Abstract:
Long-range remote communication and control of a vehicle is achieved with primary and secondary cellular devices provided by the vehicle user. The primary cellular device is retained by the user, while the secondary cellular device is dedicated to the vehicle and placed in a docking station provided in a vehicle instrument panel or console. The vehicle docking station is equipped with typical cell phone electrical interfaces to supply battery charging current and to establish a bi-directional data communication link between the secondary cellular device and an on-board vehicle computer. The secondary cellular device remains activated, and provides a low-cost remotely accessible communication link between the on-board vehicle computer and the primary cellular device or any other phone, provided that specified security conditions are satisfied.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to remote communications and control for a vehicle, and more particularly to a low-cost method and apparatus utilizing user-provided primary and secondary cellular phones. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Short-range remote access and control of a motor vehicle can be achieved with a user-borne low-power RF transceiver such as a so-called “smart key fob”. For example, the fob can be used not only to gain entry to the vehicle, but also to start the engine, access vehicle status information, and so forth. Similar functionality can be achieved with a personal communication device such as a cell phone or PDA, as described for example in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,703 to Fuchs et al. and the U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,262 to Simon et al., both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0003]    Long-range remote communication and control can be achieved by equipping the vehicle with a cellular transceiver so that a personal communication device such as a cell phone or PDA can communicate with the vehicle via a cellular link. While this approach can reduce vehicle cost by utilizing the battery, display and keyboard of the personal communication device, it requires an on-board cellular transceiver and a separate cellular service contract. This not only increases vehicle and owner cost, but also can lead to owner upgrade expense when advances in communication technology render the on-board equipment obsolete. Accordingly, what is desired is an improved and lower-cost way of achieving long-range remote communication and control for a vehicle with personal communication device. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is directed to an improved method and apparatus for achieving long-range remote communication and control for a vehicle with primary and secondary cellular devices provided by the vehicle user. The primary cellular device is retained by the user, while the secondary cellular device is dedicated to the vehicle and placed in a docking station provided in the vehicle instrument panel or console. The docking station is equipped with typical cell phone electrical interfaces to supply battery charging current and to establish a bi-directional data communication link between the secondary cellular device and an on-board vehicle computer such as a body computer. The secondary cellular device remains activated, and provides a low-cost remotely accessible communication link between the on-board vehicle computer and the primary cellular device, provided that specified security conditions are satisfied. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of a bi-directional long-range communication network between a remote user and an on-board vehicle computer according to this invention, including primary and secondary user-provided cellular devices. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram depicting an exemplary communication protocol for user-initiated long-range vehicle communication and control according to this invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram detailing a portion of the flow diagram of  FIG. 2  concerning the processing of a user request. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram depicting an exemplary long-range communication initiated by the on-board vehicle computer of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0009]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the reference numeral  10  generally designates a vehicle equipped with a docking station  12  configured to receive a dedicated cell phone  14  (also referred to herein as the secondary cell phone or secondary cellular device) provided by the vehicle owner/operator. The vehicle  10  includes a microprocessor-based controller  16  such as a body computer (BC) that communicates with various other on-board controllers such as security controller  18  and engine controller  20 , and various actuators  22  such as power door lock and power window actuators, as indicated by bus  23 . Additionally, the vehicle  10  includes a 12-volt switched outlet  24  for supplying power to user-provided electrical accessories. 
         [0010]    The docking station  12  functions both to physically support secondary cell phone  14  and to link it to body computer  16  and switched outlet  24 . A phone charging cable  26  couples the switched outlet  24  to the charge port of secondary cell phone  14  to charge its internal battery, and a variety of typical wired and wireless communication interfaces are provided to establish a communication link between secondary cell phone  14  and body computer  16 . The illustration of  FIG. 1  shows both a wired communication link  28  and a wireless communication link  30 . The wired communication link  28  may be a digital interface such as a USB or Firewire cable, or an analog interface such as a headset cable. The wireless interface may be an infrared optical link, or a very-short-range RF communication link such as a Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 WiFi link. In the illustration of  FIG. 1 , it is assumed that body computer  16  includes internal transceivers  32 ,  34  for supporting the wired/wireless communication links, but external transceivers may be used instead. Optionally, vehicle  10  may be equipped with a remote antenna  36  for enhancing the signal reception of secondary cell phone  14 ; in this case, an antenna cable  38  routed between the remote antenna  36  and the docking station  12  couples the remote antenna  36  to a remote antenna port on secondary cell phone  14 . 
