SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE COMPUTER USING A MOBILE TELEPHONE

• US 20150245198A1
• Filed: 09/18/2013
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Fliege, Ingmar
• Granted Patent: US 9,736,679 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/573 Mobile devices controlling vehicle functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/589 Wireless data transfers
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/595 Data transfer involving internal databases
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

A vehicle computer has a vehicle display and a vehicle input device, and a mobile telephone has a mobile telephone display and a mobile telephone input device. A method for controlling the vehicle computer using the mobile telephone has the following steps: an application is run on the mobile telephone; a control command for the vehicle is entered into the application by a user using the mobile telephone input device; a software library, which can be used by multiple applications, is operated by the application; the mobile telephone is connected to the vehicle computer via a local network connection using the software library, a software interface for the software library being implemented in the vehicle computer; the control command is transmitted to the software interface; and the control command is carried out by the vehicle computer.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for controlling a vehicle computer (12) of a vehicle (14) using a mobile telephone (16), the vehicle computer (12) having a vehicle display (18) and a vehicle input apparatus (20), and the mobile telephone (16) having a mobile telephone display (26) and a mobile telephone input apparatus (28), the method comprising:

the mobile telephone (16) executing an application (46);

the application (46) of the mobile telephone (16) receiving, via the mobile telephone input apparatus (28), a control command for the vehicle (14);

the application (46) implementing a software library (40) in the mobile telephone (16) usable by a plurality of applications;

the software library (40) connecting the mobile telephone (16) to a software interface (42) of the vehicle computer (12) using a local network connection (30), the software interface (42) being configured to implement in the vehicle computer (12) the software library (40) of the mobile telephone (16); and

the mobile phone (12) transmitting the control command to the software interface (42) for execution by the vehicle computer (12).

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

the control command transmitted by the mobile telephone (16) causing the software interface (42) to control an application (44) in the vehicle computer (12).

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

the control command transmitted by the mobile telephone (16) controlling an electronic device (24) in the vehicle by the software interface (42) accessing a vehicle bus system (22) to which the vehicle computer (12) is connected, the electronic device (24) being connected to the vehicle bus system (22).

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

retrieving diagnostic data from the electronic device (24) in the vehicle (14) via the software interface (42);

transmitting the diagnostic data from the software interface (42) to the software library (40) via the local network connection (30); and

the software library (40) providing the diagnostic data for the application (46).

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

the mobile telephone application (46) compiling user elements for a graphical user interface of the application (46);

the software library (40) retrieving configuration data relating to the vehicle computer (12) for the graphical representation of user elements used by the mobile telephone application (46) via the local network connection (30); and

the application (46) generating a graphical user interface on the basis of the configuration data.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising:

the software library (40) transmitting the compiled user elements to the software interface (42) of the vehicle computer (12);

displaying the graphical user interface of the application (46) on the vehicle display (18) with the compiled user elements, user elements being represented using the configuration data relating to the vehicle computer (12).

17. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

the software library (40) receiving user commands from the software interface (42) via the local network connection (30), the user commands having been input to the vehicle input apparatus (20); and

the software library (40) transmitting the received user commands to the mobile telephone application (46).

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program for controlling a vehicle (14), which, when executed on processors of a mobile telephone (16) and of a vehicle computer (12), carries out the steps of the method as claimed in claim 11.

19. A vehicle control system (10) comprising:

a mobile telephone (16); and

a vehicle computer (12);

the vehicle control system (10) being configured to carry out the method as claimed in claim 11.