Procedure for releasing a function of a system and associated system

Abstract

Method for enabling a function of a system (10) by an electronically controlled power switching device (12) and a communication unit (13) electrically connected to the power switching device (12), wherein the communication unit (13) has means for communicating with a user and for communicating with an enabling device (20) arranged outside the system, comprising the steps in the following order: a) transmitting a request for the release of a function by the user to the communication unit (13); b) forwarding of the request by the communication unit (13) to the release device (20); c) checking the request by means of a release condition stored in the release device (20) and rejecting or accepting the request; d) transmitting a response to the request comprising a rejection or acceptance of the request from the release device (20) to the communication unit (13); wherein e) upon acceptance of the request, the response is transmitted from the communication unit (13) to the electronically controlled power switching device (12); f) establishing an electrical connection between an energy source (14) and an energy sink (15) of the system (10) for enabling the function by the electronically controlled power switching device (12); wherein the forwarded requests and the respective responses are stored in a non-volatile data memory (11) and the request is compared with a request stored in the non-volatile data memory (11) before being forwarded to the release device (20), if the requests are identical, steps b to d are skipped and the response stored in the data memory (11) is transmitted in step e.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for enabling functions of a system by establishing an electrically conductive connection between an energy source and an energy sink of the system on the hardware side.

[0002] Various methods for enabling system functions are already known from the prior art. Systems and methods for enabling system functions are known, for example, from the documents US 2010 / 0 045 232 A1, US 2009 / 0 043 450 A1, US 9 047 494 B1, US 2010 / 0 198 751 A1, and US 2012 / 0 217 928 A1. Typically, software is used to enable a system function implemented by software as soon as the necessary conditions are met. Systems are also known in which a system function is enabled by installing software packages adapted to the respective functionality of the system.If, for example, a vehicle (system) is to offer navigation functionality in addition to entertainment functionality, identical hardware is installed in all vehicles in the series, and the navigation functionality is enabled by installing dedicated software. However, to enable new functionality, new software must be installed each time, which is only possible during maintenance and by specialist personnel, for example. The hardware for functionalities that can be enabled is connected to a power source in the system or vehicle, so that energy is consumed even without the functionality being used. If no enableable functionalities are planned for the vehicle, the vehicle must be adapted during production to the functionalities requested or ordered by the user.This requires a high degree of individualization of each individual vehicle during production, which results in high production, logistics and manufacturing costs.

[0003] The invention is therefore based on the object of overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages and of providing a method with an associated system by means of which a function of the system implemented by hardware can be switched on or off.

[0004] This problem is solved by the combination of features according to patent claim 1.

[0005] According to the invention, a method for enabling a function of a system is proposed. The system comprises at least one electronically controlled power switching device for enabling the function and a communication unit electrically connected to the power switching device. The communication unit has means for communicating with a user and for communicating with an enabling device arranged outside the system. The power switching device is designed to establish, enable, or disable the functionality by establishing or disconnecting a connection between an energy sink and an energy source of the system. The method comprises the following steps in the following order: a) transmitting a request to enable a function by the user to the communication unit, for example by means of a request source; b) forwarding of the request by the communication unit to the release device; c) checking the request by means of a release condition stored in the release device and rejecting or accepting the request, whereby a query may be sent to the user or the system or the communication unit before acceptance or rejection; d) transmitting a response to the request comprising a rejection or acceptance of the request from the enabling device to the communication unit; where (e) when the request is accepted, the response is transmitted from the communication unit to the electronically controlled power switching device; f) Establishing an electrical connection between an energy source and an energy sink of the system to enable the function by the electronically controlled power switching device.

[0006] The system is, in particular, a vehicle or a vehicle electrical system, and the releasable functions are hardware-implemented functionalities. The power switching device is configured to assume a state that disconnects the connection between the energy source, for example, a battery or generator, and the energy sink, for example, an electric motor, and at least one state that establishes the connection. A state that establishes the connection allows a predetermined amount of energy to be transferred via the connection.

[0007] The request in step a) can be transmitted from the user to the communication unit in various ways. For example, the request can be stored in a vehicle key and automatically transmitted to the communication unit when approaching the vehicle. Furthermore, the request can be entered into the system via an HMI on a system console or transmitted to the communication unit via an HMI on a mobile device using suitable transmission technologies, such as NFC.

[0008] The forwarding of the request in step b) can also be implemented using various communication standards and transmission methods. For example, the communication unit can comprise a transmitting and receiving unit, via which the request can be transmitted or forwarded via a mobile network or a wireless data network. Furthermore, the request can alternatively or additionally be transmitted via wired transmission means, for example, via a charging cable during a charging process.

