FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
The patent Rule, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
“A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING KEY-FOB BATTERY FROM SPURIOUS DISCHARGE DUE TO ABUSIVE OPERATIONS”
MINDA CORPORATION LIMITED of E-5/2, Chakan Industrial Area, Phase- III M.I.D.C. Nanekarwadi, Tal: Khed, Dist., Pune, Maharashtra, 410-501, India
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD [001] The present disclosure generally relates to a remote keyless entry system. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to method and apparatus for protection of a key-fob battery of the remote keyless entry system from spurious discharge due to one or more abusive operations.
BACKGROUND [002] A remote keyless lock device or a remote key fob is a small security hardware device that controls and secures access to a key-fob based entry/access system or a key-fob based vehicle. The purpose of the remote key-fob is to locate the vehicle and to perform lock/unlock operations from a remote distance.
[003] A key-fob based remote entry system is increasingly becoming a preferred comfort feature for both two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles. While approaching near the vicinity of a four-wheeler vehicle, the key fob is used for making a passive entry into the vehicle by pressing the unlock button on the key fob. After reaching to a destination, a vehicle user parks and locks the vehicle either by pressing a lock button provided on the key fob (in case of four wheeler vehicle) or by pressing a lock button provided on a driver dashboard (in case of two-wheeler vehicle), provided that the user is in the vicinity of the vehicle.
[004] A remote key-fob provided with key-less entry/remote lock-unlock system of a vehicle is intended to be used for locating the vehicle or for performing lock/unlock operations from a remote distance. However, users are prone to operate command buttons provided on the key fob unintentionally in a repeated manner. For example, imagine a scenario when an authorized vehicle user is casually chatting with somebody and continuously pressing the command buttons unintentionally. The vehicle user may casually play with the command buttons by pressing various buttons repeatedly even though actual vehicle operations are not required. Under such case, the key fob battery needs to supply current to a key fob transceiver consisting of a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and button interface. This act may consume significant battery power unnecessarily, if pressed for

multiple times, which may lead to premature discharge of key fob battery apart from reducing battery life.
[005] Thus, there exist a need for the technology that solves above-mentioned problems and overcome the disadvantages or difficulties of existing prior art key-fob devices and/or techniques associated therewith. Particularly, there exists a need for techniques that enable user to restrict the unnecessary consumption of key fob battery.
SUMMARY [006] One or more shortcomings discussed above are overcome, and additional advantages are provided by the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the disclosure.
[007] According to an aspect of present disclosure, methods and apparatus are provided for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations.
[008] According to another aspect of present disclosure, methods and apparatus are provided for preventing the drain of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to unnecessary and unintentional repetitive lock/unlock button press/command operations for a key-less entry system.
[009] In a non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the present application discloses a method for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations. The method may comprise receiving a command for locking or unlocking a vehicle and ignoring the received command in response to determining at least one of: that a time interval between the received command and a penultimate command is less than a threshold time interval; and that a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period is more than a predefined number.

[0010] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, ignoring the received command may comprise not activating a radio frequency (RF) transceiver of the key fob.
[0011] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise allowing the execution of the received command and activating a radio frequency (RF) transceiver in response to determining that the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command is more than or equal to the threshold time interval; and that the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number.
[0012] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise determining the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command; comparing the determined time interval with the threshold time interval; determining the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period; and comparing the number of buttons pressed within the predefined time period with the predefined number
[0013] In yet another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the present application discloses an apparatus for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations. The apparatus may comprise a memory, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for communicating with a vehicle, and a processor communicatively coupled with the memory and the transceiver. The processor may be configured to receive a command for locking or unlocking the vehicle and ignore the received command in response to determining at least one of: that a time interval between the received command and a penultimate command is less than a threshold time interval; and that a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period is more than a predefined number.
[0014] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor may be configured to ignore the received command by not activating the RF transceiver.

[0015] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor may be further configured to allow the execution of the received command and activate the RF transceiver in response to determining that the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command is more than or equal to the threshold time interval; and that the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number.
[0016] In another non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor may be further configured to determine the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command; compare the determined time interval with the threshold time interval; determine the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period; and compare the number of buttons pressed within the predefined time period with the predefined number.
[0017] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
OBJECTIVES [0018] The main object of the present disclosure is to provide protection of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations for a remote keyless entry system.
[0019] Another main object of the present disclosure is to save/conserve the battery power of the key fob.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0020] Further aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be readily understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying

drawings. Reference numerals have been used to refer to identical or functionally similar elements. The figures together with a detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate the embodiments and explain various principles and advantages, in accordance with the present disclosure wherein:
[0021] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system 100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0022] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram 200 of the communication system 100 for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0023] Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method 300 for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operation(s), in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0024] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0025] Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure “a method and apparatus for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations”. It is understood that the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms; specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It will be appreciated as the description proceeds that the disclosure may be realized in different embodiments.

