JP3502767B2 - Vehicle window operation control system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle window operation control system for wirelessly remotely controlling opening and closing of a vehicle window, and more particularly to reducing power consumption thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a system for controlling opening / closing of a vehicle window by a portable transmitter such as a wireless door lock, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-105254. This conventional system is a door lock remote control system, which controls the locking and unlocking of the vehicle door by pushing the push button switch of the portable transmitter. After unlocking, the window of the vehicle is controlled to open and close in conjunction with the power window device. Such a function responds to needs such as wanting to close a window that has been forgotten to be closed after locking the door, and opening a window before getting into a vehicle that has been stopped under the scorching sun so that heat inside the vehicle can escape.

[0003] Another conventional technique, the actual Kaihei 4-11
The technology disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0874 relates to reduction of power consumption of a portable transmitter. The door locking / unlocking operation is performed by the vehicle-side receiver collating and determining the code signal transmitted from the portable transmitter. Generally, door locking and unlocking is difficult to judge from the outside, and therefore the operator tends to press the push button switch of the portable transmitter more than is necessary for the matching / judging operation in the vehicle side receiver. It solves the problem of consuming unnecessary power. In this conventional technique, even if the push button switch is continuously pressed, the portable transmitter stops the transmission of the signal when a predetermined time set longer than the time required for the locking / unlocking operation on the vehicle side has elapsed.

The second conventional technique relates to remote control for locking / unlocking a door, but there is a similar technique for opening / closing a window. In that technology, the transmission from the portable transmitter for opening and closing the window is automatically turned off at a time corresponding to the time required to fully open or close the window, thereby reducing the power consumption of the portable transmitter. It is possible to prevent waste. In addition, in the portable transmitter having the automatic transmission stop function, when the operator operates the button once, for example, the portable transmitter has a function of continuing the transmission for a predetermined time required to fully open and close the window. Some were configured so that you do not have to keep pressing.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional vehicle window operation control system, a dedicated switch is provided to control the opening and closing of the window, and the door unlock and lock switches are continuously pressed. There was one that opened and closed the window, and automatically opened and closed the window with the push of a button.
Although there are various forms as described above, in any of these configurations, the ID code transmitted by radio waves or infrared rays is continuously transmitted from the portable transmitter while the window is opened or closed or the switch is pressed. However, by continuing to match the codes, the opening / closing operation of the window is maintained. Unlike a door lock / unlock, a window opening / closing operation requires a relatively long time, for example, several seconds. Therefore, transmission from a portable transmitter is automatically stopped according to the time required for the window opening / closing operation. The conventional method has a problem that the power consumption is not sufficiently suppressed.

[0006] In addition, the portable transmitter is generally carried by an operator in a pocket or a bag of clothes,
At that time, there is also a problem that the push button may be pressed against another object and may be erroneously operated, resulting in unnecessary wireless transmission and power consumption. For example, when the button is continuously pressed in such a form, a timer function is provided for functions such as door lock / unlock, and if the continuous press continues for a predetermined time or longer, it will automatically It is also possible to stop the wireless transmission. However, in the case of the window operation, since the button may be pressed for a long time as an actual operation, it is not possible to stop the wireless transmission by the timer function, or, for example, the time required for the window to move fully over the timer time. It is necessary to set a relatively long time such as several seconds. for that reason,
The method of providing this timer has a problem that it is not effective in reducing power consumption due to erroneous operation of the window operation button. Further, in the above-described configuration in which the code signal for the window operation is continuously transmitted by one push, there is a problem that such an erroneous operation is likely to occur and power consumption is significant.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and makes it possible to shorten the transmission time of radio waves and the like as compared with the window opening / closing operation time, so that the power saving effect of the portable transmitter is further enhanced. An object is to provide a motion control system.

