Charging device, vehicle, OTA upgrade method, OTA upgrade system and equipment

Abstract

The application provides a charging device, a vehicle, an OTA upgrading method, an OTA upgrading system and equipment, and belongs to the technical field of vehicle upgrading. The charging device comprises a first optical communication module, which is used for performing OTA information interaction with an upgrading platform through an optical fiber communication network; and a visible light communication module connected with the first optical communication module, which is used for performing OTA information interaction with a target vehicle based on visible light communication. The application aims to improve the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrading.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of vehicle upgrades, and more specifically, to a charging device, a vehicle, an OTA upgrade method, an OTA upgrade system, and a device. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the automotive industry, the demand for vehicle safety and performance assurance is also increasing. OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrades for intelligent vehicles are an important technology that allows vehicles to remotely receive and install software updates. It can provide continuous functional improvements, security patches, and new features after the vehicle goes online, thereby ensuring the vehicle's safety and performance. Currently, various methods for OTA upgrades of vehicles have been proposed.

[0003] The most common method is to implement vehicle OTA upgrades via mobile cellular networks or Wi-Fi. For example, when the vehicle is in a signal coverage area, an upgrade package is sent to the vehicle. However, when the upgrade package is large, this OTA upgrade method based on mobile cellular networks or Wi-Fi takes a lot of time, resulting in low efficiency of OTA upgrades. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a charging device, a vehicle, an OTA upgrade method, an OTA upgrade system, and an equipment, aiming to improve the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrades.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a charging device, including: The first optical communication module is used to interact with the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network for OTA information exchange. A visible light communication module is connected to the first optical communication module. The visible light communication module is used to perform OTA information interaction with the target vehicle based on visible light communication.

[0006] Optionally, the optical fiber communication network includes a second optical communication module connected to the upgrade platform, and the first optical communication module is adapted to be connected to the second optical communication module via an optical fiber; The second optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the first optical communication module through the optical fiber. The first optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal. The first OTA information is the OTA information sent by the upgrade platform to the charging device. And / or, the first optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the second optical communication module through the optical fiber, the second optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal, wherein the second OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the upgrade platform.

[0007] Optionally, an optical relay module is adapted to be set between the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module to compensate for the loss of optical signals during long-distance transmission; And / or, the first optical communication module is adapted to be connected to an optical network switching device via a splitter.

[0008] Optionally, the visible light communication module includes a first modulation unit and a first transmission unit; The first modulation unit is at least configured to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information; the first transmission unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information, wherein the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the target vehicle; And / or, the visible light communication module includes a first receiving unit and a first conversion unit; The first receiving unit is at least configured to receive a visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the first conversion unit is at least configured to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information, wherein the fourth OTA information is the OTA information sent by the target vehicle to the charging device; And / or, the visible light communication module is adapted to perform OTA information interaction with multiple target vehicles; And / or, the first transmitting unit is adapted to be disposed on top of the charging device.

[0009] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a vehicle, including: Vehicle body; An in-vehicle visible light communication device is installed on the vehicle body. The in-vehicle visible light communication device is used to perform OTA information interaction with the charging device based on visible light communication; wherein, the charging device is adapted to perform OTA information interaction with the upgrade platform through an optical fiber communication network.

[0010] Optionally, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second receiving unit and a second conversion unit; The second receiving unit is at least used to receive a visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information; the second conversion unit is used to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information, wherein the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the vehicle; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second modulation unit and a second transmission unit; The second modulation unit is at least configured to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the second transmission unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information, wherein the fourth OTA information is the OTA information sent by the vehicle to the charging device; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device is disposed on the windshield of the vehicle body; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device is pluggably mounted on the vehicle body.

[0011] Optionally, the vehicle body includes: A signal processing unit, connected to the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device, is used to digitize the electrical signals of the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device for OTA upgrades of the vehicle itself.

[0012] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an OTA upgrade method, applied to the charging device described in the first aspect of the embodiments, the method comprising: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, the OTA upgrade package is obtained on the upgrade platform via the fiber optic communication network. The OTA upgrade package is sent to the target vehicle using visible light communication.

[0013] Optionally, the step of obtaining the OTA upgrade package on the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network in response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions includes: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade packet request is sent to the upgrade platform through the optical fiber communication network; The OTA upgrade package is obtained by receiving the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package through the optical fiber communication network. The OTA upgrade package request is used to request the upgrade platform to send an OTA upgrade package.

[0014] Optionally, the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is obtained according to the following: Based on the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response sent by the target vehicle, generate the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request; Based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request, generate the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request; The OTA upgrade confirmation response is used to indicate that the target vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions.

