Method for monitoring a motor vehicle and motor vehicle

Abstract

To provide: a simple low-cost monitoring method for a motor vehicle; and a motor vehicle configured for implementing the method.SOLUTION: The invention relates to: a method for monitoring a motor vehicle (10); and the motor vehicle (10) comprising a radio system and a control unit (12) connected to the radio system. The method comprises: monitoring an exterior region of the motor vehicle (10) for people by using impulse responses received by at least one UWB antenna (14, 16); and activating a theft and / or vandalism protection of the motor vehicle (10) in response to a person being identified in the monitored exterior region (26).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for monitoring a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle comprising a wireless system and a control unit connected to the wireless system configured to implement the method described herein.

[0002] Recent vehicles include a number of inner area sensor systems and outer area sensor systems used for various different functions of the vehicle. In this case, various technologies are often used. Therefore, in order to realize various different functions, recent vehicles incorporate a number of control devices that respectively realize individual functions among these various different functions.

[0003] For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2014 / 0306799 describes a system for identifying an intruder in the vicinity of or within a vehicle. When an unauthorized user within the vehicle is identified, the presented system takes a series of measures such as notification to one or more authorized users of the vehicle, locking of the vehicle, notification to emergency response personnel or the police, and output of a visual or acoustic alarm. For the realization of monitoring by the system, a number of various different sensors such as optical sensors, motion sensors, vital parameter sensors, etc. are required.

[0004] German Patent Application Publication No. 102021207013, a prior art document published after this application, relates to a measurement unit, a corresponding system, method, and computer program for measuring the interior space of a motor vehicle and the surroundings of the motor vehicle. It is assumed that UWB antennas already installed in the motor vehicle are used together for monitoring in order to additionally monitor the outer regions of the motor vehicle. When a person is detected by the micro-radar measurement of the UWB antenna outside the motor vehicle, the authority of this person is checked by the operation of the keyless entry system of the motor vehicle. If the corresponding authority is not given to this person, a warning can be output to this person or the vehicle owner to intimidate potential motor vehicle thieves or to warn the vehicle owner.

[0005] The problem is that known monitoring systems are extremely comprehensive and complex. A large number of sensor systems, technologies, and control devices are required, which makes this known system prone to failure. Furthermore, a large amount of electrical energy is required during monitoring. In particular, when implementing an anti-theft protection system, the monitoring of vehicles parked for a relatively long time becomes impossible due to the lack of electrical energy consumed by the large amount of energy consumption.

[0006] In order to reduce this energy problem, US Patent Application Publication No. 2018 / 0154908 proposes an intelligent monitoring system. This intelligent monitoring system basically operates in an intelligent sleep mode here to save energy. The monitoring system only starts automatic monitoring and notifies the vehicle owner when irregularities inside, outside, or around the vehicle are confirmed.

[0007] The prior art has already disclosed partial solutions regarding the energy problem in vehicle monitoring systems, but there is still a need for a monitoring system that is not so complex and is more energy-efficient.

[0008] Accordingly, the object of the present invention here is to provide a simple and lower-cost method for monitoring a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle configured to implement this method.

[0009] This object of the present invention is solved by a method for monitoring a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle as described in the independent claims. Preferred developments are the subject of the respective dependent claims.

[0010] A first aspect relates to a method for monitoring a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle has a wireless system with a transceiver having a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna and a second UWB antenna, and a control unit connected to the wireless system. The transceiver of the wireless system is configured to transmit and receive signals, in particular in a very large frequency range, in particular in the frequency range from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz, preferably in the frequency range from 3.5 GHz to 9 GHz, particularly preferably in the frequency range from 6 GHz to 8.5 GHz. Here, the transmission power of the UWB pulse is low. The bandwidth of the UWB signal is at least 500 MHz, and the UWB transceiver is preferably configured to transmit signals with a transmission power between 0.5 mW / -41.3 dBm / MHz. More preferably, the transceiver is configured in accordance with the standard IEEE802.15.4 (in particular the part related to the UWB PHY layer) and preferably in accordance with the standard IEEE802.15.4z. By scattering signals over such a large frequency range, the UWB signal interferes with other wireless signals only minimally. The UWB antenna is further configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth wireless signals, and the wireless system is further configured to establish Bluetooth communication.

