. For example, the I/O expansion data may include the identifier of any operator terminal <NUM> connected with the short-range communications module <NUM> and the serial communication module. Alternatively, or additionally, the I/O expansion data may contain the identifier of an NFC tag that was tapped at the NFC module <NUM>. The identifier of the NFC tag may be a vehicle operator identifier corresponding to the NFC tag. The vehicle telematics module <NUM> may forward the vehicle operator identifier and a vehicle identifier to the driver telematics module <NUM>.

The methods and systems for restricting or disabling features of an electronic device, such as an operator terminal, may be performed by a telematics server or by an operator terminal. <FIG> depicts a method <NUM> by a telematics server. At step <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> determines that the vehicle's engine is running. In some embodiments, the telematics server <NUM> determines that the vehicle's engine is running by receiving an indication from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle. The indication that the engine is running may be an RPM which is greater than zero for vehicles including an internal combustion engine or a signal indicating that EV is active for EVs.

At step <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> determines that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, determining that wherein determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that the current time is within the hours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary. For example, the telematics server <NUM> may maintain, for example in the telematics database <NUM>, a schedule of the currently registered driver with the vehicle including their HOS. In this case, if the current time is within the driver's HOS and the electronic device of the operator is generally stationary, then it is determined the registered vehicle operator is within the driver's seat.

In other embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that the current time is within the hours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle. Detecting a presence of an occupant in the driver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from a telematics device <NUM> coupled to the vehicle that the driver's seatbelt is fastened. For example, seatbelts may include sensors that are connected to ECUs that send the sensor status on the CAN bus. The telematics device <NUM> may read the status of the seatbelt sensor for the driver-side seatbelt and send that information to the telematics server as part of the telematics data <NUM>. In some examples, a driver's seat occupancy sensor (not shown) may be deployed in the vehicle and connected to the telematics device <NUM> either directly or via an I/O expander. The driver's seat occupancy sensor may send an indication to the telematics device <NUM> that the driver's seat is occupied. The telematics device <NUM> may forward the indication to the telematics server <NUM> for detecting the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the steering wheel of the vehicle may include one or more hand sensors which detect a vehicle operator's hands. The hand sensors may be in communication with the telematics device <NUM> either directly or via an I/O expander. The hand sensors may send an indication, to the telematics device <NUM>, that a user's hands are touching the steering wheel thus indicating the presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle. The telematics device <NUM> may forward the indication to the telematics server <NUM> for detecting the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the indication of the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat is only sent if the hand sensors indicate that the steering wheel was touched within a prior period of time. This excludes cases where the driver has touched the steering wheel briefly then moved away from the vehicle, and thus ensures that only recent interactions with the steering wheel are an indication of the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat. In some embodiments, the presence indication of the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat is only sent if the hand sensors indicate that the steering wheel was touched for a particular length of time. This excludes the accidental touching of the steering wheel by a passenger who is not in the driver's seat.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a dashboard camera has captured an image of vehicle operator registered with the vehicle. For example, an I/O expander <NUM> may have an image sensor <NUM> in the form of a driver-facing dashboard camera. The telematics device <NUM> may receive the image of the vehicle operator as I/O expander data <NUM> from the I/O expander <NUM> and send it as part of the telematics data <NUM> sent to the telematics server <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may perform an image recognition method that compares the received image of the vehicle operator with a stored image of the registered vehicle operator for the vehicle.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a fingerprint sensor on a steering wheel of the vehicle has detected the registered vehicle operator's fingerprint on the steering wheel. Similar to other sensors, such as the seatbelt sensor, the fingerprint sensor may send the detected fingerprint over the CAN bus and is captured by the telematics device <NUM> and sent over to the telematics server <NUM>.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that a location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location of the vehicle and determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary. In some embodiments, determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location of the vehicle comprises receiving the location of the electronic device from the electronic device, receiving the location of the vehicle from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle, and determining that distance between the location of the electronic device and the location of the vehicle is less than a distance threshold. For example, the location of the electronic device may be received, at the telematics server, from the driver telematics application <NUM> over the network interface <NUM> and the network <NUM>. The location of the vehicle may be received from the telematics device <NUM> as part of the telematics data as discussed above.