[0015] Optionally, sending the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle includes: Transmit the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle; The visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is generated based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, and the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is generated based on the light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package.

[0016] Fourthly, this application provides an OTA upgrade method, applied to the vehicle described in the second aspect of the embodiment, the method comprising: Based on visible light communication, OTA upgrade packages sent by the charging device are obtained and OTA upgrades are performed.

[0017] Optionally, the step of obtaining the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device and performing an OTA upgrade includes: Receive the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device, and generate the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package; Perform OTA upgrade based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package; And / or, the electrical signals corresponding to the OTA upgrade package are digitized to perform OTA upgrade.

[0018] Optionally, the method further includes: After receiving the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request, send the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response to indicate that the OTA upgrade conditions are met.

[0019] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide an OTA upgrade system, the system comprising: a charging device as described in the first aspect of the embodiment and a vehicle as described in the second aspect of the embodiment, the vehicle being electrically connected to the charging device, and the charging device being adapted to communicate with an upgrade platform.

[0020] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide an electronic device, including a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor, they implement the OTA upgrade method as described in the third aspect of the embodiment, or implement the OTA upgrade method as described in the fourth aspect of the embodiment.

[0021] Beneficial effects: The charging device provided in this application includes a first optical communication module and a visible light communication module connected to the first optical communication module. The first optical communication module is used to interact with the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network for OTA information exchange. The visible light communication module is used to interact with the target vehicle for OTA information exchange based on visible light communication. This enables the OTA information to be transmitted to the target vehicle via an all-optical link, which can improve the transmission speed of OTA information, reduce the transmission time, and thus improve the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrades. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a charging device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an optical fiber communication network according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the distribution of charging piles provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of visible light communication according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a flowchart of the steps of an OTA upgrade method proposed in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the steps of an OTA upgrade method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an OTA upgrade system proposed in an embodiment of this application; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of an OTA upgrade according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a readable storage medium proposed in an embodiment of this application; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a computer program product proposed in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0025] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0026] OTA: Over-The-Air. ECU: Electronic Control Unit; OLT: Optical Line Terminal; ODN: Optical Distribution Network.

[0027] With the rapid development of the automotive industry, the demand for vehicle safety and performance assurance is also increasing. OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrades for intelligent vehicles are an important technology that allows vehicles to remotely receive and install software updates. It can provide continuous functional improvements, security patches, and new features after the vehicle goes online, thereby ensuring the vehicle's safety and performance. Currently, various methods for OTA upgrades of vehicles have been proposed.

[0028] The most common method is to upgrade the vehicle's OTA system using mobile cellular networks or Wi-Fi. For example, when a cloud server receives an OTA upgrade request from the car manufacturer, it generates a complete upgrade package and sends an upgrade notification. The local communication server in the transportation vehicle automatically receives this upgrade notification when it is within mobile signal coverage, parses the notification, and compares the versions. If the versions do not match, it downloads the upgrade package. After downloading, the local communication server executes the upgrade operations for all ECUs that need to be upgraded. This OTA upgrade method is simple, convenient, and has the advantage of real-time updates, but it also has the following problems: 1) Strong network dependence, meaning that OTA upgrades rely on a stable network connection. If the vehicle is in an area with poor network coverage, such as a large vehicle depot or underground parking garage, there may be problems with slow upgrade speed or even failure to upgrade.

[0029] 2) High data traffic costs: In the context of intelligent vehicles, the data packet size of OTA upgrades will reach 10 GB or even larger. In outdoor scenarios where there is generally no Wi-Fi connection, using cellular data for large-capacity OTA upgrades will incur high data traffic costs.

[0030] 3) The OTA upgrade process is time-consuming. The OTA upgrade time is an important factor. The vehicle cannot be powered off or driven during the OTA upgrade. For safety and timeliness of updates, some manufacturers require passengers to remain in the vehicle. For large upgrade packages, data transmission using traditional radio frequency signals at a rate of tens of Mbps often takes an hour or even longer, resulting in a poor user experience.

[0031] 4) There are security issues during transmission. If the encryption measures during the upgrade process are not strong enough, there is a risk that the wireless transmission data may be intercepted or even tampered with, infringing on user privacy and even threatening driving safety.

