Central communication unit of a motor vehicle

0001The present invention relates to a central communication unit of a motor vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to a central communication unit of a motor vehicle with a plurality of connection modules for establishing a wireless data connection between the motor vehicle and at least one transmitting / receiving device located outside the motor vehicle.

0002In conventional motor vehicles, the communication between so-called on-board components in the motor vehicle with communication partners outside the motor vehicle is implemented by means of a communication unit TCB (Telematic Communication Box). There are now a large number of devices or devices in motor vehicles. On-board components that require a data connection when in use, such as an Internet radio, navigation system with an Internet connection, information systems for loading messages, etc., and rescue systems that automatically make an emergency call in the event of an accident. A separate communication unit is required for each on-board component. This causes considerable manufacturing costs and the number of communication units is limited due to the limited installation space in a motor vehicle, so that not any number of communication units can be provided and not any number of on-board components can be provided with a radio link.

0003Therefore a central communication unit ATM (Advanced Telecommunication Module) was developed. This central communication unit has several connection modules, each of which can establish a radio connection according to a specific radio standard. This includes, for example, cellular systems (3G, 4G), as well as local radio-based networks (IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16). As a result, the central communication unit can establish a radio link with different standards and, if necessary, even set up several radio links in parallel on different radio channels. A data connection can thus be established and maintained with the central communication module, even if different types of radio networks are available at different positions in the motor vehicle while driving, the data connection being maintained simultaneously or successively via different radio channels with different radio standards. As a result, the optimal radio channel between the motor vehicle and a communication partner located outside the motor vehicle can be selected automatically. The central communication module distributes the existing data rate of the radio links or radio channels to the individual on-board components.

0004In the case of simple central communication units, only a single application or application running on an on-board component can access the data connection between the central communication unit and the external communication partner. There are also central communication units in which several applications or applications can communicate quasi-simultaneously via the central communication unit. The data is forwarded without using a prioritization mechanism, for example according to the FIFO principle (First-In-First-Out), this being applied to data packets, messages and / or to the entire data connection of the respective application.

0005In the conventional solution with several separate communication units, all on-board components, each of which is assigned a communication unit, can have a separate radio link. However, the manufacturing and data transmission costs for a large number of communication units are considerable. The number of communication units is limited by the limited installation space. In addition, the multitude of communication units will be made relatively simple, so that each communication unit can establish at least one radio connection or a connection via a radio channel according to a certain radio standard (e.g. WLAN, GSM, 3G / UMTS, 4G / LTE).

0006The solution under development using a central communication unit has the advantage that the radio link is automatically switched to the best and / or cheapest available radio network, so that an optimal data link exists. However, if several applications want to use a data connection at the same time, the problem arises that the individual applications can block each other. In particular, applications that want to transfer a large amount of data can impair applications that only want to transfer a small amount of data so severely that the applications with small amounts of data practically do not work. This is particularly critical when the applications with a small amount of data are important applications for the vehicle driver, such as the transmission of traffic messages or the making of an emergency call. If these are affected by downloading music or a movie, then that is a significant disadvantage for the driver.

0007From the <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="WO2010130737A1"><text>WO 2010/130737 A1</text></patcit> shows an antenna device for vehicle communication, which has at least one antenna for cellular radio communication, for bidirectional ad hoc network radio communication and / or for satellite radio communication and driver elements for sending and / or receiving data by means of cellular radio communication by means of bidirectional ad hoc - Network radio communication or by means of satellite radio communication. The antenna unit is connected to a computing unit in which a mobile radio unit is integrated. The mobile radio unit is used for dialing in and network access to a public mobile radio network. The mobile unit is connected to an emergency unit, which in the event of an accident, e.g. B. triggered by an airbag trigger signal or a manual trigger, sends out an automatic emergency call.

0008The <patcit id="pcit0002" dnum="EP2133849A1"><text>EP 2 133 849 A1</text></patcit> describes a communication system between motor vehicles, which is also referred to as inter-car communication or car-2-car communication. Each motor vehicle that can take part in inter-car communication has an inter-vehicle communication device for this purpose, which is connected between a transmitting and receiving device and applications that can be network-related or non-network-related. The inter-car communication is preferably carried out in broadcasting mode. However, a specific connection can also be established between two motor vehicles. In order to avoid a message congestion, the priority of each application of the non-network-related applications, the priority of the vehicle including the degree of danger, the required distance and the permissible delay time and the channel utilization rate are recorded. Thereafter, the risk of a message jam on each vehicle is estimated based on its own traffic jam information and also on the basis of the message jam information from other vehicles in order to avoid a message jam between the individual vehicles. To avoid such a message congestion, the transmission performance can be increased, the transmission interval and the transmission channel can be changed.

0009The invention is therefore based on the object of expanding a central communication unit of a motor vehicle in such a way that several applications can communicate efficiently and securely with external communication partners simultaneously via one or more radio channels. The object is achieved by the independent patent claims. Advantageous refinements are given in the respective subclaims.

0010A central communication unit of a motor vehicle according to the invention comprises several connection modules for establishing a wireless data connection between the motor vehicle and at least one transceiver located outside the motor vehicle, a connection module manager for controlling the connection modules in order to provide a suitable data connection between the motor vehicle and the at least one transceiver, a data network, to connect several devices within the motor vehicle, whereby several applications that can be executed on the devices can each claim a data connection via the central communication unit to the transmitting / receiving device.

0011The central communication unit is characterized by a communication organization module which is designed in such a way that the available external connection capacities between the central communication unit and the at least one transmitting / receiving device are actively distributed to the individual active data connections of the applications according to predetermined criteria.

