# US 12,764,567 B2 · Fault-tolerant vehicle communications

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 12,764,567 B2
- Document ID: US12764567B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/825,357
- Filed: 2022-05-26
- Published: 2022-12-08
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2021-06-04
- Assignees: Volvo Truck Corporation
- Applicants: Volvo Truck Corporation
- Inventors: Joshua Shire; Roman Iustin; Ulf Stenbratt
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12764567B2

## CPC

- H04W 24/04: Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
- H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
- H04W 84/005: {Moving wireless networks}
- H04W 84/18: Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

A method in a vehicle equipped with a long-range and a short-range interface comprises maintaining a connection to an access network using the long-range interface; recording a time and location at which the connection to the access network is operable; in case of failure of the connection to the access network, attempting to form a vehicle ad-hoc network (VANET) using the short-range interface; and sharing, with other vehicles in the VANET, the recorded time and location. Further, the vehicle may receive, from the other members of the VANET, a time and location at which the other members' connection to the access network was operable. From the time and location recorded by the vehicle and the time and location it receives, the vehicle derives coverage information indicative of a geographical boundary of an operable portion of the access network.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method in a vehicle equipped with a long-range interface and a short-range interface, the method comprising:
maintaining a connection to an access network using the long-range interface;
recording a time and a location at which the connection to the access network is operable;
in response to failure of the connection to the access network, attempting to form a vehicle ad-hoc network (VANET) using the short-range interface; and
sharing over the VANET, with other members of the VANET, the recorded time and location, or coverage information derived from the recorded time and location,
wherein the method further comprises, in response to failure of the connection to the access network, at least one of the following steps:
(i) from at least one other member of the VANET, receiving a time and a location at which the at least one other member's connection to the access network was operable; and from the recorded time and location and the received time and location, deriving coverage information indicative of a geographical boundary of an operable portion of the access network; and
(ii) transmitting a connectivity query to other members of the VANET, and determining, on the basis of replies to the connectivity query, whether the connection failure is local or general.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising, in response to failure of the connection to the access network, from at least one other member of the VANET, receiving a time and a location at which the at least one other member's connection to the access network was operable; and from the recorded time and location and the received time and location, deriving coverage information indicative of a geographical boundary of an operable portion of the access network.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the deriving of coverage information is subject to a freshness constraint which excludes inputting time and location entries older than a certain time.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein:
maintaining the connection to the access network comprises repeatedly polling an offboard computer, which is not located in any member of the VANET; and
a repetition frequency of the polling is adapted in accordance with the location of the vehicle relative to the geographical boundary.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising, in response to failure of the connection to the access network, transmitting a connectivity query to other members of the VANET and determining, on the basis of replies to the connectivity query, whether the connection failure is local or general.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the connectivity query includes an indication whether the vehicle transmitting the connectivity query holds a message from an offboard computer destined for the vehicle receiving the connectivity query.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, further comprising:
in response to failure of the connection to the access network, initiating buffering of messages destined for an offboard computer;
in response to a local connection failure, routing the buffered messages to the offboard computer via other members of the VANET; and
in response to a general connection failure, sharing the buffered messages with other members of the VANET.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising, when the connection to the access network is reestablished, forwarding to the offboard computer one or more of:
the buffered messages of the vehicle destined for the offboard computer;
buffered messages destined for the offboard computer shared by other members of the VANET;
the coverage information; and
identities of other members of the VANET which are disconnected from the access network.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising:
joining a VANET in reaction to an invitation; and
relaying messages from other members of the VANET to the offboard computer while the connection to the access network is operable.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the VANET uses a delay-tolerant network protocol.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A vehicle comprising:
a long-range interface operable to connect to an access network;
a short-range interface; and
processing circuitry configured to perform the method of claim 1.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the long-range interface comprises at least one of a cellular interface and a satellite interface.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the short-range interface comprises at least one of a Bluetooth interface, a Bluetooth low-energy interface, an IEEE 802.11 interface, an IEEE 802.11bb interface, an IEEE 802.11p interface, an IEEE 802.15.4 interface, a LoRa interface, an LTE or NR sidelink interface, a C-V2X interface, a radar, a ZigBee interface, and an Ultra-Wideband interface.

### Claim 14

A method in an offboard computer configured to communicate with multiple vehicles via an access network, the method comprising:
receiving, from one of the vehicles which is connected to the access network, identities of other vehicles which are currently disconnected from the access network;
receiving, from the connected vehicle, coverage information indicative of a geographical boundary of an operable portion of the access network;
updating a master coverage map using the received coverage information; and
on the basis of the updated master coverage map, routing a message destined for one of the currently disconnected vehicles via an outbound connected one of the vehicles.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

An offboard computer configured to communicate with multiple vehicles via an access network, the offboard computer comprising:
a memory configured to store a master coverage map;
a communication interface towards the access network; and
processing circuitry configured to perform the method of claim 14.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, further comprising selecting the outbound vehicle on the basis of the updated master coverage map.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising selecting the outbound vehicle while taking into account path planning information.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the path planning information is obtained from a fleet management functionality, for which the offboard computer is responsible.