DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a universal mobility unit for securely handling all connected devices in vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to a low-cost, unique mobility device for integrating and securely handling data of all connected devices in any type of vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a unified mobility gateway device for handling various connected devices in different types of vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In today’s technology-driven vehicles, the connected vehicle services have come a long way from the early days of telematics, whether in terms of the variety of vehicle types, or in terms of richness or complexity of the data being handled. In particular, cost-effective processing power and lower sensor costs have further expanded the scope of this vehicle connectivity from covering just the passenger segment to include the entire gamut of commercial vehicles like Low Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), Heavy-duty Commercial Vehicles (HCVs), Farm Vehicles, Construction Vehicles and other vehicles which do not operate on any Controller Area Network (CAN) based architecture (such as Tractors and Construction Vehicles).

The demand for vehicle data has stretched far beyond, i.e. from just the location and basic vehicle running parameters earlier used, to now includes all possible data sets that are generated in any in-vehicle network or any vehicle-based sensor. This introduces a lot of complexity due to the presence of multiple data types and data generation protocols involved therein. For example, CAN based topologies themselves have multiple standards, including J1939, ISO 11992 etc.) So, data extracted out of vehicles can subsequently be transported through multiple channels (GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth etc.). All these protocols and standards come into play, as the amount and types of vehicle data that is being demanded by end users for command and control of the vehicle, analytics and other rich applications is ever increasing.
In addition to this complexity, there is a need to integrate the additional sensor data with vehicle data for making context-aware decisions (for example, integrating human wearables with the vehicle data network for enhanced driver and passenger safety).

DISADVANTAGES WITH THE PRIOR ART

In the light of the fast-development of vehicle connectivity scenario, the following are the main disadvantages with the existing vehicle connectivity solutions discussed above:

• Different protocols developed by different vendors or companies often fail to work together.

• Currently, it is not possible to create a truly connected and networked eco-system to reap the real business benefits of connected services.

• The end use applications of all this extracted data is being built on top of the vehicle data sources and data channels: both at the device firmware level and the consuming server level.

• The vehicle network and the data transport layer cannot be separated due to this dual trend of expanding data sources and increasing transmission channels.

• This also raises data security concerns because of absence of separation between the vehicle network and data communication channels due to various data sources used.

Therefore, there is an existing need for developing a device for providing connected services to vehicles using a unified process of transmission of data from the vehicle and various sensors as well as locational data thereof, to perform a critical role of abstracting the complexity of multiple vehicle data sources from the channels consuming such vehicle data.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Some of the objects of the present invention - satisfied by at least one embodiment of the present invention - are as follows:

An object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) device for secured transmission of the data extracted from the vehicle, sensors and the location information thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device providing a secure connected and networked eco-system of the connected services in vehicles.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device for separating vehicle network and data transport layer for developing credible applications irrespective of the data source used.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device to serve as a single-platform for catering to all vehicle segments, using different protocols.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device to serve multiple connected services based on users connected thereto.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device for connected services to reduce the number of devices based on different communication methods and/or protocols used, both in vehicle and data communication channels.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a Unified Mobility Gateway Device to prevent any unauthorized entry into the vehicle data sets captured by the UMG device.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, when read with the accompanying figures of drawing, which are however not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

A Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) unit for connected services in vehicles and having a modular configuration, comprising: a data integration gateway to receive all vehicle and sensor data via bi-directional communication; a unified mobility processing gateway to receive the vehicle and sensor data and location data to be processed and stored in the storage for sharing with the external world on demand; and a data communication gateway for communicating the processed data received from the mobility processing gateway to connected consuming services through data channels; wherein the UMG unit serves as an agnostic command and control device to connect all vehicle data sources, sensors, channels and modules, CAN based messaging sources and modules via bi-directional communication, and look-up tables for handling different communication channels and protocols, the UMG unit connected to the external world through global communication channels offering connected services to the clients and/or users and/or customers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) unit for connected services in vehicles and having a modular configuration, comprising:

• a data integration gateway having a controller to receive all vehicle and sensor data via a communication channel to be processed and communicated further through bi-directional communication;

• a unified mobility processing gateway having a bi-directional controller to receive the vehicle and sensor data and location data to be processed and stored in the storage for sharing with the external world on demand;

• a data communication gateway for communicating the processed data received from the mobility processing gateway to the consuming services through multiple data channels;

wherein the UMG unit serves as an agnostic command and control device for connecting all vehicle data sources, sensors, channels and modules, including CAN based messaging sources for connected services and modules to communicate therewith via bi-directional communication, irrespective of the data transmission protocols thereof and includes look-up tables for handling different communication channels and communication protocols for receiving data received therein, the UMG unit connected to the external world through global communication channels offering connected services to the clients and/or users and/or customers.

