System consisting of a vehicle and a mobile device for unlocking the vehicle and / or releasing a function of the vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (1) consisting of a vehicle (2) and a mobile device (3) for unlocking the vehicle (2) and / or releasing a function of the vehicle (2). The vehicle (2) has at least one first transceiver (A) which is designed to wirelessly transmit and receive data, and the mobile device (3) has at least one second transceiver (B) which is designed to wirelessly transmit and receive data. The first transceiver (A) and the second transceiver (B) are designed to establish a wireless connection with each other as connection partners, said wireless connection allowing a data exchange, wherein the first transceiver (A) is designed to check the surroundings of the vehicle (2) for available connection partners, and the second transceiver (B) is designed to signal its availability as a connection partner.

Description

[0001] System consisting of a vehicle and a mobile device for unlocking the vehicle and / or enabling a function of the vehicle

[0002] Description:

[0003] The invention relates to a system comprising a vehicle and a mobile device for unlocking the vehicle and / or enabling a function of the vehicle.

[0004] A variety of systems consisting of a vehicle and a mobile device are already known in the prior art, whereby the vehicle can be unlocked by the mobile device or a vehicle function can be enabled or triggered by the mobile device. Mobile devices can be, for example, remote keys or mobile phones.

[0005] The fundamental problem, however, is that the necessary wireless connection between the vehicle and the mobile device requires a relatively high power consumption from the mobile device, so its battery must be large or it will drain relatively quickly. As a result, the mobile devices are subject to certain limitations and must be correspondingly large.

[0006] In particular, it is usually not possible to provide a comparatively small key fob that takes over the function of such a mobile device and can also be referred to as a smart fob.

[0007] The invention is therefore based on the object of overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages and providing a system comprising a vehicle and a mobile device for unlocking the vehicle and / or enabling a function of the vehicle with the lowest possible energy requirement on the part of the mobile device.

[0008] This problem is solved by the combination of features according to patent claim 1.

[0009] According to the invention, a system comprising a vehicle and a mobile device for unlocking the vehicle and / or enabling a function of the vehicle is therefore proposed. In the present case, enabling a function of the vehicle can also be understood as triggering a function of the vehicle. The vehicle has at least one first transceiver, which is particularly designed to send and receive data wirelessly, i.e. by radio. The mobile device also has at least one second transceiver, which is particularly designed to send and receive data wirelessly, i.e. by radio. The first transceiver and the second transceiver are designed to establish a wireless connection with one another as connection partners, enabling data exchange. In the prior art, it is usually provided that the mobile device searches for its connection partner and serves as the master or control center (scanning orScanning role) and the vehicle signals its availability accordingly (advertising or advertising role). However, this requires the mobile device to consume a comparatively large amount of energy. According to the invention, it is now proposed to swap the roles so that the first transceiver, ie the vehicle, is designed to check the surroundings of the vehicle or its surroundings for available connection partners (scanning). Accordingly, the invention provides that the second transceiver, ie the mobile device, is designed to signal its availability as a connection partner (advertising). This preferably only applies until the connection is established, since afterwards neither scanning nor advertising is necessary.

[0010] Because the mobile device, unlike in the prior art, takes over the advertising and therefore no energy-intensive scanning is required, a battery can be provided to supply the second transceiver in the mobile device and thus the entire mobile device with a correspondingly reduced installation space requirement.

[0011] The transceiver(s) do not have to be limited to a specific radio protocol. For example, the first and second transceivers can each be NFC, BLE, and / or UWB transceivers.

[0012] In particular, when the first and second transceivers are designed as BLE transceivers, the second transceiver is designed to send advertiser events on at least one advertiser channel, and the first transceiver is designed to check at least one advertiser channel for advertiser events and, upon receipt of an advertiser event, to establish a connection with the second transceiver sending the advertiser event.

[0013] The mobile device could be, for example, a vehicle key, a key fob, or a mobile phone. Since a key fob can unlock the vehicle or enable or trigger vehicle functions, it can also be referred to as a "smart fob."

[0014] To improve the transmission power and also to identify a position of the mobile device, the first transceiver, ie the vehicle, can have at least one external unit for transmitting and receiving data on the exterior of the vehicle and an internal unit for transmitting and receiving data in the interior of the vehicle. The first transceiver can therefore have two sub-units, each of which can be designed to establish a connection with the first transceiver. Alternatively, the first transceiver can also have just two antennas, of which a first antenna is arranged in the interior of the vehicle (interior) and a second antenna is arranged outside the vehicle (exterior). The first transceiver is preferably designed to determine via which of the two antennas the second transceiver is connected to the first transceiver.

