FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
1. Title of the Invention:
“VEHICLE ACCESS SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE SECURE ACCESS TO VEHICLE USING SINGLE RADIO-FREQUENCY ANTENNA”
2. APPLICANT (S) -
(a) Name : MINDA CORPORATION LIMITED
(b) Nationality : Indian
(c)Address : E-5/2, Chakan Industrial Area, Phase-III, M.I.D.C,
Nanekarwadi, Tal: Khed, Dist. Pune - 410501, Maharashtra, India

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to providing secure vehicle access, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing secure access using a single RF antenna.
Background of the Invention
The ability to remotely access a vehicle provides convenience to the vehicle users. Remote access of a vehicle includes unlocking the vehicle using a remote device and starting or stopping the engine using the remote device. With the present technology, the communication of instructions happens primarily via low frequency (LF) technology. The LF technology requires multiple antennas and driver circuits for the communication of instructions so that a person approaching the vehicle from any direction can access the vehicle.
This not just impacts the cost but also increases the chances of relay attacks. Therefore, there exists a challenge of providing a rather secure and cost-efficient solution for remotely and securely access the vehicle.
The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
Objects of the Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide secure access to a vehicle by overcoming the limitations of the LF technology.
Another object of the present invention is to make the vehicle access system cost-effective and secure by replacing the plurality of LF antennas with an RF antenna.
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 vehicle access system for providing secure access to a vehicle is disclosed. The vehicle access system comprises a remote device and an electronic control unit (ECU) that are configured to communicate with each other using a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel. The remote device comprises a transceiver configured to transmit a remote RF signal. The remote RF signal comprises of an access request and RSSI value for accessing the vehicle. Further, the ECU comprises a transceiver and a processor that are configured to receive the access request and the RSSI value transmitted by the remote device. The ECU further analyzes the access request and the RSSI value with prestored authentication data and RSSI threshold value respectively in order to determine authenticity of the remote device and provides the secure access to the vehicle based on the analysis.
In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of providing secure access to a vehicle is disclosed. The method comprises providing a communication between remote an electronic control unit (ECU) and a remote device using a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel. The method further comprises transmitting, by a transceiver of the remote device, a remote RF signal comprising an access request and RSSI value for accessing the vehicle. Further, the method comprises receiving, by a transceiver of the ECU, the access request and the RSSI value transmitted by the remote device. Further, the processor of the ECU analyzes the access request and the RSSI value with prestored authentication data and RSSI threshold value respectively to determine authenticity of the remote device. Finally, the method comprises providing, by the processor of the ECU, secure access to the vehicle based on the analysis.
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.
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 providing secure access to a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 shows block diagram 200 illustrating a vehicle access system for providing secure access to the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and
Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for providing secure access to a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment 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 vehicle access system that comprises of a remote device and an ECU. The remote device and the ECU communicate with each other using a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel. The use of RF technology instead of Low Frequency (LF) technology for communication between the ECU and the remote device helps in making the vehicle access system secure and cost-effective by replacing the plurality of LF

antennas by a RF antenna. According to an embodiment, the RF antenna may be a 433 MHz RF antenna or any different configuration of antenna for implementing the present disclosure.
Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment 100 for providing secure access to a vehicle in accordance with the present disclosure. It may 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. Further, it may be also understood to the skilled person that, the present invention may be implemented in various types of vehicles including, but not limited to, two-wheeler, three-wheeler, four-wheeler, or in any transport vehicle.
The environment 100 includes the vehicle access system 101 comprising a remote device 102 and an electronic control unit (ECU) 103. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the remote device 102 may be a separate device handled by the user. Further, the ECU 103 may be installed within the vehicle. The ECU 103 and the remote device 102 communicate with each other using RF technology with a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel.
However, according to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the ECU 103 may also communicate with the remote device by using LF or NFC technology in addition to RF technology. This may provide a backup option to the vehicle’s user to access the vehicle in case the remote device fails to communicate with the ECU via RF technology.
Figure 2 shows block diagram 200 illustrating a vehicle access system 101 for providing secure access to the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The vehicle access system comprises of a remote device 102 and an ECU 103. The remote device 102 and the ECU 103 communicate with each other via RF technology. When a user wishes to access a vehicle, he/she would need to operate the remote device 102 by either touching the screen or pressing a button. The transmitter 210 of the remote device 102 transmits RF remote signal to the receiver 220 of the ECU 103.
The RF remote signal comprises of an access request and a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) value for accessing the vehicle. The RF remote signal is received by the receiver 220 of the ECU 103. Here, since the communication between the remote device 102 and the ECU 103 happens using only one RF antenna, RSSI characteristics of the RF receivers are customized and fine-tuned for performing the secure authentication. (only one RF antenna). Customizing/fine tuning is carried out by means of experimental modelling of

