JP2009278360A - On-board equipment remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a system which reduces the whole communication time and is excellent in responsiveness by reducing communication frequencies by allowing simultaneous transmission from transmission antennas of on-board equipment by a smart entry/start system. <P>SOLUTION: An on-board equipment remote controller has an operation control means for transmitting interrogation signals with low frequency radiowave from the transmission antennas 11, 12 of an on-board machine 10 to a portable machine 50, and for controlling an operating state of the on-board equipment when validation processing is performed by acknowledgement signals to be returned from the portable machine which receives the interrogation signals. When the interrogation signals are simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of transmission antennas 11a-11c, 12a-12d of the on-board machine, a pair of transmission antennas in which part of communication areas is overlapped transmits the interrogation signals by carrier waves in which mutual phases are shifted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device remote control device, and more particularly to an in-vehicle device remote control device that controls use permission or disapproval of a vehicle based on a confirmation result by bidirectional communication between a vehicle and a portable device.

  In the in-vehicle device remote control device, in addition to the remote operation function of operating / moving the operation unit of the portable device to lock / unlock the door of the vehicle, the operation signal can be answered without operating the operation unit. Conventionally, a smart entry system that returns an answer signal and collates a code in the answer to lock / unlock the door is known. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-106376) discloses a portable wireless device including a first transmission unit that transmits a response signal when a call signal is received by a first reception unit; When the response signal transmitted by receiving the call signal transmitted from the transmission means at a predetermined time interval is received by the second reception means, a signal for unlocking the vehicle door is output and the response A system is described that includes a vehicle radio apparatus that includes a control means for outputting a signal for locking the door of the vehicle after a predetermined time has elapsed if no signal is received.

  In the in-vehicle device remote control device, the return code signal is returned in response to the transmission request signal from the vehicle side, and the steering lock mechanism is unlocked and the engine start prohibition device is released by checking the code, and the mechanical A smart start system that enables engine start operation without using a key has been known. For example, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-1765), a paging signal is transmitted to a portable wireless device, a code code signal is received from the portable wireless device, and when the code matches the internal code, a steering lock is obtained. A system is described which comprises means for allowing each mechanism unlocking operation, engine switch switching operation and accessory switch switching operation.

  The name of the system combining both the above systems will be referred to as a smart entry / start system. In the control logic of the smart entry / start system, important information is whether the portable wireless device is inside or outside the vehicle. In particular, in a smart start system that performs switching operation of an engine switch, it is necessary to permit engine start only when the portable wireless device is in the vehicle. By using a low-frequency near magnetic field that attenuates with the cube of the distance as a means for determining whether the vehicle is inside or outside the vehicle, using a steel plate of a vehicle that is excellent in electromagnetic shielding and generation of a narrow communication area with a radius of about 1 m from the antenna, It has been practiced to arrange a plurality of antennas so that the entire vehicle interior is a communication area with little leakage outside the vehicle.

  However, in order to cover the entire interior of the vehicle, a part of the communication area of adjacent antennas overlaps, and a simultaneous transmission causes a minimal space that becomes a magnetic field weak enough to prevent communication. For this reason, simultaneous transmission from antennas with overlapping communication areas is not possible, and transmission is performed separately with different times for each antenna. Therefore, the number of transmissions increases and the overall communication time is increased.

但し、μ_e：実効透磁率、ｎ：巻数、I：電流、Ｓ：ループ面積 Here, the occurrence of interference will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows the analysis coordinates when the antennas (magnetic current sources M ₁ and M ₂ ) are arranged in parallel in the free space with a distance d. Magnetic field in the near field of the loop antenna according to non-patent document 1 is a H _theta of H _R and theta direction component of the polar coordinates R direction component, respectively Equation 1 is expressed by Equation 2.

Where μ _e : effective permeability, n: number of turns, I: current, S: loop area

The angle α of H _R and H _θ and the magnitude of the magnetic field H = H _R + H _θ are given by Equation 4 and Equation 5.

θ_１＋α_１＋θ_２＋α_２＝π （７） At the point where the combined magnetic field of the _two antennas (magnetic current sources M ₁ and M ₂ ) is constantly 0 (hereinafter referred to as “Null point”), the magnitude of the magnetic field from each antenna is equal and the direction is 180 degrees different. If this is expressed by a formula, Formula 6 and Formula 7 are obtained.

