General Motors Patent Applications

VEHICLE SLOWDOWN CONTROL VIA SHORT RANGE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248222
A method and system for enabling police pursuing a vehicle to slow the vehicle down via short range wireless communication with the vehicle. The process can be carried out with or without involvement of a call center that provides telematics services to the vehicle. The method involves configuring the vehicle to accept a slowdown command, confirming the target vehicle at a pursuing police vehicle, establishing the short range connection between the police vehicle and target vehicle, and…

AUTOMATED, TARGETED DIAGNOSTIC PROBE USING A VEHICLE TELEMATICS UNIT

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248235
A system and method for providing diagnostic assistance to a driver of a vehicle when calling a call center following a diagnostic warning being displayed on the vehicle instrument panel. Upon establishing the call, indicator data representative of the warning is automatically sent to the call center where it is used to select one or more diagnostic tests targeted to particular vehicle systems associated with the warning. The test is carried out at the vehicle and the resulting…

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC DATA

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248236
A system and method for communicating vehicle diagnostic data via an inactive telematics unit. A serious diagnostic condition detected in the vehicle is used to trigger a call from the telematics unit to a call center using a cleared number. During the call, diagnostic data can be transmitted to the call center and a temporary number can be provided by the call center to the telematics unit to permit temporary communication. Additional diagnostics can be run and reported using this…

Method and System for Automatically Updating Traffic Incident Data for In-Vehicle Navigation

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248283
Aspects of the invention disclose a method and system for automatically updating traffic incident data for in-vehicle navigation. This includes, but is not limited to, a method and system of notifying one or more traffic providers of a traffic accident when a telematics provider receives an automated accident notification from a vehicle. The notification prompts the traffic provider to investigate the traffic accident immediately using manual techniques (monitoring police scanners,…

ESTABLISHING WIRELESS NETWORKING BETWEEN A VEHICLE AND DEALERSHIP USING GPS LOCATION INFORMATION

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248302
A method and apparatus which enables a vehicle to establish a wireless network connection to a dealership. Upon the vehicle discovering a dealership wireless node, the vehicle obtains dealership GPS coordinates and compares them to the vehicle's own GPS data to determine whether the vehicle is on the dealership's premises. If so, a WiFi connection is established. If not, the wireless node is ignored.

SPEECH RECOGNITION ADJUSTMENT BASED ON MANUAL INTERACTION

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090248419
A method of operating a speech recognition system on a vehicle having a visual display and manually-operated input device that includes initiating a speech recognition system, controlling menu selections on a visual display using a manually-operated input device, receiving a notification from the manually-operated input device indicating that the user is manipulating the device in conjunction with the menu selections on the visual display, and adjusting operation of the speech…

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION USING COMPACT CERTIFICATES

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090249074
A method and communications system for generating and using compact digital certificates for secure wireless communication. Each compact certificate includes a digital signature and only a portion of the data used in generating the signature. The remaining certificate data is pre-stored on one or more wireless devices for which secure communication is desired. Upon receiving a compact certificate, the wireless device authenticates the certificate using its digital signature along with…

ADDRESS BOOK SHARING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR NON-VERBALLY ADDING ADDRESS BOOK CONTENTS USING THE SAME

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090249323
An address book sharing system includes a vehicle, a short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit embedded in the vehicle, and a short-range enabled wireless device. The short-range enabled wireless device is configured to be paired with the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit when positioned in the vehicle, and to download an address book to the short-range enabled in-vehicle telematics unit in response to an address book request trigger generated by the short-range enabled…

AUTOMATIC UPDATING OF A PREFERRED ROAMING LIST STORED IN A VEHICLE TELEMATICS UNIT

Granted: October 1, 2009
Application Number: 20090247153
A method of updating a preferred roaming list (PRL) onboard a vehicle that wirelessly communicates with a call center and with a communications center over a wireless network. A communication link is established between the vehicle and the call center. A onboard PRL version number is transmitted from the vehicle to the call center where it is compared to a PRL version number stored at the call center. When the call center PRL version number differs from the onboard PRL version number, a…

REMOTE POWER USAGE MANAGEMENT FOR PLUG-IN VEHICLES

Granted: August 20, 2009
Application Number: 20090210357
Methods and systems are provided for controlling the charging of onboard energy storage systems of a plurality of plug-in vehicles using a remote command center. A system for directing the charging of a plurality of remotely located plug-in vehicles is provided. The system includes a communication system configured to transmit charging authorizations to charge each of the plurality of plug-in vehicles and to receive data related to power consumption from each of the plurality of plug-in…

