Method and system for ascertaining a local information item for a vehicle

• US 9,972,210 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2011
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Aunkofer, Markus, Menzel, Marc, Sthlin, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): EUSTAQUIO, CAL J
• Application Number:
  US13/028,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20110227759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,645 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

A method and system for ascertaining at least one traffic-related local information item for a vehicle includes a reception device in a radio system to receive sent data from a radio system in at least one other vehicle in the vicinity of the one vehicle as defined by the reception range of the reception device. The reception device is configured for the vehicle-internal capture and evaluation of data for at least one operating variable from the one vehicle. The traffic-related local information item is ascertained from the received data from the other vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for ascertaining at least one traffic-related local information item for a first vehicle, comprising:

deactivating ID filtering in the first vehicle to receive signals with the IDs of other vehicles;

using a reception device of a first wireless tire pressure monitoring system of the first vehicle to receive data including the at least one traffic-related local information item that is transmitted from a tire pressure monitoring sensor transmitter in a second wireless tire pressure monitoring system in at least a second vehicle in a vicinity of the first vehicle defined by a reception range of the reception device, wherein the reception device in the first wireless tire pressure monitoring system is configured for vehicle-internal capture and evaluation of data from a plurality of sensor modules;

receiving by the reception device of the first tire pressure monitoring system tire pressure monitoring system data directly from tire pressure monitoring system sensors in the second vehicle;

determining from the received system tire pressure monitoring system data from tire pressure monitoring system sensors in the second vehicle a relative location of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle; and

ascertaining the at least one traffic-related local information item from the data received from the second radio system,

wherein the at least one traffic-related local information item is a vehicle density information item.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising forwarding at least one of the data and the traffic-related local information item using at least one further radio system of the first vehicle.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ascertaining of the traffic-related local information item also includes ascertaining at least one movement information item for the vehicle movement of the first vehicle.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traffic-related local information item further comprises at least one of a distance information item relating to the second vehicle and a relative movement information item for the first and second vehicles.

9. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one further radio system of the first vehicle is an access system.

5. An information system for ascertaining at least one traffic-related local information item for a first vehicle, comprising:

a reception device in a first wireless tire pressure monitoring system configured for vehicle-internal capture and evaluation of data for at least one operating variable from the first vehicle, said reception device further configured to receive data transmitted directly from a plurality of tire pressure sensor transmitters in a second wireless tire pressure monitoring system in at least one second vehicle in the vicinity of the first vehicle as defined by the reception range of the reception device;

determining from the received system tire pressure monitoring system data from tire pressure monitoring system sensor transmitters in the second vehicle a relative location of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle; and

an evaluation device for ascertaining the traffic-related local information item from said received data from the second radio system,

wherein the traffic-related local information item is a vehicle density information item, and

wherein ID filtering in the first vehicle is deactivated to receive signals with the IDs of other vehicles.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, further comprising at least one further radio system in the first vehicle configured to forward at least one of the data and the traffic-related local information item.

7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the evaluation device also ascertains at least one movement information item for the vehicle movement of the first vehicle.

8. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the traffic-related local information item further comprises at least one of a distance information item relating to the second vehicle and a relative movement information item for the first and second vehicles.

10. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one further radio system of the first vehicle is an access system.