θ ₁ + α ₁ + θ ₂ + α ₂ = π (7)

A point that satisfies Expressions 6 and 7 is a Null point. As an example of the Null point, when M ₁ = M ₂ and R ₁ = R ₂ , R ₁ = R ₂ = 0.866d and θ ₁ = θ ₂ = 0.304π or 0.696π.
On the other hand, under the condition of M ₁ = −M ₂ and R ₁ = R ₂ where the antenna phases are 180 degrees different, the null point is R ₁ = R ₂ = 0.5d and θ ₁ = θ ₂ = π / 2.

FIG. 10 shows analysis coordinates when the antennas (magnetic current sources M ₁ and M ₂ ) are arranged in series in the free space with a distance d.
In this case, Expression 8 becomes a conditional expression instead of Expression 7.
π−θ ₁ + α ₁ + θ ₂ + α ₂ = π (8)
A point that satisfies Expressions 6 and 8 is a Null point. As an example of the Null point, when M ₁ = M ₂ and R ₁ = R ₂ , R ₁ = R ₂ = 0.866d, θ ₁ = 0.696π, and θ ₂ = 0.304π.
On the other hand, under the condition of M ₁ = −M ₂ and R ₁ = R ₂ where the antenna phases are different by 180 degrees, the null points are R ₁ = R ₂ = 0.5d, θ ₁ = π, and θ ₂ = 0.

Note that an antenna attached to an actual vehicle has a reflected wave from the surroundings and shielding, unlike a free space, and calculation is not easy, but a Null point is generated.
As a method of avoiding this interference, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-255531), two magnetic field generating means are arranged so that the magnetic fields of each other are orthogonal to each other. It is conceivable to use an antenna that generates a rotating magnetic field only in the vehicle interior so that the phase of the generated magnetic field has a phase difference of 90 degrees.

JP-A-5-106376 JP-A 63-1765 JP 2000-255381 A Susumu Miwa, published by Tokyo Denki University Press, “High Frequency Electromagnetism”, p.189

As described above, when a conventional in-vehicle device remote control device transmits a question signal or the like using a plurality of in-vehicle antennas, in order to avoid interference in a case where communication areas of adjacent antennas overlap, Since it is necessary to transmit the data separately by shifting the time every time, there is a problem that the number of transmissions increases and the entire communication time is required.
In order to avoid interference, it is conceivable to use an antenna that generates a rotating magnetic field, but there are problems in that the cost of the drive circuit and the antenna are increased and the volume occupied by the antenna increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an in-vehicle device remote control device that achieves improved system responsiveness by reducing the number of communications, and that is substantially equivalent in cost and occupied volume. It is for the purpose.

  The in-vehicle device remote control device of the present invention transmits a low-frequency radio wave interrogation signal to the portable device from the transmission antenna of the in-vehicle device, and the confirmation procedure is performed with the response signal returned from the portable device that has received the interrogation signal. In the in-vehicle device remote control device having the operation control means for controlling the operation state of the in-vehicle device, when transmitting from a plurality of transmission antennas of the in-vehicle device at the same time, the transmission antenna pair in which the communication areas partially overlap each other The interrogation signal is transmitted using a shifted carrier wave.

  The on-vehicle device remote control device according to the present invention includes a vehicle-mounted device transmitting means for transmitting a question signal for authentication and presence / absence confirmation to a portable device, and a portable device for receiving the inquiry signal transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device transmitting means. Receiving device, transmitting device of portable device returning response signal to in-vehicle device based on interrogation signal received by receiving device of portable device, and in-vehicle device receiving response signal returned by transmitting device of portable device The vehicle-mounted device remote control device includes: a receiving unit; and an operation control unit that controls an operating state of the vehicle-mounted device when the response code of the response signal returned to the vehicle-mounted device is collated. The transmission means includes a transmission unit and a plurality of transmission antennas, and those in which communication areas of the plurality of transmission antennas overlap each other are transmitted so that the phases of the carrier waves of the inquiry signals transmitted from the plurality of transmission antennas are different from each other. It is obtained so as to control in parts.

