Method and system for detecting a relative position of a mobile terminal device with respect to a vehicle

• US 10,295,343 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: Brueckner, Claus-Peter, Bartels, Bastian
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US15/633,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20170370712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/16 for measuring distance of clearance between spaced objects
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02526 using non-dedicated equipment, e.g. user equipment or crowd-sourcing

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of detecting a relative position of a mobile terminal device with respect to a vehicle.

It is provided for the method to include the following steps: generating reference measurement values relating to a predefined relative position of a calibration device with respect to a calibration vehicle, generating position measurement values which relate to the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle, evaluating the reference measurement values and the position measurement values for detecting the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle, and storing the generated reference measurement values in a database, wherein the database is a database outside the vehicle which the vehicle may access by means of a communication connection.

The invention is based on the object to provide a possibility to minimize deviations in the detection of the relative positions of different mobile terminal devices with respect to a vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a relative position of a mobile terminal device with respect to a vehicle, comprising the following steps:

generating reference measurement values which relate to a predefined relative position of a calibration device with respect to a calibration vehicle;

generating position measurement values which relate to the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle;

evaluating the reference measurement values and the position measurement values for detecting the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle; and

storing the generated reference measurement values in a database, wherein the database is a database outside the vehicle which the vehicle may access by means of a communication connection.

2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the mobile terminal device is used as a calibration device and/or the vehicle is used as a calibration vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, characterized in that a reference device structurally identical to the mobile terminal device is used as the calibration device and/or that a reference vehicle structurally identical to the vehicle is used as the calibration vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, characterized by the following step:

retrieving the generated reference measurement values from the database by the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, characterized in that generating the reference measurement values and/or storing the reference measurement values is done by the manufacturer of the vehicle and/or by a user of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, characterized in that generating the reference measurement values which relate to a predefined relative position of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle further includes:

positioning the calibration device in a predefined calibration position within the calibration vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, characterized in that generating the reference measurement values which relate to a predefined relative position of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle further includes at least one of the following steps:

repeatedly detecting the predefined relative position of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle;

or

averaging the measurement values detected by repeatedly detecting the relative position of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, characterized by the following step:

generating reference measurement values relating to several predefined relative positions of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, characterized in that generating the reference measurement values which relate to a predefined relative position of the calibration device with respect to the calibration vehicle further includes at least one of the following steps:

operating a man-machine interface of the calibration device;

or

operating a man-machine interface of the calibration vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1, characterized by the step of:

generating reference measurement values relating to vehicle-specific parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, characterized in that the vehicle-specific parameters relate to the arrangement and/or implementation of one or several antennas, the chassis shape and/or the chassis materials of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, characterized by at least one of the following steps:

validating the generated reference measurement values by the generated position measurement values;

adjusting the generated reference measurement values by the generated position measurement values;

or

replacing the generated reference measurement values by the generated position measurement values.

13. A system for detecting a relative position of a mobile terminal device with respect to a vehicle, comprising:

a mobile terminal device; and

a vehicle comprising an evaluation device,

wherein the system is configured to detect a relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle, the system being configured to;

generate reference measurement values which relate to a predefined relative position of a calibration device with respect to a calibration vehicle;

generate position measurement values which relate to the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle;

evaluate the reference measurement values and the position measurement values for detection of the current relative position of the mobile terminal device with respect to the vehicle; and

store the generated reference measurement values in a database, wherein the database is a database outside the vehicle which the vehicle may access by means of a communication connection.