In-vehicle detection of a charge-only connection with a mobile computing device

Utility Patent Grant (B2)

July 5, 2022

Source: USPTO via Sqoop

Assignees: Google LLC

Inventors: Sriram Viswanathan, Lukasz Pawel Krakowiak, Dan Feng, Eugene Koh

An example method includes identifying, by a mobile computing device, short-range wireless communication signals that are associated with a vehicle computing system; determining, by the mobile computing device, based on the short-range wireless communication signals, that the mobile computing device is proximate to the vehicle computing system; identifying, by the mobile computing device, an electrical connection between the mobile computing device and the vehicle, wherein the electrical connection is provided by an electrical cable that connects a port of the mobile computing device to a port of the vehicle; determining, by the mobile computing device, that the electrical connection is a charge-only connection, wherein the charge-only connection enables an electrical charging or discharging of the mobile computing device but prohibits any data transfer between the mobile computing device and the vehicle computing system; and outputting, by the mobile computing device, a notification indicative of the charge-only connection.