Method and device for processing communication signals in a vehicle

Abstract

Vehicle communication device for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal (30) arranged in the interior of a vehicle (1) and the vehicle communication device, comprising: - at least two antennas (10, 20) arranged in the vehicle; - a transmitting / receiving unit (5) coupled to the at least two antennas (10, 20) for providing transmit data for the at least two antennas (10, 20) and for receiving receive data provided to the transmitting / receiving unit (5) by the at least two antennas (10, 20) for processing; wherein the vehicle communication device is designed to: - to determine a propagation time difference (T0) which results during the transmission of a first communication signal between the terminal (30) and a first antenna (10) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) and a second communication signal with the same content between the terminal (30) and a second antenna (20) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) due to different distances of the first and second antennas (10, 20) to the terminal (30); - in the case of reception, to carry out a correlation of the communication signals adjusted for the propagation time difference (T0) in order to eliminate any additionally received communication signals from one or more interferers (40) from the correlated communication signals and to provide the mutually correlated communication signals as received data; and / or - in the case of transmission, to transmit the transmission data to the terminal (30) via the first and the second antenna (10, 20) with a time delay of the propagation time difference (T0), so that the terminal (30) can perform a correlation between the first and the second communication signal.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle communication device and a method for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal arranged in the interior of a vehicle and the vehicle communication device.

[0002] In current vehicles, data can be exchanged between a portable terminal, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a portable computer, a tablet PC, etc., and a vehicle-mounted transmitter / receiver unit using a wireless communication standard, such as Bluetooth, WLAN, Kleer, etc., or using a mobile communications standard, such as GSM or LTE, etc., to form a femtocell or picocell. For this purpose, the vehicle has a corresponding antenna that detects the interior of the passenger compartment and enables the transmission of data via communication signals to the portable terminal. This antenna can be referred to as an interior antenna. Using the same or a different communication standard, the data transmitted from the terminal to the vehicle (the transmitter / receiver) is then received from the interior of the vehicle (i.e.The signal is transmitted from the passenger compartment (i.e., the outside area) to a mobile radio cell (i.e., the outside area). Other communication standards that can be used for this purpose include UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and LTE (Long Term Evolution). In this way, data can be transmitted from the passenger compartment to the outside area and vice versa via relaying.

[0003] One problem with this approach is that communication in the passenger compartment between the terminal and the vehicle's transceiver unit can easily be disrupted or even prevented by other communication terminals located outside the passenger compartment within the reception range of the interior antenna. This is the case, for example, when one or more pedestrians with respective communication terminals are near the vehicle or when, in the event of a traffic jam, there are many other vehicles near the vehicle whose occupants are using a communication terminal that uses a communication standard that corresponds to the communication standard in the passenger compartment. Since in such situations the numerous communication terminals share a communication channel (e.g. WLAN) with the portable terminal, the bandwidth available to the portable terminal drops significantly.

[0004] From DE 10 2007 039 914 A1 an antenna diversity system for radio reception in vehicles is known, which comprises a receiver and two antennas with antenna feed lines, which is connected on the output side to a receiver and comprises an evaluation circuit which evaluates the interference of a received signal reaching the receiver in order to make reception interference and in particular the interference caused by adjacent broadcast channels as small as possible.

[0005] From US 2008 / 0 233 965 A1 a method and system for the adaptive allocation of feedback resources for CQI and transmit precoding is known, which comprises the allocation of a bandwidth and a feedback period to one or more CQI reporting units and a bandwidth and a feedback period to one or more PMI reporting units, wherein the bandwidth and the feedback period of the CQI reporting units and / or the PMI reporting units can be dynamically and / or adaptively adjusted.

