JP2013104247A - Keyless system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyless system capable of performing vicinity area determination and vehicular inside and outside area determination at lower cost without requiring a number of vehicular inside antennas and vehicular outside antennas.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle machine is equipped with a first antenna for radiating radio waves, a speaker for emitting acoustic waves, and a control section for calculating a distance between a vehicle and a user. A portable machine is equipped with a second antenna for receiving a radio wave radiated by the first antenna, and a microphone for receiving an acoustic wave emitted by the speaker. The control section of the on-vehicle machine calculates the distance between the vehicle and the user on the basis of a radio wave reception time at which the second antenna receives the radio wave radiated by the first antenna and an acoustic wave reception time at which the microphone receives the acoustic wave emitted by the speaker. It is determined whether the portable machine exists in a vehicular inside, in a vicinity area outside the vehicle, or in an area distant from the vehicle on the basis of the calculated distance between the vehicle and the user. A keyless system is constituted in such a way, thus the number of required components can be reduced.

Description

  The present invention enables communication between an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a person to lock and unlock a car door key or engine start by keyless. The present invention relates to a keyless system that switches between a possible state and an impossible state.

  As a conventional keyless system, as shown in Cited Document 1, a smart keyless system is disclosed in which an operation such as pressing a button of the portable device is unnecessary only by the user holding the portable device. Yes. In the smart keyless system, it is determined whether the portable device is in the vehicle or outside the vehicle, and whether the portable device is in a nearby region within about 2 m from the vehicle or in a region away from the vehicle. Two types of determinations are performed: neighborhood region determination.

In Patent Document 1, a radio wave having a low frequency such as an LF band is used in communication between an in-vehicle device and a portable device, and the vicinity region determination is performed using the steep attenuation characteristic of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the antenna with respect to the distance. The inside / outside area of the vehicle is determined using the magnetic field shielding characteristics of the surface metal.
For example, when LF band radio waves are radiated from an antenna outside the vehicle, the reception level of the portable device at a distance of 2 m from the vehicle is set as a threshold value, and the vicinity is obtained by comparing the reception level of the radio wave with a portable device at a certain position. An area determination is performed.
Also, if the reception level from the in-vehicle antenna is weak and the reception radio wave from the outside antenna is strong, it is determined that the portable device is outside the car, and if the reception level from the in-vehicle antenna is strong and the reception radio wave from the outside antenna is weak The vehicle inside / outside region determination is performed by determining that the portable device is in the vehicle.

JP 2006-207138 A

  However, in a conventional keyless system such as Patent Document 1, the reception level of radio waves in a portable device is used for neighborhood region determination and vehicle interior / exit region determination, and a magnetic field that is as uniform as possible within the vehicle and within 2 meters from the vehicle. In order to form the antenna, it is necessary to install a large number of in-vehicle antennas and out-of-vehicle antennas, and there is a problem that the production cost is high.

  In addition, because radio waves have polarization, there is a problem that the reception level of radio waves changes depending on the tilt of the mobile device. To solve this problem, the mobile device has a high performance that supports multiple polarizations. When a simple antenna is installed, there is a problem that the cost for production further increases.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and does not require a large number of in-vehicle antennas or out-of-vehicle antennas, and can perform near-field determination and in-vehicle outside determination at a lower cost. The purpose is to provide a keyless system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a keyless system according to the present invention includes an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a user, and the in-vehicle device and the portable device communicate with the vehicle. In the keyless system that calculates the distance of the user, the in-vehicle device includes an antenna that radiates radio waves, a speaker that radiates sound waves, and a control unit that calculates the distance between the vehicle and the user. An antenna that receives radio waves radiated from the antenna of the vehicle-mounted device; and a microphone that receives sound waves radiated from the speaker; and the controller of the vehicle-mounted device is configured such that the antenna of the portable device is the antenna of the vehicle-mounted device. The distance between the car and the user is calculated based on the radio wave reception time when the radiated radio wave is received and the sound wave reception time when the microphone receives the sound wave radiated from the speaker. And, based on said distance calculated the vehicle and the user portable unit and judging whether there in one region away from the interior region, the exterior region near or car.

  According to the keyless system according to the present invention, since a large number of in-vehicle antennas and out-of-vehicle antennas are not required, it is possible to reduce the number of necessary components, and it is possible to carry out low-cost vicinity area determination and in-vehicle outside area determination. it can.

The block diagram of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is shown. The flowchart of the process of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is shown. The block diagram of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention is shown. The flowchart of the process of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention is shown. The block diagram of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is shown. The flowchart of the process of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is shown. The block diagram of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention is shown. The flowchart of the process of the keyless system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention is shown.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a keyless system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the keyless system includes an in-vehicle device 2 installed in a vehicle body 1 and a portable device 6 attached to a user. The in-vehicle device 2 includes a speaker 3 that emits sound waves, an antenna 4 that emits radio waves, a control unit 5 that calculates the distance between the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 6, and the portable device 6 includes a microphone 7 that receives sound waves. The antenna 8 for receiving radio waves is provided.

