Method and device for externally starting a vehicle's engine, and a correspondingly designed vehicle

Abstract

Method for externally starting a vehicle's engine, wherein the engine (13) is started by a driver located outside the vehicle (10), characterized by, Searching using at least one external antenna (3, 3') of the vehicle (10) for a key (20) authorized to deactivate an immobilizer (9) of the vehicle (10), Deactivating the immobilizer (9) if the authorized key (20) has been detected, and Starting the engine (13) if the immobilizer (9) has been deactivated.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a device for starting the engine of a vehicle from outside the vehicle, and to a vehicle equipped with the corresponding device.

[0002] DE 10 2004 027 869 A1 describes a method for automated parking and / or exiting of a motor vehicle.

[0003] DE 198 17 142 B4 refers to a parking aid for motor vehicles.

[0004] EP 1 249 379 B1 describes a method and a device for moving a motor vehicle into a target position.

[0005] DE 10 2005 009 703 A1 discloses a parking aid device for a vehicle and a method for parking support in which a distance traveled from a starting point to an endpoint is stored. The vehicle can then be automatically guided along the stored route.

[0006] German patent DE 10 2007 027 438 A1 proposes a method for controlling a parking assistance system for vehicles that are parked laterally parallel to an obstacle, particularly on one or both sides in the direction of travel. This method involves evaluating sensor data relating to the distances to obstacles within the parking area and the vehicle's own speed and / or steering position data, and controlling the parking assistance system using this evaluated sensor data. Upon automatic, semi-automatic, or driver-initiated detection of a parking area whose optimal parking position lies outside a central parking position within the area, an automatic, semi-automatic, or driver-initiated correction to a laterally offset parking position is made, particularly depending on the presence of occupants on the passenger side.

[0007] German patent DE 196 30 747 C1 describes an anti-theft system for motor vehicles, which includes a portable primary code generator that, when activated, transmits a coded engine start signal via a transmitter unit. A receiver unit in the vehicle receives the signal and compares it with an expected coded signal. If the signals match, an engine start control signal is generated. A central control unit in the vehicle only releases the vehicle for use or driving if a release signal received by the control unit matches an expected desired release signal. The release signal is generated by the primary code generator or another primary code generator in the vehicle.

[0008] German patent application DE 698 31 696 T2 describes a keyless entry system that can be used to unlock a motor vehicle and start its engine. In this system, the user activates a remote control by selecting a function for the vehicle. A query number is then exchanged and used in an encryption algorithm by both the remote control and a control circuit in the vehicle to generate separate algorithmic responses independently. A first verification signal is issued if the control circuit determines that both responses are identical. The remote control also sends its unique remote control identifier and the name of the selected function to the control circuit. If the received remote control identifier matches a list of authorized remote controls stored in the control circuit, a second verification signal is issued.If both the first and second test warnings are issued, the control circuit outputs a signal that causes the vehicle to perform the selected function.

[0009] According to current technology, the engine of a modern vehicle can only be started if a key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer is detected inside the vehicle at the time of starting. Therefore, externally removing a vehicle from a parking space, where a driver outside the vehicle starts the engine and moves the vehicle out of the parking space, is made more difficult, as the driver must first bring a key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer inside the vehicle.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to facilitate the process of external parking compared to the prior art described above.

[0011] According to the invention, this problem is solved by a method for externally starting the engine of a vehicle according to claim 1, a device for externally starting the engine of a vehicle according to claim 6, and a vehicle according to claim 11. The dependent claims define preferred and advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0012] The present invention provides a method for externally starting a vehicle's engine, wherein the engine is started by an operator located outside the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle's driver). The method uses at least one external antenna of the vehicle to search for a key authorized to deactivate the vehicle's immobilizer. If the authorized key is detected, the immobilizer is deactivated and the engine is started.

[0013] By locating the key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer via one or more external antennas of the vehicle, the authorized key for starting the engine, and thus for remotely parking or maneuvering the vehicle, does not need to be inside the vehicle. It is also detected when it is located near the vehicle outside of it (for example, in the hand of the driver initiating the start command). This improves the remote parking and maneuvering of a vehicle compared to current technology, while still requiring the usual identification process for deactivating the immobilizer.

[0014] The search for the authorized key begins specifically when a radio signal for starting the vehicle's engine is detected via at least one external antenna. In other words, the search for the authorized key only starts if this radio signal for starting the vehicle's engine has been detected. This radio signal for starting the engine could also be a signal for autonomous parking or maneuvering, since the engine must be started for these functions.

[0015] This means that the key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer is advantageously only searched for outside the vehicle when a start command for the engine is initiated from outside the vehicle.

