Car control system

• US 9,248,807 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2012
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KT Corporation
• Original Assignee: KT Corporation
• Inventors: Kim, Dong-Wan, Park, Jong-Han, Lee, Min-Gu, Park, Soon-Hyang, Jeong, Won-Young
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US13/495,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20120313796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.13, 340/426.19, 340/426.28, 340/426.3, 340/5.61, 340/5.64, 340/5.72
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/52 for indicating emergencies
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2018 Central base unlocks or authorises unlocking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/30 Detection related to theft or to other events relevant to anti-theft systems
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0807 Remote means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass

Abstract

A car control system is disclosed. The car control system for controlling a car by being linked with a car control device (electronic control unit, ECU) that is installed inside the car for electronic control of the car can include: an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a user terminal and configured to generate an authentication result based on least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and a car access device configured to be directly connected with the car control device through an internal network of the car and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal.

Claims

1. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a portable user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device which is non-portably installed in the car and connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server,

wherein, in response to the authentication result being an authentication failure, the car access device is configured to change a car control state to an abnormal operation mode, control the car, and notify the car control state to the car control device.

2. The car control system of claim 1, wherein if communication with the authentication server is not available, the car access device is configured to:

generate an emergency authentication result by checking whether the user terminal is a registered emergency terminal,

perform the emergency authentication without linking to the authentication server, and

set a car control state to an emergency mode based on the emergency authentication result.

4. The car control system of claim 2, wherein a limited car control request of the user terminal is relayed to the car control device in the emergency mode.

5. The car control system of claim 4, wherein the limited car control request is a car ignition control.

6. The car control system of claim 1, wherein the car access device is configured to request access authentication for the user terminal from the authentication server at regular intervals to re-obtain authentication result after obtaining the authentication result for the user terminal.

7. The car control system of claim 6, wherein the car access device is configured to change a car control state to an abnormal operation mode and notify the car control state to the car control device if the re-obtained authentication result is an authentication failure, and

wherein the car control device is configured to control the car in the abnormal operation mode.

8. The car control system of claim 7, wherein if the car control state is set to the abnormal operation mode, the car is controlled to be operated by at least one of turning on emergency blinkers and registering an emergency key.

9. The car control system of claim 7, wherein, if the car control state is changed to the abnormal operation mode, the car access device is configured to delete registered authentication information for the user terminal and block connection pursuant to an access request for control of the car by the user terminal.

10. The car control system of claim 7, wherein if the car control state is set to the abnormal operation mode, the car access device is configured to relay an ignition stop control request to the car control device among car control requests made by the user terminal and is configured to not relay remaining car control requests.

11. The car control system of claim 1, wherein, if a request to register a stolen car comprising the vehicle identification information is received, the authentication server is configured to set a state of the car corresponding to the vehicle identification information to a stolen state and transmit stolen car information comprising the vehicle identification information to the car access device, and

wherein the car access device is configured to change a car control state to a stolen mode according to the stolen car information and transmit the car control state to the car control device.

13. The car control system of claim 1, wherein the car access device is configured to connect to the user terminal using a first communication method and is configured to connect to the authentication server using a different second communication method.

14. The car control system of claim 4, wherein if the car control state is the emergency mode, the car access device blocks requests related to auxiliary functions of the car from the user terminal.

15. The car control system of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication network unit configured to communicate with the car access device, and

additional authentication servers for authentication the user terminal by communicating with the communication network unit,

wherein the user terminal provides to the communication network unit via the car access device additional information identifying a domain,

wherein, based on the additional information, the communication network unit determines respective server from among the authentication server and the additional authentication servers for authenticating the user terminal.

16. The car control system of claim 1, wherein:

the user terminal is one of a smart phone and a personal digital assistant,

the car control device is an electronic control unit installed inside the car for electronic control of the car,

the car access device is directly connected to the car control device via an internal network of the car,

the car access device is connected to the user terminal via a short range communication network, and

the car access device is connected to the authentication server via a wide area network.

3. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a portable user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device which is non-portably installed in the car and connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server

wherein if communication with the authentication server is not available, the car access device is configured to;

generate an emergency authentication result by checking whether the user terminal is a registered emergency terminal,

perform the emergency authentication without linking to the authentication server, and

set a car control state to an emergency mode based on the emergency authentication result,

wherein the car access device is configured to obtain the terminal information from the user terminal and is configured to perform the emergency authentication by checking whether the terminal information is included in pre-registered emergency terminal information.

12. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a portable user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device which is non-portably installed in the car and connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server,

wherein, if a request to register a stolen car comprising the vehicle identification information is received, the authentication server is configured to set a state of the car corresponding to the vehicle identification information to a stolen state and transmit stolen car information comprising the vehicle identification information to the car access device, and

wherein the car access device is configured to change a car control state to a stolen mode according to the stolen car information and transmit the car control state to the car control device,

wherein, while the car control state is set to the stolen mode, the car access device is configured to obtain position information of the car access device at regular intervals and to transmit the obtained position information to the authentication server, and

wherein, while the car control state is set to the stolen mode, the authentication server is configured to transmit the position information to a police system.