Typically, the UMG unit comprises the data integration gateway, the unified mobility processing gateway and the data communication gateway configured in a dual processor for enhancing security thereof and includes a main processor for handling the critical vehicle functions and a secondary processor for handling data transport layer functions as well as additional device intelligence requirements.

Typically, the data integration gateway comprises:

• a mobility controller to function as a connectivity device for all vehicle data sources irrespective of the data transmission protocols thereof; and

• a communication channel to receive data from a plurality of data sources;

wherein the mobility controller ingests all data received from the communication channel and forwards the received data via bi-directional communication to the unified mobility processing gateway for abstraction and subsequent transmission to the clients and/or users and/or customers associated thereto.

Typically, the data integration gateway comprises:

(a) a mobility controller is configured as a connectivity device to handle data received from the following data sources:

(i) body control module;
(ii) radio and infotainment unit;
(iii) HVAC;
(iv) instrument cluster;
(v) rear-view camera and/or rear parking assistance;
(vi) passive or remote keyless entry;
(vii) advance driver assistance system;
(viii) additional sensors and inputs through respective analog, digital and frequency I/O; and
(ix) additional sources through USB and UART interfaces; and

(b) a communication channel for receiving the data via the following communication protocols:

(I) respective CAN1 and CAN2 bus;
(II) LIN bus;
(III) digital wires;
(IV) USB; and
(V) others;

wherein the mobility controller possesses capabilities to write messages into the channel for functioning as a command and control module and to transmit generated signals to the unified mobility processing gateway via bi-directional communication for further processing thereof.

Typically, the unified mobility processing gateway comprises:

• a vehicle location information module;
• a power-supply module;
• a data storage module; and
• a data processing module;

wherein the unified mobility gateway functions as a communication gateway to communicate the processed vehicle and sensor data to the external world via bi-directional channel for communication through global communication channels to the connected services consuming the processed data to provide services to the clients/users/customers.

Typically, the vehicle location information module receives the vehicle location data through Global Navigation Satellite System receiver to be mixed with the vehicle data for preparing a standard protocol to be shared with the external world through the data communication gateway to reach the clients/users/customers.

Typically, the data communication gateway comprises a communication channel to communicate the generated signals received from the unified mobility processing gateway (B) via bi-directional communication, for sharing with the connected device through the following data channels:

(i) Short Message Service/SMS;
(ii) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data/USSD;
(iii) 2.5/3/4/5G communication;
(iv) WiFi communication;
(v) Bluetooth, USB;
(vi) CAN-On-board diagnostics/OBD; and
(vii) Low-voltage differential signal/LVDS;

wherein the data communication gateway comprises a plurality of tools for sharing the processed data in the protocol format with the external world to reach the clients/users/customers.

Typically, the processed data reaches the clients/users/customers through cloud data storage in terms of tools comprising:
• web application;
• mobile application;
• diagnostic tool; and
• display;

wherein the UMG unit is configured as a low-cost standard fitment irrespective of the type of vehicle, such as tractor or farm equipment, passenger car, commercial vehicle or construction equipment or even two-wheelers and or type of vehicle variant, such as low-cost to top-end of the price chain, by using populating or de-populating the device platform for location services and communication channels and variant specific applications by means of the single device platform for location services and communication channels.

Typically, the data integration gateway, the unified mobility processing gateway, and the data communication gateway are configured to separate the vehicle network and the data transport layer by means of the dual processor comprising a main co-processor as a real-time I/O co-processor and a secondary co-processor as a gateway co-processor isolated from each other to process the respective data thereof, and the communication between the co-processors is bi-directional.