In some embodiments, determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location of the vehicle comprises receiving an indication from the electronic device of the vehicle operator that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connected to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection. For example, the driver telematics application <NUM> may query the operating system of the operator terminal <NUM> and determine that the operator terminal <NUM> is connected to a vehicle Bluetooth system via a Bluetooth connection. The driver telematics application <NUM> may send an indication to the telematics server <NUM> that the operator terminal <NUM> is connected to the vehicle Bluetooth system. As a result, the telematics server <NUM> determines that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle. As another example, the telematics device <NUM> may send an indication to the telematics server <NUM> that the operator terminal <NUM> is connected to the short-range wireless communications module <NUM> or that the operator terminal <NUM> is connected to the short-range communications module <NUM> of the I/O expander <NUM>. In some embodiments, the operator terminal is connected to the telematics device over a Bluetooth connection. In either case, the telematics server <NUM> determines that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the vehicle.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from the telematics device of a near-field communications (NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operator within a prior period of time. For example, the vehicle operator may tap an NFC tag on the NFC module <NUM> of the telematics device or an NFC module <NUM> on an I/O expander <NUM>. The NFC tap indicates that the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the vehicle at the time of the tap. The tap may be sent to the telematics server <NUM> by the telematics device <NUM>. The tap may include a unique identifier specific to the vehicle operator. The telematics server <NUM> may determine that the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the vehicle at the time of the tap and for a period of time thereafter. In some embodiments, the NFC tap may indicate that the vehicle operator is behind the wheel of the vehicle if the NFC tap is not followed by an indication that the vehicle operator has moved.

Determining that the electronic device (e.g., the operator terminal <NUM>) of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receiving IMU data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data is below a particular threshold. For example, the IMU data may be accelerometer data. Short-range motion that is detected when the vehicle operator is handling the electronic device is considered below the threshold. The IMU data threshold indicative that the device is not generally stationary may include IMU data that indicates that the vehicle operator is moving distances of a few feet or more. This may indicate that the vehicle operator is walking around the vehicle performing an inspection. In this case, it may not be desirable to disable features on the operator terminal <NUM> that the vehicle operator may need while performing the inspection. The IMU data may be accelerometer data from a <NUM>-axis accelerometer deployed in the operator terminal <NUM>.

Determining that the electronic device (e.g., the operator terminal <NUM>) of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receiving IMU data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator is inspecting the vehicle. For example, the IMU data may represent motion in certain directions. Upon receiving the IMU data from the operator terminal <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> may perform some pattern matching against a path around a vehicle indicative of a vehicle operator inspecting the vehicle. For example, the IMU data may be fed into a machine learning model that has been trained with IMU data collected from operator terminals <NUM> while the vehicle operator was performing an inspection. Accordingly, the ML model may predict, based on input IMU data, whether the vehicle operator may be conducting an inspection around the vehicle.

At step <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> sends a message to the electronic device (e.g., the operator terminal <NUM>) of the vehicle operator for changing the configuration of the electronic device in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, sending the message for changing the configuration of the electronic device comprises sending a message which causes the electronic device of the vehicle operator to disable all features except for the ability to make an emergency call. In one example, the telematics server <NUM> sends a message to the driver telematics application <NUM>. The driver telematics application <NUM> notifies the applications permission module <NUM>, which in turn disables all applications except a phone application <NUM>. Other applications <NUM> may be disabled. In some examples, the phone application <NUM> may be disabled except for the ability to make emergency calls.

In some embodiments, changing the configuration of the operator terminal comprises locking a user input peripheral (user interface device) thereof, such as a keypad, a touchpad, or a touchscreen. In other examples, the driver telematics application <NUM> notifies the operating system <NUM> of the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM>. The operating system <NUM> may securely lock some user input peripherals, such as the touchscreen, thus causing the user not to be able to use the operator terminal until the password is entered.

In some examples, the telematics server <NUM> only sends the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM> when the location of the vehicle is outside predetermined geofences. For example, the telematics server <NUM> may have predetermined geofences defined for the particular vehicle, the geofences each representing a warehouse, an inspection station, or a gas station. In this case, the telematics server <NUM> first checks if the vehicle is outside such geofences before sending the message that changes the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the telematics server <NUM> does not send a message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal within a grace period that has elapsed since the cranking of the engine. For example, there may be a <NUM>-minute or a <NUM>-minute period during which the operator terminal <NUM> is not sent a message restricting features thereon. The grace period may start with the cranking of the engine. In some embodiments if the vehicle is in motion or starts moving, the grace period expires.

