V2X gated entry management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11176339-B2
Application number	US-201916662946-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2019
Priority date	Oct 24, 2019
Publication date	Nov 16, 2021
Grant date	Nov 16, 2021

Abstract

A request is received, from an onboard unit of a vehicle to a roadside unit in control of a gate protecting a gated area, for access rights to the gated area. Responsive to determining that the vehicle is authorized to enter, vehicle localization is performed to confirm that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate. The vehicle localization is performed using one or more approaches. Responsive to confirming that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, direct the gate to open to allow the vehicle to proceed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for vehicle gated entry management, comprising:
a roadside unit, in control of a gate protecting a gated area, the roadside unit programmed to
receive a request, from an onboard unit of a vehicle, for access rights to the gated area,
responsive to determining that the vehicle is authorized to enter, perform vehicle localization to confirm that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, and
responsive to confirming that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, direct the gate to open to allow the vehicle to proceed.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roadside unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
broadcast gate information to the onboard unit of the vehicle, the gate information including information identifying the gate, and
receiving a selection from the vehicle confirming that the vehicle is located at the gate as identified.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roadside unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
send a code to the onboard unit of the vehicle,
receive, from a light sensor of the gate, a light capture, and
confirm that the code is encoded in light pulses of the light capture.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roadside unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
send a code to the onboard unit of the vehicle, to cause the vehicle to transmit the code as encoded light to a gate reflector, the gate reflector encoding a pattern representing an identifier of the gate,
receive, from the onboard unit, a light capture of the gate reflector, and
confirm that the code and the identifier of the gate is encoded in light capture.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roadside unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
send a radar request to the onboard unit of the vehicle to cause the vehicle to send a radar signal towards the gate,
receive, from the onboard unit of the vehicle, a reflection profile indicative of radar data reflected off the gate, and
confirm the reflection profile matches that of the gate.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roadside unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
send a picture request to the onboard unit of the vehicle to cause the vehicle to take a picture of lane markers on one or both sides of a pathway of the vehicle to the gate, the lane markers including an embedded code unique to the gate,
receive an embedded code identified from the picture responsive to the request, and
confirm that the vehicle is at the gate responsive to receipt of the embedded code.

7. A vehicle configured for gated entry, comprising:
an onboard unit configured for wireless communication with a roadside unit, the onboard unit programmed to
send a request, to a roadside unit in communication with a gate protecting a gated area, for access rights to the gated area,
responsive to receiving an indication that the vehicle is authorized to enter the gated area, perform vehicle localization to confirm that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, and
responsive to confirming that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, direct the gate to open to allow the vehicle to proceed.

8. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
receive gate information from the roadside unit, the gate information including information identifying the gate, and
receive a selection from a human-machine interface of the vehicle confirming that the vehicle is located at the gate as identified, and
responsive to the selection, send a confirmation that the vehicle is located at the gate to the roadside unit.

9. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising, responsive to receipt of a code from the roadside unit, to utilize headlights of the vehicle to transmit the code as encoded light to a gate light sensor, to be received by the sensor to confirm that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate.

10. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
responsive to receipt of a code from the roadside unit, utilize headlights of the vehicle to transmit the code as encoded light to a gate reflector, the gate reflector further encoding a pattern representing an identifier of the gate,
receive, by a light sensor of the vehicle, a light capture of the gate reflector, and
confirm that the code and the identifier of the gate is encoded in the light capture.

11. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
responsive to receipt of a radar request from the roadside unit, send a radar signal towards the gate,
receive, a reflected radar signal reflected off the gate to generate a reflection profile of the gate, and
confirm the reflection profile matches a reflection profile corresponding to the gate.

12. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard unit is further programmed to perform the vehicle localization by operations comprising to:
responsive to receipt of a picture request from the roadside unit, utilize one or more cameras of the vehicle to take one or more pictures of lane markers on one or both sides of a pathway of the vehicle to the gate, the lane markers including an embedded code unique to the gate,
decode the embedded code, and
send the code to the roadside unit to confirm that the vehicle is at the gate.

13. A method for vehicle gated entry management, comprising:
receiving a request, from an onboard unit of a vehicle to a roadside unit in control of a gate protecting a gated area, for access rights to the gated area;
responsive to determining that the vehicle is authorized to enter, performing vehicle localization to confirm that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate; and
responsive to confirming that the vehicle has an unobstructed path to the gate, direct the gate to open to allow the vehicle to proceed.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
broadcasting gate information to the onboard unit of the vehicle, the gate information including information identifying the gate, and
receiving a selection from the vehicle confirming that the vehicle is located at the gate as identified.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
sending a code to the onboard unit of the vehicle,
receiving, from a light sensor of the gate, a light capture, and
confirming that the code is encoded in light pulses of the light capture.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
sending a code to the onboard unit of the vehicle, to cause the vehicle to transmit the code as encoded light to a gate reflector, the gate reflector encoding a pattern representing an identifier of the gate,
receiving, from the onboard unit, a light capture of the gate reflector, and
confirming that the code and the identifier of the gate is encoded in a light capture.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
sending a radar request to the onboard unit of the vehicle to cause the vehicle to send a radar signal towards the gate,
receiving, from the onboard unit of the vehicle, a reflection profile indicative of radar data reflected off the gate,

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Ibrahim Samer
• Zagajac Jovan Milivoje

Classifications

• H04W4/06

  Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services · CPC title

• G07B15/04 Primary

  comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like {(turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00)} · CPC title

• G07C9/00896

  specially adapted for particular uses · CPC title

• H04W4/44

  for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H] · CPC title

• G07C9/20 Primary

  involving the use of a pass · CPC title