[0008]

In a vehicle window operation control system according to the present invention, a portable transmitter uses a push button switch used for instructing a window operation, and the window operation is performed when the push button switch starts to be pressed. A start signal transmitting means for transmitting an operation start code signal for instructing the start of the operation, and a stop signal transmitting means for transmitting an operation stop code signal for instructing the stop of the window operation when the push button switch is released. Then, wireless transmission for the window operation is performed only at the start and the stop of the window operation, and the window operation control unit drives the window during the period from the reception of the operation start code signal to the reception of the operation stop code signal. The section is provided with an operation control means for continuing the window operation.

According to the present invention, the portable transmitter transmits the operation start code signal instructing the start of the window operation at the start of pressing the push button switch to start the opening operation or the closing operation of the window. Despite the push button switch being pressed, the portable transmitter continues the operation start code signal for the time required to start the window operation and then stops it. The window operation control unit for controlling the window operation on the vehicle side starts the window operation upon receiving the operation start code signal, and continues the operation even after the operation start code signal from the portable transmitter is stopped. In order to stop the continuous window operation, the operator releases the push button switch which has been continuously pressed. The portable transmitter regards the release of the push button switch as an instruction to stop the window operation, and at the time of the release, transmits the operation stop code signal instructing the stop of the window operation to stop the continuous window operation. The portable transmitter is configured such that the start / stop of the window operation can be operated by pressing and releasing one push button switch, and from the time after the operation start code signal transmission is stopped until the operation stop code signal transmission is started. , It is not necessary to transmit to continue the window operation.

Another vehicle window operation control system according to the present invention is characterized in that an output intensity of the operation stop code signal is larger than an output intensity of the operation start code signal.

According to the present invention, the window operation control section is
The operation stop code signal can be received more reliably than the operation start code signal, and the operator's intention to stop the opening / closing of the window can be more surely transmitted to the vehicle side. As a result, the window stops its operation at the position intended by the operator.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a vehicle window operation control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The portable transmitter 10 is an electronic key or RKE, and is carried by an operator such as a driver. On the other hand, on the vehicle side, the receiver 1 that constitutes the window operation control unit
2 and a body multiplex ECU (electronic control unit) 14 are mounted, and the door is equipped with a door lock motor 16 and a power window motor 18 which are controlled by the body multiplex ECU 14.

The portable transmitter 10 wirelessly transmits a code signal and can remotely control not only the lock / unlock of the vehicle door but also the opening / closing of the window. here,
As the wireless carrier wave, for example, radio waves or infrared rays having a frequency of 300 MHz and other frequencies are used. The receiver 12 receives the radio signal transmitted from the portable transmitter 10, demodulates and extracts the code signal, and passes it to the body multiplexing ECU 14. The body multiplexing ECU 14 controls the operations of the door lock motor 16 and the power window motor 18 based on the received code signal to lock and unlock the door lock, and to open and close the window. .

The portable transmitter 10 is provided with buttons for performing these operations. A push button switch for opening and closing the window may be provided exclusively for the operation, or may be shared with a button for operating the door lock. First, as a first embodiment, the features of the present invention will be described by taking the case where the portable transmitter 10 has a push button switch for opening and closing the window as an example.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the frame format of the code signal transmitted from the portable transmitter 10. The code signal is a digital signal composed of a series of bits having a value of either "1" or "0", and the inside thereof is divided into some blocks.
For example, at the beginning, a preamble 20, header 21, and encryption code 2 used for transmission / reception control and vehicle identification.
2, a block such as an ID code 23 is provided, followed by a status block 2 indicating a predetermined operation type.
4 is transmitted. A correction code 25 such as a parity bit for error correction is added to the end of the frame.

