Vehicle Millimeter-Wave Relay Device Dynamic Beam Tracking

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Millimeter wave communication in vehicle-to-vehicle and road-to-vehicle scenarios faces challenges due to the high directivity of millimeter waves, leading to unreliable radio wave transmission between wireless communication devices.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave communication device that dynamically adjusts its communication direction using an antenna unit capable of changing directivity, includes an acquisition unit for relay requests, a detection unit to predict communication partner directions, and a communication control unit that allocates longer communication times to detected directions, ensuring reliable relay by alternating communication times between partners.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a vehicle-mounted communication device relays communication between two wireless communication devices in millimeter wave communication, then communication relay is enabled, but radio waves do not reach the wireless communication device reliably due to high straightness of millimeter waves

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication relay reliabilityVSAvoidhigh straightness of millimeter waves
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies dynamics by making the communication direction changeable over time. The vehicle-mounted communication device temporally changes its communication direction to track and follow moving wireless communication devices, allowing reliable millimeter wave communication despite the high straightness (low diffraction) of millimeter waves. This dynamic adjustment enables the device to maintain line-of-sight communication with moving targets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback by detecting the position and movement of wireless communication devices and using this information to adjust the communication direction. The device acquires information about communication partners, detects their directions, and feeds this back into the communication control mechanism to continuously optimize the beam direction, ensuring reliable relay communication.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If communication time is increased for detected directions to improve relay reliability, then communication reliability improves, but communication resources are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverelay communication reliabilityVSAvoidcommunication resource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by allocating communication resources non-uniformly across different directions. Instead of distributing communication time equally to all directions, the device assigns longer communication times specifically to directions where wireless communication devices are detected, while using shorter communication times for other directions. This localized resource allocation improves relay reliability for active communication partners while conserving overall communication resources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple radio communication process sections are used to maintain connectivity with multiple partners, then connectivity is maintained, but costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconnectivity with multiple partnersVSAvoidnumber of radio communication process sections
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses dynamics by implementing temporal switching of communication directions rather than maintaining simultaneous communication in multiple directions with multiple radio communication process sections. The single radio communication process section dynamically changes its operating direction over time to serve different communication partners sequentially, achieving multi-partner connectivity without the cost and complexity of multiple concurrent communication sections.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3383077B1Vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave communication device and communication method
Publication Date: 2021.07.14 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
  • EP3383077B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3383077B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2C
  • EP3383077B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3D

AI summary

A vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave communication device includes: an acquisition unit for acquiring a relay request that requests relay of communication from a first communication partner, a detection unit for detecting directions of the first communication partner and a second communication partner that are viewed from the vehicle, and a communication control unit for performing control such that, in the case where the relay request is received from the first communication partner and it is possible to communicate with the second communication partner, communication, in which a communication time longer than a communication time set for another direction is set for each of the directions of the first communication partner and the second communication partner, is performed, and communication between the first communication partner and the second communication partner is relayed.