JP2000025571A - Engine start control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To start an engine while keeping high security even by a person having no regular portable communication device. SOLUTION: A communication ECU 25 of a vehicle side communication device 20 collates the identification symbol received from a smart card 10 with a regular symbol, and when both are agreed with each other, the control signal to permit the engine start is outputted to an engine ECU 30. When it is detected that a sub card 18 is inserted in a sub card insertion port 16 between the time when the engine is started and the time when the engine is stopped, it is regarded that the smart card 10 and the sub card 18 are simultaneously present to permit the engine to be started with only the sub card 18 from the next time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine start control device for determining whether to start an engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle-side communication device communicates with a portable communication device carried by a driver and pursues convenience of a driver and improves security. A system for performing release or the like has been developed. For example, in a keyless entry system, when a driver operates a button of a portable communication device, the portable communication device transmits an instruction code for instructing lock / unlock of a door together with an ID code assigned to each portable communication device. . Then, the vehicle-side communication device receives this signal,
The ID code and the regular code are collated, and if they match, the door is locked / unlocked in accordance with the instruction code. Thus, the conventional keyless entry system,
This is a system using one-way communication from a portable communication device to a vehicle-side communication device.

[0003]

On the other hand, a system which performs bidirectional communication with a vehicle-side communication device using a smart card called a smart card which can transmit and receive data, and locks and unlocks a door has been developed. That is, when the driver carrying the smart card approaches the vehicle, the smart card receives a request signal constantly transmitted by the vehicle-side communication device. Then, the smart card transmits an answer signal including the ID code in response to the request signal, and the vehicle-side communication device checks the ID code and the formal code upon receiving the answer signal. unlock.

[0004] It is conceivable to prevent theft of a vehicle by using such a smart card. For example, the vehicle-side communication device compares the ID code of the smart card with the regular code as described above, and permits the engine to be started if the results match, and starts the engine if the results do not match. It may be prohibited.

By the way, even if the door lock can be released, the vehicle cannot be stolen unless the engine is started. Therefore, it is more effective to prevent the vehicle from being stolen than to lock or unlock the door. It can be said that the importance is high. Therefore, in order to surely prevent vehicle theft, it should be avoided to easily create a spare (duplicate) of the above-mentioned regular smart card for preventing the above-mentioned vehicle theft. It is preferable to limit the number of cards to a small number. On the other hand, if the engine cannot be started by anyone other than the person carrying the legitimate smart card, inconvenience may occur when a plurality of persons use the same vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an engine start control device capable of starting an engine while maintaining high security even if the person does not carry a legitimate portable communication device. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 communicates with a portable communication device carried by a driver and starts an engine based on the communication result. An engine start control device for determining whether or not the portable communication device is an authorized one; and the first communication device determines that the portable communication device is an authorized one. First start permitting means for permitting the start of the engine when performed, second determining means for determining whether or not substitute means for the portable communication device is present, and at a certain timing, the portable communication device is provided by the first determining means. The device is determined to be authentic and the second
If the determining means determines that the substitute means is present, or if the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present before the engine is started and stopped, then the A second start permitting means for permitting the start of the engine when the second determining means determines that the substitute means exists.

The engine start control device of the present invention permits the start of the engine if there is a legitimate portable communication device. However, at a certain timing, the portable communication device is judged to be legitimate and there is a substitute for the portable communication device. If it is determined that the substitute means is detected, the engine is allowed to start even if there is no authorized portable communication device. At this time, since there is a timing when the substitute means exists at the same time as the legitimate portable communication device, there is no security problem even if the substitute means is handled according to the legitimate portable communication device. Allow the engine to start.

Alternatively, if it is determined that the substitute means exists after the engine is started and before the engine is stopped, if the existence of the substitute means is confirmed thereafter, the start of the engine is permitted even without a proper portable communication device. Considering that a regular portable communication device is necessary for starting the engine, there is no problem even if it is assumed that the regular portable communication device exists between the start of the engine and the stop. In other words, if the substitute means exists between the start and the stop of the engine, it is considered that there was a timing at which the proper portable communication device and the substitute means exist at the same time, and the substitute means is handled according to the proper portable communication device. However, there is no problem in security, and the start of the engine is permitted if a substitute means exists thereafter.

