SIMPLIFIED VEHICLE BLUETOOTH PAIRING EMPLOYING NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION TAGS

• US 20110210830A1
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company), GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company), GM Global Technology Operations Incorporated (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Talty, Timothy J., Ames, Michael B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,432,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.51
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/18 using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

A system and method for simply and securely pairing Bluetooth devices in a vehicle. A Near Field Communication (NFC) read-only tag is placed in the vehicle such that a user can pass an NFC-enabled Bluetooth device near the tag, which then transfers encryption key data for the vehicle'"'"'s Bluetooth device to the user'"'"'s Bluetooth device. Various embodiments are disclosed for initiating the pairing process with the vehicle'"'"'s Bluetooth device, which ordinarily remains in a silent mode for security reasons. Once the pairing process has been initiated, and the user'"'"'s Bluetooth device has been passed near the NFC tag, the pairing process is completed with no further action required by the user.

Claims

1. A method for establishing secure communications between two wireless electronic devices, said method comprising:

providing a first electronic device which uses a protocol for wireless communications with other devices, said first device containing a Near Field Communication reader/writer;

providing a second electronic device which uses the same protocol for wireless communications as the first device, said second device being embedded in a vehicle electronic system;

providing a Near Field Communication read-only tag on the interior of the vehicle, said tag containing secret information about the second electronic device;

passing the first electronic device near the Near Field Communication read-only tag, such that the first device can read the secret information from the tag;

triggering the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode;

transmitting the secret information from the first device to the second device in order to initiate the establishment of a secure communications; and

completing the establishment of the communications by exchanging additional data as required by the wireless communications protocol being used.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein triggering the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode is accomplished by pushing a button within the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein triggering the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode is accomplished by placing the first electronic device near a tuned object detection circuit within the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a software algorithm on the second electronic device, said algorithm operating only when the vehicle is in an ignition-on condition, to detect a signal in a frequency band of the Near Field Communication reader/writer and, upon detection of such a signal, cause the second electronic device to temporarily switch from the non-discoverable mode to the discoverable mode.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein triggering the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode uses the software algorithm residing on the second electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the protocol for wireless communications is Bluetooth.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first electronic device is a cellular telephone.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a Near Field Communication read-only tag on the interior of the vehicle includes providing the read-only tag on a driver side door.

9. A system for establishing secure wireless communications between two electronic devices, said system comprising:

a first electronic device containing a Near Field Communication reader/writer, said first device using a protocol for wireless communications with other devices;

a second electronic device embedded in a vehicle electronic system, said second device using the same protocol for wireless communications as the first device;

a Near Field Communication read-only tag on the interior of the vehicle, said tag containing secret information about the second electronic device, such that the first electronic device can read the secret information from the tag when the first electronic device is placed near the tag; and

a triggering mechanism for causing the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the triggering mechanism is a button within the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the triggering mechanism is a tuned object detection circuit within the vehicle, near which the first electronic device can be placed.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the second electronic device includes a software algorithm, said algorithm operating only when the vehicle is in an ignition-on condition, to detect a signal in a frequency band of the Near Field Communication reader/writer and, upon detection of such a signal, cause the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the triggering mechanism is the software algorithm.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the first electronic device and the second electronic device are both Bluetooth-compatible wireless devices.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the first electronic device is a cellular telephone.

16. A system for establishing secure wireless communications between two device, said system comprising:

a first Bluetooth-compatible electronic device containing a Near Field Communication reader/writer;

a second Bluetooth-compatible electronic device embedded in a vehicle'"'"'s electronics systems;

a Near Field Communication read-only tag on the interior of the vehicle, said tag containing secret information about the second Bluetooth-compatible electronic device, such that the first electronic device can read the secret information from the tag when the first electronic device is placed near the tag; and

a triggering mechanism for causing the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the triggering mechanism is a button within the vehicle.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the triggering mechanism is a tuned object detection circuit within the vehicle, near which the first electronic device can be placed.

19. The system of claim 16 further comprising a software algorithm on the second electronic device, said algorithm being designed to operate only when the vehicle is in an ignition-on condition, to detect a signal in a frequency band of the Near Field Communication reader/writer and, upon detection of such a signal, cause the second electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the triggering mechanism is the software algorithm residing on the second electronic device.