Granted Patent B2

US 12,441,259 · App. 18/078,386 · Granted Oct 14, 2025

Inventors: Alain Brillon (Toulouse, FR); Patrick Belenguer (Toulouse, FR); Stéphane Charbonnier (Toulouse, FR)

Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

B60R16/037H04W4/025

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. A method for locating a user device in a sub-zone of a main zone defined with respect to a vehicle, said vehicle comprising a plurality of transceivers and an electronic control unit that is configured to determine the position of the user device based on signals sent by the user device and received by the transceivers, said method comprising steps, implemented by the vehicle, of:

periodically determining the position of the user device based on signals sent by the user device and received by the transceivers;

detecting the user device in a first sub-zone;

locating the user device in said first sub-zone;

keep locating the user device in the first sub-zone for as long as the user device is detected in said first sub-zone;

detecting the user device in a second sub-zone;

when the user device is simultaneously detected in both the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone or when the user device is detected between the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone, keep locating the user equipment in the first sub-zone; and

locating the user device in said second sub-zone when the user device is detected solely in said second sub-zone.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein location of the user device in the first sub-zone causes at least a first function of the vehicle to be triggered.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein location of the user device in the second sub-zone causes at least a second function of the vehicle to be triggered.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the main zone corresponds to the passenger compartment of the vehicle and the sub-zones correspond to different seats of the passenger compartment.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the main zone corresponds to a peripheral zone situated around the vehicle.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the sub-zones serve to locate the user of the user device in the context of providing parking assistance or of personalizing welcome depending on the place in which the user is found around the vehicle.

7. A non-transitory computer program product, comprising a set of program code instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to implement a method as claimed in claim 1 .

8. An electronic control unit for a motor vehicle, said vehicle comprising a plurality of transceivers, said electronic control unit being configured to:

periodically determine the position of the user device based on signals sent by the user device and received by the transceivers;

detect the user device in a first sub-zone;

locate the user device in said first sub-zone;

keep locating the user device in the first sub-zone for as long as the user device is detected in said first sub-zone;

detect the user device in a second sub-zone;

when the user device is simultaneously detected in both the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone or when the user device is detected between the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone, keep locating the user equipment in the first sub-zone; and

locate the user device in said second sub-zone when the user device is detected solely in said second sub-zone.

9. A motor vehicle comprising a plurality of transceivers and an electronic control unit as claimed in claim 8 .

10. A system comprising a vehicle as claimed in claim 9 and a user device, said user device being configured to:

transmit a request signal;

receive response signals sent by the transceivers one after the other; and

transmit a location signal to each transceiver, said location signal comprising the identifier of said transceiver.

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (19)