FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
“DEVICE, AN ELECTONIC CONTROL UNIT AND
METHOD FOR FACILITATING SECURE KEYLESS
ACCESS OF A VEHICLE”
MINDA CORPORATION LIMITED, an Indian
Company, of E 5/2, Chakan Industrial Area, Phase III,
MIDC, Nanekarwdi, Pune, Khed, Maharashtra,
410501, India
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in
which it is to be performed.

DEVICE, AN ELECTONIC CONTROL UNIT AND METHOD FOR
FACILITATING SECURE KEYLESS ACCESS OF A VEHICLE
Field of the Invention
The present subject matter is related, in general, to security of a vehicle and more
particularly, but not exclusively, to a device, an electronic control unit, and a method for
facilitating secure keyless access of the vehicle.
Background of the Invention
Security threats for vehicles are increasing day by day. Specially, light weight vehicles
are more prone to theft due to their mobility and size when compared with heavy weight
vehicles. Various measures have been taken for addressing this concern. One of them is
keyless access of vehicles that have become very much popular now a days. This facility provides secure and hassle free experience to the vehicle’s owner while locking or unlocking the vehicles.
For providing this facility, a remote device carried by the driver communicates with
another device mounted within the vehicle. When the remote device comes in a range of
the vehicle it is authenticated by the device mounted in the vehicle and the vehicle gets
started during battery charged condition. Once the vehicle gets started or ignition is ON,
the driver can freely drive the vehicle. However, this situation creates a security
challenge for the vehicles. This is because, suppose some unauthorized person steals the vehicle after it is started, it becomes a challenge to stop the ignition of the vehicle to
prevent it from any unauthorized access. However, such push start mechanism also
increases the risk of unauthorized use of the vehicle.
Objects of the Invention
An object of the present invention is to facilitate security to the light weight vehicles in
normal battery charged condition and battery drained condition.
Another object of the present invention is to improve user’s or driver’s experience while
using the keyless access of the vehicle, during battery dead condition.
Another object of the present invention is to facilitate keyless authentication even after
the vehicle’s ignition is started.
Summary of the Invention
The present disclosure overcomes one or more shortcomings of the prior art and provides additional advantages discussed throughout 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 claimed disclosure.
In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a device for facilitating secure
access to a vehicle is disclosed. The system comprises a receiver, a transmitter, a
processor and a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory and configured to
establish a connection with an electronic control unit (ECU) over a network. The device
is associated with a user and the ECU is associated with the vehicle. Further, the
processor is configured to transmit a command to the ECU for turning ignition of the
vehicle in ON state when the connection is established between the device and the ECU.
The processor is further configured to authenticate the validity of the established
connection after turning the ignition of the vehicle in ON state for facilitating the secure
access to the vehicle.
In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of facilitating secure
access to a vehicle is disclosed. The method comprises establishing, by a device, a
connection with an electronic control unit (ECU) over a network. The device is
associated with a user and the ECU is associated with the vehicle. The method further
comprising transmitting, by the device, a command to the ECU for turning ignition of the
vehicle in ON state when the connection is established between the device and the ECU. Further, the method comprising authenticating, by the device, the validity of the
established connection after turning the ignition of the vehicle in ON state for facilitating
the secure access to the vehicle.

