IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,746,439
Granted Patent B2
US 12,746,439 · App. 18/731,846 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Location-based function control for a vehicle

Inventors: Nicholas Alexander Hoffman (North Augusta, SC); Brianna Danielle Harrington (Augusta, GA); Matthew Jacob Noftsger (Evans, GA)
Assignee: Textron Innovations LLC
A63B55/61H05B47/17G06F3/165
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,746,439
App. No.
18/731,846
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A golf vehicle system includes a golf vehicle including an auxiliary system. The golf vehicle system further includes at least one processing circuit configured to: detect that the golf vehicle is in proximity to a location of interest associated with an automated modification of a function of the auxiliary system from a first state to a second state; determine whether an automated modification exemption applies to the golf vehicle for the location of interest; upon determining that the automated modification exemption applies to the golf vehicle, maintain the function of the auxiliary system in the first state; and, upon determining that the automated modification exemption does not apply to the golf vehicle, modify the function of the auxiliary system from the first state to the second state.

Claims (35)

1 . A golf vehicle system comprising:

a golf vehicle including an auxiliary system; and

at least one processing circuit having at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

detect that the golf vehicle is in proximity to a location of interest associated with an automated modification of a function of the auxiliary system from a first state to a second state;

determine whether an automated modification exemption associated with the automated modification applies to the golf vehicle for the location of interest;

upon detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest associated with the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption applies to the golf vehicle, maintain the function of the auxiliary system in the first state; and

upon detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest associated with the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption does not apply to the golf vehicle, modify the function of the auxiliary system from the first state to the second state;

wherein the golf vehicle is a first golf vehicle and the location of interest is a second golf vehicle, and wherein determining whether the automated modification exemption applies to the first golf vehicle for the location of interest includes determining whether the first golf vehicle is linked with the second golf vehicle in a group.

2 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest is performed based on at least one of global positioning system (GPS) data of the golf vehicle or a geofence associated with the location of interest.

3 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest is performed based on a short-range wireless communication between the golf vehicle and a device associated with the location of interest.

4 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the first golf vehicle includes a driveline, and wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to limit a speed of the driveline upon detection of the second golf vehicle within a certain range of the first golf vehicle.

5 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary system includes an audio system, the function is an audio output of the audio system, the first state is a first volume level of the audio system, and the second state is a second volume level of the audio system.

6 . The golf vehicle system of claim 5 , wherein the second volume level is lower than the first volume level.

7 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary system is a lighting system, the function is a light output of the lighting system, the first state is a first light intensity level of the lighting system, and the second state is a second light intensity level of the lighting system.

8 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to receive an indication of the location of interest from a user via a user interface.

9 . The golf vehicle system of claim 8 , wherein the indication of the location of interest defines a geofence associated with the location of interest.

10 . The golf vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing circuit includes at least one of a first processing circuit remote from the golf vehicle or a second processing circuit onboard the golf vehicle.

11 . A vehicle system comprising:

at least one processing circuit having at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

detect that a first vehicle is in proximity to a second vehicle;

determine that the first vehicle qualifies for an automated modification of a function of the first vehicle from a first state to a second state based on detecting that the first vehicle is in proximity to the second vehicle;

determine whether an automated modification exemption associated with the automated modification applies to the first vehicle for the second vehicle;

upon detecting that the first vehicle qualifies for the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption applies to the first vehicle, maintain the function in the first state; and

upon detecting that the first vehicle qualifies for the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption does not apply to the first vehicle, modify the function from the first state to the second state;

wherein determining whether the automated modification exemption applies to the first vehicle for the second vehicle includes determining whether the first vehicle is linked with the second vehicle in a group.

12 . The vehicle system of claim 11 , wherein detecting that the first vehicle is in proximity to the second vehicle is performed based on at least one of (a) global positioning system (GPS) data of the first vehicle and the second vehicle or (b) a short-range wireless communication between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

13 . The vehicle system of claim 11 , wherein the function includes at least one of a speed of the first vehicle, an audio output of an audio system of the first vehicle, or a light intensity of a light system of the first vehicle, and wherein the first state is an elevated state and the second state is a lesser state.

14 . A vehicle system comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

detect that a golf vehicle is in proximity to a location of interest associated with an automated modification of a function of the golf vehicle from a first state to a second state;

determine whether an automated modification exemption associated with the automated modification applies to the golf vehicle for the location of interest;

upon detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest associated with the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption applies to the golf vehicle, maintain the function in the first state; and

upon detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest associated with the automated modification and determining that the automated modification exemption does not apply to the golf vehicle, modify the function from the first state to the second state;

wherein the golf vehicle is a first golf vehicle and the location on of interest is a second golf vehicle, and wherein determining whether the automated modification exemption applies to the golf vehicle for the location of interest includes determining whether the first golf vehicle is linked with the second golf vehicle in a group.

15 . The vehicle system of claim 14 , wherein detecting that the golf vehicle is in proximity to the location of interest is performed based on at least one of global positioning system (GPS) data of the golf vehicle, a geofence associated with the location of interest, or a short-range wireless communication between the golf vehicle and a device associated with the location of interest.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 6, 2026
From: TEXTRON INC.
To: TEXTRON INNOVATIONS INC.
Reel/Frame 075652/0326 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 13, 2024
From: HOFFMAN, NICHOLAS ALEXANDER; HARRINGTON, BRIANNA DANIELLE; NOFTSGER, MATTHEW JACOB
To: TEXTRON INC.
Reel/Frame 067721/0085 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250367520A1 · Dec 4, 2025
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