JP2009248628A - Vehicle control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control system capable of effectively preventing a driver of the vehicle from getting out of the vehicle without returning a shift lever to a parking position in ordinarily using the vehicle and avoiding a problem of a dead battery caused by the continuation of alarming motion in freight car transportation. <P>SOLUTION: An in-vehicle machine 2 determines whether there exist two portable machines 1 in the neighborhood of a center console or not when an engine of the vehicle stops at a position where a shift position is other than parking and stops an alarm by an alarm display part 27 when there exist the two portable machines 1 in the neighborhood of the center console. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention detects the presence of a portable device in the vehicle and allows the vehicle-mounted device to start the vehicle engine, and also issues a warning when the vehicle engine stops at a shift position other than parking. The present invention relates to a vehicle control system.

Conventionally, wireless communication is performed between an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a portable device carried by the user, and the in-vehicle device performs an authentication process using identification information transmitted from the portable device, and is recognized as a legitimate user. There is known a vehicle control system that permits a predetermined operation such as locking / unlocking a vehicle door or starting an engine when it is performed. Further, in this type of vehicle control system, in order to prevent the driver of the vehicle from getting off without returning the shift lever to the parking position, the driver tries to get off with the shift lever in a position other than parking. A device that performs a warning operation when a situation is detected is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 11-280316 A

  By the way, when a vehicle is transported by freight car, in order to protect the parking lock mechanism of the automatic transmission, the shift lever is transported at a neutral position. For this reason, in a vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system described in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that a warning operation may be continuously performed during transportation, leading to battery exhaustion.

  The present invention was devised to solve the above-described problems, and effectively prevents the driver of the vehicle from getting off without returning the shift lever to the parking position during normal vehicle use. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system capable of avoiding a problem of battery exhaustion due to continued warning operation during transportation of a freight car.

  In the present invention, when the vehicle engine is stopped at a shift position other than parking, the in-vehicle device determines whether or not there are a plurality of portable devices at a predetermined position in the vehicle. When there are a plurality of portable devices, the above-described problem is solved by stopping the warning operation.

  According to the present invention, even when the engine of the vehicle is stopped at a shift position other than parking, the warning operation is stopped when there are a plurality of portable devices at predetermined positions in the vehicle. This effectively prevents the driver of the vehicle from getting off without returning the shift lever to the parking position when using the vehicle, and effectively avoids the problem of battery exhaustion due to continued warning operation during freight car transportation. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control system to which the present invention is applied. This vehicle control system performs wireless communication between a portable device 1 that can be carried by a vehicle driver and an in-vehicle device 2 mounted on the vehicle, and the in-vehicle device 2 detects a regular portable device 1 in the vehicle. The engine start of the vehicle is permitted. Further, this vehicle control system performs a warning operation for urging the vehicle driver to return the shift lever to the parking position when the vehicle engine is stopped at a position other than parking where the shift position is set. It also has. Although only one portable device 1 is shown in FIG. 1, when a vehicle equipped with this in-vehicle control system is transported by freight car, the two portable devices 1 are provided at the center console in the vehicle. Stored in the console box.

  The portable device 1 is configured as a so-called electronic key, and transmits identification information of the portable device 1 in response to a request signal from the in-vehicle device 2. Specifically, the portable device 1 includes a control unit 10 realized using a microcomputer or the like, and an LF reception unit 11 and an RF transmission unit 12 are connected to the control unit 10. As will be described later, the LF receiving unit 11 receives an LF band radio wave including a request signal output from the in-vehicle device 2 by the receiving antenna 11A, extracts the request signal from the LF radio wave, and supplies the request signal to the control unit 10. . When the request signal is supplied from the LF receiving unit 11, the control unit 10 activates the RF transmission unit 12 and reads the identification information of the portable device 1 held in the internal nonvolatile memory or the like, The identification information of the portable device 1 is supplied to the RF transmitter 12. When the identification information of the portable device 1 is supplied from the control unit 10, the RF transmission unit 12 superimposes the identification information of the portable device 1 on the radio wave of the RF band and outputs it from the transmission antenna 12A.

