Patent Issued for Detection of mobile device location within vehicle using vehicle based data and mobile device based data (USPTO 11122391): Allstate Insurance Company

2021 OCT 06 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Ferguson, Dana (Chicago, IL, US), Lundsgaard, Soren K. (Inverness, IL, US), Snyder, Jared S. (Chicago, IL, US), filed on August 31, 2020, was published online on September 14, 2021, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11122391 is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The combined operation of vehicles and mobile devices creates many concerns and challenges. Driving a vehicle while operating a mobile device creates hazardous and unsafe conditions for the driver, for their passengers, and for the public. Even “hands-free” modes where the driver does not physically interact with the mobile device have, in some research, been shown to create distracted driving situations. Although many people are aware of the negatives of using a mobile device while driving, various psychological, societal, and behavioral factors play into continued operation of mobile devices while driving, even in jurisdictions where the operation of hand-held mobile devices while driving has been outlawed.

“Given that individual users require more than mere willpower to discontinue the usage of their mobile devices while driving, technical solutions have been proposed to identify situations in which a mobile device is being operated within a moving vehicle. Mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, and the like, may include movement sensors, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, speedometer, and/or Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, capable of detecting movement. Previously proposed solutions largely have involved processing accelerometer data from the accelerometer onboard the mobile device and/or data from a geolocation service (e.g., GPS). From this data, excessive movement or velocity may indicate the mobile device is being operated in a vehicle, and functionality of the mobile device may be disabled or notifications may be presented to the user warning them to discontinue operation of the mobile device while the vehicle is in motion. As may be expected, these solutions have yet to be widely implemented, because they do not address a side consideration of the permissible use of a mobile device by a non-driver. In other words, these proposed solutions cut off or restrict usage by passengers, who should be free to operate a mobile device within the vehicle without constant reminders or limited functionality.

“Additionally, in some situations, it may be advantageous or beneficial to the vehicular occupants to enable full operation of the mobile device. As discussed above, a passenger may be operating the mobile device, and repeated notifications may be annoying. As another example, a user may be using a mobile device as a navigational aid, and the disabling of functionality may cause more harm than good as the user may become distracted if their route guidance is suspended or terminated.

“Separately, many vehicles include sophisticated sensors and advanced internal computer systems designed to monitor and control vehicle operations and driving functions. Vehicle-based computer systems, such as on-board diagnostics (OBD) systems and telematics devices, may be used in automobiles and other vehicles, and may be capable of collecting various driving data and vehicle sensor data. For example, OBD systems may receive information from the vehicle’s on-board computers and sensors in order to monitor a wide variety of information relating to the vehicle systems, such as engine RPM, emissions control, vehicle speed, throttle position, acceleration and braking rates, use of driver controls, etc. Vehicles may also include Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and devices installed within or operating at the vehicle configured to collect vehicle location and time data.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.

