FR3043022A1 - METHOD FOR LOCATING A MOTORIZED VEHICLE IN A CONFINED SPACE - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of locating (100) a motor vehicle within a confined space, said vehicle being equipped with an air conditioning unit and a plurality of sensors, characterized in that it consists, from information provided by the plurality of sensors: in a first step (120), to measure the level of pollution of the ambient air from a pollution level sensor, for a determined duration, to detect a determined increase the level of air pollution; in a second step (103), acquiring images of the vehicle environment from a front camera and submitting them to a user of the vehicle with a request enabling him to validate that the environment of the vehicle is a confined space ; in a third step (130), succeeding the second step (103), detecting from an interactive HMI, a validation of the request submitted to the user of the vehicle confirming, from the images submitted, that the vehicle is in a confined space; and - if the result of at least one of the first and third steps (120, 130) is verified, to deduce that the vehicle is located within a confined space.

Description

METHOD FOR LOCATING A MOTORIZED VEHICLE IN A

CONFINED SPACE

The present invention relates to a method of locating a motor vehicle to determine that the vehicle is parked in a confined space.

A confined space designates a closed space, totally or partially closed, the access means of which, outside and inside, are restricted.

This definition applies in particular to a parking space located in the basement of a building or more generally an infrastructure intended to accommodate vehicles for their parking and having little communication with the outside air. The precise information confirming that a vehicle is parked inside an infrastructure, can be very useful especially when a preconditioning function thermal, including the vehicle cabin, is desired and it is necessary to use the engine of the vehicle to have enough energy to meet the demand for thermal comfort inside the vehicle.

Thus, in the so-called "hot" countries, or in periods of great heat in the so-called "temperate" countries, it may be desirable to be able to lower the temperature prevailing inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle before his driver borrows the said vehicle. Such preconditioning is generally referred to by the Anglo-Saxon terms "pre-cooling". Conversely, in so-called "cold" countries, or in very cold weather in so-called "temperate" countries, it may be desirable to increase the temperature inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle. before his driver borrows the said vehicle. Such preconditioning is generally referred to by the Anglo-Saxon terms "pre-heating".

Pre-heating systems are known using in particular external burners that do not use the engine.

Also known from FR2727902 document, a "pre-cooling" system for cooling the passenger compartment of a vehicle before its driver borrows said vehicle using the alternator which operates as a motor when the vehicle is at the stop.

Its systems are not concerned about the nuisance they could generate in terms of pollution when the vehicle is parked in a confined space, and that the input of the engine is necessary to ensure an optimal pre-cooling in terms of comfort thermal and speed of action under high temperature conditions.

They are therefore not constrained by the confined environment of an underground car park, for example.

If the vehicle is stationary with the engine off, it will be necessary to control the engine start before the vehicle user takes the vehicle.

This command can be carried out remotely without the vehicle user being present near the vehicle or, at least, without having a direct vision of the vehicle in its immediate environment and therefore without knowing if the vehicle is inside or outside a confined space.

This case involves a safety / health procedure to mitigate the toxic effects of pollutants (gas and / or particles) generated by the engine especially as they are present in high concentration in a confined space.

The same procedure may also be required with respect to the degassing phenomenon of the batteries when the propulsion source of the vehicle is an electric machine powered by storage batteries.

The present invention aims to identify that the vehicle is in a confined space for the purpose of transmitting this information to a control system of the main source of driving energy of the vehicle such as an internal combustion engine, a source of emission of exhaust gas, to prohibit "pre-cooling".

An object of the present invention is to locate a vehicle is parked in a confined space to prohibit the preconditioning of the vehicle via the vehicle engine. For this purpose, it proposes a method of locating a motor vehicle within a confined space, said vehicle being equipped with an air conditioning unit and a plurality of sensors, characterized in that consists, from the information delivered by the plurality of sensors: in a first step, to measure the level of pollution of the ambient air from a pollution level sensor, for a determined duration, to detect an increase determined the level of air pollution; in a second step, acquiring images of the vehicle environment from a front camera and submitting them to a user of the vehicle with a request enabling him to validate that the environment of the vehicle is a confined space; in a third step, following the second step, detecting from an interactive HMI a validation of the request submitted to the user of the vehicle confirming, from the images submitted, that the vehicle is in a confined space; and - if the result of at least one of the first and third steps is verified, to deduce that the vehicle is located within a confined space.

