Vehicle control methods, intelligent terminals and in-vehicle terminals

Abstract

This invention discloses a vehicle control method, a smart terminal, and an in-vehicle terminal. The vehicle control method includes: calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle; when the distance determines that the smart terminal has entered an unlocking / locking area defined by a first threshold, unlocking the vehicle and expanding the unlocking / locking area to an area defined by a second threshold, where the second threshold is greater than the first threshold. This method can solve the problem in the prior art where, when the smart terminal's position remains unchanged, the vehicle repeatedly locks and unlocks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a vehicle control method, an intelligent terminal, and an in-vehicle terminal. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of technology, cars are becoming increasingly intelligent, and keyless entry and start (Passive Entry Passive Start, or PEPS for short) is now a standard feature in cars. Simply put, PEPS means that when a user approaches the vehicle and enters a first-limited area, the intelligent vehicle can recognize the authorized user and automatically unlock the vehicle. When the user continues to approach the vehicle and enters a third-limited area, the intelligent vehicle enters a standby power-on state, and the user can power on the vehicle by actions such as pressing the brake. Conversely, when the user leaves the vehicle and crosses the limited area, the intelligent vehicle automatically locks or automatically cuts off the power / shuts down the engine.

[0003] The problem with existing technology is that, due to user behavior or measurement errors, the PEPS system determines that the user frequently switches between two states, resulting in erroneous operations. For example, the PEPS system unlocks the vehicle when it determines that the user is within the first distance area, and locks the vehicle when it determines that the user is outside the first distance area. If the system determines that the user frequently changes between the first and second distances, the result is that the vehicle is constantly being automatically unlocked and locked. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the purpose of this invention is to provide a vehicle control method, an intelligent terminal, and an in-vehicle terminal.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control method is provided, comprising:

[0006] Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle;

[0007] When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold, which is greater than the first threshold.

[0008] In some embodiments, the method further includes: locking the vehicle and reducing the unlocking / locking area to the area defined by the first threshold when the smart terminal leaves the unlocking / locking area defined by the second threshold.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by a third threshold based on the distance, the vehicle can start without a key or enter a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to an area defined by a fourth threshold, wherein the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold and the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the smart terminal leaves the start area defined by the fourth threshold, the vehicle cannot be started without a key, and the start area is reduced to the area defined by the third threshold.

[0011] In some embodiments, both the smart terminal and the vehicle are equipped with a Bluetooth module, and calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle includes: calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle based on the Bluetooth signal strength.

[0012] In some embodiments, determining based on distance includes: obtaining m consecutive distance samples over time, and determining whether the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area, left the unlock / lock area, entered the start area, or left the start area based on the changing trend of the m distance samples.

[0013] In some embodiments, the method further includes: prior to Bluetooth connection, setting the unlock / lock area to a region defined by the first threshold and setting the activation area to a region defined by a third threshold.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a smart terminal is provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory further stores computer instructions executable by the processor, wherein when the computer instructions are executed, the following operations are performed:

[0015] Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle;

[0016] When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, an unlock command is sent to the vehicle to unlock the vehicle and expand the unlock / lock area to the area defined by the second threshold.

[0017] When the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area defined by the second threshold based on the distance, a locking command is sent to the vehicle to lock the vehicle and reduce the unlock / lock area to the area defined by the first threshold.

[0018] When the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by the third threshold based on the distance, it is allowed to send a start command to the vehicle to start the vehicle with one key or put the vehicle into a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold.

[0019] When the smart terminal is determined to have left the activation area defined by the fourth threshold based on distance, the area defined by the fourth threshold is reduced to the activation area defined by the third threshold.

[0020] The second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold.

[0021] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-mounted terminal is provided, the vehicle-mounted terminal being disposed in a vehicle, the vehicle-mounted terminal being configured to perform the following operations:

[0022] Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle;

[0023] When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is unlocked and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold.

[0024] When the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area defined by the second threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is locked, and the unlock / lock area is reduced to the area defined by the first threshold.

[0025] When the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by the third threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is allowed to start with one key or the vehicle is put into a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold.

[0026] When the smart terminal is determined to have left the activation area defined by the fourth threshold based on distance, the area defined by the fourth threshold is reduced to the activation area defined by the third threshold.

[0027] The second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold.

