KR20180046347A - Electronic apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic apparatus mounted on a vehicle is provided. The electronic apparatus comprises: a communicator for communicating with an external apparatus; an application processor (AP); and a micro controller unit (MCU) for turning on a power source of the AP in response to a communication connection request received from the external apparatus while the power source of the AP is turned off, wherein the AP provides a telematics service according to a control command received from the external apparatus after the power source is turned on.

Description

ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an electronic device and a control method thereof capable of providing a telematics service.

Recently, telematics technology that controls the main information system of automobile using telecommunication is attracting attention. Telematics is a combination of telecommunication and informatics. It connects individual terminal devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs with the telematics control unit (TCU) of the vehicle, This is a technology that executes various functions such as air conditioning control, self-diagnosis of vehicle condition, consumable parts management, etc. through a personal terminal device. In recent years, it has become possible to inform the police in real time about the location and route of the vehicle in an emergency such as vehicle theft via GPS.

In order to support the telematics service, the cellular modem installed in the TCU of the vehicle should be always turned on so that the cellular modem exchanges data with the application of the smart phone based on the SMS. Accordingly, in a sleep mode, the cellular modem performs communication with the base station to support a telematics service such as remote start even when the vehicle is turned off.

However, since all operations related to driving the telematics service are performed in the application processor (AP) included in the vehicle TCU, the power of the AP must be always on. As a result, excessive current consumption occurs in the AP, and the time to support the telematics service is shortened due to the finite nature of the battery power of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the manufacturer that manufactures a device supporting telematics services, the telematics service is supported only for a certain period of time after the vehicle is turned off, and then the standby mode is terminated and the power of the AP is cut off.

In this case, the user does not recognize that the power of the AP is cut off, and thus the desired telematics service is not provided at a necessary point.

Accordingly, there is a desperate need for an improvement for low power operation support for in-vehicle cellular modems.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a TCU and a control method thereof that can provide a telematics service with low power.

An electronic device mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit for communicating with an external device, an AP (Application Processor), and a communication connection request from the external device in a state that the power of the AP is turned off And an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) for turning on the power of the AP. The AP provides a telematics service according to a control command received from the external device after the power is turned on.

Here, when receiving a connection request from the external device, the MCU transmits a response signal for the connection request to the external device, and when receiving the control command from the external device, .

In addition, the MCU may control the communication unit to paging the connection request of the external device when the power is turned on according to a predetermined period and the power is turned on.

In addition, the MCU may adjust the period of time during which the power source is turned on based on the battery remaining amount of the vehicle.

In addition, the MCU can turn off the power of the AP when the start of the vehicle is stopped.

In addition, the AP may execute a Radio Interface Layer (RIL) daemon and a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) daemon when the power is turned on.

Meanwhile, a method of controlling an electronic device mounted on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes turning off an application processor (AP), requesting a communication connection request from an external device to an MCU The method comprising the steps of: turning on the power of the AP according to the communication connection request; receiving a control command from the external device; and providing the telematics service according to the received control command .

The step of receiving a control command from the external device includes the steps of transmitting a response signal for the communication connection request to the external device when the communication connection request is received, Receiving the control command from the external device through the MCU, and transmitting the control command received by the MCU to the AP.

The control method may further include turning on the power of the MCU according to a predetermined period and paging the connection request of the external device when the power of the MCU is turned on.

The step of turning on the power of the MCU according to the predetermined period may adjust a period of turning on the power of the MCU based on the remaining battery power of the vehicle.

The step of turning off the power of the AP may turn off the power of the AP when the start of the vehicle is stopped.

The step of turning on the power of the AP according to the communication connection request may execute the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) daemon and the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) daemon of the AP.

According to various embodiments of the present invention described above, it is possible to reduce the waste of power consumed in the TCU and to provide the telematics service stably for a longer time.

1 is a diagram illustrating a telematics system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a diagram for explaining an operation sequence of a telematics system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Before describing the present invention in detail, a method of describing the present specification and drawings will be described.

First, the terms used in the specification and claims have chosen generic terms in light of their function in various embodiments of the present invention. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of the skilled artisan, the legal or technical interpretation, and the emergence of new technologies. In addition, some terms may be terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant. These terms may be construed in the meaning defined herein and may be interpreted based on the general contents of this specification and the ordinary technical knowledge in the art without specific terms definition.