  In this invention, since the carrier waves of the antenna pairs having overlapping communication areas have different phases, the entire communication time can be greatly shortened and the system with good responsiveness can be transmitted by one transmission within the vehicle. In addition to being realized, there is an advantage that there is almost no cost increase compared to the conventional product, and it can be made the same size as the conventional product.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 6 showing an in-vehicle device remote control device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below. 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile device, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of communication between the in-vehicle antenna and the mobile device, FIG. 4 is a drive circuit diagram of a transmission unit of the in-vehicle device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal configuration in communication between a portable device and a portable device, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a locking timing chart.

In FIG. 1 which shows the block diagram of the vehicle equipment in Embodiment 1 of this invention, the vehicle equipment 10 has three antennas of the 1st-3rd in-vehicle transmission antennas 11a-11c as the antenna 11 for vehicles, As antenna 12, first to fourth outside transmission antennas 12a to 12d are used.
There are two antennas, for a total of seven transmission antennas. As shown in FIG. 3B, the first in-vehicle transmission antenna 11a is installed in the center console in the vehicle interior, the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b is installed near the rear seat, and the third in-vehicle transmission antenna 11c is installed in the trunk room. Yes. On the other hand, as shown to Fig.3 (a), the 1st-4th vehicle outside transmission antennas 12a-12d are each provided in the handle of the door of a vehicle (four-wheeled vehicle), for example. The vehicle interior antenna 11 and the vehicle exterior antenna 12 are connected to a transmission unit 17, and the transmission unit 17 is connected to an ECU (Electronic Control Device) 20.

  The ECU 20 supplies the transmission unit 17 with a signal specifying at least one of the transmission code and the transmission antennas 11 and 12, and an interrogation signal as a code request signal having a frequency at which the transmission code is modulated, for example, 134 kHz. And transmitted from the designated antenna to the portable device 50 described later. Further, the vehicle is provided with a receiving antenna 18, and a frequency, for example, 315 MHz signal received from the receiving antenna 18 from the portable device 50 is demodulated by the receiving unit 19 and supplied to the ECU 20.

  The ECU 20 has a built-in memory 24 in which an ID code for a question signal and an immobilizer, which will be described later, and an encryption key for decrypting the immobilizer and the answer code are stored. The memory 24 is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and the stored contents are retained even when the power is turned off. The operation detection unit 21 detects various switch operations by the user. For example, the operation detection unit 21 presses an activation switch (a signal source for starting transmission of an authentication question signal) or an engine switch installed on each outer door handle. The position of the key knob switch for starting the communication for unlocking and the engine switch (starting, ignition on, accessory on, off and locking) is detected, and the operation detection signal is supplied to the ECU 20.

  The door opening / closing detection unit 22 detects individual opening / closing of all doors and individual locking / unlocking states of all doors, and supplies a detection signal to the ECU 20. The sensor group 23 is various sensors that detect the vehicle speed, the shift position, and the engine operating state, and detection signals from these various sensors are supplied to the ECU 20. The notification unit 25 is an answerback device that turns on a vehicle light or horns as a so-called answerback when the door is locked / unlocked, an alarm device that generates a buzzer for various alarms, and a status display. Includes a display device.

Further, the ECU 20 is connected with a steering lock portion 32, an immobilizer portion 34, a door lock portion 36, and a shift lock portion 38. The steering lock unit 32 releases the rotation lock mechanism from the lock position of the engine switch, and simultaneously releases the mechanical lock mechanism for steering operation. When the engine switch is returned to the lock position, both lock mechanisms are locked. The immobilizer unit 34 is a mechanism for prohibiting fuel supply to the engine 40 and ignition operation. The door lock unit 36 is a mechanism for locking / unlocking all doors. The shift lock unit 38 is a lock device that prohibits a shift from the parking range to another range by a transmission gear shift mechanism, and outputs an unlock / permitted signal from the ECU 20. The ECU 20 is connected to an engine control unit 30, and the engine control unit 30 can control the start of the engine 40 using a cell motor and can also control the driving stop of the engine 40.
Here, the engine control unit 30, the steering lock unit 32, the immobilizer unit 34, the door lock unit 36, the shift lock unit 38, and the like constitute in-vehicle devices, and the ECU 20 constitutes an operation control unit that controls the operating state of these in-vehicle devices. To do.

  In FIG. 2 which shows the block diagram of the portable device in Embodiment 1 of this invention, the portable device 50 has ECU52, and the memory 53 is incorporated in this ECU52. This memory 53 stores the same ID code and encryption key as those stored in the above-mentioned memory 24 of the in-vehicle device if it is legitimate. The portable device 50 includes a transmission antenna 56 and a reception antenna 58. These antennas 56 and 58 are connected to the transmission unit 55 and the reception unit 57, respectively, and the transmission unit 55 and the reception unit 57 are connected to the ECU 52.

