JP2011255809A - Engine starter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engine starter maintaining high reliability, obtaining low cost and with improved operability.SOLUTION: Action of a voice input determination section 11 is started by having a power source of the voice input determination section 11 connected by a power source control unit 1 when a brake switch 4 is turned on. When an engine starting voice pattern voiced by a driver for starting an engine is detected by the voice input determination section 11, the power source control unit 1 carries out key authentication that the key ID of a mobile unit 41 located in the vehicle interior is the registered ID. Then, when this key authentication is successful, the power source control unit 1 starts starting control of the engine by controlling the power source for starting control of the engine. As the result, by having the driver voice a voice pattern for starting the engine while stepping on a brake pedal, starting of the starting control for the engine is capable.

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine starting device that can easily start an engine and that can be obtained at low cost and high reliability.

In recent years, an increasing number of automobiles have adopted a keyless operation system for engine starting operation.
This keyless operation system is configured such that the engine is not started by the engine immobilizer function except for a keyless operation key registered in advance.
When a person who wants to drive a car carries a keyless operation key, the engine is started by operating an engine switch.

In addition, in a vehicle in which the engine is started by such a keyless operation system, for example, a system that allows an audio remote control switch to be operated by voice recognition is employed for the purpose of improving operability during driving.
Further, for the purpose of facilitating the engine starting operation, there has been proposed one that performs the engine starting operation by voice recognition.
There has been proposed a voice recognition remote control device that recognizes a voice input as an engine start operation by such voice recognition and remotely operates an on / off function of an engine provided in the vehicle (Patent Document). 1).
In other words, this voice recognition remote control device provides speaker recognition means for generating an ID code for speaker recognition from a voice recognition result and a predetermined user to be controlled. ID registration means for registering the ID code, and whether or not the ID code generated by the speaker recognition means for the input voice matches the ID code registered in the ID registration means And an ID determination unit that transmits a signal for remote control for controlling the on / off function of the engine when the ID determination unit determines that the ID codes match.

JP 2000-305586 A

  Therefore, in the conventional engine starting device, the function for recognizing the input voice becomes complicated and expensive, and further, since the ID code for speaker recognition is registered, the vehicle user is different. There is a problem that it is necessary to newly register an ID code for speaker recognition, and operability is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an engine starter that achieves low cost and improved operability while maintaining high reliability.

  In order to achieve the above object, an engine starter according to the present invention includes a power control unit that controls power-on of each part of the vehicle, and a key authentication start request from the power control unit. A key authentication unit that determines whether or not the key ID of an existing portable device is a registered ID, and the key authentication unit performs key authentication in which the key ID of the portable device is a registered ID. If successful, the power control unit controls the power-on to start the engine start control, and starts the engine start control. When the vehicle user starts the engine Engine start operation determination means for determining an engine start operation by the user from the state of a mechanism element to be operated, and the engine start operation determination means by the user When the engine start operation is determined, power is turned on by the power control unit to start operation, and a voice pattern for starting the engine uttered by the user is detected. Is output to the power supply control unit, the engine start control is started, and a voice input determination unit that starts key authentication with the key authentication unit is provided.

  According to the present invention, when an engine start operation by the user is determined, an engine start sound pattern for starting the engine uttered by the driver is detected, and the key authentication of the portable device existing in the vehicle compartment is successful. Since engine start control is started, it is advantageous in realizing low cost and improving operability while maintaining high reliability.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the engine starting apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the engine starting apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the engine starting apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the engine starting apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the engine starting control condition determination process in the engine starting apparatus of embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an engine starting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
This engine starting device includes a power supply control unit (engine starting operation determining means) 1, a voice input determining unit 11, an electric handle lock 21, a key authentication unit 22, a navigation device unit 23, a meter control unit 24, an engine ECU 25, and a portable device 41. And a communication line 51.

The power supply control unit 1 is configured to be supplied with power from a + B power supply 2 of a vehicle battery (not shown).
Furthermore, the power supply control unit 1 includes a port for taking in on / off state information of the door switch 3, the brake switch 4, and the engine switch 5.
In addition, the power supply control unit 1 is connected to the voice input determination unit 11, the electric handle lock 21, the key authentication unit 22, the navigation device unit 23, the meter control unit 24, and the engine ECU 25 via the communication line 51. Communication means for transmitting and receiving signals is provided.
Further, the power supply control unit 1 controls the power supply control relay 6 to control the on / off of each of the accessory power supply ACC7, the IG power supply 8, and the starter motor power supply 10.