  A boundary line A between the vehicle inside and outside regions shown in FIG. 1 indicates a circle having a radius r1 centered on the speaker 3, and the radius r1 is defined so that the vehicle body 1 is substantially included in this circle. A boundary line B between the vicinity area and the area away from the car indicates a circle having a radius r2 centered on the speaker 3, and the radius r2 is such that the vicinity area approximately 2 m from the vehicle body 1 is included in this circle. It is prescribed.

Next, the operation of the keyless system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of processing of the keyless system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
First, the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves, and the antenna 8 of the portable device 6 receives the radio waves radiated by the antenna 4 (step ST11). Here, the radio wave radiated from the antenna 4 is a signal including ID information unique to the vehicle body, and examples of the modulation method include AM for placing a signal on amplitude and FM for placing a signal on frequency. Any modulation method may be used as long as a signal can be transmitted, and it is not for performing distance determination using a near magnetic field. Therefore, not only the LF band but also the UHF band and the microwave band are used. Is possible.
Note that the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 may radiate radio waves at regular intervals, or separately detect an operation of the user placing a hand on the door and radiate radio waves at the detected timing.

  Next, after a predetermined time T1 when the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves, the speaker 3 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates sound waves, and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 receives the sound waves radiated from the speakers 3 (steps). ST12) In portable device 6, time t1 from when antenna 8 receives radio waves to when microphone 7 receives sound waves is measured (step ST13).

  Next, the portable device 6 transmits the measured time t1 to the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 through the antenna 8 (step ST14). When the time t1 measured by the portable device 6 is input, the control unit 5 A distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 is calculated (step ST15).

Here, the reason why the portable device 6 can receive radio waves and sound waves radiated from the in-vehicle device 2 is when the distance between the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 6 is a very short distance of about several meters at most. The time from when the radio wave is radiated from the antenna 4 until it is received by the antenna 8 is short enough to be ignored. At this time, the control unit 5 calculates the distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 by the equation (1). T1 is a known value as described above, and Vs is a constant indicating the speed of sound waves.
D1 = (t1−T1) × Vs (1)

  Next, the control part 5 performs vehicle interior / exterior area | region determination by comparing D1 and r1 (step ST16). When D1 is smaller than r1, the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is inside the vehicle. On the other hand, when D1 is equal to or greater than r1, the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is outside the vehicle.

  When it is determined that the portable device 6 is outside the vehicle (NO in step ST16), the control unit 5 compares the D1 and r2 to determine the vicinity region (step ST17). The control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity area when D1 is smaller than r2, and determines that it is in the area away from the vehicle when D1 is equal to or greater than r2.

  Next, the control unit 5 changes the keyless setting of the vehicle based on the determination results of the inside / outside region determination and the vicinity region determination (step ST18). When it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle area, the control unit 5 sets the keyless car door so that it can be unlocked and starts the engine, and determines that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity region. In this case, the keyless car door is set to be unlocked and the engine start is impossible, and if it is determined that the portable device 6 is in an area away from the car, the keyless car door is locked and Set engine start impossible.

  Conventionally, since the vicinity area determination and the inside / outside area determination are performed based on the magnetic field strength, it has been necessary to form a uniform magnetic field as close as possible to the car using a large number of antennas. Judgment and internal / external area determination are not performed based on the magnetic field strength. For antennas 4 and 8, data exchange such as key ID between the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 6 and a trigger when emitting sound waves Since it is only used for signal transmission, that is, it is only necessary to be able to communicate, and it is not necessary to form a magnetic field as uniform as possible in the vicinity of the car, so that the number of antennas required can be greatly reduced.

  As described above, in the keyless system according to the first embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 includes the antenna 4 that radiates radio waves, the speaker 3 that radiates sound waves, and the control unit 5 that calculates the distance between the car and the user. 6 includes an antenna 8 that receives a radio wave radiated from the antenna 4 and a microphone 7 that receives a sound wave radiated from the speaker 3, and the control unit 5 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 has a radio wave radiated from the antenna 4. The distance between the vehicle and the user is calculated based on the radio wave reception time when the microphone 7 has received the sound wave and the sound wave reception time when the microphone 7 has received the sound wave radiated from the speaker 3. Since it is configured to determine whether the vehicle is in the vicinity of the outside of the vehicle or the region away from the vehicle, the determination of the inside / outside of the vehicle and the determination of the vicinity of the region can be performed without using a large number of antennas. Since it is Ukoto can the number of components greatly reduced to achieve cost reduction.

