Location-determining device in a motor vehicle and information merging method

• US 10,209,073 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2011
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Stahlin, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Tissot, Adam D
• Application Number:
  US13/825,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20130184990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,722 Days
• Field of Search: 701469
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/45 by combining measurements of signals from the satellite radio beacon positioning system with a supplementary measurement

Abstract

The invention relates to a location-determining device in a motor vehicle which comprises at least one receiver device for receiving position signals and time signals for a multiplicity of satellites assigned to a global navigation system and a location-calculating module for calculating location information on the basis of received position data and time data. The location-Determining device is distinguished by the fact that the at least one receiver device is structurally integrated into the housing of an optical sensor unit, wherein the housing is arranged in a passenger compartment in a region of an upper edge of a windscreen, and wherein the housing does not have more than a single connection to a vehicle data bus and not more than a single connection to a vehicle energy supply.

Claims

1. A location determining device in a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one reception apparatus for receiving position and time signals from a multiplicity of satellites associated with a global navigation system;

a location calculation module for calculating location information from the received position and time signals, wherein the at least one reception apparatus is physically integrated in the housing of an optical sensor unit;

the optical sensor unit configured to capture at least one image external of the motor vehicle;

wherein the housing is arranged in a region of an upper boundary of a windshield in a passenger space of the motor vehicle;

wherein the housing has no more than a single first connection to an existing vehicle data bus type and no more than a single second connection to a vehicle power supply;

an electronic arithmetic unit in communication with the optical sensor unit, wherein the electronic arithmetic unit is configured to determine prevailing reception conditions for the position and time signals of the satellites associated with the global navigation system based on the at least one image, wherein the prevailing reception conditions indicate that the position and time signals of one or more of the satellites associated with the global navigation system are reduced by an interruption in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle in comparison to when there are no interruptions in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle; and

wherein the electronic arithmetic unit is configured to match the position and time signals of the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the prevailing reception conditions based on the at least one captured image.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the location calculation module is physically integrated in the housing.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising in that the location calculation module is coupled to an image processing module of the optical sensor unit at a data level, wherein p the location calculation module and the image processing module are fused to form a common electronic computation module.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising in that the optical sensor unit is a mono or a stereo camera module, or a laser scanner and is part of a driver assistance system.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one of a GPS module, a Galileo module, a GLONASS module, a Compass module or a SBAS module.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising in that the windshield is not metalized in the region of the optical sensor unit and is not metalized in the region of the at least one reception apparatus.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the at least one reception apparatus is physically integrated in a connecting section for two mono camera modules which form a stereo camera module.

7. A location determining device in a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one reception apparatus for receiving position and time signals from a multiplicity of satellites associated with a global navigation system;

a location calculation module for calculating location information from the received position and time signals, wherein the at least one reception apparatus is physically integrated in the housing of an optical sensor unit;

the optical sensor unit configured to capture at least one image external to the motor vehicle;

wherein the housing is arranged in a region of an upper boundary of a windshield in a passenger space of the motor vehicle;

wherein the housing has no more than a single first connection to an existing vehicle data bus type and no more than a single second connection to a vehicle power supply;

an electronic arithmetic unit in communication with the optical sensor unit, wherein the electronic arithmetic unit is configured to determine prevailing reception conditions for the position and time signals of the satellites associated with the global navigation system based on the at least one image, wherein the prevailing reception conditions indicate that the position and time signals of one or more of the satellites associated with the global navigation system are reduced by an interruption in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle in comparison to when there are no interruptions in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle;

wherein the electronic arithmetic unit is configured to match the position and time signals of the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the prevailing reception conditions; and

wherein the optical sensor unit has at least one stray light protection element and the at least one reception apparatus is physically integrated in the stray light protection element based on the at least one image.

9. An information fusion method for a location determining device in a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one reception apparatus having a processor, the processor being configured to receive position and time signals from a multiplicity of satellites associated with a global navigation system,

calculating by the processor location information from the received position and time signals by means of a location calculation algorithm,

providing to the processor at least one image external to the motor vehicle by means of an optical sensor unit, processing by the processor the at least one image by means of an image processing algorithm,

connecting at least the at least one reception apparatus and the optical sensor unit to a vehicle data bus by means of a common first connection and to a vehicle power supply by means of a common second connection,

wherein the at least one image is used to determine prevailing reception conditions of the satellites associated with the global navigation system, wherein the prevailing reception conditions indicate that the position and time signals of one or more of the satellites associated with the global navigation system are reduced by an interruption in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle in comparison to when there are no interruptions in signal paths from the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the motor vehicle, and

matching the position and time signals of the satellites associated with the global navigation system to the prevailing reception conditions based on the at least one image.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising providing a location calculation module of the location determining device, which performs e of a location calculation algorithm, and connecting to the vehicle data bus by means of the second common connection and to the vehicle power supply by means of the first common connection.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, c further comprising performing the image processing algorithm and the location calculation algorithm by a common electronic computation module, the location calculation module and an image processing module of the optical sensor unit, which electronic computation module performs the image processing algorithm, are fused to form the common electronic computation module.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9 further comprising in that location information calculated by the location calculation algorithm, and using time derivations from the location information, to improve processing of the image information by means of the image processing algorithm.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising using additionally driving dynamics sensor information to improve processing of the image information by means of the image processing algorithm.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9 further comprising in that the location information is validated or corrected by means of processed image information.