JP5056126B2 - Electronic key system and in-vehicle device for electronic key system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic key system and an in-vehicle device for the electronic key system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of automobile related technology, an electronic key system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and a portable device possessed by a vehicle user has been put into practical use. This type of electronic key system can control door locking / unlocking and engine starting without the need to operate with mechanical keys, if authentication by wireless communication is established between the in-vehicle device and the portable device. It is a mechanism that can be executed.

  By the way, in this kind of electronic key system, when the channel used by the in-vehicle device and the portable device is fixed to a single channel, normal communication can be performed if an interference wave with the same frequency as that channel arrives. It causes problems such as disappearance.

In order to deal with such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 has already proposed a technique for performing communication by switching a plurality of channels having different frequencies. In the case of the technique described in Patent Document 1, a user can change a channel used at the time of communication by operating a switch and switching a plurality of channels to one of them.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-315681

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the channel is not changed by the switch operation unless the user notices a communication failure caused by the jamming radio wave. Therefore, even in a situation where communication failure occurs with considerable frequency, if communication is occasionally successful, some users may not be aware of the occurrence of communication failure and may not change the channel. In addition, if the user arbitrarily changes the channel, there is a possibility that the channel is likely to be adversely affected by jamming radio waves.

Further, instead of manual setting as described above, it is possible to detect the occurrence of communication failure due to jamming radio waves and automatically change to another channel.
However, when the channel is automatically changed to another channel, for example, if the channel is changed only according to a predetermined order, the channels arranged in the higher order are likely to be disturbed. In an environment where there are only channels, it takes time to complete the automatic change to a channel that is not easily disturbed, resulting in a problem that the response until the authentication is established is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic key that can automatically change a channel when a communication failure occurs and can improve the response until the authentication is established. A system and an in-vehicle device for such an electronic key system are provided.

Hereinafter, the configuration employed in the present invention will be described.
In the electronic key system according to claim 1, when the in-vehicle device requests a response from the portable device, the portable device in response to the response request returns a response to the in-vehicle device. At that time, the response channel can be selected from a plurality of channels. Which channel is used is selected on the in-vehicle device side and notified to the portable device. As a result, the in-vehicle device and the portable device are ready to send and receive responses using the same channel.

  In addition, if the in-vehicle device fails to receive a response after trying to send a response request and receiving a response, it re-selects a channel other than the channel selected at the time of reception failure from a plurality of channels, Try to send a response request and receive a response again. Therefore, for example, even if the user does not manually set the channel by operating the switch, the channel can be automatically changed.

In addition, when the response is successfully received, the frequency of successful response reception or the frequency can be calculated for each of the plurality of channels as communication performance information indicating that the response channel at the time of successful reception is valid. Is stored in the communication performance storage means. Therefore, priorities can be set for a plurality of channels based on this communication performance information. As described above, when selecting or reselecting a response channel from among a plurality of channels, the priority is determined from the higher priority. One channel can be selected in order.

  Therefore, for example, unlike the case where the channel is changed in accordance with a predetermined order, the channel to be transmitted / received first is determined based on the communication performance information as “the possibility of being able to communicate very much”. High channel ". Therefore, it is possible to improve the response until the authentication is established without causing a problem that it takes time to change to a channel that is not easily disturbed.

Further, the in-vehicle device accumulates, as communication performance information, the frequency at which a response is successfully received or information that can be used to calculate the frequency for each of a plurality of channels. Therefore, when setting the priority order for a plurality of channels, the priority order can be set based on the frequency of successful response reception. Furthermore, the in-vehicle device can store the communication performance information for a predetermined number of times or a predetermined period in the communication performance storage means, and when storing new communication performance information, erase the oldest communication performance information, Add new communication performance information. Therefore, an excessively old communication record can be excluded, and a new communication record to some extent can be reflected in the priority order.
In the electronic key system according to claim 2, when the in-vehicle device tries to transmit a response request and receive a response, an ID included in the response and a control ID stored on the in-vehicle device side When collation is performed and it is determined that the collation results match, it is determined that the response transmitted from the predetermined portable device has been successfully received. Therefore, communication performance information can be accumulated only for a predetermined portable device whose matching results match.

