JP2003248045A - Apparatus for detecting location of occupant in cabin and on-board apparatus control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relatively inexpensive realizable apparatus for detecting the locations of occupants in a cabin, having high detection accuracy and an on-board apparatus control system. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 100 as the on-board apparatus control system is provided with a communication module 110, an occupant specification processing part 120, an air-conditioning control part 190, a screen control part 192, and a sound field control part 194. The occupant specification processing part 120 receives radio waves transmitted from a communication module in a cellular phone 400, through the use of three antennas 200, 202, and 204 installed inside the cabin and specifies the location of an occupant who possesses the cellular phone 400, on the basis of the reception intensities of the antennas. The air-conditioning control part 190, etc., perform control, in such a way as to optimize the state of air-conditioning, etc., at the location of the specified occupant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle interior occupant position detection device and an in-vehicle device control system for detecting the presence or absence and the position of a passenger in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent vehicles, some passengers are provided with operation units for various in-vehicle devices such as audio devices and air conditioners. This allows each passenger to set the temperature of the air conditioner with a separate air outlet near each passenger, and to allow each passenger to select an audio source and listen to their favorite music. Will be possible. In order to operate such an in-vehicle system without waste, it is necessary to recognize the number of passengers, the boarding positions, or the individual recognition of each passenger.

By the way, as a conventional technique for specifying the presence or absence of a passenger and the position of the passenger, (1) a CCD camera or the like is installed in the passenger compartment, and image processing is performed on the photographed image of the passenger. There are known a method of knowing the presence and the position and (2) a method of installing a load sensor on the seat and knowing the presence and the position of the occupant based on the sensor output.

[0004]

By the way, the above-mentioned C
In the conventional technology using the shooting result of a CD camera or the like,
There is a problem that an in-vehicle system becomes expensive because an image processing device that performs complicated processing is required, and detection accuracy deteriorates at nighttime when sufficient brightness cannot be ensured.

Further, in the prior art using the above-mentioned load sensor, depending on the setting range of the detectable load,
It is possible that a child with a light weight cannot be detected, or if a relatively heavy baggage is placed in the seat, it may be erroneously detected as an occupant sitting on the seat. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is a vehicle interior occupant position detection device and an in-vehicle device control system which have a high detection accuracy and can be realized at a relatively low cost. To provide.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the passenger compartment position detecting device of the present invention determines the position in the passenger compartment of a passenger who has a wireless terminal that communicates in accordance with the Bluetooth standard. In order to detect, the multiple antennas installed at multiple locations where radio waves can be sent to and received from the wireless terminal, and the reception strength when the radio waves transmitted from the wireless terminal are received at each of the multiple antennas are detected. It is provided with a reception intensity detecting means for detecting and a position determining means for determining the position of the occupant based on the reception intensity corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas. The radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received by multiple antennas and the occupant carrying this wireless terminal is identified based on the received strength, so high detection accuracy is achieved regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment or the weight of the occupant. The occupant position can be detected with. In addition, since it is not necessary to purchase a special device for each occupant by using a wireless terminal compliant with the Bluetooth standard which is often built in various portable devices such as a mobile phone these days, it is comparatively possible. It is possible to realize a system that specifies the occupant position at low cost.

Further, the number of antennas described above is three,
The position determination means preferably determines the position of the occupant based on the combination of the reception intensities of the three antennas. The occupant position can be detected reliably and accurately based on the reception sensitivities detected by the three antennas.

In addition, a table storing combinations of reception sensitivities of the plurality of antennas is provided on the assumption that the seating position of the occupant is preliminarily set, and the position determining means described above actually corresponds to each of the plurality of antennas. It is desirable to identify the position of the occupant by comparing the reception intensity detected by the reception intensity detection means with the contents of the table. Since it is possible to specify the occupant position simply by comparing the actual detection result with the contents of the table,
The specific process can be simplified.

Further, it is desirable that each of the plurality of antennas described above has directivity and is installed so that the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good coincides with the seating positions of one or more occupants. By matching the directivity of the antenna with the expected seating position of the occupant, it is possible to easily identify the occupant's position by checking the presence or absence of the radio wave received by each antenna and its reception intensity.

Further, the passenger compartment position detecting device according to the present invention detects the position of the passenger in the passenger compartment having a wireless terminal that communicates in conformity with the Bluetooth standard with the wireless terminal. An antenna having directivity set in a place where transmission and reception are possible, an antenna characteristic rotation means for rotating the antenna in a direction in which the reception sensitivity of the antenna is good, and a reception intensity when a radio wave transmitted from a wireless terminal is received by the antenna. And a position determination unit that determines the position of the occupant by obtaining the relationship between the orientation of the antenna and the reception intensity using the antenna characteristic rotation unit and the reception intensity detection unit. . The radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received by the antenna and the occupant carrying this wireless terminal is specified based on the transmission direction and the reception strength, so high detection is possible regardless of the brightness in the vehicle compartment or the weight of the occupant. The occupant position can be detected with high accuracy. Also,
Recently, by using a wireless terminal that conforms to the Bluetooth standard, which is often incorporated in various mobile devices such as mobile phones, it is not necessary to purchase a special device for each occupant, so it is relatively inexpensive. It becomes possible to realize a system for specifying the position of an occupant.