[0032] To address the issue of OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrade failures caused by network problems, a method based on charging stations for vehicle OTA upgrades has been proposed. For example, the charging station, vehicle, and OTA system all use wired connections. This ensures a stable and secure upgrade process while maintaining vehicle availability and making full use of idle time during charging. However, several significant drawbacks exist: 1) Due to infrastructure limitations, the overall transmission rate is still relatively low, generally maintained at 10-100 Mbps. When upgrading large software installation packages, there may be a situation where the fast charging is completed, but the OTA is not yet finished. 2) Due to the use of wired connection, the communication between the charging pile and the car can only be one-to-one, resulting in low OTA upgrade efficiency.

[0033] In addition, there is a method for vehicle OTA upgrades based on visible light communication. Although this method has the advantages of no electromagnetic interference, wide coverage and fast downlink speed, reaching the Gbps level, the charging pile network access method is still the traditional Ethernet connection (10-100 Mbps), which limits the overall communication rate of the system and still results in low efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrades.

[0034] In summary, the current vehicle OTA process suffers from low efficiency. Therefore, this application provides a charging device and a vehicle that can improve the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrades.

[0035] Reference Figure 1 The diagram shows an architectural schematic of a charging device provided in an embodiment of this application. The charging device includes a first optical communication module and a visible light communication module connected to the first optical communication module.

[0036] The first optical communication module is used to interact with the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network for OTA information exchange; the visible light communication module is used to interact with the target vehicle for OTA information exchange based on visible light communication.

[0037] In actual implementation, the charging device can be a charging pile of a charging station or other devices that charge vehicles; this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0038] The target vehicle refers to a vehicle equipped with an on-board visible light communication device. The on-board visible light communication device can interact with the visible light communication module of the charging device based on visible light communication to realize OTA information exchange.

[0039] The charging device provided in this application embodiment can establish an all-optical link between the upgrade platform, the charging device and the vehicle, thereby enabling high-speed OTA remote updates with all-optical information transmission, significantly improving the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrades.

[0040] In one feasible implementation, the optical fiber communication network includes a second optical communication module connected to the upgrade platform, wherein the first optical communication module is adapted to connect to the second optical communication module via an optical fiber.

[0041] The first optical communication module and the second optical communication module are mainly used for photoelectric conversion of OTA information.

[0042] Specifically, in the OTA upgrade scenario, the upgrade platform can send various first OTA information to the charging device. That is, the first OTA information is the OTA information sent by the upgrade platform to the charging device. For example, the first OTA information includes, but is not limited to, OTA upgrade requests and OTA upgrade packages. The OTA upgrade request is used to prompt any vehicle to perform an OTA upgrade. The OTA upgrade request may include the OTA upgrade version. The first OTA information can also be configured according to the needs of actual applications. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0043] During the process of the upgrade platform sending the first OTA information to the charging device, the second optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the first optical communication module through the optical fiber. The first optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal.

[0044] Furthermore, the charging device can also send a second OTA information to the upgrade platform. That is, the second OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the upgrade platform. For example, the second OTA information includes, but is not limited to, OTA upgrade package requests. The OTA upgrade package request is used to request the upgrade platform to send an OTA upgrade package. The second OTA information can also be configured according to the needs of actual applications. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0045] During the process of the charging device sending the second OTA information to the upgrade platform, the first optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the second optical communication module through the optical fiber. The second optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal.

[0046] In actual implementation, the second optical communication module can be an optical transceiver. The optical transceiver is used to perform photoelectric conversion on the first OTA information sent by the upgrade platform or the second OTA information sent to the upgrade platform. The optical transceiver has signal processing and modulation circuits inside, and the output end of the optical transceiver is connected to a light source, which can transmit optical signals.

[0047] For example, when the optical transceiver receives the electrical signal of the first OTA information sent by the upgrade platform, it can convert it into an optical signal corresponding to the first OTA information and send it to the first optical communication module of the charging device via optical fiber; or, when the optical transceiver receives the optical signal of the second OTA information sent by the first optical communication module via optical fiber, it can convert the optical signal of the second OTA information into an electrical signal of the second OTA information and transmit it to the upgrade platform.

[0048] The first optical communication module may include a photodetector (PD), a preamplifier, a main amplifier, an automatic gain control, an equalization filter, a clock and data recovery circuit, a decision regeneration circuit, a decoder, and a light source. In actual implementation, the first optical communication module may also be an optical transceiver.

[0049] After receiving the optical signal of the first OTA information sent by the second optical communication module, the first optical communication module can convert the optical signal of the first OTA information into an electrical signal of the first OTA information; the first optical communication module can also convert the electrical signal of the second OTA information into an optical signal and send it to the second optical communication module through an optical fiber.

[0050] In one feasible implementation, an optical relay module is adapted to be disposed between the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module, the optical relay module being used to compensate for the loss of optical signals during long-distance transmission.

