Granted Patent B2

US 12,659,750 · App. 18/047,022 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventor: Michael E Russell (Lake Zurich, IL)

Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC

H04W12/63H04L9/321H04W12/06H04W12/08

Abstract

Claims (58)

1 . An accessory device comprising:

an antenna assembly comprising two or more antennas spaced in a support structure as one of a two-dimensional (2D) or a three-dimensional (3D) antenna array;

an accessory housing supporting the antenna assembly;

an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver communicatively coupled to the antenna assembly;

a device interface comprising a wireless personal area network (PAN) transceiver by which the accessory device communicatively couples to a second device that has a locked state and that is configurable to an unlocked state by the accessory device;

a controller communicatively coupled to the antenna assembly, the UWB transceiver and the device interface, and which configures the accessory device to:

receive, via the UWB transceiver, UWB signals from a third device;

determine a location of the third device based on a range and an angle of arrival of the received UWB signals; and

in response to determining that the location is within an unlock space of the second device, communicate, via the device interface, an unlock command to the second device to transition the second device from the locked state to the unlocked state.

2 . The accessory device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the accessory device to:

determine that a location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space; and

communicate, via the device interface, a lock command to the second device, in response to determining that the location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space.

3 . The accessory device of claim 1 , further comprising an indicator that is communicatively coupled to the controller and presented externally to the accessory device, the controller activating the indicator in a first state when the location of the third device is detected in the unlock space and de-activating the indicator into a second state when the third device is not detected in the unlock space, the indicator visually identifying the location of the third device relative to the unlock space.

4 . The accessory device of claim 1 , further comprising a secure entity having tamper resistant key storage for public-private encryption keys and being communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to cause the accessory device to communicate the unlock command further in response to the controller authenticating the third device, wherein the authenticating includes decrypting, with a private encryption key, public encryption keys exchanged by the third device, wherein the private encryption key is stored in the secure entity.

5 . The accessory device of claim 1 , wherein:

the PAN transceiver is communicatively connected to the controller, and is configured to present a personal area network by which the second device communicatively connects to the accessory device; and

the controller is configured to cause the device to communicate the unlock command via the wireless PAN transceiver to the second device, which is communicatively connected to the accessory device via the personal area network.

6 . The accessory device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the accessory device to:

identify a line-of-sight transmission from the second device; and

determine a range of the location based on time of arrival of the line-of-sight transmission.

7 . The accessory device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a clip mechanism on an exterior of the accessory housing, wherein the clip mechanism attaches the accessory device to the second device;

wherein the clip mechanism is configured to engage the second device to position the unlock space relative to a user interface of the second device.

8 . A method comprising:

coupling, via a device interface comprising a wireless personal area network (PAN) transceiver of an accessory device, to a second device that has a locked state and that is configurable to an unlocked state by the accessory device, the accessory device including an accessory housing;

receiving, via an antenna assembly supported by the accessory housing and an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver of the accessory device, UWB signals from a third device, the antenna assembly comprising two or more antennas spaced in a support structure as one of a two-dimensional (2D) or a three-dimensional (3D) antenna array;

determining a location of the third device based on a range and an angle of arrival of the received UWB signals; and

in response to determining that the location is within an unlock space of the second device, communicating, via the device interface from the accessory device, an unlock command to the second device to transition the second device from the locked state to the unlocked state.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining that a location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space; and

communicating, via the device interface, a lock command to the second device, in response to determining that the location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising activating an indicator presented externally to the accessory device in a first state when the location of the third device is detected in the unlock space and de-activating the indicator into a second state when the third device is not detected in the unlock space, the indicator visually indicating whether the location of the third device is in the unlock space.

11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising communicating the unlock command further in response to authenticating the third device, wherein the authenticating includes decrypting, with a private encryption key, public encryption keys exchanged by the third device, wherein the private encryption key is stored in a secure entity of the accessory device having tamper resistant key storage for public-private encryption keys.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

presenting, by the wireless PAN transceiver of the accessory device, a personal area network by which the second device communicatively connects to the accessory device; and

communicating the unlock command via the wireless PAN transceiver to the second device, which is communicatively connected via the personal area network to the accessory device.

13 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

identifying a line-of-sight transmission from the second device; and

determining a range of the location based on time of arrival of the line-of-sight transmission.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the accessory device comprises a clip mechanism on the accessory housing configured to attach the accessory device to the second device, wherein the clip mechanism is configured to engage the second device to position the unlock space relative to a user interface of the second device.

15 . A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage device; and

program code on the computer readable storage device that when executed by a processor associated with an accessory device, the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of:

coupling, via a device interface comprising a wireless personal area network (PAN) transceiver of the accessory device, to a second device that has a locked state and that is configurable to an unlocked state by the accessory device, the accessory device including an accessory housing and a clip mechanism on the accessory housing configured to attach the accessory device to the second device;

receiving, via an antenna assembly supported by the accessory housing and an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver of the accessory device, UWB signals from a third device, the antenna assembly comprising two or more antennas spaced in a support structure as one of a two-dimensional (2D) or a three-dimensional (3D) antenna array;

determining a location of the third device based on a range and an angle of arrival of the received UWB signals; and

in response to determining that the location is within an unlock space of the second device, communicating, via the device interface of the accessory device, an unlock command to the second device to transition the second device from the locked state to the unlocked state.

16 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of:

determining that a location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space; and

communicating, via the device interface, a lock command to the second device, in response to determining that the location of the third device has moved from within the unlock space to outside of the unlock space.

17 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of activating an indicator presented externally to the accessory device in a first state when the location of the third device is detected in the unlock space and de-activating the indicator into a second state when the third device is not detected in the unlock space, the indicator visually indicating whether the location of the third device is in the unlock space.

18 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of communicating the unlock command further in response to authenticating the third device, wherein the authenticating includes decrypting, with a private encryption key, public encryption keys exchanged by the third device, wherein the private encryption key is stored in a secure entity of the accessory device having tamper resistant key storage for public-private encryption keys.

19 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of:

presenting, by the wireless PAN transceiver of the accessory device, a personal area network by which the second device communicatively connects to the accessory device; and

communicating the unlock command via the wireless PAN transceiver to the second device, which is communicatively connected via the personal area network to the accessory device.

20 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the program code enables the accessory device to provide functionality of:

identifying a line-of-sight transmission from the second device; and

determining a range of the location based on time of arrival of the line-of-sight transmission.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (13)