Method for setting at least one first actuator of motor vehicle, method for implementing setting change, and motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for setting at least one first actuator (22) of a motor vehicle (2), comprising the following steps: specifying a first setting for the at least one first actuator (22); acquiring first data according to the first NFT, wherein the first data is provided with a second setting in advance; the first setting is changed to the second setting using the acquired data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for setting at least one first actuator of a motor vehicle, a method for implementing a setting change, and a motor vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the gradual increase in the number of actuators in motor vehicles - mainly referring here to actuators related to the vehicle interior - a realistic experience environment can be provided for vehicle occupants. Multicolor lighting (in the form of light-emitting diodes, LEDs), sound effect experiences, olfactory experiences brought by fragrance systems, and tactile experiences can be combined with each other.

[0003] Users increasingly expect to have a particularly personalized vehicle experience.

[0004] Therefore, control commands for actuators can be defined, and these control commands can be the object of personalized purchase. Here, it must now be ensured that unauthorized persons do not enjoy the vehicle experience through unauthorized tampering with the motor vehicle.

[0005] US 2021 / 0133713 A1 discloses a system based on a distributed ledger network - such as a blockchain or DAG - for managing asset rights. In this case, so-called non-fungible tokens are generated, and these non-fungible tokens represent the right to use an asset. Non-fungible tokens are also known as "non-replaceable tokens" in German (or also known as: non-replaceable value vouchers). Creating non-fungible tokens is translated into "minting" in English, which is translated into "prägen" in German.

[0006] This is known from DE 11 2020 003 484 T5 in the field of autonomous vehicles, where the operating commands for autonomous vehicles are stored in a blockchain, so that, for example, the accelerator pedal position can be reproduced.

[0007] According to US 11,238,478 B2, a blockchain can also be used to update the ledger in a motor vehicle. The purpose of the method described in this document is to provide commercial product services for users. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to implement a way to truly and reliably provide a vehicle experience to users.

[0009] The above object is achieved by a method for setting at least one first actuator of a motor vehicle according to claim 1, a method for implementing a change in the setting of at least one actuator of a motor vehicle according to claim 11, and a motor vehicle having the features according to claim 12.

[0010] A method for configuring at least one first actuator of a motor vehicle according to the present invention includes the following steps: predetermining a first configuration for the at least one first actuator; obtaining first data according to a first NFT, the first data predetermining a second configuration; and finally, using the obtained data to change the first configuration to the second configuration.

[0011] Therefore, the present invention adopts a non-fungible token (NFT) solution to ensure enhanced legal security by using data that predetermines configurations for actuators (i.e., more or less using control commands) in transactions.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment, the NFT itself contains a file that has control commands for the at least one first actuator. Thus, when minting the NFT, such a file is linked with other data.

[0013] An alternative proposes that the NFT contains a data path pointing to a file that has control commands for the at least one first actuator. The data path can, for example, relate to the World Wide Web, where a so-called URL encoding clearly indicates where the file is located. Alternatively, the control commands can be stored in the motor vehicle itself and the control commands can only be enabled in the motor vehicle when using the NFT. In the case where the control commands are stored in the motor vehicle itself, it is assumed that there is a central server (especially, for example, a platform responsible by the vehicle manufacturer), and the purchaser / lessee / other user of the motor vehicle can conduct transaction behaviors (purchase, lease the NFT and associated control commands, etc.) in this central server.

[0014] A typical format for a file with control commands is the.xml format, where ".xml" represents "Extensible Markup Language". This format is generally suitable for storing almost any type of data. If these data are organized in a predetermined manner, they can be interpreted as control commands. The type of data organization can be specified in an.xsl file ("Extensible Stylesheet Language").

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second configuration directly replaces the first configuration. Thus, the vehicle experience can include: mainly white light in the motor vehicle (according to the first configuration), and the user obtains the right to activate a red light as the second configuration by means of the NFT. (Therefore, the actuator includes a lamp set, including a white lamp and a red lamp.)

[0016] Similarly, a sound-emitting device (loudspeaker, equalizer) can in principle also have a first setting that is replaced by a second setting during the course of the method.