In addition, the same reference numerals or signs in the drawings attached to the present specification indicate components or components that perform substantially the same function. For ease of explanation and understanding, different embodiments will be described using the same reference numerals or signs. In other words, even though all the elements having the same reference numerals are shown in the plural drawings, the plural drawings do not mean an embodiment.

Further, in the present specification and claims, terms including ordinal numbers such as " first ", " second ", etc. may be used for distinguishing between elements. Such an ordinal number is used to distinguish the same or similar elements from one another, and the use of such ordinal numbers should not be construed as limiting the meaning of the term. For example, components in combination with such ordinal numbers should not be construed as limited in their use order or placement order. If necessary, each ordinal number may be used interchangeably.

The singular expressions herein include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present application, the terms " comprise ", or " comprise ", and the like, specify that the presence of stated features, integers, But do not preclude the presence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as "module", "unit", "part", and the like are terms used to refer to components that perform at least one function or operation, Or may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software. It should also be understood that a plurality of " modules ", " units ", " parts ", and the like may be integrated into at least one module or chip, (Not shown).

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, when a part is connected to another part, this includes not only a direct connection but also an indirect connection through another medium. Also, the inclusion of a component in an element means that it may include other components, not the exclusion of any other component, unless specifically stated otherwise.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram for explaining a telematics system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The telematics system 1000 for providing telematics services includes a telematics device 100, a telematics server 200 and a user terminal device 300 included in the vehicle 10.

Telematics service is a service that provides drivers with vehicle accident or theft detection, driving route guidance, traffic and life information by combining mobile communication technology and location tracking technology with the vehicle.

The vehicle 10 may be an example of a rail vehicle such as a motor vehicle, a road vehicle such as a truck, a bus, an underwater vehicle such as a ship or a boat, a flight vehicle such as an airplane, an aircraft and a helicopter, and a train.

The telematics device 100 is an electronic device mounted on the vehicle 10 to provide telematics services. Telematics device 100 is a term that is used to intuitively mean its meaning for convenience and may refer to various electronic devices that can be remotely controlled to send and receive information related to vehicle 10.

The telematics device 100 can communicate directly with the user terminal device 300, but generally communicates with the telematics server 200. The telematics device 100 communicates with the server 200 to receive a remote control command from the telematics server 200 or to provide the remote control command from the telematics server 200 to the user terminal 300 To the telematics server 200 via the network. That is, the telematics device 100 can communicate with the user terminal device 300 via the telematics server 200 by the mobile communication method.

When the vehicle 10 is turned off, the telematics device 100 enters a sleep mode driven by a low power. Even if it is driven with low power, the telematics device 100 can periodically receive the Rx signal, The remote control command triggered by the device 300 may be received from the telematics server 200.

On the other hand, the telematics service can be provided by the telematics server 200. The telematics server 200 may also be commonly referred to as an application server. The telematics server 200 is a term used for intuitively understanding the meaning of the telematics server 200. The telematics server 200 transmits a remote control command received from the user terminal 300 to the telematics device 100, To the user terminal 300. The server 300 may be connected to the server 300 via a network. Therefore, basically, the telematics server 200 communicates with the telematics device 100 and the user terminal device 300 in various ways.

The telematics server 200 may be implemented as a base station or an external terminal capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals according to a telecommunication system according to a technical standard for mobile communication with the telematics device 100.

The telematics server 200 can receive information on the vehicle 10 on which the telematics device 100 is mounted from the telematics device 100 through mobile communication. For example, the telematics server 200 receives, from the telematics device 100, operating information including driving speed and running distance of the vehicle 10, driver information, communication state information of the vehicle 10, battery remaining amount information, can do. The information that the telematics server 200 can receive from the telematics device 100 may be various other than the above-described information. The telematics server 200 may transmit information received from the telematics device 100 to the user terminal device 300. [

Meanwhile, the telematics server 200 can receive various remote control commands from the user terminal device 300 through mobile communication. The user terminal device 300 drives an application capable of communicating with the telematics server 200 and transmits remote control commands such as remote start of the vehicle 10, remote air conditioning, remote door lock / unlock, To the server (200). The telematics server 200 may transmit information received from the user terminal device 300 to the telematics device 100. [

Meanwhile, the telematics server 200 may include a database (not shown), and the database may store information about the telematics device 100 and the user terminal device 300. In addition, the database of the telematics server 200 may store user identification information (ID, password, etc.) of the user terminal device 300.