0012The available external connection capacities are the connection capacities of the individual radio channels, the connection capacity of a radio channel basically resulting from the bandwidth or the data rate of the radio channel. Further parameters, such as the error rate or the latency, can be included when determining the connection capacity of the respective radio channel.

0013A radio channel is a radio link between one or more motor vehicles via a specific frequency of a radio system with a transmitting / receiving device located outside of the motor vehicle, that is to say that the connection capacity of the radio channel is divided between the several motor vehicles. The division takes place according to the time division multiplex method.

0014The external connection capacities can also be distributed by assigning specific radio channels to specific data connections (frequency multiplex).

0015It is also possible to split the external connection capacities using a combined time and frequency division multiplex method.

0016The provision of the communication organization module makes it possible for two or more applications to use a data connection via the central communication unit at the same time, the communication organization module distributing and / or distributing the connection capacities according to the predetermined criteria, in particular its requirement for connection capacity and / or a priority of the data connections. assigns.

0017In a preferred embodiment, the central communication unit has a connection register in which the data connections are registered with their current properties or parameters.

0018In addition to an identification identifier for the data connection, one or more of the following parameters of the data connection or the radio channel are stored in the connection register:<ul id="ul0001" list-style="dash"><li>Assignment of a radio channel to the respective data connection, ie entry of an identification identifier for the radio channel;</li><li>the bandwidth or data rate of the radio channel assigned to the data connection, ie the amount of data rate that the data connection occupies from the total data rate of the respective radio channel;</li><li>current bandwidth or data rate of the radio channel;</li><li>current error rate of the radio channel;</li><li>current latency of the radio channel;</li><li>Data transmission costs of the radio channel.</li></ul>

0019With the aid of the connection register, one or more radio channels are assigned to a data connection by the communication organization module, ie one or more physical connections are assigned to a logical connection.

0020The same radio channels can be assigned to different data connections in the connection register.

0021By providing the connection register in the central communication unit, the individual data connections in the communication organization module are known, so that the individual data connections can be specifically monitored by the communication organization module so that it can react to changes in the connection capacities of the radio channels during data transmission.

0022The information about the connection capacities is provided by the connection module manager, which periodically updates the corresponding information (bandwidth or data rate, error rate, latency, data transmission costs) of the respective radio channel in the connection register.

0023The central communication unit preferably has an application profile register in which the requirements or parameters of the applications are entered and which, in addition to an identification identifier for the application, includes one or more of the following parameters:<ul id="ul0002" list-style="dash"><li>Assignment of a data connection to the respective application;</li><li>Current bandwidth or data rate that is available to the application or granted to it;</li><li>Application class, whereby the applications are subdivided into several classes such as emergency calls (class 1), traffic messages (class 2), VoIP and streaming telephony (class 3), and ftp applications and websites (class 4);</li><li>Priority for a data connection via a specific radio channel;</li><li>Minimum data rate at which the application transmits via a data connection;</li><li>Maximum data rate at which the application transmits via a data connection;</li><li>Maximum error rate of the data connection;</li><li>Maximum data connection latency.</li></ul>

0024By providing the application profile register in the central communication unit, the individual applications that transmit data via a data connection are known in the communication organization module, so that the data transmissions of the individual applications can be specifically monitored by the communication organization module.

0025With the help of a comparison of the parameters stored in the application profile register with the parameters of the connection register, the communication organization module can determine before or during a data transmission whether the available connection capacity of the data connection is sufficient for the requirements of the respective application and decide whether and how during a data transmission it reacts to changed connection capacities.

0026In motor vehicles, a distinction is made between two different types of application, static applications that cannot adapt their bandwidth requirements, and dynamic applications that can adapt their bandwidth requirements. So that the communication organization module can recognize which type of application (static or dynamic) an application is present, the application profile register preferably has an entry for the minimum data rate and an entry for the maximum data rate at which an application transmits. When requesting a data connection, a static application transmits the same value for both entries or, alternatively, a single value that is entered in both entries, while a dynamic application transmits two different values ​​that represent the minimum and maximum data rates of the application and the corresponding be entered. With the help of these entries, the communication organization module can distinguish between dynamic applications and static applications. Through this distinction, the communication organization module can adapt its reaction to a change in the connection capacities to the corresponding possibilities of the respective application.

0027With the communication organization module, the quality of service of the data connections of the individual dynamic applications can be monitored and, if necessary, actively intervened by adding more connection capacity to a specific data connection or dynamic application and less connection capacity to one or more other data connections or dynamic applications is assigned.

0028The communication organization module can intervene in the transmission type of the data connection and inform the respective dynamic application of the maximum achievable or available connection capacity of one or more of the data connections, and the dynamic application can adapt the application modes based on this information. For example, a dynamic application can change the resolution or the codec when transmitting video streams or Modify video files to match the connection capacity you need with the connection capacity available.

0029A dynamic application can be requested by the communication organization module to increase or reduce the data capacity, up to and including a complete cancellation of a specific data connection.

0030The communication organization module can completely cancel a specific data connection of a dynamic or static application and / or send the corresponding applications a request to end the communication so that they give up their respective data connection. The latter can be confirmed by a message from the corresponding application to the communication organization module.

0031The connection capacity freed up by the cancellation or termination of the communication can be assigned to one or more other data connections or applications by the communication organization module.

0032Both registers mentioned can alternatively be brought together in one register within the central communication unit.

0033Since there is an m: n relationship between the radio channels and the data connections, the assignment between the two can also be made using an additional register, for example an assignment register.

