Motor vehicle with a communication device and method for transmitting data packets

Abstract

The present invention relates to a motor vehicle (10) having a communication device (12) for transmitting and receiving data packets (16, 22), wherein the communication device (12) has at least one wired interface (14) for transmitting a first data packet (16) to a base station (18) outside the motor vehicle and at least one receiver (20) for wirelessly receiving a second data packet (22), wherein the receiver (20) is designed to receive the second data packet (22) from at least one mobile device (24, 26) outside the motor vehicle, and the communication device (12) is designed to transmit the wirelessly received second data packet (22) as a first data packet (16) by wire. The present invention also relates to a method.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle having a communication device for transmitting and receiving data packets according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to a method for transmitting data packets. Background Art

[0002] Dead zones of mobile radio signal towers and weak coverage areas caused, for example, by high-rise buildings, and in particular areas where available base stations no longer allow new connections because, for example, they are fully loaded, can be compensated for by the operation of other base stations. For example, it is already known that femtocells or picocells are used, for example, in parking garages to improve the availability of mobile radio networks.

[0003] US 2016 / 0150451 A1 also discloses a vehicle wireless network router and its operation method, including: a complex communication interface for wireless access in a vehicle environment; a wireless local area network; a mobile network data interface; a downlink data link for a vehicle and / or users inside and in its environment; a data processing unit for data routing between interfaces; wherein the data processing unit is configured to: calculate the number of points for each available network; switch the uplink connection of the wireless network data router to the available network with the best number of points. In addition, a vehicle wireless network router is proposed for linking a vehicle to the Internet through multiple network devices, wherein the router is a mobile router, which is adapted to form a network of connected vehicles, and wherein the router is arranged to use parked vehicles to distribute the signal of a fixed hotspot. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle and a method that allow for better coverage of geographically complex areas with mobile radio technology.

[0005] This object is achieved by a motor vehicle and a method according to the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0006] One aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle having a communication device for transmitting and receiving data packets, wherein the communication device has at least one wired interface for transmitting a first data packet to a base station outside the motor vehicle and at least one receiver for wirelessly receiving a second data packet.

[0007] It is provided that the receiver is designed to receive the second data packet from at least one mobile device outside the motor vehicle, and the communication device is designed to transmit the wirelessly received second data packet as a first data packet by wired transmission.

[0008] The invention is therefore particularly advantageous if the motor vehicle is, for example, parked and has a line connection to a base station outside the motor vehicle, so that the line connection is used to transmit the second data packet from the mobile device. In other words, the motor vehicle is provided as an intermediate base station. The data packet can be data for communication, in particular voice communication.

[0009] This makes it possible to achieve better coverage of regions with complex topography with mobile radio technology. In addition, improved full utilization of motor vehicles can be achieved.

[0010] In particular, the motor vehicle is thus temporarily provided as a mobile radio base station. The motor vehicle receives data, in particular voice communications, at mobile radio frequencies and immediately transmits them to a base station outside the vehicle, where further processing takes place.

[0011] In this case, the motor vehicle in particular uses an antenna, in particular a receiver, and an existing mobile radio module already present in the motor vehicle in order to be suitable for identification as a base station during the stationary period. In this case, the motor vehicle does not evaluate the data, but only transmits it directly to the outside via the connection interface. The real base station of the mobile radio provider, i.e. the base station outside the motor vehicle, generally uses an adaptive transmission power and its transmission intensity is reduced in this area. As a result, conflicts due to simultaneous transmissions at the same frequency are also not caused. In particular, since the receiver of the motor vehicle allows a significantly higher transmission power than the mobile device, the reduced power of the real base station in this area is not a problem for this process.

[0012] For example, another motor vehicle can be regarded as a mobile device. In addition, a mobile phone or a tablet can be regarded as a mobile device which can then be connected to the motor vehicle as a base station.

[0013] In particular, it can also be provided for this purpose that other motor vehicles as mobile devices are connected via the network according to the Mesh Standard. In this case, all available connection methods, such as WLAN, mobile radio or Ethernet, are treated in the same way and the corresponding suitable connection methods are adopted and shared with other participants in the mesh network. Thus, if, for example, a motor vehicle happens to have a wired or wired connection to a base station outside the motor vehicle, the motor vehicles as mobile devices within the range can jointly use this link, for example by means of WLAN, instead of using a mobile radio link. This makes it possible for other motor vehicles to use data more quickly, in particular, because a short path is formed between the motor vehicle and the other motor vehicles.

[0014] Thus, by networking the motor vehicles, alternative uplink and downlink links are provided, thereby achieving improved speed and cost links for the motor vehicles.

