Patent Application
20080158015
This application claims priority to German Patent Application Number 10 2006 053 619.3 filed on Nov. 14, 2006, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an identification arrangement or access arrangement for a vehicle as well as to a method for identifying an identification signal.
In modern-day vehicles or, more specifically, motor vehicles there is an increasing trend to provide more and more electronic access authorization systems in which an access authorization request is initiated by means of a remote control. In the simplest case said access authorization system consists of one or more electronically controllable locks, a control device and at least one associated electronic key, i.e. the remote control. If a user or, more specifically, driver, upon returning from shopping for example, wishes to gain access to his/her vehicle, he/she will press a button on his/her remote control, which thereupon transmits the access authorization request or, as the case may be, an identification signal. If the user's vehicle is located within suitable range to receive the identification signal, which is mostly transmitted as a radio signal, it will, upon completion of a positive verification of the identification signal, unlock the locks of the vehicle. More sophisticated access authorization systems not only have the remotely controllable function of opening or closing locks of a vehicle, but in addition also include what is referred to as a “car finder function”, which is to say a function for locating the vehicle for instance on a large parking lot with a multiplicity of parked vehicles. For that purpose the user's electronic key or remote control can transmit a special signal for locating the vehicle, or the locating function can be triggered when the vehicle receives the identification signal for unlocking the door locks.
Let us now refer back to the situation in which a user is returning from shopping, for example, and wishes to locate his/her own vehicle on a large parking lot with a multiplicity of parked vehicles. If the user now presses a corresponding button on his/her remote control in order to generate a signal that will prompt the vehicle to trigger a corresponding vehicle function or locating function, such as, for example, a periodic outputting of light signals or acoustic signals, the problem can occur that, due to the limited range of the transmitting device of the remote control, the radio signal of the remote control does not reach the associated vehicle (or does not reach it correctly or, more specifically, does not reach it with sufficient field strength) in order to initiate the locating function there. Consequently, finding one's own vehicle becomes a laborious and time-consuming process, since the user must cross the entire parking lot on foot in search of his/her vehicle.
A simple and reliable means for locating a vehicle can be provided according to an embodiment by an identification arrangement or a vehicle comprising such an identification arrangement, wherein the identification arrangement comprises a vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device for receiving an identification signal containing an identification code, and a control and evaluation device which is operable to check the identification code of the identification signal, to output a control signal for activating a vehicle function device if the identification code was recognized as valid, or to prompt the vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device so that the latter will retransmit the identification signal if the identification code was recognized as invalid.
According to a further embodiment, the vehicle function device may have output means for outputting signals which can be perceived by a user upon its activation. According to a further embodiment, the identification signal may include blocking information which prevents the retransmission of the identification signal by the vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device. According to a further embodiment, the identification signal may include count information which is incremented before a retransmission of the identification signal. According to a further embodiment, the vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device can be configured to not retransmit the identification signal if the count information exceeds a predefined limit value. According to a further embodiment, the identification arrangement may further include a mobile identification transmitter assigned to a user and configured to transmit an identification signal containing an identification code. According to a further embodiment, the mobile identification transmitter also may provide address information that is characteristic of it in the identification signal. According to a further embodiment, at least one section of the address information may be blocked, and by this means the blocking information may be implemented.
According to another embodiment, a method for identifying an identification signal, may comprise the steps of: Reception of an identification signal containing an identification code by a vehicle; Checking of the identification code of the identification signal; Execution of a vehicle function if the identification code was recognized as valid, or Retransmission of the identification signal if the identification code was recognized as invalid.
