JP2008169663A - Portable machine and vehicular remote control system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable machine and a vehicular remote control system using this portable machine, capable of particularly improving detection capacity of whether or not the portable machine exists in a car by a communication control device, regardless of an arranging position of a vehicular inside antenna or the like, in the portable machine and the vehicular remote control system using this portable machine. <P>SOLUTION: The communication control device 21 has a vehicular inside transmission circuit 25 and the vehicular inside antenna 26 of a vehicular inside output means for outputting a vehicular inside request signal, a vehicular outside transmission circuit 23 and a vehicular outside antenna 24 of a vehicular outside outputting means for outputting a vehicular outside request signal, and a control means 29 controlling vehicle electric equipment such as an engine starter 31 by receiving a response signal from the portable machine 11 by controlling output of the respective output means. The portable machine 11 has a receiving antenna 14 receiving the respective request signals, a receiving level detecting circuit 13 and a receiving circuit 12, a control circuit 15, a transmission circuit 16 and a transmission antenna 17 controlling a reply of the response signal in proportion to a signal level of the respective request signals. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable device that performs communication with a communication control device mounted on a vehicle and is used for remote control such as locking / unlocking of a vehicle door and engine starting, and a vehicle remote control system using the portable device. In particular, the present invention relates to detecting whether or not the portable device is in a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as in-vehicle detection).

  In recent years, in vehicles such as passenger cars, systems that perform locking and unlocking of vehicle doors, engine starting, and the like by remote control are becoming widespread.

  For example, the system automatically unlocks the door lock when a driver having a portable device approaches the vehicle, and automatically locks the door lock when the driver leaves the vehicle. In addition, this system detects the presence of a portable device in the vehicle and permits engine start. Thus, the driver can start the engine only by operating the start switch in the vehicle without operating the machine key at the time of starting the engine, for example, and the operability can be improved.

  With respect to such a conventional portable device and a system using the same, an in-vehicle detection operation performed by the communication control device in order to particularly permit engine start will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining in-vehicle detection of the conventional system. In FIG. 5, the conventional system 51 includes a portable device 53 possessed by the driver of the vehicle 52 and an in-vehicle output disposed in the vehicle 52. The communication control device (not shown) is provided with an in-vehicle transmission unit 54 and an external transmission unit 56 disposed on a driver's seat door or the like.

  In the above configuration, in the system 51, the communication control device controls the vehicle exterior transmission unit 56 at regular intervals and outputs a vehicle exterior request signal to the region B11 around the vehicle. Then, when the portable device 53 approaches the vehicle 52 and enters the area B11 and receives a request signal outside the vehicle, a predetermined response signal is returned.

  Then, the communication control device compares the code included in the response signal from the portable device 53 in response to the request signal outside the vehicle with the code stored in advance, and automatically unlocks the door lock when they match. .

  Next, when a driver who enters the vehicle operates a start switch or the like provided on an instrument panel or the like to start the engine, the communication control device receives an engine start permission request from the engine start device of the vehicle electrical component. The start signal is input. Upon receiving this activation signal, the communication control device controls the in-vehicle transmission unit 54 and outputs an in-vehicle request signal to the in-vehicle area A11. Then, the portable device 53 receives the in-vehicle request signal and returns a predetermined response signal.

  On the other hand, when the communication control device receives the response signal from the portable device 53 in response to the in-vehicle request signal, the communication control device makes the engine startable when the codes match as described above. Therefore, the driver can start the engine in this state.

  Further, the communication control device prohibits starting of the engine when the response signal from the portable device 53 cannot be received. Therefore, even if the start switch is operated in this state, the engine cannot be started. Therefore, only the owner of the portable device 53 can start the engine, and the crime prevention such as theft prevention can be improved and the operability can be improved.

  Incidentally, it is generally difficult to dispose the in-vehicle transmission unit 54 on the center line L of the vehicle 52. This is because the center line L is a relay path between the front part and the rear part of the vehicle 52, where a crankshaft for transmitting the rotation of the engine to the front wheels and the rear wheels is provided under the floor, and the front side As shown in FIG. 5, the momentum in-vehicle transmission unit 54 is separated from the center line L, for example, in the driver's seat. It is arranged below.

  And, as shown in the area A11, the in-vehicle transmission unit 54 disposed at a position away from the center line L outputs the in-vehicle request signal to the outside (hereinafter referred to as the outdoor signal more), The portable device 53 can receive the in-vehicle request signal even outside the vehicle, and the communication control device may erroneously determine that the portable device 53 is inside the vehicle even though the portable device 53 is actually outside the vehicle. is there.

