Method and device for operating a vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10407008-B2
Application number	US-201515534067-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2015
Priority date	Dec 9, 2014
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

A method for operating a vehicle in at least one parking process situation involves allocating at least one predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function to the at least one predetermined parking process situation of the vehicle. Whether the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation is determined and the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation is presented to a vehicle user for activation or automatically activated when the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for operating a vehicle in a parking process situation, the method comprising:
allocating a predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function to at least one predetermined parking process situation of the vehicle;
determining whether the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation, and
when the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation
presenting the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation to a vehicle user for activation, or
automatically activating the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation,

wherein one of the functions allocated to the predetermined parking process situation as the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function is activating a locking device of a parking space and at least one of the following additional functions is allocated to the predetermined parking process situation:
activating a heating device, climate control device, or ventilating device of the vehicle,
activating a lighting device of the vehicle or activating a delay of the deactivation of the lighting device,
activating a parking heater of the vehicle or setting a parameter of the parking heater,
activating a covering mechanism of the vehicle,
activating a setting mechanism of a window element of the vehicle,
activating a predetermined seat setting of a vehicle seat of the vehicle, and
activating a predetermined mirror setting of a rear-view mirror of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the allocation of the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process-specific function to the at least one predetermined parking process situation of the vehicle performed in a training process, wherein the training process comprises at least one of the following steps:
storing the at least one predetermined parking process situation and the at least one activation of the vehicle-specific or parking process-specific function carried out in the at least one predetermined parking process situation in a learning mode activated by a vehicle user,
storing the at least one predetermined parking process situation occurring several times and the one predetermined activation of a vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function carried out in every parking process situation that occurs, and
predetermining the at least one predetermined parking process situation and the one allocated predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function and storing these predeterminations.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more parameters of the one vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function used most frequently in the past in the at least one predetermined parking process situation is presented to the vehicle user for activation when the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation is activated after confirmation by a vehicle user.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one predetermined parking process situation comprises at least one or more of the following criteria:
position of the vehicle,
time point or time period of the at least one predetermined parking process situation,
vehicle user identification,
position of a vehicle user,
current or predicted weather information,
vehicle surroundings information, and
parking trajectories.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the following is allocated as the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process-specific function of the at least one predetermined parking process situation:
setting a predetermined parameter of a drive train component or a brake device of the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a wireless data transfer connection is used to detect the at least one predetermined parking process situation or to activate the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein when a plurality of available wireless data transfer connections are available for the at least one predetermined parking process situation, the data transfer connection most suited to the predetermined parking process situation is used.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific functions are allocated to the predetermined parking process situation of the vehicle in such a way that, when the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation, some of the plurality of predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific functions are presented to the vehicle user for activation during a course of the predetermined parking process situation in several steps one after another or are automatically activated.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the following functions are allocated to the predetermined parking process situation as the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function in addition to the at least two functions:
activating a locking system of the vehicle; and
activating or deactivating a prepared state of the vehicle.

11. A device, configured to:
allocate a predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function to at least one predetermined parking process situation of the vehicle;
determine whether the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation, and
when the vehicle is in the at least one predetermined parking process situation
present the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation to a vehicle user for activation, or
automatically activate the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function allocated to the at least one predetermined parking process situation,

wherein one of the functions allocated to the predetermined parking process situation as the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function is activating a locking device of a parking space and at least one of the following additional functions is allocated to the predetermined parking process situation:
activating a heating device, climate control device, or ventilating device of the vehicle,
activating a lighting device of the vehicle or activating a delay of the deactivation of the lighting device,
activating a parking heater of the vehicle or setting a parameter of the parking heater,
activating a covering mechanism of the vehicle,
activating a setting mechanism of a window element of the vehicle,
activating a predetermined seat setting of a vehicle seat of the vehicle, and
activating a predetermined mirror setting of a rear-view mirror of the vehicle.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein one or more of the following functions are allocated to the predetermined parking process situation as the predetermined vehicle-specific or parking process situation-specific function in addition to the at least two functions:
activating a locking system of the vehicle; and
activating or deactivating a prepared state of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Daimler Ag

Inventors

• Bonnet Christophe
• Hiller Andreas
• Kuenzel Gerhard
• Moser Martin
• Schiemenz Heiko

Classifications

• B62D1/02 Primary

  vehicle-mounted · CPC title

• B62D15/027

  Parking aids, e.g. instruction means · CPC title

• B62D15/0285

  Parking performed automatically · CPC title

• B60J7/1204

  Control devices, e.g. for compensating tolerances, for defining movement or end position of top, for tensioning the top or for switching to an emergency mode · CPC title

• B60H1/00778

  the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping · CPC title