CN-122026561-A - System, method and vehicle for providing a secure charging port at an exterior of the vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and vehicles for providing a secure charging port at the exterior of the vehicle. Systems, methods, and vehicles are disclosed herein. For example, the present disclosure securely provides a charging port to a user at the exterior of a vehicle. The port may be a wireless charging pad so that the user can receive power without having to carry a portable charger and cable. The port may not be easily visible to a person in the vehicle environment. The present disclosure supports communities, for example, providing charging mechanisms via ports of vehicles in natural disasters. The present disclosure protects the vehicle battery and prevents abuse by utilizing a limited charge duration (e.g., 1 minute to 10 minutes, sufficient to unlock the vehicle) and/or by allowing a subsequent charge session if the vehicle is unlocked.

Inventors

• Y.A.Zhao
• D. G. Butler
• C. KOLBURT
• A. Xivasitan Balsan

Assignees

• 瑞维安知识产权控股有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20251110

Priority Date

20251021

Claims (20)

1. 1. A vehicle, the vehicle comprising: A port located at an exterior portion of the vehicle, and The processing circuitry is configured to process the data, the processing circuit is configured to: Detecting a signal indicating that a user device is coupled to the port, and Based on whether one or more criteria are met, it is determined whether power is provided to the user device via the port at a first rate or at a second rate, wherein the second rate is slower than the first rate.
2. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether an emergency state is associated with a location of the vehicle, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: determining that the emergency condition is associated with the location of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the emergency state is associated with the location of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate.
3. 3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate.
4. 4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to provide power to the user device at the second rate via the port prior to determining that the user device is associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle.
5. 5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the second rate for a period of time, and the power is stopped from being provided to the user device via the port when the period of time is determined to have elapsed.
6. 6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; Providing a notification to a user device of an authorized user of the vehicle indicating that an unauthorized user is attempting to use the port to receive power for his user device based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on receiving approval from the user device of the authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate or the second rate.
7. 7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the notification further comprises a video of the unauthenticated user in the vicinity of the vehicle.
8. 8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; Providing a notification to a user device of an authorized user of the vehicle indicating that an unauthorized user is attempting to use the port to receive power for his user device based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on not receiving a response to the notification from the user device of the authorized user of the vehicle, or based on receiving a selection of a negative option, it is determined to block provision of the power to the user device.
9. 9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle is below a threshold, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold value, and Based on determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold, providing power to the user device via the port at the first rate or the second rate for a period of time, and ceasing to provide the power to the user device via the port when the period of time is determined to have elapsed.
10. 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle and whether a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle is below a threshold, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold value, and Based on a determination that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle and the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold, it is determined to block provision of the power to the user device.
11. 11. A method, the method comprising: Detecting, by the processing circuit, a signal indicating that the user device is coupled to a port, wherein the port is located at an exterior portion of the vehicle; determining, by the processing circuitry, whether to provide power to the user device via the port at a first rate or at a second rate based on whether one or more criteria are met, wherein the second rate is slower than the first rate.
12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether an emergency state is associated with a location of the vehicle, and wherein the method further comprises: determining that the emergency condition is associated with the location of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the emergency state is associated with the location of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate.
13. 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the method further comprises: Determining that the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate.
14. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing power to the user device via the port at the second rate prior to determining that the user device is associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle.
15. 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the method further comprises: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the second rate for a period of time, and the power is stopped from being provided to the user device via the port when the period of time is determined to have elapsed.
16. 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and wherein the method further comprises: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; Providing a notification to a user device of an authorized user of the vehicle indicating that an unauthorized user is attempting to use the port to receive power for his user device based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on receiving approval from the user device of the authenticated user of the vehicle, power is provided to the user device via the port at the first rate or the second rate.
17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the notification further comprises a video of the unauthenticated user in the vicinity of the vehicle.
18. 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and wherein the method further comprises: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; Providing a notification to a user device of an authorized user of the vehicle indicating that an unauthorized user is attempting to use the port to receive power for his user device based on determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and Based on not receiving a response to the notification from the user device of the authorized user of the vehicle, or based on receiving a selection of a negative option, it is determined to block provision of the power to the user device.
19. 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle is below a threshold, and wherein the method further comprises: determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold value, and Based on determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold, providing power to the user device via the port at the first rate or the second rate for a period of time, and ceasing to provide the power to the user device via the port when the period of time is determined to have elapsed.
20. 20. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle and whether a state of charge of a battery of the vehicle is below a threshold, and wherein the method further comprises: Determining that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle; determining that the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold value, and Based on a determination that the user device is not associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle and the state of charge of the battery of the vehicle is below the threshold, it is determined to block provision of the power to the user device.

Description

System, method and vehicle for providing a secure charging port at an exterior of the vehicle Cross Reference to Related Applications The present disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/719,065, filed 11 at 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Introduction to the invention The smart phone may be used as a key to access the vehicle. However, if the smartphone battery is depleted (or the smartphone is lost) while the user is at a location outside of home, the user may eventually be locked out of the car and may become trapped in that location. Disclosure of Invention As disclosed herein, the present disclosure provides vehicles, systems, methods, non-transitory computer-readable media, and devices, wherein a user may be securely provided a charging port at the exterior of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the port may be a wireless charging pad, enabling the user to receive power without the need to carry a portable charger and cable. In some embodiments, the port may not be easily visible to a person (e.g., "an knowledgeable") in the vehicle environment. In some embodiments, the present disclosure supports communities, for example, providing charging mechanisms via ports of vehicles in natural disasters. In some embodiments, the present disclosure protects the vehicle battery and prevents abuse by utilizing a limited charge duration (e.g., 1 minute to 10 minutes, sufficient to unlock the vehicle) and/or by allowing a subsequent charge session if the vehicle is unlocked (e.g., based on power received during an initial session at the port), and/or the port may be configured to provide power to only certain devices (e.g., if the owner's smart phone is lost, may be configured to provide power to a smart phone such as a friend). In some embodiments, the user device may be authenticated, for example, based on data received via a bluetooth signal or via any other suitable mechanism. As disclosed herein, the present disclosure provides vehicles, systems, methods, non-transitory computer-readable media, and apparatuses, wherein a port is located at an exterior portion of a vehicle, and processing circuitry is configured to detect a signal indicative of a user device being coupled to the port, and determine whether to provide power to the user device via the port at a first rate or at a second rate based on whether one or more criteria are met, wherein the second rate is slower than the first rate. In some implementations, the one or more criteria include whether the emergency state is associated with a location of the vehicle, and wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine that the emergency state is associated with the location of the vehicle, and based on determining that the emergency state is associated with the location of the vehicle, provide power to the user device via the port at the first rate. In some implementations, the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to determine that the user device is associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, and based on determining that the user device is associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, provide power to the user device via the port at a first rate. In some implementations, the processing circuit is further configured to provide power to the user device via the port at a second rate prior to determining that the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle. In some implementations, the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuit is further configured to determine that the user device is not associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, and based on determining that the user device is not associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, provide power to the user device via the port at the second rate for a period of time, and stop providing power to the user device via the port when it is determined that the period of time has elapsed. In some implementations, the one or more criteria include whether the user device is associated with an authenticated user of the vehicle, and the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the user device is not associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, provide a notification to a user device of an authorized user of the vehicle based on determining that the user device is not associated with the authenticated user of the vehicle, indicate that the unauthorized user is attempting to use the port to receive power for its user device, and provide power to the user device at the first rate or the second rate via the port based on receiving approval from the user device of the authenticated user of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the notif