Method and apparatus for detecting a left-behind phone
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsJialiang Le, Manoharprasad K. Rao, Kwaku O. Prakah-Asante
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes a vehicle computing processor. The processor is configured to, through wireless communication with a phone, and after determining that a vehicle engine is not running, request and receive motion sensor data from the phone. The processor is further configured to determine if a phone is moving with a driver based on the motion sensor data. Also, the processor is configured to alert the driver if the phone is not moving with the driver.
Claims10
A system comprising:
- a vehicle computing processor configured to:
- communicate wirelessly with a mobile phone;
- determine that a vehicle engine is not running;
- determine if a vehicle door has opened;
- request and receive three-axis acceleration data from the phone, if a vehicle door has opened;
- determine if a phone is moving with a driver based on an equation m=ax2+ay2+az2, wherein m is close to 1 if the phone is not moving with the driver, after the driver leaves the vehicle, wherein ax, ay and az, are phone three axis acceleration values, and where m deviating from 1 by more than a predetermined amount indicates that a phone is moving with the driver;
- and
- alert the driver if the phone is not moving with the driver.
A computer implemented method comprising:
- determining that a vehicle engine is not running;
- determine if a vehicle door has opened;
- if the engine is not running and a vehicle door has opened, wirelessly requesting and receiving phone three-axis-acceleration data;
- determining, at a vehicle computing system, if a phone is moving with a driver based on an equation m=ax2+ay2+az2, wherein m is close to 1 if the phone is not moving with the driver, after the driver leaves the vehicle, wherein ax, ay and az, are phone three axis acceleration values, and where m deviating from 1 by more than a predetermined amount indicates that a phone is moving with the driver;
- and
- alerting the driver if the phone is not moving with the driver.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a vehicle computing system, cause the processor to perform the method comprising:
- determining, via a vehicle computing system (VCS), that a vehicle engine is not running;
- determine if a vehicle door has opened;
- subsequent to the determining that the engine is not running, and if a vehicle door has opened, wirelessly requesting and receiving three-axis-acceleration data from a phone to the VCS;
- determining, at the VCS, if a phone is moving with a driver based on an equation m=ax2+ay2+az2, wherein m is close to 1 if the phone is not moving with the driver, after the driver leaves the vehicle, wherein ax, ay and az, are phone three axis acceleration values, and where m deviating from 1 by more than a predetermined amount indicates that a phone is moving with the driver;
- and
- alerting the driver if the phone is not moving with the driver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.