  In the electronic key system according to the third aspect, the in-vehicle device sets, for a plurality of channels, a priority order that is higher for a channel having a higher frequency of successful reception of a response. Therefore, priority is given to in-vehicle devices based on the frequency of successful response reception, without requiring the user to determine which channel has the highest frequency of successful response reception. Can be set.

  In the electronic key system according to claim 4, communication performance information can be transmitted to a terminal device (for example, a diagnostic tool to be described later) that can communicate via a communication path (for example, a multiple communication line to be described later). Priorities determined on the terminal device side based on communication performance information can be set for a plurality of channels. Therefore, it is possible to see on the terminal device which channel has a high frequency of successful reception of responses, and the user who sees it decides the priority arbitrarily, and assigns the priority to multiple channels. Can be set.

  In the electronic key system according to the fifth aspect, some of the plurality of channels can be set to be used as response channels, and the remaining channels can be set not to be used as response channels. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent a useless communication from being attempted by setting a channel that frequently fails to receive a response to be not used as a response channel.

  In the electronic key system according to claim 6, not only when the portable device returns a response in response to a request from the in-vehicle device side, but also when the portable device side voluntarily issues a command to the in-vehicle device side. The channel to which the command transmission is attempted is a channel with a high possibility of communication. Therefore, there is a high possibility of successful communication and authentication, and in this case as well, it is possible to improve the response until the authentication is established.

  In addition, the in-vehicle device for an electronic key system according to each of claims 7 to 11 can be combined with a portable device to constitute the electronic key system according to any of claims 1 to 5. it can.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with specific examples.
(1) First Embodiment An electronic key system described below executes control such as door unlocking when a specific portable device possessed by a regular user of a vehicle enters a wireless communication area around the vehicle. Function (so-called smart function) and a function (so-called remote keyless entry function) for performing control such as locking / unlocking of the door according to the button operation on the portable device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic key system. This electronic key system includes an in-vehicle device 1 mounted on a vehicle and a portable device 2.
Among these, the in-vehicle device 1 includes a control unit 10, an LF transmission unit 11, an RF reception unit 13, an engine switch 15, a door switch 16, and the like.

  The control unit 10 is a microcomputer that controls the operation of the entire vehicle-mounted device 1, and a communication performance storage unit 10 </ b> A is secured in a nonvolatile memory built in the control unit 10. The communication performance storage unit 10A stores information on the channel used when the reception from the portable device 2 is successful, and details thereof will be described later.

  The LF transmitter 11 is a means for transmitting a radio signal to the portable device 2 using an LF (Low Frequency) band radio wave. The radio signal transmitted from the LF transmission unit 11 reaches only within a limited communication area such as the vicinity of the door outside the vehicle compartment, the interior of the vehicle, the inside of the trunk, and the vicinity of the trunk outside the vehicle compartment.

  The RF receiver 13 is a means for receiving a radio signal transmitted from the portable device 2 using radio waves in an RF (Radio Frequency) band. This RF receiving unit 13 can communicate by switching to one of three channels CH1 to CH3 (frequency: RF1 to RF3) having different frequencies, and the control unit 10 controls which channel to switch to. It has become.

  The engine switch 15 is a switch operated by the user when starting the engine. When the operation of the engine switch 15 is detected by a signal from the engine switch 15, the control unit 10 determines that the engine is started. Determine whether it is in a permitted state. If the engine start is permitted, an engine start signal is transmitted from the control unit 10 to the engine control system.

  The door switch 16 is a switch provided on a door handle that is operated by a user when the door is opened. When the operation of the door handle by the user is detected by a signal from the door switch 16, the control unit 10. Determines whether door unlocking is permitted. When the door unlocking is permitted, an unlock signal is transmitted from the control unit 10 to the door lock control system.

In addition, the portable device 2 includes a control unit 20, an LF reception unit 22, an RF transmission unit 23, an operation unit 24, a keyless communication channel storage unit 25, and the like.
The control unit 20 is a microcomputer that controls the operation of the entire portable device 2 side. The LF receiver 22 is a means for receiving a radio signal transmitted from the in-vehicle device 1.

  The RF transmitter 23 is means for transmitting a radio signal to the in-vehicle device 1. Further, the RF transmission unit 23 includes a transmission frequency selection unit 23A, and in response to a command from the control unit 20, the channels CH1 to CH3 are set so that the channel used for transmission is the same channel as the in-vehicle device 1 side. The frequency is switched to any one of (frequency: RF1 to RF3).