[0028] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium storing computer instructions executable by a smart terminal, wherein when the computer instructions are executed, the vehicle control method described in any of the preceding claims is implemented.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when it is determined that the smart terminal has entered the unlocking / locking area defined by a first threshold, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlocking / locking area is expanded to the area defined by a second threshold. When the vehicle subsequently detects the smart terminal oscillating in the middle area between the first and second thresholds, the smart terminal will remain within the unlocking / locking area, thus preventing repeated unlocking and subsequent power-off and locking. Similarly, when it is determined that the smart terminal has left the start-up area defined by a third threshold, the vehicle is allowed to start without a key or enter a standby power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by a fourth threshold. When the vehicle subsequently detects the smart terminal oscillating in the middle area between the third and fourth thresholds, it will remain within the start-up area, thus preventing repeated start-up and restarting. Thus, the problems existing in the prior art are solved. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle and a smart terminal based on existing technology;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an existing vehicle unlocking / locking scheme;

[0033] Figure 3 This is an RSSI waveform diagram over a fixed distance.

[0034] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle and a smart terminal under a vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the calculation of distance based on RSSI according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a vehicle control method provided according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of an intelligent terminal used to implement the vehicle control method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0039] Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the various drawings, the same elements are indicated by the same or similar reference numerals. For clarity, the various parts in the drawings are not drawn to scale. Furthermore, certain well-known parts may not be shown in the drawings.

[0040] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only, and unless clearly indicated in the context, the terminology itself is not intended to limit the disclosure of this application. For the purpose of clearly describing specific embodiments, only exemplary descriptions of some terms are given below.

[0041] the term

[0042] "Smart terminals" include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartwatches, smart glasses, smart bracelets, and other portable smart terminals.

[0043] "Unlock / lock zone" refers to a specific area enclosed around the vehicle. The vehicle will automatically unlock when it enters the zone and automatically lock when it leaves the zone.

[0044] The “start-up zone” is a specific area enclosed around the vehicle. Within this area, the vehicle can be started with a single button or enter a standby power-on state. Users can power on the vehicle by, for example, pressing the brake pedal.

[0045] The various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle and a smart terminal based on existing technology. Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an existing vehicle unlocking / locking scheme.

[0046] Step S01 is the establishment of a Bluetooth connection between the smart terminal and the vehicle.

[0047] Step S02 involves continuously obtaining RSSI via the Bluetooth module and calculating the distance between the device and the smart terminal based on the RSSI.

[0048] Step S03 is to determine the positional relationship between the smart terminal and the vehicle based on the distance.

[0049] Step S04 is that if the smart terminal enters the area defined by PS, the vehicle can be started with one key or enter the standby power-on state. If it leaves the area of ​​PS, the vehicle cannot be started with one key or enter the standby power-on state.

[0050] Step S05 is that if the vehicle enters the PE-restricted area, the vehicle is unlocked; if the vehicle leaves the PE-restricted area, the vehicle is automatically powered off and locked.

[0051] According to existing unlocking schemes, both the smart terminal 101 and the vehicle 102 are equipped with Bluetooth modules. When a user approaches the vehicle 102 with the smart terminal 101 in hand, and the distance between them is equal to the Remote Key Area (RKE), the smart terminal 101 and the vehicle 102 establish a connection via Bluetooth. Typically, when the smart terminal 101 and the vehicle 102 establish a Bluetooth connection for the first time, they need to exchange pairing information and store it locally. This local pairing information can be reused to quickly rebuild the Bluetooth connection subsequently. The pairing information may include the identities of both parties, communication keys, etc. During the initial Bluetooth connection establishment process, both parties verify each other's identities. After successful verification, each generates pairing information locally.

[0052] After the Bluetooth connection is established, the Bluetooth module of smart terminal 101 monitors the Bluetooth signal strength RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) in real time. Smart terminal 101 uses RSSI to determine the distance between vehicle 102 and itself. When the distance between smart terminal 101 and vehicle 102 decreases to PE (e.g., 3m), the Bluetooth module of smart terminal 101 sends an unlock command to vehicle 102. Upon receiving the command, the vehicle unlocks. When the distance between smart terminal 101 and vehicle 102 decreases to PS (e.g., 1m), the Bluetooth module of smart terminal 101 sends a start command to vehicle 102. Upon receiving the start command, the vehicle can be started without a key or enter a power-on standby state. The user can power on the vehicle by, for example, pressing the brake pedal. This process is very convenient for the user. When vehicle 102 is finished, the Bluetooth module on smart terminal 101 detects the Bluetooth signal strength RSSI in real time and determines the distance between vehicle 102 and smart terminal 101 based on RSSI. When smart terminal 101 moves away from vehicle 102 to a certain distance PS (e.g., 1m), the vehicle cannot start without a key or enter the standby power-on state. The user can power on the vehicle by, for example, stepping on the brake. When smart terminal 101 moves away from vehicle 102 to a certain distance PE (e.g., 3m), it sends a lock command to vehicle 102, and the vehicle automatically locks.