  The in-vehicle device 2 is centered on a control unit 20 realized using an ECU (electronic control unit) or the like, and includes an LF transmission unit 21, an RF reception unit 22, an engine start switch 23, and a brake detection switch 24. The engine control unit 25, the shift position sensor 26, and the warning display unit 27 are connected to each other.

  Under the control of the control unit 20, the LF transmission unit 21 transmits LF-band radio waves superimposed with a request signal for requesting the portable device 1 to transmit identification information from the in-vehicle transmission antennas 21A and 21B. Output to the detection area. Here, the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 21A is installed in the vicinity of the center console in the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, and the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 21A makes a request to the detection area A1 on the front seat side in the vehicle. The LF radio wave on which the signal is superimposed is output. On the other hand, the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 21B is installed on the rear seat side in the vehicle, and the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 21B outputs an LF radio wave in which a request signal is superimposed on the detection area A2 on the rear seat side in the vehicle. The

  The RF receiver 22 receives an RF band radio wave including identification information output from the portable device 1 as a response to the request signal by the in-vehicle reception antenna 22A, and extracts the identification information of the portable device 1 from the RF radio wave. This is supplied to the control unit 20. Here, the in-vehicle reception antenna 22A is built in, for example, a rearview mirror, and the portable device 1 can be used regardless of whether the portable device 1 exists in the detection area A1 on the front seat side or the detection area A2 on the rear seat side. Antenna sensitivity that can sufficiently receive RF radio waves from 1 is secured.

  The engine start switch 23 is a push switch that is installed in the vicinity of the driver's seat in the vehicle and is pressed by the driver, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 20 in response to being pressed by the driver.

  The brake detection switch 24 is a switch that detects an operation of a brake pedal by a vehicle driver. When the driver operates the brake pedal, the brake operation is detected by the brake detection switch 24, and a detection signal is output to the control unit 10.

  The engine control unit 25 controls engine start / stop of the vehicle in accordance with a control command from the control unit 20. That is, when a control command for instructing engine start is input from the control unit 20, the engine control unit 25 drives a cell motor (not shown) to start the engine, and the control command for instructing engine stop from the control unit 20. When input, the engine operation is stopped.

  The shift position sensor 26 detects the position of the shift lever of the vehicle and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 can recognize the shift position of the vehicle based on the detection signal from the shift position sensor 26.

  The warning display unit 27 displays a warning that prompts the driver of the vehicle to return the shift position to parking when the vehicle engine is stopped at a position other than parking according to the control of the control unit 20. To do.

  The vehicle-mounted device 2 configured as described above has the regular portable device 1 in the vehicle when the engine start switch 23 is pressed while the brake pedal is depressed by the driver while the engine of the vehicle is stopped. Whether or not the vehicle is in the vehicle and permits the engine start of the vehicle. That is, when the engine start switch 23 is pressed while the brake pedal is depressed by the driver while the engine of the vehicle is stopped, the control unit 20 receives the detection signal from the brake detection switch 24 and the engine start switch 23. An operation signal is input. When these signals are input while the vehicle engine is stopped, the control unit 20 activates the LF transmission unit 21 and requests the portable device 1 to transmit identification information to the LF transmission unit 21. The request signal is supplied. When a request signal is sent from the control unit 20, the LF transmission unit 21 superimposes the request signal on the LF band radio wave and transmits it from the in-vehicle transmission antennas 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B to the predetermined detection areas A <b> 1 and A <b> 2 in the vehicle. Output.

  At this time, if the portable device 1 exists in the predetermined detection areas A1 and A2 in the vehicle, a request signal is received by the portable device 1, and the identification information of the portable device 1 is superimposed from the portable device 1 as a response. RF radio waves are output. The RF radio wave output from the portable device 1 is received by the RF receiver 22. When receiving the RF radio wave output from the portable device 1, the RF receiving unit 22 extracts the identification information of the portable device 1 from the RF radio wave and supplies it to the control unit 20. And the control part 20 collates the identification information sent from the portable device 1 as a response to the request signal with the identification information of the regular portable device previously held in the internal nonvolatile memory or the like, and the identification information is If they match, the portable device 1 existing in the predetermined detection areas A1 and A2 in the vehicle is determined to be a regular portable device, and a control command for instructing the engine control unit 25 to start the engine is output. Thereby, the cell motor is driven by the engine control unit 25, and the engine of the vehicle is started.

