JP2013060742A - Key discriminating device, and lost key invalidating system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a key discriminating device capable of discriminating a registered key without causing such a trouble that a user goes back to get the key being not at hand, and to provide a lost key invalidating system for enabling the lost key only to be unusable without causing the trouble.SOLUTION: A dealer deals with lost key invalidation in such a manner as to display a list of registered electronic keys on a monitor and to put a question inquiring which key is lost out of three registered pink-colored, green-colored and heart-shaped keys, to the user. When information that the lost key is pink-colored one is given thereto, the electronic key having a key number "1" as the pink-colored one is selected and the register of the electronic key having the key number "1" is cancelled. As a result, the electronic key having the key number "1" has a key function invalidated and becomes unusable.

Description

  The present invention relates to a key discriminating apparatus that discriminates a key, and a lost key invalidation system that invalidates a lost key.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for invalidating all electronic keys other than an electronic key at hand among electronic keys already registered as vehicle keys. According to this technology, by arranging all the electronic keys except the lost key at hand, for example, the lost key is specified by a dealer, and only the lost key can be disabled.

JP 2008-50885 A ([Claim 5])

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is troublesome because it is necessary to prepare all the electronic keys except the lost key. For example, if one of the three registered electronic keys is lost, and the vehicle is operated in the form of possessing one of the remaining two electronic keys, and the dealer goes to the dealer In the invalidation process at the dealer, another electronic key that is not at hand and the lost key cannot be distinguished. Therefore, in this case, since the lost key cannot be identified, the user must return another electronic key that is not at hand. If the electronic key is not returned, the electronic key up to that point is treated as a lost key, and the invalidation function invalidates the function as a vehicle key and disables the electronic key. turn into.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and its purpose is to discriminate registered keys without the trouble of returning keys that are not at hand. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple key discriminating apparatus and a lost key invalidating system capable of disabling only a lost key without causing such trouble.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a key discriminating device for discriminating a key in a manner associated with a key identification code individually set for a key to be discriminated. Based on the registration means for registering the appearance identification code set according to the appearance of the key and information suggesting the appearance of the key to be identified, it is associated with the appearance identification code set according to the appearance. The gist of the present invention is to include selection means for selecting a key identification code.

  According to this configuration, if information suggesting the appearance of the key to be discriminated is obtained, it becomes possible to identify the appearance identification code set according to the appearance, and it is associated with the appearance identification code. It becomes possible to specify the key identification code. For example, assuming that a pink portable device is lost as a vehicle key, if the information on a pink portable device can be obtained without having all other portable devices in hand, the key discriminating device Color portable devices can be identified. Therefore, the registered key can be determined without the trouble of returning the key that is not at hand.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the key identification device according to the first aspect, a plurality of key identification codes are registered in the registration means, and each of the key identification codes has a different appearance identification code. The gist is that they are related.

According to this configuration, by preventing registration of keys having the same appearance identification code, the keys can be uniquely identified based on information suggesting the appearance of the key.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the key discrimination device according to the first or second aspect, a color identification code set according to the key color and design, and a shape identification code set according to the key shape The gist is that the appearance identification code is defined in combination with

  According to this configuration, by dividing the appearance identification code into the color identification code and the shape identification code, it is possible to increase the types of keys that can be uniquely identified based on the information suggesting the appearance.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a specific key among registered keys whose key identification codes are registered in the registration means provided in the key identifying device according to any one of the first to third aspects is a lost key. In the lost key invalidation system to be invalidated, the key identification code selected by the selection means included in the key discrimination device is deregistered from the registration means, and the key set with this key identification code is used as the lost key. The gist is to provide an invalidating means for invalidating.

  According to this configuration, if information suggesting the appearance of the lost key is obtained, the lost key can be determined by the key determining device, and the key can be invalidated and disabled. Therefore, only the lost key can be disabled without the trouble of returning the key that is not at hand.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine a registered key without causing trouble such as returning a key that is not at hand.

The block diagram which shows the structure of an electronic key system. The conceptual diagram which shows the content registered into the memory of the collation control apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an electronic key system for a vehicle will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic key system 1 includes an electronic key 2 possessed as a vehicle key by a user who is the owner of the vehicle, and a security device 3 on the vehicle side. It is possible.

The electronic key 2 has a transmission / reception function and includes a reception antenna 21, a reception circuit 22, a microcomputer 23, a transmission circuit 24, and a transmission antenna 25.
The receiving antenna 21 is a medium for receiving a call signal transmitted from the security device 3. The reception circuit 22 demodulates the interrogation signal received by the reception antenna 21 to generate a reception signal, and outputs the reception signal to the microcomputer 23.

  The microcomputer 23 includes a non-volatile memory 23a. In the memory 23a, a key identification code individually set for the electronic key 2 and an appearance identification code set according to the appearance of the electronic key 2 are provided. Is stored in an associated form. When the reception signal related to the challenge signal is input from the reception circuit 22, the microcomputer 23 generates an original signal of the response signal including the key identification code and responds to the challenge signal, and transmits the original signal to the transmission circuit. 24.

