Method and system for detecting proximity of an end device to a vehicle based on signal strength information received over a bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertising channel

A method, comprising:

• establishing, during an initial wireless connection setup phase, wireless connections between a central module disposed within a vehicle and a plurality of sensors disposed within the vehicle;
• performing, at the central module, a filtered scan for an advertisement message transmitted from an end device over an advertising channel, wherein the advertisement message comprises a first address for the end device;
• transmitting, from the central module to each of the sensors when the central module receives the advertisement message from the end device, a discovery message that indicates that the end device has been detected and that the sensors are to begin scanning for a first advertisement message transmitted from the end device over an advertising channel, wherein each discovery message comprises the first address for the end device that was discovered during the filtered scan, wherein the advertising channel is connectionless and does not require a connection to be established for communications to take place over the advertising channels;
• performing, at each of the sensors, a filtered scan for the first advertisement message transmitted from the end device that comprises the first address for the end device, wherein the first advertisement message is communicated over an advertising channel;
• at each sensor, upon receiving a first advertisement message from the end device that comprises the first address:
• determining, at each sensor, signal strength information for the first advertisement message;
• and generating and transmitting, from each sensor, a reporting message to the central module that comprises the signal strength information and the first address for the end device;
• performing, at the central module, another filtered scan for reporting messages transmitted from the sensors, wherein each of the reporting messages comprise the first address for the end device;
• receiving one or more of the reporting messages at the central module;
• determining, at the central module based on signal strength information, whether the end device is within range for authorization;
• and
• when the end device is determined to be within range for authorization, performing at least one passive entry passive start (PEPS) function at the vehicle.

A system comprising a vehicle and an end device, the vehicle comprising:

• a plurality of tires each having a sensor mounted therein, each of the sensors comprising a chipset and an antenna;
• and
• a central module comprising another chipset and another antenna, the central module being communicatively coupled to the end device and to the sensors via wireless connections, the central module being configured to:
• perform a filtered scan for an advertisement message transmitted from the end device over an advertising channel, and, when the end device is detected during scanning, to transmit a discovery message to each of the sensors that indicates that the sensors are to begin scanning for a first advertisement message transmitted from the end device over an advertising channel, wherein the advertising channel is connectionless and does not require a connection to be established for communications to take place over the advertising channel;
• wherein each sensor is configured to:
• determine signal strength information for the first advertisement message, and to transmit a reporting message to the central module that comprises the signal strength information and a first address for the end device;
• wherein the central module is further configured to:
• determine, based on signal strength information provided from the sensors, a distance of the end device from the vehicle and whether the end device is within range for authorization based on the distance of the end device from the vehicle;
• and control performance of at least one passive entry passive start (PEPS) function at the vehicle when the end device is determined to be within range for authorization.