The body multiplex ECU 14 is a portable transmitter 10.
The ID code sent from the device is collated, and only when the ID code matches the value registered in the body multiplexing ECU 14, various controls designated by the status are executed. For the status, for example, a different bit is assigned for each operation type, and for example, one bit of the status is assigned to window open and the other one bit is assigned to window close. The window open bit is, for example, "1" when starting the opening operation, that is, when instructing "open".
(Referred to as "mark") is set, the opening operation is stopped,
That is, "0" (referred to as "space") is set when instructing "stop". On the other hand, the window close bit is set to "1" when instructing to start "close" the closing operation, and to "0" when instructing to stop "stop" the opening operation.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the operation of the portable transmitter. The figure (a) shows the button operation of the operator. The operator uses the portable transmitter 10 to open the window.
Press and hold the window open button from time t _S to t _E. That is, the operator starts pressing the window open button at the time t _S when he / she wants to open the window, and releases the button from the button at a time t _E when the window is opened to the desired position. This button operation is similar to the conventional one, and conventionally, a frame instructing to open the window is repeatedly transmitted continuously from time t _S to t _E. In general, the power window is operated relatively gently from the fully closed state to the fully open state, and conversely from the fully closed state to the fully open state, for example, several seconds, for example, about 6 seconds. Therefore, the conventional portable transmitter has to continue wireless transmission for the relatively long time,
That amount of electricity was consumed.

The present invention is intended to reduce the power consumption of this portable transmitter, and FIG. 3 (b) is a timing diagram showing the operation of the portable transmitter 10 of this system. When the operator starts pressing the window open button to open the window, the portable transmitter 10 marks a code signal (that is, stores “1” in the window open bit) in the status (operation start code signal). Three
0) is temporarily transmitted, and then the wireless output is stopped.
For example, the mobile transmitter 10 ideally needs to transmit only one frame of the operation start code signal. Here, considering that a reception error or the like may occur, the receiver 12 can be more reliably
For example, it may be configured to continuously transmit a few frames so that the instruction is transmitted to the.

When the body multiplexing ECU 14 detects the operation start code signal in the reception signal from the receiver 12, the body multiplex ECU 14 starts driving the power window motor 18 to start the window opening operation. The body multiplexing ECU 14 continues this opening operation even if the operation start code signal is stopped. In other words, in this system, the receiver 12 receives the operation stop code signal for stopping the opening operation of the window, and the receiver 12 receives the operation stop code signal.
The body multiplex ECU 14 continues to open the window until the input is made to 14.

The operation stop code signal for stopping the opening operation of the window is a code signal in which the window open is set as a space in the above-mentioned frame structure (that is, a code signal in which "0" is stored in the window open bit). is there. The portable transmitter 10 detects that the operator has stopped pressing the window open button, and temporarily transmits the operation stop code signal 32 from time t _E. Like the operation start code signal 30, the operation stop code signal 32 may be composed of only one frame, or may be composed of several frames in succession for reliable command transmission.

One frame of the code signal is 100 mS, for example.
If the operation start code signal 30 and the operation stop code signal 32 are each configured by repeating 3 frames, a total of 6 frames are required to start and stop the opening operation of the window, that is, about 0.6 seconds. Is wirelessly transmitted.

As described above, conventionally, the radio transmission is continued for about 6 seconds from the fully closed to fully opened operation of the window, whereas in the present system, the portable transmitter 10 is about 1/10 of that. And the power consumption of the battery of the portable transmitter 10 can be suppressed to about 1/10.

In the case of the window closing operation, when the window close button provided on the portable transmitter 10 is started to be pressed, an operation start code signal with the status window closed is temporarily transmitted, and when the button is released, , The operation stop code signal with the space set in the wind close is temporarily transmitted. Based on these code signals, control similar to the above-described window opening operation is performed to reduce power consumption.

Next, in the portable transmitter 10, the door unlocking operation and the window opening operation are performed by operating a common push button switch, and the door locking operation and the window closing operation are performed by another common push button. An embodiment configured to be performed by operating a switch will be described.

FIG. 4 shows an ASK modulation (amplitude shift ke
1 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a portable transmitter 10 based on an ying (amplitude shift keying modulation) method. The portable transmitter 10 is provided with a door lock button switch SW1 provided also for a window closing operation, a door unlock button switch SW2 provided for a window opening operation, and a trunk unlocking operation. Button switch SW3. The ID generating section 40 generates a bit pulse train based on a predetermined format as shown in FIG. 2, for example, in response to the operation of these button switches.