According to one characteristic, the method further comprises: in a fourth step, identifying that the nature of the ambient lighting is of electrical origin; and - if the result of at least one of the first, third and fourth steps is proven, to deduce that the vehicle is located inside a confined space.

In the fourth step, the method consists in analyzing the frequency of the illumination and / or the frequency of fluctuation of the illumination, during a determined period of time, to deduce that the ambient lighting of the vehicle is of electrical origin .

According to one characteristic, the analysis of the ambient lighting starts with the activation of the lights of the vehicle.

According to another characteristic, the method takes into account the time of the day indicating that it is daytime to deduce in combination with the result of the fourth step that the vehicle is located inside a confined space.

According to another characteristic, the second step consists in measuring the level of pollution of the ambient air when the engine is running or is being started.

According to another characteristic, in the second and third steps, the request and the validation of the request use a communication interface of the vehicle able to exchange information with a smartphone. The communication interface uses a wireless communication network for remote validation by the user of the vehicle.

The present invention has the second object, a system for implementing the method described above, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of sensors supported by the vehicle, among which: - a front camera capable of acquiring and restoring images of the front of the vehicle that can be analyzed to determine that the vehicle is in a confined space; a brightness sensor capable of delivering information making it possible, from the frequency analysis of the ambient lighting, to determine that the vehicle is in a confined space - a pollution level sensor capable of detecting an increase in the level of ambient air pollution to specify that the vehicle is in a confined space; an interactive HMI proposing to the driver to validate a visual information confirming that the vehicle is in a confined space, said plurality of sensors being coupled to vehicle processing means processing the information delivered by the plurality of sensors, themselves coupled with control means of the vehicle, receiving the information processed by the processing means for controlling the air conditioning unit via the vehicle engine.

The present invention has the third object, a motor vehicle, characterized in that it supports a system as described above. The invention will be better understood and other features and advantages will appear more clearly on reading the following description given by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 illustrates the first steps of the method according to the invention - Figure 2 illustrates the last steps of the method according to the invention; FIG. 3 illustrates the vehicle position confirmation steps of the method according to the invention; FIG. 4 illustrates the parking entry detection steps of the method according to the invention; and FIG. 5 illustrates the architecture of the system for implementing the method according to the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, two situations are considered at the beginning of the method according to the invention: a first situation in which the VHL vehicle to be preconditioned is stopped, motor MOTH cut or not (longitudinal velocity of the null vehicle: V = 0 Km / h) and a second situation in which the vehicle rolls / moves, with the engine running (longitudinal vehicle speed greater than 0: V> 0 Km / h).

In the first situation (V = 0 Km / h), if the vehicle is stopped, the method performs a first detection 100 to determine whether the vehicle is inside or outside a building.

By building, is meant, in its ordinary meaning, a building for private or public use, with several floors and one or more floors (or levels) in the basement for parking vehicles. These parking areas are usually referred to as "underground parking" or "underground parking".

These car parks are arranged in confined spaces, often blind that require artificial lighting and adequate ventilation to evacuate the toxic exhaust gases (harmful to health) produced by the vehicles being parked or leaving the parking lot. building.

Some underground car parks have a closed video circuit capable of monitoring the comings and goings of vehicles in the car park and in particular to locate them precisely in the car park. A local communication network may also be arranged in the car park to allow the authorized vehicles to share in particular the location information.

If at the end of step 100, the vehicle is identified as parked (stationary) outside a building, information 150 (VHL EXT? = YES) is issued to the driver who can activate , in step 200, remote control "pre-cooling" via his Smartphone (or any other connected object, connected watch ...) before borrowing his vehicle again.

The output of step 100 is looped back to its input as long as the thermal conditions do not require cooling and / or the pollution level does not exceed a limit value.

The process is thus in permanent standby.

In a second step 200, the command is received by the vehicle which then activates the engine and the air conditioning unit if the temperature conditions inside the habitable require it. For example, if the temperature inside the passenger compartment exceeds a determined threshold value for which a simple ventilation (not requiring the use of the engine) would not be sufficient to ensure the thermal comfort of the vehicle passengers in case high outside temperatures.

In a third step 300 (FIG 2), a time delay can be adapted to the case, for example a time delay of 10 ', before using the vehicle, during which time the engine coupled to the compressor of the air conditioning unit can ensure a lowering of the temperature of the passenger compartment.

