METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR DETERMINING A LOCATION AREA OF A RADIO DEVICE, AND VEHICLE WITH SUCH ARRANGEMENT

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement for determining a location area of ​​a radio device, and to a vehicle with such an arrangement, in particular a motor vehicle.

[0002] A number of methods and systems for determining the position of radio transmitters are already known from the prior art. These are usually based on noisy distance estimates between the radio transmitter at an unknown position and several radio transmitters with known positions (also referred to as "anchors" in the present application) by measuring the propagation time, field strength, and angle of incidence of signals between the radio transmitter at the unknown position (also referred to simply as "radio transmitters" in the present application) and the anchors, or a combination of these. To determine whether the radio transmitter is located within a defined location area, the position of the radio transmitter can be determined from measurement data determined by the aforementioned techniques using analytical methods (e.g.,The location probability distribution can be estimated using methods such as tri- or multilateration for three or more anchors, Kalman filters for moving radio transmitters, or stochastic methods for determining the location probability distribution (practical implementation, for example, using particle filters). Alternatively, a direct classification into location areas can be performed based on the measured values ​​(e.g., machine learning with a classifier model and training data). Examples of prior art include DE 10 2015 208621 A1, WO2018 / 036761 A1, and DE 10 2015 209755 A1.

[0003] The inventors of the present invention have recognized that the accuracy and reliability of all of the aforementioned methods and the resulting zone classification depend on the noise power of the measured values ​​provided by the anchors. None of the aforementioned methods can make a reliable, definitive decision regarding the location of the radio transmitter. Furthermore, the aforementioned methods require a minimum of three anchors to calculate the radio transmitter position.

[0004] WO 97 / 27711 A1 discloses a method for determining the location of a mobile communication unit in a digital time division mobile communication network.

[0005] WO 2014 / 047352 A2 discloses a method for determining the location of a mobile communication unit in a mobile communication network.

[0006] US 2014 / 0274018 A1 discloses a device for limiting functions of a mobile phone depending on its location in a vehicle.

[0007] JP 2017-118485 A discloses a vehicle-based system for determining information about vehicle occupants.

[0008] US 2018 / 0053416 A1 discloses a vehicle-based user identification system for determining whether a portable device associated with the vehicle is in the vicinity of the vehicle.

[0009] US 2017 / 0188326 A1 discloses a method for determining the location of a mobile communication unit in a mobile communication network.

[0010] US 6,947,729 B2 discloses a method for determining the position of a mobile communication terminal.

[0011] US 2015 / 0338502 A1 discloses another method for determining the position of a mobile communication terminal.

[0012] Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative, in particular improved, method and an alternative, in particular improved, arrangement for determining a location area of ​​a radio device. A further object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle with such an arrangement.

[0013] Features and advantages of the present invention are explained below primarily with reference to a specific application. In this application, it is determined whether a radio transmitter, which performs the function of a traditional car key, is located inside a vehicle. The inventors recognized that, particularly in such an application, it is important for safety reasons to be able to determine with almost 100% certainty whether the radio transmitter is located inside the vehicle or not. In its broadest form, however, the invention is not limited to such an application.

[0014] One or more of the above-mentioned objects are achieved according to the invention by a method, an arrangement, and a vehicle according to the respective independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent patent claims, the description, and the figures.

[0015] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method according to claim 1 for determining a location area of ​​a first radio device.

[0016] By means of such a method, which determines a respective environmental area around the further radio devices in which the first radio device is located based on a propagation time, in particular based only on a propagation time of the signal, the method can determine the location area of ​​the first radio device with greater certainty than in the prior art. The invention is based, among other things, on the finding that the shortest signal propagation time between the first radio device and a further radio device (anchor) is unilaterally limited by the physical constant of the speed of light. Conversely, each measurement of the propagation time with respect to an anchor results in a physically verifiable, maximum distance between the respective anchor and the first radio device.The (geometric) superposition of two or more of these surrounding areas creates an overlapping area whose outer sides form a convex geometric body. According to the invention, it can then be concluded that the first radio device is located within this convex body. The convex body can thus be regarded as the location area of ​​the first radio device, or a location area of ​​the first radio device can be determined from it, as described below in connection with some embodiments.

[0017] A second aspect of the invention relates to a method according to claim 2 for determining a location area of ​​a first radio device.