[0006] From US 2010 / 0 266 062 A1 a wireless communication system is known in which each receiver is configured to synchronise with a received waveform using only its local received signal, without requiring any information about other receivers in the system, the local receiver being configured to remove frequency and / or phase errors on the basis of information encoded in the received waveform.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle communication device and a method for processing communication signals which are structurally and / or functionally improved and do not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0008] This object is achieved by a vehicle communication device according to the features of patent claim 1 and a method according to the features of patent claim 11. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the dependent patent claims.

[0009] A vehicle communication device for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal arranged in the interior of a vehicle and the vehicle communication device is proposed. The vehicle communication device comprises at least two antennas arranged in the vehicle and a transmitting / receiving unit coupled to the at least two antennas. The transmitting / receiving unit is configured to provide transmitted data for the at least two antennas and to process received data provided to the transmitting / receiving unit for processing by the at least two antennas.

[0010] The vehicle communication device is designed to determine a propagation time difference that results from the transmission of a first communication signal between the terminal device and a first antenna of the at least two antennas and a second communication signal with the same content between the terminal device and a second antenna of the at least two antennas due to different distances of the first and second antennas to the terminal device.

[0011] The vehicle communication device is configured to perform or determine a correlation of the communication signals adjusted for the propagation time difference during reception in order to eliminate any additionally received communication signals from one or more interferers from the correlated communication signals and to provide the correlated communication signals as received data. The vehicle communication device is further configured to transmit the transmitted data to the terminal device via the first and second antennas with a time delay of the determined propagation time difference during transmission, so that the terminal device can perform a correlation between the first and second communication signals.

[0012] A method for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal arranged in the interior of a vehicle and a vehicle communication device is further proposed. The vehicle communication device comprises at least two antennas arranged in the vehicle and a transmitting / receiving unit coupled to the at least two antennas. The transmitting / receiving unit is configured to provide transmitted data for the at least two antennas and to process received data provided to the transmitting / receiving unit for processing by the at least two antennas.

[0013] In the method, the vehicle communication device determines a propagation time difference which results from the transmission of a first communication signal between the terminal device and a first antenna of the at least two antennas and a second communication signal with the same content between the terminal device and a second antenna of the at least two antennas due to different distances of the first and second antennas to the terminal device.

[0014] Furthermore, in the reception case, a correlation of the communication signals adjusted for the propagation time difference is carried out or determined in order to eliminate any additionally received communication signals from one or more interferers from the correlated communication signals and to provide the correlated communication signals as received data.

[0015] In the transmission case, the transmission data is transmitted to the terminal device via the first and the second antenna with a time delay of the propagation time difference in order to enable the terminal device to carry out or determine a correlation between the first and the second communication signal.

[0016] When reference is made to a "receiving case" in this description, this is to be understood from the perspective of the vehicle communication device. This means that in the receiving case, the portable terminal is the transmitter and the vehicle communication device is the receiver of the communication.

[0017] Whenever reference is made to a "transmission case" in this description, this is also to be understood from the perspective of the vehicle communication device. This means that in the transmission case, the portable terminal is the receiver and the vehicle communication device is the sender of the communication.

[0018] An interferer is another communication terminal located near the vehicle and whose communication signals can be received by at least one of the at least two antennas of the vehicle communication device. Such another communication terminal can be, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a Wi-Fi base station, etc.

[0019] It should be noted that the aforementioned first communication signal and the second communication signal are not different communication signals containing different data. The wording is merely intended to express that one signal is transmitted via two different propagation paths between the transmitter and receiver. The first communication signal is transmitted between the portable terminal and the first antenna. The second communication signal is transmitted between the portable terminal and the second antenna.

[0020] If, for example, a communication signal is transmitted from the portable terminal during reception, it propagates in the passenger compartment according to the radiation from an antenna of the terminal, with the first communication signal being received at a first point in time by the first antenna and the second communication signal being received at a second point in time by the second antenna. As a rule, the first and second points in time will be different due to different distances to the first and second antennas. In principle, the first and second points in time can also be the same. The first and second communication signals are then further processed by the transmitting / receiving unit as received data, i.e. the two communication signals are correlated, with the communication signal first received by the transmitting / receiving unit being delayed before the correlation by the previously determined propagation time difference.

