# US 2018/0022359 A1 · Control for an Electronic Multi-Function Apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0022359 A1 - Document ID: US20180022359A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/724,316 - Filed: 2017-10-04 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Earliest claimed: 2015-04-09 - Assignees: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft - Applicants: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft - Inventors: Dominik GUSENBAUER; Olga KARSUNKE; Anastasia PETROU; Christian SPIES; Markus STRASSBERGER - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180022359A1 ## CPC - B60W 40/08: related to drivers or passengers - A61B 5/18: for vehicle drivers {or machine operators} - A61B 5/681: {Wristwatch-type devices} - B60W 50/08: Interaction between the driver and the control system - B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention - B60W 50/16: Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal - G06V 20/597: {Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness} - A61B 5/6893: {Cars} - A61B 2503/10: Athletes - B60W 2040/0872: {Driver physiology} - B60W 2050/146: {Display means} - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING ## Abstract A method and system for controlling at least one predefined function of an electronic multi-function apparatus usable during travel by a vehicle driver is provided. The electronic multi-function apparatus is connected to a control unit of the vehicle by a communication link. Data of the vehicle driver and/or data on the journey is acquired, and on the basis of the acquired data at least one characteristic value which is characteristic of the degree of loading of the vehicle driver by his current vehicle control process is formed. The at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function apparatus is controlled based on the at least one characteristic value in such a way that a degree of loading of the vehicle driver when using the function is matched to the degree of loading of the vehicle driver corresponding to the current vehicle control process. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for controlling at least one predefined function of an electronic multi-function device usable by a vehicle driver in a vehicle while driving, the electronic multi-function device being connectable to at least one control unit of the vehicle by a communication link, comprising the acts of: collecting, using at least one of the electronic multi-function device and the at least one vehicle controller, at least one of data of the vehicle driver and data from the journey, forming at least one characteristic value which is characteristic of the degree of stress of the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control based on the acquired data, and controlling the electronic multi-function device to control the at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value, wherein the control of the at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value includes setting an operating state of the at least one predefined function such that a degree of stress of the vehicle driver when using the at least one predefined function is matched to the degree of stress of the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the data of the journey is obtainable from at least one of at least one sensor, at least one control unit of the vehicle, and an interface of the vehicle configured to exchange data with a vehicle-independent computer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein based on the at least one characteristic value, the electronic multi-function device is controlled to deactivate at least one of the at least one predefined functions. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the at least one control units of the vehicle provides a driving situation signal based on the at least one characteristic value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the driving situation signal includes information about at least one of at least one of control and display options of at least one of the at least one control units of the vehicle, and at least one of a driving situation cognitive relevance, emotional relevance and physical relevance. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the driving situation signal includes information about applications usable in the vehicle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein use of at least one of the control and display options is logged. a usage of applications is logged. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein use of applications associated with the driving situation signal is logged. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one predefined function in the electronic multi-function device is assigned a minimum characteristic value corresponding to a minimum level of attentiveness, use of the at least one predefined function is prevented if the characteristic value formed from the collected data of the vehicle driver and/or the journey is outside a predefined range relative to the minimum characteristic value. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the data of the vehicle driver is collected, the data being collected using at least one of: a sensor of the vehicle, a control unit of the vehicle, a radio link of the vehicle, a sensor of the electronic multi-function device, a control unit of the electronic multi-function device, the internet, and a vehicle-external computer. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein at least a part of the data of the vehicle driver is based on at least one task performed by the vehicle driver during the journey and the driver's performance of the at least one task. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic multi-function device a multi-function mobile wireless device. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic multi-function device is a multi-function watch. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the data of the vehicle driver is physiological data, the at least one characteristic value is based at least in part on the vehicle driver physiological data, and based on the at least one characteristic value, a control unit of the electronic multi-function device deactivates at least one of the at least one predefined functions. