DE102021202266A1 - Method and device for issuing reminders to a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to provide a method for outputting reminders to a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle, with which reminders related to a reminder location are output at times at which it can be assumed that the reminder makes sense for the vehicle occupant at this point in time, a method ( 100). ) to a destination by a navigation system (13) of the motor vehicle (200), the data processing device (12) outputting the desired reminder if the reminder location is the same as the destination and if a condition related to the reminder location and/or destination is met is.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for issuing reminders to a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising a device for issuing reminders for a vehicle occupant.

Methods and devices are known in the prior art, with which a vehicle occupant can be reminded of upcoming activities.

the US 9,214,079 B1 discloses an apparatus for issuing reminders to a vehicle occupant using a data processing device. The data processing device is synchronized with a GPS device and a vehicle clock. When the vehicle is near a location relevant to a reminder, the reminder is issued to the vehicle occupant.

From the US 8,442,758 B1 a method for an intelligent vehicle calendar is known. The method includes collecting information about a user preference and a user schedule. Reminders for events in the user schedule are issued automatically.

the US 10,192,424 B2 discloses a mobile device that outputs a reminder based on a current location of the mobile device with respect to a person, place, or thing associated with the reminder. Each reminder contains a reference to location-based information. If the device is within a predetermined radius of the location, and if other criteria such as time of day are met, a reminder is issued by the device.

In the case of the known methods, reminders are output when the device used for the method is located within a specific radius of a location that is or can be related to the reminder. For example, in the above acknowledged US 9,214,079 B1 a reminder to purchase groceries may be issued to a vehicle operator when the vehicle is within a predetermined radius of any or a predetermined grocery store. As a result, reminders are also issued at undesirable times. If, for example, the vehicle driver happens to drive past several grocery stores on a city trip, he will be given multiple reminders to buy groceries, even if the reminder does not fit into his daily routine. These unwanted and inappropriate reminders can be bothersome to the driver of the vehicle. Alternatively, the driver of the vehicle can link the reminder to buy groceries to a specific time. However, this may result in the reminder being issued when the driver is not near a grocery store.

The present invention is based on the object of providing a method for issuing reminders to a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle, with which reminders related to a memory location are issued at times at which it can be assumed that the reminder for the vehicle occupant at this point in time makes sense.

In order to achieve the object on which the invention is based, a method for outputting reminders for a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle is proposed, with a vehicle occupant transmitting a desired reminder related to a memory location to a data processing device by means of an input into an input device, with a route guidance method to a destination is carried out by a navigation system of the motor vehicle, and wherein the data processing device outputs the desired reminder if the reminder location is the same as the destination and if a condition relating to the reminder location and/or destination is met.

What is essential about the method according to the invention is that a route guidance method to a destination is carried out by a navigation system of the motor vehicle, and that the reminder is only output if the reminder place is the same as the destination and if there is also a condition related to the reminder place and/or destination is satisfied. In other words, the information about the destination is used in the route guidance method to determine whether the reminder desired by the vehicle occupant makes sense for the vehicle occupant at the time and should be output.

If the reminder desired by the vehicle occupant is, for example, "Please remind me to buy milk on the way home", the reminder location is the vehicle occupant's place of residence and the condition related to the reminder location can be seen in the vehicle occupant being on the way to his or her place of residence located. The destination information is then used to determine whether the vehicle occupant is actually on his way home to his residence. Is the destination of the route guidance ver if the vehicle is not near home, it is concluded that the occupant is not on his way home and the grocery shopping reminder is not issued, regardless of whether the vehicle is near home or a grocery store.

The reminder is preferably output acoustically, for example by means of a voice output, and/or optically, for example on a display device such as a display or a touch panel of the motor vehicle. In addition, it can be provided that the output of the reminder is forwarded to a mobile terminal, such as a smartphone, and output via this.

With a further advantage it can be provided that the input device is a device for voice input and/or that the input is a voice input.

In other words, the vehicle occupant can transmit the desired reminder related to a reminder location to the data processing device by voice input into the input device.

This makes it possible, in particular, for the vehicle occupant to transmit new desired memories related to a memory location to the data processing device even while driving.

With a further advantage, it can be provided that the condition relating to the reminder place and/or destination includes reaching the reminder place and/or destination, and/or a predetermined remaining time until reaching the reminder place and/or destination, and/or a driving maneuver, and /or a time and/or a date, and/or a predetermined route traveled to the place of remembrance and/or destination, and/or a situation to be expected at the place of remembrance and/or destination and/or along a route traveled, and/or an in the condition contained in the input.

For example, the reminder may be, "When I get home, please remind me to put out the garbage cans." In this case, the reminder location is the occupant's place of residence and the condition is reaching the place of residence.

If the reminder is "Please remind me to call Martin ten minutes before I get home," the reminder location is also home, and the predetermined condition is an expected ten minutes remaining until home is reached.

If the reminder is "Remind me to buy milk when I get to the grocery store," the reminder location is the grocery store. The condition can be reaching the grocery store and performing a driving maneuver that indicates a parking maneuver.