[0021] Conversely, if transmission data is to be transmitted from the transmitting / receiving unit to the portable terminal, the transmission data is transmitted sequentially from the first and second antennas with a predetermined propagation time difference as the first and second communication signals. The first communication signal from the first antenna and the second communication signal from the second antenna then arrive at the portable terminal at the same time. The first and second communication signals are further processed by the terminal, which can correlate the two communication signals.

[0022] The invention makes it possible to effectively shield the passenger compartment from interference. Shielding is achieved actively through the use of multiple antennas. To implement the method, at least two antennas (i.e., so-called interior antennas) must be provided in the vehicle's communication system. By superimposing the communication signals exchanged between the multiple antennas and the portable terminal, the useful signal of the portable terminal from the interior can be separated from other signals from outside the passenger compartment.

[0023] Compared to passive shielding of the vehicle, for example, by installing infrared-protective glazing, this solution is more cost-effective. Compared to passive measures, it also provides better attenuation of the interference from communication devices. Unlike passive measures, such as the aforementioned infrared-protective glazing, the proposed approach can also be used for convertibles and vehicles with plastic or carbon fiber bodies.

[0024] In a practical embodiment, each of the at least two antennas has a viewing angle in which a communication signal can be transmitted or received, wherein the at least two antennas are arranged such that their viewing angles overlap. In other words, this means that each of the at least two antennas can receive a communication signal transmitted by the portable terminal in order to be able to correlate the signals received at different times due to the propagation time. Likewise, a respective communication signal transmitted by the antennas can be received by the portable terminal, wherein the communication signals may be received at different times depending on the distances of the terminal to the first antenna and the second antenna.

[0025] The at least two antennas are arranged and designed such that each viewing angle completely or almost completely covers an interior of the vehicle.

[0026] This allows the proposed method to be carried out regardless of where the terminal is located in the vehicle.

[0027] It is expedient if the first antenna is arranged on the B-pillar on the left-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel) and the second antenna is arranged on the B-pillar on the right-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel). If more than two antennas are provided, two further antennas can also be arranged on the A-pillar on the left-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel) and on the A-pillar on the right-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel). Alternatively, two additional antennas can be arranged on the C-pillar on the left-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel) and on the C-pillar on the right-hand side of the vehicle (as viewed in the direction of travel). If only one further antenna is provided, this can be arranged in the passenger compartment at the front (e.g. on the dashboard or on the roof lining) or at the rear (e.g. on the parcel shelf or on the roof lining). Combinations of the above-mentioned arrangements are also conceivable.

[0028] Another practical design provides four antennas, two of which are located on the left side of the A and C pillars, and two on the right side of the A and C pillars. It is advisable for the antennas to each have a viewing angle of 90°. This arrangement is particularly useful in vehicles where users using end devices sit in the rear (so-called rear-seat orientation).

[0029] According to a further expedient embodiment, in the transmission case, the propagation time difference can be determined by the vehicle's transmitting / receiving device by cross-correlating the first and second communication signals and determining a maximum value of the cross-correlation. According to one embodiment of the method according to the invention, in the transmission case, the propagation time difference is determined by the vehicle's transmitting / receiving device by cross-correlating the first and second communication signals and determining a maximum value of the cross-correlation. For this purpose, the transmitting / receiving device can comprise a commercially available correlation receiver.

[0030] In the reception case, the propagation time difference can be determined by a localization unit of the transmitting / receiving device, which can determine the position of the terminal in the vehicle and the distances of the terminal to the at least two antennas. According to one embodiment of the method according to the invention, in the reception case, the propagation time difference is determined by localizing the transmitting / receiving device in order to determine the position of the terminal in the vehicle and the distances of the terminal to the at least two antennas.