[0015] According to an advantageous embodiment, the motor vehicle is designed as an at least partially electrically driven motor vehicle and has a charging connector / charging interface for connecting an external charging plug of the motor vehicle, and a wiring interface is formed on the charging connector, so that during charging of the motor vehicle, the cable connection is designed to transmit a first data packet between the motor vehicle and the charging station. In other words, the transmission of the first data packet takes place especially during the charging process of the motor vehicle. In particular, the external charging plug of the charging station can have a corresponding other interface for this purpose, which corresponds to the wiring interface of the communication device. When the charging plug is inserted into the charging connector of the motor vehicle, the communication device and the charging station are then combined with each other. The first data packet is then transmitted from the motor vehicle, especially from the communication device, to the charging station, which in turn is logically connected to an external base station of the motor vehicle, so that the first data packet can be further processed there. Thus, the charging time of the at least partially electrically driven motor vehicle can in particular be used to enable improved mobile radio coverage.

[0016] It has also proven advantageous that, for the wired transmission of the first data packet, the motor vehicle is parked. In other words, the motor vehicle is especially in a stationary state. In particular, this allows the advantageous transmission of the first data packet, since the motor vehicle itself is not moving. Thereby, a stable base station can be provided.

[0017] It is also advantageous that a femtocell or picocell is provided for the mobile device by means of the communication device, and the communication device is designed as a base station for the mobile device. In other words, a femtocell or picocell is formed by the motor vehicle. The external mobile device of the motor vehicle can then access the femtocell or picocell wirelessly. The communication device clearly serves as the base station that the mobile device can access. Thereby, improved network coverage can be achieved.

[0018] In another advantageous embodiment, the second data packet is transmitted as the first data packet without being processed. In other words, the second data packet is simply forwarded as the first data packet to the external base station of the motor vehicle. Thus, the motor vehicle and especially the communication device only serve as a repeater or intermediate base station.

[0019] It has also proven advantageous that the communication device has an electronic computing device, which is designed to deliver the not fully transmitted first data packet to the external base station of the motor vehicle for further transmission. If, for example, it should be determined at the end of the charging process of the motor vehicle that the first data packet has not been fully transmitted, the motor vehicle returns the possibly still open communication link to the external base station of the motor vehicle. This can in particular be standardized by a protocol. For this purpose, it can be stipulated, for example, that if there is not enough time at the end of the charging process or the charging process has been interrupted due to a fault, the motor vehicle itself sends via mobile radio. Thus, improved mobile radio coverage can be achieved.

[0020] According to another advantageous embodiment, the electronic computing device is designed to take into account the parking time of the motor vehicle when transmitting the first data packet to a base station outside the motor vehicle. For example, it can be stipulated that when shopping, the parking time of the motor vehicle, such as 1 hour, should be considered. In this case, the motor vehicle can then be considered as a base station for 1 hour. In addition, for example, during the charging process of the motor vehicle, it can be determined how long the motor vehicle will be charged. This charging time can also be used as the parking time, so that the motor vehicle can be reliably provided as a base station.

[0021] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for transmitting a second data packet from a mobile device outside the motor vehicle to a base station outside the motor vehicle by means of the motor vehicle, wherein the second data packet is wirelessly transmitted to a wireless receiver of the motor vehicle communication device.

[0022] It is stipulated that the second data packet is wired-transmitted to the base station outside the motor vehicle as the first data packet via the wired interface of the communication device.

[0023] According to an advantageous embodiment of the method, the untransmitted first data packet is delivered to the base station outside the motor vehicle by the electronic computing device of the communication device for further transmission.

[0024] In another advantageous embodiment of the method, the motor vehicle is at least partially electrically driven. During the charging process of the motor vehicle, a cable connection is established by inserting the charging plug, and the first data packet is transmitted to the base station outside the motor vehicle through the charging station for the motor vehicle during the charging process.

[0025] The advantageous embodiment of the motor vehicle is regarded as the advantageous embodiment of the method. The motor vehicle has subject features for this purpose, which allow the method or its advantageous embodiments. In particular, the method is carried out by means of the motor vehicle.

[0026] Other advantages, features and details of the present invention can be obtained from the following description of the preferred embodiments and in combination with the figures. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description and those mentioned below in the description of the drawings and / or shown individually in the only figure can be used not only in the respective combinations indicated, but also in other combinations or individually, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0027] Here, the only figure shows a side view schematic of an embodiment of the motor vehicle.