The condition related to the place of remembrance can also be a situation to be expected at the place of remembrance. If the reminder is "Please remind me to call Martin on the way to our meeting in Wolfsburg", the memorial location is Wolfsburg and the condition related to the memorial location is that Martin is expected at the memorial location when the vehicle occupant is on his way to Wolfsburg is located. For this purpose, the data processing device can have access to an electronic calendar of the vehicle occupant, for example. The reminder is then only issued on the date on which the meeting with Martin takes place according to the calendar entry and if the destination of the route guidance procedure is Wolfsburg.

If the reminder already described above reads "Please remind me to buy milk on the way home", then the condition related to the reminder location, that the reminder should only be issued if the vehicle occupant is on the way home, is already included in the input.

Preferably, of course, it can also be provided that methods known from the prior art for outputting reminders are used. For example, the reminder might say "Remind me to call Martin in ten minutes". In this case, a reminder will be triggered after ten minutes have elapsed, regardless of whether a destination matches the reminder location.

Furthermore, the reminder can read "Please remind me to call Martin later." The data processing device then evaluates the term "after". For example, it can be stored in the data processing device that the term “after” corresponds to a period of fifteen minutes. In this case, too, a reminder is issued after fifteen minutes have elapsed, regardless of whether a destination corresponds to the reminder location.

Provision can also preferably be made for the data processing device and/or the navigation system to determine a probable destination on the basis of at least one parameter and to carry out the route guidance method with the probable destination as the destination.

According to the method, it is therefore not necessary for the vehicle occupant to determine a destination by means of an input, for example a voice input, and to start route guidance. Rather, the data processing device and/or the navigation system can be designed to determine a probable destination on the basis of at least one parameter and, preferably in the background, to carry out a route guidance method. Carrying out the route guidance method in the background means in particular that information from the route guidance method, such as directions, etc., is not displayed to the vehicle occupant. The route guidance method then runs unnoticed by the vehicle occupant.

For example, the data processing device and/or the navigation system can determine on the basis of the at least one parameter that the probable destination is the place of residence of the vehicle occupant. The navigation system then carries out a route guidance process, preferably in the background, with the probable destination “residence” as the destination. If the reminder in this case is, for example, "Please remind me to buy milk on the way home", and the data processing device and/or the navigation device has determined the place of residence of the vehicle occupant as the probable destination, the reminder will be issued if the motor vehicle is on a route leading to the place of residence is moved.

The at least one parameter preferably includes a current time and/or a current vehicle position and/or a route currently being traveled or a route that is expected to be traveled.

If the current time is, for example, late afternoon or early evening and the vehicle occupant travels a route section that leads to the vehicle occupant's place of residence, the data processing device and/or the navigation system can determine the place of residence as the probable destination and carry out a route guidance method with the place of residence as the destination.

The parameter can also be a route that is expected to be traveled. If, as in the aforementioned case, the current time is late afternoon or early evening and the vehicle occupant is traveling on a route section which he chooses in most cases for the way home, the data processing device and/or the navigation system can use the usual route home as the route likely to be taken Determine the place of residence of the vehicle occupant and carry out a route guidance procedure to the place of residence. In order to determine the expected route, the data processing device and/or the navigation system can, in particular, use data on past journeys by the vehicle occupant.

If the motor vehicle deviates significantly from the route that is likely to be traveled, a new route that is likely to be traveled, possibly with a new probable destination, can be determined. The output of the reminders is then re-evaluated depending on the new probable destination, i.e. the new destination.

More preferably, it can be provided that the probable destination and/or the route likely to be traveled is determined using a machine learning method.

The data processing device and/or the navigation system can learn from the routes usually traveled by the vehicle occupants at specific times, using the current time, currently traveled route sections or other parameters to determine the probable destination or the likely route to be traveled. Machine learning methods, such as rule-based learning or deep neural networks, can be used to learn these patterns from the data.

With a further advantage, it can be provided that the data processing device determines the memory location and/or the condition related to the memory location and/or destination, preferably context-dependent, from the input.

The data processing device can thus be designed to determine the reminder location, namely the place of residence of the vehicle occupant, and the condition related to the reminder location, which can be that the vehicle is on a route to home and the time is late afternoon or early evening.

The determination of the memory location and/or the condition related to the memory location or destination from the input can also be done using machine learning methods.

A further solution to the object on which the invention is based consists in a motor vehicle comprising a device for outputting reminders to a vehicle occupant, wherein the device comprises an input device, a data processing device, a navigation system and an output device, wherein the device is designed to carry out an above-described method.

All method steps and features explained in connection with the method described above can be transferred to the motor vehicle in a corresponding manner and vice versa.

• 1 ein Ablaufdiagramm für ein Verfahren zur Ausgabe von Erinnerungen für einen Fahrzeuginsassen in einem Kraftfahrzeug, und
• 2 ein Kraftfahrzeug umfassend eine Vorrichtung zur Ausgabe von Erinnerungen an einen Fahrzeuginsassen.

The invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

• 1 a flowchart for a method for issuing reminders for a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle, and
• 2 a motor vehicle comprising a device for issuing reminders to a vehicle occupant.

1 shows a flowchart for a method 100 for issuing reminders for a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle 200. 2 shows a motor vehicle 200 comprising a device 10 for outputting reminders to a vehicle occupant.

In the method 100 after 1 In a first method step S1, a vehicle occupant of a motor vehicle 200 transmits a desired reminder related to a memory location to a data processing device 12 of the motor vehicle 200 by means of a voice input into an input device 11. The reminder can read, for example, “Please remind me to buy milk on the way home.” From the voice input of the reminder, the data processing device 12 determines the place of the reminder, which in the present case is the place of residence of the vehicle occupant, as well as a condition relating to the place of residence or place of the reminder. In the case explained, the condition relating to the memory location is that the motor vehicle 200 is on a route to the place of residence and that the time corresponds to late afternoon or early evening. To determine the memory location and the conditions related to the memory location, the data processing device 12 can use methods of machine learning.

In a next step S2, a route guidance method to a destination is carried out by a navigation system 13 of motor vehicle 200. In a first alternative, the vehicle occupant can enter the place of residence as the destination by entering it directly into the navigation system 13 . However, it is also possible for the data processing device 12 and/or the navigation system 13 to determine a probable destination on the basis of at least one further parameter. The probable destination can be determined using a machine learning method, for example using deep neural networks. If data processing device 12 and/or navigation system 13 has learned from previous journeys by the vehicle occupant that the vehicle occupant's most likely destination for a trip in the late afternoon or early evening along a specific route section is the vehicle occupant's place of residence, data processing device 12 and/or the navigation system 13 use the residence of the vehicle occupant as the destination in the route guidance method when the time corresponds to late afternoon or early evening and when the motor vehicle 200 is on the specific route section.

If the data processing device 12 and/or the navigation system 13 has determined the most likely destination, the route guidance method can be executed in the background, which means that the vehicle occupant neither actively starts the route guidance nor that information relating to the route guidance is output. In particular, no direction information is displayed to the vehicle occupant.

In a next method step S3, the data processing device 12 determines whether the reminder location corresponds to the destination of the route guidance method. If the place of remembrance and the destination match, then the data processing device 12 checks whether the conditions related to the place of remembrance are met. If the conditions are met, that is to say in the case described that motor vehicle 200 is on a route to the place of residence and that the time corresponds to late afternoon or early evening, then the reminder is issued to the vehicle occupant.

2 shows schematically a motor vehicle 200 comprising a device 10 for outputting reminders to a vehicle occupant. The device 10 includes an input device 11, a data processing device 12, a navigation system 13 and an output device 14. The device 10, in particular the data processing device 12, is used to carry out a related 1 method described formed.

Reference List

100

procedure

200

motor vehicle

10

contraption

11

input device

12

data processing device

13

navigation system

14

dispenser

S1-S3

process steps

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• US 9214079 B1 [0003, 0006]
• US8442758B1 [0004]
• US10192424B2 [0005]

Claims (10)

Method (100) for outputting reminders for a vehicle occupant in a motor vehicle (200), with a vehicle occupant transmitting a desired reminder related to a memory location to a data processing device (12) by means of an input into an input device (11), with a route guidance method ( 100) to a destination by a navigation system (13) of the motor vehicle (200), the data processing device (12) outputting the desired reminder if the reminder location is the same as the destination and if a condition related to the reminder location and/or destination is satisfied. Method (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the input device (11) is a device (10) for voice input, and / or wherein the input is a voice input. Method (100) according to any one of Claims 1 or 2 , wherein the condition related to the reminder place and/or destination includes reaching the reminder place and/or destination, and/or a predetermined remaining time until reaching the reminder place and/or destination. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the condition related to the reminder location and/or destination includes a driving maneuver and/or a time and/or a date. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the condition related to the memory location and/or destination is a predetermined traveled route to the memory location and/or destination, and/or at the memory location and/or destination and/or along a traveled route expected situation, and/or a condition contained in the input. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data processing device (12) and/or the navigation system (13) determines a probable destination on the basis of at least one parameter and carries out the route guidance method with the probable destination as the destination. Method (100) according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one parameter includes a current time and/or a current vehicle position or a route currently being traveled and/or a route that is expected to be traveled. Method (100) according to claim 6 or 7 , the probable destination and/or the route likely to be traveled being determined using a machine learning method. Method (100) according to one of the claims, wherein the data processing device (12) determines the memory location and/or the condition related to the memory location and/or destination, preferably context-dependent, from the input. Motor vehicle (200) comprising a device (10) for outputting reminders to a vehicle occupant, the device (10) comprising an input device (11), a data processing device (12), a navigation system (13) and an output device (14), wherein the device (10) for carrying out a method (100) according to one of Claims 1 until 9 is trained.

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