Positioning with a radio-based locking system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9849798-B2
Application number	US-201514615656-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2015
Priority date	Aug 9, 2012
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

An access control device of a vehicle is configured to detect the spatial position of the access element of the vehicle safety unit relative to the vehicle via electromagnetically detecting the distances and angles between several low-frequency transmitting antennas of the vehicle safety unit and the low-frequency receiver of the access element. The access control device is also configured to detect the location position of an external induction charging unit relative to the vehicle via electromagnetically measuring the distance and angle between at least two transmitting antennas of several low-frequency transmitting antennas and at least one receiving antenna of the induction charging unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a vehicle-external induction charging unit comprising a primary coil and a low-frequency receiving antenna; and
a vehicle comprising:
a secondary coil configured for inductive charging of the vehicle at the induction charging unit via the primary coil,
an automatic radio-based vehicle safety unit having at least two low-frequency transmitting antennas, and
an access control device configured to:
detect the spatial position of an access element relative to the vehicle based on the principle of electromagnetic distance and angle measuring between the transmitting antennas and a low-frequency receiver of the access element, and
detect the location position of the induction charging unit relative to the vehicle based on the principle of electromagnetic distance and angle measuring between the transmitting antennas and the receiving antenna,

wherein the access element is wirelessly coupled to the vehicle safety unit and is configured to permit user access to the vehicle when in the vicinity of the vehicle.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein
for the inductive charging, the secondary coil takes up a charging position, which is situated in a preferred spatial position area of the secondary coil with respect to the primary coil, and
for establishing the charging position, the system detects a travel trajectory by means of the location position and the charging position, along which travel trajectory the charging position is taken up by the secondary coil.

3. The system according to claim 2 , wherein
the access control device drives the at least two transmitting antennas,
the access control device comprises a first high-frequency communication unit,
the induction charging unit has an induction control device,
the induction control device comprises a second high-frequency communication unit,
the induction control device is assigned to the at least one receiving antenna as a measuring unit of the electromagnetic distance and angle measuring, and measures the induction signals of the at least one receiving antenna,
the induction signals are transmitted from the induction control device to the access control device, and
the access control device as the arithmetic unit detects the location position by triangulation by means of the induction signals.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein
the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects the travel trajectory by means of the location position, and
the vehicle automatically carries out a driving maneuver corresponding to the travel trajectory, or the vehicle outputs a driving maneuver corresponding to the travel trajectory to the driver of the vehicle by way of a suitable human-machine interface.

5. A method carried out by the system according to claim 3 , wherein the method comprises the acts of:
a) the first high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded search signal,
b) the induction control device receives the search signal and the second high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded confirmation signal to the access control device,
c) the access control device and the induction control device carry out an initialization routine between the at least two transmitting antennas and the at least two receiving antennas,
d) the at least two transmitting antennas emit a coded electromagnetic positioning signal, with respect to the vehicle coordinate system, the magnetic fraction of the positioning signal having a specified field orientation and a specific field intensity,
e) the at least one receiving antenna receives the at least two positioning signals of the at least two transmitting antennas, and the induction control device measures a magnetic field vector for each positioning signal, which magnetic field vector is unambiguously assigned to one of the at least two transmitting antennas by the coding of the positioning signal,
f) the induction control device transmits the magnetic field vector to the access control device,
g) according to the triangulation method, the access control device calculates the local position of the transmitting antennas with respect to the receiving antennas, which unambiguously describes the location position,
h) the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects a travel trajectory, along which the charging position can be are taken up by the secondary coil.

6. A method carried out by the system according to claim 4 , wherein the method comprises the acts of:
a) the first high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded search signal,
b) the induction control device receives the search signal and the second high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded confirmation signal to the access control device,
c) the access control device and the induction control device carry out an initialization routine between the at least two transmitting antennas and the at least two receiving antennas,
d) the at least two transmitting antennas emit a coded electromagnetic positioning signal, with respect to the vehicle coordinate system, the magnetic fraction of the positioning signal having a specified field orientation and a specific field intensity,
e) the at least one receiving antenna receives the at least two positioning signals of the at least two transmitting antennas, and the induction control device measures a magnetic field vector for each positioning signal, which magnetic field vector is unambiguously assigned to one of the at least two transmitting antennas by the coding of the positioning signal,
f) the induction control device transmits the magnetic field vector to the access control device,
g) according to the triangulation method, the access control device calculates the local position of the transmitting antennas with respect to the receiving antennas, which unambiguously describes the location position,
h) the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects a travel trajectory, along which the charging position can be are taken up by the secondary coil.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein
during a driving maneuver of the vehicle, acts d) to h) are repeated in real time in order to update the travel trajectory,
when reaching the charging position, the updated travel trajectory will describe a stopping maneuver.

8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein
during a driving maneuver of the vehicle, acts d) to h) are repeated in real time in order to update the travel trajectory,
when reaching the charging position, the updated travel trajectory will describe a stopping maneuver.

Assignees

• Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag

Inventors

• Barbul Andreas
• Krammer Josef
• Berger Jens
• Wagatha Helmut

Classifications

• B60L2240/62

  Vehicle position · CPC title

• G01S13/825

  with exchange of information between interrogator and responder · CPC title

• B60R25/245 Primary

  where the antenna reception area plays a role · CPC title

• G01S13/788

  Coders or decoders therefor; Special detection circuits · CPC title

• G01S13/765

  with exchange of information between interrogator and responder · CPC title