[0011] According to the steps of the method according to the invention, the wireless system is driven and controlled to transmit UWB pulses and receive impulse responses using at least one of the two UWB antennas. Based on the result of the received impulse response, the outer area of the motor vehicle is monitored for persons.

[0012] Based on a temporally strongly localized UWB pulse, it is possible to extract information about the propagation path of the UWB pulse from the received UWB pulse with its own impulse response resulting from the ambient influence on the transmitted UWB pulse. The ambient influence is based on physical phenomena that deflect the UWB pulse from its geometrically defined own path, for example, refraction, diffraction, reflection or attenuation. As is obvious, the propagation time of a signal or signal packet varies along various different propagation paths and changes in relation to the presence or absence of objects within or in the vicinity of the propagation path. The impulse shape of the signal or signal packet is also affected in relation to the presence or absence of objects within or in the vicinity of the propagation path. Therefore, based on the measurement of a signal or signal packet transmitted along this propagation path, it is advantageously possible to estimate the presence or absence of persons and objects within or in the vicinity of the propagation path.

[0013] According to the method of the present invention for the received impulse response, the UWB antenna that transmits the UWB signal also receives the surrounding impulse response. In this case, the sampled surrounding echoes are received. Such echoes usually simulate a large number of echo signals resolved in time, and these echo signals appear in the impulse response in relation to the distances from these objects and / or persons to the transceiver. By comparing the echo signals over the UWB pulses shifted in time with their received impulse responses, it is possible to estimate the position changes of the objects and / or persons with respect to the transceiver. In particular, in order to distinguish between stationary objects or objects that are moving but do not have vital parameters and persons, it is possible to identify preferably motion, particularly preferably vital parameters, from the position changes. Similarly preferably, these echo signals can be identified based on amplitude information and / or phase information and compared with each other. This advantageously enables sampling the inner region and / or outer region of the vehicle in a spatially resolved and also time-resolved manner using at least one antenna. Of course, two UWB antennas or other UWB antennas incorporated in the vehicle can also implement the method of the received impulse response, thereby sampling the outer region and / or inner region of the vehicle in a spatially resolved and also time-resolved manner from various different angles. Of course, the wireless system preferably includes a large number of UWB antennas, where these UWB antennas are each arranged in the vehicle according to the desired outer region of the motor vehicle to be monitored. Preferably, in order to save costs, the UWB antennas already provided in the vehicle are utilized multifunctionally.

[0014] The farther an object is from the transceiver, the later the echo signal associated with this object is received by the transceiver. Therefore, the reach of the transceiver can be limited by the reception of the impulse response being interrupted and / or a new UWB pulse being transmitted after a time corresponding to the desired reach. During the time when a UWB pulse is being transmitted via the transceiver, it is impossible to receive an impulse response by this transceiver used for transmission. Therefore, the outer area of the motor vehicle to be monitored can be adjusted or limited as desired.

[0015] In a further step of the method according to the invention, the anti-theft or anti-destruction protection of the motor vehicle is activated on the premise that a person has been identified within the monitored outer area of the motor vehicle. In other words, a reaction on the vehicle side is carried out with respect to a person within the outer area of the vehicle identified using UWB technology. By using UWB technology, depending on the arrangement of the individual UWB antennas, another outer area of the vehicle can be monitored. In this regard, this method can be implemented accurately and at low cost. Furthermore, additional vehicle functions can be integrated into UWB technology by means of UWB antennas arranged in the vehicle. This reduces the number of control devices incorporated into the motor vehicle.

[0016] Preferably, the outer area of the motor vehicle is monitored continuously. In the context of the present disclosure, "continuously" means that the outer area of the motor vehicle is monitored in a periodically repeated sampling using the transmission of UWB pulses and the reception of impulse responses via the UWB antennas. Particularly preferably, in order to enable energy-saving monitoring, the temporal interval between samplings is a value within the millisecond range of 20 ms to 500 ms, particularly 20 ms to 100 ms.

