JP2012127789A - Antenna built-in mobile body information providing device and on-vehicle device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an antenna built-in mobile body information providing device for suppressing cost increase at the function expansion time while enhancing improvements of miniaturization and mountability, and to provide an on-vehicle device using the same.SOLUTION: An antenna built-in locator 1 is modularized by preparing a controller 11, an antenna element 12, a current position acquisition section 13 and a storage section 14 in a casing 10. At this time, a process to be executed in the controller 11 is restricted down to an offer of the mobile body information including the current position acquired by the current position acquisition section 13, and a miniature and low priced microcomputer is used. A navigation device as the on-vehicle device is constituted such as executing a navigation function based on the mobile body information provided from the antenna built-in locator 1, and the circuit scale is reduced without preparing a circuit for acquiring the current position unnecessary to change design even when the navigation function is expanded.

Description

  The present invention relates to an antenna-integrated moving body information providing apparatus that is housed integrally with an antenna element in a casing and provides moving body information such as a current position to an external control device, and an on-vehicle apparatus using the same.

  Conventionally, a control device that has received a positioning data such as a GPS signal transmitted from an artificial satellite to acquire a current position of a moving body and executes various applications based on the acquired current position There is known an in-vehicle device provided with Examples of such an in-vehicle device include a navigation device that performs route guidance and map matching, and a vehicle control device that controls the behavior of the vehicle in order to support, for example, energy-saving driving. Since these on-vehicle devices are mounted on a vehicle having a limited installation space, for example, the functions are concentrated on the main board to reduce the size and improve the mountability.

  Examples of the navigation device include a so-called hideaway navigation device in which a display unit is housed in a dashboard or the like, and an antenna integrated navigation device in which an antenna is integrally provided as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Hereinafter, the hideaway navigation device is referred to as HA navigation, and the antenna integrated navigation device is referred to as antenna integrated navigation.

  However, for example, in the case of an HA navigation apparatus, it is necessary to connect an antenna separately, so that it is necessary to secure a space for installing the antenna and to lay out an antenna cable for transmitting a high-frequency signal. On the other hand, in the case of an antenna-integrated navigation, the main board is enlarged because the antenna, the current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position, and the like are concentrated on the main board. As a result, it is inevitable to increase the size of the main body that houses the main board. In other words, in the case of an in-vehicle device having a conventional configuration, there is still room for improvement with respect to downsizing and improvement in mountability.

  In addition, such a control device usually acquires the current position based on positioning data of the same standard. That is, the function of the current position acquisition unit is the same even if the type of control device, that is, the type of application is changed. However, in the case of a configuration in which the functions are concentrated on the main board as described above, when the application function is expanded, the current position acquisition unit or the like that does not need to be changed is redesigned, which may increase the cost. is there.

JP 2005-91082 A

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an antenna-integrated mobile body information providing apparatus that suppresses an increase in cost during function expansion while reducing the size and improving the mountability, and an in-vehicle apparatus using the same.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, an antenna element, a current position acquisition unit, a communication unit, and a control unit are provided in the casing, and the control unit transmits the moving body information including the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit to the outside of the casing. This is provided for an external control device provided in the system. In this case, the control unit executes processing with a relatively small load, such as control of the communication unit related to provision of mobile object information. By reducing the load on the control unit in this way, a small microcomputer with relatively limited processing capability can be employed, and the casing can be downsized and mounted.

  In addition, since the control unit does not perform heavy processing, a relatively inexpensive microcomputer can be used for the control unit, and the cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the number of components such as an amplifier can be reduced between the antenna element and the current position acquisition unit as described above, an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the antenna element and the current position acquisition unit are provided on the same board, the number of components such as amplifiers and peripheral circuits can be reduced as compared with the case where they are provided on another board. Miniaturization can be achieved. In this case, since the antenna element and the current position acquisition unit are provided on the opposite surfaces of the substrate, the influence of noise generated from the current position acquisition unit on the antenna element can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the moving body information is provided to the external control device via the communication unit, the external control device does not need to include a circuit for detecting the current position by itself. Therefore, even when expanding the function of an external control device, it is sufficient to prepare an interface with the communication unit, and there is no need to redesign a circuit for acquiring the current position. Therefore, an increase in cost at the time of function expansion in the external control device can be suppressed. Further, since the number of circuit components of the external control device can be reduced, the external control device can be downsized.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the control unit provides the moving body information including the moving state of the moving body to the external control device. This moving state is information indicating the moving state of the moving body, such as the orientation of the moving body detected by the gyro sensor and the acceleration of the moving body detected by the acceleration sensor. Thereby, the mobile body information provided to the external control device can be enriched, and the types of applications executed by the external control device can be expanded.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the moving body information, the data stored in the storage unit is provided to an external control device. The data stored in the storage unit is, for example, data used in an external control device such as map data or music data, or a computer program main body executed by the external control device. Thereby, various data can be provided according to the kind of external control apparatus, and versatility and convenience can be improved.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the control device executes an application that uses the mobile body information provided from the antenna-integrated mobile body information providing apparatus. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a circuit for acquiring the current position. Thereby, the number of parts of a circuit component can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and improve the mountability to the vehicle. Even when the application function is expanded, it is not necessary to redesign the circuit or the like for acquisition of mobile object information. Therefore, an increase in cost during function expansion can be suppressed.

