Methods for locating a vehicle key fob

• US 10,101,433 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2015
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Laifenfeld, Moshe, Berezin, Vyacheslav, Kotzer, Igal, Scheim, Kobi Jacob
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E
• Application Number:
  US14/702,459
• Publication Number:
  US 20160320469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 342458
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/245 where the antenna reception area plays a role
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A system and method of locating a key fob with respect to a vehicle includes: detecting short-range wireless signals communicated between the key fob and a plurality of nodes at the vehicle using an IEEE 802.11 protocol; calculating the distance of the key fob relative to each of the nodes attached to the vehicle based on the detected short-range wireless signal; and determining the location of the key fob based on the distance of the key fob relative to each of the nodes.

Claims

1. A method of locating a key fob with respect to a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) periodically broadcasting an interrogation signal from the vehicle using a BLUETOOTH™

Low Energy (LE) protocol;

(b) detecting at the vehicle a BLUETOOTH™

LE response signal from the key fob;

(c) authenticating the key fob using the BLUETOOTH™

LE response signal;

(d) monitoring a position of the key fob using short-range wireless signals communicated between the key fob and the vehicle using the BLUETOOTH™

LE protocol;

(e) when the position of the key fob is within a predetermined distance from the vehicle, activating a receiver configured to operate using an IEEE 802.11 protocol;

(f) detecting a short-range wireless signal communicated between the key fob and a plurality of nodes at the vehicle using the IEEE 802.11 protocol;

(g) calculating the distance of the key fob relative to each of the nodes attached to the vehicle based on the detected short-range wireless signal; and

(h) determining the location of the key fob based on the distance of the key fob relative to each of the nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether the key fob is located within the vehicle based on the calculations in step (g).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises detecting at each node the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the key fob.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises detecting at the key fob the short-range wireless signal transmitted by each of the plurality of nodes.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of detecting an angle at which the short-range wireless signal is received at one or more of the nodes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (g) is carried out using a lookup table that includes a distance value associated with a plurality of signal strength values.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the key fob is within a predetermined range of the vehicle based on the short range wireless signal.

8. A method of locating a key fob with respect to a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a short-range wireless signal communicated between the key fob and the vehicle using a BLUETOOTH™

Low Energy (LE) protocol;

(b) determining in which of a plurality of virtual zones surrounding the vehicle the key fob is located based on a calculation of the distance between the key fob and the vehicle using the detected short-range wireless signal;

(c) initiating select vehicle functions based on the location of the key fob relative to the plurality of zones;

(d) when the distance between the key fob and the vehicle is within a predetermined range, activating a receiver configured to detect another short-range wireless signal transmitted between the key fob and the vehicle using an IEEE 802.11 protocol;

(e) calculating the location of the key fob, relative to each of a plurality of nodes attached to the vehicle, using the IEEE 802.11 protocol wireless signal; and

(f) determining whether the key fob is located within the vehicle based on the calculations in step (e).

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of detecting an angle at which the short-range wireless signal is received at one or more of the nodes.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein step (a), step (d), or both further comprises detecting at each node the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the key fob.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein step (a), step (d), or both further comprises detecting at the key fob the short-range wireless signal transmitted by each of the plurality of nodes.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein step (b), step (e), or both are carried out using a lookup table that includes a distance value associated with a plurality of signal strength values.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of authenticating the key fob using the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the key fob using the BLUETOOTH™

Low Energy (LE) protocol.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of detecting an angle at which the short-range wireless signal is received at one or more of the nodes.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein step (e) is carried out using a lookup table that includes a distance value associated with a plurality of signal strength values.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of authenticating the key fob using the short-range wireless signal transmitted by the key fob using the BLUETOOTH™

Low Energy (LE) protocol.

17. A method of locating a key fob with respect to a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting at a vehicle a short-range wireless signal transmitted by the key fob using a BLUETOOTH™

Low Energy (LE) protocol;

(b) comparing the detected short-range wireless signal to one or more known signal strength thresholds for the BLUETOOTH™

LE protocol;

(c) determining whether the key fob is within a predetermined range of the vehicle based on the comparison in step (b);

(d) initiating an 802.11 receiver using a plurality of nodes at the vehicle when the key fob is within the predetermined range of the vehicle;

(e) calculating the location of the key fob relative to each of the plurality of nodes using an IEEE 802.11 wireless signal received at each node; and

(f) determining whether the key fob is located within the vehicle based on the calculations in step (e).