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EP-4506869-B1 - A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GRANTING ACCESS TO A VEHICLE

EP4506869B1EP 4506869 B1EP4506869 B1EP 4506869B1EP-4506869-B1

Inventors

  • LINDBERG NILSSON, Erik
  • GARDTMAN, Angelika
  • JOHANNESSON, Tobias

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230809

Claims (15)

  1. A system (100) capable of granting access to a vehicle (1) when the vehicle (1) is not connected to a wide area communication network (50), the system (100) comprises: an electronic device (10) configured to request access to the vehicle (1) by making a reservation of the vehicle (1); a remote node (800) configured to communicate via the wide area communication network (50) with the vehicle (1) and configured to manage the reservation of the vehicle (1); a processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) operatively connected to the electronic device (10) and the remote node (800) configured to: - send, from the remote node (800) to the electronic device (10), a digital regular key (D-R-K) via the wide area communication network (50); - attempt to send, from the remote node (800) to the vehicle (1) via the wide area communication network (50), a reservation data of said reservation and the digital regular key (D-R-K), and in a determination that the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) cannot be sent from the remote node (800) to the vehicle (1) due to that the vehicle (1) is not connected to the wide area communication network (50): - send, from the remote node (800) to the electronic device (10), the reservation data and a digital backup key (D-BU-K); - send, from the electronic device (10) to the vehicle (1) via a local communication network (55), the digital backup key (D-BU-K); and - determine if the identity of the digital backup key (D-BU-K), received at the vehicle (1) from the electronic device (10), is associated with the identity of a backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1), and - in a determination that the identity of the digital backup key (D-BU-K) received at the vehicle (1) from the electronic device (10) is associated with the identity of the backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1) - grant access to an access management system of the vehicle (1) for receiving the reservation data and/or the digital regular key (D-R-K) at the vehicle (1).
  2. The system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - generate the digital backup key (D-BU-K), configured to be distributed via the wide area communication network (50); and - store the digital backup key (D-BU-K) in the memory (101a) at the vehicle (1)
  3. The system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - receive, at the remote node (800), a reservation request from the electronic device (10) indicative of a request to access the vehicle (1); and - generate, at the remote node (800), the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) configured to grant access to the vehicle (1).
  4. The system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - send, from the electronic device (10) to the vehicle (1) via the local communication network (55), the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K).
  5. The system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - determine that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50), and - verify, via the wide area communication network (50) by the remote node, (800) the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) previously received at the vehicle (1) via the local communication network (55).
  6. The system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - determine that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50), and - send, from the vehicle (1) to the remote node (800), information indicative of that the backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1) is exhausted.
  7. The system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) is further configured to: - determine that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50), and generate a new digital backup key (D-BU-K) configured to be stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1).
  8. A method for granting access to a vehicle (1) when the vehicle (1) is not connected to a wide area communication network (50), the method comprising: - (S3) sending, from a remote node (800) for managing a reservation of a vehicle (1) to an electronic device (10), a digital regular key (D-R-K) via the wide area communication network (50); - (S4a) attempting to send, from the remote node (800) to the vehicle (1) via the wide area communication network (50), reservation data of said reservation and the digital regular key (D-R-K), and in a determination that the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) cannot be sent from the remote node (800) to the vehicle (1) due to that the vehicle (1) is not connected to the wide area communication network (50): - (S4b) sending, from the remote node (800) to the electronic device (10), the reservation data and a digital backup key (D-BU-K); - (S5) sending, from the electronic device (10) to the vehicle (1) via a local communication network (55), the digital backup key (D-BU-K); and - (S6a) determining if the identity of the digital backup key (D-BU-K), received at the vehicle (1) from the electronic device (10), is associated with the identity of a backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1), and - in a determination that the identity of the digital backup key (D-BU-K) received at the vehicle (1) from the electronic device (10) is associated with the identity of the backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1) - granting access to an access management system of the vehicle (1) for receiving the reservation data and/or the digital regular key (D-R-K) at the vehicle (1).
  9. The method according to according to claim 8 further comprising: - (S1a) generating, the digital backup key (D-BU-K), configured to be distributed via the wide area communication network (50); and - (S1b) storing the digital backup key (D-BU-K) in the memory (101a) at the vehicle (1).
  10. The method according to any of the claims 8-9 further comprising: - (S2a) receiving, at the remote node (800), a reservation request from the electronic device (10) indicative of a request to access the vehicle (1); and - (S2b) generating, at the remote node (800), the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) configured to grant access to the vehicle (1).
  11. The method according to any of the claims 8-10 further comprising: - (S6b) sending, from the electronic device (10) to the vehicle (1) via the local communication network (55), the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K).
  12. The method according to any of the claims 8-11 further comprising: - (S7) determining that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50): - verifying, via the wide area communication network (50) by the remote node, (800) the reservation data and the digital regular key (D-R-K) previously received at the vehicle (1) via the local communication network (55).
  13. The method according to any of the claim 12 further comprising: - (S8) in determining that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50): - sending, from the vehicle (1) to the remote node (800), information indicative of that the backup key (D-BU-K) stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1) is exhausted.
  14. The method according to according to claim 13 further comprising: - (S9) in determining that the vehicle (1) establishes connection to the wide area communication network (50): generating a new digital backup key (D-BU-K) configured to be stored in the memory (101a) of the vehicle (1).
  15. A computer program product (500) comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, having thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c) and configured to cause execution of the method according to any of claims 8 through 14 when the computer program is run by the processing circuitry (102a,102b,102c).