[0028] In the figure, the same or functionally identical components are provided with the same reference numerals. Detailed Description of the Embodiment

[0029] The figure shows a side view schematic of an embodiment of a motor vehicle 10. The motor vehicle 10 has a communication device 12. The communication device 12 has at least one wired interface 14 for transmitting a first data packet 16. The first data packet 16 is particularly transmitted to a base station 18 outside the motor vehicle. In addition, the communication device 12 has a receiver 20 for wirelessly receiving a second data packet 22.

[0030] It is provided that the receiver 20 is designed to receive the second data packet 22 from at least one mobile device 24, 26 outside the motor vehicle, and the communication device 12 is designed to transmit the wirelessly received second data packet 22 as a first data packet 16 by wire.

[0031] The figure particularly shows that the first mobile device 24 can be designed as a mobile phone. The second mobile device 26 can be designed as another motor vehicle.

[0032] In particular, it is provided that the motor vehicle 10 is designed as a at least partially electrically driven motor vehicle 10, and has a charging connector 28 for connecting an external charging plug 30 of the motor vehicle, and the wired interface 14 is formed on the charging connector 28, so that a cable connection is formed during charging of the motor vehicle 10 to transmit the first data packet 16 between the motor vehicle 10 and a charging station 32.

[0033] It is also particularly provided that, for wired transmission of the first data packet 16, the motor vehicle 10 is parked. In this case, the figure particularly shows that the motor vehicle 10 is at least partially electrically driven and a cable connection is established by inserting the charging plug 14 during the charging process of the motor vehicle 10, and the first data packet 16 is transmitted to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle through the charging station 32 for the motor vehicle 10 during charging.

[0034] In particular, it is provided that, in order to transmit the second data packet 22 from the mobile devices 24, 26 outside the motor vehicle to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle by means of the motor vehicle 10, the second data packet 22 is wirelessly transmitted to the wireless receiver 20 of the communication device 12 of the motor vehicle 10, wherein the second data packet 22 is transmitted as a first data packet 16 by wire through the wired interface 14 of the communication device 12 to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle.

[0035] In particular, a femtocell or picocell is provided by means of the communication device 20 for the mobile devices 24, 26, and the communication device 20 is designed as a base station for the mobile devices 24, 26. The second data packet 22 is particularly transmitted as the first data packet 16 without being processed. In other words, the second data packet 22 is forwarded as the first data packet 16 to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle by means of the communication device 12.

[0036] It is also particularly provided that the communication device 12 has an electronic computing device 34, which is designed to transmit the untransmitted first data packet 16 to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle for further transmission.

[0037] In addition, the electronic computing device 34 of the motor vehicle 10 can be designed to take into account the parking time of the motor vehicle 10, in particular the charging time of the motor vehicle 10, when transmitting the first data packet 16 to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle. In other words, it is provided that the electronic computing device 34 of the communication device 12 delivers the not fully transmitted first data packet 16 to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle for further transmission.

[0038] In particular, this allows the radio dead zones of, for example, mobile radio signal towers to be blocked by means of the motor vehicle 10. This is particularly compensated for by using the motor vehicle 10 as another base station. In particular, the motor vehicle 10, which can be designed as an electric vehicle, can obtain fast data communication, in particular wired data communication, when being charged at the charging station 32 by means of a charging pile, whereby mobile radio gaps can be compensated, because they temporarily act as mobile radio base stations during charging while being stationary. Here, the motor vehicle 10 receives data at the mobile radio frequency and in particular the voice communication of the mobile devices 24, 26 and immediately transmits it via the charging cable to the charging station 32, which in turn communicates with the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle.

[0039] Here, the motor vehicle 10 uses the antenna already present in the motor vehicle 10 and the existing mobile radio module in order to be recognized as a base station during charging. Here, the motor vehicle 10 will not evaluate the data or the second data packet 22, but only directly send it out via the charging cable. The base station 18 outside the motor vehicle of the mobile radio provider generally uses an adaptive transmit power and slightly reduces its own transmit intensity in this area. Thus, no conflict caused by simultaneous transmission according to the same frequency occurs. At the end of the charging process, the motor vehicle 10 returns the still open communication link to the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle as appropriate. This can also be standardized in the protocol in particular. For this purpose, if there is not enough time at the end of the charging process or the charging process is interrupted due to a fault, it may also be possible for the motor vehicle 10 itself to transmit via the mobile radio. Since the motor vehicle antenna allows a significantly higher transmit power than, for example, a mobile radio telephone, the reduced power of the real base station, i.e. the base station 18 outside the motor vehicle, in this area is not a problem for this process.

[0040] In particular, this enables better coverage of areas with complex terrain using mobile radio technology. In addition, better utilization of the motor vehicle 10 can be achieved.