  Further, the in-vehicle device 2 performs a warning operation for urging the driver of the vehicle to return the shift lever to the parking position when the vehicle engine is stopped when the vehicle shift position is other than parking. . That is, when the engine start switch 23 is pressed while the brake pedal is depressed by the driver while the vehicle engine is operating, the control unit 20 receives the detection signal from the brake detection switch 24 and the engine start switch 23. An operation signal is input. When these signals are input while the vehicle engine is operating, the control unit 20 outputs a control command to instruct the engine control unit 25 to stop the engine, and stops the vehicle engine. At this time, the control unit 20 inputs a detection signal from the shift position sensor 26 and determines whether or not the shift position is at the parking position. When the shift position is at a position other than parking, the warning display unit 27 is operated to display a warning for prompting the driver of the vehicle to return the shift lever to the parking position.

  This warning by the warning display unit 27 is very effective in preventing the driver of the vehicle from getting off without returning the shift lever to the parking position so that the vehicle does not stop in an unstable state. However, when a vehicle is transported by freight car, since the shift lever is transported at a neutral position from the viewpoint of protecting the parking lock mechanism of the automatic transmission, a warning by the warning display unit 27 is given during transportation. There is a concern that the battery of the vehicle may be exhausted by being continuously performed.

  For this reason, it is desired to stop the warning by the warning display unit 27 when the vehicle is transported by freight. Therefore, in the vehicle control system of the present embodiment, attention is paid to the fact that the two portable devices 1 are housed in a console box provided in the center console of the vehicle when the vehicle is transported, and the shift position is a position other than parking. When the vehicle engine is stopped, the in-vehicle device 2 determines whether there are two portable devices 1 near the center console, and if there are two portable devices 1 near the center console, The warning by the warning display unit 27 is stopped.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the in-vehicle device 2 when the vehicle engine is stopped in the vehicle control system of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 2 when the engine is stopped, which is characteristic in the vehicle control system of the present embodiment, will be described along the flowchart of FIG.

  When the vehicle engine stops, first, the control unit 20 inputs a detection signal from the shift position sensor 26 (step S101), and confirms whether or not the vehicle shift position is the parking position (step S102). . If the vehicle shift position is a position other than parking, the warning display unit 27 is activated to start warning display by the warning display unit 27 (step S103). On the other hand, if the shift position of the vehicle is the parking position, the process is terminated as it is.

  Next, the control unit 20 activates the LF transmission unit 21 and controls its operation to output an LF radio wave superimposed with a request signal only from the in-vehicle transmission antenna 21A installed in the vicinity of the center console in the vehicle. . At this time, the LF transmission unit 21 adjusts the signal output intensity from the in-vehicle transmission antenna 21A, that is, the radio field intensity of the LF radio wave output from the in-vehicle transmission antenna 21A in accordance with the control of the control unit 20, so that FIG. The detection area A1 on the front seat side shown in FIG. 4 is narrowed down to the vicinity of the center console as shown in FIG. 4, and the LF radio wave is output only to the detection area A3 near the center console (step S104).

  Then, as a response to the request signal, the control unit 20 determines whether the RF signal including identification information from the two portable devices 1 is received by the RF reception unit 22 in the detection area A3 near the center console. It is determined whether there is one portable device 1 (step S105). And when it determines with the two portable devices 1 existing in the center console vicinity, the warning display by the warning display part 27 is stopped (step S106), and a series of processes are complete | finished. On the other hand, when it is determined that there are no two portable devices 1 near the center console, the series of processing ends while the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is continued.

