WO2012010210A1

WO2012010210A1 - Mobile device cradle for vehicle applications

Info

Publication number: WO2012010210A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/060674
Authority: WO
Inventors: Markus Rau; Jörg WINKLER; Peter Schoppe
Original assignee: Deutsche Telekom Ag
Priority date: 2010-07-22
Filing date: 2010-07-22
Publication date: 2012-01-26

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile device cradle for car applications. A basic idea of the invention is to implement an interface in a mobile device cradle, which allows a mobile device to communicate with electronic control devices of a vehicle, and a controller for controlling the data exchange with electronic devices of the vehicle over the interface of the cradle. Thus, the cradle may in combination with a mobile device such as a smartphone used to remotely control vehicle functions, such as for example remotely closing doors and canopy tops, activating or deactivating a heater, checking the status of vehicle functions such as doors closed/open, canopy top open/closed, heating on/off, radio on/off. An embodiment of the invention relates to a mobile device cradle (10) for vehicle applications comprising - a first interface (A) for data exchange with a mobile device (14), - a second interface (B) for data exchange with an interface (18) for access to electronic control devices (20) of a vehicle and - a control unit (22) for controlling access to the electronic control devices of the vehicle from the mobile device.

Description

DESCRIPTION TITLE MOBILE DEVICE CRADLE FOR VEHICLE APPLICATIONS TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a mobile device cradle for vehicle applications according to claim 1 .

BACKGROUND ART

Cradles for mobile devices usually serve as simple holders for mobile devices or charging stations. Some cradles also comprise a USB connector for connecting the mobile device with a computer for syncing. Cradles for vehicle applications can mostly be fixed at the windshield of a vehicle so that a driver can easily read the display of a mobile device situated in the cradle, such as a mobile navigation device or a smartphone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved mobile device cradle for vehicle applications.

The object is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further embodiments are shown by the dependent claims.

A basic idea of the invention is to implement an interface in a mobile device cradle, which allows a mobile device to communicate with electronic control devices of a vehicle, and a controller for controlling the data exchange with electronic devices of the vehicle over the interface of the cradle. Thus, the cradle may in combination with a mobile device such as a smartphone used to remotely control vehicle functions, such as for example remotely closing doors and canopy tops, activating or deactivating a heater, checking the status of vehicle functions such as doors closed/open, canopy top open/closed, heating on/off, radio on/off. The cradle may be implemented to be universally used with different mobile devices by using standardized interfaces for coupling with mobile devices, for example USB (Universal Serial Bus), Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi™.

An embodiment of the invention relates to a mobile device cradle for vehicle applications comprising

a first interface for data exchange with a mobile device,

a second interface for data exchange with an interface for access to electronic control devices of a vehicle and

a control unit for controlling access to the electronic control devices of the vehicle from the mobile device.

The control unit adds "intelligence" to the mobile device cradle, which may serve as a universal access point for vehicle functions from a mobile device such as a smartphone, laptop or tablet computer. Electronic control devices of the vehicle may be any control device accessible from the interface. Typically, electronic control devices are all control devices implemented in a vehicle, which are coupled via for example a CAN bus or another bus system in the vehicle.

The interface for access to electronic control devices of a vehicle may be an on-board diagnostics port and the control unit may be configured to handle data exchange over the second interface with the interface to electronic control devices of the vehicle using an OBD protocol, particularly an OBD2 or EOBD protocol. The control un it may be configured to receive commands for controll ing electron ic control devices of the veh icle, to create OBD protocol control commands, and to transmit the created OBD protocol control commands over the second interface to the interface for access to electronic control devices of the vehicle. Thus, the cradle may serve as a kind of advanced access device for the electronic control devices of a vehicle offering the possibility of remotely accessing vehicle functions from a mobile device. The commands may be created by a mobile device and transmitted to the cradle, or by the cradle itself with the control unit and by receiving for example direct user inputs such as spoken commands and commands entered via a touch screen of the cradle.

