Patent ID: 11951945
Assignee: ENTERPRISE ELECTRONIC LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 18:
19. A system for remote keyless entry (RKE) into a vehicle having an RKE control unit, a body, a door, and a door actuator configured to unlock and lock the door, the system comprising:
(i) a near field communication (NFC) entry device configured to permit ingress to and egress from the vehicle via the door in a first manner, the NFC entry device comprising:
a housing defining a cavity and configured to mount to the body of the vehicle; and
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) enclosed within the cavity, comprising:
a radio frequency (RF) transmitter chipset having an RF antenna;
an inductor coil;
an NFC receiver integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the inductor coil, and including a steering diode and a voltage regulator;
a capacitor coupled to the NFC receiver IC;
a standby battery;
a first semiconductor switch;
a DC-DC converter coupled to the capacitor; and
a microcontroller connected to the NFC receiver IC, the capacitor, and the first semiconductor switch, wherein the NFC entry device is configured to passively harvest energy from an NFC-enabled mobile device in proximity to the NFC entry device, via the inductor coil by operation of the microcontroller, store the energy in the capacitor, and thereafter selectively use the energy in the capacitor when a voltage level of the capacitor exceeds a calibrated threshold voltage to communicate an access control signal to the RKE control unit via the RF antenna and thereby activate the door actuator, and to direct battery energy stored in the standby battery through the first semiconductor switch to thereby communicate the access control signal to the RKE control unit via the RF antenna when the voltage level of the capacitor is less than the calibrated voltage level; and

(ii) an alphanumeric keypad connected to the body of the vehicle and connected to the RKE control unit, the alphanumeric keypad being configured to permit ingress to and egress from the vehicle via the door in a second manner.