SYSTEM FOR USING SHORT TEXT MESSAGING FOR REMOTE DIAGNOSTIC

• US 20150210288A1
• Filed: 01/24/2014
• Published: 07/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: LUONG, Jean-Luc
• Granted Patent: US 9,174,648 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A system incorporated in a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a communication system including a text messaging communication hardware to receive a message via a text messaging service. The message includes a command. The system also includes a microcontroller, coupled to the communication system and a machine control system, to execute the command through the machine control system. The machine control system is configured to control components of the vehicle. The microcontroller is configured to determine if a configuration allows execution of the received command and to return a response to the communication system.

Claims

1. A system configured to be incorporated in a vehicle, comprising:

a communication system including a text messaging communication hardware to receive a message via a text messaging service, wherein the message includes a command; and

a microcontroller, coupled to the communication system and a machine control system, to execute the command through the machine control system, wherein the machine control system is configured to control components of the vehicle and the microcontroller is configured to determine if based on an identifier included in the message, a configuration allows execution of the received command and to return a response to the communication system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the message is a Short Text Messaging (SMS) of length less than or equal to 160 characters.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein based on the command, the microcontroller is configured to execute a diagnostic operation through the machine control system and return results of the diagnostic operation to a sender of the command via the SMS.

4. The system of claim 1, further including a Global Positioning System (GPS) hardware, wherein based on the command, with the help of the GPS hardware, the microcontroller is configured to send the current position of the vehicle to the sender of the message via text messaging service.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the message includes the command to retrieve status parameters of the vehicle, wherein the status parameters include information associated with at least one of door locks, window position, tire pressure, headlight on or off, security system on or off, temperature inside the vehicle and fuel remaining.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the message includes the command to turn on or off the vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the message is encoded and the microcontroller is configured to parse the message to retrieve the command.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is configured to verify the identity of a sender of the message and execute a pre-configured security rule on the message prior to executing the command that is embodied in the message.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the microcontroller is configured not to send a return message to the sender in response to the message if the pre-configured security rule determines that the sender is not authorized.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the microcontroller is configured to send a failure message to the sender in response to the message if the microcontroller is unable to execute the command that is embodied in the message.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the microcontroller is configured to send a failure message to the sender in response to the message if the microcontroller is unable to retrieve requested data according to the command from the machine control system.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication system includes a Global System for Mobile Communication/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS) module.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the GPS module and the GSM/GPRS module are fabricated on a same semiconductor chip.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the GPS module, the GSM/GPRS module and the microcontroller are fabricated on a same semiconductor chip.

15-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A computer program product comprising program code stored in a computer readable medium other than a signal per se, the program code being executable by a processor of an automobile control system to cause the automobile control system to implement an operation, the operation comprising:

receiving a message, wherein the message includes a request for performing a task;

determining if the request is sent by an authorized sender;

determining if based on an identifier included in the message, a configuration allows execution of the task through a control system that is embodied in a vehicle;

upon determining that the request is sent by the authorized sender the configuration allows the execution of the task, performing the task through the control system that is configured to monitor and control components of the vehicle; and

sending results of the task back to the authorized sender in form of a Short Messaging Service (SMS) message.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the task includes running a predefined diagnostic sequence through the control system.