JP2003124863A - On-vehicle communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an on-vehicle communication device to discriminate a position in a cabin and a position outside the cabin as the presence position of a portable terminal capable of performing short-distance radio communication. SOLUTION: An exterior antenna 18 is installed on the surface of the vehicle body outside the cabin and an interior antenna 20 is installed in the cabin. The exterior antenna 18 and interior antenna 20 are used to have short-distance radio communication with the portable terminal 12 within a range of about 10 m. It is decided which of the exterior antenna 18 and interior antenna 20 receives an answer signal that the portable terminal 12 sends. It is decided that the portable terminal 12 is outside the cabin when only the exterior antenna 18 receives the answer signal and is in the cabin when only the interior antenna 20 receives the answer signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted communication device mounted on a vehicle, and more particularly to, for example, Bluetooth (Bl).
uetooth) and the like, the present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted communication device suitable for performing short-range wireless communication with a mobile terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, JP-A-2001-128
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 246,246, there is known a communication system in which wireless communication is performed between devices within a limited range.
This communication system is configured so that the performance (transmission capability and reception capability) for wireless communication between devices can be changed in multiple stages by adjusting the gain of an amplifier. Therefore, according to the above-described conventional communication system, the communicable range of short-range wireless communication performed between devices can be changed, and wireless communication with devices that do not require connection can be eliminated.

[0003]

By the way, when the above-mentioned conventional communication system is applied to wireless communication between an on-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a portable terminal carried by an occupant, the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle. Since it is necessary to perform wireless communication between the occupant's mobile terminal and the in-vehicle device, it is advantageous to provide the in-vehicle device side antenna in the vehicle interior. However, even if the vehicle-mounted device-side antenna is provided in the vehicle compartment, all mobile terminals existing within the communicable range can be communication targets with the vehicle-mounted device. Therefore, when the above conventional communication system is used as an in-vehicle system, there is a disadvantage that the in-vehicle device performs short-range wireless communication with a portable terminal outside the vehicle that does not need to perform wireless communication.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an in-vehicle communication device capable of distinguishing between the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior with respect to the location of a portable terminal capable of short-range wireless communication. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

The above-mentioned object is defined in claim 1.
As described in, the first antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal existing inside the vehicle and the first antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal existing outside the vehicle. A position for determining whether the mobile terminal is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment based on the communication state via the second antenna and the communication state via the first antenna and the communication state via the second antenna. This is achieved by an in-vehicle communication device including a determination unit.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the in-vehicle communication device includes the first antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal existing inside the vehicle compartment, and the mobile terminal existing outside the vehicle compartment. A second antenna for performing short-range wireless communication between them. When the mobile terminal is present in the vehicle compartment, reception is performed via the first antenna while the second is received.
A state is formed in which the reception via the antenna is not performed, or a state in which the reception intensity of the first antenna is larger than the reception intensity of the second antenna is formed. Further, when the mobile terminal is outside the vehicle compartment, a state is formed in which reception is performed via the second antenna while reception is not performed via the first antenna, or the second terminal is used. A state is formed in which the reception intensity of the antenna is higher than the reception intensity of the first antenna. In the present invention, it is determined whether the mobile terminal is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment based on the communication state via the first antenna and the communication state via the second antenna. It is possible to distinguish between the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior with respect to the location of the mobile terminal.

In this case, as described in claim 2, in the vehicle-mounted communication device according to claim 1, the position discriminating means determines whether or not the signal is received through the first antenna and whether or not the signal is received through the second antenna. Based on the presence / absence, it may be determined whether the portable terminal exists inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment.

Further, as described in claim 3, claim 1
In the in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, when the first antenna and the second antenna respectively receive signals from the same mobile terminal, the position determination means determines the reception intensity of the first antenna and the reception intensity of the first antenna. It suffices to determine whether the portable terminal is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment based on the result of comparison with the reception intensity of the antenna No. 2.

In these cases, as described in claim 4, in the vehicle-mounted communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the first antenna and the second antenna are the same antenna. In addition, the directivity of the antenna is switched between the interior and exterior of the vehicle, and the position determining means determines that the mobile terminal exists in the vehicle based on the communication state before and after the switching of the antenna directivity. Alternatively, it may be determined whether the vehicle exists outside the vehicle.