[0017] Alternatively, the second setting only follows the first setting in time, so that if the user has acquired the corresponding right to the NFT, the vehicle experience continues for a longer duration, where the duration is preferably between 1 second and 1 minute.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment, second data is obtained based on the second NFT, and the second data predefines a third setting. Purely supplementary, yet preferably, the second data and the first data together predefine a fourth setting. Thus, if the user only obtains the second NFT alone, the third setting will be executed instead of the first setting. However, since the first NFT has now been obtained, a more favorable fourth setting is generated for it. The preferred embodiments described above for the second setting also apply to the third setting and / or the fourth setting (the third setting and the fourth setting replace the first setting or another setting or follow the first setting / another setting in time).

[0019] In the case of lighting, for example, it can be stipulated that the second setting uses red light, the third setting uses blue light, and the fourth setting uses purple light, which is produced by a combination of red light and blue light, but this is directly achieved. As the fourth setting, alternatively, green light can be produced as a combination of purchasing red light and blue light. This can also be achieved sequentially: the first setting with white light can be replaced by the second setting with red light, and then replaced by the third setting with blue light. Thereafter, blue light is additionally purchased on the basis of red light, and finally green light is emitted as the fourth setting.

[0020] Alternatively or additionally, a first setting is also predefined for at least one second actuator, third data is obtained based on the third NFT, the third data predefines a second setting for the at least one second actuator, and the first setting of the second actuator is changed to the second setting using the third data.

[0021] Preferably, it is also stipulated here that the setting of a third actuator is additionally changed. For example, it can be considered that in an action experience environment, the first NFT involves a lighting actuator responsible for the vehicle interior as the first actuator, the second NFT involves an actuator responsible for the noise in the vehicle interior as the second actuator, and as the third actuator, it is stipulated that if the user opens the door and enters the vehicle interior, an identification melody is played for the user, and / or a lighting effect is provided.

[0022] A method for implementing a change in the setting of at least one actuator of a motor vehicle according to the present invention includes: casting at least one NFT, where the at least one NFT links a file having control commands for at least one actuator, in particular an.xml file, with other data (such as linking with a marker indicating the vehicle type for which the control commands can be reasonably used, or with a marker for determining the (hardware) equipment characteristics in the motor vehicle, etc.). After casting, the at least one NFT is recorded in the blockchain. By accessing the NFT after obtaining the corresponding permission, the file having the control commands can be accessed.

[0023] A motor vehicle according to the present invention includes at least one actuator and an associated controller, and the controller is designed to obtain from the internal memory of the motor vehicle or download from the outside at least one file having control commands for at least one actuator, in particular an.xml file, according to at least one data path determined by the NFT, and execute the control commands, where the control commands are executed as needed, in particular directly and / or after the occurrence of other conditions.

[0024] For application cases or application situations that may arise in this method and are not explicitly described herein, it can be stipulated that an error report and / or a request for inputting user feedback, and / or setting standard parameters and / or presetting an initial state are output according to this method.

[0025] The present invention also includes a control device for a motor vehicle. The control device may have a data processing device or a processor device, and the data processing device or the processor device is arranged to execute an embodiment of the method according to the present invention. For this purpose, the processor device may have at least one microprocessor and / or at least one microcontroller and / or at least one FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or at least one DSP (Digital Signal Processor). In addition, the processor device may have a program code, and the program code is arranged to execute an embodiment of the method according to the present invention when executed by the processor device. The program code may be stored in the data memory of the processor device. The processor circuit of the processor device may include, for example, at least one circuit board and / or at least one system on a chip (SoC).

[0026] The present invention also includes an improvement of the motor vehicle according to the present invention, and the improvement has the features as already described in connection with the improvement of the method according to the present invention. For this reason, the corresponding improvement of the motor vehicle according to the present invention will not be described in detail herein.

[0027] The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as an automobile, in particular as a passenger car or a commercial vehicle, or as a bus or a motorcycle.