Brief description of the drawings

The embodiments of the disclosure itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, further
objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following
detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment 100 for facilitating secure keyless access of a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 shows block diagram illustrating a device for facilitating the secure keyless
access of the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 shows block diagram illustrating an electronic control unit (ECU) for
facilitating the secure keyless access of the vehicle, in accordance with some
embodiments of the present disclosure; and
Figure 4 shows a method of facilitating secure keyless access of a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One
skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative
embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without
departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present
disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be
better understood. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception
and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or
designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure.
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
Disclosed herein is a device, an electronic control unit (ECU), and a method for
facilitating secure keyless access of a vehicle. The device may be implemented as a
remote device /FOB or a mobile device of a user which may be configured to be
communicatively paired with the ECU attached or mounted within the vehicle. Unlike the
known keyless access, in which, the authentication of the device is performed before the
starting the vehicle, the present disclosure performs the authentication after the vehicle is started. In other words, once the vehicle is started, authentication is performed between the device and the ECU to determine the validity of the user or driver.
As it may happen that any unauthorized person may try to steal the vehicle by simply
pushing and starting the vehicle, according to an embodiment of present disclosure. To
prevent such unauthorized action, the device/FOB or mobile device of the present
disclosure performs the authentication process after the vehicle is started. If the
authentication fails, the ECU will automatically stop the vehicle. Therefore, even if the
unauthorized person is able to get the access of the vehicle by unauthorized means,
he/she may not be able to drive it beyond a limit. It must be noted that even in battery
dead condition, the unauthorized user can push start the vehicle. However, since the
authorization is performed after the vehicle is started, such unauthorized user may not be successful to drive it beyond a limit.
Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment 100 for facilitating secure keyless access of a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. It must be
understood to a person skilled in art that the present invention may also be implemented
in various environments, other than as shown in Fig. 1. The environment 100 includes a
device or a FOB 102, an electronic control unit (ECU) 104 and an engine ECU 106
mounted within the vehicle. It must be understood to the person skilled in art that present invention may be implemented on any vehicle, other than the two wheeler vehicle (motorbike) shown in Fig. 1. Further, the dotted circle represents a communication range, in which, the device/FOB 102 performs handshaking with the ECU 104 mounted inside the vehicle for performing authentication which is explained in subsequent paragraphs of the specification.
In Fig. 1, the vehicle is shown within the communication range of the device/FOB 102.
When the driver wishes to start the vehicle, he/she may activate/switch ON the device
102 to perform handshaking with the ECU 104. Considering the device 102 is a valid
device and present within the communication range, the ECU 104 performs successful
authentication of the device 102. According to embodiments of present disclosure, the
ECU 104 is a key less entry ECU connected with engine ECU 106 via two digital IO’s to
control the ignition of the vehicle. Once the device/FOB 102 is authenticated, the ECU
104 will keep the vehicle in start position.
According to embodiments of present disclosure, the communication range may be
between 1 to 2 meters or any predefined range set by the manufacturer of the device 102,
ECU 104 or by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). According to an
embodiment, the device 102 and the ECU 104 may be connected based on wireless
personal area network technology, for example Bluetooth low energy/NFC (near field
communication)/RF. However, other wireless means may also be used for establishing
communication between the device 102 and the ECU 104. The use of the Bluetooth low
energy optimizes power the consumption of the device 102 and the ECU 104.
The above discussed scenario provides a hassle free experience to the driver/user while
accessing the vehicle. However, this hassle free experience also attracts security threat for the vehicle. Even a single person can push start the vehicle.
According to embodiments of present disclosure, the vehicle may be started during the
normal battery condition or even in battery low/dead condition. both the conditions are
explained herein detail.
Normal Battery condition:
In this condition, the vehicle can be normally started. The device 102 and the ECU 104 of the present disclosure performs such authentication after the vehicle is started. This
approach prevents the vehicle from being used by any unauthorized person. Considering that the unauthorized person has started the vehicle, the ECU 104 will check whether the device 102 is the communication range or not. This check may be performed at regular time interval defined by the user. If the device 102 is not found in the communication range, the ECU 104 send command to engine ECU 106 to turn the ignition of the vehicle is OFF state, thereby preventing the vehicle from being taken away by the unauthorized person. Battery Low or Battery Dead Condition:
In this condition, the vehicle can be started by simply pushing the vehicle. The device
102 and the ECU 104 of the present disclosure performs the authentication after the
vehicle is started. This approach provides hassle free user experience during battery
drained condition. Also, the authentication performed by the device 102 and the ECU 104 prevents from any unauthorized use.
Figure 2 shows block diagram illustrating a device for facilitating the secure keyless
access of the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
The device 102 may be a FOB or a remote device carried by the driver/user of the
vehicle. According to an embodiment of present disclosure, the device 102 may be
