JP4695469B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that performs control in accordance with an operation of an operating body provided in a vehicle compartment.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a vehicle control device has been proposed that achieves optimal control for a passenger seated in each seat by performing individual control for each seat. As such a specific example, conventionally, for example, an electric power seat device that can electrically adjust the front-rear position and reclining angle of a seat has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such an electric power seat device is driven in accordance with an operation when an operating body arranged in the vicinity of the seat (for example, a side surface of the seat) is operated by an occupant.
JP-A-5-77679

  However, as is apparent from the electric power seat device, such a vehicle control device requires an operation body to be provided for each seat individually, which increases the number of parts and the arrangement of the operation bodies. There must be enough space for installation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device capable of performing appropriate control for each seat according to operation of an operating body while reducing the number of parts. It is in.

In order to solve the above-described problem, in the invention according to claim 1, a transmission unit that is provided in each of a plurality of seats and that individually transmits a request signal to an occupant seated in each seat, and the transmission unit A signal acquisition means for acquiring a request signal transmitted from the transmission means via an operator, and an operation body operable by a passenger, and transmission of the request signal by the transmission means. And controlling the operator's sitting position based on the request signal acquired by the signal acquisition means when the operating body is operated, and performing control corresponding to the specified sitting position of the operating body. and control means for performing in accordance with the operation mode, said the plurality of seats provided seating detection means for detecting the seating presence of the occupant, wherein, On condition that the occupant sitting state by seating detection means it is detected, and summarized in that to transmit the request signal from the corresponding said transmission means.

According to the above configuration, when an occupant sitting on the seat operates the operating body, the request signal transmitted from the seat via the occupant is acquired by the signal acquisition unit, and the request signal is input to the control unit. For this reason, even when the occupants seated in different seats operate the same operating tool, the control means can recognize which occupant operated the operating tool by discriminating the acquired request signal. It becomes. Therefore, control suitable for an operator seated in the corresponding seat is possible without providing an operating tool for each seat individually.
In particular, the request signal is transmitted from the transmission means provided in the corresponding seat only when an occupant is seated in the seat. That is, in a state where no occupant is seated in the seat, the request signal is not transmitted from the transmission means provided in the seat. For this reason, unnecessary transmission of request signals is suppressed, and unnecessary power consumption is suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle control device according to the first aspect, the transmission unit transmits the request signal including a seat code set for each corresponding seat, and the control unit includes: The gist of the invention is that the seating position of the operator is specified based on the seat code included in the request signal acquired by the signal acquisition means.

  According to the above configuration, since each request signal transmitted from each seat includes an individual seat code, the control means receives the request signal transmitted via the occupant in the request signal. By reading the included seat code, the seat on which the operator is seated can be reliably recognized. Therefore, the control means can reliably perform control suitable for the operator seated in the corresponding seat.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device capable of performing control suitable for each seat in accordance with the operation of the operating body while reducing the number of parts.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 1 provided in the vehicle compartment is provided in an operating body 11 disposed in a center cluster (not shown) and a driver seat (D seat) 2 (see FIG. 2). A D seat control body 21, a P seat control body 31 provided in the passenger seat (P seat), and a control unit 41 as control means. The control unit 41 may be provided integrally with the operation body 11 or may be provided separately.

<Operation tool 11>
The operating body 11 includes an operation switch 12 provided on the design surface and operated by the occupant, and a receiving antenna 13 that receives a request signal transmitted through the occupant when the operation switch 12 is operated by the occupant. And a receiving circuit 14 electrically connected to the receiving antenna 13.

  The operation switch 12 is electrically connected to the control unit 41 and includes a plurality of switches such as a reclining adjustment switch 12a, a seat front / rear adjustment switch 12b, and a seat temperature operation changeover switch 12c, as shown in FIG. . When the reclining adjustment switch 12a is operated in the “UP” direction, an operation signal including an UP operation code is output to the control unit 41. When the reclining adjustment switch 12a is operated in the “DOWN” direction, an operation signal including a DOWN operation code is output to the control unit. 41 is output. When the seat front / rear adjustment switch 12b is operated in the “FRONT” direction, an operation signal including the FRONT operation code is output to the control unit 41. When the seat front / rear adjustment switch 12b is operated in the “REAR” direction, the operation signal including the REAR operation code is controlled. Is output to the unit 41. Similarly, when the seat temperature operation changeover switch 12c is operated in the “ON” direction, an operation signal including an ON operation code is output to the control unit 41, and when the seat temperature operation changeover switch 12c is operated in the “OFF” direction, an operation signal including an OFF operation code. Is output to the control unit 41. That is, an operation signal corresponding to the operation mode of each switch 12 a to 12 c is output to the control unit 41.