[0051] For example, an optical repeater module can be an optical repeater. The input of the optical repeater is connected to a photodetector and a preamplifier. The internal components of the optical repeater can include a main amplifier, equalization filter circuit, and decision regeneration circuit. The output of the optical repeater consists of a light source and a driving circuit, which can amplify, shape, and time the optical signal, avoiding attenuation and distortion caused by long-distance transmission.

[0052] In one feasible implementation, the optical fiber communication network may further include an optical network switching device for realizing local scheduling and distribution of optical signals. For example, the optical network switching device includes equipment for constructing a passive optical network (PON), such as an optical line terminal (OLT), an optical distribution network (ODN), and a splitter. The first optical communication module is adapted to be connected to the optical network switching device via the splitter.

[0053] Specifically, the optical line terminal (OLT) is suitable for connecting to the second optical communication module via optical fiber to transmit optical signals. When the transmission distance between the OLT and the second optical communication module is long, an optical repeater module can be set between the OLT and the second optical communication module to compensate for the loss of optical signals during long-distance transmission.

[0054] After receiving the downlink optical signal, the optical line terminal (OLT) can distribute the optical signal to the first optical communication module of each charging device through the optical distribution network (ODN) and the optical splitter.

[0055] Reference Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a fiber optic communication network provided in an embodiment of this application. The fiber optic communication network includes a second optical communication module and an optical network switching device. The optical network switching device includes an optical line terminal (OLT), an optical distribution network (ODN), and a splitter.

[0056] The second optical communication module is connected to the upgrade platform. In order to reduce the loss of optical signals over long transmission distances, the second optical communication module is connected to the optical line terminal (OLT) through an optical relay module.

[0057] The optical line terminal (OLT) can establish optical links with the first optical communication modules of multiple charging devices through the optical distribution network (ODN) and optical splitters.

[0058] In actual implementation, an optical line terminal (OLT) can be set up in a charging station, and multiple charging piles in the charging station can be selected to deploy the first optical communication module and the visible light communication module. The OLT in the charging station can be connected to the first optical communication module of each charging device based on the optical distribution network (ODN).

[0059] In actual implementation, the number and type of optical splitters in the optical fiber communication network can be selected according to the actual application requirements, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0060] In practice, optical fibers can be buried underground to directly connect the optical splitter to each charging pile equipped with a first optical communication module.

[0061] In practical implementation, a photoelectric composite charging pile cable can also be used to connect the optical fiber to each charging pile equipped with the first optical communication module. The photoelectric composite charging pile cable integrates the charging cable and optical fiber of the charging pile into one cable, which can reduce the difficulty of wiring.

[0062] In the OTA upgrade scenario, the charging device can send third OTA information to the target vehicle through the visible light communication module. That is, the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the target vehicle. For example, the third OTA information includes, but is not limited to, the OTA upgrade request and OTA upgrade package sent by the forwarding upgrade platform. The third OTA information can also be configured according to the actual application requirements, which is not limited in this application embodiment.

[0063] In one feasible implementation, the visible light communication module includes a first modulation unit and a first transmission unit.

[0064] The first modulation unit is at least configured to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information; the first transmission unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information.

[0065] For example, the first modulation unit may include a signal encoding processing circuit and a modulator, used to encode and modulate the electrical signal of the third OTA information to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information suitable for the free space optical channel. The modulation unit can be selected according to the actual application, such as using OOK modulation, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit it.

[0066] The first transmitting unit may include a driving circuit and a light source, and can change the brightness or intensity of the light source according to the pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information to transmit the visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information.

[0067] In practical implementation, in order to maximize the coverage of the visible light signal emitted by the visible light communication module of the charging device, the first transmitting unit of the visible light communication module can be placed on the top of the charging device.

[0068] Furthermore, in order to further expand the coverage area, the light source of the first transmitting unit can also be a ring-shaped light strip.

[0069] Currently, the transmission rate of one-to-many visible light communication technology based on conventional white LEDs can reach over 300Mbps. For 10Gbps OTA upgrade packages, the transmission can be completed within minutes, which is safe and efficient.

[0070] In practice, considering that users mostly charge their vehicles at night, which is the peak time for car charging, there are fewer light interference issues when using charging devices such as charging piles to implement OTA upgrades for vehicles.

[0071] In practical implementation, to further reduce interference from ambient light, a sunshade canopy can be installed on the charging device to avoid interference from direct sunlight on visible light signals during the day, thereby ensuring the success rate of OTA upgrades and improving the efficiency of OTA upgrades.

