JP2009126498A - Action controller and method for in-vehicle equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To certainly detect that a vehicle is in a stopping state. <P>SOLUTION: This action controller is provided with a wheel sensor 10 for transmitting a sensor signal based on the rotation of a wheel W; a vehicle stop determination part for determining whether or not the vehicle V is in the stopping state based on the state of the sensor signal; and an action right-or-wrong determination part for determining the right-or-wrong of the execution of the movement control of a position seat. The action right-or-wrong determination part allows the execution of the movement control of the seat when it is determined that the vehicle V is in the stopping state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation control apparatus and method for in-vehicle equipment.

As an apparatus for controlling the operation of on-vehicle equipment in accordance with the setting of a vehicle occupant and the state of the vehicle, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1.
In Patent Document 1, when the vehicle is in a stopped state and the driver's intention to get off is recognized, the seat seat on which the driver is seated is automatically retracted to a predetermined retracted position, An auto seat slide system that facilitates dismounting is disclosed.
JP 2003-237504 A

In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the door is changed from the closed state to the open state, it is determined that the driver intends to get off and the shift position of the transmission is in the parking range (P range). Then, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped.
Therefore, in the case of a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, the stop state of the vehicle cannot be reliably detected because there is no P range at the transmission shift position.
Therefore, it has been difficult to apply on-vehicle equipment such as an auto slide seat system that is operated on the condition that the vehicle is stopped to a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission.

  It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to reliably detect that a vehicle is in a stopped state, and to apply an in-vehicle equipment that is operated on the condition that the vehicle is stopped to a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission. To do.

  The present invention determines whether or not the vehicle is stopped based on the state of the sensor signal based on the rotation of the wheels output by the wheel sensor when the operation of the on-vehicle equipment is requested, and the vehicle is in the stopped state. When it is determined that the vehicle is installed, the operation of the on-vehicle equipment is permitted.

  According to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is stopped based on the state of the sensor signal based on the rotation of the wheels. Therefore, it is possible to apply in-vehicle equipment that is operated on the condition that the vehicle is stopped to a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission having no P range at the shift position.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of examples.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an in-vehicle operation control apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the equipment control unit of the on-vehicle equipment operation control device.

  The on-vehicle equipment operation control device according to the embodiment includes a wheel sensor 10, a receiver 20, an equipment control unit 30, and a locking / unlocking device 40.

The wheel sensor 10 is provided on each wheel W of the vehicle V, measures the tire air pressure, and transmits a sensor signal indicating the measurement result.
Here, the wheel sensor 10 measures the air pressure of the tire, but the state (amount) of air pressure while each wheel W is rotating varies from wheel to wheel in the running state of the vehicle. . On the other hand, when the vehicle is stopped, the state (amount) of air pressure of each wheel W is not changed. That is, when the state (amount) of air pressure of each wheel W is changed, it is determined that the vehicle is running, and when the state (amount) of air pressure of each wheel W is not changed, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped. be able to.

The sensor signal of the wheel sensor 10 is used, for example, in a tire pressure alarm system that notifies the driver of a decrease in tire pressure. In such a system, the tire pressure is monitored only when the vehicle is running, so that the vehicle is in a stopped state. In some cases, no sensor signal is required. Therefore, if the sensor signal is output to the tire pressure alarm system only when the wheel sensor 10 determines that the vehicle is in the running state, it can be determined that the vehicle is in the running state when the sensor signal is received. When no signal is input, it can be determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state.
Further, in the above, in order to determine the running state and the stopped state of the vehicle, the state (amount) of air pressure of each wheel W is viewed, but the rotation of the wheel W is directly detected, and the wheel W is rotating. That is, the sensor signal may be output (transmitted) only while the vehicle is running, and the sensor signal may not be output (transmitted) while the vehicle is stopped.

The receiver 20 includes an activation determination unit 21 and a signal processing unit 22, and receives a signal (keyless signal) instructing opening / closing of the door lock and a sensor signal transmitted from the wheel sensor 10 via the antenna 23. To do.
The keyless signal is used in a keyless entry system that locks / unlocks a door without using an automobile key, and is transmitted from a remote controller R operated by a driver.
Here, since the frequency of the radio wave used in the tire pressure alarm system is close to the frequency of the radio wave used in the keyless entry system, the receiver 20 is shared by both systems.