[0017] In a preferred configuration, it is assumed that when the anti-theft protection and / or anti-destruction protection of the motor vehicle is activated, an alarm is output, the central lock of the motor vehicle is driven and controlled to lock the motor vehicle, and / or the sampling rate of the outer area of the motor vehicle by the wireless system is increased. The output of the alarm is preferably optical, for example by activating the headlights and / or interior lighting, acoustic, for example by operating the horn, or by playing an audio file, and / or by communication with the user of the motor vehicle stored in the memory unit of the motor vehicle via the communication interface of the motor vehicle, for example using an existing UWB antenna. The output of the alarm serves to intimidate potential thieves and warn the vehicle user. Also, if the driver forgets when leaving the motor vehicle, the vehicle doors are locked by driving and controlling the central lock. By increasing the sampling rate of the wireless system, the information density detected per unit time is increased to enhance the reliability of the received impulse response and reduce the occurrence of misinterpretation. Therefore, preferably, in relation to the situation, a higher sampling rate of the monitored outer area of the motor vehicle is set in the microsecond range, for example 10 μs to 1000 μs, preferably 100 μs to 500 μs.

[0018] In a further preferred configuration, it is assumed that the activation of the theft protection and / or vandalism protection of the motor vehicle is furthermore carried out on the premise that a person identified in the monitored outer area of the motor vehicle is standing or remaining in the boarding area or access area of the motor vehicle. What is common to conventional theft and vandalism situations is that, in order to commit the offense, the perpetrator stands or remains at least for a short time, for example, to reach for an open vehicle door, rear flap or open window, to pick the vehicle lock of the driver's side door, or to force it open, etc. In this regard, it is meaningful to activate the theft protection and / or vandalism protection in relation to the behavior of the identified person, thereby reducing the number of false activations of the theft protection and / or vandalism protection. The boarding area of the motor vehicle substantially forms a conventional vehicle door, while on the other hand, the access area relates to the window area, bonnet or rear flap or trunk lid flap, etc.

[0019] In a further preferred configuration, it is assumed that the operation of the vehicle theft protection and / or vandalism protection is further carried out on the premise that a specific person is not an authenticated person. This can reduce the number of misoperations of the theft protection and / or vandalism protection. The method of authenticating a person by a vehicle is basically known. For example, the authentication of a person is performed by receiving the authentication data of the person via a communication interface with the vehicle. As the communication technology, in particular, UWB communication via a UWB antenna is provided. In other words, based on UWB communication, a person approaching the vehicle may be automatically authenticated based on a transponder or a mobile terminal carried by the person for communication with the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively, authentication can be performed using a biometric method. A biometric method is a method of automatically identifying a person based on physiological characteristics such as fingerprints, faces, iris patterns, etc., or based on behavioral patterns such as voice, movement, signature, etc. For this purpose, the partial area of the human body required for the biometric method used is sampled. This sampling is performed, for example, using a camera and / or a microphone of the vehicle. Furthermore, the UWB antenna can be used for the purpose of realizing gesture control for an authenticated person.

[0020] In a further preferred configuration, it is assumed that the monitoring of the outer area of the vehicle with respect to a person is further carried out in relation to the closed state of the vehicle door. The closed state indicates whether the vehicle door is open or closed. Since the user of the vehicle basically closes the vehicle door after stopping the vehicle and leaving the vehicle or after boarding the vehicle, it is meaningful to selectively link the start of the monitoring of the outer area, that is, when the vehicle door is closed, to this situation. Thus, the energy consumption of the monitoring can be reduced. In recent vehicles, the closed state of the door is transmitted to the in-vehicle computer of the vehicle via the sensor signal of a (acceleration) sensor in the door. Therefore, in recent vehicles, information regarding the closed state of the vehicle door basically exists and can be utilized for the method according to the present invention. However, additionally or alternatively, the closed state of the door can also be determined from the received impulse response of the UWB sensor. Thereby, for example, sensors in the door can be omitted.