Typically, the real-time I/O co-processor separates the gateways in terms of hardware components, and ingests data from a respective first, second and third direct/derived sensor data generators and provides hardware abstraction and Inter-Process-Communication or IPC micro-controller between the sensor data generators and real-time Linux/RTOS or real-time operating system to process CAN stacks and peripherals, the real-time I/O co-processor includes hardware RTC or software configurable real-time clock and configuration components; the real-time I/O co-processor also handles CAN/Digital I/O and Communication bus.

Typically, the gateway co-processor separates the gateways in terms of firmware components, and comprise:

• Device configuration;
• Firmware-Over-The-Air or FOTA;
• Telephony operations; and
• Storage;

wherein the gateway co-processor provides hardware abstraction and Inter-Process-Communication or IPC micro-controller between the device configuration, FOTA, telephony and storage functions and the communication channels of wired/wireless peripheral, EPROM storage and GPS modem to push processed data out, wherein the wired/wireless peripheral communicates further bi-directionally with a plurality of peripheral devices.

Typically, the dual processor configuration of using the real-time I/O co-processor for handling vehicle communication and the gateway co-processor for handling external/peripherals communication to prevent a prospective vehicle malfunctioning in case of any external hacking on the gateway co-processor during communications with the peripherals which are physically segregates from each other to enhance the overall security of the UMG unit.

Typically, the firmware of the gateway co-processor follows an SDK based approach for building and running customized applications and the written applications follow the specified standards for structuring and data output.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the major components of the Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) Device or unit 100 configured in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the sub-sets of data handled by Unified Mobility Gateway unit 100 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram for the processor 300 for separating data of segments A, B, and C in the aforesaid for the Unified Mobility Gateway unit 100 of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the following, the unified mobility gateway unit configured in accordance with the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings without limiting the scope and ambit of the present invention in any way.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the major components of Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) Device or unit 100 configured in accordance with the present invention. It comprises three operational segments consisting of a data integration gateway A, a data communication gateway B and a processing module C. The first operational segment A is configured with a mobility ECU 110, which functions as a connectivity device for all vehicle data sources irrespective of their data transmission protocols and a variety of communication channels 150. The communication to these channels 150 is bi-directional, i.e. mobility ECU 110 can also write messages into these channels 150 and thus serves as a command and control module for these devices. If there are multiple CAN networks or other communication networks, this module also has look-up table to be used as a gateway for other communication networks available in the network. Apart from the vehicle data, mobility ECU 110 can also extract data from additional sensors and inputs, through analog, digital and frequency inputs and from other additional sources through Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) interfaces. The data captured by this data integration gateway A is communicated to the second operational segment which is configured as a data communication gateway B, comprising a mobility processing unit or unified mobility gateway (UMG) 160 comprising: a location information module 162, a power-supply module 164, a memory module 166 and a data processing module 168. The mobility processing unit or unified mobility gateway (UMG) 160 functions as a communication gateway to communicate the processed vehicle and sensor data to the consuming or client devices 200 through the third and last operational segment C comprising multiple data channels 170 and by using available tools 180 like, GSM (all global bands across the spectrum, from SMS and USSD to 4G and 5G protected), Bluetooth, WiFi and diagnostics data through USB. The data channels 170 and tools 180 provided in this operational segment C, which comprises a location information module, a power-supply module, a memory module and a data processing module. Here, the location information is received through GNSS receivers (all global GNSS receivers), which is processed with the vehicle data and this processed data is stored in the memory thereof. This stored data is shared with the external environment through the data communication gateway B.

Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the sub-sets of data handled by the unified mobility gateway (UMG) unit 100 of Figure 1. The first segment A, i.e. data integration gateway or mobility unit (ECU) 110 handles data received from: body control module BCM 112, radio and infotainment unit 114, HVAC 116, instrument cluster IC 118, rear view camera RVC / rear parking assistance RPA 120, passive or remote keyless entry RKE 122, advance driver assistance system ADAS 124, analog IO 126, digital IO 128, and frequency IO 130. The data handled by the data communication gateway or communication channels 150 is received via: CAN1 bus 132, CAN2 bus 134, Local Interconnect Network or LIN-bus 136, Digital Wires 138, USB 140, and Others 142. The generated signals are communicated via Short Message Service or SMS 171, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data or USSD 172, 2.5/3/4/5G 173, WiFi 174, Bluetooth 175, USB 176, CAN-On-board diagnostics OBD 177, and Low-voltage differential signal LVDS 176. The processed data reaches customers/clients/users through cloud data in terms of tools 180 comprising web application 182, mobile app 184, diagnostic tool 186 and display 188. The mobility processing unit or unified mobility gateway (UMG) 160 comprises: a location information module 162, a power-supply module 164, a memory module 166 and a data processing module 168. These 3 segments A, B, and C are effectively separated, both from the hardware perspective (by using separate microcontrollers for these functions as shown in Figure 3) and from the device firmware perspective (by following a modular approach).

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram for the dual processor 300 configured in accordance with the present invention for separating the data of the segments A, B, and C in the aforesaid UMG unit 100. It comprises a real-time I/O co-processor 320 and a gateway co-processor 360. UMG unit 100 processes data in real-time I/O co-processor 320 by isolating it from data processed in gateway co-processor 360 by processing their respective data in separate co-processors. The real-time co-processor 320 can ingest data from multiple input sources like the first second and third direct/derived sensor data generators 322, 324 and 326 respectively. The co-processor 320 has hardware abstraction and Inter-Process-Communication (IPC) micro-controller 330 between the input sources and a real-time Linux/RTOS (real-time operating system) 340 which can process Controller Area Network (CAN) stacks and peripherals 342 and also contains RTC (real-time clock) 344, and Configuration components 346. The real-time co-processor 320 is also configured to handle CAN and Digital I/O 348 as well as Communication bus 350. Further, gateway co-processor 360 has a similar Linux/RTOS 380 including stacks 382 of TCP/IP, TLS, Bluetooth, BLE; RTC 384; and Runtimes JVM, Python IS 386. This gateway co-processor 360 also provides Device Configuration 362, Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) 364, Telephony Operations 366, and Storage 368; Similar to real-time co-processor 320, gateway co-processor 360 also provides hardware abstraction and IPC 370 between Device Configuration, FOTA, Telephony and Storage (362, 364, 366, 368) functions and the communication channels for pushing processed data out, including; Wired/Wireless peripheral 388, EPROM Storage 390 as well as GPS modem 392. The communication between these co-processors 320 360 is bi-directional. The wired/wireless peripheral 388 communicates bi-directionally with multiple peripheral devices 394, 396, 398 etc.

The presence of these dedicated two co-processors 320, 360 - one for vehicle communication and one for external/peripherals communication, achieves the desired physical segregation of crucial vehicle functions. This ensures that vehicle functions will not be compromised in case of any external hacking attacks on the gateway while communicating with peripherals.

Unified Software Configurable Mobility Gateway (UMG) Device or unit 100 for Connected Services is configured in accordance with the present invention as a gateway device for the vehicle to the outside world. While it enables transmission of data from vehicle and various sensors to the outside world along with the location information, it also performs the critical role of abstracting the complexity of multiple vehicle data sources from the channels that consume vehicle data.

Accordingly, Unified Software Configurable Mobility Gateway (UMG) Device or unit 100 for Connected Services is a gateway divided into 3 operational segments, i.e. a data integration gateway A, a data communication gateway B and a processing module C, which are described in detail below:

SEGMENT 1: DATA INTEGRATION GATEWAY:

The device can act as a connectivity gateway device for all vehicle data sources irrespective of the data transmission protocol. This includes CAN based messaging sources and other body function modules, a vehicle’s instrument cluster, HVAC, radio and the infotainment head unit. Communication to these channels is bi-directional, which means this Unified Mobility Gateway device, preferably a software configurable UMG device can also write messages into these channels and can serve as command and control module for these devices.

If there are multiple CAN networks or other communication networks, this Module has look-up table to act as a gateway for other communication networks available in the network.

Apart from vehicle data, the device can also pull in data from additional sensors and inputs, through Analog, Digital and Frequency inputs, and can pull data from additional sources through USB and UART interfaces.
SEGMENT 2: DATA COMMUNICATION GATEWAY:

The second functional purpose of the Unified Software Configurable Mobility Gateway Device or unit 100 is to communicate the vehicle and sensor data to consuming services 200 through multiple data channels. These channels include GSM (all global bands across the spectrum from SMS and USSD to 4G and 5G protected), Bluetooth, WiFi and diagnostics data through USB.

