Service device and system with a service device

Abstract

Service device (1) with a communication interface (13) configured to receive operating data of a vehicle (3) provided by the vehicle, wherein the operating data includes several sensor measurement data from sensors assigned to the vehicle (3), an engine wear parameter, a brake wear parameter, a current position of the vehicle, a destination of the vehicle, a radio station setting, personalization data, and with an evaluation unit (15) configured to determine a vehicle user profile parameter based on the operating data of the vehicle (3) and with a provision unit (17) configured to select specified information based on the respective vehicle user profile parameter and to make it available at the communication interface (13) for transmission to the vehicle (3).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a service device and a system comprising the service device.

[0002] In the automotive environment, the need for high-quality information systems that conveniently provide information to the user, especially vehicle occupants, is growing.

[0003] Austrian patent AT 507 237 A1 discloses a method and a system for transmitting information and displaying user-related data sets in a vehicle with a central server. The server has access to a large number of location-based data sets and is connected to a mobile network. A terminal device in the vehicle transmits the vehicle's geographical location or position to the server.

[0004] The server includes a selection unit which selects information from the multitude of location-based data sets according to the user's specifications, and a transmission unit is also provided for transmitting the selected data via the mobile network to the terminal device.

[0005] The object underlying the invention is to create a service device and a system that contribute to providing reliable and convenient information in a vehicle.

[0006] The invention is characterized by a service device and a system comprising the service device according to the independent patent claims.

[0007] Advantageous embodiments are characterized in the dependent claims.

[0008] The service device features a communication interface designed to receive operating data from a vehicle. This vehicle operating data can, in principle, encompass all data present in the vehicle; in particular, it can directly represent sensor measurements or be derived from them.

[0009] The service device also includes an evaluation unit designed to determine a vehicle user profile parameter based on the vehicle's operating data. Furthermore, the service device has a provision unit designed to select predefined information based on the respective vehicle user profile parameter and make it available at the communication interface for transmission to the vehicle.

[0010] The system comprises, in addition to the service device, at least one vehicle equipped with a communication interface configured to provide the vehicle's operating data for transmission to the service device's communication interface and further configured to provide the vehicle with selected information received at the communication interface. The vehicle also has a control unit for an output unit, configured to generate a signal for outputting the received selected information to the output unit.

[0011] By generating the vehicle user profile parameter based on vehicle operating data and using this to select predefined information to be made available at the communication interface for transmission to the vehicle, and then signaled by the vehicle's output unit upon receipt, a contribution is made to reliably and conveniently providing the most relevant information to the vehicle user, even if bandwidth for information transmission between the service device's communication interface and the vehicle's communication interface is limited.

[0012] Furthermore, the vehicle's operating data includes several sensor measurement data from sensors assigned to the vehicle, an engine wear parameter, a brake wear parameter, the vehicle's current position, the vehicle's destination, a radio station setting, and personalization data.

[0013] According to an advantageous embodiment, the provisioning unit is configured to select the specified information based on the vehicle's position data and / or route data. This allows for the selection of information that is particularly relevant to the vehicle user and thus includes, for example, information that relates to the position data or the planned route.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the vehicle's communication interface can be deactivated, based on user input, with regard to the provision of operating data for transmission to the communication interface of the service device and / or the provision of received, selected information. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit is configured to be deactivated, by means of user input, with regard to generating the signal for outputting the received, selected information to the output unit. In this way, the vehicle user can easily and conveniently prevent the transmission of corresponding operating data to the service device and / or the signaling of predefined information via the output unit.

[0015] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the schematic drawings. The single figure shows a system with a service device 1 and with at least one vehicle 3.

[0016] The vehicle 3 has an output unit 5 by means of which information can be signaled. The output unit 5 is, for example, an optical and / or acoustic output unit. The output unit 5 can, for example, be a so-called head unit. A control unit 7 is assigned to the output unit 5. The control unit is designed to generate a signal for signaling information on the output unit 5 and to control the display unit 5 by means of this signal.

[0017] Furthermore, the vehicle 3 has a communication interface 9, which is configured to provide operating data of the vehicle 3 for transmission to a communication interface 13 of the service device 1. The communication interface 9 of the vehicle is also configured to provide selected information received at the communication interface 9 to the vehicle 3.

[0018] Communication interface 9 can be any communication interface and thus, for example, include a mobile communication interface. Communication interface 9 is to be understood as a logical unit and can therefore also include multiple physical communication interfaces and / or enable communication using different communication protocols. The same applies to communication interface 13 of service device 1.

[0019] The vehicle's communication interface 9 and the service device 1's communication interface 13 can, in principle, communicate directly with each other, but also via any communication network infrastructure.

[0020] The vehicle also has one or more sensors 11 that record corresponding measured variables, such as the vehicle's speed, the position of an accelerator pedal, other measured variables directly related to the vehicle's internal combustion engine, measured variables related to the vehicle's manual transmission, measured variables related to other vehicle components such as an air conditioning system or a vehicle seat, particularly in relation to seat settings. Furthermore, the measured variables may also be from a navigation system, such as the vehicle's current position. In addition, the measured variables may also be representative of other user inputs via corresponding input elements of the vehicle.

