Passive Entry Passive Start Systems Employing Consumer Mobile Devices as Portable Remote Control Units

• US 20180115859A1
• Filed: 10/24/2016
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Ghabra, Riad, Elder, Craig
• Granted Patent: US 10,091,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

A system includes a base station at a target device and a consumer mobile device such as a phone. The phone includes a wireless receiver, such as a near field communications (NFC) or low-frequency (LF) receiver. The base station includes a wireless transmitter of the same type. The phone and the base station each further include a transceiver such as a Bluetooth™ transceiver or Bluetooth™ low energy (BLE) transceiver. Upon the base station and the phone in a presence of the target device being detected as being matching devices, the phone turns on its receiver, if it is not already on. The transmitter of the base station then transmits a challenge signal. The transceiver of the phone transmits a response signal having an answer to the challenge signal to the transceiver of the base station. The base station enables a function of the target device when the answer is valid.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

upon a base station at a target device and a phone in a presence of the target device being detected as being matching devices, transmitting a challenge signal from a wireless transmitter of the base station to a wireless receiver of the phone;

transmitting a response signal having an answer to the challenge signal from the phone to the base station; and

enabling by the base station a function of the target device when the answer is valid.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the receiver of the phone is a near field communications (NFC) receiver, the transmitter of the base station is a NFC transmitter, and the challenge signal is a NFC challenge signal; and

the method further including, upon the base station and the phone being detected as being matching devices, placing the NFC receiver of the phone into an operational mode for the NFC receiver to receive the NFC challenge signal.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the NFC transmitter is configured to transmit the NFC challenge signal over a communications range greater than a conventional NFC communications range.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein:

placing the NFC receiver of the phone into the operational mode further includes placing the NFC receiver of the phone into an amplified mode.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

setting the NFC transmitter of the base station in an amplified mode; and

wherein the NFC challenge signal transmitted from the NFC transmitter of the base station to the NFC receiver of the phone is amplified in accordance with the amplified mode of the NFC transmitter of the base station.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

removing the NFC receiver of the phone from the operational mode after a pre-set time period corresponding to a time period in which the NFC challenge signal is expected to be transmitted from the base station.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the receiver of the phone is a low-frequency (LF) receiver, the transmitter of the phone is a LF transmitter, and the challenge signal is a LF challenge signal.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the response signal transmitted from the phone to the base station is transmitted by a Bluetooth™

transceiver of the phone for receipt by a Bluetooth™

transceiver of the base station.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein:

the Bluetooth™

transceiver of the phone and the Bluetooth™

transceiver of the base station are Bluetooth™

low energy (BLE) transceivers.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

communicating Bluetooth™

communications between the phone and the base station to detect whether the phone and the base station are matching devices.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

communicating low-frequency (LF) communications between the phone and the base station to detect whether the phone and the base station are matching devices.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

measuring by the phone a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the challenge signal as received by the receiver of the phone; and

wherein the response signal transmitted from the phone to the base station further includes the RSSI of the challenge signal.

18. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

communicating Bluetooth™

communications signals from a Bluetooth™

transceiver of the base station with the phone to detect by the base station whether the base station and the phone are matching devices.

13. A method comprising:

upon a base station at a target device and a phone in a presence of the target device being detected by the base station as being matching devices, transmitting a challenge signal from a wireless transmitter of the base station;

receiving by the base station, from the phone, a response signal having an answer to the challenge signal; and

enabling by the base station a function of the target device when the answer is valid.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the transmitter of the base station is a near field communications (NFC) transmitter and the challenge signal is a NFC challenge signal.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein:

the NFC transmitter is configured to transmit the NFC challenge signal over a communications range greater than a conventional NFC communications range.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

setting the NFC transmitter of the base station in an amplified mode; and

wherein the NFC challenge signal transmitted from the NFC transmitter of the base station is amplified in accordance with the amplified mode of the NFC transmitter of the base station.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the transmitter of the base station is a low frequency (LF) transmitter.

19. A system comprising:

a base station at a target device, the base station having a controller, a wireless transmitter, and a transceiver;

wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a challenge signal upon the base station and a phone in a presence of the target device being detected as being matching devices;

wherein the transceiver is configured to receive a response signal having an answer to the challenge signal from the phone; and

wherein the controller is configured to enable a function of the target device when the answer is valid.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein:

the transmitter of the base station is one of a near field communications (NFC) transmitter and a LF transmitter which are configured to transmit the challenge signal over a substantially similar communications range.