The door switch 3 is a switch that detects the open / closed state of each door of the vehicle.
The brake switch 4 is a switch that detects a state where the brake pedal is depressed and is attached at a position where the displacement of the brake pedal can be detected.
The engine switch 5 is a switch operated when starting the engine. When the vehicle adopts the keyless operation system, the engine can be started by operating the engine switch 5 only when the keyless operation key is carried by the engine immobilizer key function.

The voice input determination unit 11 includes a voice input unit 12 and an operation switch 13.
The voice input unit 12 detects the voice that is spoken and propagates in the air as an electric signal by the microphone.
The operation switch 13 is a switch for manually inputting a trigger for starting reception of voice input in the voice input determination unit 11.

The voice input determination unit 11 has a function of judging from the voice input from the voice input unit 12 whether or not the word represented by the voice is a word for engine start, for example, “engine start”. Yes. The voice input determination unit 11 does not have a so-called voice recognition function that identifies a vehicle user from voice.
Further, the voice input determination unit 11 is configured so that power is supplied by either the power supply from the accessory power supply ACC7 or the power supply from the + B power supply 2 controlled by the power supply control unit 1 and starts its operation. .
For this reason, the power supply path of the voice input determination unit 11 is configured with a power OR circuit 14 that enables power by both power supply from the accessory power supply ACC7 and power supply from the + B power supply 2.

  The electric handle lock 21 makes the handle operation impossible by locking the handle. The electric handle lock 21 is configured to be supplied with power from the + B power source 2.

The key authentication unit 22 includes an indoor antenna 31 and an outdoor antenna 32.
The key authentication unit 22 has a communication function for transmitting a radio wave for key authentication from the indoor antenna 31 to the vehicle interior of the host vehicle.
The key authentication unit 22 has a communication function for detecting the key ID transmitted from the portable device 41 by the indoor antenna 31.
The key authentication unit 22 has a function of determining whether or not the key ID transmitted from the portable device 41 is a registered ID by communicating with the portable device 41 in the vehicle compartment by the indoor antenna 31. ing.
Further, the key authentication unit 22 controls the power supply control via the communication line 51 for the key authentication success result indicating that the key authentication is successful when the key ID transmitted from the portable device 41 is a registered ID. Send to unit 1. The key authentication unit 22 is configured to receive power from the + B power supply 2.

The navigation device unit 23 has a host vehicle current position display function for determining the current position of the host vehicle and displaying the determined current position of the host vehicle on the map data read from the map database.
The navigation device unit 23 has various functions as a navigation device such as a destination setting function, a route search function from the current position to the set destination, a route display function, and a route voice guidance function.
The navigation device unit 23 is configured to receive power from the accessory power supply ACC7.

  The meter control unit 24 controls various meters such as a speedometer, an engine tachometer, a fuel fuel gauge, and an odometer, and provides various information such as a traveling speed of the host vehicle, an engine speed, a remaining fuel amount, and a traveling distance. indicate. The meter control unit 24 is configured to receive power from the + B power source 2.

  When the immobilizer authentication communication is successful, the engine ECU 25 unsets the immobilizer and performs engine start control. If the immobilizer authentication communication fails, control necessary for starting the engine, such as fuel injection and fuel ignition, is stopped, and complete explosion of the engine is prohibited.

  When the key authentication unit 22 receives the radio wave for key authentication transmitted by the indoor antenna 31, the portable device 41 has a communication function for transmitting its own key ID by radio wave.

  The communication line 51 connects various devices such as the power control unit 1, the voice input determination unit 11, the electric handle lock 21, the key authentication unit 22, the navigation device unit 23, the meter control unit 24, and the engine ECU 25, and various signals transmitted and received. Communication path.

Next, the operation will be described.
2, 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the operation of the engine starting device of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the engine start control condition determination process shown in step S1 of the flowchart of FIG. The operation will be described below with reference to these flowcharts.

  In the engine starter shown in FIG. 1, first, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the power supply control unit 1 executes a determination process for engine start control conditions (step S1). At this time, the power control unit 1 is supplied with power from the + B power source 2 of the in-vehicle battery.