Further, the position determining means described above has a rotation direction in which the reception intensity detected by the reception intensity detecting means is maximized when the antenna characteristic rotating means rotates the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good, and It is desirable to determine the position of the occupant based on the reception intensity. Since the wireless terminal exists in the direction in which the reception intensity becomes maximum and the distance to the wireless terminal is known based on the reception intensity, the occupant position can be detected with high detection accuracy based on these.

Further, the above-mentioned position determining means determines the position of the occupant based on the reception intensity detected by the reception intensity detecting means when the orientation of the antenna is adjusted to the position where the occupant may sit. Is desirable. Since it is known in advance that the occupant's position coincides with one of the seat positions, it is possible to identify the occupant's position by checking the presence / absence of the occupant for this seat position. Can be simplified.

In addition, a position for predicting a seating position of an occupant is predicted in advance, and a table showing the relationship between the antenna direction and the reception intensity corresponding to the predicted position is provided, and the position determining means described above corresponds to the predicted position. It is desirable to identify the position of the occupant by comparing the reception intensity actually detected by the reception intensity detection means with the contents of the table. Since the occupant position can be specified only by comparing the actual detection result with the contents of the table, the specifying process can be simplified.

Further, it is desirable to further include a unique identification acquisition means for acquiring unique identification information corresponding to the wireless terminal. By obtaining not only the position of the occupant but also the unique identification information of the wireless terminal possessed by each occupant, it becomes possible to perform individual recognition of the occupant. Further, the vehicle interior occupant position detection device of the present invention acquires the unique identification information corresponding to the wireless terminal in order to detect the position in the vehicle interior of the occupant who has the wireless terminal that performs communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard. Corresponding to the unique identification acquisition means, a confirmation message sending means for sending a confirmation message requesting confirmation of the boarding position of this wireless terminal to the wireless terminal that has obtained the unique identification information by the unique identification acquisition means, and the confirmation message. Response receiving means for receiving the response sent back by the response receiving means, and position determining means for determining the position of the occupant carrying the wireless terminal which is the transmission source of the response, based on the content of the response received by the response receiving means. Is equipped with. The occupant who receives the confirmation message returns a response including the seating position, and the occupant position is specified based on the content of this response, so the occupant position can be detected with high accuracy regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment, the occupant's weight, etc. Can be detected. In addition, since it is not necessary to purchase a special device for each occupant by using a wireless terminal compliant with the Bluetooth standard which is often built in various portable devices such as a mobile phone these days, it is comparatively possible. It is possible to realize a system that specifies the occupant position at low cost.

Further, the confirmation message includes a plurality of positions where the occupant may sit, and the above-mentioned position determination means is specified by the response returned in response to the confirmation message. It is desirable to determine the position of the occupant according to one option. By including each option in the confirmation message and allowing each occupant to select, the occupant position can be transmitted from the occupant to the passenger position detecting device in the passenger compartment by a simple operation, and the occupant's operation can be simplified. .

Further, the on-vehicle equipment control system of the present invention is
The vehicle interior occupant position detection device described above and a control unit that controls the state of the vehicle-mounted device based on the occupant position determined by the vehicle interior occupant position detection device are provided. Based on the specified occupant position, it becomes possible to control the state of the vehicle-mounted device to an optimum state for each occupant.

Further, it is desirable that the above-mentioned on-vehicle device is an air conditioner, and the control means controls the blowing position / direction, temperature, etc. of the blown air of the air conditioner based on the occupant position. As a result, it is possible to realize an optimal temperature environment in the passenger compartment for each occupant. In addition, the in-vehicle device described above,
It is an audio device, and the control means preferably controls the output level, frequency characteristic, phase, etc. of the audio sound output from the plurality of speakers included in the audio device, based on the occupant position. By controlling the output level, frequency characteristics, and phase of the audio sound output from the speaker in accordance with the position of the occupant, an optimal sound field for each occupant can be realized.

Further, the above-described on-vehicle device is a display device whose screen angle can be adjusted, and the control means preferably adjusts the screen angle so that the direction perpendicular to the screen approaches the occupant position. Accordingly, it is possible to realize a screen angle of the display device that makes it easy for each occupant to see the display content according to the occupant position.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An on-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an in-vehicle system according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle system according to the first embodiment includes a control unit 100, an operation unit 200, and a passenger seat operation unit 21.
0, rear operation units 220, 230, CD player 2
40, MD player 250, radio receiver 260, TV
The receiver 270, the air conditioner unit 300, the front display unit 310, the rear display unit 320, and the amplifier unit 330 are included.

The control unit 100 has a function as an occupant position detecting device for determining the position of an occupant riding in the vehicle, and the air conditioner unit 300, the amplifier unit 330, etc. are based on the determined occupant position. Controls the status of various in-vehicle devices.

The operation unit 200 is provided near the driver's seat and is used by the driver to operate the in-vehicle device. Similarly, the passenger seat operation unit 210 is used by a passenger seated in the passenger seat to operate the in-vehicle device. The rear operation units 220 and 230 are used by the left and right occupants seated in the rear seats to operate the in-vehicle devices.

