JP2005207110A - Vehicle utilization permission system and gate utilization permission system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle utilization permission system or a gate utilization permission system allowing the utilization of a vehicle or a gate with a user's portable communication apparatus utilizing a user authentication technology, and having excellent security, preservability and backup performance of data for authentication. <P>SOLUTION: A center 2 performs the user's authentication based on the user's face image transferred to the center 2 by communication from the portable communication apparatus 1 used by the user, and notifies an authentication result to a vehicle 3 of the authenticated user by communication. On the vehicle 3 side of the authenticated user, a vehicle door is unlocked based on the information acquired by communication between the vehicle 3 and the center 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a system that performs communication between a mobile communication device and a vehicle or a gate to enable use of the vehicle or a user gate.

  For vehicles, the user has an electronic key with a built-in transmitter and receiver, such as a remote keyless entry and smart key system, and the vehicle receives the signal transmitted from the electronic key and unlocks or locks the vehicle door. And a system that permits the start of a vehicle engine.

  However, according to the system as described above, for example, if the electronic key is left somewhere or only one person in the family has the electronic key, and the key holder is absent, The above-described actions such as unlocking and locking the vehicle door cannot be performed, and it cannot be said that it is easy to use. This problem also applies to the mechanical key. In addition, this problem is not limited to the vehicle door alone, and there is a similar problem in doors other than the vehicle door, for example, the door of a house or a building entrance.

  By the way, even if there is no electronic key or mechanical key as described above, there is no problem even if the door is unlocked or the like as long as the user can be confirmed by authenticating the user.

  However, in the conventional user authentication method, authentication data is registered and stored in advance in a portable terminal such as a portable device or a mobile phone owned by the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). Therefore, the registered authentication data may be exposed to an unspecified number of people or may be inadvertently tampered with, which causes a security problem. In addition, the usage environment of the mobile terminal by the user is various, and problems such as destruction of authentication data registered in the mobile terminal due to climate conditions or the like may occur. Furthermore, due to the relationship with the data storage capacity of the mobile terminal, it is often difficult to prepare a backup when the authentication data registered in the mobile terminal is destroyed.

  As a user authentication method other than the above, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, image data including a user's face photograph is transmitted from a specific site to the user's mobile terminal or the terminal on the provider side. There is a method of displaying a user's face photograph on the screen of a portable terminal or a provider's terminal and confirming whether the provider is the user based on the face photograph. However, since this method involves human authentication work, accurate identity verification cannot be performed. In this method, authentication data is also transmitted to the terminal on the provider side, so that the authentication data may be used illegally and there is a security problem.

JP 2002-207705 A

JP 2002-123778 A

JP 2002-32572 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is to make it possible to use a vehicle or a gate in a user's portable communication device using a user authentication technology and to store authentication data. The object is to provide a vehicle use permission system or a gate use permission system excellent in security, storage, and backup.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle use permission system that enables communication between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user vehicle, and enables use of the user vehicle by a registered user. The center includes an authentication unit that authenticates the user based on the face image of the user transferred to the center through communication from the mobile communication device and the registered user face information registered in the center, and the authenticated A notification unit that notifies the user's user vehicle of the authentication result by communication, and the user vehicle performs unlocking of the vehicle door based on the notification of the authentication result acquired by communication with the center. It has the part.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, when a registered user captures his / her face image and transfers it to the center with a portable communication device, the center user's face information and registered user face information registered in the center are used. Authentication is performed, and the authentication result is notified from the center to the registered user's user vehicle by communication, and the vehicle door of the user vehicle is unlocked by the notification of the authentication result. Therefore, if there is a base station such as a mobile phone anywhere in the country, the vehicle door can be unlocked in real time even in the event of a failure.

  By the way, if the data related to the face image that has been transferred to the center as described above is left in the mobile communication device for a long time, there is a risk of falsification of the data. In this case, the face that has been transferred to the center What is necessary is just to comprise so that an image may be automatically deleted from the inside of a portable communication apparatus immediately after completion | finish of transfer. The same applies to the following description.

  A second aspect of the present invention is a vehicle use permission system that enables communication between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user vehicle, and enables use of the user vehicle by a registered user. Processing that authenticates the user based on the face image of the user transferred from the communication device to the center through communication and the registered user face information registered in the center, and can be executed for the mobile communication device of the authenticated user A request for selecting which one of the vehicle controls to select is transmitted, and when the user operates the button of the mobile communication device in response to the request, the button operation content is received and the button operation content is Based on the user's selection content, and performing a process of communicating the selection content to the user vehicle of the authenticated user by communication. And performing vehicle control in accordance with the choice of the user based on the notification acquired the selection by the communication between the serial center.