The determination process of the engine start control condition by the power supply control unit 1 is performed as follows.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, first, the power supply control unit 1 determines whether the brake switch 4 is on or off (step S111).
When trying to start the engine, the driver always depresses the brake pedal. For this reason, when the brake pedal is depressed, the state of the brake switch 4 is switched from OFF to ON.
When determining that the brake switch 4 is turned on, the power supply control unit 1 sets a brake switch state determination flag indicating that the brake switch 4 is turned on to “1” (step S112).

On the other hand, when the brake pedal is not depressed, the state of the brake switch 4 is off, and when the power supply control unit 1 determines that the brake switch 4 is off, the brake indicating that the brake switch 4 is off. The switch state determination flag is set to “0” (step S116).
Then, the power supply control unit 1 does not turn on the power of the voice input determination unit 11 (step S117).

When the brake switch state determination flag is set to “1”, the power supply control unit 1 further turns on the power of the voice input determination unit 11 (step S113).
The power supply to the voice input determination unit 11 at this time is performed from the power supply control unit 1 from the + B power supply 2 via the power supply OR circuit 14 while the brake switch 4 is on.
And the determination result which shows that the brake switch 4 was turned on is transmitted to the audio | voice input determination part 11 via the communication line 51 (step S114).

As a result, the voice input determination unit 11 starts to operate (step S201), and then performs reception determination of a determination result indicating that the brake switch 4 is turned on (step S202).
In this reception determination, when the brake switch on determination result transmitted from the power supply control unit 1 is received, the voice input determination unit 11 enters a state of permitting reception of voice input (step S203).
On the other hand, when the determination result indicating that the brake switch 4 is turned on is not sent from the power supply control unit 1, the voice input determination unit 11 does not permit the voice input (step S206).

When the voice input determination unit 11 is in a state of permitting reception of voice input, the voice input determination unit 11 further performs detection determination of an engine start voice pattern uttered by the driver (step S204).
The detection determination of the engine start voice pattern is a detection determination of a specific voice pattern generated by the driver, for example, a voice pattern “engine start”, and a detection determination of the word “engine start”, and specifies the speaker. Not what you want.
When detecting the engine start sound pattern, the sound input determination unit 11 transmits an engine start request to the power supply control unit 1 via the communication line 51 (step S205).

  On the condition that the brake switch state determination flag is set to “1”, that is, when the brake pedal is depressed and the state of the brake switch 4 is on, the power supply control unit 1 It is determined whether or not an engine start request is sent from the input determination unit 11.

Therefore, when an engine start request is sent from the voice input determination unit 11 with the brake pedal depressed, the engine start control shown in step S2 of FIG. 2 is started.
Then, a key authentication start request is transmitted to the key authentication unit 32 via the communication line 51 (step S3).
The key authentication unit 32 determines whether or not a key authentication start request has been received (step S21). When receiving the key authentication start request, the key authentication unit 32 determines whether or not there is a registered key in the vehicle compartment. An authentication radio wave is transmitted from the indoor antenna 31 (step S22).

The portable device 41 determines whether to detect an authentication radio wave (step S31), and detects the transmitted authentication radio wave when the portable device 41 is in the vehicle compartment.
When the portable device 41 detects the radio wave for authentication, the portable device 41 transmits the key ID of the portable device 41 with the radio wave (step S32).
The key authentication unit 32 determines whether the key ID transmitted from the portable device 41 is received after transmitting the radio wave for authentication (step S23). When the key ID of the portable device 41 is received, the received key ID is registered. It is determined whether the ID is already completed (step S24).
Then, if the received key ID is a registered ID, a key authentication success result indicating that the key authentication has been successful is transmitted to the power supply control unit 1 via the communication line 51 (step S25).

The power supply control unit 1 determines whether the key authentication success result has been received (step S4). If the key authentication success result cannot be received, the engine control is stopped (step S5), and the vehicle power is not turned on.
On the other hand, when the key authentication success result is received, an unlock request is transmitted to the electric handle lock 21 via the communication line 51 (step S6).

As shown in FIG. 3, the electric handle lock 21 determines whether or not to receive an unlock request (step S41), and performs unlock control when receiving the unlock request transmitted from the power control unit 1 (step S41). S42).
When the unlock control is completed, an unlock completion result indicating that the unlock is completed is transmitted to the power supply control unit 1 via the status signal line 51 (step S44). When the unlocking is completed, the steering can be steered.