  The receiving antenna 13 is an antenna that receives a radio signal transmitted from a very short distance, and receives a request signal transmitted from the operator when each of the switches 12a to 12c is operated by an occupant (operator). It is possible. When receiving the request signal, the receiving antenna 13 outputs the request signal to the receiving circuit 14. The reception circuit 14 is electrically connected to the control unit 41, and when a request signal is input from the reception antenna 13, the seat code included in the request signal is output to the control unit 41. For this reason, the receiving antenna 13 and the receiving circuit 14 function as signal acquisition means for acquiring a request signal transmitted via the operator. Therefore, when any one of the switches 12a to 12c is operated, an operation signal and a seat code corresponding to the operation are input to the control unit 41.

<D seat control body 21>
The D seat control body 21 is provided in the vicinity of the seat surface of the driver seat 2 and serves as a D seat seating sensor 22 as a seating detecting means for detecting whether a passenger is seated on the driver seat 2, a D seat seating transmission circuit 23, A D-seat antenna 24 disposed in the vicinity of the seat surface of the driver's seat 2 together with the D-seat seating sensor 22 and a D-seat control object 25 electrically connected to the control unit 41 are provided.

The D-seat seating sensor 22 is electrically connected to the control unit 41, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 41 when detecting the seating of an occupant on the driver's seat 2.
The D seat transmission circuit 23 is electrically connected to the control unit 41, modulates the request signal input from the control unit 41 into a radio wave of a predetermined frequency (here, 10 MHz), and outputs the radio signal to the D seat antenna 24. The radio wave is transmitted from the seat antenna 24 to the occupant seated in the driver's seat 2.

  The D seat control target 25 includes an actuator for automatically adjusting the reclining angle of the driver seat 2 (reclining actuator), an actuator for automatically adjusting the front and rear position of the driver seat 2 (seat position actuator), It consists of an air conditioner for blowing cool air or warm air to the driver's seat 2 and is driven based on a control signal output from the control unit 41.

<P seat control body 31>
The P seat control body 31 is provided in the vicinity of the seat surface of the passenger seat, and includes a P seat seating sensor 32 as seating detection means for detecting whether a passenger is seated in the passenger seat, a P seat transmission circuit 33, and a P seat. A P seat antenna 34 disposed near the seat surface of the passenger seat together with the seat sensor 32 and a P seat control target 35 electrically connected to the control unit 41 are provided.

The P-seat seating sensor 32 is electrically connected to the control unit 41, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 41 when the seating of the passenger in the passenger seat is detected.
The P seat transmission circuit 33 is electrically connected to the control unit 41, modulates a request signal input from the control unit 41 into a radio wave and outputs it to the P seat antenna 34, and sits on the passenger seat from the P seat antenna 34. The radio wave is transmitted to the occupant.

  The P seat control object 35 includes a reclining actuator for automatically adjusting the reclining angle of the passenger seat, a seat position actuator for automatically adjusting the front and rear position of the passenger seat, It consists of an air conditioner or the like for blowing wind, and is driven based on a control signal output from the control unit 41.

<Control unit 41>
Specifically, the control unit 41 is a computer unit including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls output of a request signal to the D seat transmission circuit 23 based on a detection signal input from the D seat seating sensor 22. And the output control of the request signal to the P seat transmission circuit 33 is performed based on the detection signal input from the P seat seating sensor 32. In the memory such as ROM of the control unit 41, individual seat codes set in advance for each seat are recorded, and the control unit 41 outputs a request signal including the corresponding seat code to the transmission circuits 23 and 33. To do. In addition, the control unit 41 performs output control of control signals to the D seat control target 25 and the P seat control target 35 based on the operation signal and the seat code input from the operation body 11. Various controls performed by the control unit 41 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1, the control unit 41 determines whether or not an occupant is seated in the driver's seat 2 or the passenger seat based on the presence / absence of detection signals from the seating sensors 22 and 32. As a result, when it is determined that the occupant is not seated in the driver's seat 2 or the passenger seat, the control unit 41 ends the processing here, and when it is determined that the occupant is seated, step S2 is performed. Move on to processing.

  In step S2, the control unit 41 outputs a request signal including the corresponding seat code to the corresponding transmission circuits 23 and 33. That is, when the control unit 41 determines that the occupant is seated on the driver seat 2, the control unit 41 sends a request signal including a seat code (D seat code) unique to the driver seat 2 to the D seat transmission circuit 23. Output. On the other hand, when the control unit 41 determines that the occupant is seated in the passenger seat, the controller 41 sends a request signal including a seat code (P seat code) unique to the passenger seat to the P seat transmission circuit 33. Output to. When the control unit 41 determines that the occupant is seated in both the driver seat and the passenger seat, the control unit 41 outputs the request signal to the D seat transmission circuit 23 and the request signal to the P seat transmission circuit 33. Alternate with output.

