Patent Issued for Distracted driving detection and mitigation (USPTO 11820386): United Services Automobile Association

2023 DEC 08 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Carrasco, Elena (Converse, TX, US), Dixon, David Patrick (Boerne, TX, US), Maney, Will Kerns (San Antonio, TX, US), Selvam, Subhalakshmi (Allen, TX, US), filed on April 28, 2021, was published online on November 21, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11820386 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “In many cases, operating a vehicle (e.g., an automobile) generally requires a requisite amount of focus on performing driving tasks. For instance, the operator of a vehicle generally is aware of the environment surrounding the vehicle (e.g., lane markers of a road, other vehicles on the road) in order to safely operate the vehicle. In the event that the operator of the vehicle loses this focus on performing driving tasks, the likelihood of performing unsafe driving actions or involvement in a vehicle accident may increase.

“The rise in popularity of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, wearable devices) has also increased instances of distracted operation of the vehicle. Mobile devices have various functionalities (e.g., text messages, social media applications, view videos) that alert drivers of new content and draw drivers’ attention away from their surroundings. For example, a mobile device may output an audio alert to the user when a new text message has been received, prompting the operator of the vehicle to attempt to view the message while operating the vehicle, thus distracting the driver from the surroundings around the vehicle. Accordingly, mobile devices may increase a frequency in which the driver is distracted while operating the vehicle.

“The techniques introduced here may be better understood by referring to the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Moreover, while the technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the technology to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the technology is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Distracted operation of a vehicle increases risks of performing unsafe driving actions or being involved in a vehicle accident. While various safety features can attempt to mitigate vulnerability to various types of unsafe driving actions or accidents while operating a vehicle, distracted driving can increase the likelihood of involvement in a vehicle accident.

“The rise of popularity of the mobile device has contributed to the increase in instances of distracted driving. Various applications of the mobile device are designed to draw the attention of the user to the mobile phone. For instance, an application may alert the mobile device owner of new updates to the application. For instance, upon receipt of a phone call or text message on an application executing on the mobile device, the mobile device can audibly output an alert to notify the operator of the mobile device of the incoming phone call or text message. Such alerts on the mobile device may distract the operator of the vehicle by drawing attention to the mobile device.

“Further, in many cases, there may be more than one individual in a vehicle, where one individual is the operator of the vehicle while other individuals are passengers. In these cases, unlike the operator of the vehicle, the passengers of the vehicle are able to access and interact with mobile devices during operation of the vehicle.

“One method to limit distracted driving on a mobile device is to lock or limit functionality of various applications on the mobile device associated with the operator of the vehicle. However, locking or limiting access to applications on a mobile device can reduce user experience. For instance, locking a device may prohibit rightful use of the mobile device by passengers of the vehicle who are able to operate a mobile device without restriction during movement of a vehicle. As another example, the driver of the mobile device may indicate that they are a non-driver of the vehicle to gain access to the previously-locked functions on the mobile device.

“In some cases, a way to identify a user of a mobile device can include installing sensor(s) in the vehicle to assist in identifying whether the user of a mobile device is the operator of the vehicle or a passenger of the vehicle. For instance, a camera can be installed in a vehicle to attempt to capture images of individuals and process the images to identify a user of a mobile device. However, installation of such devices can be difficult and resource intensive. Further, installation of additional sensors in a vehicle can lead to privacy concerns, as unauthorized access to such sensors can lead to inappropriate dissemination of private information captured by the sensors.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A vehicle operation management system, comprising: a server configured to: receive, from a client device, a set of client device data and a set of vehicle sensor data; process the set of client device data and the set of vehicle sensor data to determine whether a vehicle is in an operational state; based on the determination that the vehicle is in the operational state, cause the client device to transition into a vehicle mode that limits access to a series of features of the client device until an operator of the client device is authenticated; cause an output of an authentication interface on the client device, the authentication interface requesting identifying information of the operator of the client device; obtain, from the client device, a set of requested identifying information into the authentication interface; compare the set of requested identifying information, with known authentication information to authenticate an identity of the operator of the client device; determine that the authenticated identity of the operator of the client device is an individual other than a driver of the vehicle; and responsive to determining that the operator of the client device is the individual other than the driver of the vehicle, raise a driving score associated with the driver after a predetermined time period.

“2. The vehicle operation management system of claim 1, the server further configured to: parse the received set of vehicle sensor data to identify regions in the vehicle in which one or more vehicle sensors have been activated, the set of vehicle sensor data including any of vehicle seat weight sensor data, vehicle door sensor data, and/or vehicle imaging device sensor data; and derive a number of individuals located in the vehicle based on each identified region in the vehicle in which any of the one or more vehicle sensors have been activated.