[0021] In a further preferred configuration, based on the result of the received impulse response, the number of persons in the motor vehicle is determined, and it is assumed that the monitoring of the outer area of the motor vehicle with respect to persons is carried out on the premise that there are no persons in the motor vehicle. For example, persons can be identified by comparing the received impulse response with a reference impulse response. In this case, the reference impulse response is the impulse response of an empty motor vehicle, i.e., a motor vehicle without persons in the interior space. Here, from the differences that occur between the received impulse response and the reference impulse response, changes in the interior space, such as added or displaced objects and / or persons, can be identified. To distinguish persons from (large) objects, the movement of a person, such as breathing or the beating of the heart, and thus the vital parameters of the person, can be identified over time from the received impulse response. Thus, when it is determined that there are no persons in the motor vehicle, the monitoring of the outer area of the motor vehicle with respect to persons is started or continued. This reflects the fact that criminals usually choose an empty vehicle to commit a crime. Thus, the energy consumption of the monitoring can be reduced. Additionally or alternatively, the occupancy state of the motor vehicle can be determined using conventional sensors such as pressure sensors in the seats or in-vehicle cameras, and used to start or continue the monitoring of the outer area of the motor vehicle.

[0022] In a further preferred configuration, based on the result of the received impulse response, it is determined whether one person or all persons identified inside the vehicle are children or animals, and it is assumed that an alarm is output when only one or more children or only animals are present inside the vehicle. Preferably, the alarm is output only after the vehicle door is locked. Thus, when one or more identified children or animals are clearly left inside the vehicle and confined, the vehicle outputs a warning to enable a child protection function or an animal protection function. Animals, especially dogs, cats, etc., generate an impulse response similar to that of children, so such discrimination is partially difficult. However, this is not a problem. Because neither animals nor children can usually open the vehicle door, and therefore, in particular, they must be protected so as not to be left alone inside the vehicle.

[0023] In a further preferred configuration, based on the result of the received impulse response, the seat occupancy state of the vehicle is determined, and it is assumed that in-vehicle space monitoring is performed in relation to the determined seat occupancy state. In other words, in-vehicle space monitoring is performed when at least one person (or one animal) is identified in the in-vehicle space of the vehicle. The in-vehicle space monitoring preferably integrates a number of functions such as seat belt warnings, airbag control, driver fatigue identification, identification of the breathing frequency and / or heart rate of persons inside the vehicle for the identification of emergency events, misuse identification, and / or the like. Misuse occurs, for example, when a desired function with similar behavior is identified, such as when an object moves inside the vehicle or is detected as deviated from the reference impulse response.

[0024] In a further preferred configuration, the driving control of the wireless system is further performed using the first UWB antenna and the second UWB antenna to implement a method based on channel impulse response (CIR) measurement, and the monitoring of the outer area of the vehicle with respect to a person is further assumed to be performed based on the result of the CIR measurement. Additionally or alternatively, the functions realized based on the received impulse response described herein can be performed using CIR measurement.

[0025] Advantageously, it is possible to spatially resolve and sample the surroundings using CIR measurement with (at least) two UWB antennas. By transmitting a plurality of UWB pulses through one of these antennas and based on the impulse responses received by the other antenna, changes in the surroundings, such as newly existing objects within the area to be sampled, can be visualized spatially and temporally by comparing the temporally shifted impulse responses. In this way, the detection of objects entering the area to be sampled can be reliably performed. In particular, the use of CIR measurement for sampling the surroundings, particularly preferably at a constant and / or repetitive rate, enables the corresponding monitoring of the area to be sampled here. Preferably, the UWB antennas are alternately driven for impulse response reception and CIR measurement execution. The combination of both UWB technologies increases the reliability of the sampling performed by the wireless system, thereby reducing the occurrence of misinterpretation. Therefore, the quality of the monitoring and the occurrence of false operations in vehicle anti-theft protection and / or anti-destruction protection can be improved.