  The “executable vehicle control” may include unlocking the vehicle door, permitting or starting the vehicle engine, driving the vehicle air conditioner, and the like.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to individually execute only the vehicle control selected according to the user's request from among the executable vehicle controls, such as unlocking the vehicle door, permitting or starting the vehicle engine. This improves convenience.

  A third aspect of the present invention is a vehicle use permission system that enables communication between a portable communication device with a camera, a center, and a reserved vehicle, and enables use of the reserved vehicle by a registered user. An authentication unit that authenticates a user based on the face image of the user transferred from the communication device to the center by communication and registered user face information registered in the center, and the reserved vehicle of the authenticated user A notification unit that notifies the authentication result by communication, and the reserved vehicle includes a control unit that unlocks the vehicle door based on the notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the reserved vehicle and the center. It is characterized by having.

  In the third aspect of the present invention, when a registered user transfers his / her face image to the center using a portable communication device, the center authenticates the user based on the face image and registered user face information registered in the center. The authentication result is notified from the center to the reserved vehicle of the registered user by communication, and the vehicle door of the reserved vehicle is unlocked by the notification of the authentication result. Therefore, if there is a mobile phone base station anywhere in the country, the vehicle door can be unlocked in real time even when the face authentication device mounted on the vehicle fails.

  The first aspect of the present invention assumes that the door of the own vehicle used by the registered user is unlocked. On the other hand, in the third aspect of the present invention, as in a car sharing system such as a rental car, for example, a plurality of users can select and use one of the plurality of vehicles as necessary as necessary. It corresponds to the system that can.

  The “control unit” in the first aspect of the present invention may further start the vehicle engine based on the notification. The vehicle control act of starting the vehicle engine and unlocking the vehicle door may be performed as a set, but may be appropriately selected by the user by operating a button of the portable communication device as necessary. For example, if the key is lost during a drive break, it is convenient for the user not only to unlock the vehicle door but also to automatically start the vehicle engine. On the other hand, in the case of a so-called inner lock that locks the vehicle door while leaving the key in the vehicle, it is considered that it is sufficient to unlock the vehicle door.

  As a configuration in which one or both of door unlocking and engine starting is selected and automatically executed by a button operation of the mobile communication device as described above, for example, the center issues a request for selection by the user. Send to mobile communication device. When the user operates the button of the mobile communication device in response to the request, the button operation content is transmitted from the user's mobile communication device to the center, and on the center side, the button operation content transmitted from the mobile communication device is changed. It is assumed that the user's selection is grasped on the basis of the user's selection, the user's vehicle of the authenticated user is notified of the selection, and the vehicle control based on the selection is performed on the user vehicle side based on the notification of the selection. For example, if the selection is only to unlock the door, only unlock the vehicle door.

  The above-mentioned “mobile communication device with camera” includes a device in which the camera is integrated in the device main body, such as a camera-equipped mobile phone, and a device in which the camera can be separately connected to the device main body. A portable personal computer with a camera that does not take the form of a so-called telephone and incorporates a PHS function is also included. Further, the “mobile communication device” includes portable communication devices other than these, in addition to mobile phones and PHS. The communication method is not limited to the wireless method, and may be any data communication as long as it is possible, and includes a wired telephone.

  The “registered user face information registered in the center” is extracted from the original image of the user's face in the “face feature amount data” column of the user table, for example, provided in the database on the center side. Data indicating the positional relationship between the centers and end points of organs such as eyes, nose and mouth may be stored.

  The above-mentioned “user authentication” uses the user face information necessary for user authentication, such as face feature data, and the user's face image acquired from the mobile communication device by the center to authenticate the user at the center. Done.

  In any of the above-described embodiments, the vehicle can be used by unlocking the vehicle door by performing communication between the portable communication device, the center, and the vehicle instead of using a key such as a mechanical key or an electronic key. However, the technical idea of the present invention is widely applied to general user gates other than vehicle doors, such as the entrances of houses and buildings, and the gate doors of the user gates. It can also be realized in the form of a so-called gate use permission system that performs unlocking.

  The configuration of such a gate use permission system is a system that enables communication with at least a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user gate, and enables use of the user gate by a registered user. An authentication unit that authenticates the user based on the face image of the user transferred from the portable communication device to the center by communication and registered user face information registered in the center, and a user gate of the authenticated user. And a control unit for unlocking the gate door based on the notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the user gate and the center. What is necessary is just to have a part.

