Granted Patent B2

US 12,515,675 · App. 18/211,176 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Inventors: Joshua C. Batie (Frisco, TX); Louis Brugman (Frisco, TX)

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

B60W40/08G07C5/085B60W2040/0809B60W2540/043

Abstract

Claims (70)

1 . A method, comprising:

determining if a user of a vehicle is an authorized user;

determining data received by the vehicle is sensitive based on a type of the data;

responsive to the user being authorized, storing the received data in the vehicle;

detecting a mobile device associated with the user and connected to the vehicle over a wireless connection;

querying at least one processor of the vehicle to identify a same type of sensitive data previously stored on the vehicle as the received data; and

purging the same type of sensitive data from the vehicle and transmitting the purged data to a software application on the mobile device via the wireless connection.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining if the user of the vehicle is the authorized user comprises:

comparing a type and a sub-type of additional data stored on the mobile device to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining data received by the vehicle is sensitive comprises:

comparing a type and a sub-type of the received data to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle deemed to be sensitive; and

determining the received data is sensitive, based on the comparing.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the storing the received data in the vehicle comprises:

identifying a non-removable memory device in the vehicle;

adding an indication of sensitivity to the received data; and

identifying related data in the non-removable memory device corresponding to the authorized user, replacing the related data with the received data.

5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining the mobile device is proximate the vehicle;

transferring device sensitive data from the mobile device to the vehicle; and

removing the device sensitive data from the vehicle, in response to the mobile device no longer being proximate the vehicle.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

offering a value to preserve a portion of the same type of sensitive data; and

responsive to the value being accepted, not purging the portion from the vehicle.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting the mobile device comprises transmitting a message to the mobile device, receiving a response from the mobile device, and verifying the mobile device as being associated with the vehicle based on an identifier included in the response.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the querying comprises receiving a response from the at least one processor, wherein the response includes a positive indication of the same type of sensitive data.

9 . A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, coupled to the processor, comprising instructions that when executed by the processor are configured to:

determine if a user of a vehicle is an authorized user;

determine data received by the vehicle is sensitive based on a type of the data;

responsive to the user is authorized, store the received data in the vehicle;

detect a mobile device associated with the user and connected to the vehicle over a wireless connection;

query at least one processor of the vehicle to identify a same type of sensitive data previously stored on the vehicle as the received data; and

purge the same type of sensitive data from the vehicle and transmit the purged data to a software application on the mobile device via the wireless connection.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

compare a type and a sub-type of additional data stored on the mobile device to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

compare a type and a sub-type of the received data to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle deemed to be sensitive; and

determine the received data is sensitive, based on the comparison.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

identify a non-removable memory device in the vehicle;

add an indication of sensitivity to the received data; and

identify related data in the non-removable memory device that corresponds to the authorized user, replace the related data with the received data.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

determine the mobile device is proximate the vehicle;

transfer device sensitive data from the mobile device to the vehicle; and

remove the device sensitive data from the vehicle, in response to the mobile device no longer being proximate the vehicle.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

offer a value to preserve a portion of the same type of sensitive data; and

responsive to the value is accepted, not purge the portion from the vehicle.

15 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions, that when read by a processor, cause the processor to perform:

determining if a user of a vehicle is an authorized user;

determining data received by the vehicle is sensitive based on a type of the data;

responsive to the user being authorized, storing the received data in the vehicle;

detecting a mobile device associated with the user and connected to the vehicle over a wireless connection;

querying at least one processor of the vehicle to identify a same type of sensitive data previously stored on the vehicle as the received data; and

purging the same type of sensitive data from the vehicle and transmitting the purged data to a software application on the mobile device via the wireless connection.

16 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the determining if the user of the vehicle is the authorized user comprises:

comparing a type and a sub-type of additional data stored on the mobile device to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle.

17 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the determining data received by the vehicle is sensitive comprises:

comparing a type and a sub-type of the received data to a type and a sub-type of other data stored on the vehicle deemed to be sensitive; and

determining the received data is sensitive, based on the comparing.

18 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the storing the received sensitive data in the vehicle comprises:

identifying a non-removable memory device in the vehicle;

adding an indication of sensitivity to the received data; and

identifying related data in the non-removable memory device corresponding to the authorized user, replacing the related data with the received data.

19 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform:

determining the mobile device is proximate the vehicle;

transferring device sensitive data from the mobile device to the vehicle; and

removing the device sensitive data from the vehicle, in response to the mobile device no longer being proximate the vehicle.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (17)