[0026] CIR measurement involves, for example, transmitting a predefined signal or signal packet (so-called telegram) between (at least) two UWB antennas. In addition to the direct propagation path of the signal or signal packet between the UWB antennas, there are a number of additional propagation paths, including reflections from objects in the inner or outer regions of the vehicle. Based on a sufficient number of UWB antennas and / or an advantageous arrangement, these propagation paths make it possible to cover a large part of the space, such as a large part of the interior space of the vehicle and / or the exterior area. Of course, CIR measurements can be performed between a number of UWB antennas, thereby sampling the corresponding area, particularly the interior space and / or the exterior area of the vehicle, in relation to the arrangement of the UWB antennas. Similar to the above-described method of the received impulse response, CIR measurements can identify one or more persons in the vehicle with the accuracy or granularity at which the seat is identified. Similarly, from the CIR measurements, the movement of the person, particularly the chest movement of the person's breathing and / or heartbeat, can be resolved.

[0027] A further aspect includes a motor vehicle comprising a wireless system and a control unit connected to the wireless system. The wireless system includes a transceiver having a first UWB antenna and a second UWB antenna. The UWB antennas are further configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth wireless signals, and the wireless system is further configured to establish Bluetooth communication. The control unit is configured to implement the method described herein. The features described together with this method and their advantages can similarly be realized by the motor vehicle and are thus arbitrarily combinable with each other.

[0028] The above-described control unit of the motor vehicle is preferably implemented by electrical or electronic components or parts (hardware) or by firmware (ASIC). Additionally or alternatively, the functionality of the control unit is realized upon execution of an appropriate program (software). Similarly preferably, the control unit is realized by a combination of hardware, firmware, and / or software. For example, the individual components of the control unit are configured as separately integrated circuits or arranged on one common integrated circuit to provide individual functionality.

[0029] More preferably, the individual components of the control unit are executed on one or more processors in one or more electronic computing devices and are configured as one or more processes generated upon execution of one or more computer programs. Here, these computing devices are preferably configured to cooperate with other components, such as a central lock, a motor controller, etc., to realize the functionality described herein. The instructions of the computer program are preferably stored in a memory, such as a RAM element, in this case. However, the computer program may also be stored in a non-volatile memory medium, such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or the like.

[0030] It is also clear to those skilled in the art that it is possible to combine the functionality of multiple computing units (data processing devices) or combine them into a single device, or that the functionality of a particular data processing device can be distributed among multiple devices to realize the functionality of the control unit.

[0031] A further aspect of the present invention relates to a computer program which comprises instructions which, when executed by a control unit of a motor vehicle having a radio system with a transceiver comprising a first UWB antenna and a second UWB antenna, for example, cause the computer to implement the method according to the invention, in particular a method for monitoring a motor vehicle.

[0032] Further preferred configurations of the invention result from the other features described in the dependent claims.

[0033] The various different embodiments of the invention referred to in the present application can be preferably combined with each other in individual cases, unless otherwise specified.

[0034] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in examples.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0035]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

[0036] FIGS. 1 and 2 show schematic views of a motor vehicle 10 according to two embodiments each comprising six UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. While referring to FIG. 3, a method for monitoring the motor vehicle 10 according to an embodiment will be described in more detail.

[0037] Automobile 10 includes a wireless system with a transceiver having first to sixth UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and a control unit 12 connected to this wireless system. The control unit 12 is configured to implement the method described in connection with FIG. 3 in particular. Five of the six UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are distributed to five doors of the automobile 10, and the sixth UWB antenna 24 is arranged in the area of the inner rearview mirror of the automobile 10. More precisely, the first UWB antenna 14 is arranged in the front passenger side door, the second UWB antenna 16 is arranged in the door behind the front passenger side door, the third UWB antenna 18 is arranged in the rear flap, the fourth UWB antenna 20 is arranged in the door behind the driver's side door, and the fifth UWB antenna 22 is arranged in the driver's side door. The number and arrangement of the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are merely exemplary in nature and for the purpose of better understanding. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the shown arrangement and number of the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. Furthermore, the UWB antennas already incorporated in the automobile 10 can be utilized. Recent vehicles partially have UWB antennas, and these UWB antennas are incorporated in the automobile 10 for the purpose of keyless access. Therefore, the already incorporated UWB antennas can be used multifunctionally, and costs can be saved.