0034The multiple connection modules are designed to establish radio connections or connections via radio channels in radio systems according to different standards. These standards are in particular WLAN, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G / UMTS, HSPA, 4G / LTE, ETSI ITS-G5. With the connection modules, radio connections with different standards can be operated simultaneously or in succession. The radio links are controlled according to predetermined criteria, which are in particular the availability of the radio channels, the bandwidth, the available data rate, the costs, the latency and the error rate. If the motor vehicle is in a public WLAN network without restricted access with high bandwidth, then this WLAN network is preferably used. Since WLAN networks of this type are locally restricted, after leaving this network, the system automatically switches to another radio channel, which can also be designed according to the same or a different standard. This is controlled automatically by the connection module manager so that the optimal radio connection between the motor vehicle and external communication partners is always available.

0035In a method according to the invention for controlling the communication between several applications which are executed on devices of a motor vehicle connected to a data network, with at least one transmitting / receiving device located outside the motor vehicle by means of a central communication unit, the several applications can each use a data connection via the central communication unit communicate with the transmitting / receiving device, and an available external connection capacity between the central communication unit and the at least one transmitting / receiving device is actively distributed to the individual active data connections of the applications according to predetermined criteria by means of a communication organization module.

0036The communication organization module preferably monitors the data flow of the individual data connections from and to the individual applications. Monitoring can take place, for example, by capturing data packets by reading the headers of the data packets, or by capturing the amount of data that is transmitted via certain ports that are each assigned to a data connection.

0037If an application of a device of the motor vehicle wishes to set up a data connection, then it sends a corresponding request to the communication organization module with which predetermined parameters of the desired data connection are transmitted. These parameters are the parameters entered for the respective data connection in the application profile register explained above, such as the identification identifier of the application, the application class, the priority of the data connection, the minimum or maximum data rate, the maximum error rate, the maximum latency, etc., whereby in static applications the minimum is the same as the maximum data rate.

0038If the central communication unit has a connection register, the communication organization module can use the parameters entered in this to determine whether the available external connection capacities are sufficient for the data connection of the application, answer the application's request accordingly and provide a data connection if this is for the application sufficient. In the latter case, the central communication unit enters an identification identifier for the data connection in the connection register, which it simultaneously transmits to the application.

0039If the central communication unit has an application profile register, the communication organization module enters the parameters received from the application upon request for later use.

0040A central communication unit, as explained above, is preferably used in this method.

0041The invention is explained in more detail by way of example with reference to the drawings. In the drawings show:<dl id="dl0001"><dt>Figure 1</dt><dd>schematically a central communication unit according to the present invention with several devices of a motor vehicle and several radio channels to communication partners,</dd><dt>Figure 2</dt><dd>a method for registering a data connection in a flowchart,</dd><dt>Figure 3</dt><dd>Schematic assignments of several radio channels to several data connections and these to several applications (<figref idref="f0003">Figure 3A</figref>), whereby the assignments are represented by arrow connections, together with a representation of an associated connection register (<figref idref="f0004">Figure 3B</figref>) and an associated application profile register (<figref idref="f0004">Figure 3C</figref>),</dd><dt>Figure 4</dt><dd>a method for managing the data connections in a flowchart, a connection register and an application profile register being present and a method section (block) B1 comprising individual steps of the method and</dd><dt>Figure 5</dt><dd>individual steps of a method section (block) B2 of a method for managing the data connections in a flowchart, a connection register and an application profile register being present and method section B1 of the <figref idref="f0005">Figure 4</figref> by process section B2 of the <figref idref="f0006">Figure 5</figref> can be replaced.</dd></dl>

0042A motor vehicle 1 has a central communication unit 2 (ZKE) (<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>). The central communication unit 2 comprises several connection modules 3 (VM). Each connection module 3 is connected to an antenna 4 with which radio signals can be sent and received.

0043Each connection module 3 can establish and maintain a radio channel to external communication partners 5 in accordance with one or more predetermined standards. The external communication partners 5 are generally servers that are connected to transmitting / receiving devices 7 via a data network 6, in particular the Internet. The external communication partners 5 can also be natural persons who are connected to the corresponding transmitting / receiving devices 7 by means of telephone devices via telephone lines (data network 6), the data connection not being via the modem of the mobile phone in the motor vehicle 1, but via one of the connection modules 3 comes about.

0044The connection modules 3 are designed, for example, to communicate via the following radio standards: GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G / UMTS, HSPA, 4G / LTE, ETSI ITS-G5, and / or WLAN (IEEE802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11ac, IEEE802.11ad, IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11h, IEEE802.11n, IEEE 802.11p). With each connection module 3, at least one radio channel can be operated, so that by providing several connection modules 3, several radio channels can be operated at the same time, which can also correspond to different standards, such as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). The individual connection modules 3 are controlled by a connection module manager 8 (VMM), which automatically selects the most suitable radio channels according to predetermined criteria.

0045The connection module manager 8 thus automatically controls the radio channels between the central communication unit 2 and the external transmitting / receiving devices 7. This control takes place according to predetermined criteria, in particular according to the availability of the individual radio channels, the bandwidth, the available data rate, the costs, the latency and the error rate. If only a small bandwidth is required and a free radio channel with sufficient bandwidth is available, then this is used, for example, whereas if a higher bandwidth is required, a radio channel that may be chargeable but has sufficient bandwidth is used.

0046The connection module manager 8 has a connection register in which one or more parameters for the respective radio channels or data connections are stored. These parameters include, in particular, an identification identifier for the data connection, the assignment of a radio channel to the respective data connection, the data rate assigned to the data connection via the radio channel, the current bandwidth or Data rate of the radio channel, the current error rate of the radio channel, the current latency of the radio channel and the data transmission costs of the radio channel.

