This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0145596, filed on Nov. 22, 2018 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle infotainment system and, more particularly, to a vehicle infotainment system capable of being connected to an external mobile terminal for function linkage, and a method of controlling the same.

BACKGROUND

When a vehicle infotainment system is wirelessly connected to a mobile terminal such as a smartphone using Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz), since an ISM frequency band is used, it is necessary to use technology of modulating/demodulating compressed data using a codec and wireless interference. Accordingly, it is difficult to realize a wireless data transmission/reception speed at the level of several Gbps, such that a mirroring image is cut off, mirroring sound is delayed or disconnection occurs. Therefore, there is a need for a new wireless interface connection and control technology.

Miracast technology based on Wi-Fi 802.11n and technology based on 802.11ac/ad as existing wireless image transmission technology have the following problems.

First, in Miracast technology, image delay of about 350 ms occurs, settings are very complicated, a pairing time of about 20 seconds is required and buffering frequently occurs.

In addition, in technology based on 802.11ac/ad, power consumption is up to tens of watts, a chipset size is large, the connector standard is based on PC (HDMI), and the price thereof is relatively high.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a vehicle infotainment system and a method of controlling the same that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle infotainment system capable of performing large file transfer (SATA), music (USB), phone projection (CarPlay/Android Auto/MirrorLink), a modem (USB) and a phone mirroring (MHL) function using a millimeter wave short-range communication method in a band of 30 GHz to 300 GHz for link between the vehicle infotainment system and a smartphone, and a method of controlling the same.

Additional advantages, objectives, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objectives and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, a vehicle infotainment system may include a short-range wireless communication module configured to establish a wireless communication with an external mobile terminal, a communication module configured to transmit data to and receive data from the mobile terminal using a communication method in a specific band through at least one link mode, and a controller configured to activate a first link mode for using content of the mobile terminal in the vehicle infotainment system of the at least one link mode when the wireless communication with the mobile terminal is established and to transmit a first control signal for controlling the mobile terminal to activate the first link mode to the mobile terminal through the short-range wireless communication module.

At this time, the communication method in the specific band may include millimeter wave wireless communication in a band of 30 GHz to 300 GHz.

The first link mode may be a USB mode, and the controller may activate the USB mode by default and transmit the first control signal for controlling the mobile terminal to activate the USB mode, when the wireless communication with the mobile terminal is established.

The controller may be further configured to activate a second link mode for updating the vehicle infotainment system through software stored in the mobile terminal of the at least one link mode, when a software update menu item is selected, transmit a second control signal for controlling the mobile terminal to activate the second link mode to the mobile terminal through the short-range wireless communication module, and update the vehicle infotainment system using the software stored in the mobile terminal through the communication module, when the mobile terminal activates the second link mode. At this time, the second link mode may include a serial AT attachment (SATA) mode.

The vehicle infotainment system may further include an output device configured to mirror and output media output from the mobile terminal, and the controller may be further configured to activate a third link mode for mirroring of media output from the mobile terminal of the at least one link mode, when a mirroring menu item is selected, transmit a third control signal for controlling the mobile terminal to activate the third link mode to the mobile terminal through the short-range wireless communication module, and mirror the media output from the mobile terminal through the communication module and outputs the media through the output device, when the mobile terminal activates the third link mode. At this time, the third link mode may include a mobile high-definition link (MHL) mode.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of controlling a vehicle infotainment system includes establishing a wireless communication with an external mobile terminal, activating a first link mode of at least one link mode for transmitting data to and receiving data from the mobile terminal using a communication method in a specific band, and transmitting, to the mobile terminal, a first control signal for controlling the mobile terminal to activate the first link mode through the wireless communication.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present disclosure are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