[0072] In one feasible implementation, the charging device can also receive a fourth OTA information sent by the target vehicle. That is, the fourth OTA information is the OTA information sent by the target vehicle to the charging device. For example, the fourth OTA information includes, but is not limited to, an OTA upgrade confirmation response. After receiving an OTA upgrade request carrying an OTA upgrade version, if the target vehicle's current version is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, it can send the OTA upgrade confirmation response to the charging device, indicating that the target vehicle can perform an OTA upgrade. The fourth OTA information can also be configured according to the needs of actual applications, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0073] Specifically, the visible light communication module may further include a first receiving unit and a first conversion unit; the first receiving unit is at least used to receive the visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the first conversion unit is at least used to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information.

[0074] In actual implementation, the first receiving unit may include a photodetector (PD), and the first conversion unit may include a filtering, demodulation, sampling, shaping, and amplification unit. When the photodetector (PD) receives visible light information, it converts it into an electrical signal. After filtering, amplification, shaping, sampling, demodulation, and decoding, the fourth OTA information sent by the target vehicle can be recovered.

[0075] The charging device provided in this application embodiment can perform OTA information interaction with multiple target vehicles based on the visible light communication module, thereby realizing OTA upgrades for multiple vehicles.

[0076] In actual implementation, once a first optical communication module and a visible light communication module are deployed on a charging pile, the charging pile has OTA upgrade functionality. Since a charging pile can simultaneously exchange OTA information with the on-board visible light communication devices of multiple vehicles, it is not necessary to select all charging piles in the charging station to deploy the first optical communication module and the visible light communication module. Instead, based on the visible light communication range of the visible light communication module, only some charging piles in the charging station that need OTA upgrade functionality can be selected.

[0077] Reference Figure 3 The diagram shows a schematic of the distribution of charging piles provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, a charging pile with OTA upgrade function can be set up in a circular area with a radius of 5m at each interval, so that the visible light communication range of the charging pile with OTA upgrade function can cover all parking spaces of the charging station.

[0078] In actual implementation, charging piles with OTA upgrade function can also be selected according to the actual application needs, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0079] In the charging device of this application embodiment, the first optical communication module and the visible light communication module can jointly realize the signal conversion between optical signal, electrical signal and visible light signal. Thus, after obtaining OTA information from the upgrade platform based on the optical fiber communication network, it can send it to the vehicle for OTA upgrade based on the visible light signal. Furthermore, the OTA information between the upgrade platform, the charging device and the vehicle can be transmitted through the all-optical link for high-speed OTA remote update, thereby improving the efficiency of vehicle OTA upgrade.

[0080] This application also provides a vehicle, specifically including a vehicle body and an onboard visible light communication device.

[0081] The vehicle-mounted visible light communication device is installed on the vehicle body and is used for OTA information interaction with the charging device based on visible light communication; wherein, the charging device is adapted to perform OTA information interaction with the upgrade platform through an optical fiber communication network.

[0082] In one feasible implementation, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second receiving unit and a second conversion unit.

[0083] The second receiving unit is at least used to receive the visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information; the second conversion unit is used to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information, wherein the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the vehicle.

[0084] In actual implementation, the second receiving unit may include a photodetector (PD), and the second conversion unit may include a filtering, demodulation, sampling, shaping, and amplification unit. When the photodetector (PD) receives visible light information, it converts it into an electrical signal. After filtering, amplification, shaping, sampling, demodulation, and decoding, the third OTA information sent by the charging device can be recovered.

[0085] In addition to receiving the visible light signal of the third OTA information sent by the visible light communication module of the charging device, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device can also send the visible light signal of the fourth OTA information to the charging device, thereby realizing bidirectional OTA information interaction.

[0086] Specifically, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second modulation unit and a second transmission unit.

[0087] The second modulation unit is at least configured to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the second transmission unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information.

[0088] For example, the second modulation unit may include a signal encoding processing circuit and a modulator, used to encode and modulate the electrical signal of the fourth OTA information to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information suitable for the free space optical channel. The modulation unit can be selected according to the actual application, such as using OOK modulation, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit it.

[0089] The second transmitting unit may include a driving circuit and a light source, and can change the brightness or intensity of the light source according to the pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information to transmit the visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information.

[0090] Reference Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a visible light communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. In visible light communication, the visible light transmitter first encodes and modulates the original binary information sequence. The modulated electrical signal drives a light source, such as an LED, to emit light, loading the information to be transmitted onto the optical signal. After the optical signal emitted by the LED is transmitted through the visible light channel, it is received by the photodetector (PD) at the visible light receiver. The visible light receiver converts the signal into an electrical signal through photoelectric conversion. After filtering, amplification, shaping, sampling, demodulation, and decoding, the original binary signal can be recovered.