  As described above, according to the vehicle control system of the present embodiment as described with specific examples, when the vehicle engine is stopped at a shift position other than parking, the vehicle-mounted device 2 is located near the center console. It is determined whether or not there are two portable devices 1, and if there are two portable devices 1 near the center console, the warning by the warning display unit 27 is stopped. Therefore, when the engine is stopped with the shift position set to a position other than parking with the two portable devices 1 housed in the console box of the center console during transportation of the freight car, a warning display by the warning display unit 27 is displayed. When the vehicle is in normal use, the vehicle driver effectively prevents the vehicle from getting off without returning the shift lever to the parking position. The problem can be effectively avoided.

  Further, according to this vehicle control system, when it is determined whether or not there are two portable devices 1 near the center console, the in-vehicle device 2 is installed in the vehicle in the vicinity of the center console of the LF transmitter 21. Since the signal output intensity from the trusted antenna 21A is adjusted so that the detection area of the portable device 1 is narrowed to the vicinity of the center console, the portable device 1 existing in the vicinity of the center console can be reliably detected. Accuracy can be determined.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle control system to which the present invention is applied will be described. The vehicle control system of the present embodiment is a modification of the above-described first embodiment. When it is determined that only one portable device 1 exists in the vicinity of the center console, the warning display unit 27 performs warning display. Whether or not an engine restart operation is performed is monitored, and when a predetermined monitoring time has elapsed without the engine restart operation being performed, the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is stopped. is there. Since the basic part of the configuration and operation of the vehicle control system is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be omitted below, and this embodiment will be omitted. Only the characteristic part will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the in-vehicle device 2 when the vehicle engine is stopped in the vehicle control system of the present embodiment.

  The processing in steps S201 to S203 in FIG. 5 is the same as steps S101 to S103 in the flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, also in this embodiment, when the vehicle engine stops, first, the control unit 20 inputs a detection signal from the shift position sensor 26 (step S201), and whether the vehicle shift position is the parking position. Whether or not is confirmed (step S202). If the vehicle shift position is a position other than parking, the warning display unit 27 is operated to start warning display by the warning display unit 27 (step S203). On the other hand, if the shift position of the vehicle is the parking position, the process is terminated as it is.

  Next, in the present embodiment, the control unit 20 activates the LF transmission unit 21 and controls its operation, and is installed on the vehicle interior transmission antenna 21A installed in the vicinity of the center console in the vehicle and on the rear seat side in the vehicle. The LF radio wave in which the request signal is superimposed is output from both the in-vehicle transmission antenna 21B and the detection area A1 on the front seat side and the detection area A2 on the rear seat side (step S204). Then, the control unit 20 has two portable devices 1 in the vehicle depending on whether or not the RF reception unit 22 has received an RF signal including identification information from the two portable devices 1 as a response to the request signal. It is determined whether or not to perform (step S205). Here, when it is determined that the two portable devices 1 do not exist in the vehicle, the series of processing ends while the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is continued.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there are two portable devices 1 in the vehicle, the control unit 20 controls the operation of the LF transmission unit 21 and described the detection area A1 on the front seat side in the first embodiment. In this manner, the detection area A3 near the center console is narrowed down, and the LF radio wave superimposed with the request signal is output from the in-vehicle transmission antenna 21A only to the detection area A3 near the center console (step S206). Then, as a response to the request signal, the control unit 20 determines whether the RF signal including identification information from the two portable devices 1 is received by the RF reception unit 22 in the detection area A3 near the center console. It is determined whether there is one portable device 1 (step S207). If it is determined that there are two portable devices 1 in the vicinity of the center console, the process proceeds to step S211, the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is stopped, and the series of processes ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there are no two portable devices 1 near the center console, it is next determined whether there is one portable device 1 near the center console (step S208). When it is determined that no portable device 1 exists, a series of processes is terminated while the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is continued. On the other hand, when it is determined that only one portable device 1 exists in the vicinity of the center console, it is monitored whether or not an operation for restarting the engine is performed by the driver of the vehicle during a predetermined monitoring time (step S209). Step S210) When a predetermined monitoring time has elapsed without an engine restart operation (YES in Step S210), the process proceeds to Step S211 to stop the warning display by the warning display unit 27, A series of processing ends.