“An advantageous solution to the problems presented above, and other issues which will be apparent upon the reading of the present disclosure, may be to determine a location of the smartphone within the interior of the vehicle, and disable device functionality or take other action based on the determined location. To do so, it may be desirable to process data received from the sensors of the mobile device (e.g., the gyroscope of the mobile device, the accelerometer of the mobile device) in combination with data received via the OBD system of the vehicle. The OBD system may provide additional information such as the vehicle speed, acceleration and braking rates, and in some vehicles, information such as input from the steering wheel (e.g., the user is making a left turn or right turn). Additionally, the OBD system may provide accelerometer information from an accelerometer aboard the vehicle other than the accelerometer of the mobile device, if such a vehicle-accelerometer is installed as a default option or as a post-market addition. Comparisons between the two accelerometers may be useful for determining the location of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“For example, the vehicle may encounter an imperfection or discontinuity in the road surface (e.g., a bump, pothole, lane marker, or the like). A front tire of the vehicle may encounter the road-surface discontinuity, and data from the encounter (the jolt felt in the car) may be recorded by the vehicle processor. As an example, a bump in the road may be felt by an accelerometer located at the front wheel (e.g., in the rim) and/or via an accelerometer fixedly located within the vehicle interior. The bump may then be recorded by the accelerometer of a mobile device traveling within the interior of the vehicle. The differences in magnitude along each axis of movement between the bumps may assist in determining the location of the mobile device. In some situations, the vehicle (and the mobile device) may experience the bump again by the rear tire encountering the same road surface imperfection. This additional information may be used to calculate further differences in magnitude along each axis of movement between the vehicle-accelerometer and the device-accelerometer, which also may assist in determining the location of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“Accordingly, aspects of the disclosure relate to determining, by a computing device, the approximate location of a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet) within an interior of a vehicle. For example, aspects of the present disclosure include a location analysis computing device which includes a processing unit comprising at least one processor and a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions. The instructions may, when executed by the processing unit, cause the location analysis computing device to receive first mobile device sensor data collected by mobile device sensors of a mobile device located within a vehicle. The sensor data may include X-axis accelerometer data, Y-axis accelerometer data, and Z-axis accelerometer data in the first mobile device’s reference frame. The processing unit may translate the first mobile device sensor data into X-axis accelerometer data, Y-axis accelerometer data, and Z-axis accelerometer data in the vehicle’s reference frame. Based on the translated data, the processing unit may detect a first occurrence of an event (such as a tire of the vehicle hitting a bump). Detecting the event may include determining that a change in magnitude of the vehicle-frame Z-axis accelerometer data exceeds a predetermined threshold. The processing unit may calculate a first event vector comprising a first event magnitude and a first event angle based on the detected event, determine a position of the mobile device within the vehicle based on the calculated first event vector.

“In accordance with further aspects of the present disclosure, a method disclosed herein includes receiving first mobile device sensor data collected by mobile device sensors of a mobile device located within a vehicle, the first mobile device sensor data including first-axis accelerometer data, second-axis accelerometer data, and third-axis accelerometer data. The method may include translating the first mobile device sensor data into X-axis accelerometer data, Y-axis accelerometer data, and Z-axis accelerometer data, resulting in translated data. The method may include detecting, by a computing device, a first occurrence of an event in the translated data, wherein detecting the event comprises determining that a change in magnitude of the Z-axis accelerometer data exceeds a predetermined threshold. The computing device may calculate a first event vector comprising a first event magnitude and a first event angle based on the detected event and determine a position of the mobile device within the vehicle based on the calculated first event vector.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A location analysis computing device comprising: a processing unit comprising at least one processor; and a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the location analysis computing device to: receive mobile device sensor data collected by accelerometers of a mobile device located within a vehicle; detect a first bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculate, based on the detected first bump event, a first bump vector comprising a first bump magnitude and a first bump angle; detect a second bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculate, based on the detected second bump event, a second bump vector comprising a second bump magnitude and a second bump angle; and configure, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform one or more functions, wherein the comparing comprises determining a difference between the first bump magnitude and the second bump magnitude and determining a difference between the first bump angle and the second bump angle.

“2. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, further cause the location analysis computing device to configure at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions further based on one or more of: a time difference between the first bump event and the second bump event satisfying a second predetermined threshold; the first bump magnitude satisfying a first predetermined threshold; or an indication that mobile device is placed in a cradle.

“3. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein configuring at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions comprises configuring the mobile device or the vehicle to perform one or more of: outputting a visual or audio notification indicating a position of the mobile device; enabling a Bluetooth transceiver; enabling a lane assist functionality; disabling an application on the mobile device; or enabling a route guidance or navigation application on the mobile device or on a vehicle device.

“4. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, further cause the location analysis computing device to: determine, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, a position of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“5. The location analysis computing device of claim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, further cause the location analysis computing device to: transmit, to a computing device other than the mobile device and based on the determined position of the mobile device within the vehicle, an indication that the mobile device is being used by a vehicle operator.