Further, as described in claim 5, the above object is to provide an antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with a portable terminal in a vehicle compartment, and one portable terminal via the antenna. And a duration time counting means for counting the duration of a state in which short-range wireless communication is possible, and the duration time counted by the duration time counting means when the vehicle is traveling reaches a predetermined time. In this case, it is achieved by an in-vehicle communication device including a position determining unit that determines that the one portable terminal exists in the vehicle compartment.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the duration of the state in which short-distance wireless communication with one mobile terminal via the antenna provided in the vehicle compartment is possible is counted. If the above-mentioned duration is long while the vehicle is traveling, it can be determined that the mobile terminal is moving together with the vehicle and is present in the vehicle interior. According to the present invention, when the duration of the vehicle reaches a predetermined time under a traveling condition, it is determined that the one portable terminal exists in the vehicle interior. It is possible to determine whether or not.

[0012]

1 is a block diagram of a system including an in-vehicle communication device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The system of this embodiment includes an in-vehicle communication device 10 and a mobile terminal 12. The vehicle-mounted communication device 10 is connected to an information processing device (not shown) that performs various types of information processing, such as a navigation device mounted on a vehicle and a device that locks and unlocks a vehicle door. The in-vehicle communication device 10 has a function as a communication device of the information processing device, and the information processing device exists within a radius of about 10 m by, for example, Bluetooth (Bluetooth) which is a short-range wireless communication standard. , A mobile terminal 12 such as a mobile phone or a personal computer carried by a vehicle occupant, a key for electrically locking and unlocking the vehicle door 12
Is a device for performing wireless communication with. The information processing device
Information is transmitted and received to and from the mobile terminal 12 using the vehicle-mounted communication device 10, and the information relating to the transmission and reception is processed.

Further, the mobile terminal 12 makes a voice call (hands-free call) with the other party who is connected to the line through the existing wireless telephone line, and from the distribution center connected to the line, for example, music, shopping, stock trading, vehicle congestion, etc. Is a device for exchanging information for receiving the distribution of information, processing the information according to a predetermined program, or electrically locking / unlocking the vehicle door by exchanging signals with the information processing device. .
The mobile terminal 12 also exchanges information with the in-vehicle communication device 10 existing within a range of a radius of about 10 m, so that the mobile terminal 12 can perform wireless communication with the information processing device mounted in the vehicle. It is configured.

As shown in FIG.
It is provided with one transceiver 14 and 16. Transceiver 14
Has an antenna 18 installed on the surface of the vehicle body outside the passenger compartment. The transceiver 14 performs wireless communication via the antenna 18 with the mobile terminal 12 existing within a radius of about 10 m from the position of the antenna 18. In addition, the transceiver 16
Has an antenna 20 installed in the vehicle compartment. The transceiver 16 wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal 12 mainly present in the vehicle compartment via the antenna 20. In-vehicle communication device 10
The transceivers 14 and 16 of the
Information to be transmitted to the antenna 1
While transmitting from 8 and 20, the information which the portable terminal 12 should transmit to an information processing apparatus is received by the antennas 18 and 20, and is amplified and demodulated.

Hereinafter, the transceiver 14 will be referred to as a vehicle exterior transceiver 14
And the transceiver 16 for the in-vehicle transceiver 16 and the antenna 1
8 is referred to as the vehicle exterior antenna 18, the antenna 20 is referred to as the vehicle interior antenna 20, respectively, and when they are collectively referred to, the transceivers 14 and 16 and the antennas 18 and 20 are simply referred to.
Called.

External transceiver 14 and internal transceiver 1
6 includes an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) 22.
Are connected. The ECU 22 transmits / receives information to be transmitted from the connected information processing device to the mobile terminal 12 to the transceivers 14, 1
6, the mobile terminal 12 supplied from the transceivers 14 and 16 supplies the information to be transmitted to the information processing apparatus to the information processing apparatus.

A vehicle speed sensor 24, a parking brake switch 26, a shift position sensor 28, and an ignition switch 30 are connected to the ECU 22. The vehicle speed sensor 24 outputs an electric signal at a cycle corresponding to the vehicle body speed SPD. The parking brake switch 26 outputs a signal depending on whether or not the vehicle occupant operates the parking brake of the vehicle. Shift position sensor 28
Outputs a signal corresponding to the shift position of the vehicle. Also,
The ignition switch 30 has an accessory terminal, ON
Built-in terminals and starter terminals. The ignition switch 30 outputs a signal according to those states.

