Method and system for remote access control

• US 9,483,886 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems LLC (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems LLC (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Bergerhoff, Nikolas, Ahuja, Ritesh, Radu, Adrian, Desai, Tejas, Froitzheim, Herbert, Zhai, Yao, Obermaier, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Dionne H
• Application Number:
  US14/869,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20160098870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/532 using secure communication, e.g. by encryption, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2018 Central base unlocks or authorises unlocking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00412 the transmitted data signal being encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00888 programming by learning
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A method to learn and then pair with a pre-installed access control system of a vehicle is discussed. Communication is exchanged between the access control system and a backend cloud-based system. Required data of the access control system including its particular authentication code is extracted by a learning device. A vehicle matching data is sent to the backend cloud-based system and the vehicle is registered with the backend cloud-based system. The learning device is registered to the access control system in accordance with learning procedures implemented in the vehicle as remote entry key. The learning device is coupled to a Radio Frequency signal transmitter that has Application-Specific Integrated Circuits to generate stable RF signals at multiple frequency wavelengths. Registration of learning device includes, receiving a first access control telegram message, transmitting the first access control telegram message to the access control system, pairing the learning device with the access control system.

Claims

1. A method to learn and then pair with a pre-installed access control system of a vehicle, comprising:

exchanging communication between the pre-installed access control system in that vehicle and i) a backend cloud-based system having one or more servers running on a first group of one or more processors or ii) a handheld computer device having a second group of one or more processors;

exchanging communication between the pre-installed access control system in that vehicle and a learning device to extract any required data for the access control system including its particular authentication code, one time, for that vehicle, where the pre-installed access control system in that vehicle has one or more receiving devices and a controller that manages key credentials;

registering the vehicle with the backend cloud-based system by sending a set of vehicle matching data to the backend cloud-based system, where the set of vehicle matching data is stored in a database associated with the backend cloud-based system and is used by a first routine running on the first group of processors of the servers of the backend cloud-based system to obtain and send a first access control telegram message of the vehicle;

registering the learning device, which facilitates as a key like simulator, to a memory in the pre-installed access control system in the vehicle in accordance with learning procedures implemented particular to that vehicle'"'"'s Make and Model when adding regular remote entry keys as an additional remote entry key of the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle, where the learning device is coupled to a Radio Frequency signal transmitter, where the RF signal transmitter is used for transmitting RF signals to a Radio Frequency receiver associated with the access control system of the vehicle, where the RF signal transmitter has one or more Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) to be highly configurable in generating a set of two or more stable RF signals at multiple frequency wavelengths, where the registration of the learning device to facilitate as the additional remote entry key for the vehicle includes the following

i) receiving by the learning device, a first access control telegram message with a first set of signaling parameters associated with the vehicle matching data of the vehicle and a Radio Frequency signal corresponding to the access control system of a vehicle from the backend cloud-based system, where the first access control telegram message includes a sequence of identification and authorization steps to emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of that particular Make and Model of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths of access control system to register the additional remote entry key in the access control system of the vehicle, where the backend cloud based server cooperates with the database to select the sequence of identification and authorization steps to emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of that particular Make and Model of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths of access control system to register the additional remote entry key in the access control system of the vehicle, where the sequence of identification and authorization steps are communicated with the first access control telegram message, from a set of two or more stored registration procedures in the database, and the database indexes the two or more sets of stored registration by Make and Model of a vehicle type,

ii) sending the first access control telegram message to the RF signal transmitter,

iii) transmitting, the first access control telegram message including the specific sequence of identification and authorization steps for that Make and Model of vehicle, by the RF signal transmitter to the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle, where the transmitted RF signals are characterized by the first set of signaling parameters that emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths and expected protocol exchanges for the access control system, and

iv) pairing the learning device with the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle in accordance with the learning procedures implemented in the vehicle by registering an ID of the additional remote entry key with the memory in the pre-installed access control system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle matching data is used by the backend cloud-based system to obtain the first access control telegram message from the set of two or more registration procedures stored in the database, where the vehicle matching data includes but is not limited to Make and Model of the vehicle;

and

wherein to emulate registering procedures matching the requirements further includes setting specific frequency wavelengths for immobilization systems of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, further including:

after the pairing and in a subsequent point of time, transmitting the additional remote entry key credentials corresponding to the learning device to the backend cloud-based system, where the additional remote entry key credentials are stored in the database associated with the backend cloud-based system.