  A question signal of a frequency, for example, 134 kHz, received from the in-vehicle device 10 received by the receiving antenna 58 is demodulated by the receiving unit 57 and supplied to the ECU 52. The ECU 52 reads out an encryption key corresponding to the question signal from the memory 53, encrypts the question code in the question signal, creates a response signal, supplies the response signal to the transmission unit 55, and is modulated by the transmission unit 55. The signal is transmitted from the transmission antenna 56 to the vehicle-mounted device 10 as a signal having a frequency, for example, 315 MHz. Further, the portable device 50 has a LOCK key / UNLOCK key or the like for performing a remote operation of locking / unlocking the door as a keyless entry function, and these signals are input from the operation detection unit 51 to the ECU 52. The notification unit 54 includes an alarm device such as a buzzer for various alarms transmitted from the in-vehicle device 10 and a display device for status display.

Next, FIG. 3 schematically illustrating communication between the in-vehicle transmission antenna 11 and the in-vehicle transmission antenna 12 and the portable device 50 will be described. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram when the portable device 50 is outside the vehicle, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram when the portable device 50 is inside the vehicle.
A method for confirming whether the portable device 50 is a regular registration device (partner authentication method) is described as a so-called challenge-response method (secret key encryption-based partner authentication method) as an example.
In FIG. 3, an authentication question signal including a question code having a frequency of 134 kHz is transmitted from each of the transmission antennas 11 and 12 of the in-vehicle device 10. When the portable device 50 receives this authentication question signal, the received question signal is converted into the received question signal. An authentication response signal with a frequency of 315 MHz modulated with a response code (ciphertext) created from the corresponding encryption key and question code (plaintext) is returned.

The authentication response signal having a frequency of 315 MHz received by the receiving antenna 18 of the in-vehicle device 10 is demodulated by the receiving unit 19 and supplied to the ECU 20, and the ECU 20 receives the response signal. The in-vehicle device 10 checks whether or not the portable device 50 is a legitimate registration device by comparing the transmitted question code (plain text) with the encrypted text created with the corresponding encryption key and the received response code.
The low frequency (hereinafter abbreviated as “LF”) is used from the transmitting antennas 11 and 12 of the in-vehicle device 10 to the portable device 50 in the electromagnetic wave so that the position of the portable device 50 can be easily confirmed. This is because the magnetic field component whose strength is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance is used, and the normal communication distance is about 1 m. On the other hand, the UHF band is used for communication from the portable device 50 to the receiving antenna 18 of the in-vehicle device 10, and the communication distance is usually 5 to 20 m.

  In FIG. 3B, in order to cover the entire vehicle interior, a region 11ab where the communication region partially overlaps the boundary portion between the communication region A11a of the first in-vehicle transmission antenna 11a and the communication region A11b of the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b. Arise. Further, an area 11bc where the communication areas partially overlap is formed at the boundary between the communication area A11b of the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b and the communication area A11c of the third in-vehicle transmission antenna 11c. Therefore, when the first in-vehicle transmission antenna 11a and the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b transmit simultaneously, a minimal space is generated that becomes a magnetic field weak enough to prevent communication due to interference. Similarly, when the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b and the third in-vehicle transmission antenna 11c transmit at the same time, a minimal space that generates a magnetic field weak enough to prevent communication is generated due to interference.

  In order to prevent the occurrence of a minimal space in which a part of the communication area of adjacent antennas overlaps and these antennas transmit at the same time, a magnetic field that is weak enough to prevent communication due to interference is generated. The null point at which the combined magnetic field is zero is eliminated.