  In subsequent step S <b> 3, the control unit 41 determines whether or not an operation signal and a seat code are input from the operation body 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when a request signal is output from the control unit 41 to the D seat transmission circuit 23, the request signal is transmitted from the D seat antenna 24 to the passenger (driver 3). To do. When the occupant operates the operation switch 12 with such a request signal transmitted, the request signal transmitted from the D seat antenna 24 is transmitted to the operation switch 12 via the occupant, and is received by the receiving antenna 13 of the operation body 11. Received. That is, when a passenger is interposed between the D seat antenna 24 and the receiving antenna 13, the request signal transmitted from the D seat antenna 24 is received by the receiving antenna 13. It has been confirmed by the present inventor that the higher the frequency of the request signal, the more reliably the request signal is transmitted to the receiving antenna 13 via the passenger. Therefore, the frequency of the request signal is not limited to 10 MHz, and may be set to any value as long as the request signal is reliably transmitted to the receiving antenna 13 via the passenger.

  The request signal received by the receiving antenna 13 is demodulated by the receiving circuit 14, and the seat code (D seat code in this case) included in the request signal is input to the control unit 41. At the same time, an operation signal is input from the operation switch 12 to the control unit 41. When the operation switch 12 is operated by an occupant sitting in the passenger seat, the P seat code and the operation signal are input to the control unit 41.

  Therefore, in step S3, the control unit 41 determines whether or not the operation switch 12 has been operated by the passenger seated in the driver seat 2 or the passenger seat by determining whether or not the operation signal and the seat code are input from the operation body 11. Judge whether or not. As a result, when the control unit 41 determines that the operation signal and the seat code are not input from the operation body 11, the control unit 41 determines that the operation switch 12 is not operated at all, and temporarily terminates the processing here. If it is determined that the operation signal and the seat code are input, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the control unit 41 determines the input seat code and the operation code included in the operation signal. That is, the control unit 41 determines whether the seat code is the D seat code or the P seat code, and the operation code included in the operation signal includes the UP operation code, the DOWN operation code, the FRONT operation code, and the REAR operation. It is determined whether it is a code, an ON operation code, or an OFF operation code.

  In step S5, the control unit 41 outputs a control signal based on the determined operation code to the control objects 25 and 35 corresponding to the determined seat code. For example, when it is determined that the seat code is the D seat code and the operation code is the UP operation code, the control unit 41 outputs a drive signal to the reclining actuator as the D seat control target 25 to perform the UP operation. Then, the backrest of the driver's seat 2 is moved in a standing direction. On the other hand, when the control unit 41 determines that the seat code is the P seat code and the operation code is the UP operation code, the control unit 41 outputs a drive signal to the reclining actuator as the P seat control target 35 and outputs the UP signal. Operate and move the backrest of the passenger seat in the direction to stand up.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When an occupant seated in the seat (driver's seat 2 or passenger seat) operates the operating body, a request signal transmitted from the seat via the occupant is acquired by the receiving antenna, and the request signal is sent to the control unit 41. Entered. Therefore, even when the occupants seated in different seats operate the same operating tool 11, the control unit 41 determines which occupant has operated the operating tool 11 by making a determination based on the request signal. Can be recognized. Therefore, even if the operating body 11 is not provided for each seat, the control unit 41 can perform control suitable for the operator seated on the corresponding seat. Therefore, the number of operating bodies 11 can be reduced, and control suitable for each seat can be performed according to the operation of the operating body 11 while reducing the number of parts.

  (2) Since the request signal transmitted from each seat includes an individual seat code, the control unit 41 is included in the request signal when the request signal transmitted via the occupant is input. By reading the seat code, the seat on which the operator is seated can be surely recognized. Therefore, the control part 41 can perform reliably the control suitable for the operator seated on the corresponding seat.

  (3) Based on the detection results of the seating sensors 22 and 32, the control unit 41 transmits a request signal from each of the antennas 24 and 34 provided in the corresponding seat only when an occupant is seated in the seat. That is, in a state where no occupant is seated in the seat, the request signals are not transmitted from the antennas 24 and 34 provided in the seat. Since the request signal needs to be transmitted only when an occupant is seated in the seat, by controlling in this way, it is possible to suppress transmission of an unnecessary request signal and suppress unnecessary power consumption. be able to.

  (4) The D seat control target 25 is for performing seat adjustment and temperature adjustment of the driver seat 2, and the P seat control target 35 is for performing passenger seat adjustment and temperature adjustment. That is, the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment is embodied as a device that controls the electric power seat device. For this reason, the number of operation bodies 11 for operating the electric power seat device can be reduced.