  In the invention of the gate use permission system, when a registered user transfers his / her face image to the center using a portable communication device, the center authenticates the user based on the face image and registered user face information registered in the center. The authentication result is notified from the center to the user gate of the registered user by communication, and the gate door of the user gate is unlocked by the notification of the authentication result.

  The present invention has the following effects.

(1) Even if there is no key such as an electronic key or a mechanical key, as long as there is a mobile communication device with a camera, the user is authenticated at the center, and the user himself / herself unlocks the door of the vehicle or the user gate. be able to. The door can also be unlocked from a location far away from the vehicle or user gate.

(2) Since the center has registered user face information as authentication data, this type of authentication data can be prevented from being inadvertently tampered with, and the security of the authentication data is high. In addition, the authentication data can be prevented from being destroyed due to climatic conditions, etc., and the storage of the authentication data is good. Further, it is convenient for backup preparation when the authentication data is destroyed, and the backup performance is also excellent.

(3) Since the user's face image is taken with the camera of the mobile communication device, the registered user can be authenticated without installing a face shooting camera on the vehicle or the user gate side.

(4) Furthermore, since the user's face image is taken with the camera of the mobile communication device, even when there is strong sunlight, it is possible to shoot under the optimum shooting conditions by avoiding the sunlight by moving the shooting location. This can improve recognition performance.

(5) A commercially available camera-equipped mobile phone can be used as the camera-equipped mobile communication device. By replacing the mobile phone, it can be easily changed to a more accurate camera, and the face recognition performance can be easily improved. realizable.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The vehicle use permission system of the present embodiment adopts a system configuration including a mobile phone with camera 1, a center 2, and a vehicle 3 used by registered users as shown in FIG.

  The center 2 includes a communication device 4 and a database 5, and further includes an authentication unit 6 that authenticates a registered user and a notification unit 7 that performs predetermined notification to the user vehicle 3 of the registered user. The entire configuration of the center 2 including the communication device 4 and the database 5 can be realized by a computer having a communication function. Further, the configuration of the center 2 other than the communication device 4 may be realized by a computer connectable to the communication device 4.

  The communication device 4 of the center 2 is used when the center 2 itself communicates with the registered user's user vehicle 3 and the mobile phone 1.

  The database 5 is provided with a user table 5-1 shown in FIG. Various data are registered for each registered user in the user table 5-1. The registration contents of the user table 5-1 will be briefly described. The user table 5-1 of this embodiment includes “ID (telephone number)”, “face data”, “face feature data”, “car side communication”. A registration item column “ID of device (telephone number)” is provided.

  The “ID (telephone number)” column 5a stores the ID (telephone number) of the mobile phone 1 used by the registered user. In the “face data” column 5b, a registered user's face image taken at the time of user registration or update is stored as data. The “face feature data” column 5c stores data indicating the positional relationship between the centers and end points of organs such as eyes, nose and mouth extracted from the original face image of the user. In the “vehicle-side communication device ID (telephone number)” column 5d, the ID (telephone number) of the communication device installed in the user vehicle of the registered user is stored. The data stored in these registration item fields 5a to 5d is initially registered at the time of user registration, but it is desirable that the data is updated as necessary later.

  The authentication unit 6 of the center 2 authenticates the user based on the user's face image transferred from the mobile phone 1 to the center 2 by communication.

  The user authentication method will be briefly described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, user authentication is performed in three steps: face detection (st1), face organ detection (st2), and face recognition (st3). Yes.

  In the face detection step (st1), the face position is accurately detected from the face image of the user (hereinafter referred to as “user transfer face image”) transferred from the mobile phone 1 to the center 2 by communication. For the detection of the face position, a human face-type graph, also called a mask, is used, and the user transfer face image is scanned while enlarging or reducing the graph. It can be detected as the user's face position.

  In the face organ detection step (st2), the positions of the centers and end points of organs such as eyes, nose and mouth are accurately detected from the user-transferred face image with reference to the face position detected in step st1.

  In the face recognition step (st3), the face feature amount data of the corresponding user in the user table 5-1 is collated with the data detected in step st2, and it is confirmed whether both data are correct. Authenticate that

  In addition, the notification unit 7 of the center 2 notifies the user who has been authenticated in the step st3, that is, the user vehicle 3 of the authenticated user, by communication of the authentication result (that is, the identity of the user).