These output signals are supplied to the ECU 22. The ECU 22 detects the vehicle body speed SPD of the vehicle based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 24, determines whether or not the parking brake is operated based on the output signal of the parking brake switch 26, and based on the output signal of the shift position sensor 28. The shift position is detected, and the state of ignition is detected based on the output signal of the ignition switch 30. The ECU 22 determines the state of the vehicle such as whether the vehicle is traveling or is stopped based on the detection results.

Next, the operation of the system of this embodiment will be described.

In the system of this embodiment, the in-vehicle communication device 10 first requests a response from the mobile terminal 12 in order to determine whether or not the mobile terminal 12 capable of wireless communication with the information processing device exists near the vehicle. Signal (hereinafter, referred to as response request signal) is transmitted from the antennas 18 and 20. Mobile terminal 1
When receiving the response request signal output from the vehicle-mounted communication device 10, the device 2 transmits a signal including its own identification code (hereinafter referred to as a response signal). When the in-vehicle communication device 10 receives the response signal from the mobile terminal 12 after transmitting the response request signal, the in-vehicle communication device 10 detects that the mobile terminal 12 capable of wireless communication with the information processing device exists near the vehicle.

The information processing device supplies data to the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 at the time when wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 is to be performed, and data transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 is supplied from the vehicle-mounted communication device 10. The in-vehicle communication device 10 is
When the information processing apparatus detects that the mobile terminal 12 exists near the vehicle at the time when the information processing apparatus should wirelessly communicate with the mobile terminal 12, the predetermined rule among the mobile terminals 12 that meet the condition is described in detail later. The transmitters / receivers 14 and 16 are driven so that wireless communication is performed with the mobile terminal 12 determined according to the above. When the mobile terminal 12 receives a signal (hereinafter, referred to as a communication request signal) for performing wireless communication with the information processing device output from the in-vehicle communication device 10, the mobile terminal 12 connects the line with a specific partner included in the signal. By receiving the information, the information processing is performed by activating a predetermined program, and thereafter, the in-vehicle communication device 10
Send such information to. The information processing device, for example, provides the distribution information to the vehicle occupant based on the information received and processed by the mobile terminal 12 acquired by the in-vehicle communication device 10 by wireless communication from the mobile terminal 12 through the line connection. Process.

By the way, in the system of this embodiment,
When the information processing device mounted on the vehicle is required to perform short-range wireless communication only with the mobile terminal 12 existing in the vehicle compartment, the antenna and the transceiver are provided only in the vehicle compartment. You can do that. However, even if the antenna is provided in the vehicle compartment, all the mobile terminals 12 existing within the communicable range with a radius of about 10 m can be communication targets with the information processing device, and therefore the information processing device needs to perform wireless communication. Inconvenience arises in that short-range wireless communication is performed with the mobile terminal 12 that exists outside the passenger compartment. In particular, in a configuration in which the information processing device is required to connect the mobile terminal 12 in the vehicle interior to a specific distribution center and perform information processing based on the distribution information from the distribution center, If the mobile terminal 12 outside the vehicle is connected to the distribution center by the instruction of, the owner of the mobile terminal 12 will be required to pay an unnecessary line connection fee.

Therefore, in the configuration in which wireless communication is performed between the information processing device mounted on the vehicle and the portable terminal 12 as in the system of this embodiment, the portable terminal 12 existing within the communicable range is in the vehicle interior. It is necessary to determine whether the vehicle exists in the vehicle or outside the vehicle. Therefore, the in-vehicle communication device 10 of the present embodiment has a first feature in that the location of the portable terminal 12 capable of wirelessly communicating with the information processing apparatus existing in the vicinity of the vehicle is distinguished between the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior. ing. The first characteristic part will be described below.

Generally, the vehicle body of a vehicle has a function as a shield case. Therefore, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the signal wirelessly transmitted by the mobile terminal 12 is normally received by the exterior antenna 18 installed on the vehicle body surface outside the vehicle interior when the mobile terminal 12 is present inside the vehicle interior. However, when the mobile terminal 12 is located outside the vehicle compartment, it is not received by the vehicle interior antenna 20 but only by the vehicle exterior antenna 18. Become. Therefore, if the response signal transmitted by the mobile terminal 12 in response to the response request signal transmitted by the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 is determined by which of the external antenna 18 and the internal antenna 20 is received, It is possible to determine whether the mobile terminal 12 is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment.

