Granted Patent B2

US 12,227,198 · App. 17/860,167 · Granted Feb 18, 2025

Inventor: Sergei I. Gage (Dallas, TX)

Assignees: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.; TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

B60W50/14G10L15/05H04W4/40H04W76/19B60W2050/146

Abstract

Claims (55)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving by a head unit of a vehicle a first set of probe frames from a first wireless device and a second set of probe frames from a second wireless device, wherein the first set of probe frames comprises a first media access control (MAC) address that identifies the first wireless device and the second set of probe frames comprises a second MAC address that identifies the second wireless device;

pairing the first wireless device with the head unit;

transmitting audio from the first wireless device through the head unit;

receiving audio associated with a call taking place using the second wireless device via a microphone in communication with the head unit;

analyzing the audio to determine a level of urgency of speech in the audio;

in response to the level of urgency exceeding a threshold, unpairing the first wireless device from the head unit and, pairing the second wireless device with the head unit, and

transmitting audio from the second wireless device through the head unit.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining that at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is proximate to the vehicle, and that the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is unpaired from the head unit; and

transmitting a message to the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device that the head unit is available for pairing.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining that an incoming call received by the first wireless device or the call taking place with the second audio device is at least one of a multi-media call or a video call; and

upon the pairing of the first wireless device or the second wireless device and the head unit, presenting at least one of the call or the incoming call on a display of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is associated with an owner of the vehicle and the other of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is associated with the owner of the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

monitoring one or more of the audio from the first wireless device or the audio associated with the call; and

when a number of occurrences of one or more sensitive words exceed a threshold, unpairing the first wireless device or the second wireless device from the head unit.

6. A system, comprising:

a processor of a head unit of a vehicle that, when executing instructions stored in an associated memory, is configured to:

receive a first set of probe frames from a first wireless device and a second set of probe frames from a second wireless device, wherein the first set of probe frames comprises a first media access control (MAC) address that identifies the first device and the second set of probe frames comprises a second MAC address that identifies the second device;

pair the first wireless device with the head unit;

transmit audio from the first wireless device through the head unit;

receive audio associated with a call taking place using the second wireless device via a microphone in communication with the head unit;

analyze the audio to determine a level of urgency of speech in the audio;

in response to the level of urgency exceeding a threshold, unpair the first wireless device from the head unit, and pair the second wireless device with the head unit; and

transmit audio from the second wireless device through the head unit.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to:

determine that at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is proximate to the vehicle, and that the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is unpaired from the head unit; and

transmit a message to the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device that a pairing with the head unit is available.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to:

an;

determine that a call received by the first wireless device or the call taking place with the second audio device is at least one of a multi-media call or a video call; and

upon the pairing of the first wireless device or the second wireless device and the head unit, present the incoming call on a display of the vehicle.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is associated with an owner of the vehicle and the other of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is associated with the owner of the vehicle.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to:

monitor one or more of the audio from the first wireless device or the audio associated with the call; and

when a number of occurrences of one or more sensitive words exceed a threshold, unpair the first wireless device or the second wireless device from the head unit.

11. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform:

receiving by a head unit of a vehicle a first set of probe frames from a first wireless device and a second set of probe frames from a second wireless device, wherein the first set of probe frames comprises a first media access control (MAC) address that identifies the first wireless device and the second set of probe frames comprises a second MAC address that identifies the second wireless device;

pairing the first wireless device with the head unit;

transmitting audio from the first wireless device through the head unit;

receiving audio associated with a call taking place using the second wireless device via a microphone in communication with the head unit;

analyzing the audio to determine a level of urgency of speech in the audio;

in response to the level of urgency exceeding a threshold, unpairing the first wireless device from the head unit, and pairing the second wireless device with the head unit; and

transmitting audio from the second wireless device through the head unit.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

determining that at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is proximate to the vehicle, and that the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device is unpaired from the head unit; and

transmitting a message to the at least one of the first wireless device or the second wireless device that the head unit is available for pairing.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

determining that an incoming call received by the first wireless device or the call taking place with the second audio device is at least one of a multi-media call or a video call; and

upon the pairing of the first wireless device or the second wireless device and the head unit, presenting at least one of the call or the incoming call on a display of the vehicle.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform:

monitoring one or more of the audio from the first wireless device or the audio associated with the call; and

when a number of occurrences of one or more sensitive words exceed a threshold, unpairing the first wireless device or the second wireless device from the head unit.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (27)