  The user vehicle 3 has a communication device 8 and a control unit 9. The communication device 8 of the user vehicle 3 is used when the user vehicle 3 communicates with the center 2. In the case of the present embodiment, the control unit 9 of the user vehicle 3 uses hardware resources such as the CPU 9-1, the RAM 9-2, the ROM 9-3, and the I / F unit 9-4 as shown in FIG. The vehicle door is unlocked based on the above notification acquired by communication between the user vehicle 3 and the center 2.

  Next, based on FIG. 5, an overall processing flow of the vehicle use permission system of the present embodiment will be described.

  In this system, first, the user calls the center 2 with the mobile phone 1 (step 200). Then, the center 2 determines whether the user's mobile phone number corresponds to one of the registered users (step 300).

  Here, if the telephone number of the mobile phone 1 used by the user is registered in the “ID (phone number)” field of the user table, the user is assumed to be one of the registered users from the center 2 to the user. The face acceptance permission is given to the mobile phone 1 (Y in step 300).

  Thereafter, on the center 2 side, the database 5 is searched using the telephone number (ID) of the user's mobile phone 1, and the facial feature quantity data and user vehicle of the user are searched from the user table 5-1 in the database 5. 3 is read out (step 301).

  On the other hand, on the user side, the face acceptance permission from the center 2 is received by the mobile phone 1 (step 201), then the user's face is photographed by the camera of the mobile phone 1, and the face image is sent to the center 2 by the mobile phone 1. Transmit (step 202).

  When the face image of the user is transferred from the user's mobile phone 1 to the center 2 as described above, the user is authenticated on the center 2 side (step 302). As described above, this user authentication process is performed in three steps: face detection (st1), face organ detection (st2), and face recognition (st3), and the user registered in the database 5 of the center 2 is registered. Determine whether or not.

  If the user is authenticated, the center 2 notifies the authentication result to the mobile phone 1 of the authenticated user by communication (step 303). The authentication result is also notified from the center 2 to the user vehicle 3 side of the authenticated user by communication (step 304).

  When the authentication result is notified by communication to the user vehicle 3 side as described above, the notification is received by the communication device 8 on the user vehicle 3 side. Then, based on the reception of this notification, the control unit 9 of the user vehicle 3 unlocks the vehicle door (step 400). Specifically, the unlocking of the vehicle door by the control unit 9 is specifically performed by the CPU 9-1 of the control unit 9 releasing the electromagnetic lock through the I / F unit 9-4 for the electromagnetic lock unit of the vehicle door, for example. This is realized by outputting a command signal such as This is because the vehicle door of the user vehicle 3 is locked or unlocked by the electromagnetic lock unit, and the electromagnetic lock unit is electrically connected to the control unit 9 via the I / F unit 9-4. Is premised on.

  If the telephone number of the mobile phone 1 used by the user is not registered in the “ID (telephone number)” column of the user table in step 300, the process is terminated as being not a registered user (step 300). 300 N).

  If the user cannot be authenticated in step 302, the process is immediately terminated. Instead of aborting the process here, as an exceptional handling in an emergency, for example, it is possible to shift to a human authentication work by a person in charge of the center 2 (N in Step 303). In this case, the person in charge of the center 2 visually checks the face image transmitted from the user to the center 2 side in step 202 and the user's face image stored in the “face data” column 5 b of the user table 5. By collating, it is confirmed whether or not the user is the registered user. If it can be confirmed that the user is the registered user, the process from step 303 described above is performed, and if the confirmation cannot be performed, the process is terminated. It should be noted that the transition to human authentication work as described above may be omitted because it is an exceptional handling in an emergency.

  In the above explanation of the operation, an example in which the vehicle door is automatically unlocked based on the notification of the authentication result from the center has been described. Instead, the vehicle engine start permission is automatically granted based on the notification of the authentication result. Alternatively, vehicle control such as starting can be performed, or multiple vehicle controls such as unlocking the vehicle door and starting permission or starting of the vehicle engine can be performed as one set, and vehicle control other than these can be performed. For example, the vehicle air conditioner may be operated based on the notification of the authentication result. In this case, similarly to the unlocking of the vehicle door, the control unit 9 of the user vehicle 3 performs the start permission or start of the vehicle engine, the operation of the air conditioner, and the like.