The air conditioner unit 300 is configured to include a compressor, a radiator, or a mechanism section including a plurality of outlets for blown out air and a control section thereof, and the blowout position / direction or temperature of the blown out air is controlled by the control unit 100. To be done.

The front display unit 310 is installed at a substantially middle position on the dashboard, and has a display device for displaying an image to a driver and a passenger in a passenger seat, and a rotation mechanism for rotating the horizontal direction. It is configured to include and. The rear display unit 320 is installed at a substantially intermediate position between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, and has a display device for displaying images to passengers on the left and right rear seats, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the horizontal direction. It is configured to include.

The amplifier unit 330 is the CD player 2
40, MD player 250, radio receiver 260, TV
The output sound of each of the receivers 270 is selectively amplified and output from a plurality of speakers 332 set at various places in the vehicle interior. The output level, frequency characteristics, and phase of the sound output from each speaker 332 are controlled by the control unit 1.
Controlled by 00.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the control unit 100 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 includes a communication module 110, a changeover switch (SW) 116, an occupant identification processing unit 120, an air conditioner control unit 190, a screen control unit 192, and a sound field control unit 194. There is.

The communication module 110 complies with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, and wirelessly communicates with other communication modules conforming to the Bluetooth standard to exchange various information. In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 40 carried by each occupant including the driver
0 has a similar communication device built therein, and the communication module 110 included in the control unit 100 serves as a master, and the other communication modules included in the mobile phone 400 serve as slaves to perform communication operation. The communication module 110 includes an RF unit 1 including a receiving unit and a transmitting unit.
12 and a baseband part 114. RF unit 1
Reference numeral 12 transmits and receives radio waves in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, and the baseband unit 114 performs various controls necessary for data communication such as control of the RF unit 112, link control, and error control.

The changeover switch 116 has three antennas 2
One of 00, 202 and 204 is selectively connected.
The arrangement of the three antennas 200, 202, 204 in the vehicle will be described later. The occupant identification processing unit 120 has three antennas 200, 202, and 204 for the radio waves transmitted from the wireless module in the mobile phone 400 carried by the occupant.
This mobile phone 400 based on the reception strength when reaching
Processing for identifying the position of the passenger carrying the vehicle in the vehicle compartment. For this reason, the occupant identification processing unit 120 includes the ID acquisition unit 121, the reception intensity determination unit 122, and the antenna switching unit 12.
3, a combination table 124, a position determination unit 125, and an occupant storage unit 126. The reception strength detection unit 122 serves as the reception strength detection unit, and the position determination unit 125 serves as the position determination unit.
The ID acquisition unit 121 corresponds to the unique identification acquisition means.

The ID acquisition unit 121 performs a process of acquiring ID information unique to the communication module built in each mobile phone 400 sent from each mobile phone 400. The reception strength determination unit 122 receives the information from each mobile phone 400
The reception strength of the radio wave reaching the two antennas 200, 202 and 204 is determined. For example, by checking the strength of the intermediate frequency signal generated in the receiving section in the RF section 112 of the communication module 110, the three antennas 200,
The reception strength corresponding to each of 202 and 204 is determined. The antenna switching unit 123 controls the selection state of the changeover switch 116. The combination table 124 stores the reception strengths corresponding to the three antennas 200, 202, and 204 with respect to the seating positions of the respective occupants assumed in advance. The position determination unit 125 uses the three antennas 200, 20.
By comparing the reception intensity of the radio wave actually detected by using 2, 204 with the reception intensity stored in the combination table 124, the mobile phone 4 as the transmission source of this radio wave
The position of the occupant carrying 00 is determined. Crew storage 12
6 stores the occupant position determined by the position determination unit 125.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle interior space and the antenna. In FIG. 3, FR indicates the driver's seat on the right side of the front seat, FL indicates the passenger seat on the left side of the front seat, RR indicates the seat on the right side of the rear seat, and RL indicates the seat on the left side of the rear seat. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 200 (ANT1) is attached to a front position approximately in the middle between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, for example, a mounting post of a rearview mirror. In addition, the antennas 202 on the left and right doors of the rear seats,
204 (ANT2, 3) are attached.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the distance between each antenna and the expected seating position of the occupant when the distance from the antenna 200 (ANT1) to the passenger seat (FL) is 1. The symbols such as FR and ANT1 shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the symbols used in FIG. For example, the distances between the driver's seat indicated by FR and the antennas 200, 202, 204 are 1, 2, 1.5, respectively. This distance is normalized with the shortest distance being 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the occupant's seating position and the reception intensity corresponding to each antenna, and shows the contents of the table stored in the combination table 124. The reception intensity corresponding to each antenna 200, 202, 204 is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between these antennas 200, 202, 204 and the antenna of the communication module in the mobile phone 400 carried by the passenger. Therefore, the ratio of the reception intensity corresponding to each antenna is calculated from the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4, and the calculation result is stored in the table shown in FIG. For example, the reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the mobile phone 400 carried by the occupant seated in the driver's seat indicated by FR is 0.25 at the antenna 202 when the reception intensity at the antenna 200 is 1, and the reception intensity at the antenna 202 is 20
At 4, it becomes 0.44.