[0021] Operating data can, in principle, encompass all data available in the vehicle, including, for example, measurements acquired by the sensor(s) or values ​​derived from them. This can include, for instance, engine wear parameters, brake wear parameters, the vehicle's current position, a destination, radio station settings, personalization data, telephone data, climate control settings, seat settings, navigation destination history, address book data, accessed functions or areas of a human-machine interface (where the output device is part), climate control states, diagnostic values, or any subset thereof. It can also, in principle, include a vehicle identification number (VIN) stored in the vehicle.They may also include, for example, a parameter for the tank capacity and / or a battery condition, in particular the state of charge, and / or an average driving performance.

[0022] Personalization data that characterizes a particular vehicle user can also be operational data.

[0023] The service device can, for example, include a server, such as a backend server. It has the communication interface 13 of the service device 1. It also has an evaluation unit 15 and a provisioning unit 17. The communication interface 13 of the service device 1 is configured to receive operating data from the vehicle 3, which is provided by the vehicle. The evaluation unit 15 is configured to determine a vehicle user profile parameter based on the vehicle's operating data.

[0024] In this context, the various received operational data can, in principle, be linked in any way. For example, the respective vehicle user profile indicator can be representative of an age category of the respective vehicle user and thus be divided into classes such as 20 to 30 years, 31 to 40 years, 41 to 50 years, and so on. Furthermore, the vehicle user profile indicator can alternatively or additionally also be representative of the vehicle user's driving behavior, such as city driving, highway driving, and / or sporty driving, fuel-conscious driving.

[0025] The provisioning unit 17 is designed to select specified information depending on the respective vehicle user profile characteristic and then make it available at the communication interface 13 of the service device 1 for transmission to the vehicle 3.

[0026] The provided information can encompass virtually any type of information and typically comprises a very large amount of data. For example, it can include advertising for various wear products, such as brake pads, motor oil, or similar items. It can also include information regarding offers for products, particularly those related to vehicles, such as winter tires or roof racks. Furthermore, the provided information can also include other types of advertising.

[0027] Particularly with regard to the limited bandwidth for transmitting information between the communication interfaces 13 of the service device 1 and the communication interface 9 of the vehicle 3, and with regard to ensuring the highest possible timeliness, selecting the specified information based on the vehicle user profile parameter is especially advantageous in this context. This allows the amount of data to be transmitted to be kept particularly low and thus transmitted reliably and conveniently to the vehicle for signaling on the display unit.

[0028] In this context, it is optionally possible for the provisioning unit 17 to be further configured to select the specified information based on the vehicle 3's position data and / or route data. For example, it is possible to specifically signal information regarding relevant vehicle service stations to the vehicle user, based on the current position and / or the expected route. This can also include targeted advertising from these service stations. Furthermore, it can also include relevant points of interest, such as restaurants and, if applicable, their menus and / or special offers.

[0029] Furthermore, other data, such as weather-related data in relation to the current position or route, can also be determined, and the selection of information displayed to the vehicle user on the display device can be based on this data. Additionally, information regarding advertisements from companies can be selected based on the current position and / or the expected route.

[0030] The service device 1 can be configured to specifically request the vehicle 3 to provide operating data from the service device 1. For this purpose, a corresponding message can be transmitted from the communication interface 13 of the service device 1 to the communication interface 9 of the vehicle 3, for example as an SMS. Operating data can also be transmitted using a radio key assigned to the vehicle.

[0031] The control unit 7 and the communication interface 9 of the vehicle 3 and / or the output unit 5 can, for example, form a module. They can thus, for example, form a single assembly.

[0032] The control unit 7 is designed, in conjunction with the respective selected information received at the communication interface 9, to generate a signal for outputting the received selected information to the output unit 5.

[0033] The vehicle's communication interface 9 can optionally be deactivated, depending on user input via any input element, with regard to the provision of operating data for transmission to the communication interface 13 of the service device 1 and / or the provision of received, selected information. Furthermore, the control unit 7 is optionally configured to be deactivated, by means of a corresponding user input, such as via any input element, with regard to generating the signal for outputting the received, selected information to the output unit 5. Reactivation is also possible via a corresponding input. Reference symbol list 1 Service device (backend) 13 Communication interface 15 evaluation units 17 Deployment unit 3 vehicles 5 output units 7 Control unit for output unit 9 Communication interface 11 Sensor

Claims

Service device (1) with a communication interface (13) configured to receive operating data of a vehicle (3) provided by the vehicle, wherein the operating data includes several sensor measurement data from sensors assigned to the vehicle (3), an engine wear parameter, a brake wear parameter, a current position of the vehicle, a destination of the vehicle, a radio station setting, personalization data, and with an evaluation unit (15) configured to determine a vehicle user profile parameter based on the operating data of the vehicle (3) and with a provision unit (17) configured to select specified information based on the respective vehicle user profile parameter and to make it available at the communication interface (13) for transmission to the vehicle (3). Service device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the provisioning unit (17) is configured to select the specified information depending on position data and / or vehicle route data of the vehicle (3). System comprising a service device (1) according to one of the preceding claims and a vehicle (3) comprising a communication interface (9) configured to provide operating data of the vehicle (3) for transmission to the communication interface (13) of the service device (1) and further configured to provide selected information received at the communication interface (13) to the vehicle (3) and to generate a control unit (7) for an output unit (5) configured to output a signal to the received selected information on the output unit (5). System according to claim 3, wherein the communication interface (9) of the vehicle (3) can be deactivated depending on a user input with regard to the provision of the operating data for transmission to the communication interface (13) of the service device (1) and / or the provision of received, selected information and / or wherein the control unit (7) is configured to be deactivated by means of a user input with regard to generating the signal for outputting the received, selected information on the output unit (5).

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