The duration will be adapted according to the outside temperature and the desired set temperature inside the vehicle.

The duration may also be limited by technical information, for example: the fuel level, ...

Once the operating time of the engine has elapsed, a fourth step 400 is to confirm the vehicle situation, whether the vehicle is parked in the open air so that its driver and possibly passengers, can approach the vehicle and board the vehicle without the risk of intoxication caused by the exhaust gas.

This verification is important to ensure the efficiency of the process in terms of health protection.

If the situation of the vehicle is confirmed 410 at the end of step 400 (VHL EXT = YES) then the "pre-cooling" process is considered completed under optimal conditions (End).

The output of step 400 is looped back on its input as long as the thermal conditions do not require cooling and / or the pollution level does not exceed a limit value.

The process is thus in permanent standby.

The time delay can stop automatically after the 10 'delay or when the driver or one of the passengers controls the opening of one of the opening of the vehicle or in the case where the level of the accumulator battery becomes below a certain threshold (in case the engine does not run and only the ventilation is activated and powered by the battery).

Starting now with a start-of-process situation in which the vehicle is running with the engine running (longitudinal vehicle speed greater than 0 Km / h: V> 0 Km / h), the method in a step 500 detects whether the vehicle enters or leaves a confined space, typically an underground parking. At the end of this step 500, if the vehicle is detected 580 as actually entering a building (VHL EXT? = NO) then, in a step 600 (FIG 2), information is transmitted to the driver informing him to stop the engine. The ventilation of the vehicle remains active powered only by the battery until the end of the need.

In a step 700, the information that the vehicle is inside a building (typically in an underground car park) is stored in a database and shared via a remote server with other authorized vehicles. At the end of this maneuver considered as a parking maneuver, the driver leaves the vehicle.

When the driver wants to return to his vehicle, he asks or sends a request for "pre-cooling" which is transmitted to the vehicle and the process, in return, sends a request for confirmation with acknowledgment by the driver, for example on his Smartphone , and in step 800, a pre-ventilation control of the passenger compartment for a duration of 10 'for example, is activated if a lowering of the temperature is necessary.

At the end of the time delay of 10 'or when the driver or one of the passengers controls the opening of an opening of the vehicle or in the case where the level of the accumulator battery becomes lower than a determined threshold (the engine does not turn, ventilation is powered only by the battery): the process is complete (Finish).

Still in the same situation (longitudinal vehicle speed greater than 0 Km / h: V> 0 Km / h) but in the case where at the end of step 500 (FIG 1), the vehicle is detected 580 as being outside a building (in the open air) (VHL EXT? = YES), then the process returns to step 100 (1st step of the first situation).

Similarly, in the first situation (V = 0 Km / h), if at the end of step 100, the vehicle is considered, in step 150 as being inside a building (VHL EXT ? = NO), then the process proceeds to step 600.

Similarly, in the first situation, if at the end of step 400, the vehicle is considered to be inside a building (VHL EXT? = NO), then the process proceeds to step 600 (FIG 2). The step 100 of confirming the position of the vehicle inside or outside a building is now described with reference to FIG. 3 as well as to FIG. 5 with regard to the means implemented by the system for implementing said step 100.

In this step 100, the method starts from the following statuses: the time of day is known (noon, midnight, ...) 101 so as to determine whether it is night or day; - The engine runs in steady state or is in the starting phase 102; a pop-up window 103 is displayed in incrustation in an image acquired and transmitted by a front camera of the vehicle, on a screen of an HMI (Human Machine Interface) belonging to the vehicle, or ΓΙΗΜ a mobile device, for example on the touch screen of the driver's smartphone.

The method then involves implementing in parallel the following steps:

In step 110, the method consists in detecting whether the ambient lighting (by ambient lighting means the light in which the vehicle is bathed) is of artificial origin (electric lighting) or natural (daylight) to deduce therefrom if the vehicle is located inside or outside a building.

The method advantageously exploits this information by combining it with a lighting time (duration) information to determine if the vehicle is inside a building.