The output of the ID generator 40 is the transistor 42.
Connected to the base of. The other end of the resonator 44 whose one end is grounded is connected to this base. By applying the pulse output from the ID generation unit 40 to the resonator 42, the base voltage of the transistor 42 is ASK-modulated,
This modulated signal is amplified by the transistor 42, and the ASK-modulated code signal is transmitted from the antenna 46 connected to the collector thereof.

The modulation system does not have to be the ASK system,
For example, the FSK system can be adopted. FIG. 5 shows F
SK modulation (frequensy shift keying)
It is a schematic circuit block diagram of the portable transmitter 10 by the system.
In this configuration, power is supplied from the enable terminal of the ID generating section 40 to the collector of the transistor 50 by turning on any of the button switches SW1 to SW3. At the same time, a bit string is output from the code terminal. The cord terminal has a varicap 5 with one end grounded.
2 is connected, and a resonator 54 is provided between the code terminal and the base of the transistor 50. When the voltage applied to the varicap 52 changes due to the bit pulse train from the code terminal, the capacitance changes, the load capacitance of the resonator 54 changes, and the FSK modulation signal is generated. This modulation signal is amplified by the transistor 50, and the FSK-modulated code signal is transmitted from the antenna 56 connected to the collector thereof.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the ID generating section 40. In this figure, for simplicity, only the door unlock button switch SW2 is shown as a switch. A configuration in which the window operation and the door operation are realized by one shared button switch will be described with reference to this drawing. When SW2 is pressed, the input terminals of the switch-on detector 60 and the fall trigger detector 62 are connected to a predetermined power source 64, and the voltage thereof transits from L (LOW) level to H (HIGH) level, for example. . The switch-on detector 60 detects that the SW2 is pressed based on the rise of this voltage. The status determining unit 66 receives the output from the switch-on detector 60 and determines the status to be door unlock. The code generation unit 68 is activated by the start of the status output of the status determination unit 66, and starts the output of the code signal in which the door unlock bit of the status is set to "1".
This state is basically continued until the code generation unit 68 is stopped with the release of SW2. That is,
The status determination unit 66 maintains the door unlock status until the SW2 is turned off, and the code generation unit 68 repeatedly outputs the code signal instructing the door unlock.

Another case where the door unlock code signal from the code generator 68 is stopped is when SW2 is continuously pressed for a predetermined time. When the switch-on detector 60 is activated by turning on the SW2, the timer circuit 70 is activated in synchronization with the activation of the switch-on detector 60 and starts counting up from 0. The timer circuit 70 outputs a status change instruction to the status determination unit 66 when the count value reaches a value corresponding to, for example, 8 frames of the code signal (for example, 0.8 seconds when 1 frame is 100 mS). Upon receiving the status change instruction from the timer circuit 70, the status determination unit 66 changes the status from door unlock to window open start. In response to this, the code generation unit 68 returns the status door unlock bit in the code signal to "0", changes the window open bit from "0" to "1", and continues the output of the code signal. .

The timer circuit 70 continues counting, and sends a stop signal to the code generating section 68 when the count value reaches a value corresponding to the elapse of 1.0 second, which is an increase of 2 frames, for example. As a result, the code generator 68 stops the code generation, the portable transmitter 10 stops the wireless output, and the current consumption required for the wireless output becomes zero.

The falling trigger detector 62 has a voltage level on the input side from H to L upon release of depression of the switch SW2.
Upon detecting the transition to, the status change instruction is output to the status determination unit 66. The status determination unit 66
When a status change instruction is received from the fall trigger detector 62, the status up to that point is changed to the status of the wind open stop. In response to this, the code generation unit 68 starts outputting the window open operation stop code signal in which the window open bit of the status in the code signal is "0". When the code generation unit 68 is stopped by the stop signal generated by the falling trigger detector 62 after the time of two frames of the code signal elapses, the output of the operation code signal from the mobile transmitter 10 is stopped and the mobile transmission is performed. The power consumption of the wireless transmission of the device 10 is zero.

