System and Method for a Vehicle Mediating Zone-Specific Control of a Communication Device

Abstract

A method and system of providing zone-specific control of one or more of features of at least one communication device by a vehicle, the system comprising: a microprocessor executable feature control module connected with at least communication device (connected device), wherein the feature control module is configured to receive input from at least one of a sensor of the communication device or specific zone/s to locate the at least one communication device with respect to the zone/s; at least one of the feature control module or device location module determining for the at least one connected device, the specific zone associated with the at least one connected device, wherein the specific zone is labeled with a rule or condition for degree of restriction of one or more features of the at least one connected device; and the feature control module limiting access or control of one or more features of the at least one connected device based on the rules or conditions assigned to the determined zone, wherein the rules or condition are defined by at least one of a group, entity, individual, manufacture, in response to a vehicle or communication device detected input or condition, or any combination thereof.

I/We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of providing zone-specific control of one or more of features of at least one communication device by a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
 establishing, by a microprocessor executable feature control module, a connection with the at least one communication device, wherein the feature control module is configured to receive input from at least one of a sensor of the communication device or specific zone/s to locate the at least one communication device with respect to the zone/s;   determining for the at least one connected device, the specific zone associated with the at least one connected device, wherein the specific zone is at least one of high-restricted, restricted, low-restricted, or unrestricted;   controlling, via the feature control module, access or control of one or more features of the at least one communication device based on rules assigned to the determined zone, wherein the rules are defined by at least one of a group, entity, individual, manufacture, in response to a vehicle or communication device detected input or condition, or any combination thereof; and   ceasing or easing zone-specific control of one or more of the features of the at least one communication device by the feature control module based on a change of vehicle state.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the connection between the communication device and feature control module is established via at least one of manually or automatically registering the communication device with the feature control module. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein automatically registering the communication device further comprises storing in a memory an identifier associated with the communication device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location of the communication device is determined to be within a specific zone by a sensor disposed within a specific zone communicating with at least one of the feature control module or communication device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the specific zone is associated with an operator or passenger area of the vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a specific area comprising at least one of a partial specific zone or whole specific zone. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rules correspond to laws associated with a geographical region, and wherein the laws are stored in a memory. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rules correspond to one or more settings associated with the communication device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rules correspond to determining a state of the vehicle associated with the communication device, wherein determining the vehicle state further comprises: receiving input indicating at least one of a rested state or emergency state of the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle state change is determined to be a vehicle rest state or a vehicle/user emergency state, and wherein control of the communication device is ceased, allowing free or increased access to the one or more features of the communication device. 
     
     
         11 . A method of providing zone-specific control of one or more of features of at least one communication device by a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
 determining for the at least one communication device connected, the specific zone associated with the at least one connected device, wherein the specific zone is at least one of high-restricted, restricted, low-restricted, or unrestricted; and   controlling, via a feature control module, access or control of one or more features of the at least one communication device based on rules assigned to the determined zone, wherein the rules are defined by at least one of a group, entity, individual, manufacture, in response to a vehicle or communication device detected input or condition, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the control module is connected with the at least communication device, wherein the feature control module is configured to receive input from at least one of a sensor of the communication device or specific zone/s to locate the at least one communication device with respect to the zone/s. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each of the at least one communication device is located to its specific zone or area based on GPS geo-location of the communication device by a zone or area-specific GPS module. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one communication device is located to its specific zone or area based on communication or pairing between a zone or area-specific sensor and the communication device associated with the specific zone or area. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein ceasing or easing zone-specific control of one or more of the features of the at least one communication device by the feature control module is based on a change of vehicle state, wherein the state change is a consent from an operator of the vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . A method of providing zone-specific control of one or more of features of at least one communication device by a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
 establishing, by a microprocessor executable feature control module, a connection with the at least one communication device (connected device), wherein the feature control module is configured to receive input from at least one of a sensor of the communication device or specific zone/s to locate the at least one communication device with respect to the zone/s;   determining for the at least one connected device, the specific zone associated with the at least one connected device, wherein the specific zone is labeled with some degree of restriction of one or more features of the at least one connected device; and   controlling, via the feature control module, access or control of one or more features of the at least one connected device based on rules assigned to the determined zone, wherein the rules are defined by at least one of a group, entity, individual, manufacture, in response to a vehicle or communication device detected input or condition, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein each of the at least one connected device is located to its specific zone or area based on GPS geo-location of the connected device by a zone or area-specific GPS module. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one connected device is located to its specific zone or area based on communication or pairing between a zone or area-specific sensor and the connected device associated with the specific zone or area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein ceasing or easing zone-specific control of one or more of the features of the at least one connected device by the feature control module is based on a change of vehicle state, wherein the state change is a consent from an operator of the vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the connected device is at least one of a smart phone, smart watch, tablet, or laptop. 
     
     
         21 . A system of providing zone-specific control of one or more of features of at least one communication device by a vehicle, said system comprising:
 a microprocessor executable feature control module connected with at least one communication device (connected device), wherein the feature control module is configured to receive input from at least one of a sensor of the communication device or specific zone/s to locate the at least one communication device with respect to the zone/s;   at least one of the feature control module or device location module determining for the at least one connected device, the specific zone associated with the at least one connected device, wherein the specific zone is labeled with a rule or condition for degree of restriction of one or more features of the at least one connected device; and   the feature control module limiting access or control of one or more features of the at least one connected device based on the rules or conditions assigned to the determined zone, wherein the rules or condition are defined by at least one of a group, entity, individual, manufacture, in response to a vehicle or communication device detected input or condition, or any combination thereof.