  Further, in the keyless system according to the first embodiment, a sound wave having no polarization is used, and it is only necessary to communicate about radio waves. Therefore, by performing communication at a level with a sufficient margin, polarization is achieved. A high-performance antenna corresponding to the above becomes unnecessary and the production cost can be further reduced.

  In addition, in the conventional keyless system, an antenna that radiates radio waves having a wavelength in the UHF band is used for transmitting information such as the ID of the portable device 6 in addition to the LF band. It can also be shared with the antenna 8.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves and the antenna 8 of the portable device 6 receives radio waves has been described. However, the antenna 8 radiates radio waves and the antenna 4 emits radio waves. A similar effect can be obtained even in a configuration for receiving. Further, the same measurement can be performed by a configuration in which the speaker 3 is installed in the portable device 6 and the microphone 7 is installed in the in-vehicle device 2 to emit sound waves from the portable device 6 toward the microphone 7.

  In the first embodiment, in the in-vehicle device 2, the distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 is calculated using the time t1 output by the portable device 6, the vehicle interior / exterior region determination, and the vicinity Although the region determination is performed, the portable device 6 may be configured to calculate the distance D1, determine the inside / outside region determination, and the vicinity region determination using the measured time t1, and output the determination result to the in-vehicle device 2.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a keyless system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure similar to what was demonstrated in Embodiment 1, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. The difference between the keyless system shown in FIG. 3 and the keyless system shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment is that the in-vehicle device 2 additionally includes a speaker 9 and a speaker 10.

  Here, the boundary line A in the vehicle interior / exterior region shown in FIG. 3 has a shape along the vehicle body 1, and the boundary line B between the neighborhood region and the region away from the vehicle has the same shape as the boundary line A It is specified that the distance between the boundary line A and the boundary line B is 2 m.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the speakers 3, 9, and 10 are installed so as not to be aligned or adjacent to each other.

Next, the operation of the keyless system according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of processing of the keyless system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
First, the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves, and the antenna 8 of the portable device 6 receives the radio waves radiated by the antenna 4 (step ST21). Here, the radio wave radiated from the antenna 4 is a signal including ID information unique to the vehicle body, and examples of the modulation method include AM for placing a signal on amplitude and FM for placing a signal on frequency. Any modulation method may be used as long as a signal can be transmitted, and it is not for performing distance determination using a near magnetic field. Therefore, not only the LF band but also the UHF band and the microwave band are used. Is possible.
Note that the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 may radiate radio waves at regular intervals, or separately detect an operation of the user placing a hand on the door and radiate radio waves at the detected timing.

  Next, the speaker 3 radiates sound waves after a predetermined time T1 when the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 radiates radio waves, the speaker 9 radiates sound waves after the predetermined time T2, and the speaker 10 radiates sound waves after the predetermined time T3. Receives the sound waves emitted from the speakers 3, 9, and 10 (step ST22), so that the microphone 7 receives the sound waves emitted from the speakers 3, 9, and 10 after the antenna 8 receives the radio waves. Times t1, t2, and t3 are measured (step ST23).

  Next, the portable device 6 transmits the measured times t1, t2, and t3 to the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 through the antenna 8 and outputs them to the control unit 5 (step ST24). When the measured times t1, t2, and t3 are input, the distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, the distance D2 of the speaker 9 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, and the vehicle-mounted The distance D3 between the speaker 10 of the device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 is calculated (step ST25).

Here, the reason why the portable device 6 can receive radio waves and sound waves radiated from the in-vehicle device 2 is when the distance between the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 6 is a very short distance of about several meters at most. The time from when the radio wave is radiated from the antenna 4 until it is received by the antenna 8 is short enough to be ignored. At this time, the distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, the distance D2 of the speaker 9 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, and the speaker 10 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6. The distance D3 can be calculated by equation (2). Note that x is 1, 2, 3, T1, T2, T3 are known values as described above, and Vs is a constant indicating the velocity of sound waves.
Dx = (tx−Tx) × Vs (2)

  In FIG. 3, circle C is a circle with a radius D1 centered on the speaker 3, circle E is a circle with a radius D2 centered on the speaker 9, and circle F is a circle with a radius D3 centered on the speaker 10. Show. In FIG. 3, since the circles C, E, and F overlap at one point, the distance from the speaker 3 is D1, the distance from the speaker 9 is D2, and the distance from the speaker 10 is D3. It has been shown that certain points can be limited to one location. That is, the control unit 5 can detect the relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2 based on the calculated D1, D2, and D3 (step ST26). Since this relative position can be calculated by a known method, a detailed description regarding the calculation of the relative position is omitted here.