The vehicle-mounted system of this embodiment has such a configuration, and the operation for specifying the occupant position will be described next. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the control unit 100 of the first embodiment for specifying the occupant position. After one or more occupants including the driver and other occupants have boarded the vehicle, the ID acquisition unit 121 uses the communication module 110 and other communication modules in the mobile phone 400 to communicate with each other. Communication module I
D is acquired (step 100). Each of these IDs is
It corresponds to the owner of the mobile phone 400 having each communication module built therein, that is, each occupant. Further, the communication performed when acquiring the ID is performed by the three antennas 200, 20.
It may be carried out by using either of 2 and 204.

Next, the three antennas 200, 202, 2
The reception strength is measured in each of 04 (step 101). Specifically, when the antenna switching unit 123 switches the changeover switch 116 to connect the respective antennas, the reception strength determining unit 122 determines the reception strength, and thus the reception strengths using the three antennas are obtained. Is measured.

Next, the position determination unit 125 compares the reception intensities corresponding to each of the three antennas obtained by the measurement with the combination of the reception intensities stored in the combination table 124 (step 102), The occupant position is determined (step 103). When the determination of the occupant position is completed, the position determination unit 125 determines the determined occupant position as an ID.
After it is stored in the passenger storage unit 126 together with (step 1
04), it is determined whether or not there is another ID for which the determination of the occupant position has not been completed (step 105). I acquired
If there are a plurality of Ds and there is another ID for which the determination of the occupant position has not been completed, an affirmative determination is made and the next I
The processing from step 101 onward is repeated for D.
In addition, when the determination of the occupant position has been completed for all the acquired IDs, a negative determination is made in the determination of step 105, and the series of processes for identifying the occupant position ends.

As described above, in the control unit 100 of the present embodiment, the radio waves transmitted from each mobile phone 400 as a Bluetooth terminal has three antennas 200,
Measure the reception strength when received at 202, 204,
The position of the occupant carrying each mobile phone 400 is determined according to the combination of the reception intensities. A plurality of antennas 20 transmit electric waves transmitted from a mobile phone 400 as a wireless terminal.
Since the occupant carrying the mobile phone 400 is specified based on the reception intensity received at 0, 202, and 204, the occupant position is detected with high detection accuracy regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment, the weight of the occupant, and the like. can do. Further, recently, since the mobile phone 400 as a Bluetooth terminal is becoming common, by using such a Bluetooth terminal, it is not necessary to purchase a special device for each occupant, and the occupant can be relatively inexpensive. It becomes possible to specify the position.

Next, a specific example of controlling the states of various in-vehicle devices based on the occupant position thus identified will be described. For example, the air conditioner control unit 190 controls the blowing position / direction, temperature, etc. of the blown out air provided in the air conditioner unit 300, based on the specified occupant position. As a result, it is possible to realize an optimal temperature environment in the passenger compartment for each occupant.

Further, the screen control unit 192 controls a rotating mechanism provided in the front display unit 310 or the rear display unit 320 to adjust the screen angle so that the direction perpendicular to the screen of the display device approaches the occupant position. Accordingly, it is possible to realize a screen angle of the display device that makes it easy for each occupant to see the display content according to the occupant position.

Further, the sound field control unit 194, based on the occupant position, constitutes an amplifier unit 33 which constitutes an audio device.
The output level, frequency characteristics, phase, etc. of the audio sound output from the plurality of speakers 332 connected to 0 are controlled. By controlling the output level, frequency characteristics, and phase of the audio sound output from the speaker 332 according to the occupant position, an optimal sound field for each occupant can be realized.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment described above, the occupant position is specified based on the reception sensitivities of the three antennas 200, 202, and 204. However, one antenna having directivity is used. The position of the occupant may be determined based on the direction in which the occupant is present and the reception intensity corresponding to the mobile phone 400 carried by the occupant by rotating the direction with good reception sensitivity.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the detailed structure of the control unit used in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 100A of the present embodiment
Is a communication module 110, a rotation unit 118, an occupant identification processing unit 130, an air conditioner control unit 190, a screen control unit 19
2. The sound field control unit 194 is included. The control unit 100A is different from the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 2 in that the occupant identification processing unit 120 is replaced with an occupant identification processing unit 130 and the changeover switch 116 is replaced with a rotating unit 118, and other than that. The basic configuration is common. Also, the control unit 100A
The in-vehicle system other than the above is assumed to have the same configuration as that shown in FIG.

The antenna 206 connected to the control unit 100A has directivity. Rotating part 11
8 rotates the direction in which the receiving sensitivity of the antenna 206 is good. As a method for rotating the directivity of the antenna 206, either an electrical method or a mechanical method may be adopted. For example, antenna 2
When mechanically rotating the direction of 06, the antenna 20
6 may be realized by a phased array antenna composed of a plurality of elements, and the electric field generated by each element may be varied to electrically rotate the direction of directivity.