The first interface may be implemented by a cellular mobile radio modem, particularly comprising an embedded SIM. This enables a user to access vehicle functions even from a smartphone or generally via a mobile radio communication connection. The cellular mobile radio modem may be a 3.5 G modem on the board of the cradle. The embedded SIM may be fixedly mounted on a board of the cradle. The identifier of the embedded SIM may be used for authentication against a platform offering remote vehicle services and/or coupling of vehicle- und and user profiles. Alternatively, the first interface may also be implemented by a Bluetooth® / WI-FI™ connection (wireless) or by a USB connection (wired) between the cradle and the smartphone.

The control unit may be further configured to use the cellular mobile radio modem of the crad l e by establishing a mobile radio communication connection with a mobile device and to exchange data over the established mobile radio communication connection with the mobile device. The control unit may also for example establish a continuous communication connection to a server and register itself with the server for access. A mobile device may then access the server, for example over the internet, in order to obtain access to the vehicle functions. A smartphone coupled with the cradle may also use the cellular mobile radio modem of the cradle, particularly with the SIM card information from the smartphone.

The control unit may be further configured to establ ish a mobile radio communication connection using the SIM of a mobile device connected with the cradle. For example, the control unit may be configured to establish a mobile radio communication connection with a predefined mobile device, for example a smartphone of the owner of the vehicle, in which the cradle is installed, upon certain events, such as starting the motor of the vehicle, moving the vehicle.

The control unit may be further configured to encode data exchange over the first interface. This may add a further layer of security to the control of vehicle functions. For example, the control unit may be configured to establish a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection with a mobile device coupled to the first interface, thus allowing an encrypted communication between the cradle and the mobile device.

The control unit may implement an integrated protocol stack for the access to electronic control devices of the car comprising one or more of the following protocols: J-1850 PWM; J-1850 VPWM; ISO 9141 -2; ISO 14230-2 KWP2000 5-Baud init; ISO 14230-2 KWP2000 fast init; CAN 1 1 /500; CAN 29/500; CAN 1 1 /250; CAN 29/250. The control unit may be implemented by a processor and a memory storing an operating system of the cradle. The processor may be for example clocked with 1 GHz (Gigahertz) clock frequency and the memory may comprise at least 512 MB RAM/ROM/Flash. The operating system may be for example Andriod™, version 2.2, with an underlying LINUX™, version 2.6.

The cradle may further comprise one or more of the following components: a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) antenna, particularly a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna for acting as signal booster for the GPS module of a mobile device coupled with the cradle;

a GNSS (Global Navigation Satell ite System) module, particularly a GPS module; a cellular mobile radio antenna used by the cellular mobile radio of the cradle and possibly as signal booster for the cellular mobile radio of the mobile device coupled with the cradle;

a Bluetooth®, a cellular mobile radio, USB or WI-FI™ module implementing the first interface;

a Bluetooth® module implementing the second interface;

a charging interface for connecting with a power supply port of the vehicle and for charging an accumulator integrated in the cradle and/or the accumulator of a mobile device connectable with the cradle;

a wireless charging module, for example as offered by Powermat™ USA, LLC;

a power management unit for managing the power supply of the cradle and/or a mobile device connected with the cradle for charging;

a display un it controlled by the control unit and provided for d isplaying information;

an integrated speaker controllable by the control unit of the cradle;

an integrated microphone controllable by the control unit of the cradle;

a speaker connector for an external speaker;

a microphone connector for an external microphone.