0047The respective connection module 3 searches cyclically for new radio channels in the corresponding standard or radio system and reports newly found channels with their parameters to the connection module manager 8. It also reports a loss of a wireless connection or a change in parameters to it.

0048By periodically updating the values ​​in the connection register, the connection module manager 8 ensures that the current values ​​are entered in the connection register at all times.

0049If a loss or a change in a radio channel is determined, the connection module manager 8 can instruct the corresponding connection module 3 to search for a new radio channel in its associated radio system.

0050Several devices 9 are connected to the central communication unit 2 via a data network 10. The data network 10 is Ethernet in the present exemplary embodiment. The data network can have one or more switches 11 for branching the data network. At least one application 12 is provided on each device, which during operation requires a logical data connection via the central communication unit 2 to an external transmitting / receiving device 7, whereby the applications 12 can be of the static or dynamic type.

0051The central communication unit 2 has a communication organization module 13 (KOM) which actively divides the available external connection capacities between the central communication unit 2 and the external transmitting / receiving devices 7 into individual active data connections of the applications 12 according to predetermined criteria.

0052The communication organization module 13 has an application profile register in which one or more parameters for the respective static and / or dynamic applications12 are stored. These parameters include in particular an identification identifier for the application 12, an assignment of a data connection, the data rate currently granted to the application via the assigned data connection, the application class, the priority for a data connection via a specific radio channel, the minimum data rate for the data transmission of the application 12, the maximum data rate of the data transmission of the application 12, the maximum error rate and the maximum latency of the data connection. The storage of the data rate currently granted to the data connection of the application 12 in the application profile register is optional, since it results from the sum of the data rates of the data connection of the application assigned to the respective radio channels that are stored in the connection register.

0053Alternatively, the communication organization module 13 can have the connection register and / or the connection module manager 8 can have the application profile register.

0054The communication organization module 13 can divide the connection capacities between the individual active data connections according to predetermined criteria. These criteria are above all the connection capacity requirement of the different data connections and / or their priority.

0055The priority can be specified explicitly by appropriate specifications. However, the priority can result implicitly, for example on the basis of the application classes.

0056A typical division of the application classes can look like this:<tables id="tabl0001" num="0001"><table frame="none"><tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0"><colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colwidth="26mm" /><colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colwidth="140mm" /><tbody><row><entry>1. Great:</entry><entry>Emergency call;</entry></row><row><entry>2. Great:</entry><entry>Traffic news;</entry></row><row><entry>3. Great:</entry><entry>Telephoning, VOIP and streaming audio and / or video files, such as radio streaming, music streaming or video streaming;</entry></row><row><entry>4th Great:</entry><entry>ftp applications and web pages.</entry></row></tbody></tgroup></table></tables>

0057The individual classes are sorted according to their priority, with the 1st class having the highest priority and the 4th class having the lowest priority.

0058If the application classes are entered in the application profile register, the communication organization module 13 can decide, depending on the existing application classes, which data connection has a higher priority and which data connection has a lower priority and, in the event of bottlenecks in connection capacities, reduce the corresponding connection capacities for data connections with low priority.

0059The following is based on <figref idref="f0002">Figure 2</figref> the establishment of a data connection from the perspective of the communication organization module 13 is explained: The method begins with step S1. In step S2, a connection request is received from an application 12.

0060The connection request is checked (step S3) to determine whether corresponding connection capacities are available, the communication organization module 13 determining whether a sufficient data connection is possible by reading out the entries in the connection register. When checking the connection request, the parameters transmitted with the connection request are read out and taken into account and, if there are already connections via radio channels, compared with these. Furthermore, the total available external connection capacity is determined. Depending on these parameters, a decision is made as to whether sufficient external connection capacity is available for the current connection request.

0061The communication organization module 13 can also assign the connection capacity to a data connection with a view to minimizing the transmission costs.

0062If sufficient external connection capacity is available, then the process flow goes to step S4, in which the application 12 is assigned the corresponding connection capacity. The entries in the connection register are possibly duplicated and adapted by assigning the new data connection to be created to the corresponding radio channel or radio channels by entering an identification identifier for the data connection, and entered the parameters transmitted with the connection request and the identification identifier of the data connection for the assignment of the data connection to the application 12 together with the granted data rate in the application profile register of the communication organization module 13. With this, the application 12 making the connection request is reserved the corresponding connection capacity or the logical data connection is set up. In step S5, the communication organization module 13 sends a connection confirmation, in the case of dynamic applications 12 with the granted data rate, to the application 12 making the connection request. After receiving the connection confirmation, the application 12 begins with the data transmission (step S6) via the data connection set up by the communication organization module 13.

0063If it is determined in step S3 that insufficient connection capacity is available, the process flow goes to step S7, in which the communication organization module 13 sends a connection refusal to the application 12 making the connection request, that is, a message containing that no data connection has been established can be.

0064In step S7, the communication organization module 13 can send a message together with the connection rejection of the application 12 making the connection request, in which the available connection capacity or the currently possible data rate, error rate and / or latency are transmitted, so that the respective application 12, if it is an application 12 of the dynamic type and the service to be provided technically allows it to send a new request with changed parameters or with lower requirements. Thus the method is carried out again.

0065After steps S6 and S7, the method for setting up a data connection is ended (step S8).

0066If the application 12 has received a connection refusal, then it can send a connection request again at a later point in time.