  In the invention according to claim 5, various data are provided in addition to the moving body information from the antenna-integrated moving body information providing apparatus, and the control apparatus executes the application using the moving body information and the data. In this case, the provided data includes a computer program main body executed by the control device in addition to data used in an application such as map data. Thereby, it is not necessary to provide a storage means for storing the application program and a circuit for acquiring the current position, and the number of circuit components can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and improve the mountability to the vehicle.

Schematic which shows the structure of the antenna integrated locator and navigation apparatus by 1st Embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows typically the mounting state of the circuit component of the antenna integrated locator by 1st Embodiment, (A) is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning on the surface side of a board | substrate, (B) is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning on the back surface side of a board | substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a mounting state of circuit components of an antenna-integrated locator according to a first embodiment, wherein (A) is a perspective view of the substrate viewed from the front surface side, and (B) is a perspective view of the substrate viewed from the back surface side. Figure The perspective view which shows typically the attachment state to the navigation apparatus of the antenna integrated locator by 1st Embodiment Schematic showing the flow of registration processing of the antenna integrated locator according to the first embodiment Schematic which shows the flow of the communication processing in the antenna integrated locator and navigation apparatus by 1st Embodiment. FIG. 1 equivalent diagram according to the second embodiment FIG. 1 equivalent diagram according to the third embodiment

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of an antenna-integrated moving body information providing apparatus according to the present invention and an in-vehicle apparatus using the same will be described with reference to the drawings. In a plurality of embodiments described below, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
(First embodiment)
An antenna-integrated moving body information providing apparatus and a navigation apparatus as an in-vehicle apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the antenna-integrated mobile information providing apparatus is referred to as an antenna-integrated locator. In the present embodiment, a vehicle is assumed as the moving body.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 constitute a so-called satellite navigation system 4 for a vehicle together with an artificial satellite 3 that transmits positioning data. The antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 are mounted on a vehicle (not shown). The antenna-integrated locator 1 includes a control unit 11, an antenna element 12, a current position acquisition unit 13, and a storage unit 14 in a casing 10. The control unit 11 is configured by a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls the entire antenna-integrated locator 1 according to a computer program stored in the ROM. The control unit 11 includes a communication unit 15, an I / O 16, a built-in memory 17, and an AD converter 18 as built-in circuits. The communication unit 15 includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard communication interface. The communication unit 15 communicates various data with the navigation device 2 via the external physical layer IC 19 (PHY). The physical layer IC 19 may be configured to be built in the control unit 11. The I / O 16 is an interface that inputs and outputs data between the control unit 11 and the current position acquisition unit 13 or the storage unit 14. The I / O 16 supports data communication by UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) or SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) serial communication between the control unit 11 and the current position acquisition unit 13. Supports data communication by SDIO or SPI.

  The built-in memory 17 is configured by a so-called flash memory that is a nonvolatile and readable / writable semiconductor memory. For example, a computer program executed by the control unit 11 is stored in the built-in memory 17. The built-in memory 17 may be shared with the ROM, the storage unit 14, and the like. The AD converter 18 is composed of a known analog-digital converter. The AD converter 18 converts an analog signal output from the gyro sensor 20 (GYRO) or the acceleration sensor 21 into a digital signal. The gyro sensor 20 detects the orientation of a vehicle (not shown) corresponding to the moving body, and the acceleration sensor 21 detects the acceleration of the vehicle. The control unit 11 acquires the moving state of the vehicle detected by the gyro sensor 20 and the acceleration sensor 21 by the AD converter 18. That is, the control part 11, the gyro sensor 20, and the acceleration sensor 21 are equivalent to the movement state acquisition part of a claim. In addition to the gyro sensor 20 and the acceleration sensor 21, the movement state acquisition unit may include other sensors that detect the movement state of the vehicle.