[0016] The external antennas are preferably used to detect the key with an authorized transponder during the locking and unlocking process, or for starting the engine from outside the vehicle. The position of the key with the authorized transponder can be determined as the driver's side, passenger's side, tailgate, or preferably also the front of the vehicle. The external antennas are preferably located in the area of ​​the exterior door handles, the tailgate, and preferably also in the front. The detection range of the external antennas extends from the vehicle's outer skin outwards.

[0017] The interior antennas are used to detect the key with an authorized transponder inside the vehicle for starting the engine, driving, and locking the doors. The detection range of the interior antennas extends over the vehicle interior, including the trunk. The detection range of the interior antennas preferably does not overlap with that of the exterior antennas.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one external antenna comprises several external antennas. To locate the authorized key for remotely starting the engine, in this embodiment the external antennas are connected to the vehicle's internal antenna connections, and several internal antennas are connected to external antenna connections. This allows the authorized key to be located via the internal antenna connections using the external antennas. After the engine is started, the internal antennas are connected to the internal antenna connections, and the external antennas are connected to the external antenna connections.

[0019] In this embodiment, the coupling between the internal antenna connections or external antenna connections and the internal or external antennas can be achieved with a switching device (e.g., a relay), so that a shift of the search area or verification area of ​​the authorized key from inside to outside and back is possible without changing the software of a control unit (e.g., the comfort control unit) by using the switching device.

[0020] Furthermore, it is possible for information to be stored (e.g., in a permanent memory before the ignition is switched off) indicating whether the vehicle was automatically parked immediately before the engine was last switched off, specifically by a driver outside the vehicle. Only if the vehicle was automatically parked immediately before the engine was last switched off can the engine be started externally.

[0021] This embodiment of the invention, as described above, can be further refined within the scope of the present invention by storing information about whether the vehicle was automatically parked in a perpendicular parking space immediately before the engine was last switched off. Only if this was the case can the vehicle be started externally. A perpendicular parking space is defined as a parking space that extends perpendicularly to a roadway adjacent to it. When several perpendicular parking spaces are located side by side, the vehicles parked in these spaces are parallel to each other, side by side.

[0022] If, according to the invention, the vehicle's engine can only be started externally and the vehicle can only be parked by a driver outside the vehicle if it has previously been parked automatically, it is ensured that, as a rule, automatic parking is also possible. Limiting this to perpendicular parking spaces is advantageous because, firstly, parking out of a perpendicular space (like parking) is possible without large steering movements, and secondly, parking out of a perpendicular space, due to the often small distance between the parked vehicle and its neighbor on the driver's side, is a frequent problem that is solved by the present invention. In these embodiments, where an external engine start is only possible if the vehicle has previously been parked automatically, external parking is only possible if the vehicle's engine is already running, i.e.,The vehicle's engine cannot be started externally for automatic parking, as in this case the condition that the vehicle was previously parked automatically is not met.

[0023] Within the scope of the present invention, a device for externally starting a vehicle's engine is also provided. The engine can be started by a driver outside the vehicle using the device according to the invention. The device comprises an immobilizer, at least one external antenna, and a control unit. Using the at least one external antenna, the device searches for a key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer. The control unit deactivates the immobilizer if the device has previously detected the authorized key via its one or more external antennas. If the device has previously deactivated the immobilizer, it outputs a signal to start the engine.

[0024] In particular, the device only begins searching for the authorized key if it has received a radio signal to park the vehicle via at least one external antenna.

[0025] The advantages of the device according to the invention essentially correspond to the advantages of the method according to the invention, which have been explained in detail above, so that a repetition is omitted here.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the device comprises at least one switching device, several internal antennas, several internal antenna connections, and several external antenna connections. To locate the authorized key, the device connects the internal antennas to the external antenna connections and vice versa via the at least one switching device. This allows the device to search for the authorized key using the internal antenna connections and the external antenna connections. Connecting the external antenna connections to the internal antennas prevents the device from reporting an error, which would occur if the external antenna connections were not connected to any antenna. After the engine is started, the internal antennas are connected to the internal antenna connections and the external antennas to the external antenna connections by means of the at least one switching device.

[0027] The device may also include an external antenna in the front area of ​​the vehicle.

[0028] With an external antenna in the front of the vehicle, the key of a driver located in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel can also be detected when the engine is started externally or when the vehicle is parked externally.

[0029] Finally, a vehicle equipped with a device according to the invention is also provided within the scope of the present invention.

[0030] The present invention is particularly suitable for an external engine start for a vehicle, enabling the vehicle to be parked or unparked autonomously by a driver located outside the vehicle using a parking assistant. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this preferred application. The present invention is also suitable, in principle, when a search is conducted in an external area of ​​a vehicle for an authorized key, which in normal applications is located inside the vehicle. Furthermore, the present invention can also be used in rail-bound vehicles, ships, or aircraft.

