GB2434656A

GB2434656A - Electronic unit for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2434656A
Application number: GB0526109A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm Holmes; Andrew Bradley
Original assignee: Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd; Nissan Technical Centre Europe Ltd
Current assignee: Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd
Priority date: 2005-12-22
Filing date: 2005-12-22
Publication date: 2007-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-22
Also published as: WO2007071785A2; WO2007071785A3; GB0526109D0; GB2434656B; EP1966007A2

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic unit 2 for use in a vehicle, the electronic unit comprising control means 8 for controlling at least one functional feature of the electronic unit, interface means 6 for providing the control means with a signal indicative of a vehicle profile 9, wherein the control means includes means for selecting the status of one or more of the at least one functional features in response to the signal. The invention is particularly applicable to audio head units of vehicles, such as cars, vans, sports utility vehicles and the like. Preferably the control means is in communication with many different control modules such as wireless (Bluetooth¹), antenna (GPS), equaliser, radio tuning, clock and security modules. These modules control respective functional features of the audio head unit.

Description

ELECTRONIC UNIT FOR A VEHICLE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic unit for installation within a vehicle. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to an audio head unit, and a method for operating the same, where the functional features of the audio head unit are selectable in dependence on the type of vehicle in which the audio head unit is installed.

Background Art

It is common for modern vehicles, particularly cars, vans, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and the like, to include an audio head unit. An audio head unit may be integrally moulded with the dashboard facia or, alternatively, may include a detachable face unit that the user may unclip upon leaving the vehicle, thus acting as a security measure by avoiding the prying eyes of a potential thief.

A primary function of the audio head unit is to provide an interface between the user of the vehicle and the vehicle's audio system, including such peripheral functionality that may be provided. In modern vehicles particularly, the audio head unit includes several touch keys, switches and dials for controlling the audio head unit and also a graphic display for displaying information to the user regarding active features.

In addition to the usual functions such as music playback and radio reception, modern audio systems may offer additional functionality such as compatibility with wireless devices (e.g. mobile phones and portable music players), and configurable system security settings (e.g. code entry activation). Furthermore, some features of the vehicle audio system may require configuration in dependence on the type of vehicle in which they are installed and also the type of country in which they are used. For example, the optimum audio quality settings or equaliser settings' will vary appreciably in dependence on the interiors of different vehicle models as well as in dependence on trim levels in variants of the same vehicle model. Also, the audio head unit must be tunable to different frequency ranges in dependence on the country in which the vehicle is being used.

It would be advantageous for a vehicle manufacturer to use a common audio head unit for different vehicle models and also different variants of the same vehicle model (hereafter collectively referred to as vehicle variants). However, the requirement to configure the audio system for different vehicle variants currently conflicts against the use of a common audio head unit.

Disclosure of Invention

It is against this background that the invention provides an electronic unit for use in a vehicle, the electronic unit comprising control means for controlling at least one functional feature of the electronic unit and interface means for providing the control means with a signal indicative of a vehicle profile, wherein the control means includes means for selecting the status of one or more of the at least one functional features in response to the signal.

Although not essential to the invention, it is preferred that the electronic unit is an audio head unit suitable for installation within a vehicle such as a car, van or SUV, for example. The invention thus provides the significant advantage that a generic electronic unit may be utilised for a plurality of vehicle variants, since the functional features that are necessary for a particular vehicle variant are selected when the electronic unit is installed in the vehicle. This avoids the need for specific electronic units to be designed and manufactured for a specific vehicle variant, thus reducing manufacturing costs. Moreover, a reduction in inventory management costs is also realised due to the reduction in different electronic units that require storage, management and distribution.

Although the invention is applicable to an electronic unit having a single functional feature, in practice the electronic unit includes a plurality of functional features.

Preferably, such functional features include one or more of i) wireless connectivity settings; ii) radio antenna settings; iii) audio equalizer settings; iv) radio tuning settings; v) clock enable settings; and vi) radio security settings.

Similarly, although the invention is applicable to an electronic unit for use with a single vehicle variant having a single vehicle profile, in practice the electronic unit is provided with means to distinguish a plurality of vehicle profiles and to select the status of the relevant functional features.