[0018] This second aspect is very similar to the first aspect, but in the second aspect, signals are transmitted by the at least two additional radio devices (anchors) and received by the first radio device. The determination of the surrounding areas around the additional radio devices and the determination of the location area of ​​the first radio device can, in principle, be carried out analogously to the first aspect.

[0019] According to a preferred embodiment, when determining each environmental area, it is essentially fully ensured that the first radio device is actually located in the respective environmental area. The determination of the environmental areas preferably corresponds to what is standardized in the IEEE 802.15.4z task group. The corresponding documents can be accessed at the following Internet address: https: / / men-tor.ieee.org / 802.15 / documents?is_group=004z

[0020] These and other embodiments are applicable to both the first and second aspects of the invention.

[0021] According to this embodiment, method steps are applied which, when executed, allow (almost) absolute certainty that the first radio device is located within each environmental area. From this, the overlap area and thus the location area of ​​the first radio device can be determined with corresponding certainty.

[0022] For example, appropriate security can be achieved by using radio devices that (or whose functionality) corresponds to what is standardized in the IEEE 802.15.4z task group.

[0023] The terms "essentially fully assured," "(almost) absolute certainty," etc., preferably mean that the ambient areas are normally always determined correctly, with only very few exceptions. In particular, such exceptions could only be due to malfunctions, which, however, can be minimized within the scope of technical possibilities. In any case, the reliability of the ambient area determination does not depend on the signal power or the noise power, and it is therefore to be expected that greater reliability can be achieved than with previously known approaches.

[0024] However, with increasing noise power, particularly in relation to the signal power, the surrounding areas according to embodiments of the invention become larger, which generally means that the overlap area or the location area of ​​the first radio device determined according to the invention also becomes larger. However, the reliability of the method is not impaired by this, i.e., after carrying out the method according to the invention, it can still be assumed with (almost) absolute certainty that the first radio device is actually located in the location area determined according to the invention. This is simply larger for noisy signals than for low-noise signals.

[0025] According to a first variant of the invention, determining the location area of ​​the first radio device based on the overlap area comprises determining a peripheral sphere, in particular a minimum peripheral sphere of the overlap area, wherein in particular this peripheral sphere is used as the location area of ​​the first radio device.

[0026] By determining a circumsphere based on the intersection area (which, as described above, usually takes the form of a convex body), a subsequent comparison with a defined area can be simplified. In particular, determining a circumsphere is relatively simple from a mathematical point of view and can therefore be carried out quickly. Alternatively (but outside the scope of the claims), other geometric bodies, such as a cuboid, cube, octahedron, or the like, could be determined based on the intersection area, with the geometric body thus determined representing the location area of ​​the first radio device.

[0027] Preferably, a minimum sphere is determined because the location area of ​​the first radio device determined according to the invention is thus reduced to a smaller volume, which is advantageous for a comparison with a defined area described below.

[0028] According to a second variant of the invention, which is to be regarded as an alternative to determining a peripheral sphere, determining the location area of ​​the first radio device based on the overlap area comprises determining a grid of the overlap area, wherein in particular the totality of areas resulting from the grid is used as the location area of ​​the first radio device.

[0029] Such a grid is generally more mathematically complex than determining a circumsphere. However, the volume of a body determined by gridding is usually smaller than the volume of a minimal circumsphere (especially when a sufficiently small grid spacing is selected). According to the invention, it is determined whether the location area of ​​the first radio device lies entirely within a defined area, in particular within a predefined area.

[0030] According to this embodiment, it is thus possible to determine with (almost) absolute certainty whether the first radio device is located within the defined area. If the method according to the invention shows that the location area of ​​the first radio device determined according to the invention lies entirely within the defined area, it can be assumed that the first radio device is actually located within the defined area. Positive proof is thus possible.

[0031] It should be noted that, conversely, it cannot necessarily be concluded that the first radio device is actually located outside the defined area if the location area determined according to the invention does not lie entirely within the defined area. For example, a sub-area of ​​the aforementioned sphere may lie outside the defined area, even though the first radio device is located in another sub-area of ​​the sphere that lies within the defined area. However, this does not affect the reliability in the case of positive proof (i.e., if the method shows that the location area of ​​the first radio device lies entirely within the defined area).

[0032] According to a preferred embodiment, the further radio devices are located in or on a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, and in particular they are fastened or installed therein or thereon.

[0033] According to this embodiment, the location range of the first radio device with respect to the vehicle can be determined.

