JP2010222841A - System for locking and unlocking vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for locking and unlocking a vehicle, which minimizes the interference between a flux line of a noncontact-communication outdoor antenna and that of a smart-key out-of-vehicle antenna, and which prevents upsizing of a door handle by achieving miniaturization and a reduction in thickness. <P>SOLUTION: This system includes: a smart-key 1; the rod-like ferrite coil-type smart-key out-of-vehicle antenna 2; a mobile terminal 7 with a built-in noncontact-communication IC tag; and the noncontact-communication outdoor antenna 8 which enables transmission/reception to detect that the mobile terminal 7 exists outside the vehicle, and in which a loop antenna pattern 8b is printed on a flexible substrate 8a. The noncontact-communication outdoor antenna 8 and the smart-key out-of-vehicle antenna 2 are arranged in a door handle 11 in the state of being brought into contact with each other in such a manner that the directions of the flux lines of them are orthogonal to each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle locking / unlocking device, and more particularly to a vehicle locking / unlocking device having a function of locking / unlocking a door as a user approaches or leaves the vehicle door.

Equipped with a system (smart entry system / intelligent key system) that locks / unlocks the door by detecting the approaching or leaving of the vehicle door by some means when the user is carrying the mobile terminal when the vehicle door is opened or closed Using a near-field non-contact communication method (RFID, etc.) technology in a vehicle, the door handle can be a non-contact communication card registered by the user in the vehicle or a device (such as a portable terminal) with a built-in non-contact communication function. It has been proposed to simultaneously mount a system (hereinafter referred to as non-contact communication function) that locks and unlocks a vehicle door by holding it over.

FIG. 4 shows a smart entry system. As shown in FIG. 4, the smart entry system includes a smart key 100 owned by a user and a smart key outside antenna 101 for detecting the presence of the smart key 100 outside the vehicle and in the vicinity of the vehicle.
A smart key switch 102 that starts communication when pressed by the user, a smart key control unit 103 that controls the operation of the smart entry system, and a smart device that detects the presence of the smart key 100 inside the vehicle. A key vehicle exterior antenna 104 and a smart key antenna 105 for receiving radio waves from the smart key 100 are configured.

The smart key 100 can receive a 125 kHz radio wave transmitted from the vehicle and can transmit a 300 MHz radio wave to the vehicle. The smart key vehicle antenna 101 transmits a detection radio wave from the vehicle using, for example, a 125 kHz band radio wave. The smart key switch 102 is set to start communication when pressed by the user. Smart key exterior antenna 104 is set to transmit a detection radio wave from the vehicle using a 125 kHz band radio wave. The smart key antenna 105 is set to receive, for example, a 300 MHz band radio wave.

In this system, when the door is locked, the user approaches the vehicle with the smart key 100 and presses the smart key switch 102. Then, radio waves are transmitted from the smart key external antenna 101 under the control of the smart key control unit 103. The smart key 100 transmits radio waves to the smart key antenna 105 when receiving radio waves from the smart key external antenna 101. When the smart key 100 received from the smart key antenna 105 is registered in the smart key control unit 103, the smart key control unit 103 recognizes that the smart key control unit 103 has detected the smart key 100, and It has a function of outputting a lock command according to the state.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that a non-contact communication function is simultaneously mounted on a vehicle having such a smart key function. For example, non-contact communication I using radio waves in the 13.56 MHz band
Non-contact communication outdoor antenna 107 capable of transmitting and receiving using, for example, a 13.56 MHz band radio wave for detecting that the mobile terminal 106 incorporating the C tag and the mobile terminal 106 incorporating the non-contact IC tag are outside the vehicle. A smart key switch 102 for starting communication between the portable terminal 106 incorporating the non-contact IC tag and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 107; and the portable terminal 1
A non-contact communication control unit 108 for controlling communication with 06, and the portable terminal 10
A system configuration including a non-contact communication indoor antenna 109 capable of transmitting and receiving using a 13.56 MHz band radio wave for detecting that 6 is in the vehicle is conceivable.

