JP2022130401A - Mobile terminal, device, control method, program, and system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system or the like for easily establishing communication using a high frequency between a mobile terminal and an on-vehicle device.

SOLUTION: A device includes: a distance measurement unit configured to perform distance measurement processing for measuring a distance to another device by wireless communication using a first frequency band; and a notification unit configured to, when a predetermined operation is detected and the distance measurement processing fails, notify the other device of an error related to the distance measurement processing by wireless communication using a second frequency band including a frequency lower than the first frequency band.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a system using a mobile terminal device used in a vehicle or the like.

A smart key system is known as an authentication system for vehicles. A smart key system is a mobile terminal device such as an electronic key possessed by a user that communicates with in-vehicle equipment via short-range wireless communication and authenticates it. allows the vehicle to perform an operation such as starting the engine (see Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, UWB (ultra-wideband) wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as “UWB communication”) capable of highly accurate distance measurement has been proposed as a type of short-range wireless communication. UWB communication can measure distance, for example, based on the transit time of a pulse wave.

JP 2010-7457 A

In the smart key system, if the mobile terminal device and the vehicle are authenticated, the range of existence of the mobile terminal device is accurately detected by distance measurement using UWB communication, and the permission or rejection of vehicle operation is determined based on the detected range, security can be improved. and improve service quality. However, since UWB communication uses radio waves that include a high-frequency band that is difficult to reach, communication may be blocked from the on-vehicle equipment by the human body, metal, etc., depending on the position of the pocket in which the mobile terminal device is stored or the contents of the bag. It was difficult to apply it to the smart key system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a system or the like that facilitates the establishment of high-frequency communication between a mobile terminal device and an in-vehicle device.

In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention is a device, which is a distance measuring unit that performs a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to another device by wireless communication using a first frequency band. and, when a predetermined operation is detected and the ranging process fails, a second frequency band including frequencies lower than the first frequency band is used to send a notification corresponding to an error related to the ranging process. and a notification unit that performs wireless communication to other devices.

According to the present invention, when high-frequency communication or the like cannot be performed between a mobile terminal device and an in-vehicle device, it is possible to notify the fact, so that it is possible to provide a system or the like that facilitates the establishment of communication using high-frequency waves. can.

1 is a functional block diagram of an authentication system according to first and second embodiments of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a communicable range and a predetermined distance range used to determine the result of ranging communication according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention; Flowchart showing processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention Flowchart showing processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention

(Overview)
In the authentication system according to the present invention, in addition to authentication, distance measurement can be used to accurately specify the existence range of the mobile terminal device, thereby improving security and quality. In addition, when communication is not possible due to shielding of high frequency waves for distance measurement between in-vehicle devices, the user can be notified of this fact and the user can be urged to eliminate the shielding, thereby facilitating the establishment of distance measurement communication. can be done.

(First embodiment)
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration>
FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of an authentication system 10 according to this embodiment. Authentication system 10 includes mobile terminal device 100 and in-vehicle device 200 mounted in vehicle 400 .

Mobile terminal device 100 includes UHF communication section 102 (first communication section), UWB communication section 103 (second communication section), control section 101 (first control section), and notification section 104 . In-vehicle device 200 also includes a UHF communication unit 202 (third communication unit), a UWB communication unit 203 (fourth communication unit), and a control unit 201 (second control unit).

The mobile terminal device 100 and the vehicle-mounted device 200 communicate mainly for authentication using the UHF communication units 102 and 202, respectively. In this embodiment, radio waves in a band of 300 to 400 MHz are used as an example in this communication, but radio waves in other bands may be used. For example, radio waves in the LF band may be partially used.

Also, the mobile terminal device 100 and the vehicle-mounted device 200 use the respective UWB communication units 103 and 203 to communicate mainly for distance measurement. In this communication, radio waves in a band including frequencies higher than the frequency band of radio waves used by the UHF communication units 102 and 202 are used. In this embodiment, as an example, UWB communication using a band of 3 to 10 GHz is performed.

The notification unit 104 of the mobile terminal device 100 has a vibrator, a speaker, or the like, and can generate vibration, sound, or the like to alert the user of the mobile terminal device 100 .

The functions of the respective units of the mobile terminal device 100 and the in-vehicle device 200 are controlled by control units 101 and 201, respectively.

<Wireless communication>
FIG. 2 shows an example of the communicable range. A communicable range 501 by the UHF communication units 102 and 202 is, for example, a range of about 10 m or less from the antenna provided on the vehicle 400 . That is, if the mobile terminal device 100 is within the communicable range 501, authentication is possible.

<Processing>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the vehicle-mounted device 200 when the mobile terminal device 100 enters the communicable range 501 of the UHF communication units 102 and 202 . The processing will be described with reference to FIG.

Step S101: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 uses the UHF communication unit 202 to communicate with the UHF communication unit 102 controlled by the control unit 101 of the mobile terminal device 100 for authentication.