When the ignition switch (not shown) is in the on state, the activation determination unit 21 always activates the receiver 20 to receive sensor signals and keyless signals.
On the other hand, when the ignition switch is in the off state, the receiver 20 is periodically activated so that the sensor signal and the keyless signal can be received only for a predetermined time in the activated state.

When receiving the keyless signal, the signal processing unit 22 outputs the keyless signal to the locking and unlocking device 40. This is because the door locking / unlocking operation is executed based on the keyless signal.
When the signal processing unit 22 receives the sensor signal, the signal processing unit 22 outputs the sensor signal to the meter 50. This is because a warning light (not shown) installed in the meter 50 is lit to alert the driver of the lack of air pressure when the tire air pressure is lower than the prescribed air pressure.

  Further, when the signal processing unit 22 receives the sensor signal, the signal processing unit 22 generates a reception signal indicating that the sensor signal has been received and outputs the reception signal to the equipment control unit 30. This is because the vehicle stop determination unit 31 of the equipment control unit 30 to be described later determines whether or not the vehicle V is in a stopped state.

  The equipment control unit 30 includes a vehicle stop determination unit 31, an operation availability determination unit 32, and an operation control unit 33. Based on whether the vehicle is in a stopped state, the seat control of a seat that is a control target is performed. It is determined whether or not the unit 60 (seat position adjusting device), the sliding door driving unit 70 (door opening / closing control device) of the sliding door, and the back door driving unit 80 (door opening / closing control device) of the back door can be operated.

The vehicle stop determination unit 31 determines whether or not the vehicle V is in a stop state based on the state of sensor signal input from the wheel sensor 10.
Specifically, when the sensor signal is received by the receiver 20, the received signal is input from the signal processing unit 22 of the receiver 20 to the vehicle stop determination unit 31. ) Is changing, it is determined that the vehicle is running, and if the air pressure state (amount) of each wheel W is not changing, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped.

When the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is requested by the user's operation of the switch SW, the operation availability determination unit 32 determines whether the in-vehicle equipment can be operated based on whether or not the vehicle is stopped.
Specifically, when the vehicle is in a stopped state, the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is permitted. When the vehicle is not in the stopped state (in the traveling state), the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is not permitted.

  When the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is permitted, the operation control unit 33 determines the control content of the in-vehicle equipment based on the input from the switch SW or various sensors (not shown). Then, a drive command for driving the on-vehicle equipment to be controlled with the determined control content is generated.

  The switch SW is a switch provided at a position that can be operated by a passenger in the vehicle interior, and is an interface for inputting user instructions such as opening / closing of the sliding door D1 and movement of the seat S.

The seat drive unit 60 adjusts the position of the seat S by moving the seat S forward and backward according to the drive command generated by the operation controller 33.
For example, the seat S is moved from the seat position when driving the vehicle (driving position S1) to the position when the vehicle is stopped and the driver gets on and off (retreat position S2) ((5 in FIG. 5). a)).
Here, the seat seat S is moved by moving the seat seat S along the seat rail 61 by a drive motor (not shown).

The slide door drive unit 70 opens and closes the slide door D1 provided on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle in accordance with the drive command generated by the operation control unit 33.
For example, the slide door D1 of the vehicle V is moved from the door closing position P1 to the door opening position P2 (see FIG. 5B).

The back door drive unit 80 opens and closes the back door D2 provided at the rear of the vehicle in accordance with the drive command generated by the operation control unit 33.
For example, the back door D2 of the vehicle V is moved from the door closing position P3 to the door opening position P4 (see FIG. 5B).
The sliding door D1 and the back door D2 are also opened and closed by a drive motor (not shown).