[0031] According to one embodiment of the device, the same communication signal can be transmitted by the at least two antennas. According to one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the same communication signal is transmitted by the at least two antennas. This means that the at least two antennas are of the same type and operate with the same communication standard during communication with the portable terminal.

[0032] Correspondingly, a communication signal transmitted by the terminal device can be received by the at least two antennas. According to one embodiment of the method according to the invention, a communication signal transmitted by the terminal device is received by the at least two antennas. This means that the at least two antennas are of the same type and operate with the same communication standard during communication with the portable terminal device.

[0033] WLAN, Bluetooth or Kleer can be used as a communication standard, for example, whereby the latter communication method can be used in particular for the transmission of audio and video data between the portable device and the vehicle's transmitter / receiver unit.

[0034] The invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. The figures show: Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a vehicle from above with a vehicle communication device according to the invention; Fig. 2 a graphical representation of a correlation used in the method according to the invention; and Fig. 3 a further graphical representation of a correlation used in the method according to the invention.

[0035] As in the Fig. 1, the longitudinal axis (x-axis) of the vehicle 1 extends from bottom to top in the page plane. The transverse axis (y-axis) of the vehicle extends from left to right in the page plane. The vehicle communication device provided in the vehicle 1 for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal 30 arranged in the vehicle interior and the vehicle communication device comprises, for example, two antennas 10, 20 arranged in the vehicle 1 and a transmitting / receiving unit 5, which is coupled to the first and second antennas 10, 20 for signal exchange. The vehicle communication device can further comprise a further antenna (external antenna), which is provided for communication with a mobile radio cell outside the vehicle in order to transmit data from the terminal 30 to the mobile radio cell via relaying via the vehicle communication device.

[0036] The first antenna 10 is arranged on the B-pillar of the left-hand side of the vehicle 1 in the direction of travel, with a viewing angle formed between the straight lines 11, 12 almost completely covering the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1. The second antenna 20 is arranged on the B-pillar of the right-hand side of the vehicle in the direction of travel, with a viewing angle formed between the straight lines 21, 22 also almost completely covering the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1. The viewing angles of the antennas result from the radiation and reception characteristics of the first and second antennas 10, 20. Ideally, the viewing angles are designed such that they cover the interior of the vehicle as best as possible. As can be seen from Fig. 1, the viewing angles of the first and second antennas 10, 20 are designed such that they overlap.

[0037] In the Fig. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the vehicle communication device comprises only two antennas 10, 20 arranged on opposite sides of the interior relative to the vehicle's longitudinal axis. In a different embodiment, the vehicle communication device could also comprise more than two antennas. The number of antennas can be even or odd. With an even number of antennas, these are preferably arranged on opposite sides to the left and right relative to the vehicle's longitudinal axis. Alternatively or additionally, at least one antenna can be provided in the front and rear. The method described below can be implemented if the vehicle interior is technically detected by more than two antenna signals.

[0038] In the further description, reference is made to a vehicle communication device as in Fig. 1. The portable terminal 30, for example a mobile radio terminal, a smartphone or a tablet PC, is arranged in the vehicle 1. The terminal is located, for example, in a storage compartment of a center console of the vehicle, spaced from the vehicle's longitudinal axis (not shown), which is symmetrical with respect to the sides of the vehicle. This results in the distance between the terminal 30 and the second antenna 20 being shorter than the distance between the terminal 30 and the first antenna 10. The propagation time of a first communication signal exchanged between the terminal 30 and the first antenna 10 is thus longer than the propagation time of a second communication signal exchanged between the terminal 30 and the second antenna 20. This circumstance is used to superimpose (correlate) the first and second communication signals to determine the useful signal that is generated within the passenger compartment (i.e.the interior) between the terminal 30 and the antennas 10, 20, from interference signals from outside the vehicle.