“6. The location analysis computing device of claim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the location analysis computing device to determine the position of the mobile device within the vehicle by: determining, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, which vector of the first bump vector and the second bump vector comprises a greater magnitude or a larger angle; and determining, based on the determined vector comprising the greater magnitude or the larger angle, the position of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“7. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein the first bump event is determined based on a change in the first bump magnitude exceeding a first predetermined threshold, and wherein the second bump event is determined based on a change in the second bump magnitude exceeding a second predetermined threshold.

“8. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, further cause the location analysis computing device to: calculate the first bump angle by calculating an arctangent of a ratio of X-axis acceleration data to Z-axis accelerometer data.

“9. The location analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, cause the location analysis computing device to configure the at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions by: determining, based on determining the difference between the first bump magnitude and the second bump magnitude and based on determining the difference between the first bump angle and the second bump angle, which vector of the first bump vector and the second bump vector comprises a greater magnitude or a larger angle; and configuring, based on the determined vector comprising the greater magnitude or the larger angle, the at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions.

“10. A method comprising: receiving mobile device sensor data collected by accelerometers of a mobile device located within a vehicle; detecting a first bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculating, based on the detected first bump event, a first bump vector comprising a first bump magnitude and a first bump angle; detecting a second bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculating, based on the detected second bump event, a second bump vector comprising a second bump magnitude and a second bump angle; and configuring, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform one or more functions, wherein the comparing comprises determining a difference between the first bump magnitude and the second bump magnitude and determining a difference between the first bump angle and the second bump angle.

“11. The method of claim 10, wherein configuring at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions is further based on one or more of: a time difference between the first bump event and the second bump event satisfying a second predetermined threshold; the first bump magnitude satisfying a first predetermined threshold; or an indication that mobile device is placed in a cradle.

“12. The method of claim 10, wherein configuring at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions comprises configuring at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform one or more of: outputting a visual or audio notification indicating a position of the mobile device; enabling a Bluetooth transceiver; enabling a lane assist functionality; disabling an application on the mobile device; or enabling a route guidance or navigation application on the mobile device or on a vehicle device.

“13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, a position of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: transmitting, to a computing device other than the mobile device and based on the determined position of the mobile device within the vehicle, an indication that the mobile device is being used by a vehicle operator.

“15. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the position of the mobile device within the vehicle comprises: determining, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, which vector of the first bump vector and the second bump vector comprises a greater magnitude or a larger angle; and determining, based on the determined vector comprising the greater magnitude or the larger angle, the position of the mobile device within the vehicle.

“16. The method of claim 10, wherein the first bump event is determined based on a change in the first bump magnitude exceeding a first predetermined threshold, and wherein the second bump event is determined based on a change in the second bump magnitude exceeding a second predetermined threshold.

“17. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to: receive mobile device sensor data collected by accelerometers of a mobile device located within a vehicle; detect a first bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculate, based on the detected first bump event, a first bump vector comprising a first bump magnitude and a first bump angle; detect a second bump event in the mobile device sensor data; calculate, based on the detected second bump event, a second bump vector comprising a second bump magnitude and a second bump angle; and configure, based on comparing the first bump vector and the second bump vector, at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform one or more functions, wherein the comparing comprises determining a difference between the first bump magnitude and the second bump magnitude and determining a difference between the first bump angle and the second bump angle.

“18. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to configure at least one of the mobile device or the vehicle to perform the one or more functions further based on one or more of: a time difference between the first bump event and the second bump event satisfying a second predetermined threshold; the first bump magnitude satisfying a first predetermined threshold; or an indication that mobile device is placed in a cradle.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent, see: Ferguson, Dana. Detection of mobile device location within vehicle using vehicle based data and mobile device based data. U.S. Patent Number 11122391, filed August 31, 2020, and published online on September 14, 2021. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11122391.PN.&OS=PN/11122391RS=PN/11122391

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