  (5) The frequency of the request signal transmitted from the D seat antenna 24 and the P seat antenna 34 is set to 10 MHz. For this reason, the request signal can be reliably transmitted to the receiving antenna 13 via the occupant.

(6) Since the operating body 11 is disposed in the center cluster, it is easy for the driver 3 and the passenger on the passenger seat to operate, and high operability of the operating body 11 can be ensured.
In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.

  -In the said embodiment, although the individual seat code set for every seat is contained in the request signal, such a seat code does not necessarily need to be contained. Even in this case, the control unit 41 determines the seat on which the operator is seated based on the output timing of the request signal to each of the transmission circuits 23 and 33 and the input timing of the request signal input from the receiving antenna 13. Can be identified.

  In the embodiment, the D seat control body 21 and the P seat control body 31 are provided with the individual seating sensors 22 and 32, respectively, and the control unit 41 detects that the seating of the occupant is detected by the seating sensors 22 and 32. As a condition, a request signal is output to the corresponding transmission circuits 23 and 33. However, the seating sensors 22 and 32 may be omitted, and the control unit 41 may output request signals to the corresponding transmission circuits 23 and 33 regardless of whether or not the passenger is seated.

  The control unit 41 is not limited to adjusting the reclining angle of the driver seat 2 and the passenger seat, adjusting the seat position, and adjusting the seat temperature. For example, the controller 41 can control the temperature, air volume, and wind direction of the air conditioner to the operator. It may be configured to control to an optimal state, or to control the navigation screen or audio screen to the operator side. In other words, the control unit 41 is not limited to controlling the seat, but may control the vehicle electrical components according to the operator.

  A control body corresponding to the D seat control body 21 and the P seat control body 31 is provided in the rear seat, and the operation body 11 is provided in a place (for example, a center console) that can be operated by a passenger seated in the rear seat. May be. In this way, it is possible to perform optimal control for all the seats with one operating body 11. Moreover, the operating body 11 which comprises the vehicle control apparatus 1 is not restricted to one, You may be comprised by two or more, if it is few rather than the number of seats. For example, it may be provided in each of the center cluster and the center console.

  The operation body 11 is not necessarily provided in the center cluster, and may be disposed anywhere as long as it can be easily operated by a passenger sitting on a seat to be controlled.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the embodiment described above are listed below.
(1) in a vehicle both controller, the transmission unit provided in the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat, the operation body is disposed on the center cluster of a vehicle compartment. According to the technical idea described in (1), the operating body can be reliably and easily operated by the passenger seated in the driver's seat and the passenger seated in the passenger seat.

(2) in the vehicle both controller, the transmission unit driver seat, provided in the passenger seat and rear seats, the operating body is disposed on the center console in the passenger compartment. According to the technical idea described in (2), the operating body can be reliably and easily operated by the occupant seated in each seat.

(3) in the vehicle both controller, the operating body is intended to operate the seat in which the transmitting means is provided, the control means, the control of the seat identified on the basis of the operation mode of the operating body To do. According to the technical idea described in (3), the number of operating bodies for controlling the seat can be reduced.

The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the vehicle control apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the signal transmission path of the embodiment typically. The front view of the operation body of the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the control performed by the control means of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle control apparatus, 2 ... Driver's seat, 3 ... Driver, 11 ... Operating body, 13 ... Reception antenna as signal acquisition means, 21 ... D seat control body, 22 ... Seating sensor as seating detection means, 23 ... D seat transmission circuit as transmission means, 24 ... D seat antenna as transmission means, 31 ... P seat control body, 32 ... Seat sensor as seat detection means, 33 ... P seat transmission circuit as transmission means, 34 ... Transmission P seat antenna as means, 41... Control section as control means.

Claims (2)

A transmission means provided in each of a plurality of seats and individually transmitting a request signal to an occupant seated in each seat;
An operation body that is smaller than the number of the transmission means and has a signal acquisition means for acquiring a request signal transmitted from the transmission means via an operator and is operable by a passenger,
The transmission means controls the transmission of the request signal, and when the operating body is operated, specifies the operator's seating position based on the request signal acquired by the signal acquisition means, and the specified seating Control means for performing control corresponding to the position according to the operation mode of the operating body ,
The plurality of seats are provided with seating detection means for detecting whether or not an occupant is seated, and the control means is provided on the condition that the seating state of the occupant is detected by the seating detection means from the corresponding transmission means. A vehicle control device that transmits a request signal . The transmission means transmits the request signal including a seat code set for each corresponding seat,
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit specifies a seating position of an operator based on the seat code included in the request signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit.

Images