となり、Ｎｕｌｌ点ではなくなる。
このように通信領域の一部が重なるアンテナから送信される信号の位相をπ／２（９０度）ずらすとＮｕｌｌ点が解消されるので、車内送信１回で車内全域に送信できることになり、システムの応答時間が大幅に短縮され、応答性に優れたシステムが実現できる。 When the antennas (magnetic current sources M ₁ and M ₂ ) are sinusoidally oscillated (sinωt) in phase, if the time term (sinωt) is included in the expression of the combined magnetic field at the Null point, | H ₁ | sinωt− | H ₂ | sinωt = 0 (9)
The magnetic field is always zero.
When the phase of the antennas (magnetic current sources M ₁ and M ₂ ) is shifted in time by π / 2, the following formula 10

And it is no longer the Null point.
Since the Null point is eliminated by shifting the phase of the signal transmitted from the antenna with which a part of the communication area overlaps by π / 2 (90 degrees), it is possible to transmit the entire vehicle interior by one transmission in the vehicle. The response time is greatly shortened, and a system with excellent responsiveness can be realized.

FIG. 4 shows a drive circuit diagram of the transmitter 17 of the in-vehicle device 10 and the in-vehicle transmission antennas 11a to 11c and the out-of-vehicle transmission antennas 12a to 12d. Hereinafter, based on FIG. A method for preventing interference of signals transmitted from the mobile station will be described.
In the drive circuit shown in FIG. 4, a constant voltage power supply 80 is a power supply for the antenna drive circuit, and the transistors 83a to 83c are connected to the power supply 80, and transistors 84a to 83c are connected in series with the transistors 83a to 83c, respectively. 84c is connected.
The transistors 83a to 83c and the transistors 84a to 84c constitute a half bridge output circuit. In the half-bridge output circuit, an LC resonance circuit is configured by in-vehicle transmission antennas 11a to 11c including current limiting resistors 85a to 85c, capacitors 86a to 86c and inductance, and a rectangular wave fundamental wave (for example, 134 kHz) of the half bridge output is formed. The sinusoidal current is caused to flow through the in-vehicle transmission antennas 11a to 11c.

Each AND element 81a and 81c selects a rectangular wave carrier wave 1 (for example, 134 kHz) with a binary information signal (for example, 2 kbps) and ASK (amplitude shift keying), and selects an antenna to be output (the selection signal is “1”). The driving circuit operates and the function is stopped) when the selection signal is “0”. The AND element 81b has the same function as the AND elements 81a and 81c except that instead of the carrier wave 1, a carrier wave 2 that is 90 degrees out of phase with the carrier wave 1 is input.
With this configuration, signal interference does not occur even if the first in-vehicle transmission antenna 11a and the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b, and the second in-vehicle transmission antenna 11b and the third in-vehicle transmission antenna 11c transmit at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to transmit from the in-vehicle transmitting antennas 11a to 11c to the entire in-vehicle area without causing interference by one in-vehicle transmission at the same time.

Although the above has described the interference in the vehicle antenna 11 and the method for preventing it, the same applies to the vehicle antenna 12.
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), a region in which a part of the communication region overlaps with the first outside-transmitting antenna 12a and the second outside-transmitting antenna 12b, and between the third outside-transmitting antenna 12c and the fourth outside-transmitting antenna 12d. There is. Therefore, in an antenna in which a part of these communication areas overlaps, interference can be prevented by making the phases of carrier waves different from each other by 90 degrees.
In the drive circuit of FIG. 4, the drive circuits 88 a to 88 d of the vehicle exterior antenna 12 are simplified, but are configured similarly to the drive circuit of the vehicle interior antenna 11. In the first out-of-vehicle transmission antenna 12a and the second out-of-vehicle transmission antenna 12b in which communication areas overlap, interference is prevented by inputting the carrier wave 1 to the drive circuit 88a and the carrier wave 2 to the drive circuit 88b. Further, in the third outside transmission antenna 12c and the fourth outside transmission antenna 12d where the communication areas overlap, interference is prevented by inputting the carrier wave 1 to the drive circuit 88c and the carrier wave 2 to the drive circuit 88d.

In the drive circuit of FIG. 4, the modulation method has been described as ASK, but in order not to generate a null point due to interference of two antennas, the phase of the two carrier waves is shifted by approximately 90 degrees, and the modulation method is It is clear that the same effect can be obtained by FSK (frequency shift keying) and PSK (phase shift keying). It is also clear that the same effect can be obtained even when the phase shift amount of the two carrier waves is not 90 degrees, for example, 45 degrees or 30 degrees.
Note that the carrier wave 1 and the carrier wave 2 shown in FIG. 4 can be generated by a timer circuit that is a built-in peripheral circuit of the microcomputer of the ECU 20, so that there is an advantage that it can be realized with almost the same increase in cost and the same size as the conventional one.