The antenna element 12 receives positioning data transmitted from the artificial satellite 3 and passes it to the current position acquisition unit 13. In this case, the high frequency signal of the positioning data received by the antenna element 12 is amplified by the low noise amplifier 22 (LNA), and a signal near the center frequency is extracted by the surface acoustic wave filter 23 (SAW), and then the RF signal As the current position acquisition unit 13.
The current position acquisition unit 13 converts the input RF signal based on the set value set by the control unit 11 and acquires the current position. Specifically, the current position acquisition unit 13 includes an RF down converter circuit, a baseband processing circuit, and an input / output interface circuit (not shown) as built-in circuits. The current position acquisition unit 13 acquires the current position by processing the RF signal input from the surface acoustic wave filter 23 with these built-in circuits. That is, the current position acquisition unit 13 includes an IC for a so-called GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). In this case, the current position acquisition unit 13 acquires the current position based on conditions preset by the control unit 11. The contents of the basic processing of the current position acquisition unit 13 incorporating the RF down-converter circuit and the baseband processing circuit are well-known techniques that are generally used in, for example, a GPS receiver. Description is omitted.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the antenna element 12 and the current position acquisition unit 13 are artificially compatible with GPS (Global Positioning System), GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Galileo, and ComPASS (Community-bus Planning Aid Simulation System) standards. The positioning data transmitted from the satellite 3 can be received and the current position can be acquired. In addition, when the standard of the navigation satellite system to be used is determined to be one in advance, the antenna element 12 and the current position acquisition unit 13 may be compatible with only the standard.

  The storage unit 14 is configured by an eMMC (Embedded MultiMediaCard) standard nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and can store a large amount of data, for example, about several tens of gigabytes. The storage unit 14 stores map data used in the navigation device 2. This map data includes, for example, map drawing data for displaying a map screen, road data necessary for processing such as map matching, route search or route guidance, place name data for displaying place names and areas, map data, and the like. Various data such as node data indicating position information and link data indicating the connection state of each node are included. Further, the storage unit 14 supports not only reading of stored data but also writing of various data received via the communication unit 15. That is, the storage unit 14 is configured to be able to store data received from the navigation device 2.

  Each circuit component constituting the control unit 11, the antenna element 12, the current position acquisition unit 13, and the storage unit 14 is mounted on a single substrate 24 as shown in FIGS. The substrate 24 is formed in a rectangular shape having a longitudinal direction of about 40 mm and a short side direction of about 20 mm. On one side of the substrate 24, the antenna element 12 and the storage unit 14 having a height of about 3 mm are provided. Hereinafter, the surface on which the antenna element 12 and the storage unit 14 are provided is the surface of the substrate 24, and the surface opposite to the antenna element 12 is the back surface of the substrate 24. A low noise amplifier 22, a surface acoustic wave filter 23, a current position acquisition unit 13, and a control unit 11 are provided on the back surface of the substrate 24. 2 and 3, the physical layer IC 19 is not shown. The substrate 24 is accommodated in the casing 10 as shown in FIG. Moreover, the casing 10 is formed in the minimum size which can accommodate the board | substrate 24 which mounted the circuit component in order to achieve size reduction. For this reason, in the case of the present embodiment, the casing 10 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an appearance of approximately 40 mm in length, 20 mm in width, and 25 mm in height.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the antenna element 12 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 24 on the surface opposite to the current position acquisition unit 13 and the control unit 11. In the case of this embodiment, the antenna element 12 is provided on the left end side of the substrate 24 in the figure. That is, since the antenna element 12 is for receiving a high-frequency signal as described above, the antenna element 12 is mounted on the surface opposite to the current position acquisition unit 13 and the control unit 11 that are likely to generate noise. In this case, the storage unit 14 provided on the surface of the substrate 24 together with the antenna element 12 is shielded on the entire surface in order to suppress the influence of noise on the antenna element 12. The antenna element 12 is connected to a low noise amplifier 22 provided on the back side of the substrate 24 through a via 25 provided in the substrate 24.