  The operation unit 24 includes a switch serving as a trigger for using the remote keyless entry function. When a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit 24, door locking / unlocking control is performed on the in-vehicle device 1 side. It is structured.

  The keyless communication channel storage unit 25 is a storage area secured in a nonvolatile memory built in the portable device 2 and is used to transmit a command from the portable device 2 side when using the remote keyless entry function. The channel is stored.

[Processes executed by in-vehicle devices and portable devices when using smart functions]
Next, processing executed by the in-vehicle device 1 and the portable device 2 when using the smart function will be described. 2 is a flowchart of processing executed by the in-vehicle device 1, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a data structure of the communication performance storage unit 10A, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing executed by the portable device.

  When the in-vehicle device 1 starts the process shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle device 1 determines whether or not a predetermined communication condition is satisfied (S105). If the predetermined communication condition is not satisfied (S105: NO), the process of S105 is repeated. If the predetermined communication condition is satisfied (S105: YES), the process proceeds to S110.

  In the process of S105, as a specific example when a predetermined communication condition is satisfied, for example, a condition that an operation on a door switch is performed or an engine switch operation is performed can be cited. However, these conditions themselves are not particularly limited. For example, an affirmative determination may be made in the process of S105 when a condition that the communication timing to be performed periodically is reached in addition to the timing at which the user performs some operation as described above.

When the process proceeds to S110, the in-vehicle device 1 determines the priority order of the RF channel based on the storage contents of the communication performance storage unit 10A (S110).
A more specific example will be described. First, in the communication result storage unit 10A, as illustrated in FIG. 3, information about a channel in which communication with the portable device 2 is established is accumulated for the past 10 times. It is like that. In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 3, information indicating that communication on the RF channel CH3 has been established six times recently, and information on communication on the RF channel CH2 has been established four times in the past.

  Therefore, in the processing of S110, the priority order is determined so that the higher the communication establishment count is, the higher the priority order is based on the past ten communication achievements stored in the communication achievement storage unit 10A. In the case illustrated in FIG. 3, the RF channel CH3 is the first priority, the RF channel CH2 is the second, and the RF channel CH1 is the third.

  Subsequently, the in-vehicle device 1 sets 1 to a variable n (S112), and transmits data to the portable device 2 by LF (S115). The reason why signal transmission using LF band radio waves is performed in S115 is mainly to limit the detection area of the portable device 2 to the periphery of the vehicle.

  The data transmitted in the process of S115 is data for notifying the portable device 2 that a response is requested. At the time of data transmission, the priority order n is based on the value of the variable n. Is notified to the portable device 2.

  As will be described later, the processing of S115 may be executed several times depending on the communication status. However, at the first execution, n = 1 is set by the processing of S112. (In the case illustrated in FIG. 3, the RF channel CH3) is notified to the portable device 2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the portable device 2 notified of the response channel first changes the channel used in the RF transmission unit 23 to the RF channel commanded from the in-vehicle device 1 (S305). Since the RF channel commanded from the in-vehicle device 1 is included in the data transmitted by the process of S115, the RF channel (frequency) used by the RF transmission unit 23 in the process of S305 based on the data. Changes are made.

  And the response from the RF transmission part 23 to the vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 is transmitted (S310). In the process of S310, a response signal including a unique ID for identifying that the portable device 2 corresponds to a vehicle is transmitted.

  And the portable device 2 memorize | stores the frequency instruct | indicated from the vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 in the keyless communication channel memory | storage part 25 as a keyless communication channel (S315), and complete | finishes the process by the portable device 2 side.

  Now, when the process as described above is executed on the portable device 2 side, the in-vehicle device 1 side receives a response from the portable device 2 on the RF channel (response channel) of priority n (S120). . What is received by the process of S120 is a response transmitted from the portable device 2 side by the process of S310.

  However, in the process of S120, the response from the portable device 2 may be received normally or may not be received normally depending on the surrounding environment. For example, in an environment where a jamming wave having the same frequency as the response arrives, the response may not be received normally, and unexpected data may be received.

  Therefore, when the process of S120 is completed, the ID included in the received response is collated with the control ID stored on the in-vehicle device 2 side to determine whether or not they match by the process of S125. (S125).