In some embodiments, the telematics server <NUM> does not send a message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal unless an image indication received from the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is not at a particular type of location. For example, the vehicle may have a road-facing dashboard camera, in the form of an image sensor <NUM>. The image sensor <NUM> captures images and the I/O expander <NUM> sends the captured images to the telematics device as I/O expander data <NUM>. The telematics device <NUM> may send the captured images to the telematics server <NUM>. The telematics server <NUM> may compare the captured images with images of certain types of locations such as gas stations and inspection stations. The telematics server <NUM> may only send a message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal when the vehicle is not a particular type of location such as an inspection station as indicated by the captured image.

In some embodiments, the driver telematics application <NUM> may allow the enabling or disabling of a particular mode that allows changing the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM> as described above. For example, the vehicle operator may choose to disable a feature that allows the driver telematics application <NUM> to receive from the telematics server <NUM>, messages which may change the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts a sequence diagram <NUM> of an embodiment of the present disclosure. At step <NUM>, the telematics device provides asset data to the telematics server <NUM> including an indication that the engine is running, or an EV is active. At step <NUM>, the telematics server determines whether the engine of the vehicle coupled to the telematics device <NUM> is running. For example, if the asset data contained an RPM on a vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE), the telematics server determines that the engine is running if the RPM is above a certain value, such as <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the operator terminal <NUM> sends the vehicle operator's HOS and the operator terminal's IMU data to the telematics server. At step <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> determines whether the operator is in the driver's seat based on the HOS and the IMU data. If the engine is running and the operator is in the driver's seat, then at step <NUM>, the telematics server <NUM> sends a message to the operator terminal <NUM> for changing the configuration of the operator terminal <NUM>.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, <FIG> depicts a method <NUM> performed by an electronic device, such as the operator terminal <NUM>. The method <NUM> is for changing the configuration of the electronic device. At step <NUM>, the electronic device determines that the engine is running.

In one embodiment, determining that the vehicle's engine is running comprises receiving, over a short-range communications connection, from a telematics device deployed in the vehicle, an indication that the vehicle's engine is running. For example, the operator terminal <NUM> may be connected to a telematics device <NUM> via the short-range wireless communications module <NUM>. As another example, the operator terminal may be connected to an I/O expander <NUM> over the short-range communications module <NUM> thereof. In either case, the driver telematics application <NUM> of the operator terminal receives an indication from the telematics device <NUM> that the engine of the vehicle in which the telematics device <NUM> is deployed is running.

At step <NUM>, the electronic device determines that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the driver telematics application <NUM> determines that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat based on the hours of service (HOS) entered by the vehicle operator in a user interface of the driver telematics application <NUM>.

In some embodiments, determining that the device is generally stationary comprises the driver telematics application <NUM> reading IMU data from sensors on the operator terminal <NUM> such as accelerometers as described above.

In some embodiments, the operator terminal <NUM> and in particular the driver telematics application <NUM> may receive, from the telematics device, an indication that the driver's seatbelt is fastened. Accordingly, the operator terminal <NUM> determines the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat for each of the vehicles as discussed above.

At step <NUM>, the electronic device changes the configuration thereof in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running, and that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle. In some embodiments, a driver telematics application may send a message to the operating system of the vehicle operator requesting that certain features be restricted. In some embodiments, a user interface input device, such as a touchscreen or a keypad, is disabled at the operator terminal in response to receiving the message for changing the configuration thereof.

The methods described herein may be performed by machine-executable programming instructions stored in non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller.

Claim 1:
A method comprising:
sending, by a telematics device (<NUM>) coupled to a vehicle (<NUM>), telematics data to a telematics server (<NUM>);
determining, by the telematics server (<NUM>), based on the telematics data, that a vehicle's engine of the vehicle is running;
determining, by the telematics server (<NUM>), based on the telematics data, that a vehicle operator (<NUM>) registered with the vehicle (<NUM>) is in a driver's seat of the vehicle;
sending, by the telematics server (<NUM>), a message, over a network (<NUM>), to an operator terminal (<NUM>) of the vehicle operator (<NUM>) for changing a configuration of the operator terminal (<NUM>) in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining that the vehicle operator (<NUM>) is in the driver's seat of the vehicle (<NUM>);
receiving, by the operator terminal (<NUM>), the message for changing the configuration of the operator terminal (<NUM>); and
changing, by the operator terminal, the configuration of the operator terminal (<NUM>) in response to receiving the message for changing the configuration;
characterized by determining that the vehicle operator (<NUM>) registered with the vehicle (<NUM>) is in the driver's seat comprises:
determining that a location of the operator terminal (<NUM>) is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle (<NUM>);
receiving inertial motion unit (IMU) data from the operator terminal (<NUM>); and
determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator (<NUM>) is inspecting the vehicle (<NUM>).