Patent Issued for Systems and methods for handling communications during user operation of a motor vehicle (USPTO 11678162): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2023 JUL 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States) has been issued patent number 11678162, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Lockenour, Frankie (Bloomington, IL, US).

This patent was filed on February 8, 2021 and was published online on June 13, 2023.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “An increasing number of motor vehicle accidents occur each year as a result of drivers using their mobile devices. Drivers frequently talk on their cellular phones or send and receive text messages while driving. Such behaviors pose significant hazards to the drivers themselves, as well as nearby drivers of other motor vehicles, passengers, pedestrians, and sometimes property.

“This problem has been recognized and, to an extent, addressed on several fronts. The auto industry continues to develop features in vehicles to enable hands-free use of mobile devices. Many laws, rules, regulations, and policies are in force to discourage use of mobile devices while operating a motor vehicle. The communications industry similarly encourages users: “don’t text and drive.” The common sentiment toward the problem is that while mobile devices are ubiquitous in daily life, drivers’ attention should be on the road, not their mobile device.

“In the auto insurance industry, insurance policies are crafted with a variety of considerations in mind, including, the risk a given driver (i.e., the insured) represents to an auto insurance company (i.e., the insurer). A driver represents risk to an auto insurance company in terms of, for example, the likelihood the driver will be involved in a collision. The auto insurance industry carries a portion of the risk posed by drivers who use their mobile devices while they drive. An auto insurance company may consider various other factors in quantifying the risk a given driver represents, including, for example, age, vehicle, occupation, and place of residence.

“An insurance company may be more or less likely to offer certain policy features to a driver based upon their risk. For example, an insurance company may be unwilling to offer low-deductible policies to high-risk drivers. Insurance companies often determine policy premiums according to a given driver’s risk. A driver considered a low risk of collision may be offered lower premiums for a collision policy than another driver considered a higher risk of collision. Similarly, a driver who insures an expensive sports car is likely to pay higher premiums for a collision policy than another driver who insures an economy-class, four-door sedan.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may relate to systems and methods for handling communications to and from a user’s mobile device while that user is operating a motor vehicle. Many mobile devices utilize BLUETOOTH® for connecting to various other devices, including BLUETOOTH devices associated with motor vehicles. (BLUETOOTH is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Special Interest Group, located in Kirkland, Wash.). When a mobile device for a user connects to a vehicle’s native BLUETOOTH system, or to a BLUETOOTH beacon, an application running on the mobile device may determine the user has entered the vehicle and may be embarking on a trip. Based upon this determination, communications destined for the mobile device, such as voice calls and text messages, may be blocked, or suppressed. More specifically, notifications associated with the communications are suppressed so the user is not distracted while driving the motor vehicle.

“In one aspect, a system for receiving communications while a user operates a motor vehicle may be provided. The system may include (1) a BLUETOOTH interface configured to establish a connection to a BLUETOOTH device associated with the motor vehicle, (2) a wireless communication interface configured to receive a wireless communication from a remote device, and (3) a processor coupled to the wireless communication interface and the BLUETOOTH interface, and configured to: (a) determine the user is operating the motor vehicle based upon the connection to the BLUETOOTH device, and (b) suppress a notification of the user of receipt of the wireless communication while the user is operating the motor vehicle.

“In another aspect, a method of handling communications to a mobile device while a user operates a motor vehicle may be provided. The method may include (1) establishing a BLUETOOTH connection between the mobile device and a BLUETOOTH device associated with the motor vehicle using a BLUETOOTH interface, (2) recognizing, by a processor, the user is operating the motor vehicle based upon the BLUETOOTH connection, (3) receiving a wireless communication from a remote device at a wireless communication interface, and (4) suppressing a notification of the user of receipt of the wireless communication.

“In yet another aspect, a base station for delivering communications to a mobile device may be provided. The base station may include (1) a wireless communication interface configured to receive a wireless communication originating at a remote device and destined for the mobile device, and (2) a processor coupled to the wireless communication interface and configured to: (a) receive an indication a mobile device has established a BLUETOOTH connection with a BLUETOOTH device associated with a motor vehicle, (b) determine a user of the mobile device is operating the motor vehicle based upon the BLUETOOTH connection to the BLUETOOTH device, © initiate suppression of communications to the mobile device while the user is operating the motor vehicle, and (d) delay delivery of the wireless communication to the mobile device.

“Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments which have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the present embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments, and their details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A mobile device for receiving communications while a user operates a motor vehicle, the mobile device comprising: a communication channel configured to receive telematics data associated with the motor vehicle; a wireless communication interface configured to receive wireless communication from a remote device; and a processor coupled to the wireless communication interface and the communication channel, and configured to: receive, via the communication channel, telematics data associated with the motor vehicle, transmit the telematics data to a wireless server, receive a delay notification instruction from the wireless server, the delay notification instruction indicating that the wireless server has determined that the user has initiated a trip, receive a wireless communication from the remote device, and in response to receiving the delay notification instruction, suppress notification of the wireless communication.

“2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the communication channel is a universal serial bus (USB).

“3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the communication channel is a BLUETOOTH connection.

“4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein determining that the user has initiated the trip is based on speed and position data collected by telematics devices installed on the motor vehicle.

“5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein determining that the user has initiated the trip is based on telematics data collected by telematics devices on the mobile device.

“6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to prompt the user to bypass suppression of the notification.

“7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a bypass code from the remote device to bypass suppression of the notification.

“8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: establish a connection with the motor vehicle via the communication channel; and determine the user is operating the motor vehicle based upon the establishing of the connection with the motor vehicle via the communication channel.

“9. A computer-implemented method for handling communications with a mobile device while a user operates a motor vehicle, the method comprising: establishing a communication channel between the mobile device and the motor vehicle; receiving, via the communication channel, telematics data associated with the motor vehicle; transmitting the telematics data to a wireless server; receiving a delay notification instruction from the wireless server, the delay notification instruction indicating that the wireless server has determined that the user has initiated a trip; receiving a wireless communication via a wireless communication interface on the mobile device; and in response to receiving the delay notification instruction, suppressing notification of the wireless communication.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the communication channel is a universal serial bus (USB).

“11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the communication channel is a BLUETOOTH connection.

“12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein determining that the user has initiated the trip is based on speed and position data collected by telematics devices installed on the motor vehicle.

“13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising prompting the user to bypass suppression of the notification.

“14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a bypass code from a remote device to bypass suppression of the notification.

“15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising determining that the user is operating the motor vehicle based upon the establishing of the communication channel between the mobile device and the motor vehicle.

“16. A computer-implemented method for handling communications with a mobile device while a user operates a motor vehicle, the method implemented on a processor coupled to a wireless communication interface configured to receive wireless communication from a remote device via a wireless base station, the method comprising: receiving, by the processor, telematics data; transmitting the telematics data to the wireless base station; receiving a delay notification instruction from the wireless base station, the delay notification instruction indicating that the wireless base station has determined that the user has initiated a trip; receiving a wireless communication from the remote device; and in response to receiving the delay notification instruction, suppressing notification of the wireless communication.

“17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the processor is coupled to a telematics device on the mobile device and wherein the telematics data is received from the telematics device.

“18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 further comprises establishing a communication channel with the motor vehicle to receive telematics data from the motor vehicle.

“19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 further comprises determining that the user is operating the motor vehicle based on the establishing of the communication channel.

“20. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 further comprises prompting the user to bypass suppression of the notification of the wireless communication.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Lockenour, Frankie. Systems and methods for handling communications during user operation of a motor vehicle. U.S. Patent Number 11678162, filed February 8, 2021, and published online on June 13, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11678162)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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