Remote vehicle access systems for fleet vehicles

• US 9,896,063 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2014
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liberkee GmbH
• Original Assignee: Huf North America Automotive Parts Mfg. Corp. (Huf Hulsbeck & Furst GmbH & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Poma, Leonardo
• Primary Examiner(s): Neyzari, Ali
• Application Number:
  US15/039,141
• Publication Number:
  US 20170166163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 340 461
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/205 Mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/045 by limiting or cutting the electrical supply to the propulsion unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00174 Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys mechanical locks with electric permutation E05B49/00; arrangements for sensing or reading record carriers G06K7/00; electronic switching H03K17/00
• 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

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wireless communications system for a fleet of automotive vehicle comprising: a server in communication with a wireless wide area network and including a database; a fob including a memory storing a unique fob identifier, the fob in communication with a wireless local area network; and a control unit in the automotive vehicle including a memory storing a vehicle identifier. The control unit is in communication with the server via the wireless wide area network and with the fob via the wireless local area network, wherein the server stores data correlating the fob identifier to the vehicle identifier in the database, and when the fob transmits a communication to the vehicle through the local area network the vehicle accesses the database to validate the key fob.

Claims

1. A wireless communications system for a fleet of automotive vehicles comprising:

a server in communication with a server network and including a database;

a fob including a fob memory storing a unique fob identifier, the fob in communication with a fob network; and

a control unit in an automotive vehicle including a vehicle memory storing a vehicle identifier, the control unit in communication with the server via the server network and with the fob via the fob network, wherein the server stores data correlating the fob identifier to the vehicle identifier in the database, and when the fob transmits a communication to the automotive vehicle through the fob network the automotive vehicle accesses the database to validate the fob.

2. The wireless communications system of claim 1, wherein the server network is a wireless wide area network.

3. The wireless communications system of claim 1, wherein the fob network is a wireless local area network.

4. The wireless communications system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fobs and wherein the server correlates each of the plurality of fobs with the automotive vehicle.

5. The wireless communications system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of automotive vehicles, and wherein the server correlates each of the plurality of automotive vehicles with the fob.

6. The wireless communications system of claim 1, wherein the fob comprises a personal communications device.

7. The wireless communications system of claim 1, wherein the automotive vehicle comprises at least one of a bus and a truck.

8. The wireless communication system of claim 1, further comprising a user control in communication with the server, and wherein the user control is programmed to enter vehicle identifier data into the database.

9. The wireless communication system of claim 1, further comprising a user control in communication with the server, and wherein the user control is programmed to enter fob identifier data into the database.

21. The wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to query the vehicle memory to determine whether the fob identifier is stored in the vehicle memory before the vehicle accesses the database to validate the key fob.

10. A method for correlating one or more vehicle with one or more key fob, the method comprising the following steps:

storing at least one vehicle identifier and at least one fob identifier in a database external to each of the fob and the vehicle, the database selectively identifying paired vehicle identifiers and fob identifiers;

detecting a fob activated within a predetermined distance of the vehicle;

querying the database to determine whether the fob is paired to the vehicle; and

allowing the fob to access functions in the vehicle if the database verifies that the fob is paired with the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of selectively adding the at least one vehicle identifier to the database and selectively correlating the at least one vehicle identifier to one or more of the at least one fob identifier.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of selectively adding at least one fob identifier to the database and selectively correlating the fob identifier to one or more vehicle identifier.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of querying an internal vehicle memory to determine whether the fob identifier is stored in internal memory before querying the database.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of querying the database comprises communicating to the database from a controller in the vehicle through a wireless wide area network.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of detecting a fob comprises detecting a communication from the fob at the vehicle through a local area network.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of communicatively coupling a user control to the database, and using the user control selectively adding the at least one vehicle identifier and the at least one fob identifier to the database.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of scanning the fob to obtain the fob identifier at the user control.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of enabling the vehicle to communicate with the fob through a first network and with the database through a second network.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the fob comprises a personal communications device.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of preventing the fob from accessing vehicle functions if the database determines that the fob is not paired with the vehicle.