  Specifically, for the vehicle engine start permission or start by the control unit 9 as described above, for example, the CPU 9-1 of the control unit 9 sends the engine to the controller of the vehicle engine through the I / F unit 9-4. This is realized by outputting a start permission or a start command. This is because the engine control such as the engine start of the user vehicle 3 is performed by the vehicle engine controller, and the vehicle engine controller and the control unit 9 are electrically connected via the I / F unit 9-4. It is assumed that it is done. Similarly, with respect to the operation of the air conditioner by the control unit 9 as described above, the CPU 9-1 of the control unit 9 similarly issues, for example, an air conditioner operation start command to the controller of the air conditioner through the I / F unit 9-4. This is realized by outputting. This is because the control of the air conditioner such as the start of the air conditioner operation of the user vehicle 3 is performed by the controller of the air conditioner, and the controller of the air conditioner and the control unit 9 are electrically connected via the I / F unit 9-4. It is assumed that

  Further, each vehicle control such as the unlocking of the vehicle door, the start permission or start of the vehicle engine as described above can be appropriately selected for each user by the button operation of the mobile phone as necessary. Can do. In order to realize such a selection configuration by button operation, a user table 5-3 shown in FIG. 6 is used instead of the user table 5-1 shown in FIG.

  In the user table 5-3 of FIG. 6, a button registration item column 5f of the mobile phone 1 such as “button 1”, “button 2”, “button 3”, etc. is added to the user table 5-1 of FIG. In the “button 1” field 5f-1, the “button 2” field 5f-2, and the “button 3” field 5f-3 constituting the button registration item field 5f, a cell phone is registered for each registered user. The meaning of button operation is registered.

  In FIG. 6, the registered user (hereinafter referred to as “main user”) assumed as the main driver is displayed in the “button 1” column 5f-1 in the “door lock unlocked” and “button 2” column 5f-2. “Engine start permission”, “button 3” column 5f-3 shows an example in which the information “engine start” is registered, and the “button 1” column for other registered users assuming a child without a driver's license etc. An example is shown in which “door lock unlock” is registered in 5f-1, information “air conditioner operation” is registered in “button 2” field 5f-2, and “button 3” field 5f-3 is not registered. The registered contents in each column can be changed appropriately for each user according to the desire of the registered user.

  The registered contents in the “button 1” column 5f-1 are vehicle control actions that the user desires to be performed when the user presses the “1” number button on the mobile phone 1. Similarly, the registration content of the “button 2” column 5f-2 is a vehicle control action that the user wants to be performed when the user presses the number button “2”. Similarly, the registered content is a vehicle control action that is desired to be performed when the user presses the number button “3”.

  Next, the processing contents on the center 2 side, the operation contents of the mobile phone 1 on the registered user side, and the processing contents on the user vehicle 3 side when the user table 5-3 of FIG. To do.

  Even when the user table 5-3 of FIG. 6 is used, the entire processing basically proceeds in the processing flow shown in FIG. However, the point that the selection request is transmitted to the mobile phone of the authenticated user after the user authentication in step 302 is different from the above-described processing flow.

  That is, when the user is authenticated, the registered button information of the authenticated user is “button 1” field 5f-1, “button 2” field 5f-2, and “button 3” field 5f- of user table 5-3. 3 is transmitted from the center 2 to the mobile phone 1 of the authenticated user.

  Then, the user's registration button information and the like are displayed on the mobile phone 1 of the authenticated user. In the present embodiment, if the authenticated user is the main user, as shown in FIG. 7 as user registration button information, “1. Door lock unlocked”, “2. Engine start permission” and “3. Information “engine start” and a message “please press # at the end” are displayed on the display unit 1 a of the mobile phone 1.

  Thereby, the main user is given a room for selecting a vehicle control action such as door lock unlocking, engine start permission, and engine start. If the authenticated user is another registered user assuming a child without a driver's license, for example, press the information “1. Door lock unlocked” and “2. Air conditioner operation” and “# at the end. "Is similarly displayed on the display unit 1a of the mobile phone 1.

  Here, for example, when the authenticated user is the main user and the main user wishes to perform two vehicle control actions such as door lock unlocking and engine start permission, the button of the mobile phone 1 is selected by the main user. Can be pushed like “12 #”. Then, the button operation content “12 #” is transmitted from the main user's mobile phone 1 to the center 2 side. Then, on the center 2 side, the selection contents of the main user are grasped in the button registration item field 5f of the user table 5-3 based on the button operation contents of “12 #”, and the selection contents are stored in the user vehicle 3 of the main user. Notify the side. When the selection items are diversified and the option does not fit in one character, the method of using the alphabet, “1Z #”, the method of providing a delimiter for each operation content, for example “*”, or “1 * 12 #” may be taken. it can.

