JP2585236Y2 - Vehicle key device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a key body having a secondary battery as a power source and a signal transmitting section driven by the secondary battery, and outputting a transmission signal from the signal transmitting section to a vehicle. The present invention relates to a vehicle key device that operates a provided driving device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, as a key device of an automobile, there is a key device equipped with a so-called wireless door lock device.
This is because a transmission circuit and a battery as a power supply for the transmission circuit are provided at the base of the ignition key, and when the user operates the transmission circuit to output a radio signal or the like, the reception circuit provided on the vehicle body side outputs the radio signal. And decrypt
If the radio signal is a specific signal set for the vehicle, the door is automatically locked by driving an electric actuator or the lock is automatically released. It is.

In such a wireless door lock device, the door can be automatically locked or unlocked simply by turning on a transmission switch provided on a key in order to operate a transmission circuit. Very convenient.

In this case, in the case where the primary battery is used as the battery as the power source, it is necessary to replace the battery, but it is difficult to improve the quality in terms of waterproofness and strength due to restrictions on the design of the key body. There is a problem.

In view of the above, conventionally, it has been considered to solve the above-mentioned problem by using a rechargeable secondary battery instead of a primary battery as a power supply. That is, only the charging electrode of the secondary battery is arranged on the surface of the key body, and the secondary battery is externally supplied with power through the charging electrode to charge and secure power. This eliminates the need for a structure for battery replacement, so that waterproofness and strength can be satisfied to predetermined standards.

[0006]

However, in the conventional device described above, the charging electrode is exposed on the surface of the key body, and the charging electrode and the electrode of the power supply portion are charged when charging the secondary battery. The contact between the electrodes may cause poor contact between the electrodes due to wear and corrosion of the electrodes, or the charging electrode portion may be a path for water to enter the electronic circuit portion of the key body. There is a problem that the reliability is still insufficient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to reliably charge a secondary battery and to improve the waterproofness of a key body to improve reliability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a key device for a vehicle, which can improve the key value.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a key body includes a secondary battery as a power source and a signal transmission unit driven by the secondary battery. The transmission unit outputs a transmission signal from the signal transmission unit. The present invention is directed to a vehicle key device that operates a driving device provided in a vehicle, and includes a charging circuit provided inside the key body and a charging circuit provided on a surface portion of the key body. A solar cell for charging the secondary battery, and a light emitting unit provided on the vehicle and irradiating the solar cell with light when the key body is mounted on a predetermined portion of the vehicle. It has features.

[0009]

According to the vehicle key device of the present invention, when the key body is mounted on a predetermined portion on the vehicle side, an electromotive force is applied to the solar cell disposed on the surface of the key body by light emitted from the light projecting portion. Occur. As a result, the secondary battery provided in the key body is supplied with power from the solar battery via the charging circuit, so that a power source for driving the signal transmission unit is secured.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a wireless key device for an automobile will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows an ignition key cylinder 1 provided on a steering column of an automobile, and a key rotor 2 is rotatably disposed on the key cylinder 1. The key 3 serving as a key body can be inserted into and removed from the key rotor 2, and the key 3 can be rotated by the inserted key 3.

The key rotor 2 turns an ignition switch (not shown) to "OFF",
The state can be switched to four states of “ACC”, “ON” and “START”.

The key 3 is composed of a key plate 4 and a key grip 5, and solar cells 6, 6 are embedded in both shoulders of the key grip 5 located on the side of the key plate 4 according to its shape. Has been established. A door lock button 7 and a door unlock button 8 are provided on one surface of the key grip 5. As described later, the solar cells 6 and 6 are provided inside the key grip 5.
A charging circuit 9, a secondary battery 10, a transmission circuit 11 serving as a signal transmission unit, and the like (see FIG. 1) are provided, and are integrally formed of resin.

On the key cylinder 1 side, lamps 12 and 12 which emit strong light having directivity are arranged vertically, and these lamps 12 and 12
When the key rotor 2 is turned to the “ON” position in a state where the key 3 is inserted, light is emitted toward the solar cells 6 and 6 of the key 3. The lamp 12 emits white light including all visible light, so that an efficient electromotive force can be obtained for the solar cell 6.

FIG. 1 shows an electric configuration, and a light projecting circuit 13 as a light projecting unit for lighting the lamps 12 is provided on the key cylinder 1 side. This light emitting circuit 1
In 3, the power supply circuit 14 is supplied with power from a vehicle-mounted battery (not shown), and its output terminal is connected to the timer circuit 15 and to the lighting circuit 16. The lamps 12 are connected to the output terminal of the lighting circuit 16. The timer circuit 15 drives the lighting circuit 16 for a predetermined time.

On the other hand, on the key 3 side, the charging circuit 9
A circuit for charging the secondary battery 10 with an electromotive force generated by the solar cell 6. A diode 17 and a resistor 18 are connected in series between the positive terminals of the solar cell 6 and the secondary battery 10. And a zener diode 19 for preventing overcharge in the illustrated polarity in parallel with the secondary battery 10.
Are connected.