The above components may add further functionality to the cradle, such as positioning with the GNSS module, wireless communication via the Bluetooth®, cellular mobile or WI-FI™ module, charging of accumulators, an improved power management for example to disconnect the cradle from vehicle power supply based on configurable events (e.g. ignition off, battery voltage, smartphone connection, state, time), displaying available functions with the display unit and receiving commands from the display unit with touch screen functionality, voice input and output via the speaker and microphone and voice command processing and hands-free speaking. The Bluetooth® module of the second interface may be used for communication with a CAN- to-Bluetooth® adapter, which may allow wireless access to the OBD port of the vehicle. The control unit may be further configured to execute background services retrieving vehicle data over the second interface from the electronic control devices of the car and to store and/or transmit the retrieved vehicle data in a memory of the cradle or via the first interface to a mobile device, respectively. Thus, the cradle may for example collect important data from the vehicle in the background, while the control unit processes in the foreground another task such as for example providing GPS data to a coupled mobile device. The collected data may for example be used for an electronic log book, fleet management (fuel status, mileage, geo position in combination with the GNSS module, ...). The collected data may also be transmitted via a background process using the embedded SIM card and the cellular mobile radio modem to a server for storing and further processing, for example the server provided for fleet management for enterprises or private car management.

A further embod iment of the invention relates to a mobile device being configured for usage with the cradle of the invention and as described above and comprising software for creating and transmitting control commands for electronic control devices of a vehicle over the first interface to the cradle. The mobile device may be for example a smartphone, particularly with an Android™, iPHone™, Symbian™, or Windows™ Mobile or Phone operating system. Configuration of the smartphone for usage with the cradle may be accomplished by software, also called App, which may be downloaded from a website in the internet and installed by a user on the smartphone. However, the app may also be preinstalled on smartphones, which are for example distributed by mobile radio communication service providers and/or sold in combination with the cradle.

The control commands may com prise one or more of the fol lowi ng commands:

a control command for remotely controlling vehicle functions controllable with the electronic control devices of the vehicle;

a control command for reading data from an electronic control device of the vehicle; a control command for writing data into an electronic control devices of the vehicle.

A yet further embodiment of the invention relates to a computer program for a mobile device of the invention and as described before and enabling a processor of the mobile device to create and transmit control commands for electronic control devices of a vehicle over the first interface to the cradle of the invention and as described above. According to a further embodiment of the invention, a record carrier storing a computer program according to the invention may be provided, for example a CD-ROM, a DVD, a memory card, a diskette, internet memory device or a similar data carrier suitable to store the computer program for optical or electronic access. For example, the computer program may be distributed via an internet store for downloading apps for smartphone platforms, such as the Android™ marketplace, iTunes™, and Windows™ phone marketplace.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to exemplary embodiments. However, the invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the mobile device cradle according to the invention and coupled to a smartphone and a ODB2 port of a vehicle. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following, functionally similar or identical elements may have the same reference numerals. Furthermore, absolute values are mentioned only as examples and may not be understood as a restriction of the scope of protection.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a mobile device cradle 10 with a built-in GPS module 30, a LCD display 36, a loudspeaker 38, and a microphone 40. The components 30, 36, 38, and 40 are controlled by a control unit 22, which comprises a 1 GHZ microprocessor 24 and a memory 26 storing Android™ 2.2 as operating system (OS) to be executed by the processor 24. The OS Android™ 2.2 is configured to implement functionality of the cradle 10 as will be described later in detail.

The OS of the cradle 10 enables the processing of speech commands received via the microphone 40. Further, the OS implements the output of information for a user on the display 36 and also via the loudspeaker 38. Also, the GPS module 30 and the embedded SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) module 28 are used by the OS to provide extended functionality of the cradle 10 to a user. Particularly, the OS controls the usage of the GPS module 30 by allowing a smartphone 14 coupled to the cradle 10 to use it, for example to use the position data received from the GPS module 30 in a navigation software. The OS may also control the usage of the embedded SIM module 28 together with a built-in cellular mobile radio modem 12 of the cradle 10 as will be described later.

