Mobile communication terminal for controlling a vehicle using a short message and method for controlling the same

• US 20050073388A1
• Filed: 08/10/2004
• Published: 04/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Woo-Yong, Lee, Sun-Gi, Chun, Kyong-Joon
• Granted Patent: US 7,158,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.100
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/101 Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/205 Mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/04 operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2009 Antitheft state indicator
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/209 Remote starting of engine
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00817 where the code of the lock can be programmed
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00857 where the code of the data carrier can be programmed

Abstract

A mobile terminal for controlling a vehicle using a short message by establishing authentication information to establish mutual authentication between the vehicle acting and a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal requests initial information needed for an automatic control function from the vehicle using the authentication information, and checks the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control available items associated with the initial information received from the vehicle. Upon receiving user'"'"'s selection information needed for the automatic control function, the mobile terminal generates a short message containing a control command corresponding to items from among the checked automatic control available items, and transmits the short message to the vehicle. The user uses a short message in a mobile communication network to remotely control a vehicle. User interface using icons allow the user to conveniently control the vehicle at a remote site.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a vehicle using a short message, comprising the steps of:

a) setting up authentication information to establish mutual authentication between the vehicle acting as a control target and a mobile terminal;

b) controlling the mobile terminal to request initial information needed for an automatic control function from the vehicle using the authentication information, and controlling the mobile terminal to allow a user to select from among the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control available items associated with the initial information received from the vehicle;

c) upon receiving the user'"'"'s selection information needed for the automatic control function, generating a short message containing a control command corresponding to more than one item from among the selected automatic control available items; and

d) transmitting the generated short message to the vehicle.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

e) controlling the mobile terminal having received the initial information from the vehicle to display only an automatic control available item of the vehicle in the form of a user-selectable state based on the received initial information.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein step (e) further includes displaying the automatic control available item in the form of an icon.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising determining whether one of the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control available items indicates a malfunction upon receiving the initial information from the vehicle, and displaying the determined malfunction item.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4, wherein step (f) further includes displaying the malfunction item in the form of an icon.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (a) further includes the steps of:

a1) storing a telephone number of the vehicle in the mobile terminal;

a2) storing a password in the mobile terminal, determining the vehicle telephone number to be a destination, and generating a short message composed of a phone number of the mobile terminal and the password; and

a3) transmitting the short message to the vehicle such that the vehicle can store the phone number or ID of the mobile terminal and the password in the form of automatic control authentication information.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein step (a2) further includes generating a short message where a message classification recognition code indicative of a vehicle control short message is included in a header area.

8. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein step (b) further includes:

b1) receiving a predetermined password from a user;

b2) determining a vehicle telephone number pre-stored in the mobile terminal to be a destination, generating a short message composed of a phone number or ID of the mobile terminal, the received password, and an initial information request flag, and transmitting the short message to the vehicle;

b3) receiving a response message from the vehicle which has received the short message and has determined the validity of the initial information request flag using the password contained in the short message; and

b4) selecting, by the user checking a displayed menu item, a vehicle'"'"'s control available item corresponding to the received response message.

9. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein step (b2) further includes generating a short message where a message classification recognition code indicative of a vehicle control short message is included in a header area.

10. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the received response message includes a telephone number of the vehicle, a password pre-registered in the vehicle, and automatic control item information of the vehicle.

11. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein step (c) includes the steps of:

c1) receiving a desired automatic control item from the user upon receipt of an automatic control request;

c2) reading a control command corresponding to more than one user-selected item from among the automatic control available items, and temporarily storing the read control command;

c3) receiving a user-entry password from the user, comparing a pre-stored password with the user-entry password, and authenticating the user according to the comparison result;

c4) if it is determined that the user is authenticated, determining a pre-registered vehicle telephone number to be a destination, and generating an automatic control short message including a phone number of the mobile terminal, the temporarily-stored control commands, and the password; and

c5) transmitting the short message to the vehicle.

12. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein step (c4) further includes generating a short message where a message classification recognition code indicative of a vehicle control short message is included in a header area.

13. A mobile terminal apparatus, comprising:

a control command manager for storing/managing an automatic control icon pre-registered to implement an automatic control function of a vehicle acting as a control target, control commands associated with the automatic control icon, and authentication information needed to establish mutual authentication between the vehicle and the mobile terminal;

a controller for receiving a request command from a user to establish the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control function, and generating a control signal needed for the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control function using a short message communicated between the vehicle and the mobile terminal;

a display controller for reading the automatic control icon from the control command manager upon receiving a control signal from the controller, and displaying the read icon;

a short message generator for generating a short message needed for the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control function upon receiving the control signal from the controller; and

an RF (Radio Frequency) unit for transmitting the short message generated by the short message generator to the vehicle upon receiving the control signal from the controller, receiving a response message from the vehicle, and transmitting the received response message to the controller.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein the controller, upon receiving a user'"'"'s request command to implement the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control function, generates at least one of a plurality of control signals, i.e. an authentication information setup control signal for setting up authentication information communicated between the vehicle and the mobile terminal, an initial information request control signal for requesting initial information needed for the automatic control function from the vehicle, an automatic control execution control signal for carrying out the automatic control function, and a display control signal for controlling a display state.

15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the display controller, upon receiving the display control signal from the controller, displays only an icon corresponding to an automatic control available item of the vehicle in the form of a user-selectable icon.

16. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein the control command manager further includes malfunction indication icon information indicative of malfunction state information of the vehicle, and stores/manages the malfunction indication icon information.

17. The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein the display controller, upon receiving a display control signal from the controller, determines which one of the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control icons indicates a current malfunction, reads corresponding malfunction icon information from the control command manager, and displays the read information.

18. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein the short message generator, upon receiving the control signal from the controller, generates a first short message for setting up authentication information to establish mutual authentication between the vehicle and the mobile terminal, a second short message to request initial information needed for the vehicle'"'"'s automatic control function from the vehicle, and a third short message for automatically controlling the vehicle.

19. The apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein the short message generator generates a short message where a message classification recognition code indicative of a vehicle control short message is included in a header area.

20. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the short message generator generates a first short message upon receiving the authentication information setup control signal from the controller, wherein the first short message is composed of a phone number or ID of the mobile terminal and a user-predetermined automatic control authentication password and the destination of the first short message is a vehicle telephone number.

21. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the short message generates a second short message upon receiving the initial information request control signal from the controller, wherein the second message is composed of a phone number or ID of the mobile terminal, a user-predetermined automatic control authentication password, and an initial information request flag and the destination of the second short message is a vehicle telephone number.

22. The apparatus as set forth in claim 21, wherein the RF unit receives a short message from the vehicle, as a response message to the second short message, and wherein the short message includes the vehicle telephone number of a corresponding vehicle, the password pre-registered in the vehicle, and automatic control item information of the vehicle.

23. The apparatus as set forth in claim 21, wherein the short message generator generates a third short message upon receiving the control signal from the controller, wherein the third short message includes more than one user-selected automatic control item and a user-predetermined automatic control authentication password, and wherein the destination of the third short message is a vehicle telephone number.