0067If, on the other hand, a data connection has been established, then the communication organization module 13 monitors the data volumes transmitted via the respective data connections and the available external connection capacities. If the external connection capacities change, then these can be redistributed between the existing data connections or the applications 12. If the external connection capacities decrease, the data connections of the dynamic applications 12 with lower priority can initially be assigned less connection capacity. Should this not be sufficient to provide all applications 12 with a sufficient data rate, then the dynamic applications 12 with a higher priority can also be allocated less connection capacity. If this is then still insufficient and all dynamic applications 12 have set their lowest possible data rate, then the static applications 12 can be terminated in the order of their priority (from the lowest to the highest priority) by the communication organization module 13 by sending a termination message or whose data connection is canceled. If the external connection capacities increase, then the data connections of the dynamic applications 12 with a higher priority can initially receive more connection capacity. If further connection capacities are available, then more connection capacity can also be allocated to the data connections of the dynamic applications 12 with lower priority. Since the connection capacity of the individual radio channels or whose data rate frequently change along the route, the allocation of the connection capacities may change accordingly.

0068In the present exemplary embodiment, the data network between the central communication unit 2 and the devices 9 is an Ethernet in which the data is transmitted in packets. Each packet has a header that contains information about the application that generated the data packet and information about the amount of data contained in the packet. This information can be read by the communication organization module 13 so that the individual packets can be assigned to the respective applications 12 or their respective data connections. The data flow in the individual data connections can be monitored on the basis of the amount of data determined here. The packets of the different applications 12 are transmitted over the radio channel between the central communication unit 2 and the transmitting / receiving devices 7 in accordance with the assigned connection capacities. For example, data packets of a data connection to which a larger connection capacity is assigned are transmitted more frequently than data packets of another data connection to which a lower connection capacity is assigned. This results in a quasi-simultaneous transmission of the data on the different data connections in accordance with the connection capacities set.

0069If the data connection is no longer required, the entry assigned to the data connection or application 12 in the application profile register is deleted. In addition, the corresponding assignment of a radio channel or several radio channels to the data connection is canceled in the connection register by deleting the identification identifier of the data connection in all entries for the data connection to be canceled. These entries are then all deleted if the radio channels entered there are still assigned to at least one other data connection. However, if the radio channels entered there are not assigned to any other data connection, all of these entries are deleted except for a single one. As a result, the entries of the radio channels that are currently not assigned to any data connection are retained in the connection register for a redistribution of connection capacities. This procedure releases the connection capacities and prepares a possible redistribution of the connection capacities.

0070The end of a communication process carried out via a specific data connection can either be communicated to the communication organization module 13 by a corresponding message from the respective application 12 or it can be determined directly by the communication organization module 13 based on the analysis of the transmitted data.

0071The communication organization module 13 can terminate the transmission of the respective application 12 or send a termination message to it even if there is insufficient connection capacity.

0072With the central communication unit 2 explained above, several applications 12 can thus operate a logical data connection to external communication partners 5 at the same time, the distribution of the connection capacity being dynamically adapted to the connection capacities that usually change permanently along a route. It is also ensured that important messages and information are transmitted with increased priority, so that their transmission is ensured when the connection capacities are low.

0073The communication organization module 13 can also intervene in the capacity requirements of the individual applications 12 by notifying a dynamic application 12 of the maximum achievable or available data rate or the total available connection capacity of the radio channels with the connection rejection (step S7), the dynamic application 12 can adapt their capacity requirements based on this information by setting one of their application modes. For example, a dynamic application 12 can change the type of transmission, such as the codec, in order to adapt the connection capacities of the individual data connections to the total external radio connection capacity available. With a high connection capacity, for example, images, films and music are transmitted with higher quality than with a lower connection capacity, while with low connection capacity, for example, the resolution of a video stream or the data rate is reduced by dynamic-adaptive streaming using appropriate streaming methods such as DASH or SVC.

0074<figref idref="f0003">Figure 3A</figref> shows schematically an assignment of different radio channels (FK) FK1, FK2 and FK3 to different data connections (DV) A, B and C, with the radio channel FK1 the data connections B and C, the radio channel FK2 the data connections A and C and the radio channel FK3 the data connection C is assigned. Next is in<figref idref="f0003">Figure 3A</figref> the assignment of the data connections A, B and C to the applications (APP) X, Y and Z is shown, the application X being assigned to the data connection A, the application Y to the data connection B and the application Z to the data connection C.

0075The associated entries in the connection register are shown <figref idref="f0004">Figure 3B</figref> with the abbreviations DV for data connection, FK for radio channel, ZD for the data rate of the radio channel assigned to the data connection in kBit / s, BB for the current bandwidth or data rate of the radio channel in kBit / s, FR for the current error rate of the radio channel in kBit / s, LT for the current latency of the radio channel in ms, and DK for volume-dependent data transmission costs of the radio channel in ct / kBit. The data transmission costs can also be time-dependent (e.g. in the unit ct / s), so that the connection module manager 8 converts these costs into volume-dependent data transmission costs with the aid of the data rate or bandwidth or the connection capacity before entering them in the register.

0076In the following, n represents a running index for the respective radio channel FK, n being between 1 and 3, since 3 radio channels are present in the present example. The number of radio channels can change over time.

0077The connection capacity VK (n) available via a radio channel n can be calculated by combining the parameters stored in the connection register for the current bandwidth or data rate of the radio channel BB (n) and for the current error rate of the radio channel FR (n) by the error rate FR (n) is subtracted from the bandwidth BB (n).