  The transmission circuit 24 modulates the original signal input from the microcomputer 23 into a radio wave having a predetermined frequency (312 MHz in this embodiment), and generates a response signal. The transmission antenna 25 is a medium for transmitting the response signal generated by the transmission circuit 24.

  The vehicle-side security device 3 has a transmission / reception function, and includes a transmission circuit 31, a transmission antenna 32, a reception antenna 33, a reception circuit 34, and a verification control device 35. In the vehicle of this embodiment, various control devices are electrically connected via an in-vehicle communication network. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a generic name of these control devices is defined as a collation control device, which is indicated by reference numeral 35. The verification control device 35 mainly performs security control related to electrical key verification necessary to allow various vehicle controls.

  The transmission circuit 31 modulates the original signal of the interrogation signal input from the verification control device 35 into a radio wave having a predetermined frequency (134 KHz in this embodiment), and generates an interrogation signal. The transmission antenna 32 is a medium for transmitting the call signal generated by the transmission circuit 31 to the periphery of the vehicle.

  The receiving antenna 33 is a medium for receiving a response signal transmitted from the electronic key 2 in response to the call signal. The reception circuit 34 demodulates the response signal received by the reception antenna 33 to generate a reception signal, and outputs the reception signal to the collation control device 35.

  The verification control device 35 includes a non-volatile memory 35a, and the memory 35a is associated with a key identification code of a regular electronic key 2 that is suitable for the host vehicle and an appearance identification code of the electronic key 2. Registered in the form. Then, the verification control device 35 transmits a call signal to the periphery of the vehicle through the transmission system such as the transmission circuit 31 and the transmission antenna 32, and when a reception signal related to the response signal is input from the reception circuit 34, the key included therein The identification code is checked against the key identification code registered in the memory 35a. And the collation control apparatus 35 permits vehicle control, such as locking / unlocking of a door lock or starting of an engine, on condition that collation coincides.

  In this embodiment, three electronic keys are registered in advance on the vehicle side as a regular electronic key 2 through a predetermined registration procedure, and the key of the electronic key can be used regardless of which electronic key is possessed. Vehicle control is allowed on condition that the function is activated. In addition, a specific electronic key among the three registered electronic keys is treated as a lost key by the collation control device 35 as necessary. In this case, the function as a vehicle key is invalidated, and the vehicle by the key is invalidated. Control is prohibited.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the key identification code and the external identification code are registered in the memory 35a for each of the electronic keys having the key numbers “1” to “3”. The key identification code is defined by, for example, a combination of binary data for 32 bits. For convenience of explanation, the key number “1” is indicated by “A”, and the key number “2”. The key of the key No. is indicated by “B”, and the key of the key number “3” is indicated by “C”. Further, the appearance identification code is data of, for example, about 2 to 3 bits smaller than the information amount of the key identification code, and that of the key with the key number “1” indicates that the color of this key is “pink”. It is defined as something that can be identified. Similarly, the appearance identification code of the key with the key number “2” is defined as being able to specify that the color of this key is “green”, and that of the key with the key number “3” is It is specified that the external shape can be specified as “heart-shaped”.

  The electronic key according to the present example is used for the above-described electrical key verification instead of the key verification based on the concave / convex relationship by the key groove or the like as in the case of a conventional general mechanical key. Therefore, it is not always necessary to have a substantially T-shape as found in conventional mechanical keys, and is a box type suitable for accommodating a communication antenna or the like, or a card type or a watch type suitable for carrying, and further possessed items The shape is wide, such as a heart shape, which is an example of a shape that can create a suitable design, and has a high degree of freedom including its color and drawing design. Incidentally, such an electronic key is also called a portable device because of its possession.

  Next, the operation of the electronic key system 1 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the electronic key with the key number “1” is lost, but it is assumed that the user recognizes that the color of the key is pink as a characteristic of the lost key.

  In this case, when the user drives the vehicle in the form of carrying one of the remaining two keys excluding the lost key and goes to the dealer, the lost key invalidation process is performed there. In this processing, when a predetermined input operation is performed after the dedicated tool is electrically connected to the collation control device 35 of the vehicle, the collation control device 35 receives the instruction thereby, and the lost key invalidation mode is set. Transition to. In this mode, a list of registered electronic keys is displayed on the monitor, which of the three registered keys such as the pink key, green key, and heart-shaped key is lost. An inquiry is made to the user. When a predetermined input operation is performed after it is notified that the lost key is a pink key, the electronic key having the key number “1”, which is a pink key, is selected by the verification control device 35. The registration of the electronic key with the key number “1” is deleted. As a result, the electronic key with the key number “1” cannot be used because the key function is invalidated. That is, vehicle control by this key is prohibited.