[0026] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusions, such that a setup, device that comprises a list of components that does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus or device. It could be noted with respect to the present disclosure that the terms like “a system for protecting a key-fob battery”, “The system” refers to the same system which is used using the present disclosure.
[0027] In the present document, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
[0028] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
[0029] The term like “key fob” and “remote key fob” may be used interchangeably throughout the description. Further, the terms like “processing unit”, “processor”, and “CPU” may be used interchangeably throughout the description.
[0030] In a typical lock operation of a remote key fob, a user presses a lock/unlock command button on the key fob. The lock command is transmitted to a vehicle which then performs corresponding vehicle locking/unlocking operation based on the received command. The key-fob may also be used for locating the vehicle from a remote distance.

[0031] As discussed earlier, users are prone to operate command buttons provided on the key fob unintentionally, even-though actual vehicle operations are not required. The key fob is provided with a battery which supplies current to a key fob transceiver and button interface circuitry. Whenever a command button is pressed on the key fob, the transceiver of the key fob gets activated for transmitting a command corresponding to the button press to the vehicle. This operation of activating the transceiver and transmitting the command to the vehicle consumes significant amount of battery power. Therefore, unintentional lock/unlock button press for multiple times might consume significant amount of battery power causing spurious discharge of the battery and reduction in life of battery.
[0032] To overcome these and other problems, the present disclosure proposes techniques for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations.
[0033] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0034] Referring now to Figure 1, which shows an exemplary communication system 100 for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication system 100 may comprise a communication device 110 which may be in communication with a vehicle 120.
[0035] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication

device 110 may be capable of communicating with the vehicle 120 using one or more technologies including, but not limited to, Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), radio waves, Ultra-Wide Band, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) etc. In another non-limiting embodiment, the communication device 110 may communicate with the vehicle 120 via a wireless network, such as, but not restricted to, a cellular network and may employ various technologies including Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) etc.
[0036] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device 110 may comprise various command buttons such as a lock button, an unlock button, a vehicle finder button etc. The communication device 110 may be used to lock, unlock, and locate a corresponding vehicle located within proximity of the communication device 110. Additional commands can be created by pressing multiple command buttons as well as pressing a command button multiple times or for prescribed time duration. The communication device 110 may further comprise an inbuilt indicator to provide various indications such as, but not limited to, low battery indication, vehicle lock status indication (i.e., vehicle is in locked, vehicle is unlocked, or lock operation failed) or any other similar and/or related purposes. In current disclosure and for the preferred embodiment, the indicator may be used to provide vehicle lock status indication.
[0037] Now, Figure 1 is explained in conjunction with Figure 2, which is a detailed block diagram 200 of the communication system 100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system 100 may comprise the communication device 110 and the vehicle 120.
[0038] The vehicle 120 may comprise a cell 202, a power supply block 204, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 206, at least one processor 208, at least one memory 210, and a command module 212. The communication device 110 may comprise a cell 214, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 216, at least one processor 218, at least one memory 220, and

push button switches 222 corresponding to command buttons. It may be noted that for the sake of explanation, the cell 214 is referred as a key fob battery throughout the disclosure.
[0039] The processors 208, 218 may include, but not restricted to, a general-purpose processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), microprocessors, microcomputers, micro-controllers, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
[0040] The at least one processor 208 may be communicatively coupled with the memory 210 and the transceiver 206. The at least one processor 218 may be communicatively coupled with the memory 220 and the transceiver 216. The memory 210, 220 may include a Random-Access Memory (RAM) unit and/or a non-volatile memory unit such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), optical disc drive, magnetic disc drive, flash memory, Electrically Erasable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a memory space on a server or cloud and so forth. The memory 220 may store a time difference between two-consecutive lock/unlock commands. The memory 220 may also store a frequency (or count) of lock/unlock command received within a predefined time period.
[0041] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device 110 may be any device which can remotely operate the vehicle 120 such as a smartphone, a key fob etc. In a preferred embodiment, the communication device 110 may be a remote key fob device.
[001] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, in a typical operation of the key fob 110, after parking a vehicle 120, a user may press a lock command button provided on the key fob 110 to lock the vehicle 120. As the user presses the lock command button, the pushbutton switches 222 may sense the user command and send the command