  The low noise amplifier 22 is connected to the current position acquisition unit 13 via the surface acoustic wave filter 23. That is, on the substrate 24, the antenna element 12, the low noise amplifier 22, the surface acoustic wave filter 23, and the current position acquisition unit 13 are provided close to each other. The gyro sensor 20 is provided at a position adjacent to the low noise amplifier 22. This is because the gyro sensor 20 and the low-noise amplifier 22 have the same power supply system, and the gyro sensor 20 itself does not generate much noise and thus has less influence on the high-frequency signal.

  The current position acquisition unit 13 is provided near the center of the back surface of the substrate 24 in the longitudinal direction so as to be close to the low noise amplifier 22 and the surface acoustic wave filter 23. In the present embodiment, the current position acquisition unit 13 is formed as a SIP (System In Package) type package IC 27 in which peripheral components 26 such as a crystal resonator and a chip resistor are sealed in one package. The control unit 11 is provided at a position away from the antenna element 12 on the back surface of the substrate 24 opposite to the antenna element 12, that is, at the end opposite to the antenna element 12 in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 24. That is, the control unit 11 that is likely to be a noise generation source is provided on the rear side of the substrate 24 on the right end side in the figure. That is, in the present embodiment, the antenna element 12 for which the influence of noise is desired to be suppressed, and the control unit 11 and the current position acquisition unit 13 that are likely to generate noise are provided on the opposite sides of the substrate 24. The current position acquisition unit 13 and the control unit 11 are provided in contact with a ground plane (not shown) provided on the substrate 24, and heat dissipation during operation is promoted.

  A cable connector 27 is provided at an end on the right side of the control unit 11 in the drawing. The cable connector 27 is connected to a connection cable 28 that is drawn out of the casing 10. The connection cable 28 includes a signal line and a power line in order to transmit a USB standard signal. A USB connector 29 for connecting to the navigation device 2 is provided at the end of the connection cable 28 opposite to the substrate 24. Power supply to the antenna-integrated locator 1 and data communication between the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 are performed by a single connection cable 28.

As shown in FIG. 4, the antenna-integrated locator 1 having such a configuration is accommodated in the casing 10 and attached to the main body 30 of the navigation device 2.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 2 includes a control device 31 corresponding to an external control device, a display unit 32, and a moving body information acquisition unit 33. The control device 31 is configured by a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls the entire navigation device 2. For example, the control device 31 performs processing such as route search and map matching and display processing such as a map screen and route guidance on the display unit 32. The control device 31 also performs processing for receiving user operation input from operation switches (not shown) provided in the vicinity of the display unit 32, a touch panel provided corresponding to the screen of the display unit 32, and the like. . That is, processing such as route search and map screen display with a relatively large load in the navigation function is executed by the control device 31 of the navigation device 2. The mobile body information acquisition unit 33 has a USB standard communication interface and acquires mobile body information provided from the antenna-integrated locator 1.

  Next, the operation of the antenna-integrated locator 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. Each process described below is mainly executed by the control unit 11 on the antenna-integrated locator 1 side and mainly executed by the control device 31 on the navigation device 2 side. However, for simplification of description, the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation are performed. The apparatus 2 will be mainly described. In addition, since the navigation function itself performed by the navigation apparatus 2 is the same as a well-known technique, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 register each other prior to use. In this case, in the registration process shown in FIG. 5, first, the antenna-integrated locator 1 is plugged into the navigation device 2 (S101). Here, the plug-in means a state in which the antenna-integrated locator 1 is attached to the navigation device 2 and connected by the connection cable 28 as shown in FIG. Usually, the attachment to the navigation device 2 and the connection by the connection cable 28 are normally performed in a state where the power is turned off. Therefore, the following processing is processing performed when the antenna-integrated locator 1 is plugged in and the navigation apparatus 2 is powered on.

  When the navigation device 2 recognizes that the antenna-integrated locator 1 has been plugged in (S201), it transmits a plug-in confirmation signal (S202). When receiving the plug-in confirmation signal from the navigation device 2, the antenna-integrated locator 1 transmits a registration request signal (S102). The registration request signal includes setting information for using the mobile object information such as the identification number of the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the corresponding positioning data standard, and the type of data stored in the storage unit 14. When the navigation apparatus 2 receives the registration request signal, the navigation apparatus 2 registers the antenna-integrated locator 1 (S203) and transmits a registration confirmation signal (S204). When receiving the registration confirmation signal, the antenna-integrated locator 1 registers the navigation device 2 (S103).