  In the present embodiment, the lost key invalidation system is constructed in a form including the vehicle-side collation control device 35 and the dealer-side dedicated tool connected thereto, and the collation control device 35 mainly serves as the key discrimination device. It is composed. The collation control device 35 corresponds to invalidation means that is a component of the lost key invalidation system, and also corresponds to selection means that is a component of the key discrimination device. And the memory 35a with which the collation control apparatus 35 is provided is corresponded to the registration means which is a component of a key discrimination apparatus.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) If information suggesting the appearance of the key to be discriminated is obtained, the appearance identification code set according to the appearance can be specified based on the registered contents of the memory 35a shown in FIG. In addition, the key identification code associated with the appearance identification code can be specified. For example, assuming that a pink portable device is lost as a vehicle key, if the information on a pink portable device can be obtained without having all other portable devices in hand, the key discriminating device The electronic key having the key number “1”, which is a color portable device, can be identified. Therefore, the registered key can be determined without the trouble of returning the key that is not at hand.

  (2) Regarding the above (1), if information suggesting the appearance of the lost key is obtained, the collation control device 35 can determine the lost key, and the key can be invalidated and disabled. Therefore, only the lost key can be disabled without the trouble of returning the key that is not at hand.

  (3) As shown in the example of FIG. 2, a plurality of key identification codes are registered in the memory 35a, and different appearance identification codes are associated with each key identification code. By prohibiting the registration of keys having the same appearance identification code as in this example, the keys can be uniquely identified based on information suggesting the appearance of the key.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
The appearance identification code may be defined by a combination of a color identification code set according to the key color and design and a shape identification code set according to the key shape. According to this configuration, by dividing the appearance identification code into the color identification code and the shape identification code, it is possible to increase the types of keys that can be uniquely identified based on the information suggesting the appearance. For example, in the example of FIG. 2 according to the above embodiment, it is assumed that the electronic key with the key number “1” or “2” is not a heart shape, and the electronic key with the key number “3” is either pink or green. But that is not the case. On the other hand, according to this separate example, if information such as a pink heart-shaped electronic key is obtained, even if a green heart-shaped electronic key is registered at the same time, it is possible to distinguish them. Will be able to. The subdivision of the appearance identification code is not limited to the combination of the color identification code and the shape identification code.

  The appearance identification code may be defined in a form including the design (pattern, color, etc.) drawn on the key. According to this configuration, for example, assuming that a key with a vertical stripe pattern is lost, if the information such as the vertical stripe pattern is obtained, the lost key can be identified.

  The appearance identification code may be defined in a form including a size identification code set according to the size of the key. According to this configuration, even when a plurality of electronic keys having the same shape and color are registered, each key can be discriminated if the sizes are different.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the key discriminating apparatus is applied to the lost key invalidation system is illustrated, but the key discriminating apparatus can also be applied to the following system, for example. That is, when renting or depositing the host vehicle to another person, the key function of, for example, a pink key that is given to the other person is limited in advance. In this case, instead of the lost key invalidation process, a key function change process for the purpose of limiting the key function is performed by the dealer or the user himself, and the restricted key is handed to the other person through this process. . Also in this case, the registered key can be easily discriminated by using a simple appearance identification code in comparison with the key identification code as in the above embodiment.

Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and another example will be described.
(A) The key identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the appearance identification code is defined in a form including a design drawn on a key. According to this configuration, for example, assuming that a key with a vertical stripe pattern is lost, if the information such as the vertical stripe pattern is obtained, the lost key can be identified.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic key system, 2 ... Electronic key, 3 ... Security apparatus, 21 ... Reception antenna, 22 ... Reception circuit, 23 ... Microcomputer, 23a ... Memory, 24 ... Transmission circuit, 25 ... Transmission antenna, 31 ... Transmission circuit, 32 ... Transmission antenna, 33 ... Reception antenna, 34 ... Reception circuit, 35 ... Verification control device (selection means, invalidation means), 35a ... Memory (registration means).

Claims (4)

In a key discriminating device for discriminating keys,
A registration means for registering an appearance identification code set in accordance with an appearance of the key in association with an individually set key identification code for the key to be determined;
A key discriminating apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects a key identification code associated with an appearance identification code set in accordance with an appearance based on information suggesting an appearance of a key to be discriminated. . The key identification device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of key identification codes are registered in the registration unit, and different appearance identification codes are associated with each key identification code. The key according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the appearance identification code is defined by a combination of a color identification code set according to the color and design of the key and a shape identification code set according to the shape of the key. Discriminator. A lost key invalidation system for invalidating a specific key as a lost key among registered keys whose key identification codes are registered in the registration means provided in the key discrimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In
The key identification code selected by the selection unit included in the key discrimination device is provided with invalidation means for canceling registration with the registration means and invalidating the key set with the key identification code as a lost key. Lost key invalidation system.

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