In the non-contact communication function, when the smart key switch 102 is pressed, the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 107 transmits a radio wave for communicating with the mobile terminal 106. And mobile terminal 1
When 06 is within the communication range of the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 107, the portable terminal 106 and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 107 communicate with each other, thereby the non-contact communication control unit 108.
With this control, it can be determined whether or not the mobile terminal 106 has a registered non-contact communication IC tag, and the door can be locked (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In recent years, the lock / unlock system for vehicles has been shifting from a keyless entry system to a smart entry system. When discussing the lock / unlock function,
At least the lock / unlock function using non-contact communication technology requires that any terminal (IC card / mobile terminal / tag) with non-contact communication function be closer to the antenna, so it is more lock / unlock than smart entry. This will inconvenience users. However, the already known function (for example, refer to Patent Document 2) brought about by non-contact communication is different from the function of the smart entry system that is currently spreading.
It is desirable that both systems can coexist in cooperation with a portable terminal.

JP 2001-342760 A JP 2006-60683 A

By the way, in the non-contact communication antenna, when metal is present in the periphery, the communication performance is significantly deteriorated due to the iron loss effect. Therefore, ferrite is usually attached to the back surface of the antenna. Even a door handle equipped only with a smart key entry system has a built-in device such as a communication antenna with a mobile terminal, a sensor for detecting the approach of a user, a request switch, and the like. If a non-contact communication system is additionally incorporated in this state, there arises a problem that the door handle becomes large. Since the door handle is a part that greatly affects the merchantability, it should be avoided to increase the thickness and size of the door handle. Further, the size of the antenna opening surface of the non-contact communication antenna strongly affects the communication range. Therefore, in order to improve the convenience of the non-contact communication function, it is necessary to make the opening surface as large as possible. However, there is no publicly known technique that specifically describes how to configure a vehicle-side antenna that is actually used for communication during non-contact communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle locking / unlocking device in which a smart key outside antenna and a non-contact communication antenna suppress mutual interference and increase in size.

A feature of the present invention is that a smart key that can receive a radio wave transmitted from the vehicle side and that can transmit the radio wave to the vehicle side, and a detection radio wave for detecting that the smart key exists outside the vehicle are transmitted. , Rod-shaped ferrite coil type smart key external antenna, smart key control unit that controls the operation of smart entry system, and non-contact communication I
Communication between a portable terminal incorporating a C tag and a non-contact communication outdoor antenna in which a loop antenna pattern is formed on a film is possible for transmission / reception for detecting that the portable terminal is outside the vehicle, and the portable terminal. A non-contact communication control unit for controlling and a door handle provided to start communication between the smart key and the smart key outside antenna and communication between the mobile terminal and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna when operated by the user. The non-contact communication outdoor antenna and the smart key vehicle exterior antenna are arranged in the door handle in close contact so that the directions of the magnetic flux lines are orthogonal to each other.

As described above, a normal bar-shaped ferrite coil type antenna is adopted as the smart key vehicle outside antenna, and a flat type antenna having a loop antenna pattern formed on the film is used as the non-contact communication outdoor antenna.

Here, the axis of the ferrite coil of the smart key outside antenna is preferably arranged so as to cross the center of the opening of the loop antenna pattern of the non-contact communication outside antenna. If the axis of the ferrite coil crosses the opening without passing through the center of the opening of the loop antenna pattern, the directions of the magnetic flux lines of the non-contact communication outdoor antenna and the smart key vehicle outdoor antenna are orthogonal to some extent. Although the ferrite coil axis passes through the center of the opening of the loop antenna pattern, the interference of the magnetic flux lines with each other can be minimized.

Moreover, it is preferable that the smart key vehicle exterior antenna and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna are bonded or molded to each other, so that the mounting property can be improved as an integral part.