  Various techniques have been disclosed in order to prevent this erroneous determination and to satisfactorily perform in-vehicle detection performed by the communication control device. As an example, there is a technique in which the signal level of the in-vehicle request signal of the in-vehicle transmission unit 54 is reduced to reduce the output area in order to prevent outdoor signal leakage. However, with this technique, the S / N between the in-vehicle request signal S and the noise N may decrease, and the communication performance between the communication control device and the portable device 53 may decrease. In addition, since the output area of the in-vehicle request signal output from one in-vehicle transmission unit 54 becomes small, a large number of in-vehicle transmission units are required to cover the entire area in the vehicle.

As prior art document information related to the invention of this application, for example, Patent Document 1 is known.
JP 2004-27490 A

  However, in the above-described conventional system, in-vehicle detection performed by the communication control device suppresses the signal level of the in-vehicle request signal, the S / N decreases, and the communication performance between the communication control device and the portable device 53 may decrease. There was a problem that there was.

  The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and can carry out in-vehicle detection performed by the communication control device without reducing the S / N regardless of the position of the in-vehicle output means of the communication control device. It is an object to provide a machine and a system using the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, a portable device of the present invention and a system using the portable device have the following configurations.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the portable device is configured to receive the in-vehicle request signal and the out-of-vehicle request signal from the communication control device and return different response signals according to the strength of the reception level. Therefore, by returning a response signal corresponding to the position where the user is present, there is an effect that a portable device capable of performing in-vehicle detection performed by the communication control device without reducing the S / N can be obtained.

  The invention according to claim 2 uses the portable device according to claim 1, and the communication control device determines the position of the portable device based on a threshold value stored in advance based on a response signal from the portable device. The system is configured as described above, and has an effect that a system capable of detecting in-vehicle can be obtained regardless of the position of the in-vehicle output means of the communication control device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle request signal is formed with a dummy signal portion that allows the portable device to easily detect the signal level of each request signal. The portable device can accurately detect the signal level of each request signal.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the ability of in-vehicle detection, and it is possible to obtain a portable device that can freely select the layout of the in-vehicle output means and a system using the portable device. Is obtained.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, in particular, an in-vehicle detection operation performed by the communication control device in order to permit engine start.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining in-vehicle detection of the system, in which 1 is a system, and system 1 is A portable device 11 possessed by the owner (driver) of the vehicle 2 and a communication control device 21 disposed in the vehicle 2 are provided.

  The portable device 11 includes a reception antenna 14, a reception level detection circuit 13 and a reception circuit 12 as reception means, and a control circuit 15, a transmission circuit 16 and a transmission antenna 17 as transmission control means.

  The reception circuit 12 converts the signal level of the request signal detected by the reception level detection circuit 13 into a pulse signal when the reception antenna 14 receives the request signal output from the communication control device 21, and converts the request signal into a pulse signal. Transmit to.

  When the pulse signal is input from the reception circuit 12, the control circuit 15 outputs a response signal proportional to the reception level of the request signal included in the pulse signal to the transmission circuit 16.

  Next, the transmission circuit 16 modulates the response signal from the control circuit 15 to a predetermined frequency, for example, 314.9 MHz radio wave in the RF band, and outputs the modulated signal via the transmission antenna 17. That is, the portable device 11 returns a response signal having a different amplitude to the communication control device 21 according to the reception level of the request signal from the communication control device 21 that receives at the position where the portable device 11 is.

  Next, the communication control device 21 includes an in-vehicle transmission circuit 23 and an out-of-vehicle antenna 24 as an out-of-vehicle output means for outputting an out-of-vehicle request signal to the outside of the vehicle, and an in-vehicle transmission circuit as an in-vehicle output means for outputting an in-vehicle request signal to the inside of the vehicle. 25. A receiving antenna 28 and a receiving circuit 27 are provided as a receiving unit for receiving a response signal from the vehicle interior antenna 26 and the portable device 11.

  Furthermore, the communication control device 21 controls the in-vehicle / outside-vehicle output means and the receiving unit, and performs in-vehicle detection using a plurality of threshold values stored in advance based on a response signal from the portable device 11. Control means (microcomputer) 29 for controlling the engine starting device 31 and the like, which are vehicle electrical components, is provided.

  Here, the control unit 22 of the communication control device 21 is composed of an outside transmission circuit 23, an in-vehicle transmission circuit 25, a reception circuit 27, a reception antenna 28 and a control means 29.

  The portable device 11 and the communication control device 21 constitute a system 1.

  In the above configuration, the control unit 22 (not shown in FIG. 2) is disposed in the console box or the like. The outside antenna 24 connected to the control unit 22 and disposed on the driver's seat door or the like has the outside transmission circuit 23 convert the outside request signal from the control means 29 to a predetermined frequency, for example, a 125 kHz radio signal in the LF band. , Mainly output to the area B11 around the vehicle.