Next, the control part 5 performs vehicle inside / outside area | region determination based on the detected relative position of the portable apparatus 6 with respect to the vehicle equipment 2 (step ST27). For example, the position of the vehicle-mounted device 2 is the origin of the plane coordinates, the coordinates of the portable device 6 are (x1 [m], y1 [m]), the horizontal size of the vehicle body 1 is 2α [m], and the vertical size is 2β. In the case of [m], the in-vehicle region can be considered as a region satisfying the expressions (3) and (4).
-Α ≦ x ≦ α (3)
―Β ≦ y ≦ β (4)
When the coordinates (x1, y1) of the portable device 6 satisfy both the expressions (3) and (4), the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle region, and the expressions (3) and (3) When either or both of (4) are not satisfied, it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vehicle outside region.

When it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vehicle outside region in the vehicle inside / outside region determination (NO in step ST27), the control unit 5 determines the neighborhood region based on the detected relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2. Is performed (step ST28). Here, the neighborhood area can be considered to be an area that satisfies the expressions (5) and (6) and is not an in-vehicle area.
-Α-2 ≦ x ≦ α + 2 (5)
-Β-2 ≦ y ≦ β + 2 (6)

  Here, since the vicinity region determination is performed on the portable device 6 that has already been determined to be in the vehicle outside region in the vehicle inside / outside region determination, there is no need to consider the case where the portable device 6 is in the vehicle inside region. When the coordinates (x1, y1) of the portable device 6 satisfy both the expressions (5) and (6), the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity region, and the expressions (5) and (5) When either or both of (6) are not satisfied, it is determined that the portable device 6 is in a region away from the vehicle.

  Next, the control unit 5 changes the keyless setting of the vehicle based on the determination results of the vehicle interior / exterior region determination and the proximity region determination (step ST29). When the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle area based on the determination results in the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle area determination and the vicinity area determination, the controller 5 sets the keyless car door to unlock and start the engine, respectively. In addition, if it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity area, the keyless car door is set to be unlocked and the engine cannot be started, and the portable device 6 is in an area away from the vehicle. If determined, the keyless car door is set to lock and engine start impossible.

  As described above, in the keyless system according to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, the in-vehicle device 2 includes at least three speakers that emit sound waves, and the portable device 6 includes at least three speakers. The control unit 5 of the in-vehicle device 2 includes a microphone 7 that receives each radiated sound wave, and the antenna 8 receives a radio wave radiated by the antenna 4 and a radio wave reception time received by the microphone 7. Based on the above, the relative position of the user with respect to the vehicle is calculated, and based on the calculated relative position of the user with respect to the vehicle, it is determined whether the portable device 6 is in any in-vehicle region, in the vicinity region, or in a region away from the vehicle. Since it is configured, the boundary line A between the inside and outside regions of the vehicle is along the shape of the vehicle body 1, and the boundary line B between the vicinity region and the region away from the vehicle is As the distance of the region of 2m from those corresponding to the shape of the vehicle body 1, the even when the prescribed respectively, it is possible to perform the vehicle outside area determination and the nearby region judgment.

  In the keyless system according to the second embodiment, the number of speakers included in the keyless system is larger than that in the first embodiment, but the number of parts is clearly smaller than that in the conventional technique, and the production cost is also small.

  In the second embodiment, in the in-vehicle device 2, the distances D <b> 1 to D <b> 1 between the speakers 3, 9, 10 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 using the times t <b> 1, t <b> 2, t <b> 3 output by the portable device 6. The calculation of D3, the relative position detection of the portable device 6 with respect to the vehicle-mounted device 2, the vehicle interior / exterior region determination, and the proximity region determination are performed. The portable device 6 uses the measured times t1, t2, and t3 to measure the distances D1 to D3. It is good also as a structure which performs calculation of this, the relative position detection of the portable apparatus 6 with respect to the vehicle equipment 2, vehicle interior / exterior area | region determination, and vicinity area determination, and outputs a determination result to the vehicle equipment 2.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a keyless system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure similar to what was demonstrated in Embodiment 1, 2, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. The difference between the keyless system shown in FIG. 5 and the keyless system shown in FIG. 3 of the second embodiment is that it is installed in the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the car instead of the speakers 3, 9, and 10 installed in the vehicle-mounted device 2. The only difference is that the audio speakers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are connected.

Next, the operation of the keyless system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of processing of the keyless system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
First, the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves, and the antenna 8 of the portable device 6 receives the radio waves radiated by the antenna 4 (step ST31). Here, the radio wave radiated from the antenna 4 is a signal including ID information unique to the vehicle body, and examples of the modulation method include AM for placing a signal on amplitude and FM for placing a signal on frequency. Any modulation method may be used as long as a signal can be transmitted, and it is not for performing distance determination using a near magnetic field. Therefore, not only the LF band but also the UHF band and the microwave band are used. Is possible.
Note that the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 may radiate radio waves at regular intervals, or separately detect an operation of the user placing a hand on the door and radiate radio waves at the detected timing.