  Here, if the ID collation results match (S125: YES), it is considered that the response transmitted from the predetermined portable device 2 has been normally received. In this case, in this case, a predetermined function operation (for example, a door) Unlocking, starting the engine, etc.) are executed (S130). Thereafter, the successfully received channel is transmitted to the portable device 2 by LF as RF channel information for keyless communication (S132), and the portable device 2 stores it in the keyless communication channel storage unit 25 by the processes of S320 and S325 in FIG. To do. Then, the storage contents of the communication result storage unit 10A are updated (S135), and the process shown in FIG. In the process of S135, the oldest communication performance is erased and the current communication performance is added, so that the past 10 communication performances are updated to the latest information.

  In the process of S135, if there is a limit on the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory used as the communication performance storage unit 10A, the information already stored in the communication performance storage unit 10A is confirmed and a substantial change is made. Only when necessary, writing to the communication performance storage unit 10A may be performed.

  Specifically, for example, if information indicating that only the same single channel is used is recorded as the past 10 communication results, and communication is established on the same channel this time, a substantial change is made. In this case, it is not necessary to write to the communication performance storage unit 10A.

  On the other hand, if the ID collation results do not match in the processing of S125 (S125: NO), there is a possibility that the response could not be received normally due to the influence of jamming radio waves. Therefore, in this case, the response channel is changed and reception of the response is retried.

  Specifically, first, 1 is added to the variable n (S140), and whether the stored value of the variable n is larger than the total number of channels that can be used as response channels (“3” in this embodiment). It is determined whether or not (S145). Here, if the stored value of the variable n is equal to or less than the total number of channels (S145: NO), there is still a response channel different from the response channel that has already been tried. In this case, the process proceeds to S115. Return.

  In the loop processing that returns from S115 to S115 through S120, S125, S140, and S145 as described above, the ID collation matches (S125: YES), or even if all channels are tried, the ID collation does not match (S145: Repeat until YES).

  In this loop process, since the value of the variable n is incremented by 1 in the process of S140, in the process of S115, the RF channel with the n-th priority in order is notified to the portable device 2, and in the process of S120, The response reception from the portable device 2 is tried on the RF channel with the priority n.

  During the loop process, if the ID collation results match in the process of S125 (S125: YES), it is considered that the response transmitted from the predetermined portable device 2 has been successfully received. Therefore, in this case, a predetermined functional operation (for example, unlocking the door lock, starting the engine, etc.) is executed (S130).

[Processes performed by the mobile device when using the remote keyless entry function]
Next, processing executed by the portable device when using the remote keyless entry function will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  When this process is started, the portable device 2 first changes the RF channel used by the RF transmission unit 23 to the channel read from the keyless communication channel storage unit 25 (S405). And the command from the RF transmission part 23 to the vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 is transmitted (S410), and a process is complete | finished.

  In the process of S405, the frequency read from the keyless communication channel storage unit 25 is stored by the process of S320 and S325 executed most recently. This is a frequency that is notified from the in-vehicle device 1 side when the latest smart function is used and is not re-notified thereafter. Therefore, if the instruction | command from the portable device 2 is transmitted using this frequency, the possibility that it can be received on the in-vehicle device 1 side becomes higher than other frequencies.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
As described above, according to the electronic key system, the channel can be automatically changed without the user having to manually set the channel by operating the switch.

  Moreover, according to the electronic key system, when the response from the portable device 2 is successfully received, the communication result information indicating that the response channel at the time of successful reception is valid is accumulated in the communication result storage unit 10A. . Therefore, in the process of S110, priority can be set for a plurality of channels based on the communication performance information.

  Further, when selecting or reselecting a response channel from a plurality of channels by loop processing returning from S115 to S115 via S120, S125, S140, and S145, one channel is selected in order from the highest priority. You can choose.

  Therefore, for example, unlike the case where the channel is changed in accordance with a predetermined order, the channel to be transmitted / received first is determined based on the communication performance information as “the possibility of being able to communicate very much”. High channel ". Therefore, it is possible to improve the response until the authentication is established without causing a problem that it takes time to change to a channel that is not easily disturbed.