to the processor 218 for processing. The processor 218 may decode the received command and form a data string or code. The processor 218 may provide the data string to the transceiver 216 which then transmits the command in the form of data string by radio waves to the transceiver 206 of the vehicle 120. A vehicle side processor 208 may authenticate the received command and perform corresponding action (i.e. lock operation) on the vehicle 120 after successful authentication of the received command. During the authentication process, the processor 218 verifies that the command is coming from an authentic key-fob associated with the vehicle 120. This verification is based on unique identity of the key-fob 110 which is stored in the memory 210 of the vehicle 120. Similar operation takes place when a user presses the unlock command button on the key fob 110. Thus, the vehicle lock or unlock operation takes place by pressing corresponding command button on the key fob 120.
[0042] In one non-limiting embodiment, the vehicle lock/unlock status may be conveyed to the key fob 110 by the vehicle 120. Once the vehicle 120 is securely locked/unlocked, the vehicle side transceiver 206 may transmit the “successfully locked” / “successfully unlocked” status to the key fob 110. The key fob side transceiver 216 may receive this lock status and store and save the same in the memory 220 which is provided in the key fob 110. It may be worth noting here that during the operation of locking/unlocking, the processor 218 upon receiving a lock/unlock command, initially activates the transceiver 216 and then the transceiver transmits the lock/unlock command to the vehicle 120. This operation of activating the transceiver 216 and transmitting data to the vehicle 120 may consume sufficient amount of battery.
[0043] Assume a situation in which the push button switches 222 for lock/unlock of the vehicle 120, gets pressed unnecessarily/unintentionally due to certain undesired actions, such as, user is talking to someone in the vicinity of the vehicle 120 and at the same time, simply playing with the key fob buttons unintentionally. Another scenario could be imagined, in which user is performing some manual work and has kept the key fob 110 in his pocket and the lock/unlock push buttons may get pressed and depressed unintentionally. Due to aforementioned unforeseen scenarios, it is possible for the key fob

110 to send radio frequency (RF) signals to the vehicle 120, each time the push buttons on the key fob 110 gets pressed and because of this, the door handles of the vehicle 120 may get activated all the times during the press and the vehicle door might get locked/unlocked unnecessarily, if the user is in the vicinity of the vehicle 120, which poses a grave security risk. Not only that, this also results in the spurious battery discharge of the key fob 110 due to this consecutive press operations, which may be termed as abusive operations.
[0044] To carry out solutions to the aforementioned problems, two approaches are proposed. The first approach includes computation of a time difference between most recently received lock/unlock command and the immediate previous (i.e., penultimate) lock/unlock command and comparing the time difference with a predetermined threshold time interval value. The second approach includes calculation of a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period and comparing the number of command buttons pressed with a predefined number. Based on the results of these comparisons, the processor 218 either executes the command or ignores the most recently command.
[0045] In one non-limiting embodiment, the processor 218 may ignore the recently received command in response to determining that a time interval between the recently received command and the penultimate command is less than a threshold time interval and/or the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is more than the predefined number of commands. Ignoring the received command generally comprises not activating the transceiver 216 of the key fob 110, thereby preventing the key fob battery from getting unnecessarily discharged due to abusive operations.
[0046] In one non-limiting embodiment, the processor 218 may allow the execution of the received command and activate the key fob transceiver 216 in response to determining that the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command is more than or equal to the threshold time interval and further the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number.
[0047] In one non-limiting embodiment, the key fob 110 may comprise a circuitry that

includes a pulse counter to count the frequency of occurrences of key presses on the key fob 110. The circuitry may further include a timer to compute a time difference of occurrences of the key presses. The circuitry may be communicatively and operatively coupled to the processor 218 and the memory 220 used for storing the frequency of key presses and used for storing the time differences. The circuitry may further include, but not limited to, a counter for counting the consecutive key presses / commands on the key fob of the vehicle within the stipulated time frame (time difference) and restrict the number of commands (RF signal power) within that stipulated time frame to a pre-determined count. In a preferred embodiment, the circuitry is a circuit upgrade within the key fob circuit board. In another aspect, the circuitry may be a discrete circuit within or outside the key fob 110 communicatively coupled to the key fob circuit board.
[0048] In one non-limiting embodiment, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for protecting of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations. The apparatus may comprise at least a memory, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for communicating with the vehicle 120, and a processor communicatively coupled with the memory and the transceiver for protecting of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operation. In one embodiment, the apparatus may be the remote key fob 110.
[0049] Figure 3 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method 300 for protecting of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operation, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 is merely provided for exemplary purposes, and embodiments are intended to include or otherwise cover any methods or procedures for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive operations.
[0050] The method may start at block 302. At block 304, the method may comprise receiving button press commands for locking/unlocking the vehicle 120. For example, the vehicle side processor 218 may continuously monitor the activities being performed on the command buttons and may receive command(s) for locking or unlocking the vehicle 120,