The occupant identification processing section 130 rotates the orientation of the antenna 206 by the rotating section 118,
Based on the direction in which the reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the mobile phone 400 carried by the occupant is maximized and the received strength at that time, a process for identifying the position of the occupant carrying the mobile phone 400 in the vehicle interior is performed. . Therefore, the occupant identification processing unit 130 includes the ID acquisition unit 131, the reception intensity determination unit 132,
The rotation control unit 133, the combination table 134, the position determination unit 135, and the occupant storage unit 136 are provided. Rotation control unit 1
33, the rotating unit 118 serves as the antenna characteristic rotating unit, the reception intensity detecting unit 132 serves as the reception intensity detecting unit, and the position determining unit 13
5 corresponds to the position determination means, and the ID acquisition unit 131 corresponds to the unique identification acquisition means.

The ID acquisition unit 131 performs a process of acquiring ID information unique to the communication module built in each mobile phone 400 sent from each mobile phone 400. The reception strength determination unit 132 determines the reception strength of the radio wave transmitted from each mobile phone 400 and reaching the antenna 206. The rotation control unit 133 controls the rotation unit 118 to rotate the antenna 206 in the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good. The combination table 134 stores the reception intensity when the reception sensitivity of the antenna 206 is aligned with the expected seating position of each occupant. Position determination unit 135
Owns the mobile phone 400 that is the transmission source of this radio wave by comparing the reception intensity of the radio wave actually detected when the antenna 206 is rotated with the reception intensity stored in the combination table 134. Determine the position of the occupant. The occupant storage unit 136 stores the occupant position determined by the position determination unit 135.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle interior space and the antenna. In FIG. 8, θ is the antenna 20
The direction in which the receiving sensitivity is maximized when 6 is rotated is shown. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the occupant position and the reception intensity, and shows the contents of the table stored in the combination table 134. In FIG. 9, θ is the driver's seat (FR), passenger seat (FL), right rear seat (RR),
The antenna 20 for adjusting the direction with good reception sensitivity to each position when seated in the left rear seat (RL)
The rotation angle is 6, and the reception intensity of the radio wave is E when the radio wave is actually transmitted from the mobile phone 400 at those positions when the rotation angle is adjusted to these. For example, F
The reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the mobile phone 400 carried by the passenger seated in the driver's seat indicated by R is the antenna 20.
When the rotation angle of 6 is set to 300 °, it becomes 1 (normalized value). Further, the value of the reception intensity becomes maximum in the vicinity of the driver's seat, and when the rotation angle of the antenna 206 deviates from 300 °, it decreases in either direction.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the control unit 100A of the second embodiment for specifying the occupant position. After one or more occupants including the driver and other occupants board the vehicle, the ID acquisition unit 131
Acquires the ID of another communication module through communication performed between the communication module 110 and another communication module in the mobile phone 400 (step 200).

Next, the rotation controller 133 controls the antenna 20.
6 is rotated (step 201), and the reception strength determination unit 13
2 acquires the determination result of the reception intensity at the antenna 206 (step 202). Then, the position determination unit 135
Is a combination of the reception intensity and the rotation angle of the antenna 206 when the reception sensitivity becomes maximum, and the combination table 13
4 is compared with the combination of reception intensities stored in step 4 (step 203) to determine the position of the occupant (step 20).
4). When the determination of the occupant position is completed, the position determination unit 135
Is the occupant storage unit 1 together with the ID of the determined occupant position.
The data is stored in the storage unit 36 (step 205), and the series of processes for specifying the occupant position is completed.

As described above, in the control unit 100A of this embodiment, the radio wave transmitted from each mobile phone 400 as a Bluetooth terminal is received by the antenna 206 rotated in the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good, and the reception intensity is increased. Depending on the combination of the reception intensity at the maximum and the rotation angle of the antenna 206 at that time, each mobile phone 400
The position of the occupant who possesses is determined. Antenna 206 transmits radio waves transmitted from mobile phone 400 as a wireless terminal.
Since the occupant carrying the mobile phone 400 is identified based on the transmission direction and the reception intensity received by the vehicle, it is possible to detect the occupant position with high detection accuracy regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment, the weight of the occupant, and the like. You can

[Third Embodiment] In each of the above-described embodiments, the occupant position is specified by detecting the reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the communication module in the mobile phone 400. A predetermined confirmation message for confirming the sitting position may be transmitted to the occupants in their possession, and the mobile phones 400 possessed by the respective occupants may be returned with a response indicating the sitting position. .

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the detailed structure of the control unit used in the third embodiment. Figure 11
As shown in FIG.
0B is the communication module 110, the occupant identification processing unit 14
0, an air conditioner controller 190, a screen controller 192, and a sound field controller 194. This control unit 100B replaces the occupant identification processing unit 120 with an occupant identification processing unit 140 in the control unit 100 shown in FIG.
The difference is that the is omitted, and other basic configurations are common. The on-vehicle system other than the control unit 100B has the same configuration as that shown in FIG.

The occupant identification processing section 140 sends a predetermined confirmation message to the mobile phone 400 carried by the occupant, and controls the mobile phone 400 based on the response sent from the mobile phone 400 in response to the confirmation message. A process of identifying the position of the passenger in the vehicle is carried out. For this reason, the occupant identification processing unit 140 has the ID acquisition unit 141,
Confirmation message transmission processing unit 142, response reception processing unit 14
3, a position determination unit 144, and an occupant storage unit 145. The confirmation message transmission processing unit 142 is a confirmation message transmission unit, and the response reception processing unit 143 is a response reception unit.
The ID acquisition unit 141 serves as the unique identification acquisition unit, and the position determination unit 1
Reference numerals 44 correspond to the position determining means, respectively.