SEGMENT 3: MOBILITY PROCESSING UNIT:

The processing unit having the location information through GNSS receivers (all global GNSS receivers) and process with the vehicle data and store it in the Memory. Based on the data communication gateway module, the data is shared with the external world through the data communication gateway.

The separation of these segments 1, 2, 3 is achieved, both from the hardware perspective (by using separate micro-controllers for these functions as shown in the schematic Fig. 1, and from the device firmware perspective where a modular approach is followed.

Specific design guidelines therefor ensure that the firmware follows a Software Development Kit (SDK) based approach and applications written therein follow the specified standards for structuring and data output.

This makes it possible to write applications which are platform dependent and focus only on functionality, while system dependent variables can be integrated at the application header level.

WORKING MECHANISM

Unified Mobility Gateway Device or unit 100 serves as a single platform to cater to all vehicle segments (not just the vehicles using CAN based protocols) and serves as a gateway device to multiple connected services to be used depending on the users. The main components included in the device are the vehicle ECU, vehicle communication channels, vehicle data protocols for ECU/communication channels, connected services channels and receiving tools.

The device is electronically configurable and works under the following principle:

- Receives and sends the vehicle data (irrespective of ECU and communication Network) from the vehicle (any vehicle irrespective of the communication channel thereof). If there are different communication channel and communication protocol, the device handles it through look-up tables received in the module.

- Gets the Location data of the vehicle through GNSS receiver (all global receiver module standards are supported) and mixed with the vehicle data and prepares standard protocol to be shared with the external world through data communication gateway.

- Data is prepared in a Protocol format and sent to the external world through any of global communication channels. The customer finally receives data through cloud data in-terms of web application, Mobile application and Diagnostics tools.

UNIQUE CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS

Uses a unified platform to give best configuration for the connected service platform in-terms of reducing the development of multiple units based on each communication method, protocol used on vehicle-side and data communication channel.

This device is configured as standard fitment irrespective of the type of vehicle (tractor or farm equipment, passenger car, commercial vehicle, construction equipment, or even two wheelers) and vehicle variant (low-cost to top-end model, using populating/de-populating platform device and variant specific custom applications)
Global Standards are used in a single platform configuration, both for location services and communication channels, in order to reduce the need for developing a separate device for each region. Since the device covers all communication channels / protocols in vehicle, this can be used in any type of vehicle across the globe and without requiring multiple units.

Component Virtualization is achieved through modular hardware and software architecture, which allows this electronically configurable device to virtualize other embedded systems including Body Control Modules. This way, ECU-use is optimized, which results in substantial cost savings, specifically in lower variant vehicle segments. Since virtualization requires strong isolation of run time environments, this enhances the security and reliability of the entire system.

Enhanced security is achieved through a dual real-time and gateway processor module, which allows a physical segregation of the functions managed by this unified mobility gateway device. Accordingly, the critical vehicle functions can be managed by the main processor, while the secondary processor can handle the transport layer functions and any additional device-intelligence requirements.

Interoperability is achieved through abstraction of hardware described above and by adopting a modular approach to application programming, which allows a great deal of flexibility in choosing the component sub-systems for Unified Software Configurable Mobility Gateway. Even if the underlying hardware is changed/substituted or depopulated (while confirming it to the specifications), the application software will absolutely not require any change.
Similarly, since the application design is highly standardized, this Unified Mobility Gateway Device can interface with any third-party system with minimal development efforts – all device specific parameters are included at the application header level, which can even be quickly configured over air updates.

Add on functions beyond connectivity facilitates handling of multiple additional processes by the same device, since this Unified Mobility Gateway Device allows two-way communication. Therefore, this device enables self-diagnostics, vehicle diagnostics and offers many options for advanced prognostics. Provisioning and other end of line functions of other vehicle ECUs and on-board components can also be performed through the same device, which ultimately results in the simplification of multiple manufacturing and service functions of vehicles.

