Vehicle boarding confirmation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10832178-B2
Application number	US-201716637855-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 16, 2017
Priority date	Aug 16, 2017
Publication date	Nov 10, 2020
Grant date	Nov 10, 2020

Abstract

A system includes a vehicle computer that is programmed to wirelessly broadcast one or more actions included in boarding of a vehicle, and receive, from a mobile device, confirmation that the one or more actions are completed. The vehicle computer is programmed to actuate a vehicle component based on the received confirmation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising a vehicle computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to:
wirelessly broadcast a predetermined sequence of a plurality of actions to be physically completed by a passenger to board a vehicle, the plurality of actions including passing through one or more specified vehicle openings and moving toward a vehicle seat;
receive, from a mobile device, confirmation that the plurality of actions are completed by the passenger according to the predetermined sequence, the confirmation based on mobile device sensor data collected by the mobile device; and
actuate a vehicle component based on the received confirmation.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein each opening includes at least one of a number of steps and a height of a vehicle floor.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more actions include passing a specified distance within the vehicle after passing through the one or more specified vehicle openings.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more actions include one or more of a step up, a step forward, and a sit-down action.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first wireless transceiver mounted to an exterior of the vehicle and a second wireless transceiver mounted to an interior of the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to wirelessly broadcast the actions only via the first wireless transceiver.

7. A method, comprising:
wirelessly broadcasting a predetermined sequence of a plurality of actions to be physically completed by a passenger to board a vehicle, the plurality of actions including passing through one or more specified vehicle openings and moving toward a vehicle seat;
receiving, from a mobile device, confirmation that the plurality of actions are completed by the passenger according to the predetermined sequence, the confirmation based on mobile device sensor data collected by the mobile device; and
actuating a vehicle component based on the received confirmation.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the mobile device further includes an accelerometer, and the mobile device sensor data include data from the accelerometer.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the one or more actions include passing a specified distance within the vehicle after passing a vehicle opening.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle opening data further include at least one of a number of entry stairs and a height of vehicle floor.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving, in the mobile device, the broadcasted predetermined sequence; and
transmitting, from the mobile device, to the vehicle, the confirmation that the plurality of actions are completed.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving a wireless signal from vehicle wireless transceiver; and
determining a presence of the mobile device in the vehicle based on the received wireless signal.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising
receiving a first wireless signal from a first wireless transceiver mounted to an exterior of the vehicle;
receiving a second wireless signal from a second wireless transceiver mounted to an interior of the vehicle; and
determining the presence of the mobile device in the interior of the vehicle based on the received first and second wireless signal.

14. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining a proximity of the mobile device relative to vehicle wireless transceiver;
receiving data from a mobile device sensor; and
determining the confirmation based on the determined proximity, the received data from the mobile device sensor, and the broadcasted one or more actions.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein actuating the vehicle component further includes navigating the vehicle to a predetermined destination.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Mitra Pramita
• Buttolo Pietro
• Tonshal Basavaraj
• Strumolo Gary Steven
• Wang Qianyi
• Zechel Kelley Lee
• Nash Brian
• Wingrove Theodore

Classifications

• H04W4/023

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title

• G06Q10/02 Primary

  Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events · CPC title

• H04W4/42

  for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft · CPC title

• G06Q10/047

  Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem · CPC title

• H04W4/027

  using movement velocity, acceleration information · CPC title