In the preferred embodiment the electronic unit includes storage means for storing a look-up table containing at least one vehicle profile and the status of the at least one functional feature which corresponds with the at least one vehicle profile. The look-up table therefore constitutes a database that the control means may query or access, upon receipt of the signal indicative of a vehicle profile, in order to determine the required status of each of the functional features.

Preferably, the storage means is adapted to store a binary code having a plurality of digits, each binary code being unique to a respective vehicle profile.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the interface means includes a plurality of input circuits, each arranged to receive first or second logic state inputs, in use, so as to define the binary code. It is preferred that the plurality of input circuits are in the form of respective input pins provided by the interface means.

Preferably, to provide the first logic state input, each input circuit is connected to a logic voltage supply input of the electronic unit. In order to provide the second logic state input, it is preferred that the input circuits are connected to an electrical ground potential.

In the preferred embodiment, the logic voltage supply of the electronic unit is provided by a vehicle wiring harness. It is also preferred that the electrical ground potential is provide by a vehicle wiring harness.

In a second aspect, the invention resides in a method of operating an electronic unit for use in a vehicle, the method comprising providing control means for controlling at least one functional feature of the electronic unit, providing a signal indicative of a vehicle profile as an input to the control means, and allocating control of the at least one functional features to the control means such that, in use, the control means selects the status of one or more of the at least one functional features in response to the signal.

It should be appreciated that preferred andlor optional features of the first aspect of the invention may be applied to the second aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an audio head unit according to the invention connected to a vehicle wiring harness; Figure 2 is a data structure in the form of a table showing, for each vehicle variant, a vehicle profile of functional features and a respective profile code; Figure 3 is a detailed schematic view of the interface between the audio head unit and the vehicle wiring harness for a first vehicle variant; Figure 4 is a detailed schematic view of the interface between the audio head unit and the vehicle wiring harness for a second vehicle variant; and Figure 5 is flow chart showing the process implemented by a control means of the audio head unit.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring firstly to Figure 1, an electronic unit in the form of an audio head unit for a vehicle is shown generally at 2. Although not shown in Figure 1, the audio head unit 2 is suitable for installation in the dashboard of a vehicle, particularly a car, van, SIJV and so on, in a known manner such that radio stations may be accessed and so that compact disks may be played, for example.

The audio head unit 2 is operably connected to a vehicle wiring harness 4 by an interface means 6. The interface means 6 provides an electrical connection for the audio head unit 2 to the electrical distribution system of the vehicle, of which the wiring harness 4 forms a part, such that the audio head unit 2 is supplied with power and means to communicate with other electronic units in the vehicle, for example a Body Control Unit (not shown). Although not essential for understanding the invention, it should be appreciated that the vehicle wiring harness 4 is part of a CANbus (Controller Area Network bus) serial vehicle communication system, such technology being known to the skilled person.

The audio head unit 2 includes a controller 8 that is operable to control the functionality of the audio head unit 2. The controller 8 is operably connected to the interface means 6 so that the controller 8 receives signals from, and transmits signals to, the vehicle wiring harness 4.

In the embodiment shown, the controller 8 is operably connected to six functional control modules 9: i) a wireless control module 10, ii) an antenna control module 12, iii) an equaliser control module 14, iv) a radio tuning control module 16, v) a clock control module 18, and vi) a security control module 20. The functional control modules 9 control respective functional features of the audio head unit 2 as described below.

The wireless control module 10 controls the functional feature of wireless connectivity, such as the Bluetooth standard of wireless communications.

Bluetooth connectivity enables various peripherals, such as mobile phones and portable music players, to communicate wirelessly with the audio head unit 2.

The antenna control module 12 controls the functional feature of antenna amplification. In circumstances where the vehicle is fitted with a component necessitating an active antenna, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, the antenna control module 12 controls the amplification factor of the antenna. If the vehicle is fitted with a passive antenna only, the antenna control module 12 is disabled.