[0091] In actual implementation, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device can be installed on the windshield of the vehicle body.

[0092] Since the vehicle only uses the on-board visible light communication device when it is near the charging device or charging and when an OTA upgrade is required, in actual implementation, the on-board visible light communication device can be plugged into the vehicle body.

[0093] For example, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device can be attached to the windshield using an auxiliary suction cup device, and then plugged into the vehicle's host data interface via a data cable. After use, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device can be removed. Vehicle owners can choose to purchase a vehicle-mounted visible light communication device or rent a vehicle-mounted visible light communication device temporarily provided by the charging pile OTA operator.

[0094] In one feasible implementation, the vehicle body further includes: A signal processing unit, connected to the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device, is used to digitize the electrical signals of the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device for OTA upgrades of the vehicle itself.

[0095] Reference Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of an OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrade method provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to the charging device described in this embodiment. The method includes the following steps: S101: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, obtain the OTA upgrade package on the upgrade platform through the fiber optic communication network.

[0096] Specifically, the target vehicle is equipped with the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device described in the embodiments of this application, so as to perform OTA information interaction with the charging device based on visible light communication.

[0097] When the target vehicle is parked near the charging device and within the visible light communication range of the visible light communication module, the charging device can first determine whether the target vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions. When the target vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions, the charging device first requests the OTA upgrade package from the upgrade platform based on the optical fiber communication network.

[0098] Specifically, in the OTA upgrade scenario, when the upgrade platform releases the latest version of the upgrade package, it can issue an OTA upgrade request at preset intervals, and the OTA upgrade request includes the OTA upgrade version.

[0099] In actual implementation, when the charging device detects parked vehicles or a vehicle starting to charge, the charging device may request the upgrade platform to send an OTA upgrade request containing an OTA upgrade package. This application embodiment does not impose any limitations.

[0100] The electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request sent by the upgrade platform is converted into an optical signal by the photoelectric conversion of the second optical communication module, and then sent to the first optical communication module of the charging device through optical fiber. After photoelectric conversion by the first optical communication module, the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request is obtained.

[0101] Then, based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request, a visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request is transmitted to the target vehicle. When the target vehicle's current version is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, it sends a visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response.

[0102] Therefore, if a visible light signal corresponding to an OTA upgrade request is received after sending the visible light signal corresponding to an OTA upgrade confirmation response from the target vehicle, it indicates that the target vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions.

[0103] In one feasible implementation, in response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, an OTA upgrade package is obtained on the upgrade platform via a fiber optic communication network, which may specifically include the following steps: A1: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is sent to the upgrade platform through the optical fiber communication network.

[0104] Specifically, the OTA upgrade package request is used to request the upgrade platform to send an OTA upgrade package, and the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is obtained according to the following: Based on the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response sent by the target vehicle, an electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is generated; based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request, an optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is generated, and then the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is sent to the upgrade platform through the optical fiber communication network.

[0105] A2: Receive the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package through the optical fiber communication network to obtain the OTA upgrade package.

[0106] The upgrade platform responds to the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request, generates the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, and after photoelectric conversion by the second optical communication module, generates the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, which is then sent to the charging device through optical fiber.

[0107] The first optical communication module of the charging device receives the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, performs photoelectric conversion, generates the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, and thus obtains the OTA upgrade package.

[0108] S102: The OTA upgrade package is sent to the target vehicle based on visible light communication.

[0109] Once the charging device receives the OTA upgrade package, it can send the acquired OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle via visible light communication.

[0110] Specifically, based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is transmitted through the visible light communication module of the charging device to send the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle.

[0111] Reference Figure 6 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of an OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrade method provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to the vehicle described in this embodiment. The method includes the following steps: S201: Based on visible light communication, obtain the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device and perform OTA upgrade.

[0112] Specifically, the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device is received, and an electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is generated through the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device.

[0113] OTA upgrade is performed based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, and / or the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is digitized for OTA upgrade.

[0114] For example, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device sends the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package to the vehicle's signal processing unit. The signal processing unit performs digital processing based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package for the vehicle itself to perform OTA upgrade.

[0115] In one feasible implementation, when the vehicle is near or charging the charging device, after receiving the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request sent by the charging device, the vehicle generates the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request through the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device and sends the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request to the vehicle's signal processing unit.