  Next, the audio speaker 11 after the predetermined time T4 when the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 radiates radio waves, the audio speaker 12 after the predetermined time T5, the audio speaker 13 after the predetermined time T6, and the audio speaker after the predetermined time T7. The speaker 14 radiates sound waves, and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 receives the sound waves radiated from the audio speakers 11 to 14 (step ST32). Measures the times t4 to t7 until the sound waves radiated from the audio speakers 11 to 14 are received (step ST33).

  Next, the portable device 6 transmits the measured t4 to t7 to the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 through the antenna 8 and outputs the same to the control unit 5 (step ST34). The control unit 5 is measured by the portable device 6. When the time t4 to t7 is input, the distance D4 between the audio speaker 11 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, the distance D5 between the audio speaker 12 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, the audio speaker 13 and the microphone of the portable device 6 7 and a distance D7 between the audio speaker 14 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 are calculated (step ST35).

Here, the reason why the portable device 6 can receive radio waves and sound waves radiated from the in-vehicle device 2 is when the distance between the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 6 is a very short distance of about several meters at most. The time from when the radio wave is radiated from the antenna 4 until it is received by the antenna 8 is short enough to be ignored. At this time, the distances D4 to D7 between the audio speakers 11 to 14 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 can be calculated by Expression (7), respectively. Note that y is 4, 5, 6, and 7, T4 to T7 are known values as described above, and Vs is a constant indicating the velocity of sound waves.
Dy = (ty−Ty) × Vs (7)

  In FIG. 5, a circle G is a circle with a radius D4 centered on the audio speaker 11, a circle H is a circle with a radius D5 centered on the audio speaker 12, and a circle I is centered on the audio speaker 13. A circle with a radius D6 and a circle J indicate a circle with a radius D7 centered on the audio speaker 14, respectively. In FIG. 5, since the circles G, H, I, and J overlap at one point, the distance from the audio speaker 11 is D4, the distance from the audio speaker 12 is D5, and the audio The point that the distance from the speaker 13 is D6 and the distance from the audio speaker 14 is D7 can be limited to one place. That is, the control unit 5 can detect the relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2 based on the calculated D4 to D7 (step ST36). Since the relative position can be calculated by a known method, a detailed description regarding the calculation of the relative position is omitted.

Next, the control part 5 performs vehicle inside / outside area | region determination based on the detected relative position of the portable apparatus 6 with respect to the vehicle equipment 2 (step ST37). For example, the position of the vehicle-mounted device 2 is the origin of the plane coordinates, the coordinates of the portable device 6 are (x2 [m], y2 [m]), the horizontal size of the vehicle body 1 is 2α [m], and the vertical size is 2β. In the case of [m], the in-vehicle region can be considered as a region satisfying the expressions (3) and (4).
When the coordinates (x2, y2) of the portable device 6 satisfy both the expressions (3) and (4), the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle region, and the expressions (3) and (3) When either or both of (4) are not satisfied, it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vehicle outside region.

  When the portable device 6 is determined to be in the vehicle outside region in the vehicle inside / outside region determination (NO in step ST37), the control unit 5 determines the neighborhood region based on the detected relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2. Is performed (step ST38). Here, the neighborhood area can be considered to be an area that satisfies the expressions (5) and (6) and is not an in-vehicle area.

  Here, since the vicinity region determination is performed on the portable device 6 that has already been determined to be in the vehicle outside region in the vehicle inside / outside region determination, there is no need to consider the case where the portable device 6 is in the vehicle inside region. When the coordinates (x2, y2) of the portable device 6 satisfy both the expressions (5) and (6), the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity region, and the expressions (5) and (5) When either or both of (6) are not satisfied, it is determined that the portable device 6 is in a region away from the vehicle.

  Next, the control unit 5 changes the keyless setting of the vehicle based on the determination results of the vehicle interior / exterior region determination and the proximity region determination (step ST39). When the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle area based on the determination results in the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle area determination and the vicinity area determination, the controller 5 sets the keyless car door to unlock and start the engine, respectively. In addition, if it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity area, the keyless car door is set to be unlocked and the engine cannot be started, and the portable device 6 is in an area away from the vehicle. If determined, the keyless car door is set to lock and engine start impossible.

  As described above, in the keyless system according to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained, and the audio speaker 11 installed in the car in advance is shared with the keyless system, so that the keyless communication device can be used. For this reason, it is not necessary to newly provide a speaker, and it is possible to realize further cost reduction.