[0053] Figure 3 This is a waveform diagram of RSSI at a fixed distance. The blue curve represents the waveform at 0 meters outside the vehicle, the green curve at 1 meter, the orange curve at 2 meters, and the red curve at 3 meters. As can be seen from the graph, Bluetooth signals are inherently fluctuating; even at a fixed location, jumps will occur. When these fluctuations exceed the regional threshold, they will affect the regional variation. Furthermore, due to the inherent jumping characteristics of RSSI values ​​at different locations, some data will overlap.

[0054] In the above vehicle locking / unlocking scheme, the state judgment may be inaccurate due to factors such as RSSI value jumps. For example, if the judgment terminal frequently jumps between the two states of entering the unlock / lock area and leaving the unlock / lock area, it will cause the vehicle to repeatedly lock and then unlock.

[0055] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle and a smart terminal under a vehicle control method provided according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a vehicle control method provided by the present invention. Figure 5 As shown, it includes the following steps.

[0056] In step S501, the distance between the vehicle and the smart terminal is calculated.

[0057] In step S502, the positional relationship between the smart terminal and the vehicle is determined based on the distance. When the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located in the activation area defined by the fourth threshold, step S506 is executed; when the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located in the unlocking / locking area defined by the second threshold, step S503 is executed; and when the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located outside the unlocking / locking area defined by the first threshold, step S508 is executed.

[0058] In step S503, it is determined whether the position relationship is that the smart terminal enters the start area limited by the third threshold or leaves the unlock / lock area limited by the second threshold. If the position relationship is that the smart terminal enters the start area limited by the third threshold, then step S504 is executed. If the position relationship is that the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area limited by the second threshold, then step S508 is executed.

[0059] In step S504, the vehicle is allowed to start without a key or enter a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold.

[0060] In step S505, the vehicle is locked and the unlock / lock area is narrowed to the area defined by the first threshold.

[0061] In step S506, it is determined whether the smart terminal has left the startup area defined by the fourth threshold. If it has left the startup area defined by the fourth threshold, then step S507 is executed.

[0062] In step S507, if the smart terminal leaves the starting area defined by the fourth threshold, the vehicle cannot be started by keyless entry, and the starting area is reduced to the area defined by the third threshold.

[0063] In step S508, it is determined whether the positional relationship is that the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold. If so, step S509 is executed.

[0064] In step S509, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold.

[0065] Among them, the second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold.

[0066] First, after the smart terminal and the vehicle connect and communicate, the vehicle continuously calculates the distance between them to determine their positional relationship. If the user carrying the smart terminal is outside the unlock / lock area defined by PEin, and the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by PEin, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by PEout. If the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area defined by PEout, the vehicle is automatically powered off, the engine is turned off, and the vehicle is locked, and the unlock / lock area is shrunk back to the area defined by PEin. Therefore, if the vehicle subsequently determines that the smart terminal is oscillating in the middle area between PEin and PEout, it will always remain within the unlock / lock area, thus preventing repeated unlocking and locking. Similarly, when a user carrying a smart terminal approaches the vehicle, if the smart terminal is determined to be within the start area defined by PSin, the vehicle can be started without a key or put into a standby power-on state, and the start area will be expanded to the area defined by PSout. If the smart terminal is determined to be outside the area defined by PSout, the vehicle cannot be started without a key, and the start area will be reduced to the area defined by PSin.

[0067] In the above embodiments, theoretically, a variety of different technologies can be used to calculate the distance between the vehicle and the smart terminal, including but not limited to Bluetooth signal strength (RSSI) ranging algorithm, infrared ranging algorithm, position sensor positioning and distance calculation, acoustic ranging, etc.

[0068] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the calculation of distance based on RSSI according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, it includes the following steps.