[0038] In FIG. 1, the circles around the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 drawn with dashed lines represent the exemplary reach distances of the respective UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 when they are each driven and controlled for the transmission of UWB pulses and the reception of impulse responses. The reach distance of each UWB antenna 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, in other words, the radius of the exemplary circles drawn, is 1 meter. Basically, good results are obtained for reach distances in the range of 0.1 meter to 1.5 meters. It is intuitively shown that the interior space of the motor vehicle 10 is completely covered and the outer area 26 of the motor vehicle 10 is at least partially covered using the six exemplary UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 arranged. The coverage of the exterior space 26 includes, in particular, the boarding area and the access area of the motor vehicle 10, that is, substantially the area in front of the vehicle doors and the trunk lid flap. The reach distances of the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 can also be adjusted to be larger (or smaller), whereby, for example, it is obvious that the entire vehicle cover can be covered by the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and thereby, for example, damage due to destruction of the entire vehicle cover can be monitored.

[0039] The embodiment of the vehicle 10 according to FIG. 2 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 only in that the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are not driven and controlled for the transmission of UWB pulses and the reception of individual impulse responses, but rather are driven and controlled to perform CIR measurements. The arrows indicate some of the possible direct propagation paths between the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. It should be noted that not all of the possible direct propagation paths between the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are reproduced for clarity. In other words, it is clear that CIR measurements can be performed between other, particularly all of the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 along the propagation paths between each UWB antenna 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 to obtain information about people and objects. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, it is not the case that the outer region 26 of the vehicle 10 cannot be sampled by CIR measurements. Rather, since the UWB pulses of the individual UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are transmitted in all spatial directions, the influence of the outer region 26 also deflects the UWB pulses from their geometrically defined paths, for example, by refraction, diffraction, reflection or attenuation, and thus they are received by another, particularly adjacent UWB antenna 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. Therefore, people in the outer region 26 of the vehicle 10 can also be monitored by CIR measurements.

[0040] The UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 can be driven and controlled not only according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 or the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, but rather the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 can each be alternately driven and controlled according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The combination of the two UWB technologies (received impulse response and CIR measurement) enhances the reliability of the sampling performed by the wireless system, thereby further reducing the occurrence of misinterpretation.

[0041] Automobile 10 further includes a control unit 12 and a communication interface connected to a wireless system. Each of the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 is preferably arranged within a housing having a display. The display and the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are preferably arranged above the metal structure of the automobile 10, for example above the vehicle door and behind the vehicle window glass. This has the advantage that the display can be seen from the outside and the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 have a better reach in the outer region 26 of the automobile 10.

[0042] In some embodiments, the automobile 10 further includes one or more acceleration sensors. By means of the acceleration sensors, for example, the closed state of the vehicle door or destructive activities in the automobile 10, especially in regions not covered by UWB measurements, can be detected. The UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are preferably further configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth wireless signals. In this case, the wireless system can be driven and controlled to establish UWB communication or Bluetooth communication with communication means present around the vehicle, such as a transponder or a mobile terminal of the user of the automobile 10. The Bluetooth communication is preferably carried out in a known frequency band of 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz. Preferably, Bluetooth-Low-Energy wireless technology is assumed. By using this communication, authentication data of the user of the automobile 10 can be transmitted to the automobile 10. Furthermore, the distance and relative position of the user with respect to the automobile 10 can be determined by means of time-of-flight measurement.

[0043] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a method for monitoring the automobile 10 according to an embodiment. In a first method step 50, the closed state of the vehicle door is inspected. This is done, for example, using an acceleration sensor incorporated in the vehicle door. After the inspection has shown that all vehicle doors are closed, a second method step 52 is executed.

