Remote deactivation of function activation for a vehicle

Switching off the activability of a function by radio for a vehicle

The present invention relates to the deactivation of the activability of a function by radio for a vehicle.

The <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="DE10233597A1"><text>DE 102 33 597 A1</text></patcit> Discloses an access system for a vehicle, wherein a warning signal can be output to a key when access is made to an object secured with this key.

Most of the vehicles can be operated according to the state of the art via a radio remote control. However, this operability by means of radio has the disadvantage that an unauthorized person can operate the vehicle without being in possession of the authorized key. An example of the operation of a vehicle without the possession of the authorized key is the so-called relay attack or relay station attack, in which the limited range of the authorized key is extended with relay stations in order to allow the owner of the authorized key to access the Vehicle.

Therefore, the present invention has the task of making an unauthorized access by means of radio commands to a vehicle at least difficult.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method for activating a function of a vehicle according to claim 1, by a vehicle according to claim 10 and by a system according to claim 12. The dependent claims define preferred and advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

Within the scope of the present invention, a method is provided for activating a function of a vehicle, the method comprising the following steps:<ul><li>Transmitting a radio command from a portable device (eg a radio key or a smartphone) to the vehicle. This radio command is used to activate the function of the vehicle.</li><li>Activate the function if the activation capability of this function is not switched off by radio. In other words, the activation of the function via radio (ie with a radio command) may be permitted or not allowed. The function can only be activated via the radio command if the activation of the function is permitted by radio (ie the activability of the function is activated by radio). In particular, upon receipt of the radio command to activate the function, it is first checked whether the activation capability of this function is switched on or off by radio. Only if the activation capability of the function is switched on or not switched off by radio, the radio command leads to the activation of the function.</li></ul>

By means of the method according to the invention, the user of a vehicle can deactivate the activation of certain or all functions of the vehicle by means of radio in certain situations (for example in unclear environments when the user estimates the risk of theft of the vehicle as high) (ie, To activate the corresponding functions with a radio command), so that the vehicle can then be operated, for example, only with a mechanical key (or so that the function of the vehicle can subsequently only be activated using a mechanical key, for example). If the activation of a certain function by radio is not possible, a relay attack for activating this function is also not possible.

The following functions can be used with the function or with the functions whose activatable capability can be switched off by radio:<ul><li>Unlocking a central locking system of the vehicle.</li><li>Starting a drive motor of the vehicle.</li></ul>

It is, of course, possible according to the invention to switch off the activability by means of radio for every conceivable function of the vehicle.

The deactivation of the activability of the function (s) is effected in particular by a user.

The activation and deactivation of the activatability of the function (s) can, for example, be carried out within the vehicle so that it is ensured that the activability can only be performed by a person who has access to the vehicle. However, other scenarios are also conceivable in order to enable or disable the activatability of the function (s), as described below.

For example, the radio's activability of the function can be turned off when a certain radio command is received from the vehicle by the vehicle. In other words, it is no longer possible to activate the function by means of radio (ie, a radio command assigned to the function) if the vehicle previously receives the specific radio command for deactivating the activability.

In this embodiment, the activability of the function by means of radio can thus advantageously be switched off itself via the radio remote control (eg a radio key or smartphone).

A further possibility is to deactivate the activability of the function by radio if the portable device is no longer within the radio reception range of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the vehicle is put into a kind of pre-operation condition. As long as the vehicle is in this pre-operational condition and detects the portable device (ie, the portable device is within the radio range of the vehicle), the function can be activated by radio (ie via a corresponding radio command of the portable device). As soon as the vehicle can no longer establish a communication link to the portable device (ie, the portable device has left the radio receiving range of the vehicle), the vehicle leaves its pre-powered mode and the radio's capability to be activated is turned off. This also applies in particular (ie, the activability of the radio function remains switched off) when the portable device is again within the range of the vehicle.

As a variant of the above-described embodiment, the activability of the function by means of radio can only be switched off if a certain radio command of the portable device is previously detected by the vehicle.

In this variant, the vehicle is switched to the pre-circuit operating state by the reception of the specific radio command. However, as soon as the portable device is removed from the radio range of the vehicle, the vehicle leaves its pre-circuit operating state and turns off the activability of the function by radio, as described above.

According to a further embodiment according to the invention, the activability of the function by radio is only switched off for a predetermined period of time. After this predetermined period of time, the function can again be activated by radio. In this case, the predetermined period of time can be configured, for example, by the user of the vehicle. In addition, it is also conceivable to specify a minimum period of time and a maximum period of time, whereby limits can be predetermined within which the user can choose the time span.

This further embodiment can be combined with all previously described possibilities for switching off the activability of the function by means of radio. This embodiment offers the advantage that the activability of the function does not need to be switched on manually, since the activability is automatically switched on after the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

This further embodiment can be combined with some embodiments described above to form the following variants:<ul><li>For example, the predetermined period of time can only begin to run when a certain radio command is received from the vehicle by the vehicle. In this variant, the particular radio command from the portable device switches off the activability of the function by means of radio, whereby the activability is then automatically switched on again after expiration of the predetermined period of time. In this variant, if the portable device is still within the radio reception range of the vehicle when the period of time elapses, the expiration of the time period may be restarted by the portable device issuing the particular radio command again and receiving it from the vehicle.</li><li>For example, the predetermined period of time can only begin to run as the portable device moves out of the radio reception range of the vehicle. In this variant, the vehicle is in the above-described pre-circuit operating state. When the vehicle can no longer establish a communication link to the portable device (ie, the portable device has left the radio receiving range of the vehicle), the vehicle exits that pre-powered mode and turns off the activability of the function.</li><li>A combination of the previously described variants is also possible. In this case, the vehicle is placed in the pre-circuit operating state by means of a specific radio command of the portable device. As soon as the portable device moves out of the radio reception range of the vehicle, the vehicle leaves this pre-operational state and turns off the activability of the function, which is then switched on again after the lapse of the predetermined period of time.</li></ul>

With the portable device it can be signaled that the activability of the function is switched off by means of radio.