[0039] In Fig. 1 shows two examples of interference devices 40, 50 outside the vehicle 1. A first interference device 40 is located on the left side of the vehicle 1 with respect to the vehicle's longitudinal axis, and a second interference device 50 is located on the right side of the vehicle 1 with respect to the vehicle's longitudinal axis.

[0040] In the reception case, the first antenna 10 transmits a transmission signal S in addition to the first communication signal. I1 (hereinafter interference signal S I1 ) of the second jammer 50. Accordingly, in the reception case, the second antenna 20 transmits a transmission signal S I2 (hereinafter interference signal S I2) of the first interferer 40. In the reception case, the terminal 30 is the transmitter, and the vehicle communication device is the receiver of the communication. This situation can be expressed by the following equations, where in the reception case S F10 the received signal of the first antenna 10, S F20 the received signal of the second antenna 10 and S N represents the transmission signal of the terminal device 30 (useful signal).

[0041] The vehicle-mounted antennas 10, 20 receive the following signals: SF10(t)=a*SN(t)+b*SI2(t) SF20(t)=c*SN(t−T0)+d*SI1(t)

[0042] Here T0 represents the runtime difference of S N (useful signal) with respect to the antennas 10, 20 and a, b, c, d > 0 each represent path-dependent attenuations. The individual signals S N , S I1 , S I2 are uncorrelated to each other. That is, the following applies: ∫−∞+∞SI1(t)*SI2(t−T)dt=0, for all T ∫−∞+∞SN(t)*SI2(t−T)dt=0, for all T ∫−∞+∞SN(t)*SI1(t−T)dt=0, for all T

[0043] In equations (3) to (5), T represents an arbitrary temporal shift. Equations (3) to (5) each represent the cross-correlation functions.

[0044] For the cross-correlation S(T) of S F10 and S F20 applies: S(T)=∫−∞+∞SF10(t)*SF20(t−T)dt

[0045] The maximum value of S(T) is determined by dS(T) / dT = 0 with S(T) > 0. From this, the propagation time difference T0 between the first and the second communication signal can be determined. The cross-correlation of the signals according to equations (1) and (2) is graphically shown in Fig. 2 shown.

[0046] If the signal S is delayed F10 around T0 and correlates it with S F20 the following applies: ∫−∞+∞SF10(t−T0)*SF20(t)dt=∫−∞+∞(a*SN(t−T0)+b*SI2(t−T0) )(c*SN(t−T0)+d*SI1(t))dτ==∫−∞+∞a*c*SN2(t−T0)dτ=S(t−T0)

[0047] This correlation corresponds to an autocorrelation and is graphically shown in Fig. 3. All other terms resulting from multiplication become zero due to cross-correlation (equations (3) to (5)) and are therefore not included in equation (7). This means that the interferers 40, 50 are no longer included in S(t-T0). The signal S(t-T0) corresponds to the (original) signal transmitted by the terminal 30 and can be demodulated and decoded without interference by the transmitting / receiving device 5.

[0048] In a digital implementation, the upper and lower limits are defined by finite values ​​of sufficient length. The length must be sufficiently large to ensure a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio for reliable demodulation / decoding. The longer the length, the better the achievable selectivity.

[0049] In the transmission case, the terminal 30 is the receiver and the vehicle communication device represents the transmitter of the communication, which transmits transmission data via the first and second antennas 10, 20. In the transmission case, the terminal 30 detects the first communication signal of the first antenna 10, the second communication signal of the second antenna 20, as well as the interference signals of the interferers 40, 50. This situation can be expressed by the following equations, where in the transmission case S F10 the transmission signal (or first communication signal) of the first antenna 10, S F20the transmission signal (or second communication signal) of the second antenna 10 and S I1 , S I2 the interference signals from the interferers 40, 50 are. S F10 and S F20 contain the same user data intended for the end device.

[0050] The terminal 30 receives the following signals: SN(t)=a*SF10(t)+b*SF20(t−T0)+c*SI1(t)+d*SI2(t)

[0051] As in the receive case, a, b, c, d represent the path-dependent attenuations. These are all greater than 0.