[0069] In step S601, sample data of n RSSIs are read at fixed intervals.

[0070] In step S602, the sample data is processed by a filtering algorithm.

[0071] In step S603, the distance is calculated based on the filtered RSSI.

[0072] This embodiment can employ various filtering algorithms, such as mean filtering, which uses the average of n RSSIs as the filtered RSSI; Dixon test filtering can also be used, which arranges the n RSSIs in order of size, checks whether the maximum and minimum values ​​are outliers, and removes the RSSIs identified as outliers, leaving the remaining RSSIs as the filtered RSSIs; Gaussian filtering can also be used, which selects RSSI values ​​in high-probability areas and performs a weighted average of the RSSI values ​​in that area as the filtered RSSIs. When the filtered RSSIs are obtained, the distance is then calculated using formula (1). Bluetooth signal strength (RSSI) is a representation of the strength of the Bluetooth signal between the transceiver and receiver, and is positively correlated with the distance to some extent. Therefore, through reasonable calculation and transformation, the distance between the receiver and receiver can be deduced from the RSSI value. See formula (1).

[0073] d=10 ((abs(RSSI)-A) / (10*n)) Formula (1)

[0074] Where: d - calculated distance, RSSI - received signal strength, A - signal strength when the transmitter and receiver are 1 meter apart, n - environmental attenuation factor. Due to different environments, the parameter values ​​for each transmitter (Bluetooth device) are different. Each parameter in formula (1) should be obtained through experimentation (calibration), which will not be elaborated on here.

[0075] In an optional embodiment, m consecutive distance samples are obtained based on RSSI, the location of the smart terminal is determined based on the m distance samples, and the trend of the m distance samples is used to determine whether the smart terminal is approaching or moving away from the vehicle. This determines whether the smart terminal enters or leaves the unlocking / locking area and whether it enters or leaves the activation area.

[0076] The above embodiments include expanding and shrinking the unlocking / locking area and the start-up area. However, the purpose of these operations is to avoid the problem of frequent unlocking and locking, and frequent starting and stopping of the vehicle in specific scenarios. But when leaving this specific scenario, it is necessary to restore the unlocking / locking area and the start-up area at an appropriate time. The terminal device can restore or set the unlocking / locking area to the area defined by the first threshold, and the start-up area to the area defined by the third threshold, before, during, or after establishing a Bluetooth connection with the vehicle via Bluetooth. Alternatively, the unlocking / locking area can be restored or set to the area defined by the first threshold, and the start-up area can be restored or set to the area defined by the third threshold when certain conditions are met. For example, when it is determined that the smart terminal has left the area defined by the fourth threshold, the start-up area is restored to the area defined by the third threshold; when it is determined that the smart terminal has left the area defined by the second threshold, the unlocking / locking area is restored or set to the area defined by the first threshold.

[0077] Furthermore, the present invention also provides a method for setting an unlock area and a start area based on Bluetooth strength signals, and then using and Figure 5 A vehicle control method implemented with a similar idea to the embodiments described above. A detailed flowchart of this method is shown below. Figure 7 As shown.

[0078] In step S701, the RSSI between the vehicle and the smart terminal is obtained.

[0079] In step S702, the positional relationship between the smart terminal and the vehicle is determined based on the RSSI. When the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located in the activation area defined by the fourth threshold, step S706 is executed; when the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located in the unlocking / locking area defined by the second threshold, step S703 is executed; and when the positional relationship is that the smart terminal is located outside the unlocking / locking area defined by the first threshold, step S708 is executed.

[0080] In step S703, it is determined whether the position relationship is that the smart terminal enters the start area limited by the third threshold or leaves the unlock / lock area limited by the second threshold. If the position relationship is that the smart terminal enters the start area limited by the third threshold, then step S704 is executed. If the position relationship is that the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area limited by the second threshold, then step S708 is executed.

[0081] In step S704, the vehicle is allowed to start without a key or enter a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold.

[0082] In step S705, the vehicle is locked and the unlock / lock area is narrowed to the area defined by the first threshold.

[0083] In step S706, it is determined whether the smart terminal has left the startup area defined by the fourth threshold. If it has left the startup area defined by the fourth threshold, then step S707 is executed.

[0084] In step S707, if the smart terminal leaves the starting area defined by the fourth threshold, the vehicle cannot be started by keyless entry, and the starting area is reduced to the area defined by the third threshold.

