RU2608477C2 - Method of automotive device with wi-fi module connection and automatic adjustment - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: car industry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to automotive industry, in particular to automotive device automatic setup systems and methods. Said technical result is achieved due to fact, that in automotive device with wi-fi module connection and automatic adjustment method by means of mobile device mobile device wireless communication module is switched into “infrastructure” mode to creating access point with connection parameters required for automotive device automatic connection, then automotive device connection request is received on mobile device access point and performing its connection, after that, receiving network settings for automotive device on mobile device and applying these network settings on automotive device.

EFFECT: technical result consists in operation acceleration due to automotive devices adjustment simplification when connecting to onboard computer or mobile control device.

9 cl

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to the automotive industry, in particular to systems and methods for automatically configuring automotive devices.

State of the art

Currently, at an accelerated pace in the automotive industry, a direction called connected car is developing. This direction provides the ability to remotely receive and provide various services to vehicle users using the Internet, cloud solutions, car electronic devices, mobile devices and the WEB interface.

At the moment, one of the problems that arise when creating a platform that allows you to integrate navigators, radar detectors, radio, video recorders and other devices into a single network and connect them with mobile devices is the initial connection and configuration of car devices. Car devices are equipped with wi-fi modules operating in the "infrastructure" mode by default.

In order for the on-board computer (BC) to interact with this set of devices, the following scheme is usually used: the BC connects to the device in the access point (AP) mode, polls / sends commands, disconnects and proceeds to the next device.

This scheme has inherent disadvantages such as the inability to use it to continuously access devices on the Internet, and, in addition, there is no possibility of operational, multitasking with devices.

Closest to the claimed invention in terms of essential features is a method of setting up the device and connecting it using the M2M gateway, disclosed in the application for invention US 2013/0094444 A1, published 04/18/2013, in which the connection is made to the device operating in ad hoc mode, obtaining the necessary device parameters, switching the device to the "infrastructure" mode and assigning the FQDN for further interaction with it.

The disadvantages of this technical solution are the mandatory presence of the device in ad-hoc mode, support for the "infrastructure" mode by an automobile device, and the lack of flexibility when connecting devices.

Disclosure of invention

The present invention addresses the disadvantages of existing solutions. The technical result achieved by the implementation of the claimed invention is to accelerate, simplify the configuration of automotive devices when connected to an on-board computer or mobile control device.

The specified technical result is achieved due to the fact that in the method of connecting and automatically configuring automobile devices with a wi-fi module using a mobile device, the wireless device of the mobile device is put into infrastructure mode and an access point is created with the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of the automobile device, then on a mobile device, they receive a request to connect an automobile device to the access point and connect it, after which abundant device network settings obtained for automotive devices and network configuration data used in the automotive unit. In this case, the network settings for the automobile device can be set at the manufacturing stage, and the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection can coincide with the settings specified at the device production stage, and a directory with network settings can be used to determine the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of automobile devices car devices according to the manufacturer and model of the car device.

In addition, the network settings for the automobile device can be set at the manufacturing stage and applied as a barcode to the device and / or packaging, and to determine the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of automobile devices, the barcode with the network settings can be read from the device or package . Also, network settings for the car device can be obtained based on information about the car device.

The specified technical result is also achieved due to the fact that they pre-log into the user account and select the car for which the car device is connected, and at the stage of applying network settings, the car device is tied to the car.

The system for connecting and automatically configuring devices with a wi-fi module using a mobile device includes a mobile device containing a wi-fi wireless module, a data storage, and a data processing device.

The implementation of the invention

Hereinafter, some terms used in the application will be described.

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

IEEE 802.11 - a set of communication standards for communication in a wireless local area network of the frequency ranges of 0.9, 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz.

Conventional Wi-Fi networks are usually organized using special control devices called “wireless access points”. These devices typically have three functions: physical support for wireless and wired networks, switching and routing between devices on the network, and a service that allows you to add and remove devices from the network.

A typical home Wi-Fi network includes devices such as desktop and tablet computers, mobile phones, modern printers, music and television devices. Most Wi-Fi networks are configured in "infrastructure mode", where the access point is the central hub to which other Wi-Fi compatible devices connect. These devices do not interact with each other directly (that is, in “Ad-hoc mode”), but through an access point.

OBD (On-board diagnostics) - On-board diagnostics, a standard developed in the mid-90s, provides complete engine control. Allows you to monitor body parts and additional devices, and also diagnoses a car control network. In this standard, manufacturers use various vehicle connection protocols.

On-board diagnostics - a system of software and hardware (SUD controller, sensors, actuators) that can identify and identify malfunctions of the engine control system, engine, as well as possible causes of their occurrence.

FQDN (short for Fully Qualified Domain Name - "fully qualified domain name", sometimes abbreviated to "fully qualified domain name") - a domain name that does not have ambiguities in the definition. Includes the names of all the parent domains of the DNS hierarchy.

Inter-machine interaction (machine-to-machine interaction, Eng. Machine-to-Machine, M2M) is the general name of technologies that allow machines to exchange information with each other, or to transmit it unilaterally. It can be wired and wireless systems for monitoring sensors or any device parameters (temperature, inventory level, location, etc.).

Mobile devices - a series of devices, which includes smartphones, tablets, e-books, telephones, PDAs and netbooks, the main feature of which is the size and the number of functions performed by them.