0078This calculation is advantageously carried out only once per radio channel when the communication organization module 13 accesses the connection register, with the following values, for example:<maths id="math0001" num=""><math display="block"><mi>VK</mi><mfenced><mn>1</mn></mfenced><mo>=</mo><mn>12000</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>11997</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi></math><img file="EP3092829B1_D0001.tif" /></maths><maths id="math0002" num=""><math display="block"><mi>VK</mi><mfenced><mn>2</mn></mfenced><mo>=</mo><mn>7000</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>6998</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi></math><img file="EP3092829B1_D0002.tif" /></maths><maths id="math0003" num=""><math display="block"><mi>VK</mi><mfenced><mn>3</mn></mfenced><mo>=</mo><mn>6000</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>5999</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>Kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi></math><img file="EP3092829B1_D0003.tif" /></maths>

0079The total available connection capacity (GVK) is determined by adding the individual values ​​of the radio channels: <maths id="math0004" num=""><math display="block"><mi>GVK</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>11997</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>6998</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>+</mo><mn>5999</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>24994</mn><mspace width="1ex" /><mi>kbit</mi><mo>/</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">s</mi></math><img file="EP3092829B1_D0004.tif" /></maths>

0080An allocation sequence of the connection capacity available via a radio channel, taking into account the data transmission costs, can be carried out by sorting the radio channels according to their data transmission costs from the cheapest to the most expensive radio channel. If there are several radio channels with the same data transmission costs, then these can be sorted from the fastest to the slowest according to their data rate or bandwidth or connection capacity. In the present exemplary embodiment, this method results in the following sequence: FK1, FK2, FK3

0081<figref idref="f0004">Figure 3C</figref> shows the associated application profile register with the abbreviations APP for the identification identifier of the application, ZDV for assigned data connection, GD for granted data rate in kBit / s, KL for application class, PR for priority over a certain radio connection, MIN for minimum data rate in kBit / s, MAX for maximum data rate in kBit / s, MFR for maximum error rate in kBit / s, MLT for maximum latency in ms of the application 12.

0082The storage of the data rate GD currently granted to the data connection of the application 12 in the application profile register is optional, since it results from the sum of the data rates ZD of the data connection of the application assigned to the respective radio channels, which are stored in the connection register.

0083If an application 12 requests a data connection, then the communication organization module 13 checks its parameters and assigns a data connection to the application 12, which meets the requirements of the application with regard to the data rate or bandwidth, the error rate, the latency and / or the priority of the data connection via a certain radio channel met. The assignment can be made in ascending order according to data connection costs.

0084The assignment procedure from which the in <figref idref="f0004">Figures 3B and 3C</figref> The register values ​​shown are described below: First, the application X requested a data connection. Because of its limitations due to its maximum error rate and latency, it or its data connection A could only be assigned to one of the least cost-effective radio channels, radio channel FK2. Then the application Y has requested a data connection, after which this application or whose data connection B could be assigned the most cost-effective radio channel FK1. Since the remaining connection capacities of the radio channel FK1 and subsequently of the radio channel FK2 were not sufficient to fully meet the subsequent requirements of the application Z, a first part of its data connection C became the most cost-effective radio channel FK1, and a second part of its data connection C became one of the least cost-effective Radio channels, the radio channel FK2, and the third and remaining part is assigned to the other of the least cost-effective radio channels and the slowest radio channel FK3.

0085The following is based on <figref idref="f0005">Figure 4</figref> explains a method for managing the data connections from the point of view of the communication organization module 13, these being monitored, possibly canceled and / or redistributed. In this method, a central communication unit 2 is used, which has a connection register and an application profile register, each provided with the entries described above: The method begins with step S9.

0086In step S10, the communication organization module 13 determines the total available connection capacity by combining the parameters entered in the connection register by the connection module manager 8 with one another, as described above.

0087The communication organization module 13 checks in step S11 whether the connection capacity has changed by at least a predetermined threshold value Δ, that is to say has increased or decreased. This threshold value Δ represents a tolerance value and describes how large a change in the connection capacity must be in order for a redistribution to be carried out. By using it, the communication organization module 13 only reallocates the available external connection capacities between the applications 12 when the total external connection capacity has changed by at least the threshold value Δ. This is advantageous because minor (less than Δ) fluctuations in the total available external connection capacity that occur frequently are then not taken into account and thus do not lead to an immediate redistribution of the connection capacities of the data connections or applications 12.

0088The threshold value Δ can depend on the total external connection capacity distributed last, on the requirements of the applications 12 and / or on the total available connection capacity, or it can be a fixed value. For example, it can be proportional to the total available connection capacity and thus change dynamically, ie the lower the connection capacity, the lower the threshold value Δ. Alternatively or in combination, it can depend on the ability of the application to be able to change the data rate used by a considerable amount during operation. For example, in applications that are able to automatically adapt to a lower data rate than their granted data rate, the threshold value Δ can be determined to be correspondingly larger.

0089The value of Δ can also include a security amount, so that with a complete distribution of the total external connection capacity and with a subsequent reduction in this total external connection capacity which is less than Δ, the individual data connections or applications 12 still have sufficient connection capacity without redistribution is available.

0090If the connection capacity has changed by more than the predetermined threshold value Δ, then the method sequence goes to step S12, in which the communication organization module 13 determines whether applications 12 are present. The entries in APP are preferably read out here. Alternatively, any other entry, eg in ZDV, in MIN and / or in MAX can be read out. If there is an entry, an active or data-transmitting application 12 available.

0091If applications 12 are present, then the communication organization module 13 calculates the respective adaptation parameters for the active applications 12 in step S13.

0092The adaptation parameters describe the changes to be made by the respective applications 12 in order to use a specific connection capacity assigned to the application 12, in particular one or more specific radio channels. The adaptation parameters can be used to redistribute the assignment of the radio channels to the data connections and, in the case of a radio channel, to redistribute the connection capacity occupied by the respective data connections.