The user terminal device 300 may mean a terminal device of a mobile environment such as a PC, a smart phone, etc., which the user can carry. The user terminal device 300 can directly communicate with the telematics device 100, but generally communicates with the telematics server 200 through a wireless data network.

In particular, the user terminal device 300 can control the telematics device 100 through the telematics server 200. For example, the user terminal device 300 can be used to remotely start the telematics device 100, A remote door lock / unlock, and the like can be transmitted to the telematics device 100 through the telematics server 200. Also, the user terminal device 300 can receive various vehicle-related information such as parking position information from the telematics device 100 through the telematics server 200.

2 is a block diagram briefly showing a configuration of a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the telematics device 100 includes a communication unit 110 and a TCU 120.

The communication unit 110 is configured to perform communication with an external device. According to an embodiment, the external device may be the server 200 or the user terminal device 300. That is, according to one embodiment, the telematics device 100 can communicate with the user terminal device 300 via the server 200. [ According to another embodiment, the telematics device 100 can directly communicate with the user terminal device 300 without passing through the server 200. [ In the following description, the external device will be described as an embodiment in which the server 200 is used.

And a configuration for performing communication with the telematics server 200. The communication unit 110 may be implemented as a cellular modem that communicates with the telematics server 200 using wireless communication.

The communication unit 110 may be a mobile communication system or a mobile communication system such as a mobile communication system or a mobile communication system using technology standards for mobile communication such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multi Access (CDMA), Code Division Multi Access 2000 (CDMA2000) (Wideband CDMA), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE (Long Term Evolution-Advanced The mobile communication network can transmit and receive radio signals to and from the telematics server 200. [ Here, the wireless signal may include various types of data according to a voice call signal, a video call signal, or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

Also, the communication unit 110 can support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, and the like.

Meanwhile, the communication unit 110 may include an identification module. The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the usage right of the telematics device 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module Universal Subscriber Identify Module (USIM), and the like. However, according to the embodiment, the device including the identification module may be implemented as a smart card or the like, and may be connected to the telematics device 100 through a separate port.

The Telematics Control Unit (TCU) 120 is typically capable of controlling the overall operation of the telematics device 100. For example, the TCU 120 may perform control and processing for data communication, video call, route search, vehicle control, and the like.

The TCU 120 may include an application processor (AP) 121 and an MCU 122.

The AP 121 refers to an operating system (OS) mounted on the telematics device 100 and a system-on-chip (SOC) for driving various applications. The AP 121 can include a CPU, a GPU, a communication chip, an ISP, and various types of interfaces.

In particular, the AP 121 executes a Radio Interface Layer (RIL) daemon for supporting a radio link layer for voice communication and a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) daemon for supporting a data link layer for data communication .

The RIL daemon initializes the Vendor RIL, processes all communications from android telephony services, and forwards the call to the vendor RIL through the solicited command. The PPP daemon performs functions according to standard protocols established by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), such as the initialization and authentication phase required before the actual network traffic through the link.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the AP 121 can maintain the state in which the power supply is turned off at the normal time when the vehicle is turned off. Here, the turned-off state means a state in which no power is supplied, and may mean a low-power state in which the supply of power is limited to a wide range. Conversely, the turned-on state may refer to a state in which the power is supplied, or a state in which the supply of power is not normally limited and is normally supplied.

An MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 122 is a processor for controlling the communication unit 110 and the AP 121. The MCU 122 may be directly connected to the communication unit 110 to operate the communication unit 110. According to another embodiment, the communication unit 110 may be directly connected to the AP 121 as well as the MCU 122.

The MCU 122 monitors the paging of the communication unit 110 while the AP 121 is turned off and the communication unit 110 transmits a communication connection request (paging message) from the telematics server 200, Is received. That is, only the MCU 122 is always supplied with power when the AP 121 is turned off.

If it is determined that a communication connection request is received from the communication unit 110, the MCU 122 turns on the power of the AP 121 and transmits a response signal to the telematics server 200 via the communication unit 110 To be transmitted. When the control command is received from the telematics server 200 that has received the response signal, the MCU 122 can transmit the received control command to the AP 121. [ As the power is turned on, the AP 121 executes the RIL daemon and the PPP daemon, and can provide a telematics service according to the received control command.