[0034] According to a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned defined, in particular predefined, area lies substantially within a volume of the vehicle, in particular of the motor vehicle.

[0035] This makes it possible to determine whether the first radio device is inside the vehicle. This is particularly useful for the application mentioned above, where it is necessary to determine whether a specific radio transmitter ("car key") is inside the corresponding vehicle. If this is the case, the vehicle's engine can be started, for example. If it is not positively determined that the car key is inside the vehicle, the engine can be prevented from starting.

[0036] A third aspect of the invention relates to an arrangement according to claim 8 for determining a location area of ​​a radio device.

[0037] The arrangement according to the third aspect essentially corresponds to the method according to the first aspect, the advantages of which are referred to here.

[0038] A fourth aspect of the invention relates to an arrangement according to claim 9 for determining a location area of ​​a first radio device.

[0039] The arrangement according to the fourth aspect essentially corresponds to the method according to the second aspect, the advantages of which are referred to here.

[0040] A fifth aspect relates to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, having one of the arrangements described above.

[0041] The advantageous embodiments and configurations presented with reference to the method, as well as their advantages, also apply accordingly to the arrangement according to the invention and the vehicle according to the invention, and vice versa. Further features of embodiments of the invention can be found in the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. All features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures, can be used not only in the respective combination specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, provided that these combinations are feasible and provided that the combinations fall within the scope of the claims and, in particular, are technically expedient.

[0042] The invention will now be explained in more detail using some embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein components with the same or similar function are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0043] They show in schematic representation: Fig. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention from above, Fig. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention from above, Fig. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention from above, Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram with method steps of a method according to the invention, and Fig. 5 shows vehicle electronics according to an embodiment.

[0044] The Fig. 1 The arrangement shown has four anchors ("further radio devices") 3 to 6, which in this embodiment are attached or installed in or on the vehicle 1. The position of the four anchors 3 to 6 is shown in Fig. 1 only approximately represented by black squares. It is recommended that anchors 3 to 6 be distributed as far apart as possible near the outer perimeter of vehicle 1. In the example shown, anchor 3 is located on the right near the front axle, anchor 4 on the left near the front axle, anchor 5 on the right near the rear axle, and anchor 6 on the left near the rear axle. Anchors 3 to 6 can, for example, be installed in the vehicle body above the wheels.

[0045] Fig. 1 also shows a defined area 12, represented here as a rectangle, whereby this defined area 12 is actually a three-dimensional body, for example, a cuboid. This defined area is not visible as such. It is merely "defined" and can be specified by the vehicle manufacturer. For example, the defined area 12 can essentially correspond to the vehicle interior or a sub-area of ​​the vehicle interior. The definition of the area 12 can be stored, for example, in the vehicle electronics, in particular in an on-board computer.

[0046] Fig. 1 also shows a radio transmitter 2 ("first radio device"). This can essentially perform the function of a car key. The on-board electronics of the vehicle 1 can now be programmed so that starting the engine and / or other vehicle functions are only enabled if it is positively determined that the radio transmitter 2 is within the defined area 12. Otherwise (i.e., if such positive proof is not available), starting the engine or other vehicle functions is not enabled.

[0047] It will now also be on the Fig. 4 , which is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method according to the invention, as well as to the Fig. 5 which is part of the vehicle electronics of the Fig. 1 vehicle 1 shown. The vehicle shown in Fig. 5 The vehicle electronics 9 shown has an on-board computer 7 with a processor 8. The armatures 3 to 6 are also part of the vehicle electronics 9. These are connected to the on-board computer 7.

[0048] After the launch of the 20 Fig. 4 In the method shown, a signal is transmitted from the radio transmitter 2 in a step 21. This signal can be coded in a suitable manner so that the signal can be assigned to the radio transmitter 2 by the coding. After transmission, the signal propagates at the speed of light and is received by the anchors 3 to 6 in a step 22. Due to the distance between the radio transmitter 2 and the individual anchors 3 to 6, the reception of the signal at the corresponding anchors 3 to 6 does not necessarily occur simultaneously.

[0049] In particular, based on a suitable synchronization between the radio transmitter 2 and the anchors 3 to 6, the propagation time of the signal from the radio transmitter 2 to the anchors 3 to 6 can be determined. This can be done, for example, by the Fig. 5 shown processor 8, which receives corresponding signals / information from the anchors 3 to 6.

