Method and apparatus for augmenting smartphone-centric in-car infotainment system using vehicle WIFI/DSRC

Abstract

A method and system for augmenting smartphone-centric in-car infotainment systems using Wi-Fi or DSRC communications between a vehicle and surrounding infrastructure. One or more smartphones or other electronic devices within a vehicle electronically communicate with the vehicle via a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth, or a wired connection. The electronic devices run applications which submit requests for internet-based files or data, such as web pages, audio or video files. The vehicle brokers these requests and, using its own external wireless communications systems, such as Wi-Fi or DSRC, retrieves as many of the files or data as possible whenever internet access is available via an external wireless connection. The vehicle then provides the files or data to the requesting electronic devices. A token-based method for prioritizing the requests and rendering the data to the electronic devices is also disclosed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to using the vehicle's external wireless communication capabilities to augment the flow of data to electronic devices in the vehicle, and more particularly to a method for connecting the vehicle to a Wi-Fi or DSRC network when the vehicle is available to the vehicle. -Fi or DSRC network, and method and system for using the Wi-Fi or DSRC bandwidth for streaming files and data to personal electronic devices in the vehicle, where the devices can communicate with the vehicle via a dedicated wireless network or wired connection in the vehicle vehicle communication. Background technique [0002] Cellular telephones have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years to the point that they are commonly used for e-mail, Internet access, and various special purpose applications in addition to their use as telephones. Cellular telephones with such capabilities are often referred to as smartphones. Smartphones are typi...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] Many smartphone-based applications, such as audio and video streaming, are highly data-intensive and therefore bandwidth-intensive, which can lead to poor performance and / or high data usage charges on cellular networks

Additionally, Wi-Fi communication from smartphones and other electronic devices in the vehicle is rarely effective because the vehicle is constantly coming in and out of range of the wireless access point, thus making wireless communication sporadic to unusable

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