That is, the TCU 120 separately mounts the telematics service supporting logic in the AP 121 having a relatively large power consumption and the MCU 122 having a relatively small power consumption, and when the communication connection request is received The power consumed by the TCU 120 can be reduced by turning on the power of the AP 121. [

Meanwhile, the MCU 122 may be periodically turned on / off. Accordingly, the power consumed by the MCU 122 can be further reduced. In this case, the communication unit 110 may perform paging at a predetermined cycle as the MCU 122 is periodically turned on / off. Specifically, the communication unit 110 may page whether a communication connection request (paging message) is received from the telematics server 200 every time the MCU 122 is turned on.

On the other hand, there is a possibility that the remote control command of the user terminal device 300 may not be correctly received by the communication unit 110 due to a communication error or the like due to the periodic turn-off of the MCU 1220. In order to solve such a problem, the telematics server 200 may store the remote control command received from the user terminal device 300. [ At this time, the MCU 122 may be provided with an algorithm for confirming a remote control command waiting in the telematics server 200.

For example, when a user requests a remote control service to the telematics server 200 using the user terminal 300 and transmits a remote control command for the remote control service to the telematics device 100 from the telematics server 200 The remote control command may be stored in the database of the telematics server 200 in case of a communication error. The telematics server 200 may attempt to establish a communication connection with the telematics device 100 at predetermined time intervals. When the communication is established, the telematics server 200 may transmit the remote control command to the telematics device 100.

Meanwhile, the MCU 122 may control a paging cycle for monitoring the wireless paging channel of the communication unit 110. [ For example, the MCU 122 may adjust the paging cycle by adjusting the Slot Cycle Index (SCI) value for CDMA or the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) value for LTE. Therefore, the power consumption of the communication unit 110 can be adjusted also according to the variation of the paging cycle.

On the other hand, the telematics device 100 may include a display (not shown) disposed in the front portion of the vehicle 10, and may provide audio, video, and navigation functions. The telematics device 100 may include a terminal position information receiving unit (not shown) for providing a navigation function. The telematics device 100 may include a terminal position information receiving unit provided separately from the telematics device 100, CAN communication).

3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the AP 121 includes a telematics service module 121a and a TCU power management module 121b. The MCU 122 includes a paging monitoring module 122a and a duty cycle management module 122b.

The paging monitoring module 122a periodically monitors whether a communication connection request is received through the paging channel with the telematics server 200, The paging monitoring module 122a transmits a control signal for turning on the power of the AP 121 to the TCU power management module 121b of the AP 121 when a communication connection request is received to the communication unit 110. [

For example, the communication unit 110 transmits a communication connection request to the AUTOSAR application through the CDD (Complex Device Driver) of the AUTOSAR OS installed in the MCU 122, and the AUTOSAR application transmits the communication connection request to the TCU power management module 121b through the AP 121 May be turned on.

The duty cycle management module 122b is a configuration that adjusts a duty cycle in which current flows in the MCU 122, that is, a turn-on period of the power supply. In particular, the duty cycle management module 122b may adjust the period during which the vehicle 10 supplying power to the TCU 120 is powered on, based on the remaining amount of the battery.

For example, the duty cycle management module 122b may increase the period during which the MCU 122 is turned on when the remaining amount of the battery is less than a preset threshold value.

The TCU power management module 121b controls power supplied to the AP 121 and the MCU 122. When the MCU 122 receives a control signal for turning on the power of the AP 121, The power of the AP 121 can be controlled to be turned on. When the power is turned on, the AP 121 executes the RIL daemon and the PPP daemon, and can drive the telematics service module 121a.

Meanwhile, when the control command input from the user terminal device 300 is received by the communication unit 110 through the server 200, the received control command is transmitted to the telematics service module 121a, and the telematics service module 121a According to the received control command, the telematics service such as remote start, vehicle condition monitoring, etc. can be executed.

4 is a diagram for explaining an operation sequence of a telematics system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the start of the vehicle 10 is stopped, the power of the AP 121 included in the electronic device 100 is turned off, and the MCU 122 is maintained in the turn-on state (S405). At this time, the MCU 122 may repeat the turn-on and turn-off at a predetermined cycle. The electronic device 100 can continuously perform paging through the communication unit 110 connected to the MCU 122 while the power of the MCU 122 is turned on at step S410.

Thereafter, when a control command requesting the telematics service related to the vehicle 10 is inputted from the user terminal 300, the user terminal 300 transmits the control command to the server 200 providing the telematics service S415). The server 200 stores the received control command (S420), and transmits a communication connection request to the electronic device 100 (S425).