Since the vehicle body is not a perfect shield case, the signal wirelessly transmitted from the portable terminal 12 existing inside the vehicle is emitted to the outside of the vehicle, and conversely is wirelessly transmitted from the portable terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle. Signals may enter the passenger compartment. In such a situation, the response signal transmitted by the mobile terminal 12 is transmitted from the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20.
The situation may be received at. When such a situation occurs, the existing position of the mobile terminal 12 cannot be determined by the above method.

When the response signal from the mobile terminal 12 is received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20 when the mobile terminal 12 is present in the vehicle compartment, the reception strengths of the two response signals are different from each other. Becomes Specifically, in this case, the reception intensity of the response signal received by the vehicle interior antenna 20 is higher than that of the response signal received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18. On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 12 exists outside the vehicle compartment, the reception intensity of the response signal received by the vehicle interior antenna 20 tends to be smaller than that of the response signal received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18. Become.
Therefore, under the condition that the response signal transmitted from the same mobile terminal 12 is received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20, if the reception intensities of both response signals are compared, the mobile terminal 12 is compared. It is possible to determine whether the vehicle exists inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of an example of a control routine executed by the ECU 22 in the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 of this embodiment in order to realize the above functions. The routine shown in FIG. 2 is a routine that is repeatedly started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 2 is started, the process of step 100 is first executed.

In step 100, the in-vehicle antenna 20
It is determined whether the response signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 is received by the in-vehicle transceiver 16 using. as a result,
If an affirmative determination is made, then the process of step 102 is executed. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, then the process of step 106 is executed.

In step 102, the exterior antenna 18
It is determined whether or not the vehicle-outside transceiver 14 using the received signal has received a response signal transmitted from the same mobile terminal 12 as the mobile terminal 12 determined to have received the response signal in step 100. The portable terminal 12 in which the response signal is not received by the transceiver 14 for outside the vehicle, and when the response signal is received by the transceiver 16 for inside the vehicle
If the mobile terminal 12 is different from the mobile terminal 12, it can be determined that the response signal of the mobile terminal 12 for which the response signal is received in step 100 is not received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18, and thus the response signal is received in step 100. It is possible to determine that the mobile terminal 12 that has received is present in the vehicle interior. Therefore, when a negative determination is made in step 102, the process of step 104 is executed next.

In step 104, the above step 100
It is determined that the mobile terminal 12 that has received the response signal is present in the vehicle compartment. When the process of step 104 is executed, the mobile terminal 12 is treated as if it exists in the vehicle compartment. When the process of this step 104 is completed, the routine of this time is ended.

In step 106, the exterior antenna 18
It is determined whether or not the response signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 is received by the vehicle exterior transceiver 14 using. as a result,
When a negative determination is made, it is impossible to determine the existing position of the mobile terminal 12 because the response signal is not received by either the vehicle exterior antenna 18 or the vehicle interior antenna 20. Therefore, when such a determination is made, the routine of this time is ended without proceeding any processing thereafter. On the other hand, if an affirmative decision is made, then the processing of step 108 is executed.

In step 108, the above step 106 is performed.
It is determined that the mobile terminal 12 that has received the response signal is present outside the vehicle compartment. When the process of step 108 is executed, the mobile terminal 12 is treated as if it exists outside the vehicle. When the process of step 108 is completed, the routine of this time is ended.

When a response signal transmitted from the same portable terminal 12 is received by the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20, whether or not the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20 receive the response signal. It is not possible to determine the existing position of the mobile terminal 12 based on the. Therefore, if an affirmative determination is made in step 102, the process of step 110 is executed next.

In step 110, the in-vehicle antenna 20
The reception strength of the response signal received by the
It is determined whether or not the received signal strength is higher than the received signal strength of the received response signal. When the mobile terminal 12 is present in the vehicle compartment, it can be determined that the reception intensity of the in-vehicle antenna 20 is higher than that of the in-vehicle antenna 18. on the other hand,
When the mobile terminal 12 exists outside the vehicle compartment, it can be determined that the reception intensity of the in-vehicle antenna 20 is not higher than that of the in-vehicle antenna 18. Therefore, if an affirmative determination is made in step 110, the process of step 104 is executed next, and it is determined that the mobile terminal 12 is present in the vehicle compartment. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made, the process of step 108 is executed next,
It is determined that the mobile terminal 12 exists outside the vehicle compartment.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 2, the portable terminal 1 is installed in either the vehicle interior antenna 20 installed in the vehicle compartment or the vehicle exterior antenna 18 installed on the vehicle body surface outside the vehicle compartment.
Whether or not the response signal transmitted by 2 is received, that is,
It is possible to determine whether the position of the portable terminal 12 is inside the vehicle interior or outside the vehicle interior based on whether or not the response signal is received by the vehicle interior antenna 20 and the vehicle exterior antenna 18, and both antennas 18, 20 are provided. When the response signal of the same mobile terminal 12 is received, the location of the mobile terminal 12 can be determined based on the comparison result of the reception intensities of both response signals.

