System and method for using a mobile terminal in a motor vehicle for updating the software of on-board computers

• US 8,725,135 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2007
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Weyl, Daniel, Steinberg, Karl-Ernst
• Primary Examiner(s): Balaoing, Ariel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sternbane, Larry
• Application Number:
  US11/808,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20070287439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,526 Days
• Field of Search: 455/66.1, 455/420, 455/554.2, 455/412.1, 455/569.2, 701/29, 701/35, 701/36, 701/207, 701 291- 344
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A system for using at least one mobile terminal in a motor vehicle, such as a passenger automobile or a two-wheeled vehicle in particular, having the at least one mobile terminal and a communication interface between the motor vehicle and the mobile terminal is provided. A software version transmission device transmits a software version message indicating which sequence controllers and/or control unit data are stored and/or installed in one or more control units of the motor vehicle. The software version message is analyzed to ascertain whether the vehicle-external download device has one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data ready for downloading, which are downloaded via a communication link and stored in the mobile terminal. An updating device stores and/or installs the sequence controllers and/or control unit data stored in the mobile terminal in the at least one affected control unit.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

at least one mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a notebook computer, or a mobile entertainment device;

a motor vehicle, coupled to the at least one mobile terminal by a communication interface;

a software version transmission device provided in the mobile terminal and arranged to transmit a software version message,

wherein the software version transmission device specifies which sequence controllers and/or control unit data are to be stored and/or installed in one or more control units of the motor vehicle,

wherein the software version message is transmitted to the mobile terminal and to a vehicle-external download device by the software version transmission device upon a technical error of the vehicle, which results in an entry in the error memory of the control unit,

wherein the software version message is analyzed to ascertain whether the vehicle-external download device has one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data ready for downloading,

wherein the one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data are downloaded via a communication link and the downloaded sequence controllers and/or control unit data are stored in the mobile terminal, and

wherein the system also includes an updating device, which stores and/or installs the sequence controllers and/or control unit data stored in the mobile terminal in at least one affected control unit.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal communicates with the motor vehicle via an Internet (IP) protocol.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the software version message is stored in the mobile terminal and the mobile terminal transmits the software version message to the vehicle-external download device, the vehicle-external download device being operated by the producer of the vehicle or by order of the vehicle producer.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-external download device analyzes the software version message and/or the one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data are transmitted via a communication link, wherein the communication link is a UMTS, WLAN, GSM, or SMS communication link.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data are transmitted indirectly into the mobile terminal with a PC or a notebook computer interposed, which is connected to a broadband Internet connection.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the updating device is provided in the mobile terminal and/or in the vehicle and the updating device performs an authorization check and/or an authentication check of the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data before the updating of the one or more sequence controllers and/or control unit data.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the authorization check and/or the authentication check is performed using a public key technique.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein a hash algorithm is applied to the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data by the download device, and the hash value ascertained is encrypted together with the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data using a private key of the vehicle-external download device, the public key of the download device complementary to the private key is stored in the updating device, the public key is used to decrypt the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data and the hash value, the updating device applies the hash algorithm to the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data, the hash value thus ascertained is compared to the hash value ascertained by the decryption, and if the two hash values correspond, the authorization check and/or the authentication check is considered to be completed positively.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the software version message is provided with vehicle error data, vehicle diagnostic data or information uniquely identifying the vehicle, and the updating device corrects one or more vehicle errors in the software of the control units, by storing and/or installing the one or more current sequence controllers and/or the control unit data in the at least one affected control unit.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the download device transmits a repair and/or maintenance message to the mobile terminal and its content is communicated to the driver in that the repair and/or maintenance message is displayed to the driver.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein a display device and an operating device are provided in the vehicle, and a terminal integration device having a terminal sequence controller is provided in the mobile terminal and/or in the vehicle for operating functions or software applications of the mobile terminal on the vehicle display device and is operated via the vehicle operating device.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the software version message is provided with information about the geographic position of the vehicle, location information, which is ascertained on the basis of a GPS receiver of a navigation system provided in the vehicle and/or in the mobile terminal, the software version message is first provided with the location information of the vehicle when the driver of the vehicle has authorized the system for this purpose by a manual and/or acoustic release.

13. A method, comprising the acts of:

transmitting, by a software version transmission device provided in a mobile terminal that is a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a notebook computer, or a mobile entertainment device, a software version message to the mobile terminal and/or to a motor vehicle-external download device upon a technical error of the motor vehicle, which results in an entry in an error memory of a control unit, the software version transmission device specifying which sequence controllers and/or control unit data are to be stored and/or installed in one or more control units of the motor vehicle;

analyzing the software version message to ascertain whether the vehicle-external download device has one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data ready for downloading,

downloading, via a communication link, the one or more current sequence controllers and/or control unit data;

storing the downloaded sequence controllers and/or control unit data in the mobile terminal, and

storing and/or installing, by an updating device, the sequence controllers and/or control unit data stored in the mobile terminal in the at least one affected control unit.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the acts of:

storing the software version message in the mobile terminal;

transmitting, by the mobile terminal, the software version message to the vehicle-external download device, the software version transmission device being provided in the mobile terminal and the vehicle-external download device being operated by the producer of the vehicle or by order of the vehicle producer.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the act of:

performing an authorization check and/or an authentication check of the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data before the updating of the one or more sequence controllers and/or control unit data.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the authorization check and/or the authentication check is performed using a public key technique.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the acts of:

applying a hash algorithm to the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data by the download device to ascertain a hash value; and

encrypting the hash value ascertained together with the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data using a private key of the vehicle-external download device, the public key of the download device complementary to the private key is stored in the updating device, the public key is used to decrypt the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data and the hash value, the updating device applies the hash algorithm to the one or more sequence controllers and/or the control unit data, the hash value thus ascertained is compared to the hash value ascertained by the decryption, and if the two hash values correspond, the authorization check and/or the authentication check is considered to be completed positively.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the software version message is provided with vehicle error data, vehicle diagnostic data or information uniquely identifying the vehicle, and the updating device corrects one or more vehicle errors in the software of the control units, by storing and/or installing the one or more current sequence controllers and/or the control unit data in the at least one affected control unit.