         [0011]    The reference numeral  40  designates a user-provided portable cellular device (also referred to herein as the primary cell phone or primary cellular device) such as a cell phone or PDA that is kept the possession of the user (i.e., the vehicle owner/operator). The reference numeral  42  designates a cellular communication network establishing a cellular communication link between primary cell phone  40  and the secondary cell phone  14  docked in vehicle  10 . Through the two cellular devices  14  and  40 , network  42 , docking station  12 , and the communication interfaces  28  or  30 , the owner/operator can remotely access vehicle body computer  16 . The body computer  16 , in turn, is programmed to recognize and accept calls placed to secondary cellular device  40  from primary cellular device  40  by the user, and thereafter to process vehicle-related requests communicated from the primary cellular device  40  to the secondary cellular device  14  for commanding a vehicle action (door locking and unlocking, for example) and/or requesting vehicle status, location or diagnostic data, as described below in reference to  FIGS. 2-3 . Additionally, the body computer  16  can be programmed to initiate periodic or event-driven communications from the secondary cellular device  14  to the primary cellular device  40  or another cellular or land line phone, as described below in reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0012]    While the above-mentioned functionality can be achieved by equipping the vehicle  10  with expensive telematics equipment, as suggested in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,703 to Fuchs et al. for example, the arrangement of  FIG. 1  is superior for at least two reasons. First, the arrangement of  FIG. 1  provides a significant cost advantage because expensive OEM or after-market vehicle telematics hardware and the associated cellular service contract are replaced with the simple interfaces  26 ,  28 ,  30  shown in  FIG. 1 , the relatively inexpensive user-provided cellular devices  14 ,  40 , and a user-provided cellular service contract. Typically, the cost savings for the vehicle (including hardware and cellular service) will far exceed the cost of the user-provided cellular devices  14 ,  40  and cellular service contract. The cost advantage to the user is even more significant in most cases because the user will already have a portable cellular device (primary cellular device  40 , for example) and a cellular service contract; and in these cases, the user need only “add a line” (secondary cellular device  14 , for example) to the existing cellular service contract. In current markets in the United States, adding a line to an existing cellular service contract costs only a small additional monthly fee (such as $10) and the cost of the additional cellular device  14  (which is usually heavily discounted by the service provider). And second, the arrangement of  FIG. 1  avoids the problem that can occur when the expensive OEM or after-market vehicle telematics hardware becomes obsolete due to technology migration. With the disclosed arrangement, the owner/operator can upgrade to new cellular devices  14 ,  40  at any time, and the on-board interfaces  26 ,  28 ,  30  remain unchanged. 
         [0013]    The flow diagrams of  FIGS. 2-3  illustrate an exemplary process by which the vehicle user can remotely access vehicle body computer  16  for issuing vehicle control commands and/or receiving vehicle status, location or diagnostic information. The process begins at block  50  where the user initiates a call from primary cellular device  40  to secondary cellular device  14 . The call may be placed strictly through cellular network  42 , or alternately, may be initiated through the internet as a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication. As indicated at block  52 , the body computer  16  initially screens incoming calls based on caller ID information, or distinctive ring tone if the analog headset interface  28  is used. If the incoming call is not recognized, body computer  16  commands secondary cellular device  14  to ignore the call as indicated at block  54 . If the incoming call is recognized, body computer  16  commands secondary cellular device  14  to answer the call, and then verifies that the call is being made by an authorized user, as indicated at blocks  56  and  58 . User authorization may be verified through the use of a personal identification number (PIN), a digital encryption key, or even voice recognition of a set password or phrase. If an authorized user cannot be verified, body computer  16  commands secondary cellular device  14  to end the call, as indicated at blocks  60 - 62 . If user authorization is verified, body computer  16  prompts the user to issue a request using voice or prearranged key entries, as indicated at block  64 . Body computer  16  processes the user request as indicated at block  66 , and then prompts the user to enter the next request. If the next request is an end call request, body computer  16  commands the secondary cellular device  14  to end the call, as indicated at blocks  68 - 70 . 
         [0014]      FIG. 3  details block  66  of  FIG. 2 , which processes user requests once user authorization has been verified. Referring to  FIG. 3 , body computer  16  first determines if the received request is a request for a vehicle action (such as door locking or unlocking) or a request for data (such as diagnostic data), as indicated at block  72 . If the user is requesting a vehicle action, body computer  16  executes blocks  74  and  78  to send the appropriate command to the vehicle system and to issue a confirmation response to primary cellular device  40  via secondary cellular device  14 . If the user is requesting data, body computer  16  executes blocks  76  and  78  to obtain the requested data from the appropriate vehicle system and to relay the data to primary cellular device  40  via secondary cellular device  14 . 