[0052] There is no correlation between S F10 (t), S I1 (t), S I2 (t). Furthermore, there is no correlation between S F20 (t), S I1 (t), S I2 (t). However, there is a correlation between S F10 (t) and S F20(t) with a maximum of the cross-correlation for T0, as can be seen from equations (3) to (5), since the transmission data is transmitted via both the first antenna 10 and the second antenna 20.

[0053] For the autocorrelation of S N the following equation (9) applies, where only the terms (9a) to (9d) are listed, which show a correlation. S(T)=∫−∞+∞SN(t)*SN(t−T)dt=(9)=∫−∞+∞a2SF10(t)*SF10(t−T)dt+(9a)+∫−∞+∞b2SF20(t)*SF2 0(t−T)dt+(9b)+∫−∞+∞a*b*SF10(t)*SF20(t−T)dt+(9c)+∫−∞+∞a*b*SF10(t−T)*SF20(t)dt(9d)

[0054] All other terms (products) resulting from substituting equation (8) into equation (9) and multiplying out are identically zero, since there is no correlation. These terms are therefore omitted. Two maxima result for T=T0 (cross-correlation) from terms (9c) and (9d) and T=0 (autocorrelation) from terms (9a) and (9b). Due to the size of the passenger compartment, the maxima are very close to each other or overlap in practice.

[0055] If the signal is evaluated according to equation (9) at each time step for T=0 or T=T0, one obtains a signal that is influenced by the noise signals S I1 and S I2 is free. This signal, which corresponds to the signals S F10 or S F20 can be demodulated and decoded without interference by the terminal device 30. For this purpose, the terminal device 30 must have a correlation receiver.

[0056] Alternatively, the second communication signal S can be sent with a delay of the delay time T0. F20 compared to the first communication signal S F10 The propagation time difference T0 is known to the transmitting / receiving device 5 from the reception case described above or can be determined by locating the terminal 30 by triangulation.

[0057] In a digital implementation, the upper and lower limits are conveniently implemented using finite values ​​of sufficient length. The length must be sufficiently large to ensure a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio for reliable demodulation and decoding.

[0058] In the described embodiment, the two interferers 40, 50 are only examples of two interferers outside the vehicle. The described principle is also applicable to more than two interferers and to broadband background noise. List of reference symbols 1 vehicle 5 Transmitting / receiving device 10 first antenna 11 front viewing angle of the first antenna 10 12 rear viewing angle of the first antenna 10 20 second antenna 21 front viewing angle of the second antenna 20 22 rear viewing angle of the second antenna 20 30 devices 40 first disturber 50 second disturber S F10 Transmit signal / receive signal of the first antenna 10 S F20 Transmit / receive signal of the second antenna 20 S N Transmit / receive signal of the terminal device 30 S I1 Transmission signal of the first interferer 40 (interference signal) S I2 Transmission signal of the second jammer 50 (interference signal) T0 runtime difference

