Transfer dongle for stored vehicle information

• US 9,584,502 B1
• Filed: 05/25/2016
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• 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: Manoukis, Dimitri, Hubicki, Joseph T., Nyce, Robin, Blalock, Christopher Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Jen, Ian
• Application Number:
  US15/164,375
• Time in Patent Office: 279 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 data transfer dongle for transferring electronic information from an existing specific vehicle module to a predetermined specific 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 data transfer dongle for transferring information associated with a vehicle module, the dongle comprising:

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

a diagnostic circuit that determines a communication protocol associated with a specific vehicle module;

a circuit that reads data associated with the specific vehicle module to a memory;

a circuit that writes the data from the memory into a predetermined vehicle module; and

,

a circuit that deactivates the dongle upon confirmation that the collected data from the memory was written into the predetermined vehicle module.

2. The dongle of claim 1 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the diagnostic circuit successfully determined a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

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

4. The dongle of claim 3 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the diagnostic circuit successfully determined a communication protocol associated with a specific vehicle module.

5. The dongle of claim 3, 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. 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.

7. The dongle of claim 1, wherein the memory is a remote memory that communicates wirelessly with the circuit that reads the data associated with the specific vehicle module and the circuit that writes the data from the memory into the predetermined vehicle module.

8. The dongle of claim 7 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the memory stored the read data.

9. The dongle of claim 7 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the diagnostic circuit successfully determined a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

10. The dongle of claim 9 further comprising an indicator, which signals that the memory stored the read data.

11. The dongle of claim 1 further comprising a security key that prevents the circuit that reads data from reading data associated with any component other than the specific vehicle component.

12. A vehicle data transfer dongle comprising:

an interface module that connect with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board database;

a diagnostic module that identifies a communication protocol associated with a specific vehicle module;

a module that collects and stores preexisting database data associated with the specific vehicle module in a memory;

a module that transfers the preexisting data from the memory into a predetermined vehicle module; and

,

a module that deactivates the dongle upon receipt of confirmation that the preexisting data was written into the predetermined vehicle module.

13. The dongle of claim 12 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the diagnostic module identified a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

14. The dongle of claim 12 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the read data was stored in the memory.

15. The dongle of claim 14 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the diagnostic module identified a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

16. A vehicle data transfer dongle comprising:

an interface module that connect with a vehicle'"'"'s preexisting on-board database;

a diagnostic module that identifies a communication protocol associated with a specific vehicle module;

a module that collects and stores preexisting database data associated with the specific vehicle module;

a module that transfers the stored preexisting database data into a predetermined vehicle module; and

,

a module that deactivates the dongle upon receipt of confirmation that the stored preexisting database data associated with the specific vehicle module was transferred to the predetermined vehicle module.

17. The dongle of claim 16 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the diagnostic module identified a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

18. The dongle of claim 16 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the read preexisting data was stored in the memory.

19. The dongle of claim 18 further comprising a module that generates a signal that the diagnostic module identified a communication protocol associated with the specific vehicle module.

20. The dongle of claim 16, wherein the module that collects and stores database data associated with the specific vehicle module and the module that transfers the stored database data into a predetermined vehicle module are combined in a read/write module.

21. A system for transferring information associated with a vehicle module, the system comprising:

an module that connects with a vehicle'"'"'s on-board database;

a module that determines a communication protocol associated with a specific vehicle module;

a module that reads data associated with a specified vehicle module from the on-board database data;

a memory;

a module that communicates the read on-board database data associated with the specified vehicle module to the memory in the determined communications protocol;

a module that writes the on-board database data from the memory into another specified vehicle module; and

,

a module that deactivates the system upon confirmation that the data stored in the memory was written into the another predetermined vehicle module.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein at least one of the modules is wireless.

23. The system of claim 21 wherein all of the modules are wireless.