RSSI characteristics versus distance in the field as well as in RF laboratory. This data in turn is correlated with semiconductor datasheet characteristics for RSSI to arrive at final characterastics.
The processor 222 of the ECU 103 analyses the access request and the RSSI value with the authentication data and the RSSI threshold value prestored in the memory 221 in order to determine the authenticity of the remote device 102. The authentication data may be associated with a user of the vehicle and the vehicle to be accessed. For example, the authentication data may comprise user’s demographic details, vehicle name, vehicle type, and other details related to the vehicle. The authentication data may also comprise a secret key or pass key to distinguish the vehicle from other vehicles. For example, the data may comprise unique identification information associated with the remote device 102 and the ECU 103. Once, the authenticity of the remote device 102 has been verified, the transmitter 223 of the ECU 103 sends an acknowledgement signal (ACK) to the remote device 102 which lets the user access his vehicle in a secure fashion.
The use of RF technology overcomes the limitations posed by the LF technology. With the use of LF technology, it becomes imperative to employ a plurality of LF antennas to allow the user of a vehicle to be able to access the vehicle irrespective of the direction from which he/she approaches the vehicle. This requires a complex circuitry that not only increases the cost of installation but also poses security threats by increasing the possibility of relay attacks that may allow unauthorized access to the vehicle. The use of a single RF antenna of a high frequency eliminates the need of a complex circuitry thereby making the vehicle access system cost effective and since, as per the present disclosure, the remote access to a vehicle is allowed only after the verification of the authenticity of the remote device, the remote access to the vehicle is rendered secure.
Figure 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method for providing secure access to a vehicle using RF technology in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in figure 3, the method 300 includes one or more blocks illustrating a method of facilitating the secure access to the vehicle using the vehicle access system 101. The 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 order in which the method 300 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 block 301, the method includes providing a communication between the remote device 102 and the ECU 103. As mentioned in the above paragraphs, the remote device 102 and the ECU 103 communicate with each other via Radio Frequency (RF) technology that uses radio waves as a medium.
At block 302, the method includes transmitting a RF remote signal by the transmitter 212 of the remote device 102 to access a vehicle. The RF remote signal comprises of an access request and a RSSI value. The RF remote signal is received by the receiver 220 of the ECU 103.
At block 303, the method includes analysis of the RF remote signal by the processor 222 of the ECU 103. The processor 222 analyses the access request and the RSSI value with the authentication data and RSSI threshold value prestored in the memory 221 of the ECU 103. Upon verification of the remote device, the processor 222 generates an acknowledgement signal (ACK).
At block 304, the method includes transmission of the acknowledgement signal (ACK) to the remote device 103 by the transmitter 223 of the ECU 103. Once, the acknowledgement signal is received by the remote device 102, the user can securely access the vehicle.
However, in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure, the remote device 102 and the ECU 103 may also communicate with each other using either Low Frequency (LF) or Near-field Communication (NFC) technology. The ECU 102 comprises at least one of Low frequency (LF) antenna, NFC reader, and NFC antenna and the remote device 103 further comprises at least one of a transponder and NFC tag.
The terms "including", "comprising", “having” and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.
A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.
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 following claims.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

We claim:
1. A vehicle access system (101) for providing secure access to a vehicle, the vehicle
access system (101) comprises:
a remote device (102) and an electronic control unit (ECU) (103), wherein the remote device (102) and the ECU (103) are configured to communicate with each other using a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel;
and wherein the remote device (102) comprises a transceiver (201, 211) configured to transmit a remote RF signal, and wherein the remote RF signal comprises an access request and RSSI value for accessing the vehicle;
and wherein the ECU (103) comprises a transceiver (220, 223) and a processor (222) configured to:
receive the access request and the RSSI value transmitted by the remote device (102);
analyze the access request and the RSSI value with prestored authentication data and RSSI threshold value respectively in order to determine authenticity of the remote device (102); and
provide the secure access to the vehicle based on the analyzing.
2. The vehicle access system (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) further comprises at least one of Low frequency (LF) antenna, NFC reader, and NFC antenna.
3. The vehicle access system (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote device (102) further comprises at least one of a transponder and NFC tag.
4. The vehicle access system (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ECU (103) is further configured to transmit an acknowledgment RF signal to the remote device (102), wherein the acknowledgment RF signal indicates the successful authentication of the remote device (102).
5. The vehicle access system (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein single radio frequency (RF) antenna is a 433 MHz RF antenna.
6. A method of providing secure access to a vehicle, the method comprising:

providing a remote device (102) and an electronic control unit (ECU) (103), wherein the remote device (102) and the ECU (103) are configured to communicate with each other using a single radio frequency (RF) antenna over a single communication channel, wherein the method comprising:
transmitting, by a transceiver (210, 211) of the remote device (102), a remote RF signal, wherein the remote RF signal comprises an access request and RSSI value for accessing the vehicle;
receiving, by a transceiver (220, 223) of the ECU (103), the access request and the RSSI value transmitted by the remote device (102);
analyzing, by a processor (222) of the ECU (103), the access request and the RSSI value with prestored authentication data and RSSI threshold value respectively in order to determine authenticity of the remote device (102); and
providing, by the processor (222) of the ECU (103), the secure access to the vehicle based on the analyzing.
7. The method as claimed in claim, 6, wherein the ECU (103) further comprises at least one of Low frequency (LF) antenna, NFC reader, and NFC antenna.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the remote device (102) further comprises at least one of a transponder and NFC tag.
9. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising transmitting an acknowledgment RF signal, by the ECU (103), to the remote device (102), wherein the acknowledgment RF signal indicates the successful authentication of the remote device (102).
10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein single radio frequency (RF) antenna is a 433 MHz RF antenna.