[0044] In the second method step, the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are alternately driven and controlled for transmitting UWB pulses and receiving impulse responses and for performing CIR measurements. Based on the results of the received impulse responses and the results of the CIR measurements, the number of persons in the motor vehicle 10 is determined. This is preferably done using a comparison of the received impulse response with a reference impulse response of the empty motor vehicle 10 stored in the memory of the motor vehicle 10, and further using a comparison of the CIR measurement with a reference CIR measurement of the empty motor vehicle 10 stored in the memory of the motor vehicle 10. If this comparison shows that the difference should be attributed to a displaced static object in the motor vehicle 10 rather than a person, the last impulse response is stored in the memory as a new reference impulse response and the last CIR measurement is stored in the memory as a new reference CIR measurement.

[0045] In the second method step 52, if it is determined that there are no persons in the motor vehicle 10, a third method step 54 is performed. In the third method step 54, the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are alternately driven and controlled for transmitting UWB pulses and receiving impulse responses and for performing CIR measurements.

[0046] In the fourth method step 56, the outer region 26 of the motor vehicle 10 is monitored based on the results of the received impulse responses and the results of the CIR measurements for persons. If the fourth method step 56 shows that there are no persons in the monitored outer region 26 of the motor vehicle 10, the method returns to the third method step 54.

[0047] In contrast, if it is identified that there is a person in the monitored outer region 26 of the motor vehicle 10, it is checked whether this person is authenticated. For this purpose, for example, it is checked whether authentication data of the identified person has been transmitted to the motor vehicle 10 using UWB communication or Bluetooth communication (fifth method step 58). If so, the method returns to the third method step 54.

[0048] In contrast, if the fifth method step 58 shows that there is no authentication data for the identified person, the theft protection and vandalism protection of the motor vehicle 10 are activated (sixth method step 60). For this purpose, an alarm is output to the authenticated user of the motor vehicle 10 using the communication interface of the motor vehicle 10, and it is checked whether the vehicle doors are locked. If they are not locked, the central lock is driven and controlled to lock the vehicle doors.

[0049] When the theft protection and vandalism protection of the motor vehicle 10 are activated, the third method step 54 is repeated at 20 ms time intervals to check whether the identified person has left the monitored outer area 26 of the motor vehicle 10 or whether another person has entered the outer area 26. If it is identified that the closed state of the vehicle doors has changed when the theft protection and vandalism protection are activated, the method returns to the first method step 50.

[0050] If the second method step 52 indicates that at least one person has been identified inside the motor vehicle 10, the seventh method step 62 is executed. In the seventh method step 62, the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 are alternately driven and controlled for transmitting UWB pulses and receiving impulse responses and for performing CIR measurements, and it is checked from the results of the received impulse responses and the results of the CIR measurements whether the person identified inside the motor vehicle 10 is a child or an animal.

[0051] If it is not a child or an animal, the eighth method step 64 is executed. Here, based on the result of the received impulse response and the result of the CIR measurement, the seat occupancy state of the vehicle 10 is identified, and in relation to the identified seat occupancy state, in-vehicle space monitoring is executed. The in-vehicle space monitoring is performed by alternately driving and controlling the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 for the transmission of UWB pulses and the reception of impulse responses and for the execution of CIR measurements. In the in-vehicle space monitoring, various different functions such as safety belt warnings, airbag control, driver fatigue identification, identification of the breathing frequency and / or heart rate of the people in the vehicle for the identification of emergencies, gesture identification for gesture control, misuse identification and / or the like are executed. Since the above-described functions can be realized using the UWB antennas 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and the corresponding evaluation, a number of components that would be required to satisfy various different functions, such as various different sensors and control devices, can be omitted. In particular, ultrasonic sensors, tilt sensors and their control devices for sampling the in-vehicle space of the vehicle 10 are omitted. Further, a seat occupancy mat or seat occupancy sensor for identifying the seat occupancy state and additional control devices for controlling the safety belt warning and the airbag are unnecessary. Also, a normal radar sensor, for example, a 70 GHz radar sensor can be omitted when identifying a child. When it is identified that the closed state of the vehicle door has changed while the in-vehicle space monitoring is being operated, this method returns to the first method step 50.

