AUTOMATIC DEVICE INITIALIZATION AND PAIRING

• US 20140194056A1
• Filed: 01/07/2013
• Published: 07/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenny Insurance Limited (TATA Motors Limited)
• Original Assignee: CloudCar, Inc.
• Inventors: Barrett, Peter, Leak, Bruce, Othmer, Konstantin, Draganic, Zarko
• Granted Patent: US 9,386,136 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/06 including a wireless LAN interface

Abstract

An example embodiment includes an automatic pairing system. The automatic pairing system includes a vehicle initialization module, a vehicle pairing module, and a triggering mechanism. The vehicle initialization module is loaded onto a vehicle abstraction device configured to interface with a vehicle. The vehicle pairing module is loaded on the vehicle abstraction device. The vehicle pairing module is configured to be launched by the vehicle initialization module. After being launched, the vehicle pairing module is configured to automatically communicate vehicle pairing data stored on the vehicle pairing module to establish one or more communication channels between the vehicle and a mobile device. The triggering mechanism is configured to trigger the vehicle initialization module to launch the vehicle pairing module.

Claims

1. An automatic pairing system comprising:

a vehicle initialization module loaded onto a vehicle abstraction device configured to interface with a vehicle;

a vehicle pairing module loaded on the vehicle abstraction device, the vehicle pairing module being configured to be launched by the vehicle initialization module and, after being launched, configured to automatically communicate vehicle pairing data stored on the vehicle pairing module to a mobile device to establish one or more communication channels between the vehicle and the mobile device; and

a triggering mechanism configured to trigger the vehicle initialization module to launch the vehicle pairing module.

2. The automatic pairing system of claim 1, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a near field communication (NFC) subsystem including an NFC tag secured to a vehicle component, wherein the NFC tag is configured to communicate an identifying signal when initiated by an NFC receiver, wherein communication of the identifying signal triggers the vehicle initialization module.

3. The automatic pairing system of claim 2, wherein the NFC tag comprises a retrofit NFC tag.

4. The automatic pairing system of claim 1, wherein the one or more communication channels comprise at least one of a data projection communication channel, a remote procedure call (RPC) communication channel, and a Bluetooth communication channel.

5. The automatic pairing system of claim 1, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a pluggable cable configured to be connected to the vehicle.

6. The automatic pairing system of claim 1, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a WiFi hotspot in the vehicle or mobile device.

7. The automatic pairing system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle pairing module is configured to be paired with any of a plurality of mobile devices.

8. The automatic pairing system of claim 7, wherein the vehicle abstraction device further comprises a prioritization module configured to limit communication with the vehicle to a single mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices at any time.

9. The automatic pairing system of claim 8, wherein the prioritization module limits communication with the vehicle to one mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices that most recently paired with the vehicle or to one mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices that is nearest to a sensor.

10. An automatic pairing system comprising:

a mobile device initialization module loaded onto a mobile device;

a mobile device pairing module loaded onto the mobile device, the mobile device pairing module being configured to be launched by the mobile device initialization module and, after being launched, configured to automatically communicate mobile device pairing data stored on the mobile device pairing module to a vehicle to establish one or more communication channels between the mobile device and the vehicle; and

a triggering mechanism configured to trigger the mobile device initialization module to launch the mobile device pairing module.

11. The automatic pairing system of claim 10, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a near field communication (NFC) subsystem including an NFC receiver included in the mobile device, the NFC receiver configured such that when the NFC receiver is positioned within a predefined distance of an NFC tag, the NFC receiver receives an identifying signal from the NFC tag that triggers the mobile device initialization module.

12. The automatic pairing system of claim 10, wherein the one or more communication channels comprise at least one of a data projection communication channel, a remote procedure call (RPC) communication channel, and a Bluetooth communication channel.

13. The automatic pairing system of claim 10, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a pluggable cable configured to be connected to the mobile device.

14. The automatic pairing system of claim 10, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a WiFi hotspot in the vehicle or mobile device.

15. The automatic pairing system of claim 10, wherein the mobile device further comprises an evaluation module configured to determine an optimal method of pairing between the mobile device and the vehicle.

16. A method of pairing a mobile device with a vehicle abstraction device, the vehicle abstraction device configured to interface with a vehicle, the method comprising:

triggering a mobile device initialization module loaded on the mobile device, the mobile device initialization module configured to launch a mobile device pairing module; and

automatically sharing mobile device pairing data stored on the mobile device pairing module with the vehicle, the mobile device pairing data configured to establish at least one communication channel between the mobile device and the vehicle abstraction device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein triggering the mobile device initialization module comprises:

generating a radio frequency field to power a near field communication (NFC) tag secured to a vehicle component; and

receiving an identifying signal from the NFC tag.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining an optimal method of pairing between the mobile device and the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein triggering the mobile device initialization module comprises connecting a pluggable cable between the mobile device and the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the mobile device is one of a plurality of mobile devices that may be paired with the vehicle abstraction device, the method further comprising limiting communication to communication between the vehicle abstraction device and one of the plurality of mobile devices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein limiting communication comprises:

evaluating which of the plurality of mobile devices paired most recently with the vehicle abstraction device; and

allowing communication between the vehicle abstraction device and a mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices most recently paired with the vehicle abstraction device.