  As described above, the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 can be mutually used by registering each other in the registration process. In this case, when the registration process is completed, the registration may be continuously stored even if the power is turned off, or the power is turned on to check whether the antenna-integrated locator 1 is removed. You may go every time. When the navigation program body executed by the navigation device 2 is stored in the storage unit 14 of the antenna-integrated locator 1, the navigation program body is downloaded to the navigation device 2 at the time of registration processing. . It should be noted that the navigation program body may be downloaded only during the first registration process and stored in the navigation device 2 even when the power is turned off, or whether there is update data when the power is turned on. You may do it.

  When the above registration process is completed, the antenna-integrated locator 1 executes the mobile object information providing process shown in FIG. In addition, when the navigation device 2 starts executing the navigation program, the navigation device 2 executes main processing (not shown) such as display of a map screen, and also executes mobile body information acquisition processing shown in FIG.

  When the moving body information providing process is executed, the antenna-integrated locator 1 determines whether or not there is a request for moving body information from the navigation device 2 (S111). The navigation device 2 displays a current position mark indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle on the map screen of the display unit 32 in a known route search process or the like. In this case, the navigation device 2 requires information on the current position and direction of the vehicle, that is, moving body information. Accordingly, the navigation device 2 that recognizes that the antenna-integrated locator 1 is connected transmits a mobile-object information request signal to the antenna-integrated locator 1 when it needs moving body information such as the current position of the vehicle. (S211). When the antenna-integrated locator 1 receives the moving body information request signal from the navigation device 2, that is, when it is determined that there is a request for moving body information (S111: YES), the current position and direction of the vehicle are determined as the moving body. Information is transmitted (S112). Subsequently, when the navigation apparatus 2 receives the moving body information from the antenna-integrated locator 1, the navigation apparatus 2 updates the current position (S212). Thereby, the navigation apparatus 2 acquires the latest current position.

  When the current position is updated, the navigation device 2 determines whether map data is necessary (S213). Normally, the navigation device 2 temporarily expands a map screen in a range wider than the range displayed on the display unit 32 in a memory or the like, and changes the display area according to the current position of the vehicle. In this case, there are situations where the map cannot be displayed on the map screen deployed in the memory, such as when the vehicle travels outside the map screen deployed in the memory or when it is desired to display the entire journey to the destination. obtain.

  Therefore, when the navigation device 2 determines that new map data is required (S213: YES), the navigation device 2 transmits a map data request signal to the antenna-integrated locator 1 (S214). That is, the navigation device 2 requests the antenna integrated locator 1 to update the map data. This map data request signal includes, for example, data indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle, that is, data indicating a position ahead of the traveling road, data indicating a position designated by the user, and the like. When the antenna-integrated locator 1 receives the map data request signal (S113: YES), the antenna-integrated locator 1 transmits necessary map data to the navigation device 2 based on the information included in the map data request signal (S114). The navigation device 2 that has received the map data updates the map data (S215), and then updates the navigation screen displaying the map screen, the current position mark, the route to the destination, and the like (S216).

  After transmitting the map data, the antenna-integrated locator 1 proceeds to step S111 and repeatedly executes the mobile object information providing process. Further, the antenna-integrated locator 1 proceeds to step S111 even when there is no request for mobile object information or map data (S111: NO, S113: NO). On the other hand, when the navigation device 2 updates the navigation screen, the navigation device 2 proceeds to step S211 and repeatedly executes the moving body information acquisition process. On the antenna-integrated locator 1 side, the current position acquisition unit 13 acquires the latest current position even when there is no request for moving body information from the navigation device 2. On the navigation device 2 side, main processing and the like are repeatedly performed.

  As described above, the antenna-integrated locator 1 obtains the current position based on the positioning data transmitted from the artificial satellite 3, and according to the request from the navigation device 2, the moving body information and the moving state data of the vehicle. Is provided to the navigation device 2. Moreover, the navigation apparatus 2 performs a navigation function using the mobile body information provided from the antenna integrated locator 1.

According to the antenna integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 according to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
The antenna-integrated locator 1 includes an antenna element 12, a current position acquisition unit 13, a communication unit 15, and a control unit 11 in a casing 10. And the control part 11 provides the mobile body information containing the present position acquired by the present position acquisition part 13 with respect to vehicle-mounted apparatuses, such as the navigation apparatus 2 provided outside the casing 10, for example. That is, the antenna-integrated locator 1 has a configuration in which the function of providing mobile information is modularized. For this reason, mobile body information can be provided only by plugging in various vehicle-mounted devices.