[0041] This can also be achieved, for example, by linking motor vehicle 10 or other motor vehicles 26 via a network in accordance with a grid standard. In this case, all available connection means such as WLAN, mobile radio, and / or Ethernet are treated equally and used specifically and shared with other participants in the grid network. When, for example, a parked car, here motor vehicle 10, is connected to the Internet exactly, for example, via a charging pile connection, motor vehicles within the range can jointly utilize this link, for example, via WLAN, instead of a mobile radio link. For example, it can be stipulated that if the same data packet should have been downloaded by motor vehicle 10, it can then provide this data packet to other motor vehicles 26 within the range.

[0042] By networking motor vehicles 10, 26, alternative uplink and downlink paths are provided, thus establishing an improved link for motor vehicles 10, 26 in terms of speed and cost.

[0043] In summary, the present invention shows a motor vehicle 10 at a charging station 32, which is designed as an access point or a base station.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle (10) having a communication device (12) for transmitting and receiving data packets (16, 22), wherein, the communication device (12) has at least one wired interface (14) for transmitting a first data packet (16) to a base station (18) outside the motor vehicle and at least one receiver (20) for wirelessly receiving a second data packet (22), characterized in that the receiver (20) is designed to receive the second data packet (22) from at least one mobile device (24, 26) outside the motor vehicle, and the communication device (12) is designed to transmit the wirelessly received second data packet (22) as a first data packet (16) by wire, after receiving the first data packet (16), the base station (18) outside the motor vehicle further transmits the first data packet (16) to other motor vehicles, wherein, during the further transmission of the first data packet (16), the base station (18) outside the motor vehicle uses adaptive transmit power and its transmission intensity is reduced, wherein the motor vehicle (10) is designed as at least partially electrically driven and has a charging connector (28) for connecting a charging plug (30) outside the motor vehicle, and the wired interface (14) is formed on the charging connector (28) so as to form a wired connection when the motor vehicle (10) is charging, in order to transmit the first data packet (16) between the motor vehicle (10) and a charging station (32), so as to transmit the first data packet (16) to the base station (18) outside the motor vehicle through the charging station (32).

2. The motor vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, for the wired transmission of the first data packet (16), the motor vehicle (10) is parked.

3. The motor vehicle (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, a femtocell or picocell is provided for the mobile device (24, 26) by means of the communication device (12), and the communication device (12) is designed as a base station for the mobile device (24, 26).

4. The motor vehicle (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the second data packet (22) is transmitted as the first data packet (16) without being processed.

5. The motor vehicle (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the communication device (12) has an electronic computing device (34), and the electronic computing device is designed to transmit the first data packet (16) that has not been fully transmitted to the base station (18) outside the motor vehicle for further transmission.

6. The motor vehicle (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that, the electronic computing device (34) is designed to consider the parking time of the motor vehicle (10) when transmitting the first data packet (16) to the base station (18) outside the motor vehicle.

7. A method for transmitting a second data packet (22) from a mobile device (24, 26) outside a motor vehicle to a base station (18) outside the motor vehicle by means of the motor vehicle (10), wherein, A second data packet (22) is wirelessly transmitted to a wireless receiver (20) of a communication device (12) of a motor vehicle (10), characterized in that the second data packet (22) is transmitted as a first data packet (16) via a wired interface (14) of the communication device (12) to an external base station (18) of the motor vehicle, and after receiving the first data packet (16), the external base station (18) of the motor vehicle further transmits the first data packet (16) to other motor vehicles, wherein during the further transmission of the first data packet (16), the external base station (18) of the motor vehicle uses an adaptive transmission power and its transmission intensity is reduced, wherein the motor vehicle (10) is designed as at least a partially electrically driven motor vehicle (10) and has a charging connector (28) for connecting an external charging plug (30) of the motor vehicle, and the wired interface (14) is formed on the charging connector (28) so as to form a wired connection during charging of the motor vehicle (10) for transmitting the first data packet (16) between the motor vehicle (10) and a charging station (32), so that the first data packet (16) is transmitted to the external base station (18) of the motor vehicle through the charging station (32).

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that an electronic computing device (34) of the communication device (12) delivers the first data packet (16) that has not been fully transmitted to the external base station (18) of the motor vehicle for further transmission.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the motor vehicle (10) is at least partially electrically driven, a cable connection is established during charging of the motor vehicle (10) by inserting a charging plug (30) into the charging connector (28) of the motor vehicle, and the first data packet (16) is transmitted to the external base station (18) of the motor vehicle through a charging station (32) for the motor vehicle (10) during charging.

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