  As described above, as described with specific examples, according to the vehicle control system of the present embodiment, when it is determined that only one portable device 1 exists in the vicinity of the center console, a warning display by the warning display unit 27 is displayed. Whether or not an engine restart operation is performed is monitored while the engine is being operated, and when a predetermined monitoring time has passed without the engine restart operation being performed, the warning display by the warning display unit 27 is stopped. ing. Therefore, when the vehicle is transported by a freight car, only one portable device 1 is stored in the console box of the center console, and the shift position is set to a position other than parking in a state where the other portable device 1 is in a position away from the vehicle. Even when the engine is stopped, the warning display by the warning display unit 27 can be stopped, and the problem of battery exhaustion due to continued warning operation during freight car transportation can be more effectively avoided. .

  The first and second embodiments described above exemplify one application example of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited to the contents described in each of the above embodiments. Not intended. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific technical matters disclosed in the above embodiments, but includes various modifications, changes, alternative techniques, and the like that can be easily derived from this disclosure.

  For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, the vehicle-mounted device 2 is installed in the vicinity of the center console of the LF transmitter 21 when determining whether or not there are two portable devices 1 in the vicinity of the center console. The signal output intensity from the in-vehicle transmitting antenna 21A is adjusted to narrow down the detection area of the portable device 1 to the vicinity of the center console. Instead, for example, the portable device received by the RF receiving unit 22 The position of the portable device 1 is estimated based on the strength of the RF radio wave from the device 1, the response speed to the request signal, and the like, and based on the estimation result of the position of the portable device 1, two portable devices 1 are located near the center console. It may be determined whether or not there exists.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, it is assumed that two portable devices 1 are housed in a console box provided in a center console in the vehicle when the vehicle is transported. Even when two portable devices 1 are stored in different locations in the vehicle during transportation, for example, the two portable devices 1 are stored by providing directivity to the radio wave superimposed with the request signal. If the place can be set as the detection area, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle is transporting a freight car as in the above-described example.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, an example in which warning display by the warning display unit 27 is performed as the warning operation of the in-vehicle device 2 is illustrated. However, instead of this warning display or together with the warning display, You may make it perform warning by sound, such as ringing.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle control system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning of the antenna for in-vehicle transmission, the antenna for in-vehicle reception, and the position of a detection area. In the vehicle control system of a 1st embodiment, it is a flow chart which shows an example of processing performed by onboard equipment at the time of an engine stop of vehicles. It is a figure which shows a mode that the detection area of the front seat side was narrowed down to center console vicinity. In the vehicle control system of 2nd Embodiment, it is a flowchart which shows an example of the process implemented by vehicle equipment when the engine of a vehicle stops.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable machine 2 Car-mounted apparatus 20 Control part 21 LF transmission part 21A, 21B In-vehicle transmission antenna 22 RF receiving part 22A In-vehicle reception antenna 23 Engine start switch 24 Brake detection switch 25 Engine control part 26 Shift position sensor 27 Warning display part

Claims (3)

A vehicle control system that detects the presence of a portable device in the vehicle and permits the vehicle engine to start, and warns the vehicle device when the vehicle engine stops at a shift position other than parking. In
When the vehicle engine stops at a shift position other than parking, the in-vehicle device determines whether or not there are a plurality of portable devices at a predetermined position in the vehicle, and the plurality of portable devices at the predetermined position in the vehicle. The vehicle control system is characterized in that the warning operation is stopped when there is a vehicle.   The in-vehicle device adjusts the signal output intensity from the antenna installed in the vicinity of the predetermined position, thereby limiting the detection area of the portable device to the predetermined position, and there are a plurality of portable devices at the predetermined position. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not to do so.   If it is determined that there is only one portable device at the predetermined position, the in-vehicle device monitors whether the engine restart operation is performed while performing the warning operation for a predetermined monitoring time. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the warning operation is stopped when the monitoring time has elapsed without an engine restart operation.

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