Patent Application
20160359977
The invention relates to a system for data interchange between at least one vehicle and at least one mobile terminal.
It is known practice for mobile terminals to be connected to the entertainment system and/or infotainment system of vehicles, for example in order to play back music files from the mobile terminal in the entertainment system of the vehicle. Modern vehicles have head units that allow vehicle parameters to be displayed on a mobile terminal. This frequently involves a radio link being set up between the head unit of the infotainment system and the mobile terminal. A corresponding system is described in WO 2011/045750 A1. A disadvantage of corresponding systems is that the software that runs on the mobile terminal needs to be developed specifically for the latter. Development of a new piece of software is time consuming. In order to render new functions available on mobile terminals, it is frequently necessary for the software within the vehicle, for example on the head unit, to be updated too. This software is also proprietary software that has been written specifically for particular vehicles and particular head units. Since this software may perform or influence safety-relevant functions, updating of this software is extremely complex. Furthermore, it is difficult to distribute updated software in the vehicles.
Furthermore, there are approaches to install web browsers in the head unit of vehicles in order to allow mobile access to the Internet within the vehicle. For this, the vehicle has, in most cases, a GSM module or a similar module for data interchange via a cellular network or a mobile radio network. There is no provision for display of internal information, for example vehicle parameters, in corresponding applications. Furthermore, there are no opportunities to influence vehicle functions via corresponding web applications.
Against the background of this prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for data interchange between at least one vehicle and at least one mobile terminal that allows efficient communication of the data and uses software that can be updated in a simple and efficient manner. Furthermore, the system is intended to be designed such that security-relevant vehicle functions are protected against unauthorized access.
This and other objects are achieved by a system for data interchange between at least one vehicle and at least one mobile terminal, wherein the system comprises:
A particular advantage of the system described is that the vehicle integration application, which preferably contains the essential logic for communication with the vehicle, is executed within a vehicle browser application, for example a web browser. In this respect, it is possible to provide an isolated area for execution of the vehicle integration application, within which area there is a precise stipulation of what access operations are permitted. Furthermore, the vehicle integration application can be updated in a simple manner since it can access predefined interfaces within the vehicle browser application. Redevelopment or further development is therefore possible in a simple manner. The vehicle browser application furthermore has the advantage that it simplifies visual display of particular data. In this regard, it is possible to access known standards, for example HTML or XHTML.
Preferably, communication between the vehicle and the mobile terminal takes place via the switching server. This indirect communication allows known standards to be used in order to set up a connection from the mobile terminal or the vehicle integration application. The switching server can be used as a type of cache or proxy that buffer-stores relevant data from the terminal and/or from the vehicle. The indirect communication furthermore ensures that the vehicle must/can communicate only with trustworthy sources via predefined interfaces. In this respect, deliberate or unwitting damage to the components of the onboard power supply of the vehicle can be avoided.
The mobile terminal can also execute a terminal browser application, wherein one or more user applications are executed within the terminal browser application. In this respect, similar advantages are also obtained for the terminal as have already been described for the vehicle. It is thus possible for the access rights to be precisely defined within the terminal browser application for the user applications too. Furthermore, simple and efficient visual display opportunities arise. The known terminal browser applications frequently work independently of the underlying mobile terminal. In this respect, it is possible for mobile telephones, tablets, tablet PCs and laptops to be used for executing the user applications, without the need for modification of the user application.
Preferably, the user application and/or the vehicle integration application is/are an HTML5 application. The user application can contain the actual application logic.
The user application may be identifiable via a uniform resource identifier (URI). Preferably, the user application can be downloaded within the terminal browser application in a simple manner by the input of a corresponding URI. In this respect, it is not necessary to install dedicated software for data interchange with a particular vehicle.
By way of example, a public application server can be used for storing and providing the at least one user application. This may be an HTTP server from which the user applications can be requested by means of input of a URL or of the URI.