where the button press commands are generated by pressing the command buttons of the key fob 110. As described earlier, the pressing of any command button results in generation of commands from the key fob processor 218, in turn, resulting in generation the RF signals and transmission of the RF signals to the vehicle 120. This consumes key fob battery power every time a command button is pressed.
[0051] At block 306, the method may comprise performing two determinations. Particularly, the method may comprise determining a time interval between a most recently received command and a penultimate command (i.e., an immediately previous command) and determining a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period. For example, the at least one processor 218 may be configured to determine the time interval between the most recently received command and the penultimate command and determine the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period.
[0052] In one non-limiting embodiment, the method may comprise comparing the determined time interval with a threshold time interval and comparing the number of buttons pressed within the predefined time period with a predefined number.
[0053] At block 308, the method may comprise performing two determinations/ computations. Particularly, the method may comprise (a) determining whether the time interval between the recently received command and the penultimate command is less than the threshold time interval and (b) determining whether the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is more than the predefined number. For example, the at least one processor 218 may be configured to determine whether the time interval between the recently received command and the penultimate command is less than the threshold time interval. The at least one processor 218 may be further configured to determine whether the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is more than the predefined number.
[0054] The method may proceed to block 310, if the result of at least one of the

determining operations of block 308 is true,. i.e., the time interval between the most recently received command and the penultimate command is less than the threshold time interval and the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is more than the predefined number, the received command due to pressing of key fob buttons is disallowed/ignored and subsequently, then the processor 218 does not allow activation of transceiver 216 and hence generation of RF signals, in turn, saving the power of the key fob battery.
[0055] The method may proceed to block 312, if the result of both of the determining operations of block 308 is false i.e., the time interval between the most recently received command and the penultimate command is greater than or equal to the threshold time interval and the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number, then the processor 218 may allow the execution of the received command and subsequently allows the generation of RF signals for transmission to the vehicle 120. The method stops at block 314.
[0056] Accordingly, from the above disclosure, it may be worth noting that the present disclosure provides an easy, convenient and efficient technique which prevent the drain of a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to unnecessary and unintentional repetitive lock/unlock button press/command operations. Further, the techniques described herein minimize the communications, processing load, memory and power consumptions at both the vehicle and key fob side.
[0057] The above method 300 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types. The present disclosure is applicable for any vehicle that uses the remote key fob based locking mechanism.
[0058] The order in which the various operations of the method are described is not

intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the methods can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.
[0059] The various operations of method described above may be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s) and/or module(s), including, but not limited to the processors 218 of Figure 2. Generally, where there are operations illustrated in Figures, those operations may have corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components.
[0060] It may be noted here that the subject matter of some or all embodiments described with reference to Figures 1-2 may be relevant for the methods and the same is not repeated for the sake of brevity.
[0061] Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, hard drives, Compact Disc (CD) ROMs, Digital Video Disc (DVDs), flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.
[0062] Certain aspects may comprise a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may comprise

a computer readable media having instructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. For certain aspects, the computer program product may include packaging material.
[0063] The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0064] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the appended claims.
[0065] The foregoing description of the various embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to limit the embodiments shown herein, and instead the embodiments should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

WE CLAIM:
1. A method (300) for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive
operations, the method (300) comprising:
receiving (304) a command for locking or unlocking a vehicle (120); and
ignoring (310) the received command in response to determining (308) at least one of:
that a time interval between the received command and a penultimate command is less than a threshold time interval; and
that a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period is more than a predefined number.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein ignoring the received command comprises not activating a radio frequency (RF) transceiver of the key fob.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
allowing the execution of the received command and activating a radio frequency (RF) transceiver in response to determining:
that the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command is more than or equal to the threshold time interval; and
that the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
determining the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command;
comparing the determined time interval with the threshold time interval;
determining the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period; and
comparing the number of buttons pressed within the predefined time period with the predefined number.

5. An apparatus (110) for protecting a key-fob battery from spurious discharge due to abusive
operations, the apparatus (110) comprising:
a memory (220);
a radio frequency (RF) transceiver (216) for communicating with a vehicle (120); and a processor (218) communicatively coupled with the memory (220) and the transceiver (216), wherein the processor (218) is configured to:
receive a command for locking or unlocking the vehicle (120); and ignore the received command in response to determining at least one of:
that a time interval between the received command and a penultimate command is less than a threshold time interval; and
that a number of command buttons pressed within a predefined time period is more than a predefined number.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to ignore the received command by not activating the RF transceiver.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:
allow the execution of the received command and activate the RF transceiver in response to determining:
that the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command is more than or equal to the threshold time interval; and
that the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period is less than or equal to the predefined number.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine the time interval between the received command and the penultimate command;
compare the determined time interval with the threshold time interval;
determine the number of command buttons pressed within the predefined time period; and compare the number of buttons pressed within the predefined time period with the predefined number.