DE-102025146440-A1 - VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS ACTIVATION SYSTEM

Abstract

A vehicle includes a controller configured to connect to a network and to receive a function activation request that references an owner. The controller is configured to publish an event, including the function activation request, to an event network. Each component of the vehicle's multitude of components is configured to execute the function activation request if it is the owner referenced in the event's function activation request. These multitude of components can be electronic control units (ECUs). Each component can be configured to execute the function activation request by activating a function present in that component before receiving the function activation request from the controller, without reflashing the component. Each component can publish events for processing by other components in response to the function activation request.

Inventors

• Ashkan HADIAN
• Adam Arsenault
• Daniel Santos
• Venkata Sunil Kishore Gupta Padakanti
• Sunil Bhagwath
• Abdallah Mohammed
• Vamsi Ravulapalli
• Atrayee Nag
• Akshat Vasudev

Assignees

• RIVIAN IP HOLDINGS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20251111

Priority Date

20251105

Claims (20)

1. Vehicle, comprising: a plurality of components and a controller configured to connect to a network and further configured to receive a function activation request referencing an owner; and publish an event, including the function activation request, to an event network; wherein each component of the plurality of components is configured to, if it is the owner referred to in the event's function activation request, execute the function activation request.
2. Vehicle after Claim 1 , the multitude of components including electronic control units (ECUs).
3. Vehicle after Claim 1 , wherein each component is further configured to execute the function activation request by activating a function that exists in the respective component before receiving the function activation request from the controller.
4. Vehicle after Claim 1 , where each component is further configured to execute the feature activation request without needing to be reflashed.
5. Vehicle after Claim 1 , where the event network comprises a publisher/subscriber network.
6. Vehicle after Claim 5 , where each component is a subscriber of the publisher/subscriber network and is further configured to capture the event, as the event refers to a component identifier (CID) of the respective component.
7. Vehicle after Claim 1 , wherein the controller executes an application, wherein the controller is further configured to receive a configuration change from a user and, in response to the configuration changes made by the user, to transmit the configuration change to a remote computer system; wherein the function activation request is received from the remote computer system in response to the configuration change.
8. Vehicle after Claim 7 , where the remote computer system is a cloud computing platform.
9. Vehicle after Claim 1 , where each component of the multitude of components is further configured to verify that one or more lock conditions are satisfied before executing the function activation request.
10. Vehicle after Claim 1 , wherein the event is a first event and each component is further configured to execute the function activation request by publishing one or more second events in the event network, the one or more second events referencing one or more other components of the plurality of components.
11. Method comprising: Receiving, by a vehicle control unit of a vehicle, a function activation request that refers to an owner; Publishing, by the vehicle control unit, an event including the function activation request in an event network; Determining, by a component of a plurality of vehicle components, that it is the owner; and in response to the determination that the component is the owner, executing the function activation request by the component.
12. Procedure according to Claim 11 , the multitude of components including electronic control units (ECUs).
13. Procedure according to Claim 11 , furthermore encompassing the execution of the function activation request by the component by activating a function that exists in the component before the function activation request is received by the controller.
14. Procedure according to Claim 11 , furthermore encompassing the execution of the function activation request by the component without re-flashing it.
15. Procedure according to Claim 11 , where the event network is a publisher/subscriber network.
16. Procedure according to Claim 15 , wherein the component is a subscriber of the publisher/subscriber network, the method further comprising the component capturing the event due to the fact that the event refers to a component identifier (CID) of the respective component.
17. Procedure according to Claim 11 , further comprising: receiving, by means of an application executed by the vehicle control unit, a configuration change made by the user; and transmitting, by means of the application, the configuration change to a remote computer system in response to the configuration change by the user; wherein the function activation request is received by the remote computer system in response to the configuration change.
18. Procedure according to Claim 11 Furthermore, it includes verifying, by the component, that one or more lock conditions are met before the function activation request is executed.
19. Procedure according to Claim 11 , wherein the event is a first event and the method further comprises the execution, by the component, of the function activation request by publishing one or more second events in the event network, wherein the one or more second events refer to one or more other components of the plurality of components.
20. Non-transitory, machine-readable medium that stores executable code which, when executed by a vehicle controller and a plurality of vehicle components, causes the vehicle controller and/or the plurality of vehicle components to: Receive, through the vehicle controller, a function activation request that points to an owner; Publish, through the vehicle controller, an event including the function activation request in an event network; Determine, through a component of the plurality of vehicle components, that it is the owner; and in response to the determination that the component is the owner, execute the function activation request.

Description

RELATED REGISTRATION This application incorporates the rights of the preliminary US application with the serial number 63/719,074 , submitted on November 11, 2025, entitled “VEHICLE FEATURE ACTIVATION SYSTEM”, which is hereby incorporated in full by reference. AREA OF INVENTION This registration relates to a system for activating vehicle features or functions. SUMMARY From one perspective, a vehicle comprises a multitude of components. The vehicle includes a controller configured to connect to a network and, furthermore, configured to receive a function activation request that references an owner. The controller is configured to publish an event, including the function activation request, to an event network. Each component within this multitude is configured, if it is the owner referenced in the event's function activation request, to execute that request. In some embodiments, the multitude of components includes electronic control units (ECUs). In some embodiments, each component is further configured to execute the function activation request by activating a function that is present in the respective component before it receives the function activation request from the controller. In some embodiments, each component is further configured to execute the function activation request without needing to be reflashed. In some implementations, the event network includes a publisher/subscriber network. In some embodiments, each component is a subscriber to the publisher/subscriber network and is configured to capture the event, as the event refers to a component identifier (CID) of that component. In some embodiments, the controller runs an application and is further configured to receive a configuration change from a user and then transmit it to a remote computer system. The function activation request can be received by the remote computer system in response to the configuration change. In some implementations, the remote computer system is a cloud computing platform. In some embodiments, each component of the multitude of components is further configured to verify that one or more blocking conditions are satisfied before executing the function activation request. In some embodiments, the event is a first event, and each component is further configured to execute the function activation request by publishing one or more second events in the event network, the one or more second events referencing one or more other components of the plurality of components. From another perspective, a procedure involves a vehicle control unit receiving a function activation request that refers to an owner. The procedure includes the vehicle control unit publishing an event, including the function activation request, in an event network. The procedure includes a component of a multitude of vehicle components determining that it is the owner. The procedure includes the component executing the function activation request in response to this determination. In some embodiments, the multitude of components includes electronic control units (ECUs). In some embodiments, the method further includes the execution, by the component, of the function activation request by activating a function that is present in the component before the function activation request is received by the controller. In some embodiments, the method further includes the component executing the function activation request without re-flashing it. In some embodiments, the event network is a publisher/subscriber network. In some embodiments, the component is a subscriber of the publisher/subscriber network, and the method further includes the component capturing the event because the event refers to a component identifier (CID) of the respective component. In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving, by an application executed by the vehicle control unit, a configuration change made by the user, and transmitting, by the application, the configuration change to a remote computer system in response to the user's configuration change. The function activation request can be received by the remote computer system in response to the configuration change. In some embodiments, the method further includes verifying, by the component, that one or more blocking conditions are satisfied before the function activation request is executed. In some embodiments, the event is a first event, and the method further comprises the component executing the function activation request by publishing one or more second events in the event network, wherein the one or more second events refer to one or more other components of the plurality of components. From another perspective, it is a non-transitory, computer-readable medium that stores executable code which, when executed by a vehicle control unit and a variety of vehicle components, causes the vehicle control unit and the variety of vehicle components to do the following: Receiving, by the vehicle control unit, a function a