Near Field Communication, NFC (“Near Contactless Communication”) is a short-range wireless high-frequency communication technology that enables the exchange of data between devices located at a distance of about 10 centimeters.

RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) is a method for automatically identifying objects in which data stored in the so-called transponders or RFID tags are read or written using radio signals.

Two-dimensional barcodes were developed to encode a large amount of information. Decryption of such a code is carried out in two dimensions (horizontally and vertically).

Two-dimensional barcodes are divided into multi-level (stacked) and matrix (matrix). Multilevel barcodes appeared historically earlier and represent several ordinary linear codes set on top of each other. Matrix codes are more densely packed information elements vertically.

MAC address (from the English. Media Access Control - access control to the environment, also Hardware Address) is a unique identifier assigned to each unit of active equipment of computer networks.

A method for connecting and automatically configuring automobile devices with a wi-fi module using a mobile device can be implemented, including on a computer, in the form of a system or computer-readable medium containing instructions for performing the above method.

In this invention, a system means a computer system, a computer (electronic computer), CNC (numerical control), PLC (programmable logic controller), computerized control systems and any other devices that can perform a given, well-defined sequence of operations (actions, instructions).

By a command processing device is meant an electronic unit or an integrated circuit (microprocessor) that executes machine instructions (programs).

The command processing device reads and executes machine instructions (programs) from one or more data storage devices. Data storage devices may include, but are not limited to, hard disks (HDDs), flash memory, ROM (read only memory), solid state drives (SSDs), and optical drives.

A program is a sequence of instructions intended for execution by a control device of a computer or a device for processing commands.

The way to connect and automatically configure car devices with a wi-fi module using a mobile device includes the following steps:

1. At the stage of assembly of an automobile device or production of a chip that provides wireless wi-fi, the device’s network is configured by default. The settings can be the SSID (network identifier) and the account required to connect to the mobile device. These settings can be standardized by manufacturers.

To configure an automobile device, use a mobile device with software loaded in it.

2. Transfer the wireless module of the mobile device to the "infrastructure" mode, and create an access point with the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of the car device.

To determine the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of automobile devices, a reference is used with the network settings of automobile devices according to the manufacturer and model of the automobile device. The necessary settings can be selected automatically, by sequentially changing the parameters of the access point, according to the list or manually by the user.

In addition, network settings for an automobile device can be specified at the manufacturing stage and applied as a barcode or RFID tag to the device and / or packaging. In this case, the mobile device reads these settings and applies them.

As a barcode, two-dimensional barcodes are mainly used, such as: Aztec Code, Data Matrix, MaxiCode, PDF417, QR code, Microsoft Tag, but are not limited to them.

To read the barcode, a photo-fixing element of a mobile device and computer vision algorithms are used.

To read rfid tags, use NFC built into the mobile device.

As a mobile device can be used:

- smartphone;

- PDA;

- tablet computer or laptop;

- “smart watches” or “smart glasses”;

- car radio with integrated operating system;

- the on-board computer of the car.

As an automobile device can be used:

- digital video recorder (DVR or DVR);

- radar detector;

- navigator.

3. The car device is connected to the on-board diagnostics (OBD).

4. Accept on the above mobile device to the above access point a request to connect the aforementioned car device and make its connection.

5. After the necessary settings are applied, the car device automatically connects to the mobile device with the specified parameters.

A mobile device can store the settings necessary for connecting in a directory or receive them from a remote computer system; information about the device and its wireless module can be obtained. In this case, the network settings of the car device may depend on its type.

Network settings may include, but are not limited to, the access point SSID, authorization data (login and password), information about the encryption used, the standard used and the frequency.

The connected device is tied to the vehicle for which the connection is made. At the same time, information about the mac address, the serial number of the device, or a combination thereof can be used to identify the device. Previously, before performing the above method, the user creates an account and / or authorizes the service (if there is an account), enters information about their cars and selects which vehicle the current car device is being configured for. Data about cars and devices can be stored on a remote server, on a mobile device. The determination of the vehicle for which the diagnostics are carried out can occur automatically, or can be made based on information received from the on-board computer or on-board diagnostics.

Claims (13)

1. A method for connecting and automatically configuring automotive devices with a wi-fi module using a mobile device, characterized in that: - transfer the wireless module of the mobile device to the "infrastructure" mode, and create an access point with the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of the car device; - receive on a mobile device, an access point, a request to connect an automobile device and make its connection; - receive network settings for the car device on the mobile device; - apply network settings on the car device. 2. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that the network settings for the automobile device are set at the manufacturing stage. 3. The method according to p. 2, characterized in that the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection coincide with the settings specified at the device manufacturing stage. 4. The method according to p. 2, characterized in that to determine the connection parameters necessary for automatic connection of automobile devices, a directory with network settings of automobile devices according to the manufacturer and model of the automobile device is used. 5. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that the network settings for the automobile device are set at the manufacturing stage and are applied in the form of a barcode on the device and / or packaging. 6. The method according to p. 5, characterized in that to determine the connection parameters necessary for the automatic connection of automobile devices, the barcode with the network settings is read from the device or packaging. 7. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that the network settings for the car device are obtained based on information about the aforementioned car device. 8. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that they pre-log into the user account and select the car for which the car device is connected. 9. The method according to p. 8, characterized in that the car device, at the stage of applying network settings, is tied to a car.