Thus, the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 of this embodiment is
According to this, it is possible to distinguish between the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior regarding the existing position of the mobile terminal 12 existing near the vehicle.
Therefore, according to the system of the present embodiment, the information processing device mounted in the vehicle is allowed to perform only the short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing in either the vehicle interior or the vehicle exterior, that is, It is possible to limit the communication target of the short-range wireless communication performed by the information processing device, and it is possible to avoid the situation in which the short-range wireless communication is performed with the other mobile terminal 12 that does not need to perform the wireless communication. This allows
Unique to the system that allows the information processing device to randomly perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing within the communication range, for example, by causing the owner of the other mobile terminal 12 to pay an unnecessary line connection fee. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience.

By the way, as an information processing device mounted on the vehicle, a navigation device for receiving a distribution of a route along which the vehicle should travel from an external distribution center and a locking device for electrically locking and unlocking the vehicle door are provided. In the configuration described above, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is in the ON state or when the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in the driving state, or when the vehicle is traveling, it can be determined that an occupant is in the vehicle, If the information processing apparatus described above does not need to perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle compartment, and if the information processing apparatus can perform wireless communication only with the mobile terminal 12 existing inside the vehicle compartment, It is enough. On the other hand, when the internal combustion engine is stopped and the ignition switch is off, the occupant may not be in the vehicle, and the occupant outside the vehicle locks or unlocks the vehicle door. Therefore, it may be necessary to perform wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 outside the vehicle.

Therefore, depending on the operating state of the internal combustion engine of the vehicle, the state of the ignition switch, and the presence or absence of running of the vehicle,
The mobile terminal 12 in which the information processing device performs short-range wireless communication,
It is appropriate to switch between what is outside the cabin and what is inside the cabin. Therefore, the in-vehicle communication device 10 of the present embodiment is
The second feature is that it realizes such a function. The second characteristic part will be described below.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of an example of a control routine executed by the ECU 22 in the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 of this embodiment in order to realize the above function. The routine shown in FIG. 3 is a routine that is repeatedly started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 3 is started, the process of step 120 is first executed.

At step 120, it is judged if the vehicle speed SPD detected based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 24 is equal to or higher than the threshold value SPD0. The threshold value SPD0 is the minimum vehicle body speed at which it can be determined that the vehicle is actually traveling. As a result, when SPD ≧ SPD0 is established, it can be determined that the vehicle is actually traveling, and the information processing device does not need to perform short-range wireless communication with the portable terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle, It suffices that the information processing device can perform wireless communication only with the mobile terminal 12 existing in the vehicle compartment. Therefore, if such a determination is made, then the process of step 122 is executed.

In step 122, the in-vehicle antenna 20
2 transmits a communication request signal to the mobile terminal 12 that is determined to be present in the vehicle compartment as the processing result of the routine shown in FIG. 2, thereby performing processing for performing short-range wireless communication only with the mobile terminal 12. It When the processing of step 122 is executed, thereafter, wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 is performed using only the in-vehicle antenna 20.
When the process of this step 122 ends, this routine ends.

On the other hand, in step 120, the SPD
If it is determined that ≧ SPD0 is not established, then the process of step 124 is executed.

In step 124, it is determined that the parking brake is not operated based on the output signal of the parking brake switch 26, and it is determined that the shift position is not in the parking position based on the output signal of the shift position sensor 28. Whether or not it is determined. When both of the above conditions and are satisfied, it can be determined that the vehicle is in a traveling state or in a traveling state. In this case, the passenger is in the passenger compartment, and the information processing device
It can be determined that it is not necessary to perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle. Therefore, when such a determination is made, the process of step 122 is executed. On the other hand, if it is determined that at least one of the above conditions and is not satisfied, then the process of step 126 is executed.

In step 126, it is determined whether or not the determined state based on the output signal of the ignition switch 30 is the off state. If the ignition switch 30 is not in the off state, the starter terminal is in the on state, the on terminal is in the on state, and the accessory terminal is in the on state, and therefore it can be determined that the passenger is in the passenger compartment. It can be determined that the information processing device does not need to perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle. Therefore, when it is determined that the ignition switch 30 is not in the off state, the above step 122 is performed.
The process of is executed. On the other hand, the ignition switch 30
If it is determined that is off, the information processing device may need to perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 existing outside the vehicle. Therefore, if such a determination is made, then the processing of step 128 is executed.

