Method for transmitting a function command between a motor vehicle and a device outside the vehicle, and interface apparatus and system

• US 10,270,873 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2016
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Tauber, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Choudhury, Azizul
• Application Number:
  US15/780,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20180278706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3648 using additional hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/42 Syntactic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• 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 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54

Abstract

A function command is transmitted between a motor vehicle and a device outside the vehicle, in which the function command is transmitted via an interface apparatus which is outside the vehicle and provides a communication connection between the motor vehicle and the device. The interface apparatus provides an interface which is used to provide a plurality of valid function commands. The function command is compared with the plurality of valid function commands, and the function command is forwarded only if this function command conforms to the interface, and the function command is transmitted between the motor vehicle and the device only via the interface.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting a function command between a motor vehicle and a device disposed outside the motor vehicle via an interface apparatus configured as a stationary server and disposed outside the motor vehicle and outside the device, the method comprising:

providing, by the interface apparatus, a communication connection between the motor vehicle and the device;

providing, by the interface apparatus, an interface which comprises a plurality of valid function commands, the interface configured as an application programming interface (API), or as a function-oriented programming interface, or as a file-oriented programming interface, or as an object-oriented programming interface, or as a protocol-oriented programming interface, or as an application binary interface (ABI);

receiving, by the interface of the interface apparatus only, the function command from one of the motor vehicle and the device to be selectively forwarded to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device by the interface apparatus;

comparing, by the interface apparatus, the function command with the plurality of valid function commands;

determining, by the interface apparatus, whether the function command is interface-compliant based on the comparing; and

forwarding, to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device by the interface apparatus, the function command only if the determining determines the function command is interface-compliant.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising detecting an error of the function command when a discrepancy between the function command and any of the plurality of valid function commands exists, based on the comparing.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the interface receives the function command from the device, and

the function command is to be selectively forwarded to the motor vehicle by the interface apparatus for changing a status of a motor vehicle component of the motor vehicle.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the interface receives the function command from the motor vehicle, and

the function command is to be selectively forwarded to the device by the interface apparatus for changing a status of a program component of the device.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the function command is received by the interface from one of the motor vehicle and the device during a development phase of the function command.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the function command is received by the interface from one of the motor vehicle and the device during an ongoing operation of the motor vehicle.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

checking a security signature by the one of the motor vehicle and the device when the function command is transmitted to the interface apparatus by the one of the motor vehicle and the device; and

checking the security signature by the interface apparatus when the function command is received by the interface of the interface apparatus.

8. An interface apparatus configured as a stationary server, the interface apparatus, comprising:

a memory configured to store a function command received from one of a motor vehicle and a device disposed outside the motor vehicle, the interface apparatus being disposed outside of the motor vehicle and the device;

an interface to receive the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device, the interface configured as an application programming interface (API), or as a function-oriented programming interface, or as a file-oriented programming interface, or as an object-oriented programming interface, or as a protocol-oriented programming interface, or as an application binary interface (ABI), and the interface comprising a plurality of valid function commands; and

a processor to compare the function command with the plurality of valid function commands, to determine based on the comparison whether the function command is interface-compliant, and to forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device only if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant.

9. The interface apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein

when the interface receives the function command from the device, the processor selectively forwards the function command to the motor vehicle for changing a status of a motor vehicle component of the motor vehicle, and

when the interface receives the function command from the motor vehicle, the processor selectively forwards the function command to the device for changing a status of a program component of the device.

10. The interface apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the motor vehicle component of the motor vehicle includes at least one of a lock, an actuator, a control unit, a display unit, and a data memory, and

the program component of the device includes at least one of an application program of the device and an operating system of the device.

11. The interface apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the interface apparatus comprises a plurality of interfaces, each interface among the plurality of interfaces corresponding to an individual vehicle class of motor vehicles.

12. The interface apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the interface apparatus is configured to communicate with the motor vehicle and the device over a wireless network.

13. The interface apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein

when the interface apparatus receives the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device during a development phase of the function command, the processor is configured to not forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant, and

when the interface apparatus receives the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device during an ongoing operation of the motor vehicle, the processor is configured to forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device only if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant.

14. A system, comprising:

at least one of a motor vehicle and a device disposed outside the motor vehicle; and

an interface apparatus configured as a stationary server and disposed outside of the motor vehicle and the device, the interface apparatus comprising;

a memory configured to store a function command received from one of the motor vehicle and the device,

an interface to receive the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device, the interface configured as an application programming interface (API), or as a function-oriented programming interface, or as a file-oriented programming interface, or as an object-oriented programming interface, or as a protocol-oriented programming interface, or as an application binary interface (ABI), and the interface comprising a plurality of valid function commands, and

a processor to compare the function command with the plurality of valid function commands, to determine based on the comparison whether the function command is interface-compliant, and to forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device only if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the device is configured as a mobile terminal device.

16. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the device is configured as a Smartphone.

17. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein

wherein the interface apparatus is configured to communicate with the motor vehicle and the device over a wireless network,

when the interface receives the function command from the device, the processor selectively forwards the function command to the motor vehicle for changing a status of a motor vehicle component of the motor vehicle, and

when the interface receives the function command from the motor vehicle, the processor selectively forwards the function command to the device for changing a status of a program component of the device.

18. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein

the motor vehicle component of the motor vehicle includes at least one of a lock, an actuator, a control unit, a display unit, and a data memory, and

the program component of the device includes at least one of an application program of the device and an operating system of the device.

19. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the interface apparatus comprises a plurality of interfaces, each interface among the plurality of interfaces corresponding to an individual vehicle class of motor vehicles.

20. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein

when the interface apparatus receives the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device during a development phase of the function command, the processor is configured to not forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant, and

when the interface apparatus receives the function command from the one of the motor vehicle and the device during an ongoing operation of the motor vehicle, the processor is configured to forward the function command to the other one of the motor vehicle and the device only if the function command is determined to be interface-compliant.