BLE Pairing PIN Key Revocation and Renewal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Phone-as-a-Key (PaaK) vehicle systems do not provide a method to re-establish a lost Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) pairing connection between a mobile device and a vehicle infotainment system without requiring a full new device setup, leading to unnecessary user inconvenience when BLE pairing PIN codes are unintentionally or intentionally removed.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to detect the loss of BLE pairing and prompt the user to determine if the removal was intentional or unintentional, allowing for the re-establishment of BLE pairing by transmitting a Consumer Access Key (CAK) encrypted PIN seed from the vehicle infotainment system to the mobile device, enabling users to re-pair without a full setup procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional PaaK systems use BLE pairing PIN codes for security, then security is improved, but user convenience deteriorates when pairing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by storing the CAK in the vehicle's non-volatile memory before the pairing is lost, enabling automatic retrieval and reuse during re-pairing operations. This allows the system to maintain security while facilitating convenient re-establishment of the connection without requiring users to perform complex setup procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where the vehicle's infotainment system acts as a mediator between the mobile device and the server. The system retrieves the CAK from local storage and facilitates the re-pairing process by transmitting encrypted data, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining security through PIN codes and providing user convenience when pairing is lost.
2Reliability
If users undergo full setup procedure to re-establish connection, then security is maintained, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle's infotainment system performs preliminary action by pre-storing the CAK in non-volatile memory during the initial pairing. When pairing is lost, this pre-stored CAK is immediately available for re-pairing operations, eliminating the need for time-consuming full setup procedures while maintaining security through the use of encrypted PIN codes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the CAK in the vehicle's memory, allowing the re-pairing process to proceed using this copied credential rather than requiring a complete re-establishment of the connection. This copying mechanism significantly reduces time consumption while preserving security through proper encryption of the PIN codes.
3Ease of operation
If system stores BLE pairing PIN codes for re-pairing, then ease of re-pairing is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the CAK from the mobile device and stores it in the vehicle's non-volatile memory. This extraction allows the vehicle to maintain the capability for easy re-pairing while the mobile device does not need to store sensitive PIN codes, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of re-pairing and security.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle's infotainment system serves as an intermediary that holds the CAK in its memory, eliminating the need for the mobile device to store sensitive pairing information. This intermediary approach enables easy re-pairing operations while maintaining security by keeping sensitive credentials in a controlled environment within the vehicle system.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes a system for re-establishing a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) pairing PIN key to repair a secure connection between a mobile device and vehicle. The system may detect an error state, and provide a prompt to the user to determine if they wanted to intentionally remove their account. Responsive to an affirmative response from the user that the removal of the connection credentials was intentional, the system may send a revoke request to a server associated with the vehicle. Responsive to a user input that indicates that the removal of the credentials was unintentional, the vehicle may fetch an encrypted PIN seed of the BLE pairing PIN from memory or request the PIN seed from the server. The PIN seed re-establishes the secured pairing of the mobile device and the vehicle infotainment system without undergoing a new device setup procedure.