“3. The vehicle operation management system of claim 1, the server further configured to: responsive to determining that the client device is within the vehicle, obtain, from the client device, information relating to a number of network-accessible devices within a wireless communication range of the client device; and process the information relating to the number of network-accessible devices to identify all individuals that correspond to the number of network-accessible devices, wherein the individuals that correspond to the number of network-accessible devices correspond to the number of individuals located within the vehicle.

“4. The vehicle operation management system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to: compare A) the set of requested identifying information with known authentication information in multiple profiles to derive a first profile of the multiple profiles with B) a first set of known authentication information that corresponds to the set of requested identifying information, each of the multiple profiles associated with a specific individual, wherein the identity of the operator of the client device includes a first individual associated with the first profile; wherein the raising the driving score associated with the driver after the predetermined time period is performed without determining that the authenticated identity of the operator of the client device is the driver of the vehicle.

“5. The vehicle operation management system of claim 1, the server further configured to: process ignition state information or transmission state information included in the set of vehicle sensor data to determine whether an ignition state or a transmission state of the vehicle corresponds to the operational state, wherein the server is configured to cause the client device to transition into the vehicle mode responsive to determining that the vehicle is in the operational state.

“6. The vehicle operation management system of claim 1, the server further configured to: cause the client device to determine whether the client device is within a communication range of a communication interface of the vehicle, wherein the client device is configured to transition into the vehicle mode responsive to determining that the client device is within the communication range of the communication interface of the vehicle.

“7. A method comprising: acquiring, from a client device, a set of client device data and a set of vehicle sensor data from a communication interface of a vehicle; processing the set of client device data and the set of vehicle sensor data to determine whether the vehicle is in an operational state; based on the determination that the vehicle is in the operational state, derive a number of individuals located in the vehicle; implementing a limiting vehicle mode on the client device that limits access to a series of features of applications executing on the client device until the operator of the client device is authenticated; presenting, via the client device, an authentication interface that includes a request for a set of identifying information of an operator of the client device, wherein the presenting of the authentication interface on the client device is initiated via the limiting vehicle mode; obtaining, via the client device, the set of identifying information; comparing the set of identifying information with known authentication information to authenticate an identity of the operator of the client device; determine that the authenticated identity of the operator of the client device is an individual other than a driver of the vehicle; and responsive to determining that the operator of the client device is the individual other than the driver of the vehicle, raise a driving score associated with the driver.

“8. The method of claim 7, wherein said comparing the set of identifying information with known authentication information to authenticate the identity of the operator of the client device further comprises: deriving a type of information included in the set of identifying information, the type of information including any of a fingerprint, an image depicting a face, and a passcode indicative of the operator of the client device; comparing the set of identifying information with the known authentication information of a corresponding type to the derived type of the set of identifying information to determine a first set of known authentication information that corresponds to the set of identifying information; and identifying a first profile of multiple profiles that includes the first set of known authentication information, the first profile associated ,with an individual that corresponds to the operator of the client device.

“9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: wherein the authentication interface includes a lock screen or an audio prompt including the request for the set of identifying information; and wherein the method further comprises, responsive to authenticating the identity of the operator of the client device, removing, at the client device, the authentication interface from the client device and allowing access to the series of features of applications executing on the client device.

“10. The method of claim 7, further comprising: processing the set of vehicle sensor data to derive a series of vehicle movement characteristics; comparing the derived series of vehicle movement characteristics with a set of driving rules to determine whether the derived series of vehicle movement characteristics are within the set of driving rules; and responsive to determining that the derived series of vehicle movement characteristics are within the set of driving rules, increasing the driving score by a predetermined amount.

“11. The method of claim 7, further comprising: parsing the received set of vehicle sensor data to identify regions in the vehicle in which one or more vehicle sensors have been activated, the set of vehicle sensor data including any of vehicle seat weight sensor data, vehicle door sensor data, and/or vehicle imaging device sensor data; and deriving the number of individuals located in the vehicle based on each identified region in the vehicle in which any of the one or more vehicle sensors have been activated.

“12. The method of claim 7, wherein: the client device is configured to determine whether the client device is within a communication range of the communication interface of the vehicle, wherein the client device is further configured to transition into a vehicle mode responsive to determining that the client device is within the communication range of the communication interface of the vehicle.”

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

URL and more information on this patent, see: Carrasco, Elena. Distracted driving detection and mitigation. U.S. Patent Number 11820386, filed April 28, 2021, and published online on November 21, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11820386)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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