The equaliser control module 14 controls the audio settings of the vehicle's audio system so as to optimise the quality of sound that is reproduced by the audio system to compensate for different acoustic properties of different vehicle body types. In this embodiment, the equaliser control module 14 implements one of the following audio settings: Body Type 1, Body Type 2' or Body Type 3'.

The radio tuning control module 16 controls whether the audio head unit 2 is compatible with VHF frequency ranges as used in Europe (88 to 108 MHZ) or Japan (77 to 90 MHz).

The clock control module 18 controls the functional feature of the clock display of the audio head unit 2. Where the current time is displayed elsewhere on the dashboard, the clock controller 18 is disabled.

The security control module 20 controls the security settings for the audio head unit 2. In a first security setting, upon installation of the audio head unit 2 into the vehicle an activation code must be entered correctly in order for the audio head unit 2 to activate. The audio head unit 2 does not activate if an incorrect code is entered.

In an alternative security setting, an immobiliser security setting is enabled. In this setting, the controller 8 monitors the wiring harness 4 for a signal indicative of a vehicle mobilisation code transmitted from the vehicle's Body Control Unit or Engine Management System (not shown). If the audio head unit 2 receives an incorrect vehicle mobilisation code, the controller 8 will disable the audio head unit 2.

In order to enable or disable selected ones of the above described functional features, the audio head unit 2 is provided with storage means 22 for storing the settings for each of the functional features in respect of a specific vehicle variant. Hereafter, the settings of the plurality of functional features that corresponds to a particular vehicle variant will be referred to as a vehicle profile'.

Figure 2 shows tabularised data stored by the storage means 22 in respect of four vehicle variants A, B, C and D. For instance, the vehicle profile for vehicle variant A has the following functional feature settings: i) Bluetooth capability enabled; ii) passive antenna iii) Body Type 1' equaliser settings; iv) European VHF band tuning; v) clock display disabled; and vi) code entry security setting. Vehicle profiles of vehicle variants B, C and D are shown in the second, third and fourth rows of Figure 2, respectively. The storage means 22 stores a four digit binary code unique for each vehicle profile (hereafter Profile Code'), by which means the controller 8 determines the required status of each of the functional features and activates the respective control modules 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 accordingly, as described below.

The interface means 6 is arranged to connect to the vehicle wiring harness 4 and to provide a signal 21 to the controller 8 in the form of a four digit binary code that corresponds to a profile code stored in the storage means 22. The derivation of the binary code signal is described below by reference to Figures 3 and 4.

The interface means 6 is provided with four input circuits P1, P2, P3 and P4 in the form of input pins that are set either at a high logic level 1' or a low logic level 0' by means of a branch connection 30 to the wiring harness 4. It will be appreciated that the interface means 6 may, in practice, be provided with many more input circuits but these are not described here for the sake of clarity.

The input circuits P1, P2, P3 and P4 are connected to a further input circuit Pv which is a 5 volt logic input to the audio head unit 2. The 5 volt logic input is connected to a logic power supply wire L of the vehicle wiring harness 4 via the branch connection 30.

The binary code signal 21 that is output from the interface means 6 to the controller 8 corresponds to the logic level of the input circuits P1, P2, P3 and P4. Thus, in Figure 3, since all the input circuits are set at a high logic level by way of the connection to Pv, the signal 21 is of the form 1111'. The controller 8 interprets the signal 21 and communicates with the storage means 22 to determine the vehicle profile that should be implemented. In Figure 3, therefore, the signal 21 corresponds to the profile code for vehicle variant A' with Bluetooth enabled, antenna passive, Body Type 1' equaliser settings, Europe' VHF tuning, clock enabled and code entry security settings enabled.

Any of the input pins P1, P2, P3 and P4, may be switched to logic 0' by an external wiring harness connection to a zero voltage level, or ground potential'. By setting any of the input circuits P1 to P4 to a low logic level, the controller 8 selects another of the vehicle profiles depending on which input circuits P1 to P4 are at ground potential.