Edge computing is enabled by dual processors and memory specifications to allow a built-in intelligence in this UMG device. SDK-based approach for the application software allows custom applications to be built and run by using co-processor. Such device-intelligence which allows making mission-critical decisions nearer the vehicle rather than remotely at the server side, also facilitates in intelligent controlling of other interfacing systems, and thus opens up Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication applications.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The unified mobility gateway (UMG) device configured in accordance with the present invention has the following technical and economic advantages:

• Unique solution for the vehicle industry providing a single platform for fulfilling a wide variety of mobility requirements.

• A single platform involving both hardware and software to be deployed across all business segments to derive economies of scale for the industry.

• New products can be developed following the interface specifications defined for this Unified Mobility Gateway device, and thus facilitating the standardization of the vehicle data connectivity applications.

• SDK-based approach for configuring this device firmware allows disparate business segments to develop custom applications, to bring in device intelligence.

• ECU virtualization allows optimization of number of ECUs required for a vehicle to bring down overall manufacturing costs.

• By allowing a two-way communication, the device offers a more robust validation of other ECUs of the vehicles and other on-board sub-systems and to perform remote flashing of these ECUs, which in turn results in significant development cost savings and reduction in production and service processing times.

• Device can be used as a fundamental standard for design of critical components of the vehicle connectivity value chain - i.e. vehicle data collection and data transport.

• Device has the capability to handle multiple communication channels, while saving on device and development costs.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.

It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.

Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.

Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.

The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention. ,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A Unified Mobility Gateway (UMG) unit for connected services in vehicles and having a modular configuration, said UMG unit comprising:

• a data integration gateway (A) having a controller to receive all vehicle and sensor data via a communication channel for processing and communicating further through bi-directional communication;

• a unified mobility processing gateway (B) having a bi-directional controller to receive said vehicle and sensor data and location data to be processed and stored in the storage thereof for sharing with the external world on demand;

• a data communication gateway (C) for communicating the processed data received from said mobility processing gateway (B) to the consuming services through multiple data channels;

wherein said UMG unit serves as an agnostic command and control device to connect all vehicle data sources, sensors, channels and modules, including CAN based messaging sources for connected services and modules to communicate therewith via bi-directional communication, irrespective of the data transmission protocols and includes look-up tables for handling different communication channels and communication protocols for receiving data received therein, said UMG unit is connected to the external world through global communication channels offering connected services to the clients and/or users and/or customers.

2. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said UMG unit comprises said data integration gateway (A), said unified mobility processing gateway (B) and said data communication gateway (C) configured in a dual processor for enhancing security thereof, and includes a main processor for handling the critical vehicle functions and a secondary processor for handling data transport layer functions as well as additional device intelligence requirements.
3. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data integration gateway (A) comprises:

• a mobility controller (110) to function as a connectivity device for all vehicle data sources irrespective of the data transmission protocols thereof; and

• a communication channel (150) to receive data from a plurality of data sources;

wherein said mobility controller (110) ingests all data received from said communication channel (150) and forwards the received data via bi-directional communication to said unified mobility processing gateway (B) for abstraction and subsequent transmission to the clients and/or users and/or customers associated thereto.

4. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein said data integration gateway (A) comprises:

(a) a mobility controller (110) is configured as a connectivity device to handle data received from the following data sources:
(i) body control module (112);
(ii) radio and infotainment unit (114);
(iii) HVAC (116);
(iv) instrument cluster (118);
(v) rear-view camera and/or rear parking assistance (120);
(vi) passive or remote keyless entry (122);
(vii) advance driver assistance system (124);
(viii) additional sensors and inputs through respective analog, digital/frequency I/O (126, 128, 130); and
(ix) additional sources through USB and UART interfaces; and

(b) a communication channel for receiving said data via the following communication protocols:
(I) respective CAN1 and CAN2 bus (132, 134);
(II) LIN bus (136);
(III) digital wires (138);
(IV) USB (140); and
(V) others (142);

wherein said mobility controller (110) possesses capabilities to write messages into said channel (150) for functioning as a command and control module and to transmit generated signals to said unified mobility processing gateway (B) via bi-directional communication for further processing thereof.

5. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said unified mobility processing gateway (B) comprises:

• a vehicle location information module (162);
• a power-supply module (164);
• a data storage module (166); and
• a data processing module (168);

wherein said unified mobility gateway (160) functions as a communication gateway to communicate the processed vehicle and sensor data to the external world via bi-directional channel for communication through global communication channels to the connected services consuming said processed data to provide services to the clients/users/customers.

6. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein said vehicle location information module (162) receives the vehicle location data through Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver to be mixed with said vehicle data for preparing a standard protocol to be shared with the external world through said data communication gateway (C) to reach the clients/users/customers.

7. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data communication gateway (C) comprises a communication channel (170) to communicate the generated signals received from said unified mobility processing gateway (B) via bi-directional communication, for sharing with said connected device through the following data channels:
(i) Short Message Service/SMS (171);
(ii) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data/USSD (172);
(iii) 2.5/3/4/5G communication (173);
(iv) WiFi communication (174);
(v) Bluetooth (175), USB (176);
(vi) CAN-On-board diagnostics/OBD (177); and
(vii) Low-voltage differential signal/LVDS (176);

wherein said data communication gateway (C) comprises a plurality of tools (180) for sharing said processed data in said protocol format with the external world to reach the clients/users/customers.

8. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein said processed data reaches the clients/users/customers through cloud data storage in terms of tools (180) comprising:
• web application (182);
• mobile application (184);
• diagnostic tool (186); and
• display (188);

wherein said UMG unit is configured as a low-cost standard fitment irrespective of the type of vehicle, such as tractor or farm equipment, passenger car, commercial vehicle or construction equipment or even two-wheelers and or type of vehicle variant, such as low-cost to top-end of the price chain, by using populating or de-populating the device platform for location services and communication channels and variant specific applications by means of said single device platform for location services and communication channels.

9. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said data integration gateway (A), said unified mobility processing gateway (B), and said data communication gateway (C) are configured to separate the vehicle network and the data transport layer by means of said dual processor comprising a main co-processor as a real-time I/O co-processor (320) and a secondary co-processor as a gateway co-processor (360) isolated from each other to process the respective data thereof, and the communication between said co-processors (320, 360) is bi-directional.

10. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein said real-time I/O co-processor (320) separates said gateways (A, B, C) in terms of hardware components, and ingests data from a respective first, second and third direct/derived sensor data generators (322, 324, 326) and provides hardware abstraction and Inter-Process-Communication or IPC micro-controller (330) between said sensor data generators (322, 324, 326) and real-time Linux/RTOS or real-time operating system (340) to process CAN stacks and peripherals (342), said real-time I/O co-processor (320) includes hardware RTC or software configurable real-time clock (344) and configuration components (346); said real-time I/O co-processor (320) also handles CAN/Digital I/O (348) and Communication bus (350).

11. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein said gateway co-processor (360) separates said gateways (A, B, C) in terms of firmware components, and comprise:
• Device configuration (362);
• Firmware-Over-The-Air or FOTA (364);
• Telephony operations (366); and
• Storage (368);

wherein said gateway co-processor (360) provides hardware abstraction and Inter-Process-Communication or IPC micro-controller (370) between said device configuration (362, FOTA (364), telephony (366) and storage (368) (340) functions and the communication channels of wired/wireless peripheral (388), EPROM storage (390) and GPS modem (392) to push processed data out, wherein said wired/wireless peripheral (388) communicates further bi-directionally with a plurality of peripheral devices (394, 396, 398).

12. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein said dual processor configuration of using said real-time I/O co-processor (320) for handling vehicle communication and said gateway co-processor (360) for handling external/peripherals communication to prevent a prospective vehicle malfunctioning in case of any external hacking on said gateway co-processor (360) during communications with said peripherals (394, 396, 396) which are physically segregates from each other to enhance the overall security of said UMG unit (100).

13. Unified Mobility Gateway unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the firmware of said gateway co-processor (360) follows an SDK based approach for building and running customized applications and the written applications (apps) follow the specified standards for structuring and data output.

Digitally Signed.

Dated: this 30th day of March 2018. (SANJAY KESHARWANI) REGN. No. IN/PA-2043
APPLICANT’S PATENT AGENT