In step 128, the in-vehicle antenna 20
By transmitting a communication request signal from each of the vehicle external antennas 18 to all the mobile terminals 12 existing within the predetermined communication range, a process of performing short-range wireless communication with all the mobile terminals 12 is executed. . This step 12
When the process of 8 is executed, thereafter, wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 is performed using both the in-vehicle antenna 20 and the in-vehicle antenna 18. When the process of step 128 is completed, the routine of this time is ended.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 3, it is determined that the vehicle is inside the vehicle when the vehicle is actually traveling, and when the vehicle is stopped and the occupant is in the vehicle. The short-range wireless communication can be performed only with the portable terminal 12 that has been connected. On the other hand, when the vehicle is stopped and there is a possibility that an occupant is not in the vehicle, short-range wireless communication can be performed with all the mobile terminals 12 within the communication range. As described above, in the vehicle-mounted communication device 10 according to the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 12 that is the communication target of the short-range wireless communication performed by the information processing device is changed according to the state of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the system of the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the information processing device and the mobile terminal 12 unnecessarily perform short-range wireless communication.

In the first embodiment described above, the vehicle interior antenna 20 is the "first antenna" described in the claims, and the vehicle exterior antenna 18 is the "second antenna" described in the claims. Each corresponds to an "antenna", and the ECU 22 executes the routine shown in FIG. 2 to implement the "position determining means" described in the claims.

In the first embodiment, the vehicle exterior antenna 18 is provided in the vehicle exterior transmitter / receiver 14, and the vehicle interior antenna 20 is provided in the vehicle interior transmitter / receiver 16, so that transmission / reception with the antennas 18, 20 is performed. Although the machines 14 and 16 are configured in a one-to-one relationship, only one transceiver may be provided and the antenna may be appropriately switched between the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20.

Further, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, although the vehicle exterior antenna 18 and the vehicle interior antenna 20 are arranged at different positions from each other, they are installed at the same location and
Give the external antenna 18 directivity toward the outside of the vehicle,
In addition, the in-vehicle antenna 20 may be provided with directivity toward the vehicle interior.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment, two antennas, that is, the external antenna 18 installed on the vehicle body surface outside the vehicle compartment and the in-vehicle antenna 20 installed inside the vehicle interior are provided. Only one antenna may be provided and the directivity may be appropriately switched between the outside and the inside of the vehicle. In such a configuration, short-range wireless communication between the information processing device and the mobile terminal 12 can be realized by using only one antenna, so that the location of the mobile terminal 12 can be determined with a simple configuration. Become. In this case, the antenna is defined in claim 4 of the claims.
"First antenna" and "second antenna" described in
Equivalent to.

In the first embodiment, when it is determined that the vehicle is actually traveling, and when it is determined that the occupant is in the vehicle even when the vehicle is stopped. Although the information processing device is supposed to perform short-range wireless communication only with the mobile terminal 12 inside the vehicle compartment, when it is determined that the vehicle is actually traveling, the information processing apparatus communicates with all mobile terminals 12 inside and outside the vehicle compartment. Short-range wireless communication may be performed only with the mobile terminal 12 in the vehicle compartment when the vehicle is determined to be stopped by performing the short-range wireless communication. Further, when it is determined that the vehicle is stopped and the passenger is not in the vehicle, short-range wireless communication may be performed only with the portable terminal 12 outside the vehicle compartment.

Further, in the first embodiment described above, the vehicle speed sensor 24 and the parking are used to determine whether or not the vehicle is actually traveling and whether or not the occupant is in the vehicle even when the vehicle is stopped. Although the brake switch 26, the shift position sensor 28, and the ignition switch 30 are used for this purpose, the seating sensor, the GPS sensor for the navigation system, or the like may be used.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the above-described first embodiment, the existence position of the portable terminal 12 is determined by using the two antennas, that is, the vehicle exterior antenna 18 installed on the vehicle body surface outside the vehicle interior and the vehicle interior antenna 20 installed inside the vehicle interior. I am going to do it. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the two antennas 18,
Mobile terminal 12 with one antenna without using 20
The existence position of is determined.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system including the vehicle-mounted communication device 200 of this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The system according to the present embodiment includes an in-vehicle communication device 200 and a mobile terminal 12. The in-vehicle communication device 200 is the in-vehicle communication device 1 shown in FIG.
Like 0, it is connected to the information processing device and has a function as a communication device of the information processing device.

