Method for positioning and vehicle communication unit

• US 8,896,467 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2010
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Sthlin, Ulrich, Menzel, Marc, Zecha, Stephan, Scherf, Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Jack K
• Application Number:
  US13/376,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20120139761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,632 Days
• Field of Search: 340/989, 455/445, 342/455, 342/43, 342/36
• US Class Current: 340/989
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/781 Secondary Surveillance Radar [SSR] in general

Abstract

Methods and an appropriately setup communication unit for positioning in vehicle-to-surroundings communication are described, wherein the method involves a first sensor (S1) of a first communication subscriber using a transmission and reception unit to emit a challenge pulse, to which a transmission and reception unit of a second sensor (S2) of a second communication subscriber responds with a response pulse. The response pulse is received and evaluated by the first sensor (S1) and positioning is performed. In order to achieve reliable cooperative sensor communication, the transmission and reception units of the first and second sensors (S1, S2) use a frequency band (SCH2) which is reserved for vehicle-oriented safety applications.

Claims

1. A method for positioning in vehicle-to-surroundings communication, the method including:

controlling, by a first sensor of a first communication subscriber, a first transmission and reception unit to emit a challenge pulse including a first code;

receiving, by the first transmission and reception unit, a response pulse from a second transmission and reception unit controlled by a second sensor of a second communication subscriber, the response pulse including a second code and an identification number identifying the second sensor; and

evaluating, by a computation unit controlled by the first sensor, the response pulse to determine a position of the second sensor relative to a position of the first sensor, the transmission and reception units of the first and second sensors using a frequency band (SCH2) which is reserved for vehicle-oriented safety applications.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the IEEE 802.11p standard involves the use of service channel 2 (SCH2).

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the challenge pulse is provided with a PRN code for the first sensor and the response pulse is complemented by an identification number from the second sensor, wherein a distance between the first and the second sensor is ascertained from a propagation time of the challenge and response pulses.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a phase offset of the response pulse from the second sensor between individual antenna sections of a multifield antenna on the transmission and reception unit of the first sensor is ascertained in order to ascertain an angle between the first and second sensors.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission and reception units of the sensors are assigned a communication timeslot by means of an allocation method.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning derived from the challenge pulse from the first sensor and the response pulse from the second sensor as from cooperative sensor communication is associated with positioning from adhoc network communication.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the participants in the cooperative sensor communication and the adhoc network communication use a same identification identifier.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the data from the cooperative sensor communication and the adhoc network communication are associated during the execution of the adhoc network protocol stack.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein further information is also transmitted with the challenge and response pulses.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein dynamic and/or static data are transmitted cyclically as further information, with dynamic data being transmitted immediately in the event of a change.

11. A vehicle communication unit having a transmission and reception unit, a sensor and a computation unit, wherein the vehicle communication unit is set up to participate in adhoc network communication based on the ITS-G5 standard, wherein the computation unit is set up to carry out the method as claimed in claim 1.