ACCESSING A VEHICLE USING PORTABLE DEVICES

• US 20130099892A1
• Filed: 10/20/2011
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tucker, Brian J., Schubert, Emily C., Dorogusker, Jesse L., Linde, Joakim, Chick, Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 8,947,202 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.61
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/01 operating on vehicle systems or fittings, e.g. on doors, seats or windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/241 whereby access privileges are related to the identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/04 Access control involving a hierarchy in access rights
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/08 Key distribution or management, e.g. generation, sharing or updating, of cryptographic keys or passwords network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting key management in a packet data network H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/61 Time-dependent
• 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 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

A primary portable device can access a vehicle by transmitting an activation message including a vehicle access credential to the vehicle. The primary portable device can additionally enable a secondary portable device to access the vehicle by transmitting the vehicle access credential to the secondary portable device. The connections between the primary portable device, secondary portable device, and vehicle can be based on a short-range wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a vehicle, the method comprising:

establishing, by a primary portable device, a first connection between the primary portable device and a vehicle;

receiving, by the primary portable device, a first vehicle access credential from the vehicle via the first connection, wherein receiving the first vehicle access credential from the vehicle enables the primary portable device to use the first vehicle access credential to enable access to the vehicle;

establishing, by the primary portable device, a second connection between the primary portable device and a secondary portable device; and

transmitting, by the primary portable device, a second vehicle access credential to the secondary portable device via the second connection, wherein the second vehicle access credential is used by the secondary portable device to enable access to the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second connections are Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE connections.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second vehicle access credentials are of the same value.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, by the primary portable device, a usage parameter to the secondary portable device, wherein the usage parameter defines an access limitation.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the access limitation includes at least one of:

limiting a speed of the vehicle to an upper limit;

limiting accessible operations to fewer than all the operations that are accessible using the primary portable device;

limiting a number of instances an operation can be performed; and

limiting a time period during which the vehicle can be accessed.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein upon transmitting the second vehicle access credential, the primary portable device disallows a user from using the primary portable device to enable access to the vehicle.

7. A method for accessing a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, by a secondary portable device, a vehicle access credential transmitted from a primary portable device;

establishing, by the secondary portable device, a first connection between the secondary portable device and a vehicle;

transmitting, by the secondary portable device, the vehicle access credential to the vehicle via the first connection, wherein access to the vehicle is enabled based on the vehicle access credential.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

establishing, by the secondary portable device, a second connection between the secondary portable device and a primary portable device,

wherein the vehicle access credential is received via the second connection.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first and second connections are Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE connections.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the vehicle access credential is received in an e-mail message.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising receiving, by the secondary portable device, a usage parameter from the primary portable device, wherein the usage parameter defines an access limitation.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein enabling access to the vehicle permits one or more vehicle-related operations to be initiated and wherein a vehicle-related operation includes one or more of:

automatically adjusting an adjustable seat of the vehicle to a predetermined position;

automatically adjusting one or more settings of an entertainment system of the vehicle;

starting an engine of the vehicle;

locking or unlocking a door of the vehicle;

locking or unlocking a storage enclosure of the vehicle; and

activating a location reporting function of the vehicle.

13. A method for accessing a vehicle, the method comprising:

establishing, by the vehicle, a first connection between the vehicle and a primary portable device;

transmitting, by the vehicle, a first vehicle access credential to the primary portable device over the first connection;

establishing, by the vehicle, a second connection between the vehicle and a secondary portable device;

receiving, by the vehicle, a second vehicle access credential from the secondary portable device over the second connection;

determining, by the vehicle, authenticity of the second vehicle access credential, wherein the determining includes identifying whether the second vehicle access credential was obtained by the secondary portable device from the primary portable device; and

enabling, by the vehicle, access to the vehicle, based at least in part on the authenticity determination.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first and second connections are Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE connections.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving a usage parameter from the secondary portable device, wherein the usage parameter defines an access limitation;

receiving an instruction to perform a vehicle-related operation from the secondary portable device;

determining whether to perform the vehicle-related operation based on whether the usage parameter indicates that the vehicle-related operation should be allowed; and

performing the vehicle-related operation in the event that the usage parameter indicates that the vehicle-related operation should be allowed.

16. A portable device comprising:

a wireless sensor configured to;

establish a first pairing between the wireless sensor and a sensor in a vehicle, wherein the first pairing provides a first wireless connection;

establish a second pairing between the wireless sensor and a sensor in a secondary portable device, wherein the second pairing provides a second wireless connection; and

a processor coupled to the wireless sensor, the processor configured to;

establish verification data with the vehicle via the first wireless connection; and

transmit access information based on the verification data to the secondary portable device via the second wireless connection, wherein the access information is usable by the secondary portable device to enable access to the vehicle.

17. The portable device of claim 16 wherein each of the first and second wireless connections is a short-range, point-to-point wireless connection.

18. The portable device of claim 16 wherein the access information includes access permissions indicating which ones of a plurality of vehicle access operations are permitted.

19. The portable device of claim 16 wherein the verification data includes a set of cryptographic keys.

20. The portable device of claim 19 wherein the access information includes a digital signature generated by the primary portable device using at least one of the set of cryptographic keys.

21. A portable device comprising:

a wireless sensor configured to;

establish a first pairing between the wireless sensor and a wireless sensor in a primary portable device, wherein the first pairing provides a first wireless connection;

establish a second pairing between the wireless sensor and a wireless sensor in a vehicle, wherein the second pairing provides a second wireless connection; and

a processor coupled to the wireless sensor, the processor configured to;

receive access information from the primary portable device via the first wireless connection; and

transmit the access information to the vehicle via the second wireless connection, wherein access to the vehicle is enabled based on the access information.

22. The portable device of claim 21 wherein each of the first and second wireless connections is a short-range, point-to-point wireless connection.

23. The portable device of claim 21 wherein the access information is digitally signed by the primary portable device.

24. A vehicle comprising:

a wireless sensor configured to;

establish a first pairing between the wireless sensor and a wireless sensor in a primary portable device, wherein the first pairing provides a first wireless connection;

establish a second pairing between the wireless sensor and a wireless sensor in a secondary portable device, wherein the second pairing provides a second wireless connection; and

a processor coupled to the wireless sensor, the processor configured to;

establish verification data with the primary portable device via the first wireless connection;

receive access information from the secondary portable device via the second wireless connection;

determine the authenticity of the access information, wherein the determining includes authenticating the access information based on the verification data; and

enable access to the vehicle.

25. The portable device of claim 24 wherein each of the first and second wireless connections is a short-range, point-to-point wireless connection.

26. The vehicle of claim 24 wherein the verification data includes a set of cryptographic keys, and wherein the access information is digitally signed by the primary portable device using at least one of the set of cryptographic keys.

27. The vehicle of claim 26 wherein authenticating the access information based on the verification information includes decrypting at least some of the access information using at least one of the set of cryptographic keys.