[0015] Furthermore, an advantageous variant provides that the second transceiver, ie the mobile device or an evaluation unit of the mobile device connected thereto, is designed to determine a distance of the second transceiver from the first transceiver and / or a relative position of the second transceiver to the first transceiver and / or the vehicle, which can be implemented, for example, by evaluating the signal strength and / or by connecting to the external unit or the internal unit of the vehicle. It is further provided that the evaluation unit is designed to switch between different transmission protocols and / or between different intervals at which signals are transmitted between the connection partners, depending on the distance and / or the position of the transceivers relative to one another.For example, the second transceiver can transmit a signal via BLE every 0.3 seconds outside the vehicle and every 2 seconds inside the vehicle.

[0016] If transmission via UWB is used, for example, a signal can be transmitted every 0.3 seconds if the transceivers are less than 10 m apart and every 0.9 seconds if the transceivers are more than 10 m apart.

[0017] When transmitting via NFC, the vehicle can provide energy via the radio signal, so the mobile device does not have to use any energy for this purpose.

[0018] Since conventional mobile devices should also be usable for unlocking the vehicle and / or enabling a function of the vehicle, which accordingly assume the scanning or scanning role rather than the advertising role, an advantageous further development also provides that the system further comprises a second mobile device with a third transceiver, wherein the third transceiver is designed to wirelessly send and receive data. The first transceiver and the third transceiver are designed to establish a connection with one another as connection partners that enables a data exchange, wherein the third transceiver is designed to check its surroundings for available connection partners, and the first transceiver is designed to signal its availability as a connection partner.

[0019] Accordingly, for example, both a mobile phone can be used in the scanning role and a smart fob in the advertising role, which can connect independently to the vehicle, which, or rather, its transceiver, supports both scanning and advertising. The third transceiver can also be an NFC and / or BLE and / or UWB transceiver.

[0020] The first transceiver or the vehicle is preferably configured to simultaneously scan the vehicle's surroundings for available connection partners and signal its availability as a connection partner, or alternately scan the vehicle's surroundings for available connection partners and signal its availability as a connection partner. This means that scanning and advertising are performed alternately or simultaneously.

[0021] The first transceiver may be configured to process the data received from the first and second mobile devices, to process data received from the second transceiver and data received from the third transceiver simultaneously or according to a prioritization transmitted by the data or predetermined by the associated transceiver.

[0022] To further reduce the energy consumption of the first mobile device, it may also have a motion sensor which switches the mobile device from an operating mode to a sleep mode after a predetermined period of inactivity without any movement being detected and only switches it back from sleep mode to the operating mode when movement is detected again.

[0023] A further aspect of the invention relates to a mobile device, which is particularly designed as a smart fob and can correspond to the first mobile device of the system. The mobile device is characterized in particular by the fact that it is designed to assume the advertising role itself, and the second transceiver is designed accordingly to signal its availability as a connection partner.

[0024] The features disclosed above can be combined in any way, as long as this is technically possible and they do not contradict each other. 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. It shows:

[0025] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the system.

[0026] Traditionally, the mobile device is usually configured to perform the scanning role, while the vehicle is configured to perform the advertising role for establishing the connection. However, if a smart fob is to be used as the mobile device instead of, for example, a mobile phone, transferring the scanning role to the smart fob is not practical due to its high power consumption, which would result in a space-intensive battery or a short battery life.

[0027] Figure 1 shows an exemplary and schematic variant of the invention, in which the system 1 is formed from a vehicle 2 and a first mobile device 3.

[0028] The vehicle 2 and the (first) mobile device 3 each have a transceiver A, B, wherein the first transceiver A of the vehicle 2 is designed to assume the scanning role and the second transceiver B of the smart fob or the first mobile device 3 is designed to assume the advertising role and thereby establish a BLE connection 11 with each other.