The cradle 10 and its electronic components are supplied with electricity from the cigarette lighter or a vehicle built in USB port by means of a cable, connectable to a power supply connector 32 of the cradle 10. The power supply of all components of the cradle 10 is controlled by a power management controller 34, which is connected to the power supply connector 32. The controller 34 controls the power requirements of the components and can for example control the charging of an internal accumulator of the cradle 44 or of an accumulator of a mobile device connected for example with a USB interface 42 or another charging interface (not shown) of the cradle 10. Particularly, the controller 34 can disconnect all electronic components of the cradle 10 from power supply, when it detects a certain event, for example ignition off, battery voltage, smartphone connection state, time. These events may be configurable by a user. The cradle further comprises two interfaces A and B for data exchange with a mobile device 14 and the vehicle.

The first interface A is provided for a data exchange with a mobile device, such as the smartphone 14 shown in Fig. 1 . The first interface A may comprise one or more physical interfaces for coupling with the smartphone 14: an USB interface 42 for a wired connection with the smartphone 14; a Bluetooth® module 16 or Wi-Fi™ module (not shown) for a wireless connection with the smartphone 14; and a 3.5 G cellular mobile radio modem 12 for remote connection with the smartphone 14. The 3.5 G modem 12 enables a remote access to vehicle functionality from the smartphone 14, for example from the home or office of a user. The Bluetooth® module 16 allows a coupling within the vehicle or in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, and the USB interface 42 allows a coupling when the smartphone 14 is put in the cradle 10. The USB interface 42 may also serve to charge a battery of the smartphone 14, controlled by the power management controller 34. The second interface B is provided for a data exchange with the electronic control devices 20 of the vehicle via an OBD2 port with a Bluetooth®-to-CAN module 1 8 of the vehicle. The second interface B comprises a Bluetooth® module 16, but may also comprise further physical interfaces such as a serial interface for a wired connection with the port 18.

The OS executed by the processor 24 comprises functionality for accessing the electronic control devices 20 of the vehicle. In order to accomplish this, the processor 24 may create and transmit control commands for the electronic control devices 20 over the second interface B to the port 18. Alternatively, the smartphone 14 may be configured by software to create and transmit control commands for the electronic control devices 20 over the first interface A to the processor 24, which may forward the received commands via the second interface B to the port 18. The control commands comprise ODB2 compliant commands for reading data from electronic control devices, for example status and diagnostics data, and for writing data to electronic control devices, for example settings for adjusting functions of the vehicle controlled by electronic control devices or erasing error states. Additionally, the control commands may also be commands for controlling vehicle functions (if available), such as for example locking the doors, closing a canopy top or a window, switching off/on a seat heater, vehicle lights, and audio equipment.

The cradle 10 may be implemented as an adjustable car mount supporting smartphones of different size. Further, it may comprise fixing means for fixing the cradle 10 inside the vehicle, for example at the windshield by means of a windshield bracket. The windshield bracket may also comprise a combined GPS and cellular network antenna for excellent GPS and cellular mobile radio reception.

The present invention allows providing an "intelligent" mobile device cradle for vehicle applications and offers due to its integrated intelligence in form of a control unit and its interfaces to mobile devices and electronic control devices of a vehicle a novel approach for accessing vehicle information and control.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

10 mobile device cradle

12 3.5 G modem

14 smartphone

16 Bluetooth® module

18 OBD2 port with Bluetooth®-to-CAN module

20 electronic control devices of a vehicle 22 control unit

24 processor

26 memory

28 embedded SIM module

30 GPS module

32 power supply connector

34 power management controller

36 LCD display

38 loudspeaker

40 microphone

42 USB module / connector

44 accumulator

A first interface (between 18 and 10)

B second interface (between 10 and 14)

Claims

1 . A mobile device cradle (10) for vehicle applications comprising

- a first interface (A) for data exchange with a mobile device (14), - a second interface (B) for data exchange with an interface (18) for access to electronic control devices (20) of a vehicle and

- a control unit (22) for controlling access to the electronic control devices of the vehicle from the mobile device.