0093This calculation can or should lead to an optimal distribution of the connection capacity between the data connections of the individual applications 12 so that each application 12 receives a sufficient data connection and preferably the total data transmission costs are as low as possible.

0094The adaptation parameters can be calculated in such a way that, first of all, all static applications 12 are assigned a sufficient connection capacity according to their requirements according to the order in which they are stored in the application profile register. Should this not be possible, because e.g. If there is insufficient connection capacity available for the request of the static application, the respective static application 12 is not allocated any connection capacity. Thereafter, any remaining connection capacity is evenly distributed to the dynamic applications 12.

0095This process can be modified by adding further parameters, such as the assigned data rate ZD, the granted data rate GD, the priority or class KL, the minimum data rate MIN, the maximum data rate MAX, the maximum error rate MFR and / or the maximum latency MLT considered.

0096If further parameters are taken into account, the order in which the adaptation parameters are calculated for the respective application type can be interchanged, ie the calculation of the adaptation parameters for the static ones follows the calculation of the adaptation parameters for the dynamic applications 12.

0097As an alternative to the example of calculating the adaptation parameters mentioned, after the connection capacity has been allocated to the static applications 12 and the remaining connection capacity is available, an attempt can first be made to allocate the maximum connection capacity requested by the dynamic applications 12. Should this not be possible, because e.g. If there is insufficient connection capacity, one or more dynamic applications 12 can be selected, for example according to the order in which they are stored in the application profile register, and the connection capacity of this application 12 can be reduced step by step down to its minimum required connection capacity. If there is still insufficient connection capacity, one or more dynamic applications 12 are not allocated any connection capacity.

0098The calculation of the adjustment parameters can be done by referring to the description of the <figref idref="f0004">Figure 3C</figref> The assignment procedure listed is run through according to the order of the applications 12 according to their class with descending priority, ie a radio channel or a distribution over several radio channels is determined which is sufficient and as inexpensive as possible for the respective application 12 in terms of its parameters.

0099If the priority and the maximum data rate of the application 12 are taken into account when distributing the connection capacity to the individual radio channels and the existing connection capacity is accordingly distributed over individual data connections, there may be no connection capacity available for further data connections. In such a case, the calculation of the adaptation parameters can be continued by determining a lower data rate for the dynamic applications 12 one after the other according to their class with increasing priority, which at least corresponds to the data rate requested by the application 12 and is incorporated into the calculation.

0100If this is still not sufficient to allow all active applications 12 a sufficient data connection, one or more static applications 12 can be determined one after the other according to their class with increasing priority, which then should not receive any connection capacity.

0101If a sufficient data connection is still not possible for all active applications 12, one or more dynamic applications 12 can finally be determined one after the other according to their class with increasing priority, which should not receive connection capacity, ie which should terminate.

0102With the same or similar parameter values, such as, for example, the same priority, a specific application 12 can be selected according to the random principle (for example using pseudo-random numbers).

0103The adaptation parameters are sent to the applications 12, which have to adapt to changed connection capacities, via messages in step S14. The dynamic applications 12, whose connection capacity can or must increase, are sent the new values ​​for the connection capacity as a message and the static applications 12, whose data connection is canceled or which have to terminate, are informed of this with a termination message. This message can, for example, be one with a contained connection capacity equal to 0.

0104Alternatively, a message that contains all the adjustment parameters or all parameters for the active applications 12 can be sent to each application 12 one after the other or to all applications 12 simultaneously via a broadcast.

0105In the case of the dynamic applications 12 that have to change their data rate but are not supposed to terminate, the granted data rate is entered in the application profile register. Should an application 12 be terminated, the corresponding entries of the application 12 in the application profile register are deleted.

0106Then, if necessary, the entries in the connection register are updated according to a new assignment of the connection capacities.

0107The dynamic applications 12 adapt to the received message according to the transmitted adaptation parameters, ie they set their granted data rate and terminate the dynamic and static applications 12 that have received a termination message.

0108After step S14, step S15 is carried out, in which it is checked whether the operation is to be continued. If it has been determined in step S11 that the connection capacity has changed by at least the threshold value Δ, a recalculation of the threshold value Δ can take place in the same step S15, whereby the newly determined distribution of the connection capacity or the adjustment parameters determined in step S13 can be taken into account.

0109If the method is to be carried out further, step S10 is then carried out; if not, the method ends in step S16.

0110If it is found in step S11 that the connection capacity has not changed by the predetermined threshold value Δ explained above, then the method is continued by executing step S15.

0111Steps S12, S13 and S14 represent a method section (block) B1 for adapting the connection capacity if the established connection capacity has changed by the predetermined threshold value Δ. Instead of this method section B1, a preferred method section (block) B2 can also be used, which is shown in<figref idref="f0006">Figure 5</figref> is shown, and is again selected between steps S11 and S15 <figref idref="f0005">Figure 4</figref> extends.

0112After a change in the connection capacity by at least the predetermined threshold value Δ has been determined in step S11, method section B2 begins with step S17, in which it is checked whether dynamic applications 12 are present. The entries in MIN and MAX are read out and their values ​​are compared with one another. If their values ​​are different, there is at least one dynamic application 12. If dynamic applications 12 are present, then the communication organization module 13 selects such an application 12. This selection is preferably made according to the class or priority of the dynamic application 12 with increasing priority, but can also be determined according to other parameters, such as the sequence of the dynamic applications 12 in the application profile register or their maximum possible change with regard to their data rate.

0113If it is determined in step S17 that dynamic applications 12 are present and consequently one is selected, then in step S18 the new connection capacity made available to the application is calculated for this application 12. The change in the total connection capacity is included in the calculation. Care is taken to ensure that the application 12 has sufficient connection capacity, ie this must be at least equal to the corresponding value in MIN.