[0028] As another solution, the invention also includes a computer-readable storage medium that includes instructions which, when executed by a computer or a computer cluster, cause the computer or computer cluster to execute an embodiment of the method according to the invention. For example, the storage medium can be at least partially designed as a non-volatile data memory (e.g., designed as a flash memory and / or an SSD - solid state drive, solid state disk) and / or at least partially designed as a volatile data memory (e.g., designed as a RAM - random access memory, random access memor). However, the storage medium can also operate in the Internet, for example, as a so-called app store server. A processor circuit having at least one microprocessor can be provided by the computer or the computer cluster. The instructions can be provided as binary code or source code in assembly language and / or a programming language (e.g., C).

[0029] The invention also includes combinations of features of the above embodiments. Thus, the invention also includes the following implementation solutions, each of which has a combination of features of multiple of the above embodiments, provided that these embodiments are not described as mutually exclusive.

[0030] Embodiments of the invention are described below. Description of the Drawings

[0031] The sole drawing schematically shows how the setting of an actuator is changed in a motor vehicle. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0032] Here, the method assumes that the NFT has been minted, for example, by a vehicle manufacturer or a professional design firm, where the NFT confers the following rights: mainly providing a specific experience for vehicle users in the vehicle interior, and the invention can also be applied to other actuators that are not directly related to the vehicle interior.

[0033] There is a list 1 that includes the hash values for the NFTs. This list 1 is transmitted to the motor vehicle 2 and received in the motor vehicle by a module 20 that can be considered as a central controller. The module 20 in the motor vehicle 2 then checks the wallet linked to the user account of the owner / lessee / user in order to determine which NFT belongs to the user. In the example of the drawing, the tick mark behind #1 indicates that NFT 1 belongs to the user, while NFTs 2 and 3 do not belong to the user. The owned NFTs are provided for activation in the vehicle, and the corresponding control command groups are stored and can be enabled in the vehicle, so that the experience modules can thus be activated individually or in association.

[0034] In the current case, the NFT 1 is thus activated first, so that the actuator 22 for lighting is activated in the example case. The user can additionally purchase the NFT 2, as can be seen in the lower right of the drawing. The rule can specify that the NFT 3 is thereby also activated. Accordingly, in addition to the actuator 22 based on the NFT 1, the actuator 24 for sound based on the NFT 2 and the display 26 based on the NFT 3 are also activated in the motor vehicle 2.

[0035] The possession of the experience module is checked regularly before activating the experience, so as not to activate an experience that is no longer stored as an NFT in the user's wallet during this period. The user interface of the vehicle (controller 20) points this out to the user in this case.

[0036] The embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments can also be supplemented by additional features among the features of the present invention that have already been described.

[0037] The example shows that a method for customizing a personalized vehicle experience in an NFT-based manner can be provided.

Claims

1. A method for setting at least one first actuator (22) of a motor vehicle (2), the method comprising the following steps: - Predetermining a first setting for the at least one first actuator (22), - Obtaining first data according to a first NFT, the first data predetermining a second setting, - Using the obtained data to change the first setting to the second setting.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the NFT itself contains a file having control commands for the at least one first actuator (22).

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the NFT contains a data path pointing to a file having control commands for the at least one first actuator (22).

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the control commands are stored in the motor vehicle (2) itself and are enabled in the case of using the NFT.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the file is an.xml file or includes an.xml file.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the second setting replaces the first setting.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the second setting temporally follows the first setting.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that obtaining second data according to a second NFT, the second data only predetermining a third setting, and the second data and the first data together predetermine a fourth setting.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that also predetermining a first setting for at least one second actuator (24), obtaining third data according to a third NFT, the third data predetermining a second setting for the at least one second actuator (24), and using the third data to change the first setting of the second actuator (24) to the second setting.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that additionally changing the setting of a third actuator (26).

11. A method for implementing a change in the setting of at least one actuator (22, 24, 26) of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the following steps: - Minting at least one NFT that links a file having control commands for at least one actuator (22, 24, 26), in particular an.xml file, with other data; - Recording at least one NFT in a blockchain.

12. A motor vehicle (2) having at least one actuator (22, 24, 26) and an associated controller (20), the controller being designed to obtain from the internal memory of the motor vehicle or download from the outside at least one file having control commands for at least one actuator (22, 24, 26), in particular an.xml file, according to at least one data path determined by an NFT, and execute the control commands as required.

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