Driver-Mediated Infotainment Casting for Passenger Navigation Input

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Solution Overview

Problem

Searching for addresses or points of interest on a vehicle infotainment system while driving can be cumbersome and dangerous for drivers, as existing systems often require manual input through the infotainment system's touchscreen, which can be distracting and inconvenient, especially when passengers want to assist in navigating.

Innovation Solution

A system where a first device associated with the driver, connected to the infotainment system, determines safety conditions and disables input functions while driving, allowing a second device associated with a passenger to 'cast' instructions to control the infotainment system's display, enabling passengers to input destinations or other content without distracting the driver.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the driver manually interacts with the infotainment system touchscreen to search for addresses or points of interest, then the driver can control the navigation functions, but the driver becomes distracted and safety is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriver control capabilityVSAvoiddriver distraction
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the input control function from the driver's device and relocates it to the passenger's device. The passenger device can send navigation requests to the driver device, which then executes them on the infotainment system. This separation allows the driver to maintain focus on driving while the passenger handles navigation input tasks.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The driver device acts as an intermediary between the passenger device and the infotainment system. It receives navigation requests from the passenger device, processes them, and sends commands to the infotainment system. This intermediary role enables indirect control, allowing passenger input without requiring direct driver interaction with the touchscreen.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the infotainment system requires manual input through touchscreen while driving, then the system can receive user input, but the operation becomes cumbersome and dangerous

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinput reception capabilityVSAvoidoperation convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of the driver directly controlling the infotainment system through touchscreen input, the system inverts the control flow by allowing the passenger device to send input requests to the driver device, which then transmits commands to the infotainment system. This inversion maintains input reception capability while dramatically improving operation convenience and safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the driver's device is disabled for safety reasons while driving, then driver distraction is prevented, but the driver cannot control navigation or other infotainment functions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriver distraction preventionVSAvoiddriver control access
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The driver device maintains multiple functions: it remains disabled for direct touchscreen input to prevent distraction, but simultaneously serves as a communication bridge for receiving navigation requests from the passenger device and transmitting them to the infotainment system. This multi-functionality preserves driver control access indirectly while maintaining safety restrictions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The driver device functions as an intermediary that receives commands from the passenger device and forwards them to the infotainment system. This mediation allows the driver to maintain control access to navigation and infotainment functions without directly interacting with the touchscreen, thus preventing distraction while preserving adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3160789B1Passenger casted content to infotainment system
Publication Date: 2021.06.16 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3160789B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3160789B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3160789B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A projected architecture system may include a first device, associated with a driver of a vehicle, which drives the display of content on the infotainment screen of the vehicle. A passenger in the motor vehicle may have a second device that the passenger can utilize to transmit an instruction to the first device. The instruction may cause the display of the infotainment system to be altered. The passenger may, for example, utilize the second device to cast a point of interest or navigation direction to the infotainment display via the first device. Thus, the driver does not need to search, browse, and/or view functions and/or content on the infotainment system's display and can concentrate on operating the vehicle.