Granted Patent B2

US 12,270,894 · App. 18/214,562 · Granted Apr 8, 2025

Inventors: Raymond Michael Stitt (Ada, MI); John Videtich (Zeeland, MI)

Assignees: DENSO International America, Inc.; DENSO CORPORATION

G01S13/84B60R25/209B60R25/24B60R25/241B60R25/248G07C9/00309B60R2325/101B60R2325/108B60R2325/205G01S13/79G07C2209/63

Abstract

Claims (66)

1. An access system for a vehicle, the access system comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first wireless signal from the vehicle to a portable access device via one or more antennas;

a receiver configured to receive a second wireless signal transmitted from the portable access device to the vehicle via the one or more antennas; and

a control module configured to determine a phase based on the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal, and to determine a location of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the phase,

wherein

the second wireless signal indicates a phase delay of the first wireless signal, and

the control module is configured to determine the location of the portable access device based on the phase delay.

2. The access system of claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to determine the location of the portable access device based on the phase.

3. The access system of claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to determine a distance of the portable access device based on the phase.

4. The access system of claim 1 , wherein:

the transmitter is configured to transmit the first wireless signal from the vehicle at each of a plurality of frequencies;

the receiver is configured to receive at the vehicle the second wireless signal at each of the plurality of frequencies; and

the control module is configured to determine a plurality of phases respectively for the plurality of frequencies, and to determine the location of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the plurality of phases.

5. The access system of claim 4 , wherein the control module is configured to determine a distance of the portable access device based on the plurality of phases.

6. The access system of claim 4 , wherein the control module is configured to determine i) a first phase for a first one of the plurality of frequencies, ii) a second phase for a second one of the plurality of frequencies, iii) a distance of the portable access device based on the first phase, and iv) the distance of the portable access device based on the second phase.

7. The access system of claim 1 , wherein:

the first wireless signal includes a first continuous wave tone;

the second wireless signal includes a second continuous wave tone; and

the control module is configured to determine the phase based on the first continuous wave tone and the second continuous wave tone.

8. The access system of claim 7 , wherein the first continuous wave tone and the second continuous wave tone are unmodulated wave tones.

9. The access system of claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to determine a phase difference between the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal, and to determine the location of the portable access device based on the phase difference.

10. The access system of claim 1 , further comprising the one or more antennas.

11. The access system of claim 1 , further comprising:

low-frequency antenna modules; and

radio frequency antenna modules configured to provide polarization diversity between each antenna of the portable access device and antennas of the radio frequency antenna modules including the one or more antennas,

the control module is configured to wirelessly communicate with the portable access device via at least one of i) the low-frequency antenna modules and ii) the radio frequency antenna modules, the wireless communication including the transmission of the first wireless signal and reception of the second wireless signal.

12. An access method for a vehicle, the method comprising:

transmitting a first wireless signal from the vehicle to a portable access device via one or more antennas;

receiving a second wireless signal transmitted from the portable access device to the vehicle via the one or more antennas;

determining a phase via a control module based on the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal, wherein the second wireless signal indicates a phase delay of the first wireless signal;

determining a location via the control module of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the phase; and

determining the location of the portable access device based on the phase delay.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

transmitting the first wireless signal from the vehicle at each of a plurality of frequencies;

receiving at the vehicle the second wireless signal at each of the plurality of frequencies;

determining a plurality of phases respectively for the plurality of frequencies; and

determining at least one of the location or a distance of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the plurality of phases.

14. The method of claim 13 , comprising determining the distance of the portable access device based on the plurality of phases.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

determining a first phase for a first one of the plurality of frequencies;

determining a second phase for a second one of the plurality of frequencies;

determining the distance of the portable access device based on the first phase; and

determining the distance of the portable access device based on the second phase.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

the first wireless signal includes a first continuous wave tone;

the second wireless signal includes a second continuous wave tone; and

the phase is determined based on the first continuous wave tone and the second continuous wave tone.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first continuous wave tone and the second continuous wave tone are unmodulated wave tones.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining a phase difference between the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal; and

determining the at least one of the location or a distance of the portable access device based on the phase difference.

19. An access system for a vehicle, the access system comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first signal at each of a plurality of frequencies from the vehicle to a portable access device;

a receiver configured to receive a second signal transmitted from the portable access device to the vehicle, and receive at the vehicle the second signal at each of the plurality of frequencies; and

a control module configured to

determine a first phase for a first one of the plurality of frequencies based on the first signal and the second signal,

determine a second phase for a second one of the plurality of frequencies based on the first signal and the second signal, and

determine at least one of a location or a distance of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the first phase and the second phase.

20. An access system for a vehicle, the access system comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first signal from the vehicle to a portable access device;

a receiver configured to receive a second signal transmitted from the portable access device to the vehicle; and

a control module configured to determine a phase based on the first signal and the second signal, and to determine at least one of a location or a distance of the portable access device relative to the vehicle based on the phase,

wherein

the first signal includes a first continuous wave tone,

the second signal includes a second continuous wave tone, and

the control module is configured to determine the phase based on the first continuous wave tone and the second continuous wave tone.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (9)

References Cited (105)