The cradle of claim 1 , wherein the interface for access to electronic control devices of a vehicle is an on-board diagnostics port and the control unit is configured to handle data exchange over the second interface (B) with the interface to electron ic control devices of the vehicle using an OBD protocol, particularly an OBD2 or EOBD protocol.

The cradle of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to receive commands for controlling electronic control devices of the vehicle, to create OBD protocol control commands, and to transmit the created OBD protocol control commands over the second interface (B) to the interface for access to electronic control devices of the vehicle.

The cradle of claim 1 , 2 or 3, wherein the first interface (A) is implemented by a cellular mobile radio modem (12), particularly comprising an embedded SIM (28), a Bluetooth™ module (16) , a Wi-Fi™ module and/or a USB module (42).

The cradle of claim 4, wherein the control unit (22) is further configured to use the cellular mobile radio modem (12) of the cradle by establishing a mobile radio communication connection with a mobile device and to exchange data over the establ ished mobile radio communication connection with the mobile device.

6. The cradle of claim 5, wherein the control unit (22) is further configured to establish a mobile radio communication connection using the SIM of a mobile device connected with the cradle.

7. The cradle of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (22) is further configured to encode data exchange over the first interface (A).

8. The cradle of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (22) implements an integrated protocol stack for the access to electronic control devices of the car comprising one or more of the following protocols: J- 1 850 PWM; J-1 850 VPWM; ISO 9141 -2; ISO 14230-2 KWP2000 5-Baud in it; ISO 14230-2 KWP2000 fast in it; CAN 1 1 /500; CAN 29/500; CAN 1 1 /250; CAN 29/250.

9. The cradle of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (22) is implemented by a processor (24) and a memory (26) storing an operating system of the cradle.

10. The cradle of any of the preceding claims, further comprising one or more of the following components:

a GNSS antenna, particularly a GPS antenna for acting as signal booster for the GPS module of a mobile device coupled with the cradle;

- a cellular mobile radio antenna used by the cellular mobile radio of the cradle and possibly as signal booster for the cellular mobile radio of the mobile device coupled with the cradle;

- a GNSS module (30), particularly a GPS module, for coupling with a mobile device;

- a Bluetooth® (16) a cellular mobile radio (12), USB (42) or WI-FI™ module implementing the first interface (A);

- a Bluetooth® module (16) implementing the second interface (B);

- a charging interface (32) for connecting with a power supply port of the vehicle and for charging an accumulator (44) integrated in the cradle and/or the accumulator of a mobile device connectable with the cradle; - a wireless charging module;

- a power management unit (34) for managing the power supply of the cradle and/or a mobile device connected with the cradle for charging;

- a display unit (36) controlled by the control unit and provided for displaying information;

- an integrated speaker (38) controllable by the control unit of the cradle;

- an integrated microphone (40) controllable by the control unit of the cradle;

- a speaker connector for an external speaker;

- a microphone connector for an external microphone.

1 1 .The cradle of any of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (22) is further configured to execute background services retrieving vehicle data over the second interface (B) from the electronic control devices of the car and to store and/or transmit the retrieved vehicle data in a memory of the cradle or via the first interface (A) to a mobile device, respectively.

12. A mobile device (14) being configured for usage with a cradle of any of the preceding claims and comprising software for creating and transmitting control commands for electronic control devices of a vehicle over the first interface (A) to the cradle.

13. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the control commands comprise one or more of the following commands:

- a control com mand for remotely control l ing vehicle functions controllable with the electronic control devices of the vehicle;

- a control command for reading data from an electronic control device of the vehicle;

- a control command for writing data into an electronic control device of the vehicle.

14. A computer program for a mobile device of claim 12 or 13 and enabling a processor of the mobile device to create and transmit control commands for electronic control devices of a vehicle over the first interface to the cradle of any of the claims 1 to 1 1 .

15. A record carrier storing a computer program according to claim 14.