Method for managing a communication channel of a wireless local area network in a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method for managing a communication channel of a wireless local area network used in a motor vehicle, comprising a management device implementing said method, consisting in a first step (310) of detecting a so-called sensitive area, in which the network is likely to be exposed to interference, along the vehicle's route; in a second step (320), following detection of said sensitive area and upon approach to said sensitive area, of reducing the operational bandwidth of the communication channel used in the vehicle's network, a channel whose operational bandwidth is shared by the vehicle and said sensitive area; and in a third step (330) of restoring the operational bandwidth once the sensitive area has been passed. (Figure 3)

Description

Title of the invention: Method for managing a communication channel of a local wireless communication network of a motor vehicle

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless local area communication networks or WLAN for "Wireless Local Area Network" in English terminology, used in motor vehicles and relates in particular to a method for managing a channel of a wireless local area network anticipating potential future interference on the communication channel used in particular by a screen replication, or duplication, function of the "screen mirroring" or "mirroring" type, wireless.

[0002] Most motor vehicles today have a multimedia system, also called an infotainment system, which includes an operating system, a touch screen, a GPS navigation system, "Global Positioning System", which combines satellite guidance functions, maps, traffic information, danger zone alerts, etc., multimedia functions which allow you to listen to the radio, music tracks, view photos and videos, a communication module which allows you to manage incoming or outgoing telephone calls, contact information, etc., a utility for managing vehicle equipment such as air conditioning, AD AS systems, "Advanced Driver Assistance System", etc.

[0003] Such vehicles also incorporate a telematics system, or box, managing connectivity with a user's connected object, typically their smartphone. This box allows in particular the management of telephone calls and the use of the user's contacts from their own smartphone as soon as it is connected to the on-board multimedia system. The multimedia system includes a vehicle screen, in particular a touch screen reproducing information displayed on the smartphone.

[0004] The "mirroring" function is a function also found associated with vehicle touch screens, which allows the display of applications from a smartphone connected to the vehicle to be projected. This function allows the driver to continue using the applications usually used directly on his smartphone even during car journeys, while using the human-machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle's multimedia system.

[0005] In order to implement the mirroring function, the on-board multimedia system must interact with the smartphone's operating system, and it must therefore implement at least a reduced version, which involves the installation of an ad-hoc software layer in the embedded multimedia system, for example in a virtual machine executed by a processor of said system, or equivalent.

[0006] In the state of the art, we know Apple Carplay™ which is an on-board version of iOS, the operating system of Apple™ brand smartphones, for users of motor vehicles having an iPhone™ type smartphone, from Apple Inc.

[0007] We also know Android Auto™, compatible with smartphones equipped with the Android™ operating system from Google Inc.

[0008] Today, it is possible to do wireless mirroring (Carplay™ or Android Auto™) using a type of communication channel based on the Wifi standard (IEEE 802.1 Ip) around 5.8 GHz, more generally referred to as “5GHz Wifi”.

[0009] This same communication channel is now used by the toll infrastructure of a road network, also called barriers, or toll gates, or even more simply tolls, having an electronic toll system which allows, after recognition of the badge of a road user, subscribed to an electronic toll service, to authorize his passage by debiting him with an amount corresponding to a number of kilometers traveled by the vehicle.

[0010] Most electronic toll systems are based on DSRC technology (an English acronym for “Dedicated Short Range Communication”).

[0011] DSRC technology makes it possible to establish a short-range microwave radio link between a beacon mounted on a toll barrier (or gantry) and a badge on board the vehicle. Typically, when the vehicle passes through the gantry, the beacon triggers the activation of the badge on board the vehicle, by means of a short-range radio signal (for example, at frequencies close to 5.8 GHz for a Wi-Fi signal), so that the mileage traveled is recorded, before transmitting the data to a central server responsible for establishing the billing.

[0012] It may therefore happen that a vehicle using the wireless mirroring function via Wifi in or around the same frequencies arrives at a toll gate having an electronic toll system and that the mirroring function suffers untimely disconnections due to interference generated by the DSRC signal emitted by the toll gate, on the communication channel 161 (which is the communication channel used by the toll for a bandwidth of 20mHz) with a signal power of approximately 33dBm.

[0013] For example, the power of the signal emitted at the access point of the network supporting the vehicle's Carplay™ Wifi mirroring is much lower, around 14dBM.

[0014] These untimely disconnections can alter the quality of the mirroring signal which, when their duration is greater than 9s, can cause a “timeout” (exhaustion of the time allocated to a task) particularly on an iPhone™, resulting in the interruption of the mirroring function while leaving the access point open, thereby preventing automatic reconnection (reconnection only taking place on a closed access point).

[0015] In such conditions, it is necessary to switch off the vehicle's engine and wait for the vehicle's infotainment and telematics systems to be reset in order to be able to use the mirroring function again.

[0016] To overcome this drawback, the present invention proposes a solution making it possible to prevent such interference and to ensure continuity of service of the mirroring function.

[0017] To this end, the present invention has as its first object a method for managing a communication channel of a local wireless communication network used in a motor vehicle comprising a management device implementing said method, consisting in a first step, in detecting a zone called a sensitive zone in which the network risks being exposed to interference, on a path of the vehicle, in a second step, following detection of said sensitive zone and on approach to said sensitive zone, in reducing the width of the operational bandwidth of the communication channel used in the vehicle network, channel which in the width of the operational bandwidth is shared by the vehicle and said sensitive zone and, in a third step, in restoring the operational bandwidth once the sensitive zone has been passed.

[0018] According to one characteristic, the method consists of detecting said zone on the path of the vehicle from cartographic data provided by a cartographic database associated with a navigation system of the vehicle.

[0019] According to another characteristic, the sensitive zone is a toll infrastructure having an electronic toll system sharing, in the same operational bandwidth, the same communication channel as that used by the vehicle.

[0020] According to another characteristic, the communication channel used in the vehicle is channel 149 of a 5GHz Wifi communication network, supporting a screen duplication function, called mirroring function, in which the communication channel used by the communication network supporting the electronic toll system is channel 161, and in which the operational bandwidth used for the mirroring function is 80MHZ outside the sensitive zone and 40MHZ while crossing the sensitive zone.

[0021] The second subject of the present invention is a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to implement the method as described above.

[0022] The second subject of the present invention is a motor vehicle comprising a management device implementing the method as described above, said vehicle further comprising an infotainment system coupled with a telematics system combining wireless connectivity means, an on-board navigation system with its geolocation means and its associated cartographic database; said management device managing the communication channel between a portable terminal, present in the vehicle, and a screen of the vehicle, in connection with the infotainment system and the telematics system, from the information delivered by the navigation system.

[0023] The present invention has the advantage of avoiding untimely disconnections of short-range wireless communication in a vehicle, when approaching sensitive areas by anticipating potential future interference in said areas, on the route of the vehicle, without having to modify the organic architecture of the vehicle.

[0024] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on examining the detailed description below, and the attached drawing, in which:

[0025] [Fig-1] illustrates a diagram of allocation and configuration of communication channels 5GHz Wi-Fi network installation;

[0026] [Fig.2] illustrates by a block diagram, a vehicle implementing the method according to the invention; and

[0027] [Fig.3] illustrates by a flowchart, the main steps of the method according to the invention.

[0028] The mirroring function is usually managed by the vehicle's infotainment system, also called the IVI system (an English acronym for "In-Vehicle Infotainment"), which manages the multimedia content inside the vehicle and which is associated with the vehicle's telematics system which manages connectivity with one or more communication networks embedded in the vehicle and connectivity with external communication networks (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), by means of wave communication equipment which uses antennas.

[0029] Using the GPS geolocation means of the vehicle's on-board navigation system and its associated cartographic database, the method according to the invention consists of locating sensitive areas on the vehicle's upcoming route.

[0030] A sensitive zone is understood to mean an area comprising at least one radioelectric source using a wireless communication network operating in the same frequency range as that of the wireless communication network used inside the vehicle.

[0031] Such an area may for example be associated with a specific point of interest POI (Point of Interest) pre-programmed in the vehicle's navigation system, for example a toll infrastructure, or other locations previously identified as potential sources of radio interference.

[0032] There are now numerous toll infrastructures and almost all of them are equipped with an electronic toll system.

[0033] Electronic toll systems are the main sources of radio interference encountered by a vehicle on its journey, especially when the journey is long and includes several sections of toll road.

[0034] [Fig.l] illustrates a diagram of allocation and configuration of the Wifi communication channels in the frequencies between 5150 MHz and 5925 MHz (hereinafter referred to as the 5 GHz Wifi network) on which the present invention is based to describe the management method according to the invention.

[0035] In the present invention, the main but not the only focus will be on a communication channel used to support a MIR mirroring function with a 5GHz Wifi network.

[0036] The MIR wireless mirroring function, offered by both Carplay™ and Android Auto™, is supported by a specific communication channel: channel 149 with a frequency bandwidth of 80MHz (channel 155) for optimal signal quality of the MIR mirroring function. A first frequency band allocated for the MIR mirroring function of both Carplay™ and Android Auto™, in MHz, is 5735-5795, symbolized in [Fig.l] by a horizontal connection.

[0037] The ZS electronic toll system also uses a specific communication channel: channel 161. A second frequency band allocated to the electronic toll system, in MHz, is 5795-5815. The allocation and configuration of the channels allocated to the ZS electronic toll system are represented in [Fig.l] within a closed outline in broken line.

[0038] The first and second frequency bands are adjacent and are included in the frequency band allocated to short range devices, SRDs (Short Range Devices in English terminology), in MHz, 5725-5875. The allocation and configuration of the channels allocated to the SRDs are represented in [Fig.l] within a closed contour in a continuous line.

[0039] Channels 149 (MIR mirroring) and 161 (ZS electronic toll) end up sharing the same channel in the 80MHz bandwidth: channel 155. This channel sharing is a source of interference; the signal power of the ZS electronic toll system is also greater than the signal power of the MIR mirroring function, or mirroring signal (33dBm vs 14dBm).

[0040] To avoid this channel sharing at 80 MHz, a potential source of interference, the method according to the invention consists of controlling the change in the bandwidth of the communication channel of the signal of the MIR mirroring function on the bandwidth immediately below 80 MHz: the bandwidth of 40 MHz (i.e. channel 151).

[0041] The quality of the signal of the MIR mirroring function with this bandwidth (40MHz) remains sufficient to temporarily ensure the MIR mirroring function without risk of disconnection of the function.

[0042] Thus, if a sensitive zone ZS is located on the route of the vehicle 100, the method consists of anticipating possible interference by changing the bandwidth of the Wifi signal when approaching the sensitive zone ZS (80MHz 40MHz), as illustrated schematically by a vertical black arrow in [Fig.l], and re-establishing the original frequency band (40MHz 80MHz) once the sensitive zone ZS has passed.

[0043] [Fig. 2] illustrates a vehicle 100 comprising an infotainment system 110 coupled to a telematics system (or box) 120 grouping together means 121 of wireless connectivity inside and outside the vehicle, an on-board navigation system 130 with its GPS geolocation means 131 (Global Positioning System) and its associated cartographic database 132, and a management device 140 managing the channel supporting the MIR mirroring function between a smartphone 150 and a screen 160 of the vehicle 100, in connection with the infotainment systems 110 and the telematics system 120, from the information delivered by the navigation system 130.

[0044] Most of the systems and means introduced above are already present in recent motor vehicles.

[0045] The management device 140 comprises one or more processors and software components coupled either directly or indirectly to the various systems and / or means described above, capable of processing the signals and information delivered by said systems and / or means to implement the method which is described below.

[0046] As illustrated in [Fig. 3], in a first step 310, the method consists of detecting a so-called sensitive zone ZS, in which the short-range wireless communication network inside the vehicle 100 risks being exposed to interference, on a determined path of the vehicle 100.

[0047] In a second step 320, following detection of a sensitive zone ZS, the method consists of reducing the operational bandwidth of the communication channel used by the vehicle 100 and, in a third step 330, the method consists of re-establishing the operational bandwidth once the sensitive zone ZS has been passed.

[0048] The method detects the sensitive zone ZS on the path of the vehicle 100, for example, from the cartographic data provided by the cartographic database 132 associated with the navigation system 130 of the vehicle 100.

[0049] The detected sensitive zone ZS is for example a toll infrastructure, or toll barrier, which is one of the available points of interest “POI” in the maps associated with the navigation systems 130 on a route which will have been pre-programmed or not by the user of the vehicle 100.

[0050] As the probability that such a ZS infrastructure has an electronic toll system is very high today, the simple detection of a ZS toll infrastructure is sufficient to alert the management device 140 of the communication channel supporting the MIR mirroring function of the vehicle 100.

[0051] It is recalled that the ZS electronic toll system uses the same communication channel as that of the MIR mirroring function, in the operational bandwidth of the communication channel used by the vehicle 100 ([Fig. 1]).