As described above, according to the engine start control device of the present invention, even a person who does not carry a legitimate portable communication device can start the engine while maintaining high security. In addition, the first determination unit compares, for example, the identification code received from the mobile communication device with a regular code registered in advance, and determines that the mobile communication device is a legitimate one when both match. Is preferred.

[0011] The second embodiment of the engine start control device of the present invention.
As described in claim 2, at a certain timing, the start permitting means determines that the portable communication device is valid by the first determining means and determines that the substitute means exists by the second determining means. In the case where the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present between the time when the engine is started and the time when the engine is stopped, thereafter, the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present only a predetermined number of times. If it is determined that the means exists, the start of the engine may be permitted. In this case, the number of times the starting of the engine is permitted is limited to a predetermined number only by the presence of the substitute means, so that the security is improved.

[0012] In the engine start control device of the present invention, the second
As described in claim 3, at a certain timing, the start permitting means determines that the portable communication device is valid by the first determining means and determines that the substitute means exists by the second determining means. In the case or when the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present between the time when the engine is started and the time when the engine is stopped, thereafter, the second determining means determines that the substitute means is not present. The engine may be allowed to start until it is confirmed. In this case, when it becomes unnecessary to start the engine by the substitute means, the substitute means may be absent.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the entire vehicle communication system of the first embodiment. The vehicle communication system of the present embodiment is capable of two-way communication and is
The vehicle includes a smart card 10 as a C card and a vehicle-side communication device 20 that performs two-way communication with the smart card 10.

The smart card 10 corresponds to the portable communication device of the present invention.
1 and the receiving unit 12 and the transmitting unit 13
And a communication control unit 14 for transmitting a signal to the outside via the transmission / reception antenna 11. This communication control unit 14
Electric power is supplied from the built-in power supply 15. The smart card 10 also has an ID code for unlocking the door and an identification code for starting the engine, which are stored in an internal memory (not shown) of the communication control unit 14.

The vehicle-side communication device 20 corresponds to an engine start control device of the present invention. And a communication ECU 25 for transmitting a signal to the outside. The receiving antenna 21 includes an external receiving antenna 21a and an internal receiving antenna 21a.
b, and the transmitting antenna 24 is a transmitting antenna 24 outside the vehicle.
a and an in-vehicle transmission antenna 24b. This communication ECU
25 corresponds to first and second determination means and first and second start permission means of the present invention, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM,
A seat switch 33 and a sub-card detector 1 that are provided with a counter and the like and detect that the driver is seated in the driver's seat.
7 and the like, and outputs control signals to the actuator 34 of the door lock mechanism and the engine ECU 30 through the input / output circuit 27. The engine ECU 30 controls the drive of the igniter 31 and the injector 32 based on an ignition / injection control program to execute known ignition / injection control.

The sub card 18 corresponds to a substitute means of the present invention, and is a card that can be inserted into the sub card insertion slot 16 provided in the vehicle. When the sub card 18 is inserted into the sub card slot 16, a sub card detector 17 provided inside the sub card slot 16 detects the presence of the sub card 18.

Next, the operation of the vehicle-side communication device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows communication E
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main program stored in a ROM (not shown) of the CU 25, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an engine start determination routine.

The communication ECU 25 of the vehicle-side communication device 20
First, in step (hereinafter referred to as S) 100, it is determined from the detection signal of the seat switch 33 whether or not the driver is seated on the driver's seat.
O), proceed to S110, and transmit a request signal to the outside of the vehicle via the outside transmitting antenna 24a provided on the door side of the driver's seat.
This request signal is a signal for requesting the smart card 10 for an answer signal including an ID code for unlocking the door.

In subsequent S120, it is determined whether or not an answer signal has been received via the outside-of-vehicle receiving antenna 21a. If the answer signal has not been received after a predetermined time has elapsed (S1).
(NO in 20), since it is considered that the smart card 10 does not exist near the vehicle, the flow proceeds to S160 to activate the actuator 34 of the door lock mechanism to lock the door, and ends this processing.

On the other hand, if the answer signal is received in S120 (YES in S120), the process proceeds to S130, where the ID code included in the answer signal is collated with the regular code stored in the internal memory of communication ECU 25. Following S14
At 0, it is determined whether the collation results match, and if they match (YES in S140), the process proceeds to S150, where the actuator 34 of the door lock mechanism is operated to unlock the door. N in S140
O), proceed to S160 to lock the door.