According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the interference between the magnetic flux lines of the non-contact communication outdoor antenna and the smart key vehicle outdoor antenna, and to achieve a reduction in size and thickness, without increasing the size of the door handle. A locking and unlocking device can be realized.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle locking / unlocking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a front view which shows each antenna which comprises the vehicle locking / unlocking apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment, (b) is a front view which shows the structure of a door vehicle exterior antenna. (A) is a side view of the bar antenna, (b) is a side view showing magnetic flux lines generated in the bar antenna, (c) is an explanatory view showing directions of magnetic flux lines on the loop antenna side at both ends of the bar antenna, (d) (A) is a side view which shows the magnetic flux line which generate | occur | produces in a loop antenna, (f) is explanatory drawing which shows the direction of the magnetic flux line by the side of a bar antenna in a loop antenna. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional smart entry system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the vehicle locking / unlocking apparatus provided with the smart entry system and keyless entry system which used the portable terminal.

Hereinafter, a vehicle locking / unlocking device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the vehicle locking / unlocking device according to the present embodiment, the smart key outside antenna 2 and the non-contact communication outside antenna 8 are mounted in the door handle 11.

The vehicle locking / unlocking device includes a smart key 1 owned by a user, a portable terminal 7 incorporating a non-contact communication IC tag (not shown) using a 13.56 MHz band radio wave, and a door handle 11.
A smart key outside antenna 2 for detecting the presence of the smart key 1 on the outside of the vehicle and in the vicinity of the vehicle, and a smart key switch provided on the door handle 11 to start communication when pressed by the user 3, a smart key control unit 4 for controlling the operation of the smart entry system, a smart key vehicle antenna 5 for detecting the presence of the smart key 1 inside the vehicle, and radio waves from the smart key 1 are received. For example, 13 for detecting that the portable terminal 7 is outside the vehicle, provided integrally with the smart key outside antenna 2 in the door handle 11.
. Non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 capable of transmitting and receiving using 56 MHz band radio waves, and mobile terminal 7
A non-contact communication control unit 9 for controlling communication with the mobile phone and a non-contact communication indoor antenna 10 capable of transmitting and receiving using a 13.56 MHz band radio wave for detecting that the portable terminal 106 is in the vehicle. Composed. The door handle 11 is provided with a request switch 3 (see FIG. 2B).

The smart key 1 can receive a 125 kHz radio wave transmitted from the vehicle and
00 MHz band radio waves can be transmitted. Smart key external antenna 2 is, for example, 125k
Radio waves for detection from the vehicle are transmitted using radio waves in the Hz band. The smart key switch 3 is set to start communication when pressed by the user. The smart key vehicle interior antenna 5 is set to transmit a detection radio wave from the vehicle using a 125 kHz band radio wave. The smart key antenna 6 is set to receive, for example, a 300 MHz band radio wave.

In the present embodiment, when the door is locked, the user holds the smart key 1 and approaches the vehicle, and presses the smart key switch 3. Then, radio waves are transmitted from the smart key external antenna 2 under the control of the smart key control unit 4. The smart key 1 transmits radio waves to the smart key antenna 6 when receiving radio waves from the smart key external antenna 2. When the smart key 1 received from the smart key antenna 6 is registered in the smart key control unit 4, the smart key control unit 4 recognizes that the smart key 1 has been detected, and It has a function of outputting a lock command according to the state.

In the non-contact communication function, when the smart key switch 3 is pressed, the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 transmits a radio wave for communicating with the mobile terminal 7. And when the portable terminal 7 is in the communication range of the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8, the portable terminal 7 and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 are registered under the control of the non-contact communication control unit 9 by performing mutual communication. It is possible to determine whether the portable terminal 7 has a built-in non-contact communication IC tag and to lock the door.