According to a further embodiment of the method, the vehicle function may include a transmitting of signals that can be perceived by a user. According to a further embodiment of the method, the identification signal may include blocking information which prevents the retransmission of the identification signal. According to a further embodiment of the method, the identification signal may include count information which is incremented before a retransmission of the identification signal. According to a further embodiment of the method, the identification signal does not retransmitted if the count information exceeds a predefined limit value. According to a further embodiment of the method, the identification signal received by the vehicle can be transmitted by a mobile identification transmitter.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
According to various embodiments, an identification arrangement or access arrangement for a vehicle may comprise the following features. A (first) vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device (for a first vehicle) is provided for receiving an identification signal containing an identification code. The identification arrangement further includes a (first) control and evaluation device for the (first) vehicle for the purpose of verifying the identification code of the identification signal. In particular the validity of the identification code is checked in this process, namely whether the code belongs to a transmitter associated with the vehicle or to an identification transmitter assigned to the user. The control and evaluation device is also configured on the one hand for outputting a control signal for activating a vehicle function device if the identification code is recognized as valid or on the other hand for outputting a forwarding signal to the (first) vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device in order that the latter will retransmit the identification signal if the identification code was recognized as invalid. Owing to this principle of operation whereby a received identification signal which does not contain a valid code is retransmitted so that the identification signal can be received for example by a further identification arrangement of a further or, as the case may be, second vehicle for which the identification signal was intended (or for which the identification code is valid), the identification signal can be transmitted over a long distance or over a large area in order to find the vehicle that was intended to receive said signal.
According to an embodiment of the identification arrangement, the vehicle function device can have output means for outputting signals that can be perceived by a user upon activation of the vehicle function device. The vehicle function device can therefore serve in this arrangement as a signaling device for a user. To that end the output means can comprise a turn signal indicator or some other lighting device of the vehicle in order to output optical signals or light signals in the form of a single flash or multiple flashes of light. It is, however, also conceivable that alternatively or in addition thereto the output means includes a noise or tone generator, such as a horn, in order to output acoustic signals.
According to a further embodiment it is possible for the identification signal to include blocking information which prevents or, as the case may be, forbids the retransmission of the identification signal by the (first) vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device. In this case it is possible to prevent a vehicle that is a long distance away from a user from outputting signals (optically or acoustically), and thereby also drawing the attention of other persons to the vehicle. Above all when reception of a valid identification code containing an identification signal is accompanied by an unlocking of the door locks of the vehicle, it can be advantageous if this only happens in the case of a vehicle which is located in proximity to the user.
In order to transmit the identification signal, the identification arrangement can comprise a mobile identification transmitter which is assigned to a user and configured for the purpose of transmitting the identification signal containing the identification code. In practical terms the identification transmitter comprises an actuation device such as a button which can be pressed by a user, whereupon finally the identification signal is generated and can be transmitted via a corresponding transmitting/receiving device on the identification transmitter side. Said identification transmitter, which thus serves as a remote control, can be implemented for example as an electronic key which, as already mentioned, can additionally have the function of obtaining access to a vehicle by transmission of an access request. In this case the identification signal can also serve as an access request.
It is possible with this arrangement that the identification transmitter provides address information that is characteristic of it in the identification signal. Said information can use the (first) control and evaluation device in order to identify the exact origin of the identification signal and possibly control the vehicle function device in a specific manner. For example, it is possible that when specific address information is detected in the identification signal, only an optical output means of the vehicle function device will be activated, whereas when different address information is detected an optical and acoustic output means can be activated. It should be mentioned that it is also possible that not just address information can be used for the purpose of the (just described) activation of the vehicle function device or, as the case may be, optical and/or acoustic output means, but that the identification transmitter provides control information specifically for this purpose in the identification signal.
Furthermore it is also possible for the address information to consist of a plurality of sections or, as the case may be, address sections, at least one address section being blocked for detecting or, as the case may be, reading. If, for example, the (first) control and evaluation device detects that an address section is blocked, it can interpret this as the presence of blocking information, and upon evaluation of a received identification code as invalid or omit to prompt the (first) vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device to retransmit the identification signal.
As has been explained above, the control and evaluation device is configured to output a forwarding signal to the vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device so that the latter will retransmit the identification signal if the identification code was recognized as invalid. In this case it is also possible for the vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device to insert count information or “hopping” information into the identification signal upon retransmission in order to ensure that the “target vehicle” is not reached after an arbitrary number of forwarding operations (or circular arguments). It is possible here that the “hopping” information includes a counter or count value which is incremented (by 1, for example) if the identification code is recognized as invalid. The count value thus indicates how often or by how many vehicles the identification signal has already been forwarded. As a condition for a (re)transmission it could then be specified that the received “identification code invalid” and the count value or the number of transmissions (hops) is less than or less than or equal to a predefined limit value. The count value could also be used to differentiate (in the event that the identification code is recognized as valid) between the output of optical and acoustic signals, e.g. few hops: optical signaling; many hops: optical and acoustic signaling.