  Here, the function blocks of the activation determination unit 21 and the signal processing unit 22 of the receiver 20, the vehicle stop determination unit 31 of the equipment control unit 30, the operation availability determination unit 32, and the operation control unit 33 are well-known micro-functions. It is configured by a computer, and is realized by a CPU (not shown) included in an operation control device mounted on the vehicle executing a program stored in a ROM or a storage unit (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the receiver 20.
Processing in the receiver 20 will be described.
In step 101, the activation determination unit 21 confirms whether or not the ignition switch is on (IGN = ON?).
If the ignition switch is on in step 101, the flow proceeds to the air pressure alarm processing flow.
In this flow, when the sensor signal transmitted from the wheel sensor 10 is received via the antenna 23, the signal processing unit 22 generates a reception signal indicating that the sensor signal has been received, and the vehicle stop determination unit 31. And a sensor signal to the meter 50.
Thereby, in the meter 50, when there is an abnormality in the tire as in the case where the air pressure specified by the sensor signal is lower than the prescribed air pressure, a warning light (not shown) installed in the meter 50 is turned on, and the tire The driver is notified of the abnormality.

If the ignition switch is not in the on state in step 101, that is, if the ignition switch is in the off state, in step 102, the activation determination unit 21 checks whether or not a timer (not shown) is operating.
If the timer is not in operation in step 102, the activation determination unit 21 operates the timer in step 103.

  Here, when the ignition switch is in the OFF state, the receiver 20 is basically inactivated in order to prevent the battery from being consumed. Therefore, in order to confirm the state of the keyless signal transmitted from the remote controller R of the keyless entry system or the sensor signal transmitted from the wheel sensor 10, a timer is activated to start the receiver 20 at predetermined time intervals. I am doing so.

In step 104, the activation determination unit 21 checks whether or not the current timer value is larger than a predetermined setting value in order to determine whether or not the receiver 20 needs to be activated (timer value> setting value?). .
When the timer value is not larger than the predetermined set value in step 103, that is, when the timer value is smaller (timer value ≦ set value), the process proceeds to step 101.
On the other hand, when the timer value is larger than the predetermined set value (timer value> set value), in step 105, the activation determination unit 21 stops the timer and activates the receiver 20.

In step 106, the signal processing unit 22 confirms whether or not a radio wave has been received.
When the radio wave is received in step 106, in step 107, the signal processing unit 22 confirms whether or not the received radio wave is a keyless signal.

If the radio wave received in step 107 is a keyless signal, the process proceeds to a keyless signal processing flow.
In this flow, the signal processing unit 22 outputs the received keyless signal to the locking / unlocking device 40. Thereby, in the locking / unlocking apparatus 40, locking / unlocking of a door lock, etc. are performed according to a keyless signal.

If the radio wave received in step 107 is not a keyless signal, in step 108, the signal processing unit 22 checks whether the received radio wave is a sensor signal.
If the radio wave received in step 108 is a sensor signal, in step 109, the signal processing unit 22 generates a signal (reception signal) indicating that the sensor signal has been received, and outputs the signal to the vehicle stop determination unit 31.

  If the radio wave received in step 108 is not a sensor signal radio wave, the process proceeds to step 101.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the equipment control unit.
The process in the equipment control unit 30 will be described by taking as an example the case where the on-vehicle equipment to be controlled is the seat seat S.

In step 201, the operation availability determination unit 32 confirms whether or not there has been an operation instruction for the seat seat S (vehicle equipment) based on whether or not a switch SW of the seat seat S, for example, a movement switch has been operated.
When there is an instruction to operate the seat S in step 201, in step 202, the vehicle stop determination unit 31 confirms whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state.
Here, the wheel sensor 10 is in a running state when the air pressure state (amount) of each wheel W is changed, and is stopped when the air pressure state (amount) of each wheel W is not changed. Judge that it is in a state

  When it is determined in step 202 that the vehicle is in a stopped state, in step 203, the operation availability determination unit 32 permits the operation of the seat seat driving unit 60 that moves the seat seat S.

When the operation of the seat drive unit 60 is permitted in step 203, in step 204, the operation control unit 33 changes the control content such as the slide amount and the slide direction of the seat seat S according to the operation amount of the switch SW. decide. Then, a drive command for instructing to move the seat S with the determined control content is generated and output to the seat seat drive unit 60.
Thereby, the seat seat drive unit 60 drives a motor (not shown) and the like, and the movement control of the seat seat S is started.

After starting the movement control of the seat S, in step 205, the operation availability determination unit 32 confirms whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state.
If it is determined in step 205 that the vehicle is not in a stopped state, in step 206, the operation control unit 33 prohibits the operation of the seat seat driving unit 60 and stops the movement control of the seat seat S in progress.

