Positioning with a radio-based locking system

• US 9,849,798 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Barbul, Andreas, Krammer, Josef, Berger, Jens, Wagatha, Helmut
• Primary Examiner(s): Berhanu, Samuel
• Application Number:
  US14/615,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20150175025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/62 Vehicle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/245 where the antenna reception area plays a role
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/46 Indirect determination of position data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/765 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/767 Responders; Transponders teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying using reflecting targets or active targets F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/787 co-operating with direction defining beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/788 Coders or decoders therefor; Special detection circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/825 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/466 by Trilateration, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the antennas or sensors, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/10 using induction coils
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3208 characterised by the application wherein the antenna is used
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3241 particular used in keyless entry systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 : Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• 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

Abstract

An access control device of a vehicle is configured to detect the spatial position of the access element of the vehicle safety unit relative to the vehicle via electromagnetically detecting the distances and angles between several low-frequency transmitting antennas of the vehicle safety unit and the low-frequency receiver of the access element. The access control device is also configured to detect the location position of an external induction charging unit relative to the vehicle via electromagnetically measuring the distance and angle between at least two transmitting antennas of several low-frequency transmitting antennas and at least one receiving antenna of the induction charging unit.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a vehicle-external induction charging unit comprising a primary coil and a low-frequency receiving antenna; and

a vehicle comprising;

a secondary coil configured for inductive charging of the vehicle at the induction charging unit via the primary coil,

an automatic radio-based vehicle safety unit having at least two low-frequency transmitting antennas, and

an access control device configured to;

detect the spatial position of an access element relative to the vehicle based on the principle of electromagnetic distance and angle measuring between the transmitting antennas and a low-frequency receiver of the access element, and

detect the location position of the induction charging unit relative to the vehicle based on the principle of electromagnetic distance and angle measuring between the transmitting antennas and the receiving antenna,

wherein the access element is wirelessly coupled to the vehicle safety unit and is configured to permit user access to the vehicle when in the vicinity of the vehicle.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein

for the inductive charging, the secondary coil takes up a charging position, which is situated in a preferred spatial position area of the secondary coil with respect to the primary coil, and

for establishing the charging position, the system detects a travel trajectory by means of the location position and the charging position, along which travel trajectory the charging position is taken up by the secondary coil.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein

the access control device drives the at least two transmitting antennas,

the access control device comprises a first high-frequency communication unit,

the induction charging unit has an induction control device,

the induction control device comprises a second high-frequency communication unit,

the induction control device is assigned to the at least one receiving antenna as a measuring unit of the electromagnetic distance and angle measuring, and measures the induction signals of the at least one receiving antenna,

the induction signals are transmitted from the induction control device to the access control device, and

the access control device as the arithmetic unit detects the location position by triangulation by means of the induction signals.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein

the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects the travel trajectory by means of the location position, and

the vehicle automatically carries out a driving maneuver corresponding to the travel trajectory, or the vehicle outputs a driving maneuver corresponding to the travel trajectory to the driver of the vehicle by way of a suitable human-machine interface.

5. A method carried out by the system according to claim 3, wherein the method comprises the acts of:

a) the first high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded search signal,

b) the induction control device receives the search signal and the second high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded confirmation signal to the access control device,

c) the access control device and the induction control device carry out an initialization routine between the at least two transmitting antennas and the at least two receiving antennas,

d) the at least two transmitting antennas emit a coded electromagnetic positioning signal, with respect to the vehicle coordinate system, the magnetic fraction of the positioning signal having a specified field orientation and a specific field intensity,

e) the at least one receiving antenna receives the at least two positioning signals of the at least two transmitting antennas, and the induction control device measures a magnetic field vector for each positioning signal, which magnetic field vector is unambiguously assigned to one of the at least two transmitting antennas by the coding of the positioning signal,

f) the induction control device transmits the magnetic field vector to the access control device,

g) according to the triangulation method, the access control device calculates the local position of the transmitting antennas with respect to the receiving antennas, which unambiguously describes the location position,

h) the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects a travel trajectory, along which the charging position can be are taken up by the secondary coil.

6. A method carried out by the system according to claim 4, wherein the method comprises the acts of:

a) the first high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded search signal,

b) the induction control device receives the search signal and the second high-frequency communication unit sends out a coded confirmation signal to the access control device,

c) the access control device and the induction control device carry out an initialization routine between the at least two transmitting antennas and the at least two receiving antennas,

d) the at least two transmitting antennas emit a coded electromagnetic positioning signal, with respect to the vehicle coordinate system, the magnetic fraction of the positioning signal having a specified field orientation and a specific field intensity,

e) the at least one receiving antenna receives the at least two positioning signals of the at least two transmitting antennas, and the induction control device measures a magnetic field vector for each positioning signal, which magnetic field vector is unambiguously assigned to one of the at least two transmitting antennas by the coding of the positioning signal,

f) the induction control device transmits the magnetic field vector to the access control device,

g) according to the triangulation method, the access control device calculates the local position of the transmitting antennas with respect to the receiving antennas, which unambiguously describes the location position,

h) the access control device or a further control device of the vehicle detects a travel trajectory, along which the charging position can be are taken up by the secondary coil.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein

during a driving maneuver of the vehicle, acts d) to h) are repeated in real time in order to update the travel trajectory,

when reaching the charging position, the updated travel trajectory will describe a stopping maneuver.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein

during a driving maneuver of the vehicle, acts d) to h) are repeated in real time in order to update the travel trajectory,

when reaching the charging position, the updated travel trajectory will describe a stopping maneuver.