US-12621823-B2 - Apparatus, method, computer program, access system and head unit for a vehicle

US12621823B2US 12621823 B2US12621823 B2US 12621823B2US-12621823-B2

Abstract

An apparatus, a method and a computer program are implemented with respect to a vehicle. The vehicle comprises a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication. The apparatus comprises an interface for providing a control signal for controlling the second communication device. The apparatus comprises control circuitry configured to determine information on one or more frequency bands, the information on the one or more frequency bands indicating one or more frequency bands being used or available for the communication of the first communication device. The apparatus is configured to control a channel selection of one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device based on the information on the one or more frequency bands by providing the control signal.

Inventors

Alaa Mourad

Assignees

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210202
Priority Date: 20200824

Claims (16)

1 . An apparatus for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband communication, the apparatus comprising: an interface for providing a control signal for controlling the second communication device; and control circuitry configured to: determine information on one or more frequency bands, the information on the one or more frequency bands indicating one or more frequency bands being used or available for the communication of the first communication device; and control a channel selection of one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device based on the information on the one or more frequency bands by providing the control signal; and wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine information on a use of the second communication device for a keyless access or keyless go operation of the vehicle, and to control a frequency band being used by the first communication device if or when the second communication device is used for the keyless access or keyless go operation of the vehicle.
2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to, if the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates that the one or more frequency bands include at least one frequency band comprising a frequency that is located between 5.9 GHZ and 7.125 GHZ, limit the channel selection of the one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device.
3 . The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the second communication device is suitable for communicating in a plurality of channels, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to limit the channels being used for the Ultra-Wideband communication to a subset of the plurality of channels based on the information on the one or more frequency bands.
4 . The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the information on the one or more frequency bands based on a location of the vehicle, and wherein the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates one or more frequency bands being available for the communication of the first communication device at the location.
5 . The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to obtain the one or more frequency bands from a data storage based on the location of the vehicle.
6 . The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the data storage is disposed on the vehicle.
7 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second communication device is suitable for communicating in a plurality of channels, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to limit the channels being used for the Ultra-Wideband communication to a subset of the plurality of channels based on the information on the one or more frequency bands.
8 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine the information on the one or more frequency bands based on a location of the vehicle, and wherein the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates one or more frequency bands being available for the communication of the first communication device at the location.
9 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to obtain the one or more frequency bands from a data storage based on the location of the vehicle.
10 . A head unit for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband communication, the head unit comprising the first communication device and the apparatus according to claim 1 .
11 . An access system for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband communication, the access system comprising the second communication device and the apparatus according to claim 1 .
12 . A vehicle comprising a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network, a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband communication, and the apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is separate from the first and from the second communication device.
13 . A method for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband communication, the method comprising: determining information on one or more frequency bands, the information on the one or more frequency bands indicating one or more frequency bands actively being used or available for the communication of the first communication device; controlling a channel selection of one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device based on the information on the one or more frequency bands by providing a control signal for controlling the second communication device; and determining information on a use of the second communication device for a keyless access or keyless go operation of the vehicle, and controlling a frequency band being used by the first communication device if or when the second communication device is used for the keyless access or keyless go operation of the vehicle.
14 . A computer program having program code for performing the method of claim 13 , when the computer program is executed on a computer, a processor, or a programmable hardware component.
15 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising limit the channel selection of the one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device if the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates that the one or more frequency bands include at least one frequency band comprising a frequency that is located between 5.9 GHz and 7.125 GHz.
16 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising determining the information on the one or more frequency bands based on a location of the vehicle, and wherein the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates one or more frequency bands being available for the communication of the first communication device at the location.

Description

The present application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application PCT/EP2021/052360 filed on Feb. 2, 2021, which claims priority of European patent application No. 20192304.2 filed on Aug. 24, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD Examples relate to an apparatus, a method and a computer program for a vehicle, to an access system or head unit comprising such an apparatus, and to a corresponding vehicle. BACKGROUND Ultra-WideBand (UWB) is a wireless system which is used for high accuracy localization. One important application of UWB is in keyless access systems for vehicles. Using UWB, the key fob can be localized using time-of-flight measurements (UWB ranging), which may be used to thwart relay-attacks on keyless go/access systems. UWB has been also integrated in smartphones, which opens the door for smartphones to replace traditional key fobs. There are also other wireless technologies that are being used in cars, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) according to a variant of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11. There is some research that deals with the coexistence of the two technologies. For example, “UWB and WLAN Coexistence: a Comparison of Interference Reduction Techniques” by Nikhil Vijay Kaj ale discusses various approaches for analyzing the wireless coexistence between UWB and WLAN. In this work, various WLAN parameters and their influence on UWB are compared. SUMMARY There may be a desire for providing an improved concept for UWB and WLAN coexistence. This desire is addressed by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Various examples of the present disclosure are based on the finding, that UWB and WLAN both operate in different channels, which may, in some cases, partially overlap. At the same time, not all of the channels are available in all localities, and also various channels may be freely chosen for the operation of WLAN and UWB. Various examples provide an approach, in which the gap between the UWB subsystem of a vehicle (which is often part of an access control system of the vehicle) and the WLAN subsystem of the vehicle (which is often part of the head unit of the vehicle) is bridged, by providing an approach that controls the channel selection of the UWB subsystem based on the WLAN subsystem. Various examples of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for a vehicle. The vehicle comprises a first communication device for communicating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) and a second communication device for performing Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication. The apparatus comprises an interface for providing a control signal for controlling the second communication device. The apparatus comprises control circuitry configured to determine information on one or more frequency bands. The information on the one or more frequency bands indicates one or more frequency bands being used or available for the communication of the first communication device. The control circuitry is configured to control a channel selection of one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device based on the information on the one or more frequency bands by providing the control signal. By determining the channel selection at the UWB communication device based on the frequency bands being used or available at the WLAN communication device, mutual interference may be avoided, and the wireless coexistence may be improved. In general, the proposed approach may be used in scenarios where the frequency bands of the WLAN communication device and the channels of the UWB communication device overlap, e.g. in the frequency range upwards of 5.9 GHz. For example, the control circuitry may be configured to, if the information on the one or more frequency bands indicates that the one or more frequency bands include at least one frequency band comprising a frequency that is located between 5.9 GHz and 7.125 GHz, limit the channel selection of the one or more channels being used for the communication of the second communication device. In various examples, the second communication device is suitable for communicating in a plurality of channels. The control circuitry may be configured to limit the channels being used for the Ultra-Wideband communication to a subset of the plurality of channels based on the information on the one or more frequency bands. By limiting the channel selectin, a communication occurring in two different wireless communication systems (WLAN and UWB) at the same frequencies may be avoided. As mentioned above, the availability of frequency bands may be limited by location, as each country or region may decide on different frequency ranges being available for certain kinds of communication. Accordingly, the control circuitry may be configured to determine the information on the one or more frequency bands based on a location of the vehicle. The information on the one or more freq