PROGRAMMING VEHICLE MODULES FROM REMOTE DEVICES AND RELATED METHODS AND SYSTEMS

• US 20150121457A1
• Filed: 10/28/2013
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: SCHWARZ, JONATHAN R., MARTIN, DOUGLAS C., MAZZARA, WILLIAM E. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,253,200 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/572 Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• 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: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and systems are provided for programming a vehicle module. An exemplary vehicle includes a first module, an authentication module communicatively coupled to the first module, and an update module communicatively coupled to the first module and the authentication module. The update module is configured to obtain a programming update for the first module that includes an authentication portion and a programming data portion. The update module provides the programming data portion to the first module and provides the authentication portion to the authentication module. The authentication module provides the authentication portion to the first module after the authentication portion is authenticated.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a first module;

an authentication module communicatively coupled to the first module; and

an update module to obtain a programming update for the first module, the programming update including an authentication portion and a programming data portion, wherein the update module is communicatively coupled to the first module and the authentication module to provide the programming data portion to the first module and provide the authentication portion to the authentication module, the authentication module providing the authentication portion to the first module after the authentication portion is authenticated.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first module is configured to update a target application on the first module based at least in part on the programming data portion after receiving the authentication portion.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, the programming data portion including a set of instructions, wherein the first module updates the target application by executing the set of instructions.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, the first module including a data storage element to maintain configuration information for the target application, wherein the first module overwrites the configuration information with updated configuration information in response to executing the set of instructions.

5. The vehicle of claim 3, the first module including a data storage element to maintain code for the target application, wherein the first module overwrites the code with updated application code in response to executing the set of instructions.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, the authentication module including a data storage element to maintain a stored key associated with the vehicle, wherein the authentication module is configured to authenticate the authentication portion when a key obtained from the authentication portion matches the stored key.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the update module is coupled to a network to obtain the programming update from a remote device via the network.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, the update module including an input interface to receive a remote device, wherein the update module obtains the programming update from the remote device via the input interface.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, the update module and the authentication module being coupled to a first vehicle communications network and the authentication module and the first module being coupled to a second vehicle communications network, the second vehicle communications network being different from the first vehicle communications network, wherein the authentication module allows the update module to provide the programming data portion to the first module via the authentication module after the authentication portion is authenticated.

10. A method of programming a vehicle module, the method comprising:

obtaining a programming update for the vehicle module from a remote device, the programming update including an authentication portion and a programming data portion;

providing the authentication portion to an authentication module coupled to the vehicle module;

providing the programming data portion to the vehicle module;

providing the authentication portion from the authentication module to the vehicle module after authenticating the authentication portion; and

updating the vehicle module based at least in part on the programming data portion after providing the authentication portion to the vehicle module.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein updating the vehicle module comprises updating a target application on the vehicle module.

12. The method of claim 11, the programming data portion including a set of instructions, wherein updating the target application comprises the vehicle module executing the set of instructions.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising authenticating, by the authentication module, the authentication portion when a key obtained from the authentication portion matches a stored key associated with a vehicle having the vehicle module.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining the programming update comprises downloading the programming update from a server via an external communications network.

15. The method of claim 10, the remote device being inserted in an input interface, wherein obtaining the programming update comprises obtaining the programming update from the remote device via the input interface.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein:

obtaining the programming update comprises receiving the programming update via a first communications network;

providing the authentication portion to the authentication module comprises providing the authentication portion to the authentication module via a second communications network that is different from the first communications network;

providing the programming data portion to the vehicle module comprises providing the programming data portion to the vehicle module via the second communications network; and

providing the authentication portion from the authentication module to the vehicle module after authenticating the authentication portion comprises providing the authentication portion from the authentication module to the vehicle module via the second communications network.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein:

obtaining the programming update comprises receiving the programming update via a first communications network;

providing the authentication portion to the authentication module comprises providing the authentication portion to the authentication module via a second communications network that is different from the first communications network;

providing the authentication portion from the authentication module to the vehicle module after authenticating the authentication portion comprises providing the authentication portion from the authentication module to the vehicle module via a third communications network that is different from the second communications network; and

providing the programming data portion to the vehicle module comprises providing the programming data portion to the authentication module via the second communications network, the authentication module providing the programming data portion to the vehicle module via the third communications network after authenticating the authentication portion.

18. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle communications network;

a vehicle module coupled to the vehicle communications network;

an authentication module coupled to the vehicle communications network; and

an update module coupled to the vehicle communications network, wherein;

the update module is configured to;

obtain a programming update for the vehicle module from a remote device, the programming update including an authentication portion and a programming data portion;

provide the programming data portion to the vehicle module via the vehicle communications network; and

provide the authentication portion to the authentication module via the vehicle communications network;

the authentication module is configured to authenticate the authentication portion and provide the authentication portion to the vehicle module after the authentication portion is authenticated; and

the vehicle module is configured to update a target application on the vehicle module based at least in part on the programming data portion after receiving the authentication portion from the authentication module.

19. The vehicle of claim 18, wherein the update module is coupled to an external communications network to receive the programming update from the remote device via the external communications network.

20. The vehicle of claim 18, further comprising an input interface coupled to the update module, wherein the update module is configured to obtain the programming update from the remote device when the remote device is inserted in the input interface.