         [0015]    The communication process of  FIGS. 2-3  is considered to be exemplary as indicated, and does not explore the many variations that are possible. For instance, the  FIGS. 2-3  assume that the user initiates an ordinary cellular network call from primary cellular device  40 . However, the call may alternately be placed from a different cellular device, or from any internet-accessible device such as a portable or desktop personal computer using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), for example. Also, many different kinds of user requests are possible. For example, when secondary cellular device  14  has GPS capability, it can be accessed by the primary cellular device  40  to determine the vehicle location, and in conjunction with the GPS capability of the primary cellular device  40 , to provide the user with turn-by-turn or line-of-sight directions to find vehicle  10 . In a similar vein, a secondary cellular device  14  having GPS-based navigation capability can serve as a low-cost on-board navigation system for vehicle  10 . As a further example, if secondary cellular device  14  is equipped with an integral camera, the user can request the secondary cellular device  14  to capture and transmit a digital image to primary cellular device  40  or some other device. While there are many such possibilities, these are considered to be particularly significant because they leverage the capability of secondary cellular device  14  to provide new and desirable functions in vehicles that lack the hardware that would otherwise be required to provide similar functionality. In many cases, the above (and other) functions can be enabled and/or enhanced by downloading custom application software, or applets, into the primary and/or secondary cellular devices  40 ,  14 ; for example, applets provided by the vehicle manufacturer or its supplier can be used to provide a custom graphical user interface (GUI) for the primary and/or secondary cellular devices  40 ,  14 . 
         [0016]    The flow diagram of  FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary process by which body computer  16  initiates periodic or event-driven communications to primary cellular device  40  or another cellular or land-line phone. In the case of event-driven communications, the call may be triggered by a detected event such as a break-in attempt or unauthorized use of the vehicle, a crash event, low tire pressure, a vehicle battery disconnect (a potential theft indication), and so on. Usually, the events that trigger a communication are detected by body computer  16 , but certain events such as a vehicle battery disconnection can be inferred by the secondary cellular device  14  if there is an apparent failure of the switched outlet  24 . In other words, disconnecting the vehicle battery will not necessarily prevent the secondary cellular device  14  from alerting the user or other specified entity that the battery has been disconnected because power for initiating the communication is derived from the internal battery of the secondary cellular device  14 . 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the vehicle-initiated communication process begins at block  80  where body computer  16  initiates a call to primary cellular device  40  or another specified landline or cellular device using the secondary cellular device  14 . Advantageously, the phone number(s) of the outgoing call can vary depending on the nature of the triggering event to ensure that a prompt and suitable response is obtained. Blocks  82 - 84  indicate that an alternate number can be called if the initially called number fails to answer within a specified time. Once the call is answered, body computer  16  commands secondary cellular device  14  to transmit the specified data or a recorded message, and to end the phone call, as indicated by blocks  86 - 88 . 
         [0018]    As with the user-initiated communication example of  FIGS. 2-3 , the vehicle-initiated communication example of  FIG. 4  is specific and does not explore the many variations that are possible. For example, in cases where the secondary cellular device  14  is equipped with a camera, body computer  16  can command the secondary cellular device  14  to capture and transmit a digital image of the vehicle passenger compartment in response to a specified event such as a break-in or unauthorized vehicle use. And as with user-initiated communications, many of the above (and other) vehicle-initiated communications can be enabled and/or enhanced by downloading custom software applets into the primary and/or secondary cellular devices  40 ,  14 . 
         [0019]    In summary, the present invention provides an improved and low-cost way of achieving long-range remote communication and control for a vehicle with a primary cellular device or other internet-accessible device. In effect, an inexpensive user-provided secondary cellular device  14  takes the place of expensive on-board OEM or after-market telematics equipment that requires separate cellular service and is prone to obsolescence. Moreover, any functionality embedded in the secondary cellular device  14  such as navigation and digital imaging becomes accessible to a remote user to provide additional functionality without requiring additional on-board equipment and services. 
         [0020]    While the present invention has been described with respect to the illustrated embodiment, it is recognized that numerous modifications and variations in addition to those mentioned herein will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims.