A method for determining an appropriate time point for transmitting a data packet from a backend to at least one first control device of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for determining an appropriate time for transmitting a data packet (10) from a backend (12) to at least one first control device (14a) of a motor vehicle (16) in order to control at least one function of the at least one control device (14a), the data packet (10) being transmitted and received between the backend (12) and the at least one control device (14a), and the transmission being off-board triggered (B1) and / or on-board triggered (B2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for transmitting data packets from a backend to at least one first control device of a motor vehicle as described in the generic concept of claim 1.

Background Art

[0002] Modern vehicles or motor vehicles have a large number of networked control devices or control units that exchange data with the vehicle backend. Here, two types of functions can be distinguished.

[0003] On the one hand, such an exchange may be "offboard-triggered". That is, the exchange is triggered outside the vehicle. The initial data transmission for realizing the corresponding function is performed from the backend to the vehicle. The overall sequence usually corresponds to the (English) "Request / Response-Pattern", in which the backend sends a data packet to the vehicle. An example of a (English) "Request" could be an instruction to lock the vehicle. Subsequently, the vehicle sends a notification that it has been able to confirm the success of the data packet processing. An example of a (English) "Response" could be the confirmation: "Success of vehicle locking". The customer does not start this function within the vehicle itself but rather starts it "offboard" accordingly via a remote interface, for example an application on a smartphone.

[0004] On the other hand, such an exchange may be "onboard triggered". That is, the exchange is triggered inside the vehicle. The initial data transmission to implement the corresponding function is performed from the vehicle to the backend. The overall sequence usually also corresponds to the (English) "Request / Response-Pattern", in which the vehicle sends a data packet to the backend. As another example of a (English) "Request", state data such as ignition state change or an instruction to update the locking state can be considered. Subsequently, the backend sends a notification, a (English) "response", to the vehicle that it has confirmed the successful processing of the data packet. These functions are started in / on the vehicle, for example, by the customer when the customer unlocks the vehicle, or by the vehicle itself when, for example, the battery state drops. That is, it is started (English) "onboard".

[0005] Normally, the backend does not communicate directly with the control device that processes the data packet in the vehicle, but via a so-called telecommunication unit (TCU) that has a mobile radio module. The TCU does guarantee a protected connection to the backend, however, the protocol used does not guarantee, at least at the application level, the successful transmission of the data packet or the arrival of the data packet. Furthermore, the TCU can only receive a message if the message has arrived. That is, according to the current state of the art, the data packet can be lost in the communication path, and can be lost in the path from the backend to the control device as well as in the opposite direction path.

[0006] In cases where the function is off-board triggered due to external influences, for example, when the mobile wireless connection is interrupted or poor, data packets may not reach the vehicle. Nevertheless, there are data packets that must reach the vehicle regarding the successful provision of various off-board customer functions. However, delivering the data packets does not necessarily have to be done immediately, depending on the customer function.

[0007] Patent Document 1 already discloses a method for re-establishing a cellular connection between a vehicle telematics unit and a wireless carrier system. This method includes detecting that the cellular connection between the vehicle telematics unit and the wireless carrier system has been lost, and accessing a technology order table (TOT) that rearranges a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) corresponding to use in the vehicle telematics unit in a desired order. Similarly, this method attempts to re-establish the cellular connection, particularly through various method steps.

[0008] From Patent Document 2, a method for setting access from a mobile device to a vehicle network is known. When an error occurs, the corresponding signaling sequence is restarted. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for off-board controlling a vehicle's telematics unit by a backend. Only a slight mention is made about resending requests, and no further details are provided.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0009]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0010] The problem of the present invention is to provide a method in which data packets that have been transmitted to a vehicle but have not arrived are transmitted to the vehicle again at an appropriate time point, so that the data packets are received by the vehicle with a higher probability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] The above problem is solved by a method having the features of claim 1. Advantageous configurations including preferred development forms of the present invention are described in the other claims.

[0012] The present invention relates to a method for determining an appropriate time point for transmitting a data packet from a backend to at least one first control device in order to control at least one function of at least one control device of a vehicle, particularly a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car. In this method, the data packet is transmitted and received between the backend and at least one control device, and the transmission is off-board triggered and / or on-board triggered. Similarly, it is also possible to transmit all data packets to different control devices for controlling different functions, in which case a priority order is provided in the transmission structure.

[0013] In order to solve the problems of the present invention, according to the present invention, when the transmission of at least one data packet to the first control device is off-board triggered, a timer for waiting for confirmation information regarding the reception of the data packet transmitted by the off-board trigger is started by the back-end. Here, when the confirmation information is received, the control of the function is confirmed, and when the confirmation information is not received, the data packet is temporarily stored in the back-end buffer for future transmission. The temporarily stored data packet is transmitted again to the first control device when the transmission of another data packet from the same control device or another control device is on-board triggered. In particular, the timer realizes that a message that has not reached the vehicle or a data packet that has not been transmitted to each control device is retransmitted / transmitted again at an appropriate time from the perspective of the back-end. Through the timer, it is identified that there is a high possibility that the message has not been received. The new transmission at an appropriate time is realized through the on-board triggered message and the buffer.

[0014] The solution means for determining an appropriate time for retransmitting a data packet when the function is off-board triggered is carried out using the on-board triggered function and assuming that the communication between the back-end and the vehicle is carried out via a request / response pattern (Request / Response-Pattern) and the vehicle can avoid receiving the same data packet multiple times. In other words, a new attempt to transmit a data packet that was not transmitted during the failure of the off-board triggered function is triggered by the on-board triggered function. When the response when the function is off-board triggered is absent over a predetermined period or after the expiration of the timer, it is necessary to assume in the back-end data that the corresponding data packet has not reached the vehicle or one control device. Therefore, the back-end needs to temporarily store the data packet specified for the vehicle or one control device.

[0015] An appropriate time point or trigger for re - transmitting or re - sending data packets is the successful reception of the data packets sent to the backend within the framework of the on - board - triggered functions by the vehicle or each control device. The transmission of these data packets is triggered by the vehicle or each control device itself, and thus is triggered without relying on off - board - triggered functions. For example, it is triggered when the customer unlocks the vehicle or when the ignition state is changed, and usually, it is carried out in a context different from the context of off - board - triggered functions. The reception of data packets from the vehicle or each control device justifies the assumption that the vehicle or control device can be accessed again, and thus the data packets sent from the backend can also be received with a very high probability. This means that in the present invention, since at least one more transmission is carried out, the probability that the transmission is carried out only once without query is lower than the probability of the method according to the present invention.

[0016] In one advantageous configuration of the present invention, an inspection regarding the necessity of the data packets to be re - transmitted is carried out. This means that in the buffer, when the on - board - triggered function appears, a certain specific function is inspected for its necessity. For example, after getting into the car, the protection of the lock is no longer needed, so this protection can be erased from the buffer again. Here, for the protection of safety, for example, each function that has not been carried out can be recorded and stored for further processing, thereby reducing the required memory space and working memory.

[0017] In a further advantageous configuration of the present invention, after the on - board - triggered transmission is successful, the buffer is erased. Here, the erasure of the buffer may be executed as a direct result of the on - board - triggered function or as a result shifted in time. In this case, settings for erasure by the OEM are made. Especially in this case, the safety of the vehicle should be prioritized.

[0018] When the transmission of an off-board triggered data packet is not confirmed, the configuration of the present invention in which information regarding this is transmitted to the data receiving unit has been found to be even more advantageous. This is advantageous based on security precautions at the application level because as soon as the backend receives the confirmation information, the user of the application receives a warning. That is, this can bring about higher security in various functions, for example, when the vehicle is not locked.

[0019] Finally, in an advantageous configuration of the present invention, after the transmission of an on-board triggered data packet is confirmed, another second timer and / or another timer for waiting again by the backend for confirmation information regarding the reception of data packets temporarily stored prior to the off-board triggered transmission is started, and if the confirmation information is not received again, a signal for triggering an error message is generated. The error message notifies that the interruption of the interface between the backend and the control device that can occur with a certain probability has been confirmed, and suggests to the user or OEM that there is a defect in a possible physical connection / interface or another component.

[0020] The present invention is derived from the field of telematics and relates to a method that enables a message that has not reached a vehicle to be transmitted to the vehicle again at an appropriate time when viewed from the vehicle backend.

[0021] Further advantages, features, and details of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments and the drawings. The features, combinations of features, and features and / or combinations of features shown in the descriptions of the plurality of drawings and / or shown in a single drawing, as listed in the above description, are not only the described combinations but also other combinations or alone without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022]

Figure 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] The sole drawing (Figure) shows an example for applying the method according to the invention in which an appropriate time point for transmitting a data packet 10 from a backend 12 to at least one first control device 14a is determined in order to control at least one function of a vehicle 16, in particular of at least one control device 14a of a motor vehicle. The data packet 10 is transmitted and received between the backend 12 and at least one control device 14a, where the start of the transmission is triggered by an off-board trigger B1 and / or an on-board trigger B2. If the transmission of at least one data packet 10 to the first control device 14a is triggered by the off-board trigger B1, a timer T is started by the backend 12 that waits for confirmation information 18 regarding the reception of the data packet 10 transmitted by that off-board trigger B1. If the confirmation information 18 is received, a confirmation of the function control is notified, and if the confirmation information 18 is not received, and thus non-confirmation information 28 is transmitted, the data packet 10 is temporarily stored in a buffer 20 of the backend for future transmission. The non-confirmation information 28 from the vehicle 16 to the backend 12 is in particular the expiration of the timer T, which can be transferred to another entity. Finally, the temporarily stored data packet 10 is transmitted again to at least one control device 14a when the transmission of another data packet 10b is triggered by the on-board trigger B2.

[0024] Here, this sole drawing (figure) shows an example where customer / user 22 attempts to set, via OEM's smartphone app 26, the function of the vehicle 16 designed as an electric vehicle as a pre - air - conditioning such that this pre - air - conditioning is activated at 2:00 p.m. set in the vehicle 16. At this time, off - board triggered transmission of data packet 10 regarding this function is performed. Here, for the pre - air - conditioning, a pre - air - conditioning command 24 is transmitted to the vehicle 16 via the backend 12. Here, first, a request data packet 10a is sent to the backend 12, and subsequently, this data packet 10 in the form of a command data packet is sent from the backend 12 to the vehicle 16 and / or the control device 14a. In other words, the data packets 10, 10a are different in that they are command data packets or data packet 10 between the vehicle 16 and the backend 12, and data packet 10a between the backend 12 and the customer / user 22.

[0025] Immediately when the customer / user 22 sets the desired activation time in the smartphone app 26, the backend 12 sends the corresponding data packet 10 having a pre - air - conditioning command 24 for setting the pre - air - conditioning, particularly including the activation time, to the vehicle 16. If the backend 12 does not obtain the expected confirmation information 18 or (English) "response" for the transmitted data packet 10 within a predetermined period or within the timer T, it can be assumed that the data packet 10 has not reached the vehicle 16 or the control device 14a, and the pre - air - conditioning 24 has not been set in response to the customer's request.

[0026] Instead of data packet 10 being transmitted to vehicle 16 or control device 14a at periodic time intervals, or having the customer / user 22 reset the start time, the backend 12 waits according to this method until it receives another data packet 10b transmitted from vehicle 16 within the framework of a function triggered by on-board trigger B2, for example when vehicle 16 connected to the charging unit transmits a new charge state to the backend 12. Thus, this data packet 10b, which is independent of the pre-conditioning 24, triggers the repetition of the temporarily stored data packet 10, which is very likely to be received by vehicle 16 or control device 14a, and thus results in the setting of the pre-conditioning 24 in vehicle 16 and the setting of the corresponding confirmation information 18 to the backend 12.

Claims

1. A method for determining an appropriate time for transmitting a data packet (10) from a backend (12) to at least one first control device (14a) of a motor vehicle (16) in order to control at least one function of the at least one control device (14a), wherein the data packet (10) is transmitted and received between the backend (12) and the at least one control device (14a), and the transmission is off-board triggered (B1) and / or on-board triggered (B2), in the method, when the transmission of at least one data packet (10) to the first control device (14a) is off-board triggered (B1), a timer (T) waiting for confirmation information (18) regarding the reception of the at least one data packet (10) transmitted by the off-board trigger (B1) is activated by the backend (12), when the confirmation information (18) is received, the control of the function is confirmed, when the confirmation information (18) is not received, the at least one data packet (10) is temporarily stored in a buffer (20) of the backend (12) for future transmission, and the at least one temporarily stored data packet (10) is re-transmitted to the control device (14a) when the transmission of another data packet (10b) is on-board triggered (B2), characterized in that, the method.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that an inspection regarding the necessity of re-transmitting the at least one data packet (10) is carried out.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the buffer (20) is erased after the transmission of the on-board triggered (B2) data packet (10b) is successful.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the transmission of the off-board triggered (B1) data packet (10) is not confirmed, non-confirmation information (28) is transmitted to a data reception unit (30).

5. After the transmission of the data packet (10b) triggered by the on-board trigger (B2) is confirmed, another second timer for waiting again by the back-end (12) for the confirmation information (18) regarding the reception of the previously temporarily stored data packet (10) is started. If the confirmation information (18) is not received again, a signal for triggering an error message is generated. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that.

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