[0031] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures and to preferred embodiments according to the invention. In Fig. Figure 1 shows a vehicle according to the invention with several internal and external antennas, wherein the detection range is shown for each antenna. In Fig. Figure 2 shows an antenna switch between indoor and outdoor antennas. Fig. Figure 3 schematically represents a vehicle according to the invention with a device according to the invention.

[0032] Fig. Figure 1 represents a vehicle 10 according to the invention, which comprises three internal antennas 2 and four external antennas 3, 3'. One external antenna 3 is located on the driver's door, one external antenna 3 on the passenger door, one external antenna 3 at the rear of the vehicle 10, and one external antenna 3' at the front of the vehicle 10. Fig. Figure 1 also shows the detection ranges 11 of the internal antennas 2 and the detection ranges 12 of the external antennas 3, 3'. A detection range 11, 12 indicates the area in which a key, searched for via the respective internal antenna 2 or via the respective external antenna 3, 3', which is authorized to deactivate an immobilizer of the vehicle 10, is detected by the respective antenna.

[0033] It can be seen that an authorized key is also detected in an area 12 in front of the vehicle 10 due to the external antenna 3' mounted on the front of the vehicle 10. Therefore, the engine of the vehicle 10 can also be started by a driver located in front of the vehicle 10, provided that he is in the designated detection area 12 and has the authorized key with him, so that this driver can then also park the vehicle 10 automatically.

[0034] In Fig. Figure 2 shows a device 1 according to the invention with an antenna switch. The device 1 shown according to the invention comprises three indoor antennas 2 and four outdoor antennas 3 3'. In addition, the device 1 according to the invention comprises indoor antenna connections 4 and outdoor antenna connections 5 as well as switching devices 8. In the Fig. In the operating state of device 1 shown in Figure 2, the indoor antennas 2 are connected to the indoor antenna terminals 4 and the outdoor antennas 3, 3' are connected to the outdoor antenna terminals 5. However, if all the switching devices 8 are switched, the indoor antenna terminals 4 are connected to the outdoor antennas 3, 3' and the outdoor antenna terminals 5 are connected to the indoor antennas 2.

[0035] In normal operating mode, where an instruction to start the engine is given, for example, by pressing a button inside the vehicle, the interior antenna connections 4 are connected to the interior antennas 2 via the switching devices 8. This allows the device 1 to search for the key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer via the interior antennas 2, i.e., inside the vehicle 10 (11). If the device 1 receives a radio signal for an external engine start, the switching devices 8 are switched so that the interior antenna connections 4 are connected to the exterior antennas 3 and 3', and the exterior antenna connections 5 are connected to the interior antennas 2. In this way, the device 1 uses the exterior antennas 3 and 3' to search for a key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer inside the vehicle 10 (12).By actuating the switching devices 8, the verification area (the area in which the authorized key is searched for) is shifted from the inside to the outside, without requiring a major software change for a control unit (e.g., for the comfort control unit of the vehicle 10). After the search for the authorized key is completed (if successful, after the engine of the vehicle 10 is started), the switching devices 8 are returned to their original position. Fig. The state shown in section 2 (normal state) has been switched back.

[0036] To simplify the extension of the device 1 for external engine starting compared to a device in which external engine starting is not possible, the additional external antenna 3' for external engine starting is connected in series with an existing external antenna (for example, in series with the external antenna 3 located at the rear of the vehicle 10), as shown in Fig. 2 is shown.

[0037] In Fig. Figure 3 schematically depicts a vehicle 10 according to the invention with a device 1 according to the invention. The device 1 according to the invention comprises an immobilizer 9, a control unit 6, a switching device 8, an LF (low frequency) antenna 7 for the interior, a UHF (ultra-high frequency) interior antenna 2, an LF antenna 7 for the exterior, and a UHF exterior antenna 3. The control unit 6 is connected to an engine 13 of the vehicle. A radio key 20 is shown outside the vehicle 10.

[0038] If the engine start is initiated, for example, via a button located in the vehicle 10, the control unit 6 switches the switching device 8 such that an LF radio signal (usually 125 kHz) is transmitted via the LF antenna 7 for the interior. A key located inside the vehicle, authorized to deactivate the immobilizer 9, receives this LF radio signal and then transmits a UHF radio signal, which is detected by the UHF interior antenna 2. If the control unit 6 authenticates the radio signal received by the interior antenna 2 as a radio signal transmitted by a key authorized to deactivate the immobilizer 9, the control unit 6 deactivates the immobilizer 9, releases the vehicle's steering, and starts the engine 13 by means of a control signal for terminal control.