  The main user registers information "door lock unlocked" in the "button 1" field 5f-1 constituting the button registration item field 5f, and information "engine start permission" in the "button 2" field 5f-2. Therefore, the selection contents notified to the user vehicle 3 side of the main user are door lock unlocking and engine start permission.

  In the case of this embodiment, the control unit 9 of the user vehicle 3 has a ROM 9-3 as a data storage unit, and the user's selection contents such as door lock unlocking, engine start permission, engine start, etc. in the ROM 9-3. And a correspondence relationship between specific vehicle control contents executed according to the selected contents. The stored contents of the ROM 9-3 are referred to when the user's selection contents are notified from the center 2 side to the user vehicle 3 side.

  That is, when the control unit 9 of the user vehicle 3 receives the notification of the user's selection content from the center 2, the control unit 9 of the specific vehicle control corresponding to the selection content of the notification is performed by referring to the storage content of the ROM 9-3. The contents are specified, and the specified vehicle control, that is, the vehicle control according to the selection contents of the user is performed.

  In the above example, since the main user's user vehicle 3 side is notified of the selection content of door lock unlocking and engine start permission, the control unit 9 on the user vehicle 3 side unlocks the vehicle door and starts the vehicle engine. Vehicle control is performed. The specific method of vehicle control by the control unit 9 is as described above.

  In addition, in the table 2-3 on the center 2 side shown in FIG. 6, the user's selection can be written in Japanese as in the “button 1” column 5f-1, but the notification actually transmitted to the vehicle side With regard to the content designation method, the center 2 side can have a correspondence table for each vehicle type of a specific manufacturer, and a method can be employed in which the table is created while hiding the content of specific commands confidentially to the user.

  The vehicle use permission system of FIG. 1 described above is a system that assumes that a registered user unlocks the door of his / her vehicle, but this system can also be applied to, for example, a car sharing system.

  In the case of applying the vehicle usage permission system of FIG. 1 to a car sharing system (hereinafter, this application example is referred to as “car sharing compatible vehicle usage permission system”), the user table 5-1 of FIG. Thus, the user table 5-2 for car sharing shown in FIG. 8 is used, and the vehicle situation table 10 shown in FIG. 9 is also used. Since the basic configuration other than these is the same as that of the vehicle use permission system of FIG. 1 described above, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Various types of data are registered for each registered user in the car sharing user table 5-2 in FIG. The registration contents of the user table 5-2 will be briefly described. The car sharing user table 5-2 of this embodiment includes “ID (phone number)”, “face data”, “face feature data”, A registration item column “reservation” is provided.

  In the “reservation” column 5e, for example, information specifying the vehicle reserved by the user from among the vehicles to be reserved, such as car 1 or car 2, and the reserved vehicle is used by the user. Stores information related to the reservation such as date and time. The contents of information stored in the “ID (telephone number)” column 5a, “face data” column 5b, and “face feature data” column 5c in the user table 5-2 are as shown in FIG. Since it is the same as the user table 5-1, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the vehicle status table 10 of FIG. 9, various data are registered for each vehicle to be reserved. The registration contents of the vehicle status table 10 will be briefly described. The vehicle status table 10 of the present embodiment includes a “situation” column 10a, “vehicle side communication device ID (phone number)” 10b, and “reservation status” 10c column. The registration item column is provided.

  The “situation” column 10a of the vehicle situation table 10 stores the situation of the vehicle to be reserved. For example, for a vehicle used by any registered user, information indicating that the vehicle is being used is stored in the “situation” column 10a of the vehicle. In the “vehicle side communication device ID (telephone number)” column 10 b of the vehicle status table 10, an ID (telephone number) of a communication device mounted in a vehicle to be reserved is stored in advance. The “reservation status” 10c column of the vehicle status table 10 will be described below.

  When making a reservation, refer to the “situation” column 10a of the vehicle situation table 10, select a vehicle that does not overlap with the date and time desired to be used, and if multiple vehicles are selected, select the vehicle to be used from among them. select. A new reservation is added to the “reservation status” column 10 c of the corresponding vehicle in the vehicle status table 10. At the same time, the reserved vehicle number and the reservation date and time are entered in the “reservation” column 5e of the user table 5-2.