implemented as a mobile device of the user. The driver/user may use the device 102 for
keyless access of the vehicle.
According to embodiments of present disclosure, the device 102 may comprise a
processor 202, an input/output (I/O) interface 204, a receiver 206, a transmitter 208, a
power supply unit 216, a motion sensor 218 and a memory 210. The I/O interface 204
may enable the device 102 to interact and receive/transmit information from other
devices like ECU 104. According to embodiments of present disclosure, the power
supply unit 216 may be a 3v coin battery for providing power to the device 102. Further,
the motion sensor 218 continuously monitors the operations performed by the
device/FOB 102. If the motion sensor 218 observes that the device/FOB 102 is in idle
state for a predefined time period (e.g., 10 minutes to 15 minutes or any time period
defined by the user), it turns the device/ FOB 102 into sleep mode. This way, the motion
sensor 218 helps in optimizing the battery consumption when the device/FOB 102 is not
in use. The memory 210 may comprise instructions 212 and data 214.
Further, the instructions 212 stored in the memory 210 may be processed by the
processor 202 for performing various operations of the device 102. The memory 210
further stores the data 214 which may be prestored or generated during the execution of
the device 102. The data 214 may include information pertaining to the unique
identification number (UID) or IMEI number, communication range and profile of the
user/driver. The UID number may be provide an unique identification for the device 102
when it is implemented in a form of independent keyless device or FOB, whereas the
IMEI number also provides the unique identification when the device 102 is implemented
as a mobile device of the user.
Further, the transmitter 208 may be used for transmitting a request signal to the ECU 104.
The request signal may comprise a request for pairing the device 102 with the ECU 104.
Once the request is received to the ECU 104, it may check whether the distance of the
device 102 is in the communication range. If the device 102 is found to be in the
communication range, the receiver 206 receive a passkey request from the ECU 104.
In response to the passkey request, the transmitter 208 sends the appropriate passkey to the ECU 104 for the verification. The communication between the device 102 and the
ECU 104 may be performed based on wireless personal area network technology, for
example Bluetooth low energy/NFC/RF. The use of the Bluetooth low energy helps the
device 102 to operate on low power i.e., less power consumption.
Figure 3 shows block diagram illustrating an electronic control unit (ECU) for
facilitating the secure keyless access of the vehicle, in accordance with some
embodiments of the present disclosure. The ECU 104 may be mounted within the
vehicle. The ECU 104 may comprise a processor 302, an input/output (I/O) interface 304, a receiver 306, a transmitter 308, a power supply unit 310, and a memory 312. The I/O interface 304 may enable the ECU 104 to receive/transmit information from other devices like device 102.
The memory 312 may comprise instructions 314 and data 316. Further, the instructions
314 stored in the memory 312 may be processed by the processor 302 for performing
various operations of the ECU 104. The memory 312 further stores the data 316 which is
prestored or generated during the execution of the ECU 104. The data 316 may include
information required for verifying the device 102. For example, the data 316 may
comprise configuration details of the device 102.
When vehicle battery is in charged condition, the request signal is received from engine
ECU 106 after starting the engine. In response, the ECU 104 wakes up for the operation.
Based on the request signal, the ECU 104 checks whether the device 102 is within the
defined communication range. If the device 102 is in the communication range, the ECU
104 generates a passkey request and sends it to the device 102 via the transmitter 308.
In response to the passkey request, the device 102 generates the passkey and sends it back to the ECU 104 which is received by the receiver 306. The ECU 104 then matches the passkey received from the device 102 with prestored passkey for authentication. If the passkey matches, the ECU 104 authenticates the validity of the device 102 and keeps the ignition of the vehicle ON. However, if the passkey fails to match, the ECU 104 immediately stops the ignition of the vehicle. The passkey is the unique identification number (UID) which is associated with the device 102 and the ECU 104. Thus, if any unauthorized person succeeds in starting the vehicle by manually pushing it, the ECU 104 may immediately stop the vehicle, thereby preventing the vehicle from being taken away by the unauthorized person.
Figure 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method for facilitating secure access to a
vehicle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes one or more blocks illustrating a
method of facilitating secure access to the vehicle using the device 102. The method 400
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 order in which the method 400 is 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 method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. At bock 402, the method 400 include establishing a connection, by a device 102, with an electronic control unit (ECU) 104 over a network. The device 102 is associated with a user and the ECU 104 is associated with the vehicle. For establishing the connection, the method comprises the step of detecting whether the ECU 104 is in a communication range of the network with the device 102. If the ECU 104 and the device 102 are in the communication range, the method comprises the step of receiving, by a receiver 206 of the device 102, a passkey request from the ECU 104. The method further comprises the step of sending, by a transmitter 208 of the device 102, a passkey in response to the passkey request to the ECU 104. Further, the ECU 104 matches the passkey received from the device 102 for authentication.
At block 404, the method 400 include transmitting, by the device 102, a command to the
ECU 104 for turning ignition of the vehicle in ON state when the connection is
established between the device 102 and the ECU 104.
At block 406, the method 400 include the authenticating, by the device 102, the validity
of the established connection after turning the ignition of the vehicle in ON state for
facilitating the secure access to the vehicle.
The present invention is described with reference to the figures and specific
embodiments. This description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various
alternate embodiments of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art
upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that such
alternative embodiments form part of the present invention.