The control unit 11 of the antenna-integrated locator 1 executes processing with a relatively small load, such as control of the communication unit 15 related to provision of mobile object information. For this reason, since the necessary hardware functions are narrowed down, the control unit 11 can be configured with a relatively small microcomputer. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the control unit 11 and hence the size of the locator 1 including the casing 10. In addition, since the antenna-integrated locator 1 is downsized, the mountability to the vehicle is also improved.
Since the antenna element 12 and the current position acquisition unit 13 are provided on the same substrate 24, it is not necessary to provide an amplifier such as the low noise amplifier 22 for each substrate 24 unlike when they are provided on another substrate 24. . As a result, the total number of components including peripheral circuit components can be reduced, and the substrate 24 can be downsized and the casing 10 can be downsized.

  The antenna element 12 is provided on the surface of the substrate 24, and the current position acquisition unit 13 is provided on the surface opposite to the antenna element 12. In other words, in the antenna-integrated locator 1, circuit components that are desired to suppress the influence of noise and circuit components that are likely to generate noise are mounted on the opposite side of the substrate 24. Thereby, the influence which the noise which generate | occur | produces from the control part 11 or the present position acquisition part 13 has on the antenna element 12 can be suppressed. Further, since the cable connector 27 is provided at the position farthest from the antenna element 12 on the back surface of the substrate 24, it is possible to suppress the influence of external noise that may enter the casing 10 through the connection cable 28.

As described above, the control unit 11 of the antenna-integrated locator 1 mainly provides the position information acquired by the current position acquisition unit 13 and the data stored in the storage unit 14. That is, the control unit 11 does not perform complicated arithmetic processing. For this reason, since the required processing capability is relatively low, the control unit 11 can use a relatively inexpensive microcomputer for the control unit 11 and can reduce the cost. In addition, since the number of components such as an amplifier can be reduced between the antenna element 12 and the current position acquisition unit 13, the cost can be further reduced.
The antenna integrated locator 1 and the in-vehicle device are connected by a cable. That is, the antenna-integrated locator 1 and the navigation device 2 are not necessarily installed at the same place. For this reason, the installation location of the antenna-integrated locator 1 can be changed as appropriate, and the mounting property to the vehicle is improved.

  The vehicle-mounted device such as the navigation device 2 provides the mobile body information from the antenna-integrated locator 1 as described above. In other words, the navigation device 2 connected to the antenna-integrated locator 1 does not need to include a circuit for detecting the current position by itself and only needs to include a communication interface for acquiring mobile body information. For this reason, even when an application function executed by the navigation device 2 is added or expanded, there is no need to redesign a circuit for acquiring the current position. Therefore, an increase in cost at the time of function expansion of the navigation device 2 can be suppressed. Further, since the number of parts on the navigation device 2 side can be reduced, the size can be reduced. Of course, the manufacturing cost of the navigation apparatus 2 can also be reduced.

The control unit 11 of the antenna-integrated locator 1 provides the moving body information including the moving direction of the vehicle detected by the gyro sensor 20 and the acceleration of the vehicle detected by the acceleration sensor 21. As a result, information that can be provided as mobile information is enriched, can be applied to functions other than the navigation function, and the types of applications can be expanded.
The antenna-integrated locator 1 provides the navigation device 2 with data stored in the storage unit 14 in addition to the moving body information. In addition to the map data, the antenna-integrated locator 1 can also provide a navigation program body. And the memory | storage part 14 can memorize | store the large capacity | capacitance data about several tens gigabytes of eMMC specification. For this reason, the navigation apparatus 2 does not need to have a memory | storage means by itself using the data provided from the antenna integrated locator 1. FIG. Thereby, the number of parts by the side of the navigation apparatus 2 can be reduced. Therefore, not only the antenna-integrated locator 1 but also the navigation device 2 can be downsized and mounted on a vehicle.

(Second Embodiment)
An antenna integrated locator and a vehicle control device as an in-vehicle device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the type of in-vehicle device, that is, the type of application that uses mobile information provided from the antenna-integrated locator is mainly different from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the antenna integrated locator 40 of the second embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the antenna integrated locator 1 of the first embodiment. However, unlike the navigation device 2 of the first embodiment, the vehicle control device 41 is less required to store a large amount of map data. Therefore, the antenna integrated locator 40 does not need to provide the storage unit 14 when the data provided to the vehicle control device 41 fits in the capacity of the built-in memory 17. Of course, if the necessary data does not fit in the built-in memory 17, the storage unit 14 may be provided. Further, the antenna integrated locator 40 of this embodiment employs a CAN (Controller Area Network) which is one of so-called in-vehicle LANs as a communication method with the vehicle control device 41. Therefore, the antenna-integrated locator 40 can communicate with the vehicle-mounted device 42 other than the vehicle control device 41. That is, the mobile body information provided from the antenna-integrated locator 40 can be shared among a plurality of in-vehicle devices. Note that the communication method is not limited to CAN, and other in-vehicle LAN standards may be adopted.