For this purpose, the method consists of analyzing the frequency of the intensity of the ambient lighting (for example 50 Hz for a mains frequency of 50 Hz) and / or the frequency of fluctuation of the lighting (for example, the frequency of fluctuation / flickering of a fluorescent tube is typically of the order of 100 Hz for a mains frequency of 50 Hz.) following activation of the fires

Thus, if the result of the frequency analysis of the lighting is 50Hz, and that the ignition of the lights continues for a determined duration (long enough to deduce that the vehicle is in an artificially illuminated space of origin electric), then the process deduces that the vehicle is inside a building.

It is also possible to combine the time information (time of day) 101 with the frequency information of the illumination to deduce that the external illumination is of natural origin, of day (sun), or electric, by night (public lighting). Information on the level of intensity or brightness of the ambient lighting is already used for the automatic activation of the lighting of the lights of a motor vehicle.

This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

The C5 light sensor (FIG.5) such as a standard intensity or brightness sensor or a CCD camera (Charge Coupled Device) or the like, transmits the light information (or the video stream of the camera ) processing means such as an onboard computer that receives and processes the various signals received from the sensors of the vehicle. This calculator is commonly referred to by the acronym ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or in French (ECCE) (FIG 5) The ECU processes the light information, or the video sequence, in order to extract vehicle position information: vehicle outside VHL EXT or inside VHL INT. The ECU transmits the position information to control means such as another vehicle calculator, commonly referred to by the acronym BSI (Intelligent Serviance Enclosure) which is the control unit that transforms the information received from the vehicle. ECU, in control information, via a multiplexed vehicle network supported by a LIN or CAN bus or an ETHERNET wired network or a wireless network using the Wifi communication protocol, ... (FIG 5)

Thus, this information is used as one of the input parameters of the system according to the invention which will confirm the position of the vehicle inside or outside a building.

In step 120, the method includes detecting the ambient air pollution level when the engine is running or is starting up.

By ambient air is meant the air contained in a space surrounding the vehicle.

This pollution may be of particulate origin (eg PM 2.5 = micro particlesj or of gaseous origin (C02 or NOx) or other.

If the level of pollution of the ambient air varies within a certain range characterizing ambient air of good quality, in other words the engine running or being started does not have a great impact on the quality of the ambient air, then the process deduce that the vehicle is outside the building (VHL EXT). Conversely, beyond a high level of pollution coming out of said range (above a determined threshold), when the engine starts, then the method deduces that the vehicle is inside the building ( VHL INT).

In the latter case, the method may force the engine stop.

For this purpose, the method consists in measuring the ambient air pollution level over a given period of time and in analyzing the continuous flow of data using a technique known as pulse width modulation known by the acronym PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), a technique commonly used to synthesize continuous signals by using all-or-nothing circuits, or more generally discrete states.

The general principle is that by applying a succession of discrete states during well-chosen periods of time, it is possible to obtain on average over a certain duration any intermediate value and to deduce a variation of this value. The information is transmitted to the ECU via a bus of the CAN or LIN type and which, depending on the average pollution level, determines whether the vehicle is outside VHL EXT or inside VHL INT of the building (a high variation, greater than a determined threshold is indicative of a vehicle starting in a confined space such as parking inside a building). The ECU then transmits the position information to the BSI on the multiplex network of the vehicle supported by a LIN or CAN bus or a wired ETHERNET network or a wireless network using the Wifi communication protocol.

This treatment does not require any additional sensor. Step 130 follows step 103 which consisted of generating an interactive window of "pop-up" type by image incrementing on a screen of the vehicle and / or on that of the driver's Smartphone via a dedicated mobile application. The main image that appears in the bottom of the screen may be the image acquired by a front camera of the vehicle capable of rendering what the driver sees or could see, in front of said vehicle.

The interactive "pop-up" window displays a request to the driver asking him to validate the visual information that the vehicle is located inside a building.

Once the request has been validated by the driver (vehicle inside a building VHL INT), the information is transmitted to a communication module of the ECU via a wireless communication network exploiting for example the GSM standard ( 2G, ... nG). The ECU processes the information (vehicle validation inside a VHL INT building) and transmits it to the BSI on the multiplexed vehicle network supported by a LIN or CAN bus or via a wired ETHERNET or wireless network. using the Wifi communication protocol. This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

According to step 130, the driver is asked to validate information that is displayed live on the screen of his Smartphone.

The information from steps 110, 120 and 130 is merged to reliably determine whether the vehicle is inside VHL INT or outside VHL EXT. A weighting is fixed for each type of sensor. The weighting can be identical regardless of the sensor or specific to a type of sensor.