[0116] The signal processing unit compares the OTA upgrade version carried in the OTA upgrade request with its own current version. If the current version is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, it generates an electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response and sends it to the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device.

[0117] The vehicle-mounted visible light communication device transmits a visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response, in order to indicate that the vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions.

[0118] In actual implementation, when the current version is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, an OTA upgrade prompt page can be further displayed. In response to the user's confirmation operation on the OTA upgrade prompt page, an electrical signal for OTA upgrade confirmation can be generated. Then, the vehicle's onboard visible light communication device can generate and send a visible light signal for OTA upgrade confirmation based on the electrical signal for OTA upgrade confirmation.

[0119] Reference Figure 7 The diagram shows a schematic of the OTA upgrade system provided in an embodiment of this application. The system includes a charging device and a vehicle as described in the embodiment of this application. The vehicle is electrically connected to the charging device, and the charging device is adapted to communicate with an upgrade platform.

[0120] When performing an OTA upgrade based on the system, the charging device receives the OTA upgrade request sent by the upgrade platform based on the optical fiber communication network, and then sends the OTA upgrade request to the target vehicle through visible light communication.

[0121] The target vehicle determines whether its current version is consistent with the OTA upgrade version included in the OTA upgrade request. When the target vehicle's current version is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, the target vehicle sends an OTA upgrade confirmation response to the charging device based on visible light communication. Alternatively, if the current version of the target vehicle is inconsistent with the OTA upgrade version, an OTA upgrade prompt page will be displayed. In response to the user's confirmation operation on the OTA upgrade prompt page, the target vehicle will send an OTA upgrade confirmation response to the charging device based on visible light communication.

[0122] After receiving the OTA upgrade confirmation response, the charging device sends an OTA upgrade package request to the upgrade platform through the fiber optic communication network, and receives the latest version of the OTA upgrade package sent by the upgrade platform based on the fiber optic communication network.

[0123] Finally, the charging device sends the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle via visible light communication, thereby enabling the target vehicle to undergo OTA upgrade.

[0124] Currently, OTA upgrades using mobile data or Wi-Fi often only reach speeds in the Mbps range, resulting in long download times for upgrade packages and a poor user experience. Furthermore, unstable outdoor Wi-Fi coverage leads to poor reliability of OTA upgrades, and data packages need to be purchased by users, making OTA upgrades expensive.

[0125] The system provided in this application combines visible light communication (VLC) with passive optical network (PON) to establish an all-optical link between the upgrade platform, charging device, and vehicle. OTA upgrades can be performed during vehicle charging. Based on high-speed optical signals, it offers advantages such as fast download speeds, short transmission times, wide coverage, support for high concurrency, and high security. The fiber optic communication network connection is stable and reliable, not easily affected by electromagnetic interference, and its speed can reach tens of Gbps. Furthermore, it can fully utilize the user's spare time while charging, eliminating the need for the user to directly bear the OTA download cost, thus solving the pain points of OTA downloads and improving the user experience.

[0126] Reference Figure 8 The diagram illustrates an OTA upgrade provided in an embodiment of this application. A single charging device, such as a charging pile, can enable multiple vehicles to undergo OTA upgrades simultaneously. Compared to the existing one-to-one wired connection method for vehicle OTA upgrades, the system provided in this embodiment has a wider coverage.

[0127] Reference Figure 9 The diagram illustrates an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. The electronic device includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor, they implement the various processes of the OTA upgrade method embodiment described in this application and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0128] It should be noted that the electronic devices in the embodiments of this application include the mobile electronic devices and non-mobile electronic devices described above.

[0129] Reference Figure 10 The diagram illustrates a readable storage medium provided in an embodiment of this application. The readable storage medium stores a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the OTA upgrade method embodiment described in this application and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, the details will not be repeated here.

[0130] The processor is the processor in the electronic device described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0131] Reference Figure 11The diagram illustrates a computer program product provided in an embodiment of this application, including a computer program / instruction. When the computer program / instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the various processes of the OTA upgrade method embodiment described in this application and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0132] It should be noted that, in this document, 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 limitations, 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 that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0133] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0134] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. The description of the embodiments above is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core idea of ​​this application. Those skilled in the art can make many forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of protection of the claims, and all of these are within the protection scope of this application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation and application scope based on the idea of ​​this application. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

Claims

1. A charging device, characterized in that, include: The first optical communication module is used to interact with the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network for OTA information exchange. A visible light communication module is connected to the first optical communication module. The visible light communication module is used to perform OTA information interaction with the target vehicle based on visible light communication.