By the above processing of S100 to S160,
The door is automatically unlocked when a person carrying a legitimate smart card 10 approaches a door-locked vehicle, and the door is automatically locked when the person gets out of the driver's seat and leaves the vehicle. You.

On the other hand, if the driver is seated on the driver's seat in S100 (YES in S100), the process proceeds to S170, and an engine start determination routine is executed. This engine start determination routine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in S210, a request signal is transmitted from the in-vehicle transmission antenna 24b. This request signal is transmitted to the smart card 10 by an identification code for engine guidance (for example, the above-mentioned ID code or another ID code).
(Which may be a code or an encryption code).

In subsequent S220, it is determined whether or not an answer signal has been received via the in-vehicle receiving antenna 21a.
O), the processing of S221 and below is performed. On the other hand, if the answer signal is received (YES in S220), S230
To the communication device and the identification code included in the answer signal.
Is compared with a regular code stored in the internal memory of the.
In subsequent S240, it is determined whether or not the matching result matches. If the matching result does not match (NO in S240), the process proceeds to S2 described later.
Perform the following processes. On the other hand, if the collation results match in S240 (YES in S240), S245
And reset the restart permission flag to zero,
In subsequent S250, a control signal for permitting the start of the engine is output to engine ECU 30. Then, when the engine ECU 30 receives this control signal, the igniter 31
Since the ignition / injection control is performed on the fuel injector and the injector 32, the engine is started.

In the following S260, it is determined whether the sub card 18 is inserted into the sub card insertion slot 16 based on the detection signal from the sub card detector 17, and if the sub card 18 is not inserted (NO in S260). ), S
Proceeding to 290, it is determined whether or not the engine has stopped. If the engine has not stopped (NO in S290), the process returns to S260 again, and if the engine has stopped (S290).
YES), this subroutine ends.

On the other hand, in S260, the sub card 18
Is inserted (YES in S260), the flow advances to S270 to check the restart permission flag.
The flow proceeds to 280, where the restart permission flag is set to "1", and the initial value is set to the number-of-permissions counter. Thereafter, the flow proceeds to S290 described above. It should be noted that the initial value may be arbitrarily set by a person who possesses a regular smart card, or may be a fixed value stored in an internal memory in advance. On the other hand, if the restart permission flag is already "1" in S270, the process immediately proceeds to S290.

As described above, if the presence of the sub card 18 is recognized between the time the engine is started and the time the engine is stopped,
It is considered that the smart card 10 and the sub card 18 exist at the same time, and the restart permission flag is set to "1" in order to enable the engine to be started only by the presence of the sub card 18 from the next time. On the other hand, if the presence of the sub card 18 is not recognized between the start and the stop of the engine, the restart permission flag is reset so that the engine cannot be started only by the presence of the sub card 18 next time. Preferably, the contents of the restart permission flag are stored in a non-volatile memory (for example, a backup memory).

In S220, if the answer signal is not received even after the lapse of a predetermined time (N in S220)
O) Or, if the collation does not match in S240 (NO in S240), it is considered that the driver does not carry the legitimate smart card 10, but in this case the process proceeds to S221 and the sub card 18 It is determined whether or not it has been inserted into the sub card insertion slot 16. And S22
In 1, if the sub card 18 is not inserted (NO in S 221), the driver can use the authorized smart card 1
Since neither 0 nor sub card 18 are carried,
Proceeding to S300, a control signal for prohibiting starting of the engine is output to engine ECU 30. Then the engine EC
When U30 receives this control signal, it does not execute ignition / injection control for igniter 31 and injector 32, so that the engine does not start. For this reason, theft of the vehicle can be reliably prevented.

On the other hand, in S221, the sub card 18
Is inserted (YES in S221), the subsequent S22
In step 2, the restart permission flag is checked. If the restart permission flag is "0", the process proceeds to S300, and the start of the engine is prohibited as described above. Therefore, the engine does not start. On the other hand, if the restart permission flag is “1”, S22
Proceeding to 3, the control signal for permitting the start of the engine is output to the engine ECU 30. Then, the engine ECU 30
When the control signal is received, the ignition / injection control is executed for the igniter 31 and the injector 32, so that the engine is started.