As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply control unit 1 performs reception determination of the unlock completion result (step S7). When the unlock completion result is received, the brake pedal is further depressed at this time, that is, the brake switch. It is detected whether 4 is turned on (step S9).
If the brake switch 4 is in the on state when the unlock completion result is received, the power control relay 6 is driven (step S12), and power supply to each unit is started.
That is, the engine ECU 25 is turned on and the navigation device 23 is turned on (step S13), the operation of the engine ECU 25 is started (step S51), and the operation of the navigation device 23 is started.
Further, the starter relay is controlled to drive the starter motor, cranking is started (step S14), and the complete explosion determination of the engine is performed (step S15).
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the power supply control unit 1 performs immobilizer authentication communication with the engine ECU 25 that has started operation (step S17).

In addition, when the brake switch 4 is turned off in step S9, the state where the brake switch 4 is turned on cannot be detected in step S9.
In this case, the power supply control unit 1 controls the power supply control relay 6 to turn on only the accessory power supply ACC7.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the engine ECU 25 performs immobilizer authentication communication with the power supply control unit 1 (step S52), the engine ECU 25 determines whether the immobilizer authentication communication is successful (step S53), and the immobilizer authentication communication is successful. Then, the immobilizer is unset and engine start control is started (step S55).
At this time, the power supply control unit 1 determines the complete explosion of the engine in step S15 of FIG. For this reason, when the engine is completely exploded and the engine start control is started, the starter relay is controlled to stop the cranking (step S16).
As shown in FIG. 4, when the immobilizer authentication communication fails, the engine ECU 25 stops the control necessary for starting the engine, for example, stops fuel injection and prohibits fuel ignition so that the engine does not start (step). S54).

In the above description, the voice input determination unit 11 is configured to be turned on only during the period when the brake switch 4 is on, that is, when the brake pedal is depressed.
However, instead of such a brake switch 4, a switch that detects the state of a device that is always operated when the engine is started, such as a shift lever and a seat belt, may be used. The voice input determination unit 11 may be turned on so that voice input can be accepted.
In addition, the voice input determination unit 11 can use an existing vehicle hands-free module.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the state of the brake switch 4 is turned on, the power of the voice input determination unit 11 is turned on and the operation of the voice input determination unit 11 starts. When the voice input determination unit 11 detects an engine start voice pattern for starting the engine uttered by the driver, the power control unit 1 uses the registered ID as the key ID of the portable device 41 existing in the vehicle compartment. A certain key authentication is performed, and when the key authentication is successful, the power source for starting the engine start control is controlled to start the engine start control.
As a result, it is possible to start the engine start control when the driver utters a voice pattern for starting the engine while depressing the brake pedal, and the button operation performed by the driver as in the conventional case is enabled. There is an effect that it is possible to provide an engine starter which is unnecessary and has improved operability.
In addition, the engine start voice pattern for starting the engine uttered by the driver is detected, and since it is not configured to authenticate the driver and identify the driver by voice, it maintains high reliability. There is an effect that it is possible to provide an engine starting device that realizes low cost.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power supply control unit (engine starting operation determination means), 4 ... Brake switch, 11 ... Voice input determination part, 22 ... Key authentication unit, 41 ... Portable machine.

Claims (4)

Whether the key ID of the portable device existing in the vehicle compartment is a registered ID based on a power control unit that controls power-on of each part of the vehicle and a key authentication start request from the power control unit A key authentication unit for determining whether or not the power authentication unit starts engine start control when the key authentication unit succeeds in key authentication in which the key ID of the portable device is a registered ID. An engine starter that controls power on and starts engine start control,
Engine starting operation determining means for determining an engine starting operation by the user from a state of a mechanism element operated when a user of the vehicle starts the engine;
When the engine start operation determination means determines the engine start operation by the user, the power control unit starts to operate by turning on the power, and detects a voice pattern for starting the engine uttered by the user. When the voice pattern is detected, an engine start request is output to the power supply control unit, the engine start control is started, and a voice input determination unit that starts key authentication with the key authentication unit;
An engine starting device comprising:   2. The engine starter according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism element is a brake pedal, and the determination of the engine start operation by the engine start operation determination unit is made based on a state of the brake pedal.   The mechanism element is a shift lever and a seat belt of a driver's seat, and the determination of the engine start operation by the engine start operation determination means is made based on the state of the shift lever and the state of the seat belt. The engine starting device according to claim 1.   The engine starter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the voice input determination unit is a hands-free module for a vehicle.

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