[0052] On the other hand, by the seventh method step 62, if it is shown that this person is a child or an animal staying alone in the vehicle 10, the ninth method step 66 is executed. Here, an alarm with the information that a child or an animal has been left in the vehicle 10 is output to the user of the vehicle 10 stored in the memory using the communication interface of the vehicle 10. When the closed state of the vehicle door changes, this method returns to the first method step 50.

Description of reference numerals

[0053] 10 Automobile 12 Control unit 14 First UWB antenna 16 Second UWB antenna 18 Third UWB antenna 20 Fourth UWB antenna 22 Fifth UWB antenna 24 Sixth UWB antenna 26 Outer area of the automobile 50 First method step 52 Second method step 54 Third method step 56 Fourth method step 58 Fifth method step 60 Sixth method step 62 Seventh method step 64 Eighth method step 66 Ninth method step

Claims

1. A method for monitoring an automobile (10), wherein the automobile (10) has a wireless system with a transceiver having a first UWB antenna (14) and a second UWB antenna (16), and a control unit (12) connected to the wireless system, the UWB antennas (14, 16) are further configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth wireless signals, and the wireless system is further configured to establish Bluetooth communication, the wireless system is further configured to transmit authentication data by Bluetooth communication using at least one of the two UWB antennas (14, 16), the method comprising: - driving and controlling the wireless system to transmit UWB pulses and receive impulse responses using at least one of the two UWB antennas (14, 16); - monitoring an outer area (26) of the automobile (10) with respect to a person based on the result of the received impulse response; - operating the anti-theft protection and / or anti-destruction protection of the automobile (10) on the premise that a person is identified within the monitored outer area (26) of the automobile (10) and the identified person is not the person authenticated by the authentication data, including, the operation of the anti-theft protection and / or the anti-destruction protection of the automobile (10) comprising: driving and controlling a central lock of the automobile (10) to lock the key of the automobile (10), and / or increasing a sampling rate of the outer area (26) of the automobile (10) by the wireless system, including, a method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the theft protection and / or the vandalism protection of the motor vehicle (10) further comprises the step of outputting an alarm.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the theft protection and / or the vandalism protection of the motor vehicle (10) is further performed on the premise that a person identified in the outer area (26) of the motor vehicle (10) is standing or staying in the passenger area or the access area of the motor vehicle (10).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the outer area (26) of the motor vehicle (10) with respect to a person is further performed in relation to the closed state of the doors of the motor vehicle (10).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein based on the result of the received impulse response, the number of persons in the motor vehicle (10) is identified, and the monitoring of the outer area (26) of the motor vehicle (10) with respect to a person is performed on the premise that there is no person in the motor vehicle (10).

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein based on the result of the received impulse response, it is identified whether one or all of the persons identified in the motor vehicle (10) are children or animals, and when only one or more children or only animals are present in the motor vehicle (10), an alarm is output.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein based on the result of the received impulse response, the seat occupancy state of the motor vehicle (10) is identified, and in relation to the identified seat occupancy state, the monitoring of the interior space of the vehicle is performed.

8. Furthermore, the drive control of the wireless system is performed so as to implement a method based on channel impulse response (CIR) measurement using the first UWB antenna (14) and the second UWB antenna (16), and the monitoring of the outer area (26) of the motor vehicle (10) with respect to a person is further performed based on the result of the CIR measurement.

9. An automobile (10), wherein the automobile (10) ・ has a wireless system, the wireless system including a transceiver having a first UWB antenna (14) and a second UWB antenna (16), the UWB antennas (14, 16) being further configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth wireless signals, and the wireless system being further configured to establish Bluetooth communication, ・ has a control unit (12) connected to the wireless system, the control unit (12) being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, An automobile (10).

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