  The vehicle control device 41 is a so-called engine control ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and includes a control device 43 corresponding to an external control device and a moving body information acquisition unit 44. The control device 43 has substantially the same configuration as the control device 31 of the first embodiment. Moreover, although the mobile body information acquisition unit 44 adopts CAN instead of the USB standard, its substantial function is the same as that of the mobile body information acquisition unit 33 of the first embodiment. In the case of the present embodiment, the control device 43 controls the fuel injection amount to the engine (not shown), adjusts the accelerator opening degree according to the accelerator depression amount (not shown), and controls the vehicle control device 41 as a whole. . As a usage form of the moving body information in the vehicle control device 41, for example, an application of energy saving driving support or safe driving support can be considered. Hereinafter, the control of the engine will be described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to the control of a driving motor in the case of a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, for example.

  The antenna-integrated locator 40 stores a positioning calculation program in the built-in memory 17 or the storage unit 14. This positioning calculation program is a program for calculating, for example, a road gradient and a curvature radius based on the moving body information. The antenna-integrated locator 40 is registered in the vehicle control device 41 prior to use as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5). At this time, the antenna-integrated locator 40 downloads a positioning calculation program to the vehicle control device 41. That is, the positioning calculation program is a program executed by the vehicle control device 41 which is an in-vehicle device. As described above, also in the present embodiment, the antenna-integrated locator 40 executes only a process with a relatively small load such as provision of mobile object information and a positioning calculation program.

  On the other hand, the vehicle control device 41 executes a positioning calculation program downloaded from the antenna-integrated locator 40 to calculate a road gradient, a radius of curvature, and the like by calculation. Then, the vehicle control device 41 reduces the accelerator opening, for example, when the slope is down or when entering a curve. Alternatively, the vehicle control device 41 reduces the fuel injection amount. Thereby, consumption of useless fuel is suppressed, fuel efficiency is improved, and a possibility that the vehicle speed is inadvertently increased is reduced.

Thus, by applying the antenna-integrated locator 40 that provides moving body information to an existing vehicle-mounted device such as the vehicle control device 41, it is possible to support energy-saving driving or safe driving. That is, the function of the in-vehicle device can be expanded without causing a significant increase in cost.
In the case of the present embodiment, since the CAN is adopted for the connection between the antenna integrated locator 40 and the vehicle control device 41, the mobile body information can be used by a plurality of in-vehicle devices. Of course, even if it is attached to each on-vehicle device, the antenna-integrated locator 40 is reduced in size, so that mountability to the vehicle is not impaired.

  In addition, since the positioning calculation program is downloaded from the antenna-integrated locator 40, an application using the moving body information can be executed even in the vehicle control device 41 or the like that generally does not have a positioning function. Thereby, the added value of the vehicle control apparatus 41 can be raised.

(Third embodiment)
An antenna integrated locator and a drive album device as an in-vehicle device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the type of in-vehicle device, that is, the type of application that uses mobile information provided from the antenna-integrated locator is different from that of the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 8, the antenna integrated locator 50 of the third embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the antenna integrated locator 1 of the first embodiment. The antenna-integrated locator 50 stores an album program executed by the drive album device 51 in the built-in memory 17 or the storage unit 14.

  The drive album device 51 includes a control device 52 corresponding to an external control device, a moving body information acquisition unit 53, a display unit 54, a camera 55, a speaker 56, and a microphone 57. The configurations of the control device 52 and the moving body information acquisition unit 53 are substantially the same as those of the control device 31 and the moving body information acquisition unit 33 of the first embodiment. The control device 52 performs a function similar to a so-called drive recorder that can take an image when the vehicle is running or stopped, and controls the entire drive album device 51. The drive album device 51 shoots the inside or outside of the vehicle with a camera 55 as a moving image or a still image, reproduces and outputs music data from the speaker 56, and records sound from the microphone 57. Further, the drive album device 51 displays the captured moving image or still image on the display unit 54. Note that the number of cameras 55, speakers 56, and microphones 57 is not limited to one and may be plural.