Next, the operation of the in-vehicle device remote control apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 5 which shows the example of a signal structure in communication between the vehicle equipment 10 and the portable device 50, FIG. 5 (a) (b) shows the question signal and response signal for presence / absence confirmation, FIG.5 (c) (d) is FIG. FIG. 5E shows a remote control signal for locking / unlocking the door of the vehicle by operating the operation unit of the portable device.

FIG. 5A shows the structure of a question signal for checking whether or not the vehicle-mounted device 10 is present in the portable device 50, and a fixed ID code (for example, 20 bits) including a preamble (for example, a burst signal of about 5 ms) and fixed-length ID information. , A bit indicating a call signal, an additional code (for example, 4 bits) including reception monitoring mode bit information, and a parity bit.
FIG. 5B shows the configuration of the response signal from the portable device 50 to the vehicle-mounted device 10, which is composed of a preamble, a fixed ID code, an additional code including information such as a portable device number (for example, 4 bits), and a parity bit. .

FIG. 5C shows the structure of an inquiry signal for authentication from the in-vehicle device 10 to the portable device 50. The additional code includes a preamble, a fixed ID code, a bit indicating the question signal, and the number of the portable device to respond to. The query code is a plaintext (for example, 32 bits) that is randomly generated each time, and a parity bit.
FIG. 5 (d) shows the structure of the response signal from the portable device 50 to the in-vehicle device 10, and encrypts the preamble, the fixed ID code, the additional code including information such as the bit indicating the answer signal and the portable device number, and the received question code. It consists of an answer code, which is a ciphertext encrypted with a key, and a parity bit.

  Note that a remote control signal in the case of performing a keyless entry for controlling locking / unlocking of the door of the vehicle by pressing a button provided on the portable device 50 is an answer code as shown in FIG. Set the rolling code to. The rolling code is a value that is counted up each time the portable device 50 transmits radio waves. The in-vehicle device 10 stores the rolling code included in the predetermined code received from the portable device 50 in the previous time, and receives this time. When the rolling code included in the predetermined code is within a predetermined range from the value of the previous rolling code, it is determined that the current rolling code is correct, and it is determined that the received predetermined code matches the specific code. This additional code includes identification information of the response signal and the remote control signal.

  FIG. 6 shows a timing chart at the time of the locking operation of the embodiment related to the communication with the portable device 50 executed by the ECU 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 of the remote control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows the corresponding timing chart of the conventional example. Shown in

  First, in FIG. 6 of the present invention, after a person holding the portable device 50 gets off the driver's seat and closes the door, a communication sequence starts from a trigger 60 generated by pressing an activation switch on the door handle. . The in-vehicle device 10 transmits an authentication question signal 61 from the outside transmission antenna 12a corresponding to the position of the operated start switch. The portable device 50 that has received this signal performs encryption processing, creates a reply code, and sends back an authentication response signal 62.

The in-vehicle device 10 sends three inter-vehicle antennas (11a) in order to confirm whether another portable device exists in the vehicle at an appropriate communication interval (in this case, 2 ms) after transmitting the interrogation signal 61. 11b, 11c), the presence / absence question signals 63 to 65 are transmitted three times at the same time. Even if the presence / absence question signals 63 to 65 are simultaneously transmitted from the three in-vehicle antennas 11, the signals do not interfere as described above.
If the in-vehicle device 10 can receive and verify the authentication response signal 62 and there is no response signal for all the existence confirmation question signals 63 to 65, there is no portable device 50 left in the vehicle, Is determined to be a locking instruction by the portable device holder, and a locking command 66 is transmitted to the door lock unit 36. The reason why the existence confirmation question signals 63 to 65 are transmitted three times is to confirm with high accuracy that there is no response signal (= there is no portable device left in the vehicle).

  Next, in FIG. 7 of the prior art, the communication sequence from the trigger 70 generated when the person holding the portable device 50 gets off the driver's seat and closes the door and then presses the start switch on the door handle. Start. The in-vehicle device 10 transmits an authentication question signal 71 from the outside transmission antenna 12a corresponding to the position of the operated start switch. Receiving this signal, the portable device 50 performs encryption processing, creates a reply code, and sends back an authentication response signal 72.

