Method for communicating between a first motor vehicle and at least one second motor vehicle

• US 9,998,451 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2010
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Menzel, Marc, Sthlin, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Brandt, Christopher M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gao, Jing
• Application Number:
  US13/515,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20120252415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,741 Days
• Field of Search: 455411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A method for communicating between a first motor vehicle and at least one second motor vehicle, belonging to a mobile communication network including at least two motor vehicles. In a first step only one identifying piece of information is exchanged between the vehicles by each driver for forming a communication network by a radio communication unit via radio connection in order to initiate the internal communication of the vehicles present in a column formation, said piece of information being entered in a second step into a network communication unit of each vehicle, in order to join the communication network after acknowledgement by a network communication unit of at least one of the other vehicles belonging to the communication network. The identifying piece of information is an authentication, and the authentication takes place for each vehicle by a randomly generated password.

Claims

1. A method for communicating comprising:

exchanging only one identity information item between respective vehicles by each driver, wherein the only one identity information item is provided by both a first motor vehicle and at least one second motor vehicle;

forming a communication network by a radio communication unit of the respective vehicles via radio connection to initiate internal communication of the first motor vehicle and the at least one second motor vehicle present in a column formation based at least in part on the exchanged only one identity information item;

entering the only one identity information item into a network communication unit of each of the respective vehicles in order to join the communication network after acknowledgement by the network communication unit of the at least one second vehicle belonging to the communication network;

authenticating the first motor vehicle by a password generated in accordance with a random-number principle,

wherein the only one identity information is an authentication;

determining a channel usage for each channel;

matching a repetition rate for dispatching messages to a respective channel usage, wherein the repetition rate on the respective channel decreases as usage on the respective channel increases; and

selective dispatching of the messages occurs with a low repetition rate on the respective channel via the radio communication unit available in a respective vehicle in the communication network based on channel usage on the respective channel.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selective dispatching of messages occurs after digital map authentication.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the messages contain at least one of a location information item, one GNSS position, and one identity freely selectable by the driver,

wherein the message is encrypted symmetrically.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the location information item is found and displayed on a digital map of a navigation unit of a respective vehicle as current positions of all vehicles of the communication network.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein current positions of other vehicles of the communication network relative to a position of a respective vehicle are displayed on the digital map.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the only one identity information item exchanged between respective drivers of the respective vehicles of the communication network is carried out via a closed radiotelephony link.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the only one identity information item exchanged between respective drivers of the respective vehicles of the communication network is carried out via a closed text message link.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein navigation information items are exchanged between respective network communication units of the respective vehicles within the communication network.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a warning information item is sent to respective network communication units of the respective vehicles if one of the respective vehicles is affected by a disturbing event with respect to maintaining the column formation.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the disturbing event is at least one of:

exceeding a defined maximum distance of a vehicle from other vehicles;

accident-related stopping of a vehicle;

vehicle defect-related stopping of a vehicle; and

leaving of a planned column route by a vehicle.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein, in case of the disturbing event occurring, a voice link is established between the respective vehicles of the column formation.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network communication unit is configured to transmit the messages as one of wireless access and trip authorization unit and based on wireless local area network (WLAN).

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein high channel usage entails a lower repetition rate.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the repetition rate is 0.1-0.2 Hz.