Description

Technical field The present disclosure relates to a system capable of granting access to a vehicle when the vehicle is not connected to a wide area communication network, a method for granting access to a vehicle when the vehicle is not connected to the internet and a computer program product. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a system capable of granting access to a vehicle when the vehicle is not connected to a wide area communication network, a method for granting access to a vehicle when the vehicle is not connected to the internet and a computer program product as defined in the introductory parts of the independent claims. Background art It has become more and more popular to not own your own vehicle but instead share vehicles with other vehicle occupants. Examples of sharing vehicles are e.g. renting vehicles, leasing or subscribing to a vehicle, or sharing vehicles among vehicle occupants in a vehicle pool etc. A vehicle owner can also rent or lend the vehicle to another vehicle occupant. Different vehicle occupants can reserve and use the same vehicle at different times. The vehicle is often communicating with a remote server via a wide area communication network, so that the access to the vehicle, and the reservation of the vehicle, can be managed by communicating directly with the vehicle over the wide area communication network. However, there can be situations when the vehicle cannot access the wide area communication network. In an example, if a vehicle is parked in an underground garage without any access to the wide area communication network, then the access and booking cannot be managed by communicating with the vehicle over the wide area communication network. In a further example, if a vehicle is parked in a rural area without any access to the wide area communication network, then the access and booking cannot be managed by communicating with the vehicle over the wide area communication network. Relevant prior art is disclosed in US2019/259227A1 and US2013/325521A1 which both disclose vehicle access using a mobile phone during car sharing / rental. Summary Access to the vehicle can be managed digitally by the use of digital keys that are downloaded to the vehicle before the reservation starts. This requires that the vehicle has access to the wide area communication network. There is therefore a desire to be able to manage access to the vehicle using digital keys when the vehicle cannot communicate over the wide area communication network. There is also a desire to manage the access to the vehicle in a secure and reliable way. It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above mentioned problem. According to a first aspect there is provided a system capable of granting access to a vehicle when the vehicle is not connected to a wide area communication network. The system comprises an electronic device configured to request access to the vehicle by making a reservation of the vehicle, a remote node configured to communicate via the wide area communication network with the vehicle and configured to manage the reservation of the vehicle, and a processing circuitry operatively connected to the electronic device and the remote node. The processing circuitry is configured to send, from a remote node to an electronic device, a digital regular key via a wide area communication network, attempt to send, from the remote node to the vehicle via the wide area communication network, a reservation data and the digital regular key, and in a determination that the reservation data and the digital regular key cannot be sent from the remote node to the vehicle due to that the vehicle is not connected to the wide area communication network, send, from the remote node to the electronic device, the reservation data and a digital backup key, send, from the electronic device to the vehicle via a local communication network, the digital backup key, and determine if the identity of the digital backup key, received at the vehicle from the electronic device, is associated with the identity of a backup key stored in the memory of the vehicle, and in a determination that the identity of the digital backup key received at the vehicle from the electronic device is associated with the identity of the backup key stored in the memory of the vehicle grant access to an access management system of the vehicle for receiving the reservation data and/or the digital regular key at the vehicle. An advantage with this first aspect is that the vehicle does not need to have a connection with the remote node via the wide area communication network, but access to the vehicle can still be managed in a secure and trusted way. According to some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a digital backup key, configured to be distributed via a wide area communic