  Further, in the above electronic key system, when using the remote keyless entry function, when the command is transmitted from the portable device 2 to the in-vehicle device 1, the in-vehicle device is used as a channel for transmitting the command when the latest smart function is used. The channel transmitted from 1 is used.

Therefore, the channel used when using the remote keyless entry function is also a channel with a very high possibility of communication, and in this case, the response until the authentication is established can be improved.
(2) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second and subsequent embodiments, although a part of the configuration is different from the first embodiment, there are many common portions. Therefore, in the following description, the differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and common portions will be denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  First, in the second embodiment, a diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B is secured in addition to the communication result storage unit 10A in the nonvolatile memory built in the control unit 10. In addition, a diagnostic tool 3 (corresponding to an example of a terminal device according to the present invention) can be connected to the in-vehicle device 1 (control unit 10) via a multiplex communication line 31 (corresponding to an example of a communication path according to the present invention). It has become a structure.

  The diagnostic tool 3 is a device prepared by, for example, an automobile dealer or manufacturer, and can be set for the in-vehicle device 1 (control unit 10) by a panel operation. The setting contents of the diagnostic tool 3 are diagnostic tool settings. It is stored in the storage unit 10B.

  FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen displayed when the priority setting function of the response channel is called in the diagnostic tool 3. On this screen, communication result information accumulated in the communication result storage unit 10A is displayed.

  The user can arbitrarily set the priority order of the response channels by looking at the information displayed on the screen of the diagnostic tool 3. Specifically, the diagnostic tool 3 screen has radio buttons for selecting which RF channel to use in the order of step 1 → 2 → 3, and this radio button uses the RF channel. You can select the priority when you do.

  For example, in the case illustrated in FIG. 7A, since the communication performance of the RF channel CH3 is the highest, the communication with the RF channel CH3 is tried first, so that the RF channel CH3 is selected for step 1 It has become. Similarly, the RF channel CH2 is selected for step 2, and the RF channel CH1 is selected for step 3.

  That is, in the case illustrated in FIG. 7A, the priority order when using the RF channel is the order of CH3 → CH2 → CH1. The priority order selected on the diagnostic tool 3 side is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 1 via the multiple communication line 31 and stored in the diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B. Then, it will be referred to in the processing of S210 described later.

  The diagnostic tool 3 can also be set so that some of the plurality of channels that can be used as response channels are used as response channels, while the remaining channels are not used as response channels. .

  For example, in the case illustrated in FIG. 7B, since the communication performance of the RF channel CH3 is the highest, the RF channel CH3 is selected for step 1 in order to try communication on the RF channel CH3. ing. However, in steps 2 and 3, the RF channel is not selected. In this case, the remaining channels CH1 and CH2 are set not to be used as response channels.

  Information indicating that such an effective channel is only CH3 is also transmitted to the in-vehicle device 1 via the multiplex communication line 31 and stored in the diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B. Then, it will be referred to in the processing of S210 described later.

[Processes executed by in-vehicle devices and portable devices when using smart functions]
Next, the process which the vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 performs at the time of smart function utilization is demonstrated. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing executed by the in-vehicle device 1.

This process is different from the first embodiment in that the process of S210 is executed instead of the process of S110 described in the first embodiment after the process of S105.
More specifically, in the first embodiment, in the process of S110, the in-vehicle device 1 determines the priority order of the RF channels based on the storage contents of the communication performance storage unit 10A, but in the process of S210, the diagnosis is performed. Based on the setting in the tool 3, the effective RF channel and the priority order of the RF channel are determined (S210).

  Explaining with a specific example, when the setting illustrated in FIG. 7A is made using the diagnostic tool 3 described above, this setting is stored in the diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B. . In this case, in the process of S210, there are three effective RF channels based on the information stored in the diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B, and the priority order is CH3, CH2, CH1, and the RF channel Determine the priority.

  Similarly, when the setting illustrated in FIG. 7B is made using the diagnostic tool 3, in the process of S210, an effective RF is based on the information stored in the diagnostic tool setting storage unit 10B. The priority of the RF channel is determined on the assumption that there is one channel, and the priority is CH3 is the first, and other RF channels are not used.

  In addition, since it becomes a process equivalent to the process shown in FIG. 2 in 1st Embodiment except the process of S210, description here is abbreviate | omitted. Further, when the in-vehicle device 1 executes the process shown in FIG. 8, the process to be executed on