  An in-vehicle antenna 26 connected to the control unit 22 and disposed away from the center line L of the vehicle 2, for example, under the driver's seat, etc. Is set to a predetermined frequency, for example, a 125 kHz radio wave signal in the LF band, and is mainly output to the area A11 in the vehicle.

  Here, the operation in which the system 1 detects the portable device 11 outside the vehicle and automatically unlocks / locks the door lock is the same as the conventional one, and a description thereof is omitted, and the operation for detecting the inside of the vehicle is described in detail. To do.

  First, when the driver enters the vehicle and operates a start switch (not shown), the engine starter 31 outputs a start signal for requesting permission to start the engine to the communication control unit 21. Upon receiving this activation signal, the control means 29 of the communication control device 21 starts in-vehicle detection. The operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the control means 29 that has received the start signal for the engine start permission request controls the outside antenna 24 and the inside antenna 26 and outputs the outside request signal and the inside request signal to a predetermined area.

  Here, the output order of each request signal may be either inside or outside the vehicle, and the processing order of response signals from the portable device 11 received on the communication control device 21 side is matched according to the output order of each request signal. Just do it.

  As shown in FIG. 4, both the in-vehicle request signal and the out-of-vehicle request signal transmitted by the communication control device 21 are easy to detect the signal level of the request signal after the regular signal a, for example. Is formed with a dummy signal portion b that is continuous. The dummy signal portion b may be provided in front of or in the center of the regular signal a.

  The purpose of having the dummy signal part b is for the portable device 11 to accurately measure the signal level of the request signal. The digital data of the regular signal a shown in FIG. 4A is a signal that repeats “1” and “0”, and is “0” after “1” or “1” after “0”. Since the request signal received by the portable device 11 is not determined to be a constant level with the conventional request signal formed by only the regular signal a and modulated at 125 kHz as shown in FIG. It is difficult to accurately measure the reception level.

  By having this dummy signal part b, the reception level of this request signal is measured at the time t determined at a constant level shown in FIG. 4B, so that the portable device 11 determines the signal level of the request signal. Accurate measurement.

  And the portable device 11 which received the request signal outside the vehicle and the request signal inside the vehicle outputs a response signal corresponding to the position where the mobile device 11 is located for each request signal.

  In FIG. 2, this means that the portable device 11 is on the inner circle at a distance r1 near the in-vehicle antenna 26 and on the outer circle at a distance r2 far from the in-vehicle antenna 26. In some cases, the portable device 11 receives an in-vehicle request signal in the LF band that attenuates according to the distance from the in-vehicle antenna 26.

  The in-vehicle / external request signal modulated with the frequency of the LF band is a magnetic field signal, and the signal level thereof decreases as the distance from the transmission sources of the in-vehicle antenna 26 and the out-of-vehicle antenna 24 increases. That is, the portable device 11 receives a request signal from the communication control device 21, and the reception level varies depending on the position where the portable device 11 is located.

  For example, if the signal level of the in-vehicle request signal output from the in-vehicle antenna 26 is 10 V / m, the reception level received when the portable device 11 is on the inner circle separated by the distance r1 is 8 V / m, and the outside is separated by the distance r2. The reception level in the case of being on a circle is 6 V / m.

  And the portable device 11 returns the response signal of RF band from which an amplitude differs based on the signal level of the in-vehicle request signal received according to the position where it exists. For example, in the above example, when the power supply voltage of the portable device 11 is 5 V, the portable device 11 gives a response signal with an amplitude of 4 V when it is at the distance r1, and a response with an amplitude of 3 V when it is on the outer circle separated by the distance r2. Reply signal.

  On the other hand, the communication control device 21 provides a predetermined threshold value in each output region formed by each request signal of the vehicle exterior antenna 24 and the vehicle interior antenna 26. In other words, the outside request signal area B11 has threshold data b1 (hereinafter referred to as b1) on the outer periphery, and the inside request signal area A11 has an inner circle on the first threshold data a1 (hereinafter referred to as a1). ), The outer circle on the outside is the second threshold data a2 (hereinafter referred to as a2).

  It is most preferable that a1 is a threshold value that does not cause outdoor signal leakage from the driver's seat side, and a2 is a threshold value that does not cause outdoor signal leakage from the passenger seat side. This is because even if both a1 and a2 are smaller or larger than the current circle, the determination of in-vehicle detection is not accurate. For example, if a2 is made larger than the current circle, it becomes a threshold value that causes an outdoor signal leakage on the passenger seat side.

  Therefore, in step T1 in FIG. 3, the control unit 29 responds from the portable device 11 in response to the in-vehicle request signal (hereinafter referred to as signal S1) and the response signal from the portable device 11 in response to the out-of-vehicle request signal. The threshold value data corresponding to the position of the portable device 11 stored in advance through experiments or the like is called from (hereinafter referred to as signal S2).