[0009] The response to the request, which is transmitted from the release device back to the communication unit, consists of at least parts of the request, so that it is possible to identify the request the response belongs to, the system to which the response should be or is being transmitted, and whether the request was accepted or rejected by the release device. The release device is, for example, a server on which the release conditions are stored, for example, as rights stored for different users to use various functions.

[0010] If the response to a request includes a rejection, this can be provided to the user or the system. The response can also include additional information to provide the user or the system with alternative functions, reasons for rejection, or solutions for enabling the function.

[0011] The software required in the system to provide the functionality is already provided on the respective system components, for example control units, so that the respective functionality can be provided after the electrical connection between the energy source and energy sink has been established.

[0012] The request source from which the user transmits the request to the system can be located within the system or external to it, depending on the system. The request source could be, for example, a vehicle key that communicates with the system via a radio connection or a mobile device such as a smartphone. However, the request source could also be an HMI module located within the system into which the user enters inputs.

[0013] A request can also include the release of multiple functions, although it is not necessary to specify which functions are to be enabled. For example, a code assigned to the user can be used to enable all requests for which the user meets the release conditions.

[0014] The request source can be, for example, a control unit or an HMI with associated control, whereby the user can also be seen as a request source.

[0015] In an advantageous refinement of the method, the request contains a code that is uniquely assigned to the user. Additionally or alternatively, the request can also contain a code that is uniquely assigned to a user group and / or the function to be activated. Furthermore, it is possible that the request additionally or alternatively contains a code that is uniquely assigned to the system or, for example, to a previous process, such as a payment transaction.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, the method provides that, when the request is checked, the request is rejected if the approval condition is not met, and the approval request is accepted if the approval condition is met. For example, the request is accepted if the approval device (the server) records that payment for the function has been received, or rejected if the approval device records that the period for using the function has expired.

[0017] In order to prevent the system from being overloaded or damaged by enabling a function implemented by hardware, and to ensure that the system fulfills the requirements necessary to provide the function, an advantageous embodiment of the method provides that before the request is forwarded by the communication unit to the enabling device and / or before the electrical connection is established by the power switching device, an additional step is carried out to check whether predetermined power switching conditions have been met. In the subsequent steps, the request is then only forwarded and / or the electrical connection is only established if the predetermined power switching conditions are met. For example, before the request is forwarded orBefore establishing the connection, it is checked by querying data and / or measured values ​​and by performing calculations based on the data and / or measured values ​​whether the components required to provide the function are present in the system, whether the components are functional, whether the available energy is sufficient to provide the function, and whether the system, in particular a vehicle electrical system, maintains a necessary stable state after the function is activated. If, for example, the power switching conditions are only met to a certain degree, the functionality can alternatively be provided only partially or up to a certain limit, so that the system maintains its stable state.

[0018] According to the invention, the forwarded requests and the respective responses to the requests are stored in a non-volatile data storage device. The data storage device is designed to retain the data stored therein even without power and over a multitude of usage cycles.

[0019] According to the invention, the request is compared with a request stored in the non-volatile data memory before being forwarded to the release device. If the requests are identical, steps b to d are skipped and the response stored in the data memory is transmitted in step e. This makes it possible to respond to once accepted or rejected and permanently valid releases or responses to requests without forwarding the respective request to the external release device. Providing a functionality that has already been permanently enabled by establishing the connection is thus possible, for example, upon a system restart, without generating unnecessary data traffic between the communication unit and the release device.Alternatively or additionally, the reading of the transmitted responses from the data memory can only take place if, for example due to a faulty connection or overload, no response is or cannot be received from the release device.

[0020] In order to enable quick and easy activation of basic functions that are to be provided by the system at all times without the need for additional authorization, a further variant of the method provides that responses with acceptance or rejection for predetermined basic function requests are stored in the non-volatile data memory. With this method, the requests can be forwarded to the data memory before being forwarded to the release device, whereby the request is then only transmitted to the release device if no response is stored in the data memory or if the communication unit explicitly requests the request from the release device, for example at the user's request.However, the responses to the basic function requests can still be changed, so that basic functionalities, such as the drive of a vehicle, can be rejected under certain conditions, such as vehicle theft.

[0021] To avoid having to first transmit the requests or a plurality of requests to the communication unit, one method variant provides for the requests or a plurality of requests to be stored in a non-volatile request memory that is electrically connected to the communication unit or encompassed by the communication unit. Through user interaction with the system, the request or the plurality of requests is automatically transmitted via the communication unit to the enabling device in step b.

[0022] In order to record the state of the system and to make the enabled functions verifiable, a further advantageous development also provides that the communication unit transmits the request, the response and / or the status of the power switching device to the enabling device and / or a control unit of the system at intervals or when initiated by an external signal.