By way of example, in Figure 4 input circuit P4 is provided with a connection to a ground potential lead 32 of the wiring harness 4 via the branch connection 30. In this embodiment, a connector plug (not shown) of the branch connection 30 engages a socket (also not shown) provided by the audio head unit 2 and is provided with an electrical contact 33 that contacts the input circuit P4. A connecting wire 34 provided by the branch connection 30 connects the electrical contact 33 with the ground potential 32 of the wiring harness 4, thus setting the voltage on the input circuit P4 to ground potential. As a result, the binary signal 21 that the interface means 6 provides to the controller 8 is of the form 1110', which corresponds to the vehicle profile for vehicle variant B. Furthermore, any ones of the input circuits P1, P2 and P3 may be connected to ground potential in order to induce the required code signal 21 output from the interface means 6. In this case, the branch connection 30 of the vehicle wiring harness 4 is provided with connecting wires 36, 38, 40 (shown in dashed lines in Figure 4) and electrical contacts 42, 44, and 46 for input circuits P1, P2 and P3, respectively.

The process that the controller 8 implements is described below with reference to Figure 5.

At step 601 the audio head unit 2 is connected to the vehicle wiring harness 4 via the interface means 6 by a user, for example a mechanic or assembly line worker, connecting the connector plug (not shown) of the vehicle wiring harness 4 with the connector socket (not shown) of the audio head unit 2. At this point power is supplied to the audio head unit 2. Following connection, at monitoring step 604, the controller 8 commences monitoring the interface means 6 for the vehicle profile signal 21.

Upon receiving the vehicle profile signal 21 from the interface means 6, at step 606 the controller 8 queries the look-up table stored in the storage means 22 for a vehicle profile code which matches the received vehicle profile signal 21. At decision point 608, if the controller 8 does not detect a match between the received vehicle profile signal 21 and the stored vehicle profile code, the controller 8 disables all functional features of the audio head unit 2 at step 610 and enters a wait state at step 612 until the audio head unit 2 is disconnected from the vehicle wiring harness 4. Subsequent reconnection of the audio head unit 2 to the vehicle wiring harness 4 will reset the process.

Conversely, if the controller 8 detects a match between the received vehicle profile signal 21 and one of the stored vehicle profile codes, the process proceeds to step 614 in which the controller 8 queries the look-up table in the storage means 22 to determine the required status of each functional feature that matches the identified vehicle profile. Following this, the controller 8 enables the identified functional features of the audio head unit 2 as necessary.

For example, referring to Figure 1 once again, if the controller 8 receives a vehicle profile signal 21 of the form 1101', the controller 8 queries the look-up table and determines that vehicle profile C' is required to be implemented. The controller 8 therefore transmits i) a command signal to the wireless control module 10 to disable Bluetooth functionality; ii) a command signal to the antenna control module 12 to enable active antenna settings; iii) a command signal to the equaliser control module 14 to implement Body Type 1' audio quality settings; iv) a command signal to the radio tuning control module 16 to set VHF tuning to Europe'; v) a command signal to the clock control module 18 to enable the displayable clock feature of the audio head unit 2; and vi) a command signal to the security control module 20 that enables the code security settings.

Once the relevant functional features have been enabled, the process returns to the monitoring step 604 until such time as power to the audio head unit 2 is cycled (i.e. turned off then on) or the audio head unit 2 is disconnected from the vehicle wiring harness 4.

Following a re-application of power to the audio head unit 2, at step 604, the controller 8 checks to see if the vehicle profile has changed since power to the audio head unit 2 was switched off. If the audio head unit 2 detects a change in profile code, the process will proceed to step 616 at which point the controller 8 places the audio head unit 2 in a secure mode'. The secure mode provides a security feature in circumstances of unauthorised tampering, such that the audio head unit 2 is unresponsive to user commands, until it is reset at an authorised facility.

It should be understood that the embodiment described above is given by way of example only and that various alterations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the claims.

For example, the above embodiment represents an elegant solution for providing a generic audio head unit 2 having one or more selectable functional features.

However, in an alternative embodiment (not shown) the ground potential connection via the vehicle wiring harness 4 is omitted. Instead, a ground potential connection is provided by a direct connection from the respective input circuits P1 to P4 to a ground potential on the body of the vehicle in which it is installed, a chassis connection for example.