17. A car access device for controlling a car comprising:

a first communication unit which communicates with a mobile user terminal;

a second communication unit which is non-portably installed in the car and which communicates with a car control device that controls a plurality of functions executed in the car;

a third communication unit which communicates with an authentication server to authenticate the mobile user terminal requesting control of the car; and

a controller which controls the first communication unit, the second communication unit, and the third communication unit,

wherein user information received by the first communication unit is relayed to the third communication unit for transmission to the authentication server,

wherein the third communication unit receives from the authentication server results of an authentication based on the user information,

wherein if the results of the authentication indicate that the mobile user terminal is authorized, the second communication unit relays requests for controlling the car from the mobile user terminal to the car control device, and

wherein, in response to the results of the authentication indicating an authentication failure, the car access device is configured to change a car control state to an abnormal operation mode, control the car, and notify the car control state to the car control device.

18. The car access device of claim 17, further comprising:

a registration unit which stores user information for an emergency mode; and

an authentication unit which authenticates the mobile user terminal to control the car in an emergency mode if the third communication unit cannot communicate with the authentication server,

wherein if the car control state is set to the emergency mode, the control of the car by the mobile user terminal is limited by disabling execution of a plurality of functions in the car using the mobile user terminal.

19. A method of controlling a car, the method comprising:

authenticating a mobile terminal using information from the mobile terminal and by performing wireless communication with a remote server via an access device installed within the car; and

controlling the car by the mobile terminal if the mobile terminal is authenticated,

wherein if communication with the remote server is not available, the method further comprises;

generating an emergency authentication result by checking whether the mobile terminal is a registered emergency terminal,

performing the emergency authentication without linking to the remote server, and

setting a car control state to an emergency mode based on the emergency authentication result,

wherein the information from the mobile terminal is obtained and the emergency authentication is performed by checking whether the information from the mobile terminal is included in pre-registered emergency terminal information.

20. A method of controlling a car, the method comprising:

authenticating a mobile terminal using information from the mobile terminal and by performing wireless communication with a remote server via an access device installed within the car; and

controlling the car by the mobile terminal if the mobile terminal is authenticated,

and the method further comprising requesting access authentication for the mobile terminal from the remote server at regular intervals to re-obtain an authentication result after the authenticating,

changing a car control state to an abnormal operation mode and notifying the car control state to the mobile terminal if the re-obtained authentication result is an authentication failure, and

controlling the car in the abnormal operation mode.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein if the car control state is set to the abnormal operation mode, the car is controlled to be operated by at least one of turning on emergency blinkers and registering an emergency key.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein, if the car control state is changed to the abnormal operation mode, the method further comprises deleting registered authentication information for the mobile terminal and blocking connection pursuant to an access request for control of the car by the mobile terminal.

23. A method of controlling a car, the method comprising:

authenticating a mobile terminal using information from the mobile terminal and by performing wireless communication with a remote server via an access device installed within the car; and

controlling the car by the mobile terminal if the mobile terminal is authenticated,

wherein, if a request to register a stolen car comprising the vehicle identification information is received, the method further comprises;

setting a state of the car corresponding to the vehicle identification information to a stolen state and transmitting stolen car information comprising the vehicle identification information to the mobile terminal;

changing a car control state to a stolen mode according to the stolen car information;

while the car control state is set to the stolen mode, obtaining position information of the mobile terminal at regular intervals and transmitting the obtained position information to the remote server and to a police system.

24. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server,

wherein if communication with the authentication server is not available, the car access device is configured to;

generate an emergency authentication result by checking whether the user terminal is a registered emergency terminal,

perform the emergency authentication without linking to the authentication server, and

set a car control state to an emergency mode based on the emergency authentication result, and

wherein the car access device is configured to obtain the terminal information from the user terminal and is configured to perform the emergency authentication by checking whether the terminal information is included in pre-registered emergency terminal information.

25. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server,

wherein the car access device is configured to request access authentication for the user terminal from the authentication server at regular intervals to re-obtain authentication result after obtaining the authentication result for the user terminal, and

wherein the car access device is configured to change a car control state to an abnormal operation mode and notify the car control state to the car control device if the re-obtained authentication result is an authentication failure, and

wherein the car control device is configured to control the car in the abnormal operation mode.

26. A car control system configured to control a car by being linked with a car control device, the car control system comprising:

an authentication server configured to perform access authentication for a user terminal and generate an authentication result based on at least one of terminal information of the user terminal and vehicle identification information; and

a car access device connected to the car control device and configured to determine whether a car control request for control of the car by the user terminal is to be relayed to the car control device according to the authentication result of the user terminal obtained from the authentication server,

wherein, if a request to register a stolen car comprising the vehicle identification information is received, the authentication server is configure to set a state of the car corresponding to the vehicle identification information to a stolen state and transmit stolen car information comprising the vehicle identification information to the car access device, and

wherein the car access device is configured to change a car control state to a stolen mode according to the stolen car information and transmit the car control state to the car control device, and

wherein, while the car control state is set to the stolen mode, the car access device is configured to obtain position information of the car access device at regular intervals and to transmit the obtained position information to the authentication server, and

wherein, while the car control state is set to the stolen mode, the authentication server is configured to transmit the position information to a police system.