  In the third embodiment, the configuration in which all of the speakers connected to the in-vehicle device 2 are audio speakers preliminarily installed in the car has been described. However, at least of the speakers connected to the in-vehicle device 2 One may be configured as an audio speaker. Further, in the case where the vehicle-mounted device 2 has only one speaker as in the first embodiment, it may be configured to connect to an audio speaker instead of the speaker 3.

  In the third embodiment, in the in-vehicle device 2, the distances D4 to D7 between the audio speakers 11 to 14 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 using the times t4 to t7 output by the portable device 6. Calculation, detection of the relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2, determination of the inside / outside region and proximity region determination, the portable device 6 uses the measured times t4 to t7 to calculate the distances D4 to D7, It is good also as a structure which performs the detection of the relative position of the portable apparatus 6 with respect to the vehicle equipment 2, a vehicle inside / outside area | region determination, and proximity | contact area determination, and outputs a determination result to the vehicle equipment 2.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 7 shows a configuration diagram of the keyless system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is not different from the configuration of the keyless system shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment. However, since the processing for determining the inside / outside area of the vehicle is different, it is shown that the boundary line A of the inside / outside area of the vehicle has a shape substantially along the vehicle body 1. A boundary line B between the vicinity area and the area away from the car indicates a circle having a radius r2 centered on the speaker 3, and the radius r2 is such that the vicinity area approximately 2 m from the vehicle body 1 is included in this circle. It is prescribed.

The operation of the keyless system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of processing of the keyless system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
First, the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 radiates radio waves, and the antenna 8 of the portable device 6 receives the radio waves radiated by the antenna 4 (step ST41). Here, the radio wave radiated from the antenna 4 is a signal including ID information unique to the vehicle body, and examples of the modulation method include AM for placing a signal on amplitude and FM for placing a signal on frequency. Any modulation method may be used as long as a signal can be transmitted, and it is not for performing distance determination using a near magnetic field. Therefore, not only the LF band but also the UHF band and the microwave band are used. Is possible.
Note that the antenna 4 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 may radiate radio waves at regular intervals, or separately detect an operation of the user placing a hand on the door and radiate radio waves at the detected timing.

  Next, when the speaker 3 installed in the vehicle-mounted device 2 radiates sound waves after a predetermined time T1 when the radio waves are radiated, the sound waves emitted from the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 are received (step ST42). Measures the time t1 from when the antenna 8 receives the radio wave to when the microphone 7 receives the sound wave, and detects the sound wave level of the received sound wave (step ST43).

  The portable device 6 transmits the measured t1 and the detected sound wave level to the antenna 4 of the in-vehicle device 2 through the antenna 8 and outputs them to the control unit 5 (step ST44).

  Next, the vehicle interior / exterior region determination is performed based on the detected sound wave level (step ST45). This is because, when the portable device 6 exists outside the vehicle, the sound wave emitted by the speaker 3 installed in the vehicle is attenuated by the vehicle body 1 and then received by the microphone 7, whereas the portable device 6 is In this case, since the sound wave emitted from the speaker 3 installed in the vehicle is received by the microphone 7 without being attenuated by the vehicle body 1, the threshold value given in advance is compared with the detected sound wave level. This makes it possible to determine the inside / outside area of the vehicle with high accuracy. It is assumed that the car window is closed.

  The control unit 5 compares the sound wave level detected by the portable device 6 with a preset threshold value. If the sound wave level detected by the portable device 6 is larger than the threshold value, the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle region. On the other hand, when the threshold value is larger than the sound wave level detected by the portable device 6, the control unit 5 determines that the vehicle is outside the vehicle.

  When it is determined that the vehicle is in the vehicle outside region in the vehicle inside / outside region determination (in the case of NO in step ST45), the control unit 5 determines the distance D1 between the speaker 3 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6 by Expression (1). It calculates (step ST46), and the neighborhood region determination is performed by comparing the calculated D1 and r2 (step ST47). The control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity area when D1 is smaller than r2, and determines that it is in the area away from the vehicle when D1 is equal to or greater than r2.

  Next, the control unit 5 changes the keyless setting of the vehicle based on the determination results of the vehicle interior / exterior region determination and the proximity region determination (step ST48). When the control unit 5 determines that the portable device 6 is in the in-vehicle area based on the determination results in the in-vehicle / out-of-vehicle area determination and the vicinity area determination, the controller 5 sets the keyless car door to unlock and start the engine, respectively. In addition, if it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vicinity area, the keyless car door is set to be unlocked and the engine cannot be started, and the portable device 6 is in an area away from the vehicle. If determined, the keyless car door is set to lock and engine start impossible.