Thereafter, in S224, the permitted number counter is down-counted by one, and in S225,
It is determined whether or not the permission counter has become zero,
If it is zero (YES in S225), the flow proceeds to S226 to reset the restart permission flag, that is, to “0”. If the number-of-permissions counter is not zero (NO in S225), the subroutine is terminated.

As described above, even when the driver does not carry the authorized smart card 10 when the driver is seated in the driver's seat, the sub card 18 exists at the start of driving and the restart permission flag is set to " In the case of "1", the engine can be started. In the present embodiment, if the sub card 18 exists between the time when the engine is started and the time when the engine is stopped, it can be regarded that there is a timing when both the regular smart card 10 and the sub card 18 are present at the same time. Then, even if the sub card 18 is handled according to the regular smart card 10, there is no security problem.
Therefore, if the sub card 18 exists thereafter, the start of the engine is permitted. That is, even a person who does not carry the authorized smart card 10 can start the engine while maintaining high security.

However, even if the person who does not carry the authorized smart card 10 carries the sub card 18, the number of times the engine can be restarted is limited to the initial value set in the permitted number counter. Therefore, the abuse of restarting the engine by the sub card 18 can be prevented, and security is improved.

In the processing performed by the communication ECU 25,
S210 to S240 in FIG. 3 correspond to the processing of the first determination means of the present invention, S250 corresponds to the processing of the first start permission means, S260 to S280 correspond to the processing of the second determination means, and S223 corresponds to the processing of the second determination means. (2) Corresponds to the processing of the start permission means.

[Second Embodiment] The second embodiment has the same device configuration as the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the communication ECU 25 of the vehicle-side communication device 20 executes the processing of the main program of FIG. 2 similarly to the first embodiment, but instead of executing the engine start determination routine of FIG. The engine start determination routine of FIG.
Execute the interrupt processing of

The interrupt processing shown in FIG.
This is a process started every several tens ms. When this process is started, first, in S410, communication ECU 25 determines whether or not sub card 18 is inserted into sub card insertion slot 16, and if sub card 18 is not inserted (NO in S410). ), And proceeds to S480 to reset the restart permission flag. On the other hand, if the sub card 18 is inserted (YES in S410), the flow proceeds to S420 to check the restart permission flag. If the restart permission flag is "1", the processing from S430 to S470 has already been performed. This means that the sub-card 18 and the legitimate smart card 10 have been confirmed to be present at the same time.

On the other hand, if the restart permission flag is "0" in S420, the process proceeds to S430 and the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 2
4b transmits a request signal. In the following S440,
It is determined whether an answer signal has been received via the in-vehicle receiving antenna 21b. If the answer signal has not been received after a predetermined time has elapsed (NO in S440), it is determined that the smart card 10 does not exist in the vehicle, and in S480. Reset the restart permission flag. On the other hand, if the answer signal is received (S440)
Then, the process proceeds to S450, where the identification code included in the answer signal is collated with the normal code. In subsequent S460, it is determined whether the collation results match, and if they do not match (NO in S460), the flow proceeds to S480 to reset the restart permission flag. On the other hand, if the collation results match in S460 (YES in S460), the flow advances to S470 to set "1" in the restart permission flag, and ends the interrupt processing. By executing the above interrupt processing, if the sub card 18 and the authorized smart card 10 are simultaneously present at any timing, the restart permission flag is set to “1”.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the engine start determination routine, which is different from the engine start determination routine of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in that the restart permission flag is set to "1" in steps S260 to S290. Is omitted. This is because in the present embodiment, the restart permission flag is set to "1" by the above-described interrupt processing (see FIG. 4). Therefore, description of each step in FIG. 5 is omitted. In the second embodiment, when a negative determination is made in S410, the restart permission flag is reset. Therefore, once the sub card 18 is pulled out from the sub card insertion slot 16, the engine cannot be restarted.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the first
As in the embodiment, even a person who does not carry a regular smart card 10 capable of starting the engine can start the engine while maintaining high security. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments at all, and it goes without saying that various embodiments can be adopted as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, the sub card 18 as a substitute means
May be an IC card capable of communicating with the vehicle-side communication device 20 as in the case of the smart card 10. In this case, the vehicle-side communication device 20 obtains an identification code such as an ID code from the sub card 18, compares the identification code with the regular code, and determines that the sub card 18 is present if they match. You may decide. In addition, some characteristic information (for example, mechanical information such as unevenness or physical information such as magnetic information) is added to the sub card 18, and the vehicle-side communication device 20 compares the information with regular information. If the two match, the sub card 18 may be determined to be present.