2. The charging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optical fiber communication network includes a second optical communication module connected to the upgrade platform, and the first optical communication module is adapted to be connected to the second optical communication module via an optical fiber; The second optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the first optical communication module through the optical fiber. The first optical communication module is at least used to convert the first OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal. The first OTA information is the OTA information sent by the upgrade platform to the charging device. And / or, the first optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an electrical signal to an optical signal and send it to the second optical communication module through the optical fiber, the second optical communication module is at least used to convert the second OTA information from an optical signal to an electrical signal, wherein the second OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the upgrade platform.

3. The charging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, An optical relay module is adapted to be set between the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module to compensate for the loss of optical signals during long-distance transmission. And / or, the first optical communication module is adapted to be connected to an optical network switching device via a splitter.

4. The charging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The visible light communication module includes a first modulation unit and a first transmission unit; The first modulation unit is at least used to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information; The first transmitting unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on a pulse signal corresponding to the third OTA information, wherein the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the target vehicle; And / or, the visible light communication module includes a first receiving unit and a first conversion unit; The first receiving unit is at least configured to receive a visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the first conversion unit is at least configured to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information, wherein the fourth OTA information is the OTA information sent by the target vehicle to the charging device; And / or, the visible light communication module is adapted to perform OTA information interaction with multiple target vehicles; And / or, the first transmitting unit is adapted to be disposed on top of the charging device.

5. A vehicle, characterized in that, include: Vehicle body; An in-vehicle visible light communication device is installed on the vehicle body. The in-vehicle visible light communication device is used to perform OTA information interaction with the charging device based on visible light communication; wherein, the charging device is adapted to perform OTA information interaction with the upgrade platform through an optical fiber communication network.

6. The vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that, The vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second receiving unit and a second conversion unit. The second receiving unit is at least used to receive a visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information; the second conversion unit is used to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the third OTA information based on the visible light signal corresponding to the third OTA information, wherein the third OTA information is the OTA information sent by the charging device to the vehicle; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device includes a second modulation unit and a second transmission unit; The second modulation unit is at least configured to generate a pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the electrical signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information; the second transmission unit is at least configured to transmit a visible light signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information based on the pulse signal corresponding to the fourth OTA information, wherein the fourth OTA information is the OTA information sent by the vehicle to the charging device; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device is disposed on the windshield of the vehicle body; And / or, the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device is pluggably mounted on the vehicle body.

7. The vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that, The vehicle body includes: A signal processing unit, connected to the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device, is used to digitize the electrical signals of the vehicle-mounted visible light communication device for OTA upgrades of the vehicle itself.

8. An OTA upgrade method, characterized in that, The method, applied to the charging device according to any one of claims 1-4, comprises: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, the OTA upgrade package is obtained on the upgrade platform via the fiber optic communication network. The OTA upgrade package is sent to the target vehicle using visible light communication.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The step of obtaining an OTA upgrade package on the upgrade platform via an optical fiber communication network in response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions includes: In response to the target vehicle meeting the OTA upgrade conditions, the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade packet request is sent to the upgrade platform through the optical fiber communication network; The OTA upgrade package is obtained by receiving the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package through the optical fiber communication network. The OTA upgrade package request is used to request the upgrade platform to send an OTA upgrade package.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request is obtained as follows: Based on the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response sent by the target vehicle, generate the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request; Based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request, generate the optical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package request; The OTA upgrade confirmation response is used to indicate that the target vehicle meets the OTA upgrade conditions.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Sending the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle includes: Transmit the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package to the target vehicle; The visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is generated based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package, and the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package is generated based on the light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package.

12. An OTA upgrade method, characterized in that, Applied to the vehicle according to any one of claims 5-7, the method comprises: Based on visible light communication, OTA upgrade packages sent by the charging device are obtained and OTA upgrades are performed.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device and performing an OTA upgrade includes: Receive the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package sent by the charging device, and generate the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package; Perform OTA upgrade based on the electrical signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade package; And / or, the electrical signals corresponding to the OTA upgrade package are digitized to perform OTA upgrade.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: After receiving the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade request, send the visible light signal corresponding to the OTA upgrade confirmation response to indicate that the OTA upgrade conditions are met.

15. An OTA upgrade system, characterized in that, The system includes: a charging device according to any one of claims 1-4 and a vehicle according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein the vehicle is electrically connected to the charging device, and the charging device is adapted to communicate with an upgrade platform.

16. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, they implement the OTA upgrade method as described in any one of claims 8-11, or implement the OTA upgrade method as described in any one of claims 12-14.

Images