  As described above, in the keyless device according to the fourth embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 includes at least one speaker that emits sound waves and the control unit 5 that detects the sound wave level, and the portable device 6 is emitted by at least one speaker. The control unit 5 of the in-vehicle device 2 includes a microphone 7 that receives each sound wave, and the mobile device 6 is in the in-vehicle region based on the sound wave level at which the microphone 7 receives each sound wave emitted by at least one speaker. Since it is configured to determine whether the vehicle is outside the vehicle, it is possible to realize the vehicle internal / external region determination with higher accuracy at a lower cost. In addition, since the vehicle interior / exterior region determination is performed without calculating the distance, it is possible to speed up the processing when it is determined that the portable device 6 is in the vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the case where the speaker 3 is installed in the vehicle is described. However, it is possible to similarly determine the inside / outside region even when the speaker 3 is installed outside the vehicle. . At this time, when the portable device 6 is outside the vehicle, the sound emitted from the speaker 3 installed outside the vehicle is received by the microphone 7 without being attenuated by the vehicle body 1, while the portable device 6 is inside the vehicle. Sometimes, sound emitted from the speaker 3 installed outside the vehicle is received by the microphone 7 after being attenuated by the vehicle body 1.

  Further, the speaker 3 may be installed both inside and outside the vehicle. At this time, when the portable device 6 is outside the vehicle, the sound wave reception level from the speaker installed outside the vehicle is relatively stronger than the sound wave reception level from the speaker installed inside the vehicle. When 6 is present in the vehicle, the sound wave reception level from the speaker installed outside the vehicle is relatively weaker than the sound wave reception level from the speaker installed inside the vehicle. That is, the vehicle interior / exterior region determination can be performed by comparing the reception level of the sound wave from the speaker installed inside the vehicle and the sound wave from the speaker installed outside the vehicle.

  In the fourth embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 includes only one speaker. However, as in the second embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 includes at least three speakers. Since the vicinity region determination can be performed based on the relative position of the portable device 6 with respect to the in-vehicle device 2 instead of the distance D1 between the speaker 3 and the microphone 7 of the portable device 6, the boundary line between the vicinity region and the region away from the vehicle Even if B is defined as a shape corresponding to the shape of the vehicle body 1, it is possible to determine the vicinity region.

  In the fourth embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 2 uses the sound wave level output from the portable device 6 to determine the inside / outside region, calculates the distance D1 using the time t1 output from the portable device 6, and determines the vicinity region. However, the portable device 6 determines the inside / outside region using the detected sound wave level, calculates the distance D1 using the measured time t1 and determines the vicinity region, and outputs the determination result to the in-vehicle device 2. It is good also as a structure.

  In Embodiments 1 to 4 shown so far, the frequency of the sound wave to be used is not particularly defined, but the propagation characteristics differ for each sound wave frequency. For example, in the case of a sound wave having a high frequency including ultrasonic waves, the wavelength is Since the distance is short, it is possible to improve the accuracy of distance measurement, and since the attenuation by the vehicle body 1 is large, it is suitable for the vehicle interior / exterior region determination based on the sound level difference between the vehicle interior and exterior shown in the fourth embodiment. Further, although the wavelength is long at low frequencies and the accuracy of ranging is lowered, the attenuation by the vehicle body 1 is small, so that it is suitable for use as a means for specifying the position of the portable device 6 outside the vehicle with a speaker arranged in the vehicle. Yes. Furthermore, it is possible to combine the advantages for each frequency by using a plurality of sound waves having different frequencies.

  In the present invention, within the scope of the invention, any combination of the embodiments, or any modification of any component in each embodiment, or omission of any component in each embodiment is possible. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car body, 2 vehicle equipment, 3 speaker, 4 antenna, 5 control part, 6 portable machine, 7 microphone, 8 antenna, 9 speaker, 10 speaker, 11, 12, 13, 14 Audio speaker.

Claims (17)

