Duplicated wireless transceivers associated with a vehicle to receive and send sensitive information

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10304261-B2
Application number	US-201615396592-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 31, 2016
Priority date	Jul 7, 2016
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle is provided that comprises two or more radio frequency (RF) antennas and two or more RF transceivers to communicate wirelessly sensitive information associated with a user of the vehicle (the two or more RF antennas being at different physical locations on an exterior of the vehicle). The vehicle determines which one of the two or more RF antennas is receiving a strongest signal from a common signal source, selects a first RF transceiver associated with the RF antenna with the strongest signal to send the sensitive information associated with the user to the common signal source, and sends the sensitive information associated with the user to the first RF transceiver for transmission to the common signal source.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
two or more radio frequency (RF) antennas to communicate wirelessly sensitive information associated with a user of the vehicle, the two or more RF antennas being at different physical locations on an exterior of the vehicle;
two or more RF transceivers, each RF transceiver associated with one of the two or more RF antennas, the two or more RF transceivers to communicate wirelessly sensitive information associated with the user of the vehicle;
a processor in communication with the two or more RF transceivers, the processor to:
determine which one of the two or more RF antennas is receiving a strongest signal from a common signal source;
select a first RF transceiver associated with the RF antenna with the strongest signal to send the sensitive information associated with the user to the common signal source; and
send the sensitive information associated with the user to the first RF transceiver for transmission to the common signal source, wherein the vehicle uses different communication protocols to send the sensitive information to the common signal source.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the RF transceiver and RF antenna are a radio frequency identification device and wherein a first of the RF antennas is located at one or more of at or in proximity to a driver side of the vehicle, an overhead location on the vehicle, an under carriage location on the vehicle, and a gas tank of the vehicle and a second of the RF antennas is located at a different of the one or more of at or in proximity to a driver side of the vehicle, an overhead location on the vehicle, an under carriage location on the vehicle, and a gas tank of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the RFID device is an active RFID device, wherein the sensitive information comprises financial information of the user, wherein the common signal source is associated with a vendor, wherein the processor is programmed to initiate automatically on behalf of the user a financial transaction with the vendor, wherein the financial transaction is initiated by a request from the vendor, and wherein, in response to the request, the processor pre-filters the associated transaction request before presenting the transaction request to the user by a user interface.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first RF antenna is located near a side mirror of the vehicle, wherein the sensitive information comprises financial information of the user, wherein the common signal source is associated with a vendor, wherein the processor is programmed to initiate automatically on behalf of the user a financial transaction with the vendor, wherein the memory comprises vehicle sensitive information comprising one or more of a vehicle identification number (VIN), engine code, and electronic serial number (ESN), wherein the processor provides an authorization to the vendor, wherein the authorization comprises the vehicle sensitive information and the financial information of the user, wherein a first of the different communication protocols is one or more of a near field communications (NFC), BLUETOOTH™, Low Energy (BLE), and radio frequency identification (RFID) protocol and a second of the different communication protocols is a cellular network communication protocol.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensitive information comprises financial information of the user, wherein the common signal source is associated with a vendor, wherein the vendor is a drive through restaurant, wherein the first RF antenna communicates with a second RF antenna in physical proximity of a drive through window of the drive through restaurant, and wherein the processor authorizes the financial transaction in response to a plurality of a vehicle location, speed, proximity to a location, preference data and historical information associated with the user.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first RF antenna is located on a roof of the vehicle, wherein the sensitive information comprises financial information of the user, wherein the common signal source is associated with a vendor, wherein the processor, in response to a first event, the first event being a vehicle route, automatically forwards a first portion of a secure communication to the vendor to preorder a good or service of the vendor in connection with a transaction with the user, wherein the processor, in response to a later second event, the second event being a vehicle location, automatically completes the transaction by providing financial information to the vendor.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the common signal source is associated with a vendor, wherein the sensitive information comprises one or more of a desired product of the vendor, a desired service of the vendor, and/or a triggering event, the triggering event being a weather condition and wherein the processor provides to the vendor, by a first communication protocol, an order of a good or service and by a different second protocol, financial information of the user.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is authorized and programmed to initiate automatically on behalf of the user and without further input from the user a financial transaction with a vendor, wherein the authorization is restricted temporally or limited to a selected route or spatial location of the vehicle, and wherein the first antenna is a deployable antenna that one or more of physically contacts a receiving pad of the vendor as the vehicle is in proximity to the vendor and communicates with a receiver of the vendor by a near field communication protocol to provide the financial information to the vendor.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a first RF antenna of the two or more RF antennas is located near a charging port or a gas refill door and wherein the first RF antenna communicates with a second RF antenna on a charging station or gas pump.

10. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle contemporaneously communicates through the two or more RF antennas.

11. A method for communicating information with a vehicle, comprising:
receiving a signal at one of two or more radio frequency (RF) antennas, the two or more RF antennas being at different physical locations on an exterior of the vehicle, and one of two or more RF transceivers, wherein each RF transceiver is associated with one of the two or more RF antennas, to communicate wirelessly sensitive information associated with a user of the vehicle;
determining which one of the two or more RF antennas is receiving a strongest signal from a common signal source;
selecting a first RF transceiver associated with the RF antenna with the strongest signal to send the sensitive information associated with the user to the common signal source; and
sending the sensitive information associated with the user through the first RF transceiver for transmission to the common signal source, wherein the vehicle uses different communication protocols to send the sensitive information to the common signal source.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the RF transceiver and RF antenna are a radio frequency identification device and wherein a first of the RF antennas is located at one or more of at or in proximity to a driver side of the vehicle, an overhead location on the vehicle, an under carriage location on the vehicle, and a gas tank of the vehicle and a second of the RF antennas is located at a different of the one or more of at or in proximity to a driver side of the vehicle, an overhead location on the vehicle, an under carriage location on the vehicle, and a gas tank of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the RFID device is an act

Assignees

• Nio Usa Inc

Inventors

• Ricci Christopher P

Classifications

• A61B5/1171 Primary

  based on the shapes or appearances of their bodies or parts thereof · CPC title

• B60L50/53

  in combination with an external power supply, e.g. from overhead contact lines · CPC title

• H02J7/865

  Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply (H02J7/50 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04W12/02

  Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII] · CPC title

• H04W12/06

  Authentication · CPC title