0114A message is then sent to the selected dynamic application 12 in step S19, with which the application is requested to adjust its connection capacity.

0115In the subsequent step S20, the newly occupied connection capacity is calculated by adding the new connection capacity of the selected dynamic application 12 determined in step S18 to the connection capacities assigned to the other applications 12.

0116It is then checked in step S21 by comparing whether the total connection capacity is sufficient for the newly occupied connection capacity.

0117If this is not the case, then step S22 is carried out, in which it is checked whether further dynamic applications 12 are present.

0118If there are further such applications, then another dynamic application 12 is selected according to class or priority with increasing priority and the method sequence is continued with step S18. The selection can also be determined according to other parameters instead of according to class, such as the sequence of the dynamic applications 12 in the application profile register or their maximum possible change with regard to their data rate.

0119If the execution of step S21 shows that the total connection capacity is sufficient for the newly calculated connection capacity, then method section B2 is exited and step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) executed.

0120If it is determined in step S22 that there are no further dynamic applications 12 for a selection, then step S23 is carried out, in which a check is made as to whether static applications 12 are present and the total connection capacity is not sufficient. To check for the presence of static applications 12, the entries in MIN and MAX are read out and their values ​​are compared with one another. If their values ​​are the same, at least one static application 12 is present. If static applications 12 are available, then the communication organization module 13 selects such an application 12. This selection is preferably made according to the class or priority of the static application 12 with increasing priority, but can also be determined according to other parameters, such as the sequence of the static applications 12 in the application profile register or their data rate.

0121If it is determined in step S17 that there are no dynamic applications 12, then the execution of step S23 follows.

0122If the execution of step S23 shows that static applications 12 are present and the total connection capacity is not sufficient, and consequently an application 12 is selected, then a termination message is sent to the selected static application 12 in step S24.

0123In the subsequent step S25, the newly occupied connection capacity is calculated by subtracting the connection capacity of the static application 12 terminated in step S24 from the occupied connection capacity. Alternatively, the connection capacities that are assigned to the other applications 12, ie all active applications 12 without the application 12 to be terminated, can be added.

0124It is then checked in step S26 by comparing whether the total connection capacity is sufficient for the newly occupied connection capacity.

0125If this is not the case, then step S27 is carried out, in which it is checked whether further static applications 12 are present.

0126If there are further such applications, then another static application 12 is selected according to class or priority with increasing priority and the method sequence is continued with step S24. The selection can also be determined according to other parameters instead of according to class, such as the sequence of the static applications 12 in the application profile register or their data rate.

0127If it is determined in step S26 that the total connection capacity is sufficient for the newly calculated connection capacity, then method section B2 is exited and step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) executed.

0128If the execution of step S27 has shown that there are no further static applications 12, then method section B2 is exited and the method sequence is started with the execution of step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) continued.

0129If the execution of step S23 shows that there are no static applications 12 or that the total connection capacity has not been reduced or that this is sufficient, then method section B2 is exited and step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) executed.

0130If it has been determined in step S11 that the connection capacity has changed by at least the threshold value Δ, a recalculation of the threshold value Δ can take place in the same step S15, whereby the newly determined distribution of the connection capacity or the adaptation parameters determined in step S18 can be taken into account. In the case of the dynamic applications 12 that have to change their data rate but are not supposed to terminate, the granted data rate is entered in the application profile register. Should an application 12 be terminated, the corresponding entries of the application 12 in the application profile register are deleted.

0131Then, if necessary, the entries in the connection register are updated according to a new assignment of the connection capacities.

0132Alternatively, in an extended method, if the connection capacity is insufficient and no static applications 12 are present, either because none were present or after their termination, the possibly present dynamic applications 12 can be used before exiting method section B2 and executing step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) are terminated. For this purpose, one is selected from the dynamic applications 12 according to class or priority with increasing priority, a termination message is sent to it and the occupied connection capacity is then determined again. If this should not be sufficient, the next dynamic application 12 is selected, to which a termination message is sent, etc. However, if the connection capacity is sufficient, process section B2 is exited and step S15 (<figref idref="f0005">Fig. 4</figref>) executed. The selection of the dynamic application 12 can also be determined according to other parameters, such as the sequence of such applications 12 in the application profile register or their data rate, instead of according to class.

0133The invention can be briefly summarized as follows: The invention relates to a central communication unit of a motor vehicle and a method for controlling communication between several applications by means of such a central communication unit. The central communication unit has a communication organization module that can actively distribute the available external radio connection capacities between the central communication unit and at least one transmitting / receiving device according to predetermined criteria to individual active data connections of the applications. The existing external radio connection capacities between the individual data connections of the individual applications are thus distributed in a controlled manner in the central communication unit. The criteria for this are primarily the need for connection capacity and / or the priorities of the different data connections.

List of reference symbols

0134<dl id="dl0002" compact="compact"><dt>1</dt><dd>Motor vehicle</dd><dt>2</dt><dd>central communication unit</dd><dt>3</dt><dd>Connection module</dd><dt>4</dt><dd>antenna</dd><dt>5</dt><dd>external communication partner</dd><dt>6</dt><dd>Data network (Internet)</dd><dt>7</dt><dd>Transmitting / receiving device</dd><dt>8</dt><dd>Connection module manager</dd><dt>9</dt><dd>device</dd><dt>10</dt><dd>Data network</dd><dt>11</dt><dd>Switch</dd><dt>12</dt><dd>application</dd><dt>13</dt><dd>Communication organization module</dd></dl>