In the example of FIG. 3, the weighting can be chosen to be identical for the three types of sensors and equal to 100%.

Thus, if one of the information reported by the three steps 110, 120 and 130 indicate either that the light is artificial or an increase in pollution of the ambient air around the vehicle or a visual information inducing that the vehicle is located in a parking lot, then the probability 140 that the vehicle is indoors (VHL INT) is maximum.

If at least one of the three pieces of information indicates that the vehicle is inside VHL INT then the process stops the engine if it is running.

The ventilation of the vehicle remains active using the battery until the end of the need. Conversely, if the information restored by one of the three steps 110, 120 and 130 indicates that the light is natural (daylight) (or that the starting status 101 remains unchanged), or the absence significant increase in pollution of the ambient air around the vehicle, while the engine rotates 102 is that there has been no human confirmation inducing that the vehicle is inside a building, then the probability of detection 140 that the vehicle is outside (VHL EXT) is maximum. Step 200 commands the authorization to start the engine and the compressor of the air conditioning unit to the extent that the temperature conditions justify it as already described above. Step 500 (FIG.2) of parking entry detection is now described with reference to FIG. 4 as well as FIG. 5 with regard to the means implemented by the system for implementing said step 500.

It starts with information updates 501 and 503, 504 which will be useful for detecting: a first update 501 of the GPS parking data information from a shared DB database accessible via a link wireless and Internet; a second update 503, 504 updating images acquired inside the car park from the database DB;

The method then involves implementing in parallel the following steps:

In a step 510, the method consists in detecting whether the vehicle enters a parking lot from information delivered by a GPS receiver present on board the vehicle.

A GPS receiver is usually used to locate the vehicle in its environment. For this, it is coupled with a mapping of the environment to provide a navigation aid for the driver.

The GPS receivers of general public application, allow to reach today a precision in the location of the carrier vehicle of the receiver compared to its immediate environment of the order of a few meters.

The method according to the invention uses this information to extract from the cartography of the immediate environment of the vehicle, the precise information according to which the vehicle enters a building and therefore, a priori, in a parking lot inside the building.

The method follows the movement of the vehicle, identifying whether the calculated trajectory of the vehicle intersects an area defined as a confined space, in other words when the position of the vehicle at a given instant is coincident with the position of the interface between the outside of the vehicle. the confined space and the interior of the confined space (where the vehicle enters the confined space) or conversely with the position of the interface between the inside of the confined space and the outside of the confined space confined space (where the vehicle exits the confined space).

For this, the GPS receiver, associated with the navigation system, delivers a video stream and transmits it to the ECU via a standard interface for high-speed data transmission, known by the acronym LVDS (Low Voltage Differential). Signal).

The video stream is a composite video signal (analog color video base signal) known by the acronym CVBS (Chroma Video Blanking Synchro) supported by a wired communication network (ETHERNET) or wireless using the communication protocol Wifi . The ECU extracts from the video stream, the parking entry information that it transmits to the BSI on the multiplex network of the vehicle supported by a bus of LIN or CAN type or via a wired ETHERNET or wireless network using the protocol of Wifi communication. This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

In a variant, the GSP receiver used is that of a smartphone, coupled to a navigation application, or that of another nomadic device dedicated to navigation.

The nomadic device transmits the location information to the ECU using wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Wifi ... or a USB bus.

In the same way as above, the ECU extracts the parking entry information that it sends to the BSI on the multiplex network of the vehicle supported by a bus of LIN or CAN type or via a wired network ETHERNET or wireless operator the Wifi communication protocol. This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

In a step 520, the method consists in exploiting the information delivered by an accelerometer present on board the vehicle, to determine whether the vehicle enters a basement.

Today, all vehicles are equipped with accelerometers that are used in particular to trigger the air bags.

They are also used in ADAS, the acronym for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, used to designate driver assistance systems using a plurality of sensors including cameras and other sensors able to monitor the behavior of the vehicle and of its driver, and analyze the environment of the vehicle.

In ADAS, accelerometers are used to detect whether the vehicle is climbing or descending in order to provide adequate assistance to the driver: assistance with starting in climbs and assistance with braking on descents.

