Control of an online service by means of a motor vehicle operator control device

• US 10,069,920 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2015
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Sellschopp, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US15/526,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20170324815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for controlling an online service outside the vehicle by using an operating device of a motor vehicle. The method includes determining an operating input performed by a user on the operating device and selecting one of several service functions of the online service depending on the operating input. This selection capability should be adapted to the vehicle type-dependent operating concept of the motor vehicle. The operating elements available on the operating device are determined and converter data, which contain a control instruction for controlling the selection of the service function depending on operation signals of the determined operating elements, are provided. The selection of the service function then takes place depending on the operating element operated during the operating input and depending on the converter data.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an online service using an operating device of a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

when a connection to a server device configured to provide a plurality of online services is being established, retrieving, from the server device, a generated list of the plurality of online services available on the server device and operable by the operating device of the motor vehicle, wherein the list is generated based on vehicle-specific identification data comprising;

equipment data that describes technical equipment of the motor vehicle and technical framework conditions of the motor vehicle;

retrieving, from the server device, the online service to be controlled by the motor vehicle based on an interface description of the online services;

determining vehicle-specific operating elements of the operating device of the motor vehicle;

retrieving, from the server device, vehicle-specific converter data comprising a control instruction for controlling a selection of a service function of the online service based on operation signals of the vehicle-specific operating elements, wherein the vehicle specific converter data is retrieved based on a vehicle type of the motor vehicle;

determining an operating input in response to a user input at the operating element of the operating device of the motor vehicle; and

selecting a service function of the online service based on the determined operating input at the operating element of the operating device and the vehicle-specific converter data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-specific converter data is retrieved from a presentation layer on the server device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-specific converter data is retrieved from the server device and wherein the vehicle-specific converter data is used to configure the operating device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operating device comprises a display unit configured to display an instruction for in-vehicle onboard services, and

wherein the vehicle-specific converter data comprises a corresponding display instruction for display elements of the online service.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

determining at least one graphical property of display elements of the in-vehicle onboard services based on the corresponding display instruction.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

blocking a transmission of the corresponding display instruction using a blocking mechanism, in response to a rejection input from a user at the operating device.

7. The method according claim 1, wherein the retrieved generated list is further generated based on user-specific identification data comprising authorization data that describes a user license of the online service.

8. The method according claim 1, wherein the vehicle-specific converter data and/or the online service are retrieved from the server device in a versioned manner.