Vehicle e-Key Sharing With Usage Restrictions and User Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack efficient methods for managing and monitoring vehicle access, usage, and settings across multiple vehicles, particularly in shared or rental scenarios, leading to challenges in enforcing usage restrictions and customizing user experiences.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based system that generates and manages electronic keys (e-Keys) for vehicles, allowing conditional access and usage, with features like geographic, speed, and time restrictions, and learns user behavior to provide personalized settings and recommendations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional physical keys are used for vehicle access, then security is maintained through physical control, but flexibility and remote management capability are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical mechanical keys with electronic key systems that use digital credentials stored on user devices. This substitution enables remote provisioning, conditional access policies, and flexible key management while maintaining security through cryptographic authentication mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cloud-based key management service as an intermediary between vehicle owners and users. This intermediary enables secure key distribution, remote access control, and flexible policy enforcement without requiring direct physical key exchange, thus achieving both flexibility and security.
2Ease of operation
If multiple users are granted access to a vehicle, then convenience and usability are improved, but control over usage conditions and monitoring become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments vehicle access control into individual user profiles with distinct permission sets and usage conditions. Each user receives a separate electronic key with specific constraints (time windows, geographic boundaries, speed limits), enabling fine-grained control while maintaining ease of use through automated enforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous monitoring and feedback mechanisms that track user compliance with usage conditions in real-time. The system provides notifications to users about violated conditions and automatically revokes access when constraints are breached, simplifying control through automated enforcement rather than manual oversight.
3Reliability
If usage restrictions are enforced through manual monitoring, then compliance can be tracked, but time consumption and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service electronic key systems where usage restrictions are automatically enforced by the vehicle's onboard computer and key management service. The system autonomously monitors compliance with geographic boundaries, time windows, and speed limits without requiring manual intervention, thus achieving reliable compliance tracking with minimal time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual monitoring processes with automated electronic surveillance systems that continuously track vehicle location, speed, and usage conditions through sensors and GPS. This substitution eliminates time-consuming manual oversight while maintaining comprehensive compliance tracking through digital record-keeping.
4Adaptability or versatility
If vehicle settings are customized for each user, then user experience is enhanced, but system complexity and configuration time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements pre-configured user profiles with default settings for vehicle parameters (seats, mirrors, climate control, entertainment). When a user accesses the vehicle with their electronic key, these preliminary configurations are automatically applied, enhancing personalization experience while eliminating complex manual setup procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided. One method includes processing operations to share electronic keys (e-keys). The method includes receiving a request to share an electronic key (e-key) of a vehicle with a recipient device. The request to share the e-key is initiated by sending a message to the recipient device using a sharing device. The method includes processing the request to validate the request to share the e-key, as received from the sharing device having associated therewith a registered owner e-key. Processing the request includes generating the e-key securely by the sharing device and registering the e-key that was generated with a server associated with a manufacturer of the vehicle. The method includes enabling the e-key for use on the vehicle by the recipient device responsive to said processing of the request. The request to share the e-key includes enabling a setting to apply a privilege level for use of the vehicle via the e-key. The privilege level provides one or more conditions of use of the vehicle via the e-key.