  The “reservation status” column 10 c of the vehicle status table 10 is configured by a list structure. For example, in the case of car No. 1, when viewing the corresponding column, reservation information (May 4, 13: 00 to 17:00) has already been input. The date and time when a new reservation is to be made is compared with the reservation information already input. If there is no overlap, the list is further traced. In the case of this example, there is another reservation information (May 3, 10:00:00 to 16:00). However, since this reservation does not overlap with the new reservation desired date and time, the list is further traced. When the end of the list is reached, it is determined that it does not overlap with the reservation request, and is a candidate vehicle.

  In the case of the second car, since the reservation time zone inputted first is overlapped, a new reservation cannot be made and it is not considered as a candidate vehicle.

  In the following, it is determined whether reservation is possible for all registered vehicles, and the vehicles that can be reserved are candidate vehicles.

  The user selects a vehicle to be used from the candidate vehicles and performs a reservation process. New reservation data is added to the end of the reservation status list of the corresponding vehicle in the vehicle status table 10 for the selected vehicle.

  In this example, a simple list structure is used, but a bidirectional list may be used. In this example, new information is simply added at the end, but it may be inserted and added so as to be arranged in the order of the reservation date and time. In the case of this example, new reservation information is added to the end of the list indicated by a broken line.

  Next, an overall processing flow of the car sharing-compatible vehicle use permission system will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this car sharing compatible vehicle use permission system, first, the user calls the center 2 with the mobile phone 1 (step 200). Then, the center 2 confirms whether or not a valid reservation for the user is made in the user table 5-2 (step 500).

  If there is a valid reservation for the user, the status of the reserved vehicle of the user is confirmed in the vehicle status table 10 (step 501). As a result of the confirmation, if the reserved vehicle of the user is currently usable, the face acceptance permission is given from the center 2 to the mobile phone 1 of the user (Y in step 501).

  Thereafter, the center 2 searches the database 5 using the telephone number (ID) of the mobile phone 1 of the user and reads out the facial feature data of the user from the user table 5-2 in the database 5. Based on the information related to the user's reservation stored in the “reservation” column 5e in the user table 5-2, specifically, the information specifying the reserved vehicle such as the first car and the second car, etc. The ID (telephone number) of the communication device mounted on the reserved vehicle of the user is specified from the table 10 (step 502).

  On the other hand, the user side receives the face acceptance permission from the center 2 (step 201), and then captures his / her face with the camera of the mobile phone 1 and transmits the face image to the center 2 with the mobile phone 1 (step 201). 202).

  When the face image of the user is transferred from the user's mobile phone 1 to the center 2 as described above, the user is authenticated on the center 2 side. The processing related to the user authentication is as described above (step 503). However, in the case of car sharing, the vehicle status table 10 is updated after the user authentication process (step 503). That is, the “situation” column 10a of the vehicle situation table 10 of the corresponding vehicle is changed to “× busy” (step 503-1).

  If the user is authenticated in step 503, the center 2 notifies the authentication result to the mobile phone 1 of the authenticated user after the vehicle status table 10 is updated (step 503-1) (step 503). 504). The authentication result is also notified from the center 2 to the reserved vehicle side of the authenticated user by communication (step 505).

  When the authentication result is notified to the reserved vehicle as described above, the reserved vehicle unlocks the vehicle door. This unlocking is automatically performed by the control unit in the reserved vehicle based on the notification (step 400).

  If the reservation time has elapsed, it is determined in step 500 that no effective reservation has been made, and the process proceeds to step 510 (N in step 500). In step 510, if there is no reservation that has passed the period, the process is immediately terminated. If there is such a reservation, the process is terminated after updating the vehicle status table 10 and the user table 5-2 (step 511). ). The update of the vehicle status table 10 is performed by deleting the reservation information of the vehicle that has been used from the reservation status list in the “reservation status” column 10c of the relevant vehicle, and changing the data in the “situation” column 10a of the relevant vehicle to “○ It can be used ”. The update of the user table 5-2 deletes the data in the “reservation” column 5e of the user. Therefore, the use of the vehicle is ended together with the end of reservation due to the elapse of the reservation time, and the vehicle is not unlocked.

  However, there may be a case where the vehicle cannot be returned to the vehicle storage area by the end of the reservation time. For this reason, it is preferable to confirm the end of use instead of simply ending the use at the end of the reservation time. For example, when the use of the vehicle is ended, a use end notification is sent from the user's mobile phone 1 to the center 2, and with this notification, the reservation information is received from the vehicle status table 10 and the user table 5-2 on the center 2 side. Perform end-time processing such as deleting. It is also possible to monitor the vehicles that return to the vehicle storage area, and to end use when the vehicle returns to the vehicle storage area and the reserved time has elapsed.