According to a further embodiment, a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, is provided which has an identification arrangement as presented above.
According to a further embodiment, a method for identifying an identification signal is provided which has the following steps. First, an identification signal containing an identification code is received from a vehicle. Next, the identification code of the identification signal is checked. Now, either a vehicle function is executed if the identification code was recognized as a valid identification code, or the identification signal is retransmitted by the vehicle if the identification code was recognized as invalid. In this way it is possible for vehicles to pass on a received identification signal when they receive it but realize that it is not intended for them. Thus, an identification signal can be sent over a large area or a long distance without the necessity to increase the range and consequently the field strength of an individual transmitter of an identification signal.
Advantageously, the identification signal may be transmitted by a user's mobile identification transmitter. Because the identification signal is relayed, as already described above, it is also not necessary to increase the transmit power of the identification transmitter's transmitting device in order to be able to cover a large area or bridge a long distance for the purpose of controlling the vehicle assigned to the identification transmitter by means of the identification signal.
According to a possible embodiment, the vehicle function can include an outputting of optical signals (flashes of light, for example) and/or an outputting of acoustic signals (hooting sounds, for example).
Advantageous embodiments of the above-described identification arrangement can to that extent also be transferred to the vehicle or the method, and are also to be regarded as advantageous embodiments of the vehicle or the method.
Referring first to
The vehicle FZ1 comprises an identification arrangement IA1, which in this case is part of an access arrangement or of an access authorization system. The access arrangement IA1 has therein a vehicle-side control and evaluation device (referred to in the following as control device for short) ST1, which is connected to various further devices. In this arrangement the control device ST1 is connected to a vehicle-side transmitting/receiving device SE1 which is able to communicate by means of a vehicle-side antenna AN1 via a radio link firstly with a mobile identification transmitter IDG (via the radio link FSI) and secondly with one or more further vehicles (via the radio link FSF). The control device ST1 is also connected to a light control device LSE1, said light control device LSE1 being able, upon receiving a light control signal LSS, to activate or deactivate a lighting device BL1, in this case taking the form of a turn signal indicator or lower-beam headlamp, for example. The control device ST1 is additionally connected to a vehicle horn HU1, said vehicle horn HU1 being able, upon receiving an acoustic control signal ASS, to output an acoustic signal or horn signal. In this case the light control device LSE1 or the lighting device BL1 provides optical output means for outputting optical signals to a driver or user, while the horn HU1 provides an acoustic output means for outputting acoustic signals for a user or driver.
In the example described here, the identification arrangement IA1 is, as already mentioned, part of an access arrangement which unlocks one or more door locks of the vehicle FZ1 for a user, for example in response to a corresponding access request which is transmitted by the mobile identification transmitter IDG. For this purpose the control device ST1 is also connected to a door lock TS1, said door lock TS1, which can represent a central locking system for example, being controllable from the control device ST1 by means of a door signal TSS, either for unlocking (or also locking) the door lock TS1.
As has been described in the foregoing, the vehicle FZ1 will communicate with the mobile identification transmitter IDG via the radio link FSI or receive an identification signal IDS containing a code CO from said mobile identification transmitter IDG. A prerequisite for this is that the mobile identification transmitter IDG is located within a certain area around the vehicle at a distance that is less than the distance AB1, in which the signals emitted by the mobile identification transmitter IDG still have a sufficient field strength to be received correctly by the vehicle FZ1. For the purpose of emitting or transmitting signals a mobile identification transmitter IDG has an identification-transmitter-side antenna ANI which is connected to an identification-transmitter-side transmitting device or to a transmitting/receiving device SEI (as shown in
It should also be mentioned that in order to use the identification transmitter IDG in the form of a remote control in which the identification transmitter only transmits signals, it is also necessary to provide only a transmitting device (instead of the transmitting/receiving device just described). If, however, the identification transmitter is (also) to be used as part of a passive access authorization system or a passive access arrangement in which the vehicle FZ1 initially sends a request signal to the identification transmitter IDG so that the latter will finally send back the identification signal containing the identification code for verification purposes, it is advantageous to equip the identification transmitter IDG with a transmitting/receiving device.