As shown in FIG. 4, the in-vehicle communication device 200 is
It has one transceiver 202. Transceiver 202
Has one antenna 204 installed in the vehicle compartment. The transceiver 202 wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal 12 mainly present in the vehicle compartment through the antenna 204, modulates information to be transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the mobile terminal 12 to a predetermined frequency, and transmits the information from the antenna 204. In addition, the antenna 2 transmits information that the mobile terminal 12 should transmit to the information processing device.
Received at 04, amplified and demodulated.

An ECU 206 is connected to the transceiver 202. The ECU 206 supplies the transceiver 202 with information to be transmitted to the mobile terminal 12 by the connected information processing device, and the mobile terminal 1 supplied from the transceiver 202.
2 supplies information to be transmitted to the information processing device to the information processing device.

A vehicle speed sensor 208 is connected to the ECU 206. The vehicle speed sensor 208 outputs an electric signal at a cycle corresponding to the vehicle body speed SPD. The output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 208 is supplied to the ECU 206. ECU2
06 detects the vehicle body speed SPD of the vehicle based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 208.

Next, the operation of the system of this embodiment will be described.

In the system according to the present embodiment, the in-vehicle communication device 200, like the in-vehicle communication device 10, first determines whether or not the portable terminal 12 capable of wireless communication with the information processing device exists near the vehicle. , The response request signal to the antenna 20
Send from 4. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, such processing is repeated every predetermined time. Vehicle communication device 2
When 00 receives the response signal output from the mobile terminal 12 after transmitting the response request signal, it detects that the mobile terminal 12 capable of wireless communication with the information processing device exists near the vehicle. The in-vehicle communication device 200 is located near the vehicle when the information processing device should wirelessly communicate with the mobile terminal 12.
When it is detected that 2 exists, the transceiver 202 is driven so that short-range wireless communication is performed with the mobile terminal 12.

Thus, as in the system of this embodiment,
In the configuration in which wireless communication is performed between the information processing device mounted on the vehicle and the mobile terminal 12, it is determined whether the mobile terminal 12 existing within the communicable range exists inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment. It becomes appropriate to do. Therefore, the in-vehicle communication device 200 according to the present embodiment does not use the two antennas 18 and 20 as in the above-described in-vehicle communication device 10, but uses only one antenna 204 installed in the vehicle compartment to provide a portable terminal near the vehicle. The feature is that it is determined whether or not 12 is present in the vehicle compartment. The characteristic part will be described below.

When the mobile terminal 12 within the communicable range is present in the vehicle compartment, the mobile terminal 12 moves together with the vehicle even when the vehicle is running, so that the in-vehicle communication device 200 is installed in the same mobile terminal 12. The signal to be transmitted can be continuously received by the antenna 204. On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 12 within the communicable range does not exist inside the vehicle compartment, that is, when it exists outside the vehicle compartment, when the vehicle travels, the mobile terminal 1
Since the relative position between the vehicle 2 and the vehicle is not maintained constant, the in-vehicle communication device 200 cannot continuously receive the signal transmitted by the same mobile terminal 12 with the antenna 204. Therefore, under the condition that the vehicle is running, every time the vehicle-mounted communication device 200 transmits a response request signal, it is determined whether the response signal transmitted by the same mobile terminal 12 is continuously received by the antenna 204 for a predetermined time. If it is determined, it is possible to determine whether or not the mobile terminal 12 is present in the vehicle interior.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an example of a control routine executed by the ECU 206 in the vehicle-mounted communication device 200 of this embodiment in order to realize the above function. The routine shown in FIG. 5 is a routine that is repeatedly started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 5 is started, the process of step 250 is first executed.

In step 250, it is determined whether the vehicle is actually traveling by determining whether the vehicle speed SPD detected based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 208 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value. To be determined. As a result, when it is determined that the vehicle is not actually traveling, that is, the vehicle is stopped, the routine of this time is ended without proceeding any processing thereafter. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is actually traveling, then step 25
Process 2 is executed.

In step 252, after the response request signal is transmitted from the antenna 204, it is determined whether or not the response signal transmitted by the mobile terminal 12 is received by the antenna 204. If the response signal is not received, it can be determined that the mobile terminal 12 does not exist near the vehicle.
No need to proceed. Therefore, if such a determination is made, the routine of this time is ended. On the other hand, if it is determined that the response signal is received, then the process of step 254 is executed.