Thus, the method according to the invention exploits this information of direction of the rising or falling slope to determine if the vehicle goes down or up: if the vehicle goes down, there is probability that the vehicle enters an underground parking. On the other hand, if the vehicle goes up, there is a probability that the vehicle will come out of an underground car park The information delivered by the accelerometer is transmitted to the ECU via a bus of CAN type for example. The ECU extracts information delivered by the accelerometer, the parking entry information that it transmits to the BSI on the multiplex network of the vehicle supported by a bus of LIN or CAN type or via a wired network ETHERNET or wireless using the Wifi communication protocol. This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

In the absence of an accelerometer in the vehicle, it will be possible to use the accelerometer of the driver's Smartphone.

In steps 530 and 540, following the update of step 503, 504, front and rear cameras respectively disposed at the front and rear of the vehicle, provide information characterizing the environment of the vehicle: road, parking area, type of parking, type of building, signage (tapes, panels, floor markings, ground color, ...) in the form of a video stream via a standard interface for the transmission of data to high speed, known under the acronym LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signal).

The video stream is a composite video signal (analog color video base signal) known by the acronym CVBS (Chroma Video Blanking Synchro) supported by a wired communication network (ETHERNET) or wireless using the communication protocol Wifi . The ECU processes the video stream, to extract the information: vehicle outside or inside. The ECU then transmits the information to the BSI on the multiplex network of the vehicle supported by a LIN or CAN type bus or via a wired ETHERNET or wireless network using the Wifi communication protocol. This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

In a step 550, a brightness sensor detects whether a sudden change in brightness occurs.

The process is similar to that developed described in step 110 with the difference that it is the difference in intensity between two consecutive instants that is exploited and not the frequency of the ambient lighting following the lighting of the lights. .

A difference in intensity in the day / night direction induces a high probability that the vehicle has entered an underground car park.

In step 560, the method consists in detecting a sudden variation in the level of pollution of the ambient air (a peak of pollution) in the environment close to the vehicle. The air quality level information is now used to automatically control the activation of the recycling mode of the air conditioning unit of the vehicle.

The method advantageously exploits this information to determine whether the vehicle is inside or outside a building by detecting a high variation, greater than a determined threshold, reflecting a peak pollution revealing a vehicle operating in a vehicle. confined space such as parking inside a building.

The process is similar to that developed to describe step 120.

This treatment does not require any additional sensor.

In the same way as for the vehicle position confirmation step 100 (outside / inside), the information from steps 510, 520, 530, 540, 550 and 560 are merged to reliably determine whether the vehicle entered inside a parking lot or not. The step 570 serves to manage the probabilities of detection when the information from the steps 510, 520, 530, 540, 550 and 560 diverge.

The decision is made based on a weight assigned respectively to each of steps 510 to 560 as described above with reference to step 100. The information from step 500 (FIG. step 570 (FIG 4) is subjected to a "vehicle detected externally" test. >>, and if the test result is positive (VHL EXT? = YES) then the process proceeds to step 100, otherwise the process proceeds to step 600 (FIG.2).

The present invention also proposes a step 900 (FIG 4) which consists, after having detected that the vehicle was inside a building, (VFIL INT) to memorize the GPS position of the vehicle (geolocation coordinates) as well as the images acquired by the front and rear cameras for this positon.

This information will enrich the database DB, already mentioned to describe the steps 503 and 504 (shown in Figure 5), and thus improve the quality of position detection of the vehicle at a future parking in the same building.

This same information may be shared with other vehicles, authorized to access the DB database which is hosted in a remote server, accessible via the Internet.

After detecting the vehicle inside a building, the position information delivered by the GPS receiver as well as the images acquired by the front and rear cameras are stored in the BSI.

The information is transmitted to the ECU and then transmitted from the ECU to the server hosting the database DB, via the GSM telephone network for example (see description of step 130)

The server will then be able to share the information available in the database with other authorized vehicles, using their BSI and ECU if they are equipped with a mobile phone module or if the drivers of these vehicles have a mobile device such as a smartphone able to exploit the information transmitted by the server.

The method which has just been described is implemented by the overall architecture of the system according to the invention illustrated schematically in FIG.

This architecture is based on a plurality of sensors C1 to C7 chosen so as to robustify the detection by merging the information transmitted by the plurality of sensors.

The term sensor should be understood in the broad sense as covering any device capable of transforming information representative of the environment close to the vehicle into information usable by the vehicle and / or the driver.