4. The method of claim 3, further including:

after the pairing and in a subsequent point of time, bypassing the learning device and directly receiving by the RF signal transmitter from the backend cloud-based system, a second access control telegram message with a second set of signaling parameters, obtained based on the additional remote entry key credentials of the learning device, by the servers of the backend cloud-based system, where the second access control telegram message includes one or more actuation commands that include unlocking doors, opening windows, opening trunks, closing trunks, turning engine on, turning engine off, opening and closing a sunroof or moon roof in the vehicle; and

transmitting, the actuation commands and the second authentication key, by the RF signal transmitter to the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle, where a controller of the access control system grants access upon successful authentication of the second authentication key, where the actuation commands are executed and cause a corresponding electro mechanical operation in the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication between the learning device and the backend cloud-based system is configured to be through the handheld computer device, the handheld computer device including but not limited to a smart phone;

and

wherein wireless cellular communication is used between the backend cloud-based system and the handheld computer device, and Bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication is used between the handheld computer device and the learning device.

6. The method of claim 3, further including:

calculating a third authentication key as well as obtaining a third access control telegram message based on a specific vehicle matching data for a specific vehicle from among access control telegram messages of vehicles with different Make and Model either i) by a first module executing on the first group of one or more processors associated with the servers of the backend cloud-based system, where the third access control telegram message and the third authentication key are then directly sent from the backend cloud-based system to the RF signal transmitter, or ii) by a second module executing on the second group of one or more processors associated with the handheld computer device where the third authentication key is calculated and the third access control telegram message is obtained based on an executable software package received by the handheld computer device from the backend cloud-based system, where the third access control telegram message and the third authentication key are then directly sent from the handheld computer device to the RF signal transmitter.

7. The method of claim 6, further including:

transmitting the third access control telegram message with the third authentication key together with a third set of signaling parameters from the backend cloud-based system to the RF signal transmitter either i) located in the handheld computer device;

ii) located as an attached device cooperating with the handheld computer device;

or iii) located inside the vehicle;

where the RF signal transmitter is configured to transmit the third access control telegram message and the third authentication key via an electromagnetic signal characterized by the third set of the signaling parameters to the RF receiving circuit associated with the access control system originally installed in the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the RF signal transmitter is either included in the learning device, or is coupled to the learning device;

wherein the learning device is configured to use either wired communication, or wireless communication including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to communicate with the RF signal transmitter;

where the learning device is also coupled to a Low Frequency (LF) transponder, where the LF transponder is used for communicating LF signals with an immobilization system associated with the access control system of the vehicle;

receiving by the learning device, a first LF transponder configuration and data memory set corresponding to the access control system of the vehicle from the backend cloud-based system, where the first LF transponder configuration and data memory set matches the requirements of that particular Make and Model of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths of access control system to register the additional remote entry key in the access control system of the vehicle;

pairing the learning device with the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle by communication between LF transponder and the immobilization unit; and

transmitting learned data and configuration for at least one or both of the RF communication and the LF communication from the learning device to the backend cloud system.

9. The method of claim 2, further including:

communicating with the immobilization system in the vehicle through an LF transponder of the RF signal transmitter, the communication includes adjusting the RF signal transmitter for a specific frequency wavelengths of the immobilization system.

10. A client device for learning and then pairing with a pre-installed access control system of a vehicle, the client device comprising:

a learning device that has one or more processors and is configured to perform actions via one or more modules of the learning device that are configured to execute on the one or more processors, where the learning device is configured to exchange communication between the pre-installed access control system in that vehicle and a backend cloud-based system or by a handheld computer device;

wherein the learning device is configured to exchange communication with the pre-installed access control system and to extract any required data for the access control system including its particular authentication code, one time, for that vehicle, where the pre-installed access control system in that vehicle has one or more receiving devices and a controller that manages key credentials;

wherein the learning device is configured to obtain and then send a set of vehicle matching data of the vehicle to the backend cloud-based system and to register the vehicle with the backend cloud-based system, where the set of vehicle matching data is stored in a database associated with the backend cloud-based system, and where the vehicle matching data is used to obtain a first access control telegram message of the vehicle from the backend cloud-based system;

a Radio Frequency signal transmitter coupled to the learning device and configured to transmit RF signals to a Radio Frequency receiver associated with the access control system of the vehicle, the RF signal transmitter has one or more Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and is configured to generate a set of two or more stable RF signals at multiple frequency wavelengths;

wherein the learning device is configured to be registered to a memory in the pre-installed access control system in the vehicle in accordance with learning procedures implemented particular to that vehicle'"'"'s Make and Model when adding regular remote entry keys as an additional remote entry key of the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle;

