Method for performing at least one computation process in a motor vehicle, and motor vehicle

• US 9,393,877 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2013
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Gnter, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOOMER, JEFFREY C
• Application Number:
  US14/398,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088352A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/625 by GSM
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/627 by WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A method for performing at least one computation process in a motor vehicle having an electric motor and an energy store associated therewith, wherein during a charging process for the energy store a communication link to at least one further motor vehicle that is in the charging process is set up, with computation devices of the connected motor vehicles being used as a distributed computer system for performing the computation process.

Claims

1. A method for performing at least one computation process in a motor vehicle having an electric motor and an energy store associated with the electric motor, the method comprising:

charging the energy store via a power supply line,

while the energy store is being charged, establishing a communication link via the power supply line between a computing device of the motor vehicle and a computing device of at least one other motor vehicle whose energy store is also being charged,

connecting the computing devices of the motor vehicles via the communication link to form a distributed computer system and distributing the at least one computation process among the computing devices of the motor vehicle and the at least one other motor vehicle,

performing the at least one computation process with the distributed computer system, and

further comprising the steps of evaluating measurement data with the computing device of the motor vehicle with a first accuracy during a trip of the motor vehicle, and subsequently post-processing the evaluated measurement data with the distributed computer system with a second accuracy that is greater than the first accuracy as part of the at least one computation process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link is established through modulation of information.

3. The method of claims 1, further comprising using a server different from the computing devices of the motor vehicle and the at least one other motor vehicle for forming the distributed computer system or controlling distributed computer system, or both.

4. The method of claim 3, and further, with the server, rendering data exchanged as part of the at least one computation process anonymous.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributed computer system only connects motor vehicles from a single manufacturer, or motor vehicles of a single type.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of pre-calculating with the at least one computation process with the distributed computer system data regarding a future trip of the motor vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one computation process uses data of several other motor vehicles.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one computation process performs updates of data of a navigation system or of measurement data forming the basis for calculating a driving range of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle is capable of traveling with a current electric charge of the energy store, or both, by taking into consideration data from the several other motor vehicles.