[0050] Based on the determined runtimes, a surrounding area around each anchor is now determined in a step 23. This can also be carried out by the processor 8. The surrounding areas, which are assigned to the anchors 3 to 6, are shown in Fig. 1 represented by circles 13 to 16. These are actually spheres, in whose center the respective anchor can be found. In this embodiment, a method / protocol is used to determine the surrounding areas, which determines the surrounding areas in such a way that it is guaranteed with (almost) absolute certainty that the radio transmitter 2 is actually located in the corresponding surrounding area 13 to 16. Such a method / protocol can be provided, for example, according to what is standardized in the IEEE 802.15.4z task group.

[0051] In general, the received signal will be noisy. Due to this noise, the exact position of the radio transmitter 2 relative to the anchors 3 to 6 cannot be determined precisely. While prior art approaches estimate a position as the current position of the radio transmitter 2 relative to other radio devices, or a position determined in this way can only be expressed with a certain probability (p < 1), the noise of a received signal according to this exemplary embodiment has the effect that the processor 8 determines the surrounding areas sufficiently large to ensure with essentially 100% probability that the radio transmitter 2 is actually located in the respective surrounding areas 13 to 16. In other words, the greater the noise, the larger the surrounding areas 13 to 16 become.

[0052] After the surrounding areas 13 to 16 have been determined, a location area of ​​the radio transmitter 2 is determined in a step 24, which can again be carried out, for example, by the processor 8. This is done based on the consideration that the radio transmitter 2 must be located in an overlap area 10 of the surrounding areas 13 to 16. The overlap area 10 (in Fig. 1 The overlapping area (approximately represented as a rhombus, but in reality a three-dimensional body) could now be precisely determined and used as the location area, but this would be too complex in terms of computational effort for many applications and would also be unnecessary. Instead, according to an embodiment of the invention, a circumsphere 11 is determined, i.e., a sphere that completely encloses the intersection area 10. Preferably, a minimal circumsphere, i.e., the smallest possible circumsphere, 11 is determined for this purpose.

[0053] The sphere 11 thus determined now represents the location area of ​​the radio transmitter 2, ie according to the invention it can be assumed with (almost) absolute certainty that the radio transmitter 2 is located within the sphere 11.

[0054] However, at least one further step 25 is performed, namely a comparison of the location area or the surrounding sphere 11 of the radio transmitter 2 with a (previously) defined area 12. For this purpose, it is determined whether the surrounding sphere 11 lies entirely within the defined area 12. If this is the case, there is positive proof, so to speak, that the radio transmitter 2 ("car key") is located inside the vehicle. If the surrounding sphere 11 is not entirely within the defined area 12, such positive proof is not present, and accordingly, for example, starting the engine of the vehicle 1 or other vehicle functions cannot be enabled.

[0055] Various variants of the above embodiment will now be indicated, whereby essentially only the differences to the above embodiment will be discussed.

[0056] Variant 1: Instead of determining a circumsphere 11 based on the overlapping area 10, according to this variant, the overlapping area 10 is rasterized, i.e., divided into smaller, particularly regular, sections. The raster elements can, for example, take the form of cubes or cuboids, although in principle other geometric shapes are also possible. The entirety of all raster elements can then be considered the location area of ​​the radio transmitter 2. In step 25, a comparison would then be made to determine whether the total volume of all raster elements lies within the defined area 12.

[0057] It is to be expected that such a grid is mathematically more complex than determining a circumsphere 11. The choice of the grid spacing can influence the computational effort (the smaller the grid spacing, the more computational effort).

[0058] Variant 2: This variant can be viewed as a combination of the exemplary embodiment described above with the first variant. According to variant 2, the surrounding sphere 11 can first be determined and it can be ascertained whether the surrounding sphere 11 is located entirely within the defined area 12. If this is the case, positive proof is provided that the radio transmitter 2 is located within the defined area 12. If it is determined that the surrounding sphere 11 is not completely within the defined area 12, the rasterization is carried out according to the first variant. Under certain circumstances, this can lead to positive proof being provided after all. This does not constitute a contradiction. After all, the surrounding sphere 11 is generally larger than the total volume of the raster elements, so that parts of the surrounding sphere 11 could lie outside the defined area 12, even though the rasterized overlap area lies entirely within the defined area 12.Such a case could occur, for example, if the radio transmitter 2 is located near the front or rear edge of the defined area 12. As can be seen from . Fig. 1 As can be seen, the front or rear part of the circumsphere 11 could then lie outside the defined area 12, although the rasterized area 10 would lie completely within the defined area 12.

[0059] Variant 3: In this variant, radio transmitter 2 transmits multiple signals, for example, one signal per anchor. The signals could be differentiated by appropriate coding and would then, for example, only be detectable by a specific anchor.

[0060] Variant 4: Parts of the method, for example determining the running time, determining the surrounding areas and / or the location range of the radio transmitter 2, could take place entirely or partially in the anchors 3 to 6 instead of in a (central) on-board computer 7. In such a case, the anchors should communicate / be connected to each other accordingly.

[0061] Variant 5: While in the embodiment described above, a signal is transmitted by the radio transmitter 2, in this variant, a signal is transmitted by each of the anchors and received by the radio transmitter 2. This transmitter could determine the propagation time of the signals itself or, for example, transmit the reception times of the signals back to the anchors 3 to 6 or the on-board computer 7, so that the propagation times can be determined there and further calculations can be performed.

[0062] Variant 6: A first signal or several first signals could be transmitted by one or more anchors 3 to 6, and a second signal would subsequently be transmitted by the radio transmitter 2 and received by the anchors 3 to 6. For this purpose, the radio transmitter 2 could be designed as a transponder. The surrounding areas 13 to 16 could then be determined based on half the travel time of the (forward and return) signals.

[0063] A second embodiment is shown in Fig. 2 shown. In contrast to the first embodiment, only two anchors are present in the second embodiment, in this example anchor 3 at the front right and anchor 6 at the rear left. The transmission / reception of the signal(s) and the subsequent determination of the surrounding areas around the anchors and the location area of ​​the radio transmitter can be carried out as in the first embodiment or the variants thereof. However, it is to be expected that when using only two anchors, the overlap area 10 will be larger than in the first embodiment. As in Fig. 2 As shown, the intersection area 10 is a convex (three-dimensional) body 10, whose shape could be described as a "double shell" or "UFO." The volume corresponds to the total volume of two flat shells that touch each other in a common circular area.

[0064] Corresponding to the increased volume of the overlapping area 10 in the second embodiment compared to that of the first embodiment, the surrounding sphere 11 is also larger in the second embodiment. Nevertheless, the entire surrounding sphere 11 of the second embodiment lies within the defined area 12, thus providing positive proof that the radio transmitter 2 is located within the defined area 12.

[0065] Fig. 3 finally shows a third embodiment, the arrangement being in principle the same as in the second embodiment ( Fig. 2 However, in the third embodiment, the surrounding areas 13 and 16 around the armatures 3 and 6 are larger than the corresponding surrounding areas in the second embodiment due to a greater noise power. Accordingly, the overlap area 10 and the surrounding sphere 11 are larger. As shown in Fig. 3As shown, parts of the surrounding sphere 11 are located outside the defined area 12, so that in this case the method according to the invention cannot provide positive proof that the radio transmitter 2 is located within the defined area 12 (although in fact the radio transmitter 2 is located within the defined area 12).

[0066] While positive proof is possible even when using only two anchors, as in the second and third embodiments, the use of three, four or more anchors is advantageous.

[0067] In all of the embodiments and variants presented above, radio devices (radio transmitter 2, anchors 3 to 6) with a range of, for example, a few meters can be used. However, the invention is not limited in this respect, and the range of the radio devices can be adapted according to the intended application.

[0068] In connection with the embodiments and variants described above, it can of course happen that the radio transmitter 2 is not located within the defined area 12 or not within the vehicle 1 or not even in the vicinity of the vehicle 1. In such a case, the non-reception of a corresponding signal would be interpreted as meaning that no surrounding area around one or more of the anchors can be determined and that, accordingly, there is no overlap area.

[0069] While at least one exemplary embodiment has been described above, it should be appreciated that a wide variety of variations exist. It should also be understood that the described exemplary embodiments are merely non-limiting examples and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the devices and methods described herein. Rather, the foregoing description will provide a guide to implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, with the understanding that various changes in the operation and arrangement of the elements described in an exemplary embodiment may be made without departing from the subject matter as defined in the appended claims, as well as their legal equivalents.