  The antenna-integrated locator 50 is registered in the drive album device 51 prior to use, as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5). At this time, the antenna-integrated locator 50 downloads the album program to the drive album device 51. The drive album device 51 executes the downloaded album program together with a main process (not shown). At this time, for example, an icon “REC” for starting image recording is displayed on the display unit 54 of the drive album device 51. For example, the user starts photographing an image by touching the “REC” icon. When shooting is started, the drive album device 51 stores shooting data and information such as the current position based on the moving body information provided from the antenna-integrated locator 50 in association with each other. The stored shooting data can be arbitrarily reproduced by the user. The drive album device 51 also stores music data reproduced by a car audio device or the like in association with information such as the current position. As a result, for example, music data that has been reproduced during previous travel when traveling on the same road can be automatically reproduced.

  As described above, an album function for recording image data when traveling, for example, is added by storing image data and reproduced music data in association with moving body information such as the current position. be able to. Further, by storing the current position and music data in association with each other, it is possible to provide a function like a so-called jukebox that reproduces the same music when traveling on the same road.

  A small antenna-integrated locator 50 may be provided at a position where the user can remove it, and shooting data and the like may be stored in the storage unit 14 of the antenna-integrated locator 50. Thereby, the antenna integrated locator 50 storing the image data can be removed from the vehicle, and the user can reproduce the image data even at home. In this case, since a USB standard communication interface is used, it can be easily connected to the user's computer.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The types of in-vehicle devices connected to the antenna-integrated locator are not limited to those exemplified in each embodiment. Since the antenna-integrated locator is small and low in cost as described above, it can be connected to various in-vehicle devices.

Further, the external control device to which the antenna integrated locator is connected is not limited to the control device of the in-vehicle device, and may be a control device such as a portable GPS terminal.
Although an example in which a wired communication method is used for data communication between the antenna-integrated locator and an external control device has been shown, a communication method using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used. As a result, the antenna integrated locator and the external control device can be easily handled because the connection cable 28 is unnecessary and the installation location is not limited.

  In the drawings, reference numerals 1, 40, and 50 denote antenna-integrated locators (antenna-integrated moving body information providing devices), 2 is a navigation device (on-vehicle device), 3 is an artificial satellite, 10 is a casing, 11 is a control unit (control unit, (Movement state acquisition unit), 12 is an antenna element, 13 is a current position acquisition unit, 14 is a storage unit, 15 is a communication unit, 20 is a gyro sensor (movement state acquisition unit), 21 is an acceleration sensor (movement state acquisition unit), Reference numeral 24 is a substrate, 31, 43 and 52 are control devices (external control devices), 33, 44 and 53 are moving body information acquisition units, 41 is a vehicle control device (vehicle device), 42 is a vehicle device (vehicle device), Reference numeral 51 denotes a drive album device (on-vehicle device).

Claims (5)

A casing,
A substrate provided in the casing and provided with an antenna element for receiving positioning data transmitted from an artificial satellite;
A current position acquisition unit which is provided on a surface opposite to the antenna element of the substrate and acquires a current position of a moving body based on the positioning data received by the antenna element;
A communication unit that is accommodated in the casing and performs communication of mobile body information that is information including the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit;
A control unit housed in the casing and controlling communication by the communication unit,
The antenna, wherein the control unit provides the mobile body information to the external control device that is provided outside the casing and executes an application that uses the mobile body information via the communication unit. Integrated mobile information providing device. A moving state acquisition unit that is housed in the casing and acquires a moving state including at least a direction of the moving body;
2. The antenna-integrated moving body according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes the moving state of the moving body acquired by the moving state acquisition unit in the moving body information and provides the moving state to the external control device. Information providing device.   The antenna integrated mobile body information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that is stored in the casing and stores data to be provided to the external control device in addition to the mobile body information. . It is connected to the antenna-integrated mobile information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A mobile body information acquisition unit that acquires mobile body information provided from the antenna-integrated mobile body information providing apparatus;
A control device that executes an application that uses the mobile object information acquired by the mobile object information acquisition unit;
A vehicle-mounted device comprising: The antenna-integrated mobile information providing apparatus according to claim 3 is connected,
A mobile body information acquisition unit that acquires mobile body information provided from the antenna-integrated mobile body information providing apparatus;
A data acquisition unit for acquiring data provided from the antenna-integrated mobile information providing apparatus;
A control device that executes an application using the mobile object information acquired by the mobile object information acquisition unit and the data acquired by the data acquisition unit;
A vehicle-mounted device comprising:

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