Vehicle entertainment unit and method of controlling the same

Abstract

A method of controlling a vehicle entertainment unit mounted in a vehicle using a center stack control system of the vehicle includes establishing a BLUETOOTH connection between the center stack control system and the vehicle entertainment unit, retrieving metadata from the vehicle entertainment unit, transmitting the metadata from the vehicle entertainment unit to the center stack control system via the BLUETOOTH connection, receiving a control command at the vehicle entertainment unit via the BLUETOOTH connection, mapping the control command to a corresponding function of the vehicle entertainment unit at the vehicle entertainment unit, and executing the corresponding function at the vehicle entertainment unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle entertainment unit, comprising:
 a wireless transceiver configured to establish a wireless connection between the vehicle entertainment unit and a center stack control system of a vehicle, wherein the center stack control system controls an audio system of the vehicle, a heating and cooling system of the vehicle, and a navigation system of the vehicle; and   a processor configured to:
 retrieve metadata from the vehicle entertainment unit, 
 wherein the retrieved metadata is transmitted from the vehicle entertainment unit to the center stack control system by the wireless transceiver via the wireless connection, 
 wherein the wireless transceiver is configured to receive a control command via the wireless connection from the center stack control system in response to a user interacting with visual content corresponding to the metadata at the center stack control system; 
 map the control command to a corresponding function of the vehicle entertainment unit; and 
 execute the corresponding function at the vehicle entertainment unit, wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is configured to be mounted in the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of media sources, wherein the corresponding function executed at the vehicle entertainment unit comprises selecting one of the plurality of media sources for playback at the vehicle entertainment unit.   
     
     
         3 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of media sources comprises two different types of portable storage device interfaces. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 3 , wherein the two different types of portable storage device interfaces comprise a memory card slot and a USB interface. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of media sources comprises a memory card slot, a USB interface and an optical disc drive. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 1 , wherein the control command is mapped using an Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) BLUETOOTH profile. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 6 , Wherein the AVRCP BLUETOOTH profile is version 1.4 or higher. 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 1 , wherein the corresponding function executed at the vehicle entertainment unit comprises controlling playback of media content playing at the vehicle entertainment unit. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is semi-permanently mounted in the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 9 , wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is semi-permanently mounted in a seat in the vehicle. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 10 , wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is semi-permanently mounted in a headrest of the seat. 
     
     
         12 . A vehicle entertainment unit, comprising:
 a BLUETOOTH transceiver configured to establish a BLUETOOTH connection between the vehicle entertainment unit and a center stack control system of a vehicle; and   a processor configured to:
 retrieve metadata from the vehicle entertainment unit, 
 wherein the retrieved metadata is transmitted from the vehicle entertainment unit to the center stack control system by the BLUETOOTH transceiver via the BLUETOOTH connection, 
 wherein the BLUETOOTH transceiver is configured to receive a control command via the BLUETOOTH connection from the center stack control system in response to a user interacting with visual content corresponding to the metadata at the center stack control system; 
 map the control command to a corresponding function of the vehicle entertainment unit; and 
 execute the corresponding function at the vehicle entertainment unit, wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is configured to the mounted in the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         13 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a plurality of media sources, wherein the corresponding function executed at the vehicle entertainment unit comprises selecting one of the plurality of media sources for playback at the vehicle entertainment unit.   
     
     
         14 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of media sources comprises two different types of portable storage device interfaces. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 14 , wherein the two different types of portable storage device interfaces comprise a memory card slot and a USB interface. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of media sources comprises a memory card slot, a USB interface and an optical disc drive. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 12 , wherein the control command is mapped using an Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) BLUETOOTH profile. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 17 . wherein the AVRCP BLUETOOTH profile is version 1.4 or higher. 
     
     
         19 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 12 , wherein the corresponding function executed at the vehicle entertainment unit comprises controlling playback of media content playing at the vehicle entertainment unit. 
     
     
         20 . The vehicle entertainment unit of  claim 12 , wherein the vehicle entertainment unit is semi-permanently mounted in the vehicle.