As described above, when the operator stops pressing the button in less than 0.8 seconds, the portable transmitter 10 stops the window opening operation following the door unlock code signal. Two frames of code signals are transmitted to stop wireless transmission. In this case, since the window opening operation has not been started, the operation stop code signal has no meaning and is ignored by the body multiplexing ECU 14.

When the depression is continued for 0.8 seconds or more and 1.0 seconds or less, the portable transmitter 10 sends an operation start code signal for the window opening operation following the door unlock code signal for 8 frames. After transmitting one frame or two frames, the operation stop code signal of the window opening operation is further transmitted for two frames to stop the wireless transmission. In this case, the window opening operation is started and then immediately stopped.

When the pressing is continued for 1.0 second or longer, the portable transmitter 10 transmits a code signal for unlocking the door for 8 frames from the start of pressing the button, and then the operation start code signal for the window opening operation. After transmitting 2 frames, the wireless transmission is once stopped. Incidentally, in this case, as described in the above example, once the body multiplex ECU 14 starts the window opening, the window opening operation is performed even if the operation start code signal of the window opening operation from the portable transmitter 10 is stopped. continue. The portable transmitter 10 starts wireless transmission again when the button is released, transmits the operation stop code signal for two frames, and stops wireless transmission again. By receiving the operation stop code signal, the body multiplex ECU 14 stops the opening operation of the window which has been continued until then.

The power window motor 18 is stopped when the window is fully opened. Therefore, the operation stop code signal issued when the pressing of the button switch is stopped thereafter is simply ignored by the body multiplex ECU 14, and there is no inconvenience in operation.

According to the embodiment described here, the door unlock and the button switch for the window opening operation can be shared. When the button is pressed for 1 second or longer to open the window, the transmission of the code signal from the portable transmitter 10 is stopped in the middle of the period even though the button is pressed, and the portable transmission is performed. The power consumption of the battery of the machine 10 is saved. For example, in the example described here, if it takes 6 seconds to fully open the window, a total of 12 frames, that is, 1.2 seconds of radio transmission is required to realize the window, so that the power consumption is 1 / Suppressed to 5.

Here, an example in which the button switch SW2 is shared by the door unlock and the window opening operation has been described, but the portable transmitter 10 has the button switch SW1 which is also shared by the door lock and the window closing operation. The door lock / unlock and the window opening / closing operations can be freely operated by operating both SW1 and SW2.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of the ASK type receiver 12 and corresponds to the ASK type portable transmitter 10 shown in FIG. In addition, FIG. 8 shows FSK.
5 is a schematic block configuration diagram of a receiver 12 of the Tx method.
It corresponds to the ASK type portable transmitter 10 shown in FIG. These each receive the electric wave from the portable transmitter 10 by the antenna 80, demodulate the bit string showing a code signal from the carrier wave, and output it from the output terminal 82 to the body multiplex ECU 14 of the next stage. When the code signal is transmitted by infrared rays, the portable transmitter 10 uses an infrared light emitting element instead of the antenna, while the receiver 12
An infrared sensor is used instead of the antenna 80.

When the receiver 12 receives the code signal, the body multiplexing ECU 14 collates the ID code and determines whether the code signal is for the host vehicle. When this verification is passed, various operations specified by the status of the code signal are performed. For example, when the operator starts pressing the SW2 of the portable transmitter 10, the code signal instructing the door unlock is first transmitted as described above. Upon receiving this, the body multiplex ECU 14 drives the door lock motor 16 to unlock the door. Furthermore, the operator is SW
When 2 is kept pressed, the operation start code signal for instructing the opening operation of the window is subsequently transmitted for a short time. Body multiple E
Upon receiving this, the CU 14 receives the power window motor 18
Drive to start the operation of opening the window. The body multiplex ECU 14 continues the operation of opening the window even if the operation start code signal from the portable transmitter 10 is stopped. The opening operation of the window is stopped when the body multiplex ECU 14 receives the window operation stop code signal from the portable transmitter 10. The window operation stop code signal is issued for a short time when the button switch SW2 of the portable transmitter 10 is released.