In a keyless system comprising an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a user, and calculating the distance between the vehicle and the user by communicating the in-vehicle device and the portable device,
The in-vehicle device includes an antenna that radiates radio waves, a speaker that radiates sound waves, and a control unit that calculates a distance between the car and the user,
The portable device includes an antenna that receives radio waves radiated from an antenna of the vehicle-mounted device, and a microphone that receives sound waves radiated from the speaker.
The control unit of the in-vehicle device is based on a radio wave reception time when the portable device antenna receives a radio wave radiated from the antenna of the on-vehicle device and a sound wave reception time when the microphone receives a sound wave radiated from the speaker. A keyless system characterized by calculating a distance between a vehicle and a user, and determining whether the portable device is in an in-vehicle region, a region outside the vehicle, or a region away from the vehicle based on the calculated distance between the vehicle and the user . In a keyless system comprising an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a user, and calculating the distance between the vehicle and the user by communicating the in-vehicle device and the portable device,
The in-vehicle device includes an antenna that radiates radio waves and a speaker that radiates sound waves,
The portable device includes an antenna that receives radio waves radiated from the antenna of the vehicle-mounted device and a microphone that receives sound waves radiated from the speaker, and the antenna of the portable device is radiated by the antenna of the vehicle-mounted device. The distance between the vehicle and the user is calculated based on the radio wave reception time when the received radio wave is received and the sound wave reception time when the microphone receives the sound wave emitted from the speaker, and the portable device based on the calculated distance between the vehicle and the user A keyless system characterized by determining whether the vehicle is in a vehicle interior region, a region outside the vehicle, or a region away from the vehicle. The keyless system according to claim 1, wherein the speaker is an audio speaker for the car. In a keyless system comprising an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to the user, the relative position of the user with respect to the car is calculated by communicating the in-vehicle device and the portable device.
The vehicle-mounted device includes an antenna of the vehicle-mounted device that radiates radio waves, at least three speakers that radiate sound waves, and a control unit that calculates the relative position of the user with respect to the vehicle.
The portable device includes an antenna that receives radio waves radiated from an antenna of the vehicle-mounted device, and a microphone that receives each sound wave radiated from the at least three speakers.
The control unit of the in-vehicle device has a radio wave reception time when the antenna of the portable device receives a radio wave radiated from the antenna of the in-vehicle device, and at least 3 when the microphone receives each sound wave radiated from the at least three speakers. The relative position of the user with respect to the car is calculated based on the two sound wave reception times, and the portable device is placed in any in-vehicle area, in the vicinity of the outside of the car, or in an area away from the car based on the calculated relative position of the user with respect to the car. A keyless system characterized by determining if it is present. In a keyless system comprising an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to the user, the relative position of the user with respect to the car is calculated by communicating the in-vehicle device and the portable device.
The in-vehicle device includes an antenna of the in-vehicle device that radiates radio waves and at least three speakers that radiate sound waves,
The portable device includes an antenna that receives radio waves radiated from the antenna of the in-vehicle device and a microphone that receives sound waves radiated from the at least three speakers, and the antenna of the portable device is the antenna of the in-vehicle device. Calculating a relative position of the user with respect to the vehicle based on a radio wave reception time when the radio wave radiated from the antenna is received and at least three sound wave reception times when the microphone receives each sound wave radiated from the at least three speakers; A keyless system characterized by determining whether the portable device is in an in-vehicle region, a region outside the vehicle, or a region away from the vehicle based on the calculated relative position of the user with respect to the vehicle. The keyless system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein at least one of the speakers is an audio speaker for the car. When it is determined that the portable device is in an in-vehicle area, the in-vehicle device enables the keyless door unlocking of the vehicle and enables the keyless engine start of the vehicle. The keyless system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. When it is determined that the portable device is in a region near the outside of the vehicle, the in-vehicle device sets the vehicle door in a keyless state and allows the keyless engine to start the vehicle in an incapable state. The keyless system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. When it is determined that the portable device is in a region away from the vehicle, the in-vehicle device sets the keyless door unlocking of the vehicle door and the keyless engine start of the vehicle impossible. The keyless system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: In a keyless system that includes an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a user, and detects the level of sound waves through communication between the in-vehicle device and the portable device,
The vehicle-mounted device includes at least one speaker that emits sound waves and a control unit that detects sound wave levels,
The portable device includes a microphone that receives each sound wave emitted from the at least one speaker,
The control unit of the in-vehicle device determines whether the portable device is in an in-vehicle region or an out-of-vehicle region based on the level of each sound wave radiated by the speaker received by the microphone of the portable device. Keyless system. In a keyless system that includes an in-vehicle device installed in a car and a portable device attached to a user, and detects the level of sound waves through communication between the in-vehicle device and the portable device,
The in-vehicle device includes at least one speaker that emits sound waves,
The portable device includes a microphone that receives each sound wave radiated from the at least one speaker, and the portable device has a vehicle interior area based on a level of each sound wave radiated by the speaker received by the microphone of the portable device. A keyless system characterized by determining whether the vehicle is outside or outside the vehicle. The keyless system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein at least one of the speakers is installed in a vehicle. The keyless system according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the speakers is an audio speaker for the car. The keyless system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein at least one of the speakers is installed outside the vehicle. 15. When it is determined that the portable device is in an in-vehicle area, the in-vehicle device sets the keyless engine in a state where the engine can be started. Keyless system as described. 15. The device according to claim 10, wherein when the portable device is determined to be in a region outside the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted device sets a keyless engine start of the vehicle in an incapable state. Keyless system described in the section. The keyless system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a sound wave emitted from the speaker uses a plurality of frequencies.

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