  Then, the control means 29 compares the signals S1 and a1 in step T2, and if S1> a1, determines that the portable device 11 is in X1 in the vehicle with YES, moves to step T5 and moves the engine to the engine starter 31. A permission signal for permitting start is output. As a result, the driver can start the engine only by operating the start switch in the vehicle.

  In step T2, the control means 29 determines NO if S1 <a1, and determines that the portable device 11 is not in X1 in the vehicle, and proceeds to step T3. In step T3, the signals S1 and a2 are compared. If S1> a2, the process proceeds to step T4 with YES.

  Next, the control means 29 compares the signals S2 and b1 in step T4, and if S2> b1, determines that the portable device 11 is in X2 in the vehicle if NO, moves to step T5 and goes to the engine starter 31. A permission signal for permitting engine start is output. As a result, similarly to the above, the driver can start the engine only by operating the start switch in the vehicle.

  On the other hand, if S2> b1 in step T4, it is determined that the portable device 11 is not in the vehicle in YES, and the software routine is terminated. As a result, the engine cannot be started even if a third party operates the start switch in the vehicle.

  Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the position of the portable device 11 when it is determined that the portable device 11 is in the vehicle in the in-vehicle detection performed by the control means 29 is regions X1 and X2 indicated by hatching in FIG.

  In-vehicle detection performed by the control means 29, instead of the threshold data method, each response signal data of the position of the portable device 11 corresponding to the distance from the outside antenna 24 and the inside antenna 26 is previously stored in the outside antenna 24 and inside the vehicle. A matrix method is also possible in which the antenna 26 is stored in a matrix form, and data on the matrix is selected from each response signal of the portable device 11 in response to the in-vehicle / external request signal.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the portable device 11 sends different response signals according to the strength of the reception levels of the in-vehicle request signal and the out-of-vehicle request signal from the communication control device 21 that are received according to the position where the portable device 11 is. In response, the communication control device 21 can detect the inside of the vehicle based on the response signal, thereby ensuring the communication performance without lowering the S / N and the portable device 11 that can be detected by the communication control device 21. It can be obtained.

  Further, by configuring the system so that the communication control device 21 determines the position of the portable device 11 based on the threshold value stored in advance, the layout of the in-vehicle antenna 26 of the communication control device 21 can be freely selected. In addition, a system capable of detecting inside the vehicle can be obtained.

  In addition, the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle request signal is formed to have a dummy signal portion that allows the portable device to easily detect the signal level of each request signal, and the portable device accurately determines the signal level of each request signal. It can be detected.

  In the present embodiment, the vehicle exterior antenna 24 that is the vehicle exterior output means and the vehicle interior antenna 26 that is the vehicle interior output means are each described as an example. However, in practice, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to provide a plurality of doors 24, etc., and a plurality of in-vehicle antennas 26 at the front, rear, etc. in order to cover the entire indoor area.

  The portable device and the system using the same according to the present invention can improve the detection capability in the vehicle and increase the degree of freedom in the layout of the vehicle antenna regardless of the position of the vehicle antenna in the communication control device. This system has the effect of being able to obtain a system, and is useful for a portable device that controls vehicle electrical components such as locking and unlocking of a vehicle door and permission to start an engine based on the position of the portable device and a system using the portable device. is there.

1 is a block circuit diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Schematic diagram explaining in-vehicle detection of the system Flow chart showing in-vehicle detection processing of the system Request signal diagram of the system Schematic diagram explaining in-vehicle detection of a conventional system

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control system for vehicles 2 Vehicle 11 Portable machine 12 Receiving circuit (receiving means)
13 Reception level detection circuit (reception means)
14 Receiving antenna (receiving means)
15 Control circuit (transmission control means)
16 Transmission circuit (transmission control means)
17 Transmitting antenna (transmission control means)
21 communication control device 22 control unit 23 vehicle outside transmission circuit (vehicle outside output means)
24 Outside antenna (outside vehicle output means)
25 In-vehicle transmission circuit (in-vehicle output means)
26 Car interior antenna (vehicle output means)
27 Receiver circuit (receiver)
28 Receiving antenna (receiving unit)
29 Control means 31 Engine starter (vehicle electrical equipment)

Claims (3)

A portable device that receives an in-vehicle request signal and an out-of-vehicle request signal from a communication control device mounted on a vehicle and returns a response signal,
The portable device receives the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle request signal from the communication control device, and returns a different response signal according to the strength of the reception level. The portable device according to claim 1 and a communication control device that controls vehicle electrical components based on communication with the portable device,
The communication control device is a remote control system for a vehicle that determines the position of the portable device based on a threshold stored in the communication device based on the response signal from the portable device. The remote control system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the request signal includes a dummy signal unit that allows the portable device to easily detect a signal level of the request signal.

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