The operator tries to stop the operation by releasing the depression of the button switch when the window is opened or closed to a desired position. Therefore, in order to stop the window at the position intended by the operator, it is necessary for the receiver 12 to reliably receive the operation stop code signal transmitted when the button is released.
Therefore, in this system, the output of the operation stop code signal transmitted by the portable transmitter 10 is made stronger than the output of the operation start code signal. In the configuration example of the portable transmitter 10 in this case, the portable transmitter 10 is connected to the collector of the transistor 46 (or the transistor 50) depending on whether the operation start code or the operation stop code is generated in the configurations shown in FIGS. The load and the power source to be controlled can be switched and controlled from the ID generating section 40. For example, in a situation such as the distance between the portable transmitter 10 and the receiver 12 and the mutual orientation in which the operation start code signal is barely received by the receiver 12, the operation stop code signal is transmitted with the same strength. Then there is no guarantee that it will be received by the receiver 12. However, if the operation start code signal is received by increasing the strength of the operation stop code signal as in the portable transmitter 10 of the present system, the distance from the operation start code signal may be further increased, or the portable transmission may be performed. Even when the directivity of the machine 10 changes, the code signal can be reliably transmitted to the vehicle side, and the window control faithful to the intention of the operator is performed.

[0042]

According to the vehicle window operation control system of the present invention, during the period during which the button switch is pressed in order to continue the opening operation or the closing operation of the window,
Radio transmission from the portable transmitter is stopped. That is, according to the present invention, since the wireless output is performed only when the window operation is started and stopped, the window operation can be controlled while saving the power consumption of the battery of the portable transmitter. Also, even if the button is pressed by mistake while carrying the portable transmitter, wireless transmission is performed only for a limited time when the button is pressed and when it is released, avoiding unnecessary power consumption. There is an effect that is done.

Further, by making the strength of the operation stop code signal larger than the strength of the operation start code signal, it is possible to obtain an effect that the window control can be performed with high precision in accordance with the intention of the operator.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a vehicle window operation control system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a frame format of a code signal transmitted from a portable transmitter.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the operation of the portable transmitter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a portable transmitter according to an ASK modulation method.

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a portable transmitter according to an FSK modulation method.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of an ID generation unit.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block configuration diagram of an ASK receiver.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an FSK receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 portable transmitter, 12 receiver, 14 body multiplex E
CU, 16 door lock motor, 18 power window motor, 40 ID generator, 60 switch-on detector, 62 falling trigger detector, 64 power supply, 66
Status determination unit, 68 code generation unit, 70 timer circuit.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-54525 (JP, A) JP-A-8-199882 (JP, A) JP-A-8-105254 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 4-110784 (JP , U) Actual Kaihei 6-76586 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 7-91927 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) E05F 15/20 B60J 1/17 E06B 9/68 E05B 49/00 H04Q 9/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A control signal is wirelessly transmitted from a portable transmitter,
In a vehicle window operation control system for remotely controlling a window operation for opening or closing a vehicle window, the control signal is received by a vehicle-mounted window operation control unit, wherein the portable transmitter is a window operation instruction. A push button switch used for, with the start of pressing the push button switch, start signal transmitting means for transmitting an operation start code signal for instructing the start of the window operation, and with the release of the push button switch released. A stop signal transmitting means for transmitting an operation stop code signal for instructing the stop of the window operation, and wirelessly transmitting the window operation only when the window operation starts and when the window operation is stopped. The controller controls the win during the period from the reception of the operation start code signal to the reception of the operation stop code signal. A vehicle window operation control system, comprising: an operation control unit for continuing the window operation in a drive unit. 2. The vehicle window operation control system according to claim 1, wherein the output intensity of the operation stop code signal is larger than the output intensity of the operation start code signal.