[0085] In step S708, it is determined whether the positional relationship is that the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold. If so, step S709 is executed.

[0086] In step S709, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold.

[0087] Among them, the second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold.

[0088] For example, if the unlocking area is defined as 3 meters outside the vehicle with an RSSI of 70 dBm, and the activation area as 1 meter with an RSSI of 90 dBm, then in this embodiment, the first threshold is 70 dBm, and the third threshold is set to 90 dBm. As the user carrying the smart terminal approaches the vehicle, the current RSSI value is continuously calculated. For example, N RSSI values ​​can be continuously collected and the average value taken as the current RSSI. When the RSSI is determined to be greater than 70 dBm and the smart terminal is approaching the vehicle, it is determined that the smart terminal has entered the unlocking area, and the vehicle is unlocked. The unlocking area is then expanded to, for example, a region defined by 60 dBm (distance is inversely proportional to RSSI). When the RSSI is determined to be less than 70 dBm and the smart terminal is moving away from the vehicle, it is determined that the smart terminal has left the unlocking area, and the vehicle is locked. The unlocking area is then reduced to, for example, a region defined by 80 dBm (distance is inversely proportional to RSSI). This prevents the vehicle from repeatedly unlocking and then locking again. Similarly, when a user carrying a smart terminal approaches the vehicle, if the RSSI is greater than 90dBm, it can be determined that the smart terminal has entered the start-up area. Therefore, the vehicle can be started without a key or put into a standby power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by, for example, 80dBm. When the RSSI is less than 90dBm and the smart terminal is away from the vehicle, it is determined that the smart terminal has left the start-up area. In this case, the vehicle cannot be started without a key, and the start-up area is reduced to the area defined by, for example, 100dBm.

[0089] In an optional embodiment, m consecutive RSSI samples are obtained in time. The location of the smart terminal is determined based on the m RSSI samples. The trend of the changes in the m RSSI samples is used to determine whether the smart terminal is gradually approaching or moving away from the vehicle. This determines whether the user carrying the smart terminal is entering or leaving the unlocking / locking area, and whether they are entering or leaving the activation area.

[0090] It should be noted that although the above embodiments are described in terms of unlocking and locking between a vehicle and a smart terminal, these embodiments are not limited to vehicles and smart terminals, and can also be applied to other similar smart unlocking and locking systems, such as unlocking and locking a smart door with a smart key (usually called an access control system), and unlocking and locking a smart safe with a smart terminal.

[0091] It should also be noted that in the above embodiments, the intelligent terminal calculates the distance and determines the positional relationship. When the unlocking (or locking) condition or the starting (or turning off) condition is met, it sends a corresponding command to the vehicle. After receiving the corresponding command, the vehicle performs the corresponding operation. However, in practice, the vehicle or the vehicle terminal can also calculate the distance and determine the positional relationship. When the unlocking (or locking) condition or the starting (or turning off) condition is met, it performs the corresponding operation.

[0092] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of an intelligent terminal used to implement the vehicle control method of the present invention.

[0093] like Figure 8 As shown, the smart terminal 800 includes a processor 801, a Bluetooth module 802, a memory 803, a wireless connection module 804, a sensor 807, an antenna 806, and a touch screen 805, as well as some hardware and software components not shown. The memory 802 is, for example, flash memory. The wireless connection module 804 uses various methods to achieve wireless connectivity, including but not limited to mobile signals, Wi-Fi, short-range communication, RFID, etc. The touch screen 805 serves as an input / output device, allowing users to input information via touch and display images on the screen. The sensor 807 is, for example, a position sensor, an angle sensor, etc. The antenna 806 receives various wireless signals and provides them to the wireless connection module 804. The Bluetooth module 802 includes Bluetooth-related hardware and software functions for establishing connections and exchanging data with external Bluetooth modules.

[0094] Memory 702 is used to store program instructions. The processor reads the corresponding computer program from memory 803 into memory and then runs it, which is the vehicle control method provided in the above embodiments at the logical level.

[0095] Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be implemented as entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, and microcode), or a combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, in some embodiments, this disclosure can also be implemented as a computer program product in one or more computer-readable media containing computer-readable program code.

[0096] A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium include: an electrical connection of one or more wires; a portable computer disk drive, hard disk drive, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory); optical fiber; portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM); optical storage; magnetic storage; or any suitable combination thereof. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with a processing unit, apparatus, or device.