The ID acquisition unit 141 performs a process of acquiring ID information unique to the communication module built in each mobile phone 400 sent from each mobile phone 400. The confirmation message transmission processing unit 142 transmits a confirmation message to each mobile phone 400. The confirmation message includes a question sentence for an occupant who owns the destination mobile phone 400 to answer the sitting position by himself. The response reception processing unit 143 receives the response sent from the mobile phone 400. This response includes an answer to the question text of the confirmation message. The position determination unit 144 extracts the answer part from the response received by the response reception processing unit 143 and determines the position of the occupant. Crew storage 1
45 stores the occupant position determined by the position determination unit 144.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the mobile phone 400 used in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the mobile phone 400 carried by the passenger includes a communication module 410, a telephone processing unit 420, a message processing unit 430, and
The input unit 440 and the display unit 442 are included.

The communication module 410 performs the communication operation based on the Bluetooth standard as described above. The telephone processing unit 420 is for realizing a function as a general mobile phone, and can make a call with another mobile phone or a fixed phone by using a microphone or a speaker (not shown).

The message processing section 430 receives the confirmation message sent from the control unit 100B and returns a response. To this end, the message processing unit 430 includes a message reception processing unit 432, a message display processing unit 434, a response creation unit 436, and a response transmission processing unit 438. The message reception processing unit 432 controls reception processing of the confirmation message by the communication module 410. Message display processing unit 43
The process 4 displays the content of the confirmation message received under the control of the message reception processing unit 432. The content of the confirmation message is displayed on the display unit 442.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the confirmation message displayed on the display unit 442. As shown in FIG. 13, the confirmation message includes a question sentence to input the seat on which the occupant is seated, and answer candidates indicated by options. In the response creating unit 436, the occupant uses the input unit 440.
Operate to create a response based on the input contents. The response transmission processing unit 438 controls the operation of transmitting the response created by the response creating unit 436 to the control unit 100B using the communication module 410.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the control unit 100B of the third embodiment for specifying the occupant position. After one or more passengers including the driver and other passengers have boarded the vehicle, the ID acquisition unit 141
Acquires the ID of the communication module 410 through communication performed between the communication module 110 and the communication module 410 in the mobile phone 400 (step 300).

Next, the confirmation message transmission processing section 142
Specifies the acquired one ID and transmits a confirmation message to the mobile phone 400 incorporating the communication module 410 corresponding to this ID (step 301). After that, the response reception processing unit 143 determines whether or not a response has been sent from the mobile phone 400 that is the destination of this confirmation message (step 302), and if there is no response, makes a negative determination and makes this determination. Repeat the process. Further, when the response is sent back, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 302, and then the position determination unit 144 determines the occupant position according to the response content (step 303),
The occupant storage unit 145 includes the determined occupant position together with the ID.
(Step 304). In addition, the position determination unit 1
44 determines whether or not there is another ID whose position has not been specified (step 305), and if it exists, an affirmative determination is made, and the processing after the transmission of the confirmation message in step 301 is performed. Repeated. In addition, when the determination of the occupant position is completed for all the acquired IDs, a negative determination is made in the determination of step 305, and the series of processes for identifying the occupant position is terminated.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an operation procedure of the mobile phone 400 which receives the confirmation message and sends back a response. The message reception processing unit 432 determines whether or not the confirmation message sent from the control unit 100B has been received (step 400). If not, it makes a negative determination and repeats this determination process. . Further, when the confirmation message is received, an affirmative determination is made in the determination at step 400, and then the message display processing unit 434 performs a process of displaying the content of the confirmation message shown in FIG. 13 on the display unit 442. (Step 401).

Next, the response creating section 436 determines whether or not the occupant carrying the mobile phone 400 has operated the input section 440 to input an instruction for a reply (step 402). If no input is made, a negative determination is made and this determination processing is repeated. If an instruction for the answer is input, an affirmative determination is made in the determination in step 402, and then the response creating unit 436 creates a response according to the input instruction (step 403). The response transmission processing unit 438 transmits the created response to the control unit 100B via the communication module 410 (step 404).

As described above, in the control unit 100B of the present embodiment, the confirmation message prompting the occupant to input the sitting position is transmitted to the mobile phone 400 that has acquired the ID, and the occupant position is determined based on the response. is doing. The occupant who receives the confirmation message returns a response including the seating position, and the occupant position is specified based on the content of this response, so the occupant position can be detected with high accuracy regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment, the occupant's weight, etc. Can be detected.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the second embodiment described above, in the embodiment, one antenna 2 having directivity is used.
Although 06 is rotated, two (or more) antennas having directivity may be used.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle interior space and the antennas when a plurality of directional antennas are used. As shown in FIG. 16, the directional antennas 206A and 206B are arranged in front of and behind the vehicle interior space. Thus two antennas 206
When using A and 206B, the rotation control unit 133 shown in FIG. 7 performs control to rotate the respective antennas 206A and 206B, and the reception strength determination unit 132 separates the reception strengths at the respective antennas 206A and 206B. To judge. Further, the position determination unit 135 can determine the occupant position with high accuracy by using the reception intensities determined by using these two antennas 206A and 206B. Note that these two antennas 20
The installation positions of 6A and 206B do not necessarily have to be in the front and rear of the vehicle interior space, and may be left and right or diagonally forward and diagonally rearward.