[0023] If the release condition for enabling the function is no longer met, for example, due to the expiration of a predetermined service life, the exceeding or reaching of predetermined usage cycles, or other conditions, or if additional shutdown conditions arise due to which the function is no longer to be provided, the activation of the function should be reversible, i.e., blocked or deactivated. An advantageous method variant therefore provides that, when a shutdown condition is met, a shutdown signal is generated, the communication unit transmits the shutdown signal to the power switching device, and the power switching device disconnects the electrical connection.

[0024] To prevent unauthorized persons from reading requests and / or responses, a further development of the method is advantageous in which the transmission or forwarding of requests and responses by the communication unit and / or to the communication unit is encrypted. Encryption is preferably performed by a software and / or hardware encryption module. Due to the encryption, requests and responses are at least no longer readable as plaintext, requiring unauthorized persons to exert increased effort to obtain requests and responses in plaintext.

[0025] In one embodiment, the communication unit is preferably connected to a plurality of power switching devices. The response is transmitted to one of the power switching devices or to several of the power switching devices of the plurality of power switching devices depending on the request. This makes it possible to manage, i.e., enable or disable, a plurality of functionalities through a common communication unit. A request can therefore also refer to multiple functionalities and / or multiple power switching devices, as can the response transmitted by the enabling device.

[0026] In order to enable queries from the release device or the transmission of conditions that must be met, one method variant provides that the release device determines the release condition after receiving the request and, if the condition is not met, transmits it to the communications unit. The communications unit forwards the release condition to the user or other system components. The user or the other system components can respond to the query or the release conditions, with the communications unit forwarding a response to the release condition from the user or the other system components back to the release device. The queries orThe conditions to be fulfilled can also be transmitted additionally or alternatively, for example, to a mobile device, which then transmits the answer to the queries directly to the release device or via the communication unit to the release device.

[0027] The invention further proposes a system according to the independent claim 12, which is designed to carry out the method according to the invention. The system comprises the communication unit and at least one power switching device, wherein the communication unit is connected to the release device to enable data exchange.

[0028] Furthermore, a further development of the system is advantageous in which the system comprises the non-volatile data memory and / or further components, such as the query memory.

[0029] In an alternative embodiment, the user's request is transmitted directly to the release device rather than via the communication unit. The response or queries are then forwarded from the release device to the user, who then forwards them to the communication unit. Alternatively, the response or queries are forwarded from the release device to the communication unit.

[0030] The communication unit is also designed to forward the response of the enabling device to other system components, such as a control unit, or to forward the response to the power switching device via the other system components.

[0031] Alternatively, it is also possible for the requests to be stored in the data memory, the requests to be accepted in the communication unit, and the functionalities to be enabled via the power switching device, with the request or the enabled functionalities being forwarded to the enabling device at a later time. This allows, for example, the user to be billed based on the system functionality used.

[0032] In an advantageous variant of the method, after the functionality has been activated by establishing the connection, the communication unit transmits a message concerning the activation to the release device.

[0033] The features disclosed above can be combined as desired, as long as this is technically possible and they do not contradict each other.

[0034] Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims or are presented in more detail below, together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1 a schematic system structure with a first process sequence; Fig. 2 a schematic system structure with a second process sequence; Fig. 3 a schematic system structure with a third process sequence; Fig. 4 a schematic system structure with a fourth process flow.

[0035] The figures are schematic examples. Identical reference numerals in the figures indicate identical functional and / or structural features.

[0036] The Fig. 1 to 4 each show a system 10. The system 10 has an energy sink 15 connected to an energy source 14 via the power switching device 12. The power switching device 12 is connected to the communication unit 13, enabling data exchange. The communication unit 13 is connected to a non-volatile data memory 11 and other system components, such as the control unit 16, enabling data exchange.

[0037] The release device 20 is arranged outside the system 10, wherein the communication unit 13 is designed to communicate wirelessly with the release device 20. In the Fig. In the system configuration illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, a request source 1 is also located outside the system 10. The activation of the functionality of the system 10 is triggered in each of the illustrated embodiments by the request source 1. The functionality is provided by the energy sink 15, which is configured to provide the function as soon as it is connected to the energy source 14 via the power switching device 12 (continuous connecting lines).

[0038] In addition to the system structure, the Fig. Figures 1 to 4 also depict the communication between the components shown. The communication (dashed arrows) is shown from bottom to top.

[0039] In Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a method in which the request source 1, triggered by the user, transmits the request to the communication unit 13 in step a. The communication unit 13 forwards the request to the enabling device 20 in step b. The enabling device 20 internally checks the request and transmits the response back to the communication unit 13 in step d. If the response contains an acceptance of the request, the response is transmitted to the power switching device 12 in step f. The power switching device 12 closes the connection between the energy sink 15 and the energy source 14, thus enabling the function provided by the energy sink 15.