The part of the global architecture of FIG. 5, dedicated to the implementation of the location step 100, comprises: a front camera C3 capable of acquiring and restoring images from the front of the vehicle that can be analyzed for determine if the vehicle is in a confined space; a brightness sensor C5 capable of delivering information enabling frequency analysis of the light; a pollution level sensor C6 able to detect an increase in the level of pollution in the environment close to the vehicle to specify that the vehicle is in a confined space; - an interactive C7 HMI offering the driver to validate a visual information confirming that the vehicle is in a confined space.

Sensors C3, C5, C6 and C7 are coupled to the ECU itself coupled to the BSI to control the MOTH engine and the HVAC air conditioning unit.

The part of the global architecture of FIG. 5, dedicated to the implementation of the location step 500, comprises: a GPS receiver C1 and its associated mapping; an accelerometer C2 able to specify the direction of the slope on which the vehicle is located; - The front camera C3 capable of acquiring and returning images from the front of the vehicle that can be analyzed to determine the position of the vehicle relative to a confined space; - A rear camera C4 capable of acquiring and returning images from the rear of the vehicle that can be analyzed to determine the position of the vehicle relative to a confined space; - The C5 brightness sensor capable of detecting a change in light intensity when the vehicle enters the parking space; - Pollution level sensor C6 able to detect the rapid rise in the level of pollution (peak pollution) of the ambient air to specify that the vehicle enters a confined space;

Sensors C1, C2 and C4 are also coupled to the ECU itself coupled to the BSI to control the MOTH engine and the HVAC air conditioning unit.

Claims (10)

A method of locating (100) a motor vehicle (VHL) with motor (MOTH) within a confined space, said vehicle being equipped with an air conditioning unit (HVAC) and a plurality of sensors (C6, C3, C7), characterized in that it consists, from the information supplied by the plurality of sensors: - in a first step (120), to measure the level of pollution of the ambient air from a pollution level sensor (C6), for a determined period of time, for detecting a determined increase in the level of pollution of the air; in a second step (103), acquiring images of the vehicle environment from a front camera (C3) and submitting them to a user of the vehicle with a request enabling him to validate that the environment of the vehicle vehicle is a confined space; in a third step (130), succeeding the second step (103), detecting from an interactive HMI (C7), a validation of the request submitted to the user of the vehicle confirming, from the images submitted, that the vehicle is in a confined space; and - if the result of at least one of the first and third steps (120, 130) is verified, to deduce (150) that the vehicle is located within a confined space. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: - in a fourth step (110), to identify that the nature of the ambient lighting is of electrical origin; and - if the result of at least one of the first, third and fourth steps (120, 130, 110) is found, to deduce (150) that the vehicle is located within a confined space. 3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fourth step (110) consists of analyzing the frequency of the illumination and / or the frequency of fluctuation of the lighting, for a determined period of time, for deduce that the ambient lighting of the vehicle is of electrical origin. 4. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the analysis of the ambient lighting starts with the activation of the vehicle lights. 5. Method according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that it takes into account the time of the day indicating that it is day to deduce (150), in combination with the result of the fourth step (110), that the vehicle is located within a confined space. 6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second step (120) is to measure the pollution level of the ambient air when the engine is running or is in the process of starting (102); 7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the second (103) and third steps (130), the request and the validation of the request use a communication interface of the vehicle able to exchange information with a smartphone. 8. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the communication interface uses a wireless communication network for remote validation by the user of the vehicle. 9. System for implementing the method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of sensors supported by the vehicle, among which: - a front camera (C3) adapted to acquire and restore images of the front of the vehicle that can be analyzed to determine that the vehicle is in a confined space; a brightness sensor (C5) capable of delivering information enabling, from the frequency analysis of the ambient lighting, to determine that the vehicle is in a confined space - a pollution level sensor (C6) capable of detect an increase in the ambient air pollution level to indicate that the vehicle is in a confined space; an interactive HMI (C7) proposing to the driver to validate visual information confirming that the vehicle is in a confined space, said plurality of sensors being coupled to processing means (ECU) of the vehicle processing the information delivered by the plurality of sensors, they themselves coupled to control means (BSI) of the vehicle, receiving the information processed by the processing means (ECU) for controlling the air conditioning unit (HVAC) via the motor (MOTH) of the vehicle (VHL). 10. Motor vehicle, characterized in that it supports a system according to the preceding claim.