Claims

[1] Vehicle communication device for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal (30) arranged in the interior of a vehicle (1) and the vehicle communication device, comprising: - at least two antennas (10, 20) arranged in the vehicle; - a transmitting / receiving unit (5) coupled to the at least two antennas (10, 20) for providing transmit data for the at least two antennas (10, 20) and for receiving receive data provided to the transmitting / receiving unit (5) by the at least two antennas (10, 20) for processing; wherein the vehicle communication device is designed to: - to determine a propagation time difference (T0) which results during the transmission of a first communication signal between the terminal (30) and a first antenna (10) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) and a second communication signal with the same content between the terminal (30) and a second antenna (20) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) due to different distances of the first and second antennas (10, 20) to the terminal (30); - in the case of reception, to carry out a correlation of the communication signals adjusted for the propagation time difference (T0) in order to eliminate any additionally received communication signals from one or more interferers (40) from the correlated communication signals and to provide the mutually correlated communication signals as received data; and / or - in the case of transmission, to transmit the transmission data to the terminal (30) via the first and the second antenna (10, 20) with a time delay of the propagation time difference (T0), so that the terminal (30) can perform a correlation between the first and the second communication signal. [2] A vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least two antennas (10, 20) has a viewing angle (11, 12; 21, 22) in which a communication signal can be transmitted or received, the at least two antennas (10, 20) being arranged such that their viewing angles (11, 12; 21, 22) overlap. [3] Vehicle communication device according to claim 2, wherein the at least two antennas (10, 20) are arranged and designed such that each viewing angle (11, 12; 21, 22) completely or almost completely covers an interior of the vehicle (1). [4] Vehicle communication device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first antenna (10) is arranged on the B-pillar of the left side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel and the second antenna (20) is arranged on the B-pillar of the right side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel. [5] Vehicle communication device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first antenna (10) is arranged on the A-pillar of the left side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, the second antenna (20) is arranged on the A-pillar of the right side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, a third antenna is arranged on the C-pillar of the left side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, and a fourth antenna is arranged on the C-pillar of the right side of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel. [6] Vehicle communication device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in the transmission case the propagation time difference (T0) can be determined by the transmitting / receiving device (5) by a cross-correlation of the first and the second communication signal and the determination of a maximum value of the cross-correlation. [7] Vehicle communication device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmitting / receiving device (5) comprises a correlation receiver. [8] Vehicle communication device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in the reception case the propagation time difference (T0) can be determined by a localization unit of the transmitting / receiving device (5), which can determine the position of the terminal (30) in the vehicle and the distances of the terminal (30) to the at least two antennas. [9] Vehicle communication device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the same communication signal can be transmitted by the at least two antennas (10, 20). [10] Vehicle communication device according to one of the preceding claims, in which a communication signal transmitted by the terminal (30) can be received by the at least two antennas (10, 20), [11] A method for processing communication signals exchanged between a portable terminal (30) arranged in the interior of a vehicle (1) and a vehicle communication device, comprising: - at least two antennas (10, 20) arranged in the vehicle; - a transmitting / receiving unit (5) coupled to the at least two antennas (10, 20) for providing transmit data for the at least two antennas (10, 20) and for receiving receive data provided to the transmitting / receiving unit (5) by the at least two antennas (10, 20) for processing; wherein the vehicle communication device: - determines a propagation time difference (T0) which results during the transmission of a first communication signal between the terminal (30) and a first antenna (10) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) and a second communication signal with the same content between the terminal (30) and a second antenna (20) of the at least two antennas (10, 20) due to different distances between the first and second antennas (10, 20) to the terminal (30); - in the case of reception, a correlation of the communication signals adjusted for the propagation time difference (T0) is carried out in order to eliminate any additionally received communication signals from one or more interferers (40) from the correlated communication signals and to provide the mutually correlated communication signals as received data; and / or - in the transmission case, the transmission data is transmitted to the terminal (30) via the first and the second antenna (10, 20) with a time delay of the propagation time difference (T0) in order to enable the terminal (30) to carry out a correlation between the first and the second communication signal. [12] Method according to claim 11, wherein in the transmission case the propagation time difference (T0) is determined by the transmitting / receiving device (5) by a cross-correlation of the first and the second communication signal and the determination of a maximum value of the cross-correlation. [13] Method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein in the reception case the propagation time difference (T0) is determined by localizing the transmitting / receiving device (5) in order to take into account the position of the terminal (30) in the vehicle and the distances of the terminal (30) to the at least two antennas (10, 20). [14] Method according to one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the same communication signal is transmitted by the at least two antennas (10, 20). [15] Method according to one of claims 11 to 14, wherein a communication signal transmitted by the terminal (30) is received by the at least two antennas (10, 20).

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