We Claim:

1. A method of facilitating secure access to a vehicle, the method comprising:
establishing, by a device, a connection with an electronic control unit (ECU) over
a network, wherein the device is associated with a user and the ECU is associated with
the vehicle; transmitting, by the device, a command to the ECU for turning ignition of the
vehicle in ON state when the connection is established between the device and the ECU; authenticating, by the device, the validity of the established connection after
turning the ignition of the vehicle in ON state for facilitating the secure access to the
vehicle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein establishing the connection with the
ECU comprises: detecting whether the ECU is in a communication range of the network with the device; if the ECU and the device are in the communication range,
receiving, by a receiver of the device, a passkey request from the ECU,
sending, by a transmitter of the device, a passkey in response to the passkey request to the ECU, wherein the ECU matches the passkey received from the device for authentication, wherein the passkey comprises at least one a unique identification number (UID) associated with the device and the ECU.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein authenticating the validity of the
established connection is performed by periodically checking, by the device, whether the
ECU is in the communication range of the network.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising turning the ignition of the
vehicle in OFF state when the established connection between the device and the ECU is broken.

5. A device for facilitating secure access to a vehicle, the device comprises:
a receiver, a transmitter, a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is coupled with the memory and configured to: establish a connection with an electronic control unit (ECU) over a network, wherein the device is associated with a user and the ECU is associated with the vehicle; transmit a command to the ECU for turning ignition of the vehicle in ON state when the connection is established between the device and the ECU; and authenticate the validity of the established connection after turning the ignition of the vehicle in ON state for facilitating the secure access to the vehicle.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein processor establishes the connection
with the ECU by: detecting whether the ECU is in a communication range of the network with the device; if the ECU and the device are in the communication range,
receiving, by a receiver of the device, a passkey request from the ECU,
sending, by transmitter of the device, a passkey in response to the passkey
request to the ECU, wherein the ECU matches the passkey received from the
device for authentication, wherein the passkey comprises at least one a unique
identification number (UID) associated with the device and the ECU.

7. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor authenticates the validity of
the established connection by periodically checking whether the ECU is in the
communication range of the network with the device.

8. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor turns the ignition of the
vehicle in OFF state when the established connection between the device and the
ECU is broken.

9. The device as claimed in claim 5 comprises at least one of a keyless device and a
mobile device of the user.