For example, when it is determined that the vehicle is in a traveling state during the movement control for moving the seat S from the driving position S1 to the retreat position S2, the operation control unit 33 stops the movement control.
At this time, a drive command for instructing the position of the seat S to be returned to the driving position S <b> 1 may be generated and output to the seat seat drive unit 60.
In this case, after the movement of the seat S from the driving position S1 toward the retreat position S2 is stopped, the seat S starts to move toward the driving position S1, so the position of the seat S is This is because the vehicle V can be returned to the optimum position for driving.

  If it is determined in step 205 that the vehicle is in a stopped state, in step 207, the operation control unit 33 confirms whether or not the movement control of the seat seat S has been completed.

If it is determined in step 207 that the movement control of the seat S is not completed, the process proceeds to step 205. Then, the processing from step 205 to step 207 is appropriately performed.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the movement control of the seat seat S has been completed, the process is terminated.

  As described above, when the operation instruction of the seat S (on-vehicle equipment) is given, it is confirmed whether or not the vehicle is stopped based on the state of the sensor signal output from the wheel sensor 10. And when a vehicle is a stop state, operation | movement of the seat seat drive part 60 is permitted and the movement control of the seat seat S is started. If it is confirmed that the vehicle is not stopped before the movement control is completed, the operation of the seat control unit 60 is prohibited and the movement control of the seat S is stopped.

  Here, steps 202 and 205 and the vehicle stop determination unit 31 correspond to the vehicle stop determination unit in the invention, and steps 203 and 206 and the operation availability determination unit 32 correspond to the operation availability determination unit in the invention.

As described above, in this embodiment, the vehicle sensor V is in a stopped state based on the state of the wheel sensor 10 that is provided on the wheel W and transmits a sensor signal indicating the state of the wheel W when the wheel W rotates. A vehicle stop determining unit 31 that determines whether or not the vehicle V is stopped, and an operation availability determining unit 32 that determines whether or not the movement control of the seat seat S (on-vehicle equipment) can be performed. When it is determined that the vehicle is in a state, the movement control of the seat seat S is permitted to be performed.
Accordingly, it is determined whether or not the vehicle V is in a stop state based on the state of a sensor signal transmitted when the wheel W rotates, that is, when the vehicle V is in a traveling state. The stop state of the vehicle V can be detected regardless.
Therefore, it is possible to apply on-vehicle equipment such as the seat seat S that is operated on the condition that the vehicle is stopped, for example, to a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission that does not have a P-range in the shift position, and the convenience of getting on and off is improved. To do.
Further, when the vehicle V is in a traveling state, even if the start switch of the movement control of the seat seat S is accidentally pressed, the seat seat S does not move, so that the driver's driving is not hindered. .

In addition, the movement availability determination unit 32 permits the execution of the movement control of the seat seat S, and if it is determined that the vehicle V is not stopped before the movement control is completed, the movement control of the seat seat S is performed. It was set as the structure which cancels.
Thereby, when the vehicle is in a traveling state in the middle of the movement control of the seat seat S, the movement control is stopped, so that the movement of the seat seat S is continuously performed to prevent the driver from driving. There is nothing.
In particular, when the movement control is stopped during the movement control of the seat seat S, the position of the seat seat S is returned to the original position, so that it is possible to continue driving.

Further, the state of the sensor signal is configured to be confirmed based on whether or not the receiver 20 that receives a signal instructing opening / closing of the door lock has received the sensor signal.
By sharing the receiver that receives the keyless signal of the keyless entry system, there is no need to provide a separate receiver for the sensor signal, so it is possible to use the existing component configuration without changing the number of components. it can. Therefore, since the number of parts can be suppressed, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.
The receiver 20 of the keyless entry system is configured to be activated every predetermined period while the ignition switch is off, and the state of the sensor signal and the keyless signal is performed only while the receiver 20 is activated. The configuration. Therefore, battery consumption while the ignition switch is off can be suppressed.
Further, since it is not necessary to activate a GPS receiver of the navigation system separately for checking the state of the sensor signal, it is not necessary to strengthen the power supply system, and the power supply system is not increased in weight.