With this embodiment, the user is advantageously informed via the portable device that the activation of the function via radio is at least temporarily impossible.

Within the scope of the present invention, a vehicle is also provided which comprises radio means. The radio means are configured to receive a radio command of a portable device (eg radio key or smartphone). The vehicle is configured to activate a function of the vehicle if, on the one hand, the radio command is detected and, on the other hand, the activability of the radio function is not switched off.

The vehicle according to the invention differs from a vehicle according to the prior art in that, in the case of the vehicle according to the invention, the activability of the function (s) can be switched off by radio and, in particular, can also be switched on.

The advantages of the vehicle according to the invention essentially correspond to the advantages of the method according to the invention, which are shown in detail beforehand, so that a repetition is omitted here.

Finally, within the scope of the present invention, a system is provided comprising a portable device and a vehicle. The portable device includes radio means for transmitting a radio command to the vehicle. The vehicle includes radio means for receiving the radio command of the portable device. The vehicle is designed to activate a function of the vehicle, depending on the radio command, if an activability of the radio function is not switched off.

The advantages of the system according to the invention also substantially correspond to the advantages of the method according to the invention, which are shown in detail beforehand, so that a repetition is omitted here.

According to a preferred embodiment, the portable device comprises signaling means for signaling that the activability of the function is switched off by radio.

When the portable device transmits its radio command to the vehicle for activation of the function and the vehicle detects that it can not activate the function out of the radio command since the activability of this function is switched off by radio the vehicle can send a corresponding negative acknowledgment to the vehicle Portable device. With the aid of their signaling means, which can be optical, acoustic or haptic, the portable device signals to the user that the activability of the function by radio in the vehicle is at least temporarily switched off.

The present invention is particularly suitable for motor vehicles. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to this preferred application since the present invention is also applicable to ships, aircraft, track-linked or tracked vehicles. Even the use in stationary objects (eg opening a door of a building) is conceivable.

In the following, the present invention is explained in detail with reference to the figures on the basis of preferred embodiments according to the invention.

In <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> A system according to the invention and a vehicle according to the invention is shown schematically.

In <figref idrefs="f0002">FIG</figref> The flow chart for explaining the invention is illustrated.

In <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> A vehicle 10 according to the invention is shown schematically, which comprises a device 20. This device 20 in turn comprises a radio receiver 1 and a control 2. In addition, in FIG<figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> A portable device 30 is shown which comprises an actuating element 3, a radio transmitter 4 and an LED 5. The device 20 of the vehicle 10 and the portable device 30 form a system 40 according to the invention.

When the user of the portable device 30 activates the operating device 3 of the portable device 30 to activate a function of the vehicle 10, the portable device 30 transmits a radio command to the vehicle 10 via its radio transmitter 4. This radio command is transmitted by the radio receiver 1 of the device 20, Of the vehicle 10 and is evaluated by the controller 2. The controller 2 checks whether the activability of the function is switched on or off by radio. When the activability of the function is activated, the controller 2 activates the function of the vehicle 10. If the activability of the function by means of radio is switched off, the function is not activated. In this case, the device 20 or the vehicle 10 can send a negative acknowledgment to the portable device 30. When the device 30 receives this negative acknowledgment, the user is signaled to the user via the LED 5 that the function can not be activated by radio. In this case, the user can, for example, activate the corresponding function manually (without a radio command) by means of a mechanical key, which is authorized for the vehicle 10.

In <figref idrefs="f0002">FIG</figref> A flowchart is shown to describe the method according to the invention.

In step S1, a deactivation period is configured or set. This deactivation period defines a period of time during which activation of a particular function of the vehicle via a radio command is not possible. In step S2, the vehicle is locked, and in step S3 the vehicle 10 recognizes that the radio key 30 authorized for the vehicle 10 has moved out of the radio reception range of the vehicle 10. As soon as the vehicle 10 has detected in step S3 that the radio key 30 is no longer within the radio reception range of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 switches off the activability of the corresponding function, and the deactivation period begins to run.

When a radio command for activating the corresponding function (in the present example of the unlocking of the vehicle 10) is subsequently detected in step S4, a check is made in step S5 as to whether the corresponding function can be activated by radio, which is the case when the deactivation- Time has expired. If the time interval has expired (ie the corresponding function can be activated again by radio), the corresponding function is activated (in the present case, the vehicle 10 is unlocked in step S6). If, on the other hand, the period of time has not elapsed (ie the activability of the corresponding function by means of radio is still switched off), the function is not activated or activated (the vehicle 10 is not unlocked) and the radio key 30 is signaled in step S7 , That the function can not be activated by radio.

Reference list

<dl id="dl0001" compact="compact"><dt>1</dt><dd>Radio receivers</dd><dt>2</dt><dd>control</dd><dt>3</dt><dd>Actuating element</dd><dt>4</dt><dd>Radio transmitters</dd><dt>5</dt><dd>LED</dd><dt>10</dt><dd>vehicle</dd><dt>20</dt><dd>device</dd><dt>30</dt><dd>Wireless key</dd><dt>40</dt><dd>system</dd><dt>S1-S7</dt><dd>Process step</dd></dl>