[0052] The communication channel used to support the MIR mirroring function in the vehicle 100 is channel 149 of a 5GHz Wifi communication network and the communication channel used by the communication network used to support the ZS electronic toll system is channel 161.

[0053] This corresponds to channel 155 for a bandwidth of 80MHz which corresponds to the operational bandwidth of the MIR mirroring function: channel which is shared by the ZS electronic toll system.

[0054] Following detection of the ZS toll infrastructure (or barrier), the management device commands the change of the operational bandwidth for the MIR mirroring function from 80MHz to 40MHz when approaching the ZS toll barrier. The channel is then channel 151.

[0055] The management device 140 controls the restoration of the operational bandwidth to 80 MHz once the vehicle 100 has passed the toll barrier ZS.

[0056] The approach to a ZS toll barrier can be determined, for example, from a determined threshold distance between the vehicle 100 and the ZS toll barrier, measured by the navigation system 130 via the GPS geolocation means 131 and its mapping which is preferably a high-definition mapping, or even more precisely by telemetry using a radar and / or a camera, not shown, both belonging to an AD AS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) system of the vehicle also not shown, or from sign recognition means or other road signaling means, not shown.

[0057] This approach can also be determined from a determined minimum threshold speed of the vehicle 100 or even the stopping of the vehicle 100, measured by a speed sensor, not shown, of the vehicle 100.

[0058] A slowdown when approaching a toll barrier is generally characterized by successive slowdown stages with or without rumble strips on the ground. These elements can also be taken into account by the management device 140 to control the change in bandwidth (40 MHz).

[0059] The detection of the exit from the sensitive zone ZS by the vehicle 100 (here the distance from the toll barrier ZS), allowing the management device 140 to control the reestablishment of the bandwidth (80MHz), can use, as for the detection of the approach, the navigation system 130 via the geolocation means 131, the speed sensor (exceeding the speed threshold),

[0060] The management method implemented by the management device 140 implements a computer program product comprising instructions for executing the steps of the method described above.

[0061] This program is implemented for example by one or more processors of the management device 140 which can be hosted in the BSI (Intelligent Service Box) calculator, also called “passenger compartment control box”, in connection with one or more processors of the infotainment system 110.

[0062] Such a program can be updated with the possibility of adding functions using an OTA “Over The Air” type update.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for managing a communication channel of a wireless local communication network used in a motor vehicle (100) comprising a management device (140) implementing said method, consisting in a first step (310), of detecting a zone called a sensitive zone (ZS), in which the network risks being exposed to interference, on a path of the vehicle (100), in a second step (320), following detection of said sensitive zone (ZS) and on approach to said sensitive zone (ZS), of reducing the width of the operational bandwidth of the communication channel used in the network of the vehicle (100), channel which in the width of the operational bandwidth is shared by the vehicle (100) and said sensitive zone (ZS) and, in a third step (330), of restoring the operational bandwidth once the sensitive zone (ZS) has been passed.

2. Method according to the preceding claim, consisting of detecting said zone (ZS) on the path of the vehicle (100) from cartographic data provided by a cartographic database (132) associated with a navigation system (130) of the vehicle (100).

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the sensitive zone (ZS) is a toll infrastructure having an electronic toll system sharing, in the same operational bandwidth, the same communication channel as that used by the vehicle.

4. Method according to the preceding claim, in which the communication channel used in the vehicle (100) is channel 149 of a 5GHz Wifi communication network, supporting a screen duplication function, called mirroring function (MIR), in which the communication channel used by the communication network supporting the electronic toll system, is channel 161, and in which the operational bandwidth used for the mirroring function is 80 MHz outside the sensitive zone (ZS) and 40 MHz while crossing the sensitive zone (ZS).

5. Computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to implement the method according to one of claims 1 to 4.

6. Motor vehicle (100) comprising a management device (140) implementing the method according to the preceding claims, said vehicle (100) further comprising an infotainment system (110) coupled to a telematics system (120) grouping together wireless connectivity means (121), an on-board navigation system (130) with its geolocation means (131) and its associated cartographic database (132); said management device (140) managing the communication channel between a portable terminal (150) present in the vehicle (10) and a screen (160) of the vehicle (100), in connection with the infotainment system (110) and the telematics system (120), from the information delivered by the navigation system (130).

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