The in-vehicle device 10 sends three inter-vehicle antennas (11a) in order to check whether another portable device exists in the vehicle at an appropriate communication interval (in this case, 2 ms) after transmitting the interrogation signal 71. , 11b, 11c) are divided into two groups that do not interfere with each other (communication areas do not overlap), that is, the first in-vehicle antenna 11a, the third in-vehicle antenna 11c, and the second in-vehicle antenna 11b, and for each group three times. Question signals 73-78 are transmitted.
If the in-vehicle device 10 can receive and verify the authentication response signal 72 and there is no response signal for all the existence confirmation question signals 73 to 78, there is no portable device 50 left in the vehicle, Is determined to be a locking instruction by the portable device holder, and a locking command 79 is transmitted to the door lock unit 36. The reason why the presence / absence confirmation question signal is transmitted three times is to confirm with high accuracy that there is no response signal (= no left portable device in the vehicle).

As described above, in the present invention, since there is no signal interference between the three in-vehicle antennas (11a, 11b, 11c), the three presence confirmation question signals 63 to 65 can be transmitted simultaneously. . Therefore, in the prior art, the time required from the trigger 70 to the locking command 79 by human operation is 217 ms, whereas in the embodiment of the present invention, the time required from the trigger 60 to the locking command 66 by human operation is 130 ms. The operation control time can be greatly shortened (about 60%).

  As described above, in the in-vehicle device remote control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the transmission means (the transmission unit and the plurality of transmission antennas) of the in-vehicle device is a part of the communication area of each of the transmission antennas 11 and 12. Since the transmitting antenna pairs with overlapping phases are made of carriers having different phases, communication is disabled due to interference at the overlapping portion, so that transmission is possible at the same time, thereby reducing the overall communication time.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, FIG. 8 which shows the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 8 is an example of a configuration example of the presence / absence confirmation signal from the in-vehicle device to the portable device and a transmission timing diagram of the in-vehicle transmission antenna.
The low frequency (LF) is used from the transmitting antennas 11 and 12 of the in-vehicle device 10 to the portable device 50, and the communication area of these transmitting antennas 11 and 12 is localized, and this is used. There is a feature that the position of the portable device 50 can be confirmed.

Up to now, the explanation has been made to control the in-vehicle device based on whether the portable device is in the vehicle or outside the vehicle. However, the position where the portable device 50 is in the vehicle is detected and the position is detected. Based on the above, making the state of the vehicle finely controllable is performed. For example, in Japanese Patent No. 3752939, a plurality of receivers (including a receiving antenna and a receiving unit) are provided at positions separated from each other in the vehicle interior, and the position of the portable device 50 is detected by which receiver it receives.
In the second embodiment of the present invention, even when simultaneous transmission is performed from each of the transmission antennas 11 and 12 of the in-vehicle device 10, the portable device 50 is connected to each transmission antenna (first to third in-vehicle transmission antennas 11a to 11c). In addition, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of a portable device in the communication area of the first to fourth outside-transmitting antennas 12a to 12d).

In FIG. 8, the presence / absence confirmation question signal is a binary information signal of the drive circuit shown in FIG. 4, for example, in the configuration of the inquiry signal (presence / absence confirmation) in FIG. Blocks ATT1 to ATT3 are added, and each block ATT1 to ATT3 has a length of about 1 to 2 bits. Further, the output timings of the antenna selection signals 11a to 11c of the drive circuit shown in FIG.
That is, the antenna selection signal 11a is a signal that is “1” (drive circuit operation) until the block ATT1 of the interrogation signal, and the interrogation signal is a communication length from the preamble to the block ATT1. The antenna selection signal 11b is a signal that is “1” (drive circuit operation) until the block ATT2 of the interrogation signal, and the interrogation signal is a communication length from the preamble to the block ATT2. The antenna selection signal 11c is a signal that is “1” (drive circuit operation) until the block ATT3 of the interrogation signal, and the interrogation signal is a communication length from the preamble to the block ATT3. In this way, the communication lengths of the inquiry signals transmitted by the transmission antennas 11a to 11c of the in-vehicle device 10 are made different from each other.
Changing the communication length of the question signal can be realized by the microcomputer software of the ECU 20, and the cost is almost the same, while maintaining the conventional portable device position detection function and greatly reducing the overall communication time by simultaneous transmission. There is an advantage that can be.