In the second embodiment described above, the direction in which the reception sensitivity of the antenna having directivity is good is rotated. However, when a plurality of antennas are used, the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good is set. The occupant position may be specified without rotating the antenna by adjusting the seated position of the occupant.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle interior space and the antenna when the occupant position is specified without rotating the directional antenna. As shown in FIG.
In a general vehicle (passenger car), an occupant sits in either the front row or the rear row. Therefore, the antenna 207 in which a direction with good reception sensitivity is set in the lateral direction of each of these columns is set.
A and 207B are arranged, and the occupant position can be easily specified based on the reception sensitivities determined using the A and 207B without rotating these antennas. Further, in this case, since the mechanism for rotating the antenna is not required, the occupant position can be basically determined by using the control unit having the configuration shown in FIG. Note that these two antennas 207A and 207B
Is installed in the front row and the rear row in the lateral direction, and is also installed on the extension line of the driver seat (FR) and the rear seat right side (RR) and on the extension line of the passenger seat (FL) and the rear seat left side (RL). Various combinations are conceivable such as setting on the extension line of the driver seat (FR) and the rear seat left type (RL) and on the extension line of the passenger seat (FL) and the rear seat right side (RR).

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the air conditioner control, the screen control, and the sound field control are performed based on the result of specifying the occupant position has been described as an example. Other vehicle-mounted devices may be used as long as they are based on the occupant position.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the position of the occupant carrying the mobile phone 400 as the Bluetooth terminal is specified has been described, but the Bluetooth terminal carried by the occupant is not limited to the mobile phone 400. Other mobile devices may be used. For example, when the output sound of the amplifier unit 330 is output from the headphones distributed to each occupant other than the driver instead of being output from the speaker 332, a communication module is built in the headphones and the headphones are used as a Bluetooth terminal. You may do it. In this case, since it is possible to send and receive voice using the communication module, it is possible to eliminate the connection line of each headphone. Further, for example, when each occupant wears the headphone on the head, when the wearing state is detected by using a strain sensor or the like, the power of the built-in communication module is turned on, and the headphone is mounted. Only the occupant is identified, and the passenger seat operation unit 210 and the rear operation units 220, 230 corresponding to this occupant are identified.
It is also possible to enable the above operation and give an operation instruction to an audio source (CD player 240 or the like) different for each occupant to output the audio sound for himself / herself from the headphones.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, the radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received by the plurality of antennas, and the occupant carrying the wireless terminal is specified based on the reception strengths thereof. The occupant position can be detected with high detection accuracy regardless of the brightness of the passenger compartment, the weight of the occupant, and the like.

Further, since the radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received by the antenna and the occupant carrying the wireless terminal is specified based on the transmission direction and the reception intensity, the brightness in the vehicle compartment, the weight of the occupant, etc. The occupant position can be detected with high detection accuracy regardless of the above. In addition, the occupant himself / herself who receives the confirmation message returns a response including the seating position, and the occupant position is specified based on the content of the response, so that the occupant's position can be detected with high accuracy regardless of the brightness in the passenger compartment or the weight of the occupant. The position of the occupant can be detected.

Further, by using a wireless terminal complying with the Bluetooth standard which is often incorporated in various portable devices such as a mobile phone, it is not necessary to purchase a special device for each passenger. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize a system for identifying the occupant position at a relatively low cost.

Furthermore, it becomes possible to control the state of the vehicle-mounted device to the optimum state for each occupant based on the specified occupant position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an in-vehicle system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control unit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a vehicle interior space and an antenna.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a distance between each antenna and an expected seating position of an occupant.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a seated position of an occupant and a reception intensity corresponding to each antenna.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the control unit of the first embodiment for specifying the occupant position.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control unit used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a vehicle interior space and an antenna.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between an occupant position and reception intensity.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of a control unit of the second embodiment for specifying an occupant position.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control unit used in the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a mobile phone.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a confirmation message displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the control unit of the third embodiment for specifying an occupant position.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the mobile phone 400 that receives a confirmation message and sends back a response.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a vehicle interior space and antennas when a plurality of directional antennas are used.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the vehicle interior space and the antenna when the occupant position is specified without rotating the directional antenna.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 100A, 100B control unit 110,410 Communication module 116 Changeover switch (SW) 118 rotating part 120, 130, 140 Crew identification processing unit 121, 131, 141 ID acquisition unit 122, 132 reception intensity determination unit 123 Antenna switching unit 124,134 combination table 125, 135, 144 Position determination unit 126, 136, 145 Crew storage 133 rotation control unit 142 Confirmation message transmission processing unit 143 Response reception processing unit 190 Air conditioner controller 192 Screen control unit 194 Sound field controller 200, 202, 204, 206, 208 antennas 400 mobile phones 430 Message processing unit 432 Message reception processing unit 434 Message display processing unit 436 Response Creation Section 438 Response transmission processing unit 440 input section 442 display