When the electronic device 100 receives the communication connection request from the server 200, it turns on the power of the AP 121 (S430) and transmits a response signal to the server 200 in response to the received communication connection request (S435 ). The server 200 receiving the response signal transmits the stored control command S420 to the electronic device 100 at step S440 and the electronic device 100 transmits the received control command to the AP 121, (S445). ≪ / RTI >

The electronic device 100 transmits telematics service related information (vehicle status, operation contents, etc.) according to the execution of the telematics service to the server 200 (S450), and the server 200 transmits the received telematics service- To the terminal device 300 (S455).

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a telematics device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when a specific event such as the start of the vehicle is stopped, the power of the AP is turned off (S510).

Thereafter, a communication connection request from the server is received through the MCU (S520). At this time, the MCU may be turned on according to a predetermined period, and when the MCU is turned on, the server can request a communication connection page. On the other hand, in this case, the cycle in which the power supply of the MCU is turned on can be adjusted based on the remaining battery power of the vehicle.

At this time, if a communication connection request is received, a response signal for the communication connection request can be transmitted to the server.

Then, the power of the AP is turned on according to the received communication connection request (S530). When the AP is powered on, the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) daemon and the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) daemon can be running.

Thereafter, when the server receives the response signal, it receives a control command from the server through the MCU (S540).

Thereafter, the control command received from the server is transmitted to the AP, and the AP receiving the control command provides the telematics service (S550).

As described above, according to the various embodiments of the present invention, when the user does not request the telematics service, the power of the AP having high power consumption can be turned off in the telematics device mounted in the vehicle, .

The control method of the electronic device according to the above-described various embodiments may be implemented as a program and stored in various recording media. That is, a computer program, which is processed by various processors and can execute the various control methods described above, may be stored in the recording medium.

For example, the method includes turning off the power of an AP (Application Processor), receiving a communication connection request from an external device through an MCU (Micro Controller Unit), turning on the power of the AP according to a communication connection request, A non-transitory computer readable medium may be provided in which a program for performing steps of receiving a control command from a device and providing the AP with a telematics service according to the received control command is provided have.

Non-Temporary Readable Medium A medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, memory, etc., but semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the device. In particular, the various applications or programs described above may be stored and provided on non-volatile readable media such as CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray Disc USB, memory card, ROM,

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

100: electronic device 200: server
300: user terminal device 110:
120: TCU 121: AP
122: MCU

Claims (12)

An electronic device mounted on a vehicle,
A communication unit for communicating with an external device;
AP (Application Processor); And
And an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) for turning on the power of the AP when a communication connection request is received from the external device in a state that the power of the AP is turned off,
Wherein the AP provides a telematics service according to the received control command when a control command is received from the external device after the power source is turned on. The method according to claim 1,
The MCU includes:
When receiving a connection request from the external device, transmits a response signal to the external device in response to the connection request, and when receiving the control command from the external device, transfers the received control command to the AP Electronic device. The method according to claim 1,
The MCU includes:
Wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to paging the connection request of the external device when the power source is turned on according to a predetermined period and the power source is turned on. The method of claim 3,
The MCU includes:
And adjusts a period at which the power source is turned on based on a remaining battery level of the vehicle. The method according to claim 1,
The MCU includes:
And turns off the power of the AP when the start of the vehicle is stopped. The method according to claim 1,
The AP,
Wherein when the power is turned on, a RIL (Radio Interface Layer) daemon and a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) daemon are executed. A control method of an electronic device mounted on a vehicle,
Turning off the power of the AP (Application Processor);
Receiving a communication connection request from an external device through an MCU (Micro Controller Unit);
Turning on the power of the AP according to the communication connection request;
Receiving a control command from the external device; And
And providing the telematics service to the AP according to the received control command. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the step of receiving a control command from the external apparatus comprises:
Transmitting a response signal for the communication connection request to the external device when the communication connection request is received;
Receiving the control command from the external device through the MCU when the external device receives the response signal; And
And transmitting the control command received by the MCU to the AP. 8. The method of claim 7,
Turning on the power of the MCU according to a predetermined cycle; And
And paging the connection request of the external device when the power of the MCU is turned on. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the step of turning on the power of the MCU according to the predetermined period comprises:
Wherein the control unit adjusts a cycle in which the power supply of the MCU is turned on based on a remaining battery level of the vehicle. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein turning off the power of the AP comprises:
And when the start of the vehicle is stopped, turning off the power of the AP. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the step of turning on the power of the AP according to the communication connection request comprises:
And the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) daemon and the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) daemon of the AP are executed.

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