[0070] Document WO2014047352 is considered to be the prior art closest to the aspect of the invention according to claims 1 and 8. It does not disclose the features of claims 1 and 8, namely determining the sphere or the grid, basing the location area on the sphere or the grid, or determining whether the location area lies within a certain range.

[0071] Document US 6 947 729 B2 is considered to be the prior art closest to the aspect of the invention according to claims 2 and 9. It does not disclose the features of claims 1 and 8, namely determining the grid, basing the location area on the periphery or the grid, or determining whether the location area lies within a certain range. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0072] 1Vehicle 2Radio transmitter / first radio device 3 to 6Anchor / other radio devices 7On-board computer 8Processor 9Vehicle electronics 10Overlap area 11Surrounding sphere 12Defined area 13 to 16Surrounding areas 20 to 26Procedure steps

Claims

1. Method for determining an area (10, 11) occupied by a first radio apparatus (2), wherein the method comprises: - emitting a signal from the first radio apparatus (2), - receiving the signal by means of at least two further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6), - determining, on the basis of a propagation time of the signal from the first radio apparatus (2) to the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6), a surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16) around each of the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) in which the first radio apparatus (2) is situated, - determining an overlapping area (10) which results from a superimposition of all surrounding areas (13, 14, 15, 16); - determining an outer sphere (11) or a rasterization of the overlapping area (10); - determining the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2) on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10); and - determining whether the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2), as determined by means of the method, is completely in a defined area (12), in particular in a predefined area (12).

2. Method for determining an area (10, 11) occupied by a first radio apparatus (2), wherein the method comprises: - emitting a respective signal from at least two further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6), - receiving the signals by means of the first radio apparatus (2), - determining, on the basis of a propagation time of the signals from the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) to the first radio apparatus (2), a surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16) around each of the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) in which the first radio apparatus (2) is situated, - determining an overlapping area (10) which results from a superimposition of all surrounding areas (13, 14, 15, 16); - determining an outer sphere (11) or a rasterization of the overlapping area (10); - determining the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2) on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10); and - determining whether the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2), as determined by means of the method, is completely in a defined area (12), in particular in a predefined area (12).

3. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, when determining each surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16), it is substantially completely ensured that the first radio apparatus (2) is actually situated in the respective surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16).

4. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the outer sphere (11), in particular a minimum outer sphere (11), of the overlapping area (10) is used as the area (11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2).

5. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that all areas which result from the rasterization are used as the area (10) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2).

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) are situated in or on a vehicle (1), in particular a motor vehicle (1), in particular are fastened or installed in or on the vehicle.

7. Method according to Claim 6, characterized in that the defined, in particular predefined, area (12) is substantially within a volume of the vehicle (1), in particular the motor vehicle (1).

8. Arrangement (9) for determining an area (10, 11) occupied by a first radio apparatus (2), wherein the arrangement (9) has: - at least two further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) for receiving a signal from the first radio apparatus (2), - means (8) for determining, on the basis of a propagation time of the signal from the first radio apparatus (2) to the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6), a surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16) around each of the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) in which the first radio apparatus (2) is situated, - means (8) for determining an overlapping area (10) which results from a superimposition of all surrounding areas (13, 14, 15, 16); - means (8) for determining an outer sphere (11) or a rasterization of the overlapping area (10); - means (8) for determining the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2) on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10); and - means (8) for determining whether the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2), as determined or to be determined on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10), is completely in a defined area (12), in particular in a predefined area (12).

9. Arrangement (9) for determining an area (10, 11) occupied by a first radio apparatus (2), wherein the arrangement (9) has: - at least two further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) for emitting a respective signal, - means (8) for determining, on the basis of a propagation time of the signals from the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) to the first radio apparatus (2), a surrounding area (13, 14, 15, 16) around each of the further radio apparatuses (3, 4, 5, 6) in which the first radio apparatus (2) is situated, - means (8) for determining an overlapping area (10) which results from a superimposition of all surrounding areas (13, 14, 15, 16); - means (8) for determining an outer sphere (11) or a rasterization of the overlapping area (10); - means (8) for determining the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2) on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10); and - means (8) for determining whether the area (10, 11) occupied by the first radio apparatus (2), as determined or to be determined on the basis of the outer sphere (11) or the rasterization of the overlapping area (10), is completely in a defined area (12), in particular in a predefined area (12).

10. Vehicle (1), in particular motor vehicle (1), having an arrangement (9) according to Claim 8 or 9.