Application state and activity transfer between devices

Abstract

A method of operating a personal electronic device and an in-vehicle infotainment system includes running an application on one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system. It is sensed that the personal electronic device has been, or soon will be, moved into or out of a proximity of the in-vehicle infotainment system. Information regarding a state of the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system is transferred to the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system. An application is selected for the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system. The selected application is used to replicate the state of the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system on the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of operating a first electronic device and second electronic device, the first electronic device comprising one of a personal electronic device and an in-vehicle infotainment system, the second electronic device comprising a different one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system, the method comprising:
 running a first application on the first electronic device; 
 recording user inputs to the first electronic device with the first electronic device; 
 determining an activity being performed by a user on the first electronic device based on the recorded user inputs; 
 at least one of (i) sensing that the personal electronic device has been moved at least one of into and out of a vehicle that includes the in-vehicle infotainment system, and (ii) sensing that the personal electronic device will be moved at least one of into and out of a vehicle that includes the in-vehicle infotainment system within a predetermined time period; 
 transferring information regarding a state of the first electronic device from the first electronic device to the second electronic device, the information at least including the determined activity being performed by the user; 
 selecting a second application for the second electronic device; and 
 replicating the state of the first electronic device on the second electronic device using the selected second application. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transferred information further includes at least one of:
 an identity of the first application; 
 the recorded user inputs; 
 information regarding input devices of the first electronic device; 
 time stamps associated with the recorded user inputs; and 
 an identification of a field of the first application into which the recorded user inputs have been entered. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , the selecting further comprising:
 selecting the second application for the second electronic device based on the transferred information. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , the selecting further comprising:
 selecting the second application for the second electronic device based on the determined activity being performed by the user. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first application is configured to enable at least one of:
 web browsing; 
 exchanging at least one of emails, text messages and instant messages; 
 listening to radio stations; and 
 GPS navigation. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , the transferring further comprising:
 using HTML with attached Javascript to encode the information; 
 transferring the encoded information to the second electronic device; and 
 displaying-the transferred information with a web browser on the second electronic device if no other suitable application is available. 
 
     
     
       7. A method of operating a personal electronic device and an in-vehicle infotainment system, the method comprising:
 running a first application on the personal electronic device; 
 sensing that the personal electronic device at least one of (i) has been and (ii) will be within a predetermined time period moved into a vehicle that includes the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 transferring information regarding a state of the personal electronic device from the personal electronic device to the in-vehicle infotainment system in response to the sensing; 
 selecting a second application for the in-vehicle infotainment system; and 
 replicating the state of the personal electronic device on the in-vehicle infotainment system using the selected second application. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , the sensing further comprising at least one of:
 receiving a signal from a vehicle door unlock sensor; 
 receiving a signal from a vehicle seat occupancy sensor; 
 detecting at least one of a RFID tag, Bluetooth ID, and WiFi address of at least one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 receiving a beacon signal from at least one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 receiving a signal from a vehicle ignition sensor; and 
 receiving a signal from a seat adjustment assembly. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , the replicating further comprising:
 downloading the selected second application from an on-line store. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the transferred information includes at least one of:
 an identity of the first application; 
 inputs that a user has entered into the personal electronic device; 
 information regarding input devices of the personal electronic device; 
 time stamps associated with inputs that a user has entered into the personal electronic device; and 
 an identification of a field of the first application into which inputs have been entered by a user of the personal electronic device. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 analyzing the transferred information in order to determine an activity being performed by a user on the personal electronic device; and 
 selecting the second application for the in-vehicle infotainment system based on the determined activity being performed by the user. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 7 , the selecting further comprising:
 selecting the second application for the in-vehicle infotainment system based on the transferred information. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first application is configured to enable at least one of:
 web browsing; 
 exchanging at least one of emails, text messages and instant messages; 
 listening to radio stations; and 
 GPS navigation. 
 
     
     
       14. A method of operating a personal electronic device and an in-vehicle infotainment system, the method comprising:
 running a first application on one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 displaying information regarding the running of the application on a display screen of the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 capturing an image of the display screen using an optical sensor of an other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 analyzing the captured image to extract information regarding a state of the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; 
 selecting a second application for the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system based on the extracted information; and 
 replicating the state of the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system on the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system using the selected second application. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , the analyzing further comprising:
 recognizing at least one of text content and objects on the display screen. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the optical sensor comprises a video camera. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , the analyzing further comprising:
 detecting in the captured image at least one of an identification tag, a bar code, and a specific image on the display. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 analyzing the captured image to determine an activity being performed by a user on the one of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system; and 
 selecting the second application for the other of the personal electronic device and the in-vehicle infotainment system based on the determined activity being performed by the user.