In the description of the processing in the equipment control unit 30 of the above embodiment, the case where the on-vehicle equipment to be controlled is the seat S is described as an example. For example, the left and right slide doors D1 of the vehicle, the rear part of the vehicle The hatchback opening / closing type door D2 may be an on-vehicle equipment to be controlled.
In this case, the operation of the back door drive unit 80 and the slide door drive unit 70 is permitted / prohibited according to the state of the vehicle V, so that the control of the opening / closing operation of the back door drive unit 80 and the slide door drive unit 70 is appropriately performed. Thus, the same effect as when the on-vehicle device to be controlled is the seat S is obtained.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where there is one on-vehicle equipment to be controlled has been described as an example, but the operation of a plurality of on-vehicle equipment may be controlled simultaneously.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the seat S and the handle H are controlled,
When performing the movement control for moving the seat from the driving position S1 to the retracted position S2, the movement control for moving the handle H from the driving position P5 to the retracted position P6 is also performed at the same time, so that passengers can get on and off more easily. You may be able to do it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the movement control when the on-vehicle equipment to be controlled is the seat seat S is an advancing / retreating movement between the driving position S1 and the retracted position S2, but the movement of the seat seat S is exemplified. The control is not limited to this example, and the inclination angle of the backrest of the seat S may be the control target.
Therefore, it is also possible to employ, for example, those listed as adjustment targets in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-131187 as control targets.

Furthermore, in the said Example, when operation | movement of vehicle equipment is instruct | indicated, whether the vehicle is a stop state based on the state of the sensor signal which the wheel sensor 10 provided in the wheel transmits at the time of rotation of a wheel. The present invention has been described as a function of the on-vehicle equipment operation control device configured to permit the operation of the on-vehicle equipment when it is determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state.
However, the present invention can also be embodied as an in-vehicle operation control program for causing a computer to execute the function of the above-described in-vehicle operation control device, or a medium storing this program.

It is a figure explaining the operation | movement control apparatus of the vehicle equipment concerning an Example. It is a figure explaining the structure of the equipment control part of an operation | movement control apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the process in a receiver. It is a flowchart explaining the process in an equipment control part. It is a figure explaining the vehicle equipment to be controlled.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wheel sensor 20 Receiver 21 Start determination part 22 Signal processing part 23 Antenna 30 Equipment control part 31 Vehicle stop determination part 32 Operation | movement availability determination part 33 Operation control part 40 Locking device 50 Meter 60 Seat seat drive part 61 Seat rail 70 Slide door drive unit 80 Back door drive unit SW switch V Vehicle W Wheel

Claims (8)

A wheel sensor for transmitting a sensor signal based on the rotation of the wheel;
A vehicle stop determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is in a stop state based on the state of the sensor signal;
An operation availability determination unit that determines whether the operation of the on-vehicle equipment is possible,
The operation availability determination unit
An operation control device for in-vehicle equipment, wherein operation of the in-vehicle equipment is permitted when it is determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state. The operation propriety determining unit prohibits the operation of the in-vehicle equipment when it is determined that the vehicle is not in a stop state before the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is completed after allowing the operation of the in-vehicle equipment. The operation control device for on-vehicle equipment according to claim 1. The on-vehicle equipment operation control device according to claim 1, wherein when the state of the sensor signal does not change, it is determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state. The said wheel sensor transmits the said sensor signal based on the air pressure state of a tire, The operation control apparatus of the vehicle equipment of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The state of the sensor signal is confirmed based on whether or not a receiver that receives a signal instructing opening / closing of a door lock has received the sensor signal,
5. The operation control device for in-vehicle equipment according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is activated at predetermined intervals while the ignition switch is off. The operation control device for on-vehicle equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the on-vehicle equipment is a seat position adjusting device that adjusts a position of a seat. The on-vehicle equipment operation control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the on-vehicle equipment is a door opening / closing control device that controls opening and closing of a door. When the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is instructed, it is determined whether the vehicle is in a stopped state based on the state of the sensor signal based on the rotation of the wheel transmitted by the wheel sensor,
An operation control method for in-vehicle equipment, wherein the operation of the in-vehicle equipment is permitted when it is determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state.

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