  It is assumed that the ID data of the mobile phone itself is also destroyed. As a countermeasure, the ID for identifying the person can be a user registration number or the like instead of the mobile phone number. In addition, since the reliability is low only by the ID number, the encryption table method adopted by the online bank can also be adopted.

  The present invention is configured as a so-called gate use permission system that is applied to a general user gate other than the door portion of a vehicle, such as a house or building entrance, and unlocks the gate door of the user gate. You can also. The basic configuration of this gate use permission system is the same as the system of FIG. 1 except for the following configuration.

  In the system of FIG. 1, the communication device 8 and the control unit 9 are provided on the vehicle 3 side. However, in the case of a gate usage permission system, the communication device 8 and the control unit 9 are provided on the user gate side instead of the vehicle. take. Further, the control unit 9 on the user gate side is configured to unlock the gate door of the user gate based on the notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the user gate and the center 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 9-1 of the control unit 9 releases the electromagnetic lock through the I / F unit 9-4 with respect to the electromagnetic lock unit of the gate door. This is realized by outputting the command signal. This is based on the assumption that the gate door of the user gate is locked or unlocked by the electromagnetic lock unit, and that the electromagnetic lock unit is electrically connected to the control unit 9 via the I / F unit 9-4. It is what.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. The hardware block diagram of the control part of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the user table used with the system of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the user authentication system employ | adopted with the system of FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an overall processing flow of the system of FIG. 1. Explanatory drawing of other embodiment of a user table. Explanatory drawing of the user's registration button information displayed on a user's mobile phone. Explanatory drawing of the user table used with the car sharing corresponding | compatible use permission system. Explanatory drawing of the vehicle condition table used with a car sharing corresponding | compatible use permission system. Explanatory drawing of the flow of the whole process of a vehicle sharing permission vehicle use permission system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone with camera 2 Center 3 Vehicle 4 Center communication device 5 Database 5-1 User table 5-2 User table 5a for car sharing ID (phone number) column 5b Face data column 5c Face feature amount data column 5d Vehicle side Communication device ID (telephone number) column 5e Reservation column 6 Authentication unit 7 Notification unit 8 Vehicle communication device 9 Control unit 9-1 CPU
9-2 RAM
9-3 ROM
9-4 I / F unit 10 Car status table

Claims (5)

A vehicle use permission system that performs communication between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user vehicle, and enables use of the user vehicle by a registered user,
The center
An authentication unit for authenticating a user based on the face image of the user transferred to the center by communication from the mobile communication device and the registered user face information registered in the center;
A notification unit for communicating the authentication result to the user vehicle of the authenticated user by communication,
The user vehicle is
A vehicle use permission system comprising: a control unit that unlocks a vehicle door based on a notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the user vehicle and the center.   The vehicle use permission system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further starts a vehicle engine based on the notification. A vehicle use permission system that performs communication between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user vehicle, and enables use of the user vehicle by a registered user,
The center
A process for authenticating a user based on the user's face image transferred from the mobile communication device to the center by communication and registered user face information registered in the center, and for the mobile communication device of the authenticated user A request for selecting which of vehicle control is to be selected is transmitted, and when the user operates the button of the mobile communication device in response to the request, the button operation content is received and the button operation is received. Based on the content, the user's selection content is grasped, and the selection content is notified to the user vehicle of the authenticated user by communication,
The user vehicle is
A vehicle use permission system that performs vehicle control in accordance with the selection content of the user based on the notification of the selection content acquired through communication between the user vehicle and the center. A vehicle use permission system that communicates between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a reserved vehicle, and allows a registered user to use the reserved vehicle,
The center
An authentication unit for authenticating a user based on the face image of the user transferred to the center by communication from the mobile communication device and the registered user face information registered in the center;
A notification unit for communicating the authentication result to the reserved vehicle of the authenticated user by communication,
The reserved vehicle is
A vehicle use permission system comprising a control unit for unlocking a vehicle door based on a notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the reserved vehicle and the center. A gate use permission system that performs communication between a mobile communication device with a camera, a center, and a user gate, and enables use of a user gate by a registered user,
The center
An authentication unit for authenticating a user based on the face image of the user transferred to the center by communication from the mobile communication device and the registered user face information registered in the center;
A notification unit that communicates the authentication result to the user gate of the authenticated user by communication;
The above user gate is
A gate usage permission system comprising: a control unit that unlocks the gate door based on the notification of the authentication result acquired by communication between the user gate and the center.

Images