Step S102: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the authentication has succeeded based on the communication result. Authentication is performed, for example, by acquiring the identifier of the mobile terminal device 100 through encrypted communication and collating it. If the authentication succeeds, the process proceeds to step S103; otherwise, the process returns to step S101. When the communication itself from the mobile terminal device 100 is interrupted, it is highly likely that the mobile terminal device 100 has moved out of the communicable range 501 of the UHF communication units 102 and 202, so the processing of this flowchart is stopped. . Even if the authentication is successful, communication between the UHF communication units 202 and 102 is performed periodically in parallel with the subsequent processing, and if the communication itself from the mobile terminal device 100 is interrupted, the processing of this flowchart is canceled. do.

Step S103: Initialize a counter for counting the number of consecutive failures in subsequent distance measurement communication and set the value to zero.

Step S104: The control unit 201 of the vehicle-mounted device 200 uses the UWB communication unit 203 to communicate with the UWB communication unit 103 controlled by the control unit 101 of the mobile terminal device 100 for distance measurement.

Step S105: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the distance measurement is successful based on the communication result. If the distance measurement is successful, the process proceeds to step S106; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S107. If not, the portable terminal device 100 is within the communicable range 501 of the UWB communication units 103 and 203, and the antenna is shielded by a human body or a metal object such as a notebook computer in a bag. likely to be

Step S106: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the distance between the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203 and the mobile terminal device 100 indicated by the distance measurement result is within a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance is preferably a value smaller than the communicable distance by the UHF communication units 102 and 202, and can be, for example, 2 m or less. FIG. 2 shows an example of a range 502 within such a predetermined distance. As a result of the determination, if it is within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S110, and if it is not within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S103.

Step S107: The controller 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 increments the count value by one.

Step S108: The controller 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the count value exceeds a predetermined value. When it exceeds, it progresses to step S109, and when it does not exceed, it returns to step S104. The predetermined value can be 3, for example.

Step S109: Since the control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 has failed to measure the distance continuously for a predetermined number of times, the control unit 201 causes the UHF communication unit 202 to transmit a radio signal indicating that the measurement has failed. When the UHF communication unit 102 receives this radio signal, the control unit 101 of the mobile terminal device 100 operates the notification unit 104 to notify the user of this. After that, the process proceeds to step S103. The user is alerted by the notification and moves the mobile terminal device 100 by changing its posture and orientation, moving the bag, etc., so that the possibility of successful range finding after the shielding is eliminated increases.

Step S110: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 permits the operation of the vehicle based on a predetermined operation. For example, when the antenna of UWB communication unit 203 is provided near a door handle of vehicle 400, the door is unlocked by performing a touch operation on the door handle. With the above, the processing up to the permission of the predetermined action is completed. After that, the distance measurement is repeated, and if the distance measurement is not successful or the distance is not within the predetermined distance, the permission of the predetermined action is canceled. can be made

<effect>
With the above processing, the existence range of the mobile terminal device 100 for permitting the operation of the vehicle by a predetermined operation can be accurately limited to a narrower range by distance measurement using UWB communication. Quality can be improved. Further, if the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203 is provided near the driver's seat, for example, it can be determined with high accuracy that the portable terminal device 100 is in the driver's seat in the vehicle. It can be performed. Further, when the portable terminal device 100 is shielded from the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203, the user can be prompted to remove the shielding.

(Second embodiment)
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration>
Since the functional blocks of the authentication system 20 according to this embodiment are the same as those of the authentication system 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Authentication system 20 includes mobile terminal device 100 and in-vehicle device 200 mounted in vehicle 400 . Mobile terminal device 100 includes UHF communication section 102 (first communication section), UWB communication section 103 (second communication section), control section 101 (first control section), and notification section 104 . In-vehicle device 200 also includes UHF communication section 202 (fifth communication section), UWB communication section 203 (sixth communication section), and control section 201 (third control section).

<Processing>
In this embodiment, the processing to be executed is different from that in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing performed by the vehicle-mounted device 200 when the mobile terminal device 100 according to this embodiment enters the communicable range 501 of the UHF communication units 102 and 202 . The processing will be described with reference to FIG.

Step S201: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 uses the UHF communication unit 202 to communicate with the UHF communication unit 102 of the mobile terminal device 100 for authentication.

Step S202: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the authentication has succeeded based on the communication result. Authentication is performed, for example, by acquiring the identifier of the mobile terminal device through encrypted communication and collating it. If the authentication succeeds, the process proceeds to step S203; otherwise, the process returns to step S201. When the communication itself from the mobile terminal device 100 is interrupted, it is highly likely that the mobile terminal device 100 has moved out of the communicable range 501 of the UHF communication units 102 and 202, so the processing of this flowchart is stopped. . Even if the authentication is successful, communication between the UHF communication units 202 and 102 is performed periodically in parallel with the subsequent processing, and if the communication itself from the mobile terminal device 100 is interrupted, the processing of this flowchart is canceled. do.

Step S203: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 uses the UWB communication unit 203 to communicate with the UWB communication unit 103 of the mobile terminal device 100 for distance measurement.

Step S204: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not a predetermined operation on the vehicle, such as a door handle touch operation, has been detected. If detected, proceed to step S205; if not detected, proceed to step S207.

Step S205: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the distance measurement is successful based on the communication result. If the distance measurement is successful, the process proceeds to step S206; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S208. If not, the portable terminal device 100 is within the communicable range 501 of the UWB communication units 103 and 203, and the antenna is shielded by a human body or a metal object such as a notebook computer in a bag. likely to be

Step S206: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 determines whether or not the distance between the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203 and the mobile terminal device 100 indicated by the distance measurement result is within a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance is preferably a value smaller than the communicable distance by the UHF communication units 102 and 202, and can be, for example, 2 m or less. As a result of the determination, if it is within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S209, and if it is not within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S207. Although distance measurement communication can be performed multiple times at predetermined time intervals, it is preferable to use the distance measurement result obtained at the time closest to the detection of the predetermined operation for determination. If it is not within the predetermined distance, it can be determined that the detected predetermined operation was not performed by the user himself/herself.

Step S207: The controller 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 waits for a predetermined time. The predetermined time can be, for example, 0.5 seconds. After that, the process returns to step S203.

Step S208: Since the control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 has not succeeded in ranging, it causes the UHF communication unit 202 to transmit a radio signal indicating that the ranging has failed. When the UHF communication unit 102 receives this radio signal, the control unit 101 of the mobile terminal device 100 operates the notification unit 104 to notify the user of this. After that, the process proceeds to step S203. The user is alerted by the notification and moves the mobile terminal device 100 by changing its posture and orientation, moving the bag, etc., so that the possibility of successful range finding after the shielding is eliminated increases.

Step S209: The control unit 201 of the in-vehicle device 200 executes the motion of the vehicle based on the detected predetermined operation. For example, when the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203 is provided near the door handle of the vehicle 400 and it is detected in step S204 that the door has been touched, the door is actually unlocked. . The above completes the processing up to the execution of the predetermined operation, but in order to detect another predetermined operation, the processing after step S203 can be repeated.

<effect>
With the above processing, the existence range of the mobile terminal device 100 for executing a vehicle action by a predetermined operation can be accurately limited to a narrower range by distance measurement using UWB communication. Service quality can be improved. Further, when the portable terminal device 100 is shielded from the antenna of the UWB communication unit 203, the user can be prompted to remove the shielding. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the notification unit 104 does not perform a notification operation until a predetermined operation is performed on the vehicle even if the distance measurement fails, thereby reducing the possibility of unnecessary notification being performed. In addition, if the ranging communication is executed within a predetermined period after the predetermined operation is detected, and the ranging communication is successful, and the mobile terminal device is within the predetermined distance, the operation of the vehicle is executed. good too.

In any embodiment, if a plurality of antennas are provided for the UWB communication unit 203 of the in-vehicle device 200, the position of the mobile terminal device can be specified more accurately, and a service that more precisely corresponds to the user's position can be provided. can do.

It should be noted that the present invention can be regarded not only as a system including an in-vehicle device and a portable terminal device, but also as a method executed by a plurality of computers having processors. It can also be regarded as an in-vehicle device and a mobile terminal device that constitute the system.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for vehicle authentication systems and the like.

10, 20 authentication system 100 portable terminal device 400 vehicle 200 in-vehicle device 101 control unit (first control unit)
102 UHF communication unit (first communication unit)
103 UWB communication unit (second communication unit)
104 reporting unit 201 control unit (second and third control units)
202 UHF communication unit (third and fifth communication unit)
203 UWB communication unit (4th and 6th communication unit)
501 Communicable range by UHF communication 502 Predetermined distance range for judgment of distance measurement result

Claims (8)

a device,
A distance measurement unit that performs distance measurement processing for measuring a distance to another device by wireless communication using a first frequency band;
When a predetermined operation is detected and the distance measurement process fails, a notification corresponding to the error related to the distance measurement process is sent in a second frequency band including frequencies lower than the first frequency band. A notification unit that performs to the other device by wireless communication used;
equipment. Performing authentication processing by performing wireless communication using the second frequency band with the other device;
The device of claim 1. the wireless communication using the first frequency band is communication according to UWB;
3. A device according to claim 1 or 2. Further comprising a control unit that performs vehicle control based on the distance to the other device measured by the distance measuring unit,
4. A device according to any one of claims 1-3. the device is a vehicle;
5. A device according to any one of claims 1-4. A computer-implemented control method for a device, comprising:
a step of performing a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to another device by wireless communication using a first frequency band;
When a predetermined operation is detected and the distance measurement process fails, a notification corresponding to the error related to the distance measurement process is sent in a second frequency band including frequencies lower than the first frequency band. a step of performing to the other device by wireless communication using
Control method including. A program to be executed by the computer of the device,
a step of performing a distance measurement process for measuring a distance to another device by wireless communication using a first frequency band;
When a predetermined operation is detected and the distance measurement process fails, a notification corresponding to the error related to the distance measurement process is sent in a second frequency band including frequencies lower than the first frequency band. a step of performing to the other device by wireless communication using
A program that contains . A system comprising the device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and the other device.

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