Next, using FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the door handle 11 is provided integrally.
The smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3D, the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 is a planar loop antenna in which a loop antenna pattern 8b is printed on a flexible substrate 8a made of a resin film. The loop antenna pattern 8b is connected to the terminal portion 8c. The terminal portion 8c has a waterproof structure and is sealed with, for example, resin. A lead wire 13 connected to the loop antenna pattern 8b is led out from the terminal portion 8c. In such a non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8, as shown in FIG. 3 (e), magnetic flux lines (indicated by wavy arrows)
Is generated so as to surround the line of the loop antenna pattern 8b and pass through the coil opening.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 3A, the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 is a normal ferrite coil type bar antenna in which a coil is wound around ferrite. A lead wire 12 is led out from the coil of the smart key external antenna 2. As shown in FIG. 3B, the magnetic flux lines generated in the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 are formed so as to pass from the one end to the other end through the shaft center.

Such a smart key outside antenna 2 and a non-contact communication outside antenna 8 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 8 is mounted directly on the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2. The lead wires 12 and 13 are grouped along the same direction. By arranging the extremely thin non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 in close contact directly on the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2, the magnetic flux lines are configured to minimize interference with each other. FIG.
) Shows a state in which the magnetic flux lines (solid lines) generated by the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 are orthogonal to the magnetic flux lines (broken lines) generated by the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2. FIG. 3F shows the smart key vehicle antenna 2 with respect to the magnetic flux lines (solid lines) generated by the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8.
Shows a state in which the magnetic flux lines (wavy lines) generated at the right angle are perpendicular to each other.

In the present embodiment, the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 that are integrally provided in the door handle 11 are provided. Can suppress mutual interference. In addition, since the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 and the non-contact communication antenna 8 are in close contact with each other, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the door handle 11.

Specifically, when a non-contact communication outdoor antenna manufactured using conventional ferrite is used for a conventional smart key vehicle antenna (bar antenna), the overall thickness is about 10 mm. In this form, the total thickness is about 7.5 mm, and a 25% reduction in thickness is possible.

In this embodiment, the keyless entry function and the smart entry function are provided, and both functions can coexist in cooperation with a portable terminal or the like without inconvenience to the user.
(Other embodiments)

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, it should not be understood that the description and drawing which form a part of this indication limit this invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, the smart key vehicle exterior antenna 2 and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8 may be arranged in close contact with each other and may be integrated by bonding or molding them.

  The present invention can be used in industries such as the automobile manufacturing industry and the key manufacturing industry.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Smart key 2 ... Smart key outside antenna 3 ... Request switch 4 ... Smart key control unit 5 ... Smart key in-vehicle antenna 6 ... Smart key antenna 6
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Portable terminal 8 ... Non-contact communication outdoor antenna 8a ... Flexible board 8b ... Loop antenna pattern 8c ... Terminal part 9 ... Non-contact communication control unit 10 ... Non-contact communication indoor antenna 11 ... Door handle 12, 13 ... Lead wire

Claims (3)

A smart key that can receive radio waves transmitted from the vehicle and can transmit radio waves to the vehicle,
A bar-shaped ferrite coil type smart key vehicle antenna that transmits a detection radio wave for detecting the presence of the smart key outside the vehicle, and
A smart key control unit that controls the operation of the smart entry system;
A portable terminal incorporating a non-contact communication IC tag;
Non-contact communication outdoor antenna capable of transmitting and receiving to detect that the mobile terminal is outside the vehicle, a loop antenna pattern is formed on the film,
A non-contact communication control unit for controlling communication with the portable terminal;
A smart key switch provided on a door handle, which is operated by a user to start communication between the smart key and the smart key outside antenna, and communication between the mobile terminal and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna; Prepared,
The non-contact communication outdoor antenna and the smart key external antenna are disposed in the door handle in close contact with each other so that the directions of the magnetic flux lines are perpendicular to each other. 2. The vehicle application according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the ferrite coil of the smart key vehicle exterior antenna is disposed so as to cross a central portion of the opening of the loop antenna pattern of the non-contact communication outdoor antenna. Unlocking device. The vehicle unlocking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the smart key vehicle exterior antenna and the non-contact communication outdoor antenna are bonded or molded to each other.

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