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the data of the journey is collected, the electronic multi-function device is a multi-function watch, the data of the journey includes data of the vehicle; and the data of the vehicle is sent by the at least one control unit of the vehicle to the multi-function watch via the radio link. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the electronic multi-function device is a multi-function watch, and at least part of the physiological data of the vehicle driver is collected by at least one sensor of the multi-function watch. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein an idle signal for deactivating the at least one predetermined function generated by the at least one controller of the vehicle is sent to the multi-function watch via the radio link. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein an idle signal for deactivating the at least one predetermined function generated by the at least one controller of the vehicle is sent to the multi-function watch via the radio link. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the idle signal is formed using predefined rules, using at least one of physiological data of the vehicle driver, the physiological data including at least one of pulse rate, body temperature and blood pressure, sweat secretion, pupil movement and facial expression, and load-typical data including at least one of data derived from the physiological data of the driver, data on the traffic situation, and weather conditions. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the idle signal is formed using predefined rules, using at least one of physiological data of the vehicle driver, the physiological data including at least one of pulse rate, body temperature and blood pressure, sweat secretion, pupil movement and facial expression, and load-typical data including at least one of data derived from the physiological data of the driver, data on the traffic situation, and weather conditions. ### Claim 21 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one predefined function includes at least one of output of graphical information via a display unit of the multi-function watch, output of acoustic information via a speaker of the multi-function watch, output of tactile information via a tactile interface of the multi-function watch, collection of data by at least one predefined sensor, output of data by at least one predefined data interface, processing of predefined data, and execution of at least one predefined application program. ### Claim 22 A system for controlling at least one predefined function of an electronic multi-function device usable by a vehicle driver in a vehicle while driving, comprising: at least one control unit of the vehicle connectable to the electronic multi-function device via a communication link; a detection unit configured to collect data on at least one of the vehicle driver and data on the journey, a data-processing unit configured to form at least one characteristic value based on the collected data, the at least one characteristic value being characteristic of the level of stress on the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control, a control element configured to control at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value, wherein the control of the at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value includes setting an operating state of the at least one predefined function such that a degree of stress of the vehicle driver when using the at least one predefined function is matched to the degree of stress of the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the electronic multi-function device is an electronic multi-function watch wearable on an arm of a vehicle driver while traveling in a vehicle, the electronic multi-function watch includes at least one sensor configured to collect at least one of the physiological data of the vehicle driver and at least a portion of the data from the journey and at least one radio interface configured to communicate the collected data via the radio link, and at least one of the at least one control units of the vehicle is configured to generate an idle signal for deactivating the at least one predetermined function of the multi-function watch based on the collected data. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1, 23) The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the at least one control unit of the vehicle and the multi-function watch is configured to implement the method of claim 1. ### Claim 25 (depends on 22) The system of claim 22, further comprising: a vehicle. ### Claim 26 A computer program product fixed in a tangible medium configured to control execution of a method for controlling at least one predefined function of an electronic multi-function device usable by a vehicle driver in a vehicle while driving, the electronic multi-function device being connectable to at least one control unit of the vehicle by a communication link, comprising method the acts of: collecting, using at least one of the electronic multi-function device and the at least one vehicle controller, at least one of data of the vehicle driver and data from the journey, forming at least one characteristic value which is characteristic of the degree of stress of the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control based on the acquired data, and controlling the electronic multi-function device to control the at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value, wherein the control of the at least one predefined function of the electronic multi-function device based on the at least one characteristic value includes setting an operating state of the at least one predefined function such that a degree of stress of the vehicle driver when using the at least one predefined function is matched to the degree of stress of the vehicle driver due to his current vehicle control. ### Claim 27 A computer program product fixed in a tangible medium configured to control execution of a method for controlling an electronic multi-function watch worn on an arm of a vehicle driver while traveling in a vehicle, the multi-function watch having at least one sensor and at least one radio interface, the method comprising the acts of: collecting at least one of the physiological data of the vehicle driver and at least a portion of the data from the journey, and controlling, using a control unit of the multi-function watch, deactivation of at least one predefined function of the multi-function watch based on the collected data.