[0097] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a chopped signal, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any other suitable combination. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than computer-readable storage media, capable of transmitting, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in conjunction with an instruction system, apparatus, or device.

[0098] The program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical fiber, RF, and any suitable combination thereof.

[0099] Computer program code for executing embodiments of the present invention can be written in one or more programming languages ​​or combinations thereof. The programming languages ​​include object-oriented programming languages ​​such as JAVA and C++, and may also include conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In cases involving remote computers, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0100] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0101] As described above, these embodiments of the present invention do not exhaustively cover all details, nor do they limit the invention to the specific embodiments described. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the above description. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of the invention, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to effectively utilize the invention and its modifications. The invention is limited only by the claims and their entire scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A vehicle control method, comprising: Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle; When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is unlocked, and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold, which is greater than the first threshold. When the smart terminal leaves the unlocking / locking area defined by the second threshold, the vehicle is locked, and the unlocking / locking area is reduced to the area defined by the first threshold. When the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by the third threshold based on the distance, the vehicle can be started without a key or put into a standby power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold, where the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold and the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold. When the smart terminal leaves the start area defined by the fourth threshold, the vehicle cannot be started without a key, and the area defined by the fourth threshold is reduced to the start area defined by the third threshold. Both the smart terminal and the vehicle are equipped with Bluetooth modules. The calculation of the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle includes: calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle based on the Bluetooth signal strength. The distance determination includes: obtaining m consecutive distance samples in time, and determining whether the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area, left the unlock / lock area, entered the start area, and left the start area based on the changing trend of the m distance samples.

2. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 further includes: Before Bluetooth connection, the unlock / lock area is set to the area defined by the first threshold, and the activation area is set to the area defined by the third threshold.

3. A smart terminal, comprising a memory and a processor, the memory further storing computer instructions executable by the processor, wherein when the computer instructions are executed, the following operations are performed: Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle; When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, an unlock command is sent to the vehicle to unlock the vehicle and expand the unlock / lock area to the area defined by the second threshold. When the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area defined by the second threshold based on the distance, a locking command is sent to the vehicle to lock the vehicle and reduce the unlock / lock area to the area defined by the first threshold. When the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by the third threshold based on the distance, it is allowed to send a start command to the vehicle to start the vehicle with one key or put the vehicle into a power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold. When the smart terminal is determined to have left the activation area defined by the fourth threshold based on distance, the area defined by the fourth threshold is reduced to the activation area defined by the third threshold. The second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold. Both the smart terminal and the vehicle are equipped with Bluetooth modules. The calculation of the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle includes: calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle based on the Bluetooth signal strength. The distance determination includes: obtaining m consecutive distance samples in time, and determining whether the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area, left the unlock / lock area, entered the start area, and left the start area based on the changing trend of the m distance samples.

4. A vehicle-mounted terminal, wherein the vehicle-mounted terminal is installed in a vehicle, and the vehicle-mounted terminal is used to perform the following operations: Calculate the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle; When the smart terminal enters the unlock / lock area defined by the first threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is unlocked and the unlock / lock area is expanded to the area defined by the second threshold. When the smart terminal leaves the unlock / lock area defined by the second threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is locked, and the unlock / lock area is reduced to the area defined by the first threshold. When the smart terminal enters the start-up area defined by the third threshold based on the distance, the vehicle is allowed to start with one key or the vehicle is put into a standby power-on state, and the start-up area is expanded to the area defined by the fourth threshold. When the smart terminal is determined to have left the activation area defined by the fourth threshold based on distance, the area defined by the fourth threshold is reduced to the activation area defined by the third threshold. The second threshold is greater than the first threshold, the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold, and the first threshold is greater than the fourth threshold. Both the smart terminal and the vehicle are equipped with Bluetooth modules. The calculation of the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle includes: calculating the distance between the smart terminal and the vehicle based on the Bluetooth signal strength. The distance determination includes: obtaining m consecutive distance samples in time, and determining whether the smart terminal has entered the unlock / lock area, left the unlock / lock area, entered the start area, and left the start area based on the changing trend of the m distance samples.

5. A computer-readable medium storing computer instructions executable by a smart terminal, wherein when executed, the computer instructions implement the vehicle control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 2.

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