Reference is now made to
In the event that the vehicle FZ1 which initially received the identification signal is not assigned to the identification transmitter IDG, it will become clear in step S5 that the identification code CO transferred with the identification signal IDS is invalid for the vehicle FZ1, with the result that in this case the control device ST1 prompts the transmitting/receiving device SE1 to generate a new identification signal IDS′ containing the identification code CO and transmit same by means of the antenna AN1 via radio link FSF according to step S7. Since the identification signal IDS′ corresponds to the identification signal IDS, it is possible in this case to talk of a forwarding of the identification signal IDS by the vehicle FZ1. It should be mentioned here that before the signal is forwarded, information (hopping information) relating to the number of forwarding operations can be inserted into the identification signal IDS′ or updated therein by the transmitting/receiving device SE1 (for example by prompting the control device ST1). In the example, said information in the situation just described would then have the value “1”, since this relates to the first forwarding operation.
As shown schematically in
The vehicle FZ2 is therefore located within an area around the vehicle FZ1 (as shown in
If, however, it should transpire in step S9 that the code CO is invalid, in step S11 the second vehicle FZ2 too will (prompted by the control device ST2) retransmit or forward the identification signal (in the form of the identification signal IDS″). Before the signal is forwarded, the hopping information can then be updated again and incremented or, in the situation just described, set from “1” to “2”. According to the above explanation, an identification signal forwarded in this way can then be received by one or more further vehicles and checked in respect of the validity of the identification code contained therein. It should be mentioned that the forwarding of the information signal can be made dependent on the number of forwarding operations in the hopping information not yet having exceeded a predefined limit value. When a signal is forwarded it must therefore be checked whether on the one hand a code CO has been recognized as invalid and on the other hand the predefined limit value for forwarding operations has not yet been exceeded. In other words, if the number of forwarding operations exceeds the limit value, the identification signal will not be forwarded even though the code CO has not been recognized as valid.
Whereas in
The identification signal IDS′ is now received by a vehicle within the transmission range R2 of the vehicle FZ2, namely by the vehicle FZ3 in the example. In the same way as the two vehicles FZ1 and FZ2 did previously, the vehicle FZ3 now also checks whether the identification code contained in the identification signal IDS″ is valid or whether the vehicle FZ3 is assigned to the identification transmitter IDG. In the example of
Reference will now be made to
It is furthermore conceivable that one of the areas B1 or B2 is blocked or cannot be read, which constitutes information for a vehicle receiving the identification signal that if the result of the check is negative, the identification signal IDS may not be forwarded. Blocking information of this kind can be set by the user of an identification transmitter for example in order to avoid further persons being informed about the location of his/her vehicle, in particular if the vehicle is parked at a relatively great distance from the identification transmitter or the user. In particular when the identification signal IDS is not only to serve for identifying or making known the location of a vehicle, but also to effect an unlocking of door locks because the identification system or the identification arrangement in a vehicle is part of the access arrangement, it can be advantageous in certain cases to provide blocking information as described above or any other blocking information (for forwarding) in the identification signal.
Furthermore, in addition or alternatively to the address information AD in the identification signal IDS it is possible to provide the hopping information Z, which includes for example a counter that can be updated or incremented each time the identification signal IDS is forwarded. In addition to the hopping information, a limit value or limit value information G can also be provided which specifies how often an identification signal may be forwarded. This limit value information G can be inserted by the identification transmitter IDG transmitting the identification signal IDS. The limit value information G (in particular in conjunction with the hopping information) can therefore be used as blocking information. In particular in the case where the limit value information G contains the value “0”, no forwarding whatsoever is permitted.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2006 053 619.3 | Nov 2006 | DE | national |