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5J062 BB01 BB05 CC07                 5K067 AA33 BB04 BB21 DD17 DD20                       DD44 DD51 EE02 EE12 JJ54                       JJ64 KK02 KK03

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A passenger compartment position detecting device for detecting the position of an occupant in a vehicle carrying a wireless terminal that communicates according to the Bluetooth standard, capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from the wireless terminal. A plurality of antennas installed at a plurality of different locations, a reception intensity detection unit that detects the reception intensity when a radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received at each of the plurality of antennas, and each of the plurality of antennas And a position determination unit that determines the position of the occupant based on the received intensity corresponding to the vehicle interior occupant position detection device. 2. The number of the antennas according to claim 1, wherein the position determining unit determines the position of the occupant based on a combination of reception intensities of the three antennas. A vehicle occupant position detection device. 3. The table according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a table storing a combination of reception sensitivities of the plurality of antennas, assuming a position where the occupant is seated in advance, and the position determining means. The occupant position in the passenger compartment, characterized in that the position of the occupant is specified by comparing the reception intensity actually detected by the reception intensity detection means corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas with the contents of the table. Detection device. 4. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of antennas has directivity, and is installed so that a direction with good reception sensitivity matches a seating position of one or more occupants. An occupant position detection device for a vehicle interior characterized by the above. 5. The vehicle interior occupant position detection device according to claim 1, further comprising a unique identification acquisition unit that acquires unique identification information corresponding to the wireless terminal. 6. An occupant position detecting device for detecting the position of an occupant in a vehicle carrying a wireless terminal that performs communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard, and is capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from the wireless terminal. An antenna having directivity set in a different place, an antenna characteristic rotating means for rotating the antenna in a direction in which the receiving sensitivity of the antenna is good, and a reception intensity when a radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal is received by the antenna. Position determining means for determining the position of the occupant by obtaining the relationship between the orientation of the antenna and the reception intensity by using the reception intensity detecting means for detecting, and the antenna characteristic rotating means and the reception intensity detecting means. An occupant position detection device for a vehicle interior, comprising: 7. The position determination means according to claim 6, wherein the reception intensity detected by the reception intensity detection means is maximized when the antenna characteristic rotation means rotates the direction in which the reception sensitivity is good. An occupant position detecting device for a passenger compartment, characterized in that the position of the occupant is determined based on the rotating direction and the reception intensity at this time. 8. The position determination means according to claim 6, based on the reception intensity detected by the reception intensity detection means when the orientation of the antenna is adjusted to a position where the occupant may sit. And an occupant position detecting device for the passenger compartment, wherein the position of the occupant is determined. 9. The table according to claim 6, further comprising a table that predicts a position at which the occupant is seated in advance and shows a relationship between the direction of the antenna corresponding to the predicted position and the reception intensity. The position determination means specifies the position of the occupant by comparing the reception intensity actually detected by the reception intensity detection means with the content of the table corresponding to the predicted position. An occupant position detection device for a vehicle. 10. The vehicle interior occupant position detection device according to claim 6, further comprising a unique identification acquisition unit that acquires unique identification information corresponding to the wireless terminal. 11. A vehicle interior occupant position detection device for detecting the position in the vehicle interior of an occupant carrying a wireless terminal that performs communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard, and acquires unique identification information corresponding to the wireless terminal. A unique identification acquisition means, and a confirmation message transmission means for transmitting a confirmation message requesting confirmation of a boarding position of an occupant carrying the wireless terminal toward the wireless terminal which has acquired the unique identification information by the unique identification acquisition means. And a response receiving unit that receives a response returned in response to the confirmation message, and possesses the wireless terminal that is the transmission source of this response based on the content of the response received by the response receiving unit. A position determination means for determining the position of the occupant, and an occupant position detection device in the vehicle interior. 12. The confirmation message according to claim 11, wherein the confirmation message includes a plurality of positions where the occupant may sit, and the position determination means returns the position in response to the confirmation message. An occupant position detecting device for a passenger compartment, characterized in that the position of the occupant is determined according to one of the options specified by the response. 13. An occupant position detecting device for a passenger compartment according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and control means for controlling a state of an in-vehicle device based on an occupant position determined by the occupant position detecting device for a passenger compartment, An in-vehicle device control system comprising: 14. The on-vehicle device according to claim 13, wherein the vehicle-mounted device is an air conditioner, and the control means controls a blowing position / direction, a temperature, and the like of air delivered from the air conditioner based on the occupant position. In-vehicle equipment control system. 15. The on-vehicle device according to claim 13, wherein the on-vehicle device is an audio device, and the control means outputs an output level of an audio sound output from a plurality of speakers included in the audio device, based on the occupant position. An in-vehicle device control system characterized by controlling frequency characteristics, phase, etc. 16. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 13, wherein the on-vehicle device is a display device capable of adjusting a screen angle, and the control unit adjusts the screen angle such that a direction perpendicular to the screen approaches the occupant position. An in-vehicle device control system characterized by: