SECURE LOW ENERGY VEHICLE INFORMATION MONITOR

• US 20170001649A1
• Filed: 07/01/2015
• Published: 01/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Livio, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Myine Electronics, Inc. (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Dickow, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 9,783,205 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/167 Vehicle dynamics information
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/168 Target or limit values
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/178 Warnings
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/186 Displaying information according to relevancy
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/566 Mobile devices displaying vehicle information
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/569 Vehicle controlling mobile device functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/589 Wireless data transfers
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/5911 Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/595 Data transfer involving internal databases
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/046 involving external transmission of data to or from the vehicle, e.g. via telemetry, satellite, Global Positioning System [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/105 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 : wherein the data carrier is removable
• 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 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

A computing platform of a vehicle may receive a request from a mobile device executing a data collection application using an element of vehicle data. The platform may access a permission table to confirm that a unique identifier of the mobile device is authorized to access the element of vehicle data. The mobile device may subscribe to a characteristic providing the element of vehicle data. The vehicle may update the element of vehicle data provided by the characteristic in accordance with a predefined threshold.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a permission table indicating unique identifiers of mobile devices authorized to access specified elements of vehicle data; and

a computing platform of a vehicle configured to

access the permission table to identify whether a unique identifier of a requesting mobile device is authorized to access the vehicle data, and

if so, allow the mobile device to subscribe over a wireless data connection to a characteristic providing the element of vehicle data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to, when the permission table lacks an entry for the unique identifier, provide a prompt in a display of the vehicle to identify whether the unique identifier is authorized to access the vehicle data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the computing platform is further configured to update the permission table responsive to receipt of user input to the display of the vehicle identifying whether the unique identifier is authorized to access the vehicle data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle data is exposed wirelessly from the computing platform over BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to:

utilize a wireless transceiver to perform wireless scanning for characteristics identifying a data collection application of the mobile device; and

identify the requesting mobile device as exposing a characteristic specifying the unique identifier of the mobile device and the elements of vehicle data.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the computing platform identifies the elements of vehicle data based on an identity of the data collection application.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to:

expose a characteristic to which the requesting mobile device writes the unique identifier; and

identify the requesting mobile device responsive to the mobile device writing to the characteristic.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to update the element of vehicle data provided by the characteristic in accordance with a threshold specifying update criteria including one or more of:

(i) a threshold update frequency, (ii) a data value above or below which updated vehicle data is advertised, and (iii) a threshold difference from a previous value of the vehicle data above or below which updated vehicle data is advertised.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to:

read information indicative of the element of vehicle data from one or more vehicle buses to which the computing platform and vehicle electronic control units (ECUs) are communicatively connected; and

send updates to the mobile device over the data connection.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing platform is further configured to direct over a vehicle bus to which the computing platform and a plurality of vehicle electronic control units (ECUs) are communicatively connected, one of the ECUs to utilize a wireless transceiver connected to the ECU to send updated including the element of vehicle data to the mobile device.

11. A system comprising:

a mobile device having a wireless transceiver and a data collection application, configured to

request an element of vehicle data from a vehicle using the wireless transceiver by providing a unique identifier of the mobile device and an indication of the data collection application to the vehicle;

subscribe to a characteristic exposing the element of vehicle data when the request is granted; and

receive the vehicle data from the characteristic.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is further configured to provide an alert on a display of the mobile device when the vehicle data meet a threshold alert condition.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the element of vehicle data is vehicle speed, and the threshold alert condition is a threshold speed.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is further configured to:

write the unique identifier of the mobile device and an indication of the element of vehicle data to a characteristic exposed by the vehicle; and

receive, from the vehicle, an indication of a characteristic providing the element of vehicle data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the characteristic providing the element of vehicle data is provided by one of:

(i) a wireless transceiver connected to a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU); and

(ii) a wireless transceiver of a computing platform of the vehicle to which the mobile device is paired.

16. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request from a mobile device executing a data collection application requiring an element of vehicle data;

accessing a permission table to confirm that a unique identifier of the mobile device is authorized to access the element of vehicle data;

subscribing the mobile device to a characteristic providing the element of vehicle data; and

updating the element of vehicle data provided by the characteristic in accordance with a predefined threshold.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the threshold includes one or more of:

(i) a threshold update frequency, (ii) a data value above or below which updated vehicle data is advertised, and (iii) a threshold difference from a previous value of the vehicle data above or below which updated vehicle data is advertised.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle data is exposed wirelessly from the computing platform over BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE).

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the element of vehicle data is vehicle speed, and the threshold is a threshold speed.