As a substitute means, for example, a restart permission switch may be provided. In this case, the vehicle-side communication device 20 confirms the presence of the restart permission switch when the restart permission switch is turned on, and confirms the absence of the restart permission switch when the restart permission switch is turned off. Shall be. Such a restart permission switch may be provided around the steering column (for example, the current position of the key cylinder), or may be provided on a window operation panel on the driver's seat side.

In the flowchart of FIG.
Instead of 160, it may be determined whether or not the count value of the permitted number counter is zero. If the count value is zero, the door may be locked, and if not, the door may be unlocked. This is because if the number of permitted times counter is not zero, the person who does not carry the authorized smart card 10 can drive with the sub card 18, and the door is opened to secure the entry and exit of the vehicle of the person. Lock it.

In the flowchart of FIG.
If a negative determination is made in 221 or a negative determination is made in S260, the restart permission flag is reset, that is, “0”.
Then, the process may proceed to S300. Further, when the vehicle-side communication device 20 permits the engine start, the vehicle-side communication device 20 may start the engine as follows. The engine may be started automatically. In this case, to stop the engine, an engine stop signal may be output to the vehicle-side communication device 20 or the engine ECU 30 by, for example, an engine stop switch. A smart card slot is provided in the vehicle, and the smart card 10
The engine may be automatically started when is inserted. When the smart card 10 is inserted into the insertion slot, mechanical information (for example, unevenness or the like) or physical information (for example, magnetic information recorded on a magnetic tape, etc.) previously given to the smart card 10 is replaced with legitimate information. It may be configured to check whether or not the two match, and if the two match, the engine is automatically started. A charger capable of charging the built-in battery 15 of the smart card 10 may be provided in this insertion port. A key provided separately from the smart card 10 may be used to turn on an ignition switch to start the engine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an entire vehicle communication system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a main program according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an engine start determination routine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an interrupt process according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an engine start determination routine according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 10: smart card, 11: transmitting / receiving antenna, 12: receiving unit, 13: transmitting unit, 14 ...
Communication control unit, 16 ... Sub card insertion slot, 17 ...
Sub card detector, 18 ... Sub card, 20 ...
Vehicle-side communication device, 21 ... receiving antenna, 22 ...
Receiving unit, 23 ... transmitting unit, 24 ... transmitting antenna,
24a: outside antenna, 24b: inside antenna, 25: communication ECU, 27: input / output circuit, 3
0: engine ECU, 31: igniter, 32
... Injector, 33 ... Seat switch, 34
..Actuators.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An engine start control device that communicates with a portable communication device carried by a driver and determines whether or not to start an engine based on a result of the communication. First determining means for determining whether or not the portable communication device is authorized by the first determining means; and starting means for permitting an engine to start when the first communication means determines that the portable communication device is legitimate; A second determining means for determining whether or not the portable communication device is present at a certain timing by the first determining means, and determining that the substitute means is present by the second determining means. Or if the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present between the time the engine is started and the time the engine is stopped, then the second If it said substitute means by cross section are judged to be present engine start control device characterized by comprising a second start permission means for permitting starting of the engine. 2. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second start permitting means determines that the portable communication device is determined to be valid at a certain timing by the first determining means and that the substitute means is present by the second determining means. Alternatively, if the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present between the time the engine is started and the time the engine is stopped, then the second determining means determines that the substitute means exists only a predetermined number of times. 2. The engine start control device according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined that the engine start exists, the engine is started. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second start permitting means determines that the portable communication device is determined to be valid at a certain timing by the first determining means and that the substitute means is present by the second determining means. Alternatively, if the second determining means determines that the substitute means is present between the time the engine is started and the time the engine is stopped, then the second determining means confirms the absence of the substitute means. 3. The engine start control device according to claim 1, wherein the start of the engine is permitted until the start is performed.