The secondary battery 10 is, for example, a vanadium-lithium battery having a diameter of 12.5 mm and a thickness of 2 mm and having an electromotive force of about 3 V. Connected between them. The switch 20 performs an ON / OFF operation in accordance with the operation of the door lock button 7 and the door unlock button 8, and supplies a driving power from the secondary battery 10 to the transmission circuit 11. The voltage detection circuit 21 detects the terminal voltage of the secondary battery 10 and outputs the state of charge via the transmission circuit 11.
The input terminal is connected to the positive terminal of the secondary battery 10, and the output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the transmission circuit 11.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

When the key 3 is inserted into the key rotor 2 of the key cylinder 1 and turned to the "ON" position, the light emitting circuit 1
In 3, the power supply circuit 14 is activated and supplies power from the vehicle-mounted battery to the timer circuit 15 and the lighting circuit 16. Thus, the lamps 12 and 12 are turned on for a predetermined timer time, for example, 10 minutes.

On the other hand, in the key 3, the solar cells 6, 6
When a strong light is emitted from the lamps 12, a predetermined electromotive force is generated. The charging operation of the secondary battery 10 is started by the electromotive force of the solar cells 6 and 6 via the charging circuit 9. When the terminal voltage of the secondary battery 10 reaches a predetermined voltage, the voltage detection circuit 21 detects this and transmits it via the transmission circuit 11. Then, when the vehicle-side receiving circuit (not shown) receives this signal, the operation of the power supply circuit 14 is stopped and the lamps 12 and 12 are turned off even before the elapse of the above-described timer time of 10 minutes.

Thus, the secondary battery 10 of the key 3 is sufficiently charged, and when the door lock button 7 or the door unlock button 8 is operated from outside the vehicle, the transmission circuit 11 is driven to drive the vehicle. The power supply for transmitting the lock signal or the unlock signal can be secured on the side.

According to this embodiment, the lamps 12, 12 are provided on the key cylinder 1 side, and the keys 3
Since the secondary battery 10 is charged through the charging circuit 9 by generating an electromotive force in the solar cell 6 provided in the key 3, it is not necessary to expose the contact electrode for charging to the key 3, Therefore, there is no occurrence of contact failure due to wear or corrosion due to contact of the electrodes, and charging can be reliably performed. In addition to the charging operation not only by the external natural light but also positively performing the charging operation, the key 3 Can always secure a power source for performing the wireless operation.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the secondary battery 10 of the key 3 can be charged in a non-contact manner without exposing the electrodes, so that the key grip 5 is entirely covered with the resin. By sealing it, the waterproof structure can be made sufficient, and the reliability can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the timer circuit 1
5, the lighting time of the lamps 12 and 12 is limited to the time required for charging, and when the completion of charging of the secondary battery 10 is detected by the voltage detection circuit 21, a signal is output by the transmission circuit 11 and the lamps 12 and 12 are output. Since the lamp 12 is turned off, the lamps 12 and 12 are not turned on unnecessarily.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from this embodiment is that a ring-shaped lamp 22 having a shape along the outer peripheral portion of the key cylinder 1 is provided instead of the lamps 12 and 12, and substantially the entire surface of the key grip 5 is covered instead of the solar cells 6 and 6. The solar cell 23 is provided as described above.

The same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained also in the second embodiment.

In the present embodiment, white light is used as the irradiation light. Alternatively, the charging operation may be performed only with infrared light. In this case, although the charging efficiency is slightly lower than that of the white light, when the outside is dark, such as at night, there is an advantage that the visibility of the driver is not hindered as compared with the white light.

[0028]

As described above, according to the vehicle key device of the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting section is provided on the surface of the key body while the key body is mounted on the predetermined portion on the vehicle side. Since the secondary battery is charged by the electromotive force received positively by the solar cell, the power of the key body can always be secured, and unlike the conventional case, there is no need to provide a contact electrode or the like, and therefore, It is possible to prevent malfunction due to abrasion, corrosion, and the like, and to provide an excellent effect that a sufficient waterproof structure can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the overall configuration.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a key cylinder, 2 is a key rotor, 3 is a key (key body), 5 is a key grip, 6 and 23 are solar cells, 9 is a charging circuit, 10 is a secondary battery, 11 is a transmission circuit (signal transmission section), 12 is a lamp, 13 is a light emitting circuit (light emitting unit), 14
Is a power supply circuit, 15 is a timer circuit, 16 is a lighting circuit, 19
Is a Zener diode, 20 is a switch, 21 is a voltage detection circuit, and 22 is a ring lamp.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) E05B 65/20 E05B 17/10 E05B 19/00 E05B 49/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A key unit includes a secondary battery as a power supply and a signal transmission unit driven by the secondary battery, and outputs a transmission signal from the signal transmission unit to operate a driving device provided in the vehicle. A charging circuit provided inside the key body, a solar cell disposed on the key body surface portion for charging the secondary battery via the charging circuit, and A key device for a vehicle, comprising: a light emitting unit provided on a vehicle and irradiating the solar cell with light in a state where the key body is mounted on a predetermined portion of the vehicle.