[0040] In the Fig. 2, the request transmitted in step a from the request source 1 is first forwarded in step a' by the communication device 13 to the data storage 11. The data storage 11 checks whether the request has already been transmitted to the release device 20 at an earlier point in time and reports to the communication unit 13 in step a" whether the request has already been transmitted to the release device 20 and, if so, which response the release device 20 has transmitted to the request. If the request has not yet been transmitted by the communication unit 13 to the release device 20 or if the response contained a rejection, the communication device 13 forwards the request to the release device 20 in step b. The further process is analogous to that to Fig. 1 described procedures.

[0041] In the Fig. In the method illustrated in Figure 3, after forwarding the request to the release device 20 in step b, the release device 20 checks whether all release conditions are met. One of the release conditions, according to which the user must agree to one of the conditions, is not met. The release device 20 forwards the query, which includes the release conditions to be met, directly to the request source 1 in step b'. The user must in turn answer the query in step b'' and forwards the answer to the query directly to the release device 20. If the release condition is met by the answer in step b'', the release device transmits the answer to the original request to the communication unit 13 in step d, which transmits the answer to the power switching device if the request is accepted in step f.

[0042] Fig.4 shows a further alternative method sequence in which the release conditions for a function are negotiated directly between the request source 1 and the release device 20 in steps g to i. The user transmits the request via the request source in step g to the release device 20. The release device 20 queries the request in step h to the user via the request source 1. The user answers the query in step i via the request source 1 directly to the release device 20. If all release conditions are thus met, the release device 20 transmits the response containing the acceptance directly to the communication unit 13 of the system, which forwards it to the power switching device 12, whereby the function is provided or enabled by establishing the connection.

[0043] The invention is not limited in its implementation to the preferred embodiments described above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable, which utilize the presented solution even in fundamentally different embodiments. For example, the communication unit of the system can communicate with the release device via a communication unit of another system, which forwards the transmission as an intermediate station.

Claims

[1] Method for enabling a function of a system (10) by an electronically controlled power switching device (12) and a communication unit (13) electrically connected to the power switching device (12), wherein the communication unit (13) has means for communicating with a user and for communicating with an enabling device (20) arranged outside the system, comprising the steps in the following order: a) transmitting a request for the release of a function by the user to the communication unit (13); b) forwarding of the request by the communication unit (13) to the release device (20); c) checking the request by means of a release condition stored in the release device (20) and rejecting or accepting the request; d) transmitting a response to the request comprising a rejection or acceptance of the request from the release device (20) to the communication unit (13); wherein e) upon acceptance of the request, the response is transmitted from the communication unit (13) to the electronically controlled power switching device (12); f) establishing an electrical connection between an energy source (14) and an energy sink (15) of the system (10) for enabling the function by the electronically controlled power switching device (12); wherein the forwarded requests and the respective responses are stored in a non-volatile data memory (11) and the request is compared with a request stored in the non-volatile data memory (11) before being forwarded to the release device (20), if the requests are identical, steps b to d are skipped and the response stored in the data memory (11) is transmitted in step e. [2] Method according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the request contains a code that is uniquely attributable to the user. [3] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the request is rejected when checking the request if the release condition is not met, and the release request is accepted if the release condition is met. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein before the request is forwarded by the communication unit (13) to the release device (20) and / or before the electrical connection is established by the power switching device (12), it is checked whether predetermined power switching conditions are met and the request is only forwarded and / or the electrical connection is only established if the predetermined power switching conditions are met. [5] Method according to claim 1, wherein answers with acceptances or rejections for predetermined basic function requests are stored in the non-volatile data memory (11). [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the requests are stored on a non-volatile request memory electrically connected to the communication unit (13) and are automatically transmitted to the release device (20) in step b by user interaction with the system. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication unit (13) transmits the request, the response and / or the status or state of the power switching device (12) to the enabling device (20) and / or a control device (16) of the system at intervals or by an external signal. [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein When a shutdown condition is met, a shutdown signal is generated, the communication unit (13) transmits the shutdown signal to the power switching device (12) and the power switching device (12) disconnects the electrical connection. [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmission or forwarding by the communication unit (13) and / or to the communication unit (20) is carried out in encrypted form. [10] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication unit (13) is connected to a plurality of power switching devices (12) and the response is transmitted to one of the power switching devices (12) or several of the power switching devices (12) of the plurality of power switching devices (12) depending on the request. [11] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the release device (20) determines the release condition after receiving the request, the release condition is transmitted to the communication unit (13), the communication unit (13) forwards the release condition to the user or other system components and forwards a response to the release condition by the user or the other system components back to the release device (20). [12] System (10) comprising a communication unit (13) and at least one power switching device (12), wherein the communication unit (13) is connected to a release device (20) arranged outside the system (10) to enable data exchange and wherein the system (10) is designed to carry out a method according to one of claims 1 to 11. [13] System according to the preceding claim, wherein the system (10) comprises the non-volatile data memory (11) and / or the non-volatile request memory.

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