Transfer dongle for stored vehicle information

• US 9,384,604 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2015
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RB Distribution, Inc. (Dorman Products Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: RB Distribution, Inc. (Dorman Products Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hubicki, Joseph T., Nyce, Robin, Blalock, Christopher Todd, Manoukis, Dimitri
• Primary Examiner(s): Patton, Spencer
• Application Number:
  US14/928,854
• Time in Patent Office: 249 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/38 Information transfer, e.g. on bus G06F13/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1052 Security improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/02 Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• 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 9/3213 using tickets or tokens, e.g. Kerberos network architectures or network communication protocols for entities authentication using tickets in a packet data network H04L63/0807
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• 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

Abstract

A dongle for transferring electronic information from and to a vehicle module. The dongle collects and stores data specific to a module or component in the original format and enables that original data to be written or uploaded to a repaired or new module or component. Preferably, the dongle is programmed for limited use and will disable itself after a successful data transfer to the module or component.

Claims

1. A dongle for reprogramming a vehicle component with pre-existing electronic data, the dongle comprising:

an interface that connects with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a diagnostic circuit that interrogates a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics and determines a communication protocol for pre-existing data stored in a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a circuit that collects pre-existing data associated with a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format;

a memory that receives and stores the collected pre-existing data in the data'"'"'s original format;

a circuit that transfers the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format; and

a controller that deactivates the dongle in response to a positive indictor signal that the pre-existing data stored in the memory transferred from the memory into a specific vehicle component.

2. The dongle of claim 1 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the diagnostic circuit successfully determined a communication protocol for pre-existing data stored in the vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics.

3. The dongle of claim 1 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the memory stored the pre-existing data.

4. The dongle of claim 1 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the pre-existing data stored in the memory transferred from the memory into a specific vehicle component.

5. The dongle of claim 1, wherein the dongle connects through a communication protocol selected from a group comprised of:

J1850 PWM;

J1850 VPW;

ISO 9141-2;

ISO 14230;

KWP2000; and

, ISO 15765 CAN.

6. A dongle for reprogramming a vehicle component with pre-existing electronic data, the dongle comprising:

an interface that connects with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a diagnostic circuit that interrogates a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics and determines a communication protocol for pre-existing data stored in a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a circuit that collects pre-existing data associated with a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format;

a memory that receives and stores the collected pre-existing data in the data'"'"'s original format;

a circuit that transfers the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format; and

a controller that limits attempts to transfer the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component to a predetermined number and deactivates the dongle in response to a positive indictor signal that the pre-existing data stored in the memory transferred from the memory into a specific vehicle component.

7. The dongle of claim 6, wherein the dongle connects through a communication protocol selected from a group comprised of:

J1850 PWM;

J1850 VPW;

ISO 9141-2;

ISO 14230;

KWP2000; and

, ISO 15765 CAN.

8. A dongle for reprogramming a vehicle component with pre-existing electronic data, the dongle comprising:

an interface that connects with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a diagnostic circuit that interrogates a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics and determines a communication protocol for pre-existing data stored in a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a circuit that collects pre-existing data associated with a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format;

a memory that receives and stores the collected pre-existing data in the data'"'"'s original format;

a circuit that transfers the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format; and

a controller that limits attempts to transfer the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component to a predetermined number of available attempts and deactivates the dongle in response to an indication that the predetermined number of attempts available were attempted.

9. The dongle of claim 8 wherein the controller deactivates the dongle in response to a positive indictor signal that the pre-existing data stored in the memory transferred from the memory into a specific vehicle component.

10. The dongle of claim 8, wherein the dongle connects through a communication protocol selected from a group comprised of:

J1850 PWM;

J1850 VPW;

ISO 9141-2;

ISO 14230;

KWP2000; and

, ISO 15765 CAN.

11. A dongle for reprogramming a vehicle component with pre-existing electronic data, the dongle comprising:

an interface that connects with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a diagnostic circuit that interrogates a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics and determines a communication protocol for pre-existing data stored in a vehicle'"'"'s on-board electronics;

a circuit that collects pre-existing data associated with a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format;

a memory that receives and stores the collected pre-existing data in the data'"'"'s original format;

a circuit that transfers the stored pre-existing data from the memory into a specific vehicle component in the data'"'"'s original format; and

a security key that prevents the circuit for collecting pre-existing data from collecting data associated with any component other than the specific vehicle component.

12. The dongle of claim 11, wherein the dongle connects through a communication protocol selected from a group comprised of:

J1850 PWM;

J1850 VPW;

ISO 9141-2;

ISO 14230;

KWP2000; and

, ISO 15765 CAN.