TELEMATICS UNIT NUMBER PROVISIONING

Granted: August 20, 2009
Application Number: 20090207994
Examples of the invention are used to provide a system and method for provisioning a telematics unit number based on a phone number already used by a customer. In examples, the telematics unit is provisioned with a number that aligns with a rate center plan, which is likely to result in a number that is local to a number the customer uses for dialing the unit and/or matches the area code of a number on the customer's account. In example a wireless telephone number is assigned to a…

MULTI-SPEED SPLIT DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION

Granted: August 13, 2009
Application Number: 20090203482
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, a split dual clutch assembly, two countershaft gearing arrangements, one planetary gear set, a plurality of interconnecting members, and a plurality of torque transmitting devices. Each of the countershaft gearing arrangements includes a plurality of co-planar gear sets. The torque transmitting devices include a combination of clutches, brakes, and synchronizers.

MULTI-SPEED SPLIT DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION

Granted: August 13, 2009
Application Number: 20090203483
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, a split dual clutch assembly, two countershaft gearing arrangements, one planetary gear set, a plurality of interconnecting members, and a plurality of torque transmitting devices. Each of the countershaft gearing arrangements includes a plurality of co-planar gear sets. The torque transmitting devices include a combination of clutches, brakes, and synchronizers.

MULTI-SPEED SPLIT DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION

Granted: August 13, 2009
Application Number: 20090203484
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, a clutch assembly, two countershaft gearing arrangements, one planetary gear set, a plurality of interconnecting members, and a plurality of torque transmitting devices. Each of the countershaft gearing arrangements includes a plurality of co-planar gear sets. The torque transmitting devices include a combination of clutches, brakes, and synchronizers.

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENHANCING TELEMATICS SERVICES

Granted: July 30, 2009
Application Number: 20090190735
A method for enhancing telematics services is disclosed. The method includes capturing a voice print of a user and receiving a verbal request for a telematics service. A voice associated with the verbal request is compared with the captured voice print, and if the voice associated with the verbal request matches the captured voice print, a telematics unit associated with the user is instructed to activate a service that fulfills the verbal request.

Method and Apparatus for Hydrogen Generation

Granted: July 16, 2009
Application Number: 20090178918
A method for configuring a solar hydrogen generation system and the system optimization are disclosed. The system utilizes photovoltaic modules and an electrolyte solution to efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The efficiency of solar powered electrolysis of water is optimized by matching the most efficient voltage generated by photovoltaic cells to the most efficient input voltage required by the electrolysis cell(s). Optimizing PV-electrolysis systems makes solar powered…

Telematics Based Vehicle Maintenance Client Notification

Granted: July 9, 2009
Application Number: 20090177351
The present invention provides a method for providing vehicle maintenance client notification within a telematics equipped mobile vehicle that includes monitoring the mobile vehicle for vehicle system maintenance information, determining an oil-life value based on the vehicle system maintenance information, determining when the oil-life value exceeds at least one oil-life threshold level, sending the vehicle system maintenance information to a call center responsive to the oil-life…

METHOD FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING VEHICLE FEATURES

Granted: July 2, 2009
Application Number: 20090167524
A method and system that enables users to remotely control or manage certain vehicle features, such as emergency flashers or a remote engine start, through the use of a trigger device other than a conventional vehicle key fob. For example, a trigger device like a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a computer can be used to remotely control or activate select vehicle features. In one embodiment, short message service (SMS) messages are used to send feature commands…

METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE TIMING OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING TELEMATICS-EQUIPPED VEHICLES

Granted: July 2, 2009
Application Number: 20090168742
A timing control method for use with wireless communications involving telematics-equipped vehicles. The timing control method generally determines a temporally-distributed sequence of message response times for a group of telematics-equipped vehicles, and then includes these different response times in wireless messages that are sent to the vehicles. In reply, the vehicles use the various message response times to respond in an apportioned or distributed fashion that generally…

VEHICLE EMERGENCY CALL HANDLING AND ROUTING TO PSAPS

Granted: July 2, 2009
Application Number: 20090168974
A method of facilitating emergency calls from a vehicle includes receiving a call, transmitting data from a vehicle telematics unit to a call center, obtaining the location of the vehicle at the call center, determining at the call center that emergency help is needed, accessing an emergency routing database and, using the vehicle location, determining a preferred public safety answering point (PSAP), obtaining from the emergency routing database emergency contact information associated…