[0029] If the vehicle 2 is to continue to be connectable to or unlockable by conventional mobile devices that themselves assume the scanning role, the first transceiver A can also be configured to simultaneously assume the advertising role. For this purpose, the first transceiver A can have a scanning unit 21 and an advertising unit 22, each of which can connect to a corresponding mobile device 3, 4. Accordingly, in such a case, the system 1 can comprise a further or second mobile device 4, such as a mobile phone, which provides a third transceiver C configured to assume the scanning role.

[0030] This allows the vehicle 2 to simultaneously establish the first BLE connection 11 with the first mobile device 3 as well as a second BLE connection 12 with the second mobile device 4.

[0031] The vehicle or the first transceiver A thus supports scanning and advertising in parallel, with the first transceiver A either alternating between the roles or supporting them simultaneously.

[0032] Both functions (scanning and advertising) are necessary to be able to use both the smart fob (first mobile device 3) and the mobile phone (second mobile device 4), but to minimize the power consumption of the smart fob (first mobile device 3).

[0033] Furthermore, the first mobile device 3 can have an evaluation unit 31, which can evaluate the signal strength or the transmitted signal and thereby determine the positioning relative to the vehicle 2 and / or a distance from the vehicle 2. Based on the distance and / or positioning, different transmission protocols and / or transmission intervals can then be used to further minimize the energy consumption in the first mobile device 3.

[0034] * * * * *

Claims

Claims: System (1) comprising a vehicle (2) and a mobile device (3) for unlocking the vehicle (2) and / or enabling a function of the vehicle (2), wherein the vehicle (2) has at least one first transceiver (A), wherein the mobile device (3) has at least one second transceiver (B), wherein the first transceiver (A) and the second transceiver (B) are configured to establish a wireless connection with each other as connection partners enabling data exchange, characterized in that the first transceiver (A) is configured to scan the vehicle's (2) environment for available connection partners, and the second transceiver (B) is configured to signal its availability as a connection partner. System according to claim 1, wherein the first transceiver (A) and the second transceiver (B) are each NFC and / or BLE and / or UWB transceivers.System according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second transceiver (B) is configured to transmit advertiser events on at least one advertiser channel, and wherein the first transceiver (A) is configured to monitor at least one advertiser channel for advertiser events and, upon receiving an advertiser event, to establish a connection with the second transceiver (B) transmitting the advertiser event. System according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mobile device (3) is a vehicle key, a key fob, or a mobile phone. System according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first transceiver (A) comprises at least one outdoor unit for sending and receiving data on the exterior of the vehicle (2) and an indoor unit for sending and receiving data in the interior of the vehicle (2). System according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second transceiver (B) or an associated evaluation unit (31) of the mobile device (3) is configured to determine the distance of the second transceiver (B) from the first transceiver (A) and / or the relative position of the second transceiver (B) to the first transceiver (A) and / or the vehicle (2), and, depending on the distance and / or position, to switch between different transmission protocols and / or between different intervals in which signals are transmitted between the communication partners.System according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second mobile device (4) with a third transceiver (C) configured to wirelessly transmit and receive data, wherein the first transceiver (A) and the third transceiver (C) are configured to establish a connection enabling data exchange, wherein the third transceiver (C) is configured to scan its environment for available connection partners, and the first transceiver (A) is configured to signal its availability as a connection partner. System according to the preceding claim. where the third transceiver (C) is an NFC and / or BLE and / or UWB transceiver.

9. System according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the second mobile device (4) is a mobile phone.

10. System according to any one of the preceding claims 7 to 9, wherein the first transceiver (A) is configured to simultaneously check the environment of the vehicle (2) for available connection partners and signal its availability as a connection partner, or alternately check the environment of the vehicle (2) for available connection partners and signal its availability as a connection partner.

11. System according to any one of the preceding claims 7 to 10, wherein the first transceiver (A) is configured to process data received from the second transceiver (B) and data received from the third transceiver (C) simultaneously or according to a prioritization transmitted by the data or predetermined by the associated transceiver (B, C).

12. Mobile device (3) for unlocking the vehicle (2) and / or enabling a function of the vehicle (2), wherein the vehicle (2) has at least one first transceiver (A) configured to wirelessly transmit and receive data, wherein the mobile device (3) has at least one second transceiver (B) configured to wirelessly transmit and receive data, wherein the second transceiver (B) is configured to establish a data-exchange wireless connection with the first to establish a connection between two transceivers (A) and the second transceiver (B), characterized in that the second transceiver (B) is configured to signal its availability as a connection partner.

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