In step 254, the above step 252 is executed.
Then, it is determined whether or not the number of times the response signal to the response request signal is determined to have been received has continued a predetermined number of times. still,
The predetermined number of times is the minimum number of times that the duration time during which it can be determined that the mobile terminal 12 exists in the vehicle is realized based on the relationship with the time interval at which the in-vehicle communication device 200 transmits the response request signal. Vehicle speed SPD so that the mileage of the vehicle that can be determined to exist in the vehicle interior is realized.
It may be changed according to.

In step 256, the above step 254 is performed.
The mobile terminal 12 in which the response signal is continuously received a predetermined number of times
Determines that the mobile terminal 12 exists inside the vehicle compartment, and determines that the mobile terminal 12 existing in the other communicable range exists outside the vehicle compartment. When the processing of the present step 256 is executed, thereafter, the mobile terminals 12 satisfying the conditions of the above step 254 are treated as being present inside the vehicle interior, and the other mobile terminals 12 are present outside the vehicle interior. Treated as a thing. When the processing of this step 256 is completed, this routine is ended.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 5, when the response signal is continuously received by the antenna 204 for a predetermined number of times while the vehicle is traveling, the portable terminal 1
It can be determined that 2 is present in the vehicle compartment. As described above, in the in-vehicle communication device 200 of the present embodiment,
Whether or not the mobile terminal 12 is present in the vehicle compartment is determined by the two antennas 18 and 20 as in the in-vehicle communication device 10 described above.
It is possible to determine whether or not the portable terminal 12 that performs short-range wireless communication with the information processing device is present in the vehicle compartment with a simple configuration, without using the. Has become.

Therefore, according to the system of this embodiment,
Similar to the system of the first embodiment, it is possible to limit the communication target of the short-range wireless communication performed by the information processing device, and the short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 12 that does not need to perform the wireless communication is performed. It is possible to avoid the situation.

In the second embodiment described above, the ECU
The “duration time counting means” described in the claims by executing the process of step 254 shown in FIG. 5 by the 206 executes the process of step 256 after the processes of steps 250 and 254. "Position discriminating means" described in the range of are respectively realized.

[0071]

As described above, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to distinguish between the vehicle interior and the vehicle exterior regarding the existing position of the portable terminal capable of short-range wireless communication.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not a portable terminal capable of short-range wireless communication exists in the vehicle compartment with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system including an in-vehicle communication device that is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control routine that is executed to determine the location of the mobile terminal in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control routine executed by the information processing apparatus to specify a mobile terminal 12 that performs short-range wireless communication in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a system including an in-vehicle communication device that is a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a control routine executed to determine the existing position of the mobile terminal in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 In-vehicle communication device 14 Transceiver for outside the vehicle 16 In-car transceiver 18 External antenna 20 In-car antenna 22 Electronic Control Unit (ECU)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with a mobile terminal existing in a vehicle compartment, and a first antenna for performing short-range wireless communication with a mobile terminal existing outside the vehicle compartment. A position for determining whether the mobile terminal is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment based on the communication state via the second antenna and the communication state via the first antenna and the communication state via the second antenna. An in-vehicle communication device comprising: a determination unit. 2. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the position determining means determines that the mobile terminal is a vehicle based on whether or not reception is performed via the first antenna and whether or not reception is performed via the second antenna. An in-vehicle communication device for determining whether the vehicle is inside or outside the vehicle. 3. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the position determining unit is configured to detect the position of the first antenna when the first antenna and the second antenna are receiving signals from the same mobile terminal. The in-vehicle communication device for determining whether the portable terminal is inside the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle compartment based on the result of comparison between the reception strength of the antenna of the second antenna and the reception strength of the second antenna. . 4. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are the same antenna, and the directivity of the antenna is for a vehicle interior. The position determining means determines whether the portable terminal is inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle based on the communication state before and after the switching of the directivity of the antenna. In-vehicle communication device characterized by: 5. An antenna provided in a passenger compartment for performing short-range wireless communication with a mobile terminal, and a state in which short-range wireless communication is possible between one mobile terminal via the antenna When the duration time counting means for counting the duration time and the duration time counted by the duration time counting means reaches a predetermined time under the condition that the vehicle is traveling, the one portable terminal exists in the vehicle interior. An in-vehicle communication device comprising: a position determining unit that determines the position.