[0039] If, on the other hand, the control unit 6 receives a radio signal for external engine start (or for external parking) from the remote key 20 located outside the vehicle via the UHF external antenna 3, the control unit switches the switching device 8 such that an LF radio signal is transmitted via the LF antenna 7 for the outside area. This LF radio signal is received by the remote key 20, which then transmits a UHF radio signal, which is received by the UHF external antenna 3 and forwarded to the control unit 6. If the control unit 6 authenticates this UHF radio signal (just as in the previously described scenario for the interior) as a correct signal, the control unit 6 deactivates the immobilizer 9, releases the steering of the vehicle and starts the engine 13 by means of the control signal for the terminal control, so that the engine 13 of the vehicle can be started automatically and thus the vehicle 10 can be parked automatically. Reference symbol list 1 Device 2 indoor antennas 3.3' external antenna 4 Indoor antenna connection 5 external antenna connection 6 Control unit 7 LF antenna 8 relays 9 Immobilizer 10 vehicles 11 Detection range, interior 12 Detection range, outdoor area 13 Engine 20 keys K1-K6 relays

Claims

[1] Method for externally starting a vehicle engine, wherein the engine (13) is started by a driver located outside the vehicle (10), characterized by , Searching using at least one external antenna (3, 3') of the vehicle (10) for a key (20) authorized to deactivate an immobilizer (9) of the vehicle (10), Deactivating the immobilizer (9) if the authorized key (20) has been detected, and Starting the engine (13) if the immobilizer (9) has been deactivated. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the search for the authorized key (20) will only begin if a radio signal for external engine start of the vehicle (10) is received via at least one external antenna (3, 3'). [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the at least one external antenna comprises several external antennas (3, 3'), that to search for the authorized key (20) the external antennas (3, 3') of the vehicle (10) are coupled with internal antenna connections (4) of the vehicle (10) and several internal antennas (2) of the vehicle (10) are coupled with external antenna connections (5), so that the authorized key (20) is searched for via the internal antenna connections (4) using the external antennas (3, 3'), and that after the engine (13) is started the indoor antennas (2) are coupled to the indoor antenna connections (4) and the outdoor antennas (3, 3') are coupled to the outdoor antenna connections (5). [4] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that it is saved whether the vehicle (10) was automatically parked immediately before the last time the engine (13) was switched off, and that the engine (13) is only started if the vehicle (10) was automatically parked immediately before the engine (13) was last switched off. [5] Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that it is recorded whether the vehicle (10) was automatically parked in a perpendicular parking space immediately before the engine (13) was last switched off, whereby the vehicle (10) can be parked out of a perpendicular parking space straight ahead or straight backwards without any steering movement, and that the engine (13) is only started if the vehicle (10) was automatically parked in a perpendicular parking space immediately after the engine (13) was last switched off. [6] Device for externally starting the engine of a vehicle, wherein the motor (13) can be started by means of the device (1) by a driver located outside the vehicle (10), characterized by , that the device (1) comprises an immobilizer (9), at least one external antenna (3, 3') and a control unit (6), that the device (1) is designed such that the device (1) searches for a key (20) authorized to deactivate the immobilizer (9) by means of the at least one external antenna (3, 3'), that the device (1) deactivates the immobilizer (9) by means of the control unit (6) if the device (1) has previously detected the authorized key (20), and that the device (1) outputs a signal to start the engine (13) if the device (1) has previously deactivated the immobilizer (9). [7] Device according to claim 6, characterized by, that the device (1) is designed such that the device (1) only begins searching for the authorized key (20) when the device (1) has received a radio signal for external engine starting of the vehicle (10) via the at least one external antenna (3, 3'). [8] Device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by , that the device comprises at least one external antenna, several external antennas (3, 3'), that the device further comprises at least one switching device (K1-K6; 8), several internal antennas (2), several internal antenna connections (4) and several external antenna connections (5), and that the device (1) is designed such that, for the purpose of searching for the authorized key (20), the device (1) connects the internal antennas (2) to the external antenna connections (5) and the external antennas (3, 3') to the internal antenna connections (4) by means of the at least one switching device (K1-K6; 8), so that the authorized key (20) is searched for by means of the external antennas (3, 3') via the internal connections (4), and that, after the engine (13) has been started, the device (1) connects the internal antennas (2) to the internal antenna connections (4) and the external antennas (3, 3') to the external antenna connections (5) by means of the at least one switching device (K1-K6; 8). [9] Device according to one of claims 6-8, characterized by , that the device (1) as an external antenna also includes an antenna (3') in the front area of ​​the vehicle (10). [10] Device according to one of the claims, characterized by, that the device (1) is designed to carry out the method according to one of claims 1-5. [11] Vehicle with a device (1) according to any one of claims 6-10.

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