When the antenna selection signals 11a to 11c are output at an output timing as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the portable device 50 that is in the communication area of the transmission antenna 11b and not in the communication area of the transmission antenna 11c It is determined that the signal from the transmission antenna 11b has been received by receiving a communication message having a length up to the block ATT2, and for example, an additional code of the response signal (for existence confirmation) in FIG. In addition, the ECU 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 returns the information received from the transmission from the transmission antenna 11b, so that the portable device 50 is in the communication area of the transmission antenna 11b and not in the communication area of the transmission antenna 11c. You will recognize that.

  As described above, the vehicle-mounted device remote control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention has different communication lengths for the question signal depending on the transmission antennas 11 and 12 of the vehicle-mounted device. It is possible to achieve both the function of transmitting for each communication area and detecting the presence and position of the portable device in the communication area and the improvement of response performance by simultaneous transmission.

It is a block diagram of the vehicle equipment of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the portable machine of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of communication of the vehicle-mounted antenna of the vehicle-mounted apparatus remote control apparatus and portable device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a drive circuit diagram of the transmission part of the vehicle equipment of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the signal in communication between the vehicle equipment of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and a portable device. It is a figure which shows an example of the locking timing chart of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an example of the locking timing chart figure of the conventional vehicle equipment remote control apparatus. It is an example of the example of a structure of the signal for the presence or absence confirmation from the vehicle equipment to a portable machine of the vehicle equipment remote control apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the transmission timing figure of a vehicle interior transmission antenna. It is a figure which shows the coordinate for interference magnetic field analysis when two antennas are arrange | positioned in parallel. It is a figure which shows the coordinate for interference magnetic field analysis when two antennas are arrange | positioned in series.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Vehicle equipment 11, 11a-11c: In-vehicle transmission antenna 12, 12a-12d: Outside transmission antenna 17: Transmission part 18: Reception antenna (vehicle equipment) 19: Reception part 20: ECU (vehicle equipment) 21: Operation detection part (In-vehicle device)
22: Door open / close detection unit 23: Sensor group 25: Notification unit (on-vehicle device) 30: Engine control unit 32: Steering lock unit 34: Immobilizer unit 36: Door lock unit 38: Shift lock unit 40: Engine 50: Portable device 51 : Operation detection unit (mobile device)
52: ECU (mobile device) 54: Notification unit (mobile device)
55: Transmitter 56: Transmitting antenna (mobile device)
57: Reception unit 58: Reception antenna (portable device)
61: Question signal for authentication 62: Response signal for authentication 63-65: Question signal for existence.

Claims (5)

  Transmits a low frequency radio interrogation signal to the portable device from the transmitting antenna of the in-vehicle device, and controls the operating state of the in-vehicle device when a confirmation procedure is made with the response signal returned from the portable device that received the interrogation signal In the in-vehicle device remote control device having the operation control means for performing the transmission simultaneously from a plurality of transmission antennas of the in-vehicle device, the pair of transmission antennas overlapping a communication region is the carrier with the phase shifted from each other. A vehicle-mounted device remote control device characterized by transmitting a signal.   Transmitting means of an in-vehicle device that transmits a question signal for authentication and presence / absence confirmation to the portable device, receiving means of the portable device that receives the question signal transmitted from the transmitting device of the in-vehicle device, and the portable Based on the interrogation signal received by the reception means of the machine, the transmission means of the portable device that returns a response signal to the onboard device, and the reception of the onboard device that receives the response signal returned by the transmission means of the portable device A vehicle-mounted device remote control device comprising: a control unit configured to control an operating state of the vehicle-mounted device when the response code of the response signal returned to the vehicle-mounted device is collated. The transmission means includes a transmission unit and a plurality of transmission antennas, and when the communication areas of the plurality of transmission antennas overlap, the phase of the carrier wave of the interrogation signal transmitted from the plurality of transmission antennas is mutually different. Vehicle equipment remote control device designed to control differently the transmission portion.   The in-vehicle device remote control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission antenna pair of the in-vehicle device with which a part of the communication area overlaps transmits the interrogation signal using a carrier wave whose phase is shifted by 90 degrees.   The in-vehicle device remote control according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission antenna pair of the in-vehicle device having a part of the communication area overlap is configured to transmit the interrogation signal using a carrier wave whose phase is shifted by 45 degrees or 30 degrees. apparatus. The in-vehicle device remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein communication lengths of inquiry signals transmitted from a plurality of transmission antennas of the in-vehicle device are different from each other.

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