Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) submitted a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a technology designed to reinvent the vehicle owner’s manual, which will allow drivers to easily identify and fix issues in their cars. Patently Apple published a summary of the patent application.
Based on its new patent entitled “Identifying and Presenting Information Based on Unique Vehicle Identifier,” Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) envisions creating an interactive in-vehicle owners’ manual, which provides drivers with the exact part numbers they need for their vehicles.
The tech giant described the way its hypothetical technology would be capable of providing video instructions about problems happening in the vehicle, and information regarding the nearest dealership or car parts retailers where the owner could get the necessary replacement parts to fix the problem.
Current vehicle owner’s manual is time consuming
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) indicated that in its patent application that reviewing the existing vehicle user manual from car manufacturers is “quite time consuming” for drivers to know certain information about their vehicle such as looking for the exact vehicle-specific part number before purchasing a replacement part to fix the problem in their cars.
The patent application showed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) can use portable electronic devices such as an iPhone or iPad, media player, personal digital assistant etc. The tech giant noted that portable devices can receive messages from the vehicle including a unique vehicle identifier for the vehicle
For example, the iPhone could be integrated with vehicle interface to be able to exchange messages with a vehicle, and a processor in the vehicle interface. The unique vehicle identifier could be the vehicle identification number (VIN) or any hash values corresponding to it.
The iPhone will be able to identify content based in part in the unique vehicle identifier using a processor. The content is stored in a memory of the portable devices/or externally, which will be retrieved through a network. Content will be presented by the portable electronic devices through a user interface.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) indicated that in some embodiments that content may include specification for the vehicle such as a fuel type, an oil type, an identifier of a replacement part, an identifier of a merchant offering the replacement part for sale, a user manual, a year, a make, a model, a color, a year, and/or other specification for the vehicle.
Apple: Advanced microphone necessary
The tech giant noted that its technology may require an advanced microphone to receive input from a user and transmit the voice input to the processor in the form of an electrical signal. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also noted that messages may be classified as general or optional set.