The switching server may be connected to the terminal and/or the vehicle browser application by HTTP. In this respect, it is possible to use an already well established communication protocol that is also supported by many terminals. Use of the switching server eliminates the problem that current browsers cannot set up direct connections, in particular direct HTTP connections, for one another. The switching server can accept messages and data from the individual browser or web browser applications, can buffer-store said messages and data and forward them to the other browsers. It is thus used as a switching center. A further advantage of the switching server is that asynchronous communication is possible. This is particularly advantageous because vehicles and mobile terminals are moving objects that cannot always access the necessary infrastructure for communication among one another or with the switching server. By way of example, the vehicle and the mobile terminal may be in a region in which there is no network coverage. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the vehicle browser application and/or the terminal browser application set(s) up a connection to the switching server that persists for a relatively long period. Data can then be interchanged via these open connections (“HTTP long polling”).
Preferably, the switching server is reachable via the Internet and is implemented neither on the hardware of the vehicle nor on the hardware of the mobile terminal. In a variation of this exemplary embodiment, the vehicle or the mobile terminal can implement a corresponding switching server, preferably an HTTP server, so that the switching functionality can be ensured locally.
In one exemplary embodiment, the vehicle integration application and/or the user application provide(s) different basic functions. On the part of the vehicle integration application, this may be the opportunity to display different graphical user elements, for example menus, buttons, on various display devices in the vehicle. Furthermore, vehicle functions and vehicle parameters (position, speed, etc.) may be requestable. On the part of the user application, the basic functions can include management of different user applications, and different further functionalities. By way of example, retrieval of news, the weather, emails or profile properties of the user.
The vehicle integration application may be designed to communicate with a plurality of components of the onboard power supply system, particularly vehicle actuators and/or vehicle sensors, via at least one system bus of the vehicle. In this respect, the aforementioned vehicle functions can be provided and the vehicle parameters can be requested.
The vehicle integration application may be designed to receive an inquiry regarding a vehicle parameter from the switching server, to request the vehicle parameter from a vehicle sensor and to store said vehicle parameter on the switching server.
The terminal and/or the vehicle can communicate with the switching server via a mobile radio network.
To increase safety, the application server that provides the vehicle integration application may be a dedicated server within a dedicated network. By contrast, the application for the mobile terminal may be stored within a public network in order to increase the accessibility of said application.
In a modified system or additionally, signed program code can be sent from the mobile terminal via the switching serving to the vehicle. This signed program code may be either the vehicle integration application itself or a subapplication that runs within the vehicle integration application and resorts to functions thereof.
In a further exemplary embodiment, the communication to the vehicle can be abstracted and a simulation of the functionalities of the vehicle can be performed on a mobile terminal.
The object is furthermore achieved by a method for data interchange between at least one vehicle and at least one mobile terminal, wherein the method comprises the following acts:
(a) acceptance of a first HTTP connection from the vehicle by a switching server;
(b) acceptance of a second HTTP connection from the mobile terminal by he switching server;
(c) reception of an inquiry from the mobile terminal by the switching server;
(d) association of the inquiry with the first HTTP connection and/or the vehicle by the switching server;
(e) forwarding of the inquiry via the first HTTP connection to the vehicle.
The method can be carried out within the system already described or individual subcomponents of the system described. Similar advantages to those already described in connection with the apparatus are obtained.
In particular, more reliable communication between the terminal and the vehicle is made possible, with fast and efficient interchange of the software used being ensured.
The object is furthermore achieved by means of a computer-readable medium comprising instructions for performing the method described when these instructions are executed on a computation unit.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the description that follows, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are the same and have the same action.
As shown schematically in
In one embodiment, the head unit 40 can request vehicle parameters, for example a temperature by means of the temperature sensor 33, or a speed by means of the speed sensor 32. Furthermore, it is possible for the head unit 40 to trigger vehicle functions, for example using an actuator, e.g. the door opener 34. Appropriate inquiries and commands can be output by the head unit 40 via the system bus 31. Furthermore, the necessary parameters can be received by the system bus 31.
According to the invention, a system and a method for data interchange between the vehicle 10 and a mobile terminal 50 (
In one exemplary embodiment, the head unit 40 comprises not only the HU display device 41 and the HU input unit 42 already described, but also a Bluetooth module 44 and an HU mobile radio module 46. The HU Bluetooth module 44 and the HU mobile radio module 46 can be used to set up a communicative connection to the Smartphone 50 (mobile terminal). Accordingly, the Smartphone 50 comprises a Bluetooth module, namely a CE Bluetooth module 54, and a mobile radio module, namely a CE mobile radio module 56. In the exemplary embodiment described, there is thus the possibility of direct device to device communication via Bluetooth, and of indirect communication via a public network, for example the Internet 4. For the indirect communication, the mobile radio modules 46 and 56 each set up a communication link via a mobile radio network.