In another alternative embodiment (not shown), each input circuit P1 to P4 is provided with a manually operable switching means by which means each input circuit P1 to P4 is switchable between a high logic level connection to Pv, and a low logic level connection to the chassis of the audio head unit 2. The switching means thus permits the functional feature profile of the audio head unit 2 to be assigned prior to installation into the vehicle.

Also, it will be appreciated that since the audio head unit of the first embodiment is provided with four input circuits (P1 to P4) only, the controller 8 may access sixteen profile codes. However, alternative embodiments of the invention (not shown) provide the audio head unit 2 with additional input circuits such that many more profile codes may be accessed. For example, the provision of a single further input circuit (five input circuits in total), enables up to twenty-five possible vehicle profiles to be selected.

Furthermore, although six functional features have been described, it should be appreciated that these are exemplary only and the broad inventive concept contemplates any number of functional features to be included in a vehicle profile, including the option of enabling/disabling only a single functional feature.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. An electronic unit (2) for use in a vehicle, the electronic unit (2) comprising: control means (8) for controlling at least one functional feature of the electronic unit (2), and interface means (6) for providing the control means (8) with a signal (21) indicative of a vehicle profile, wherein the control means (8) includes means for selecting the status of one or more of the at least one functional features in response to the signal (21).

2. The electronic unit (2) of claim 1, including storage means (22) for storing a look-up table containing at least one vehicle profile and the status of the at least one functional feature which corresponds with the at least one vehicle profile.

3. The electronic unit (2) of claim 2, wherein the storage means (22) stores a plurality of vehicle profiles, each of which represents the status of a plurality of functional features of the electronic unit (2).

4. The electronic unit (2) of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the signal indicative of a vehicle profile (21) is in the form of a binary code.

5. The electronic unit (2) of claim 4, wherein the interface means (6) includes a plurality of input circuits (P1, P2, P3, P4), each arranged to receive first or second logic state inputs, in usc, so as to define the binary code.

6. The electronic unit (2) of claim 5, wherein the plurality of input circuits (P1, P2, P3, P4) are respective input pins provided by the interface means (6).

7. The electronic unit (2) of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the first logic state input is provided by a connection of the or each input circuit (P1, P2, P3, P4) to a logic voltage supply input of the electronic unit (2).

8. The electronic unit (2) of claim 7, wherein the logic voltage supply of the electronic unit is provided by a vehicle wiring harness (4).

9. The electronic unit (2) of any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the second logic state input is provided by a connection of the or each input circuit (P1, P2, P3, P4) to an electrical ground potential.

10. The electronic unit (2) of claim 9, wherein the electrical ground potential is provided by a vehicle wiring harness (4).

11. The electronic unit (2) of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the interface means (6) includes manually operable switching means arranged, in use, to define the binary code.

12. The electronic unit (2) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic unit (2) is an audio head unit of a vehicle audio system.

13. The electronic unit (2) of claim 12, wherein the plurality of functional features include one or more of i) wireless connectivity settings; ii) radio antenna settings; iii) audio equalizer settings; iv) radio tuning settings; v) clock enable settings; and vi) radio security settings.

14. A method for operating an electronic unit (2) for use in a vehicle, the method comprising: providing control means (8) for controlling at least one functional feature of the electronic unit (2); providing a signal (21) indicative of a vehicle profile as an input to the control means (8), and allocating control of the at least one functional features to the control means (8) such that, in use, the control means (8) selects the status of one or more of the at least one functional features in response to the signal (21).

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing in a storage means (22) a look-up table containing at least one vehicle profile and the status of the at least one functional feature which corresponds with the at least one vehicle profile.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a plurality of vehicle profiles are stored in the storage means (22), each of the plurality of vehicle profiles representing the status of a plurality of functional features of the electronic unit (2).

17. The method of any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the signal (21) is provided in the form ofa binary code.

18. The method of claim 17, the method including providing a plurality of input circuits (P1, P2, P3, P4) adapted to receive first or second logic state inputs, in use, so as to define the binary code.