wherein the registration of the learning device as the additional remote entry key of the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle is configured to include the steps;

i) to receive, by the learning device, a first access control telegram message with a first set of signaling parameters associated with the vehicle matching data of the vehicle and a Radio Frequency signal corresponding to the access control system of the vehicle, from the backend cloud-based system, where the first access control telegram message includes a sequence of identification and authorization steps to emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of that particular Make and Model of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths of access control system to register the additional remote entry key in the access control system of the vehicle, ii) to send, by learning device, the first access control telegram message to the RF signal transmitter, iii) to transmit, by the RF signal transmitter, to the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle, the first access control telegram message including the sequence of identification and authorization steps for that Make and Model of vehicle, where the transmitted RF signals are characterized by the first set of signaling parameters that emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths and expected protocol exchanges for access control system, and iv) to pair the learning device with the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle in accordance with the learning procedures implemented in the vehicle by registering an ID of the additional remote entry key with the memory in the pre-installed access control system, where the backend cloud based server is configured to cooperate with the database to select the sequence of identification and authorization steps to emulate registering procedures matching the requirements of that particular Make and Model of the vehicle including the specific frequency wavelengths of access control system to register the additional remote entry key in the access control system of the vehicle, which are communicated with the first access control telegram message, from a set of two or more stored registration procedures in the database, and the database indexes the two or more sets of stored registration procedures by Make and Model of a vehicle type.

11. The client device of claim 10, wherein a first algorithm in the learning device is configured to obtain the set of vehicle matching data, which includes a Make and Model of the vehicle, and wherein a second algorithm in the backend cloud-based system is configured to use the vehicle matching data in order to obtain the first access control telegram message.

12. The client device of claim 10, wherein the RF signal transmitter includes an LF transponder to communicate with a immobilization system in the vehicle and is configured to set specific frequency wavelengths for the immobilization system of the vehicle.

13. The client device of claim 10, wherein after the pairing and in a subsequent point of time, the learning device is configured to transmit the additional remote entry key credentials corresponding to the learning device to the backend cloud-based system to be stored in the database associated with the backend cloud-based system.

14. The client device of claim 13, wherein after the pairing and in a subsequent point of time, the RF signal transmitter is configured to receive from the backend cloud-based system, a second access control telegram message including a second authentication key and a second set of signaling parameters, obtained based on the additional remote entry key credentials of the learning device, where the second access control telegram message has one or more actuation commands that include unlocking doors, opening windows, opening trunks, closing trunks, turning engine on, turning engine off, opening and closing a sunroof or moon roof in the vehicle;

and

wherein the RF signal transmitter is configured to transmit the actuation commands and the second authentication key to the pre-installed access control system of the vehicle, where a controller of the access control system is configured to grant access upon successful authentication of the second authentication key, where then the actuation commands are executed and cause a corresponding electro mechanical operation in the vehicle.

15. The client device of claim 10, wherein the RF signal transmitter is configured to receive a third authentication key and a third access control telegram message based on a specific vehicle matching data for a specific vehicle from among access control telegram messages of vehicles with different Make and Model, where the third authentication key and the third access control telegram message is either i) directly sent from the backend cloud-based system to the RF signal transmitter, where the third authentication key and third access control telegram message is obtained by a first module configured to execute on the one or more processors associated with the servers of the backend cloud-based system, or ii) directly send from the handheld computer device to the RF signal transmitter, where the third authentication key and third access control telegram message is obtained by a second module configured to execute an executable software package on one or more processors associated with the handheld computer device, the executable software package is received by the handheld computer device from the backend cloud-based system.

16. The client device of claim 15, wherein the RF transmitter is either i) located in the handheld computer device;

ii) located as an attached device cooperating with the handheld computer device;

or iii) located inside the vehicle;

where the RF signal transmitter is configured to transmit the third access control telegram message and the third authentication key via an electromagnetic signal characterized by the third set of the signaling parameters to the RF receiving circuit associated with the access control system originally installed in the vehicle.

17. The client device of claim 12, wherein the RF signal transmitter is configured to communicate with the immobilization system in the vehicle through the LF transponder of the RF signal transmitter, wherein the communication includes adjusting the RF signal transmitter for a specific frequency wavelengths of the immobilization system.

18. The client device of claim 10, wherein the RF signal transmitter is either included in the learning device, or is coupled to the learning device;

wherein the learning device is configured to use either wired communication, or wireless communication including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to communicate with the RF signal transmitter.