Accordingly, there exist a first Internet connection 2 between the head unit 40 and the Internet 4 and a second Internet connection 2′ between the Smartphone 50 and the Internet 4.
These Internet connections 2, 2′ can be used in order to keep the software of the vehicle 10 and/or of the mobile terminal 50 up to date and to distribute new software with new functionality.
According to the invention, the head unit 40 executes a browser application, namely a vehicle browser application 60. This vehicle browser application 60 provides an environment within which a vehicle integration application 61 can be executed. Preferably, this vehicle integration application 61 is downloaded from a dedicated application server 80 (
In one exemplary embodiment, the Smartphone 50 also executes a web browser, namely a CE web browser 70. This CE web browser 70 is also used as an execution frame for an application, namely a user application 71, which is preferably loaded from a public application server 90. By way of example, it is contemplated for a user to simply input an appropriate URL or URI into the CE web browser 70 in order to load the current user application 71. It is contemplated for this user application 71 to be buffer stored by the Smartphone 50 or reloaded for each use.
In order to increase user convenience, there is indirect connection between the Smartphone 50 and the vehicle 10. To be more precise, a corresponding indirect connection is set up between the vehicle integration application 61 and the user application 71. This connection allows efficient data exchange between the vehicle and any desired mobile terminal, for example the Smartphone 50. This data interchange allows the user to be provided with a multiplicity of services, for example email reading on HU display device 41, email writing using the HU input unit 42, playback of music stored on the Smartphone 50, etc. Besides these applications, it is also possible for functions and parameters of the vehicle to be requested. By way of example, the Smartphone 50 can be used to unlock doors of the vehicle 10 or to switch on a vehicle heater.
It is also possible for vehicle parameters, such as the vehicle speed or the fill level of the fuel tank, to be requested by use of the Smartphone 50.
In the exemplary embodiment described in reference to
In one preferred exemplary embodiment, the vehicle 10, like the Smartphone 50, sets up an HTTP connection to the switching server 100 at a relatively early time. On the basis of provided identification data, the switching server 100 knows which vehicle integration application 61 is permitted or intended to communicate with which user application 71. Similarly, the switching server 100 knows which user application 71 on which Smartphone 50 is permitted or intended to communicate with which vehicle integration application 61 on which vehicle 10. Following the setup of the indirect connection between the user application 71 and the vehicle integration application 61, data can he exchanged in any desired form. Preferably, the vehicle integration application 61 and the user application 71 are HTML5 applications that use Ajax to set up asynchronous data transmission to the switching server 100.
It is thus possible for the user application 71 to request the speed of the vehicle 10, for example. This involves an appropriate inquiry being sent to the switching server 100, which in turn forwards the inquiry to the vehicle, to be more precise the vehicle integration application 61. The vehicle integration application 61 uses an appropriate interface to communicate with the system bus 31 and is thus able to access all components of the onboard power supply system 30. By way of example, the speed sensor 32 can deliver the requested speed via the system bus 31. The vehicle integration application 61 then forwards this vehicle parameter to the switching server 100, which in turn sends this vehicle parameter to the user application 71.
In another exemplary embodiment, the vehicle integration application 61 can request appropriate vehicle parameters on the system bus 31 at prescribed intervals of time and send them to the switching server 100, which stores these vehicle parameters until the user application 71 or another application requests a corresponding vehicle parameter. Similarly, the switching server 100 can buffer store inquiries from the user application 71 until an appropriately configured vehicle integration application 61 requests and processes this inquiry.
In another exemplary embodiment shown in
It is possible for the exemplary embodiment shown in
Similarly, it is contemplated for the switching server 100 to be implemented on the Smartphone 50.
In the exemplary embodiments described, the communication between a vehicle 10 and a Smartphone 50 has been described. Similarly, it is possible for a corresponding communication to be set up between any other mobile terminal.
The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2014 203 060.9 | Feb 2014 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2014/078737, filed Dec. 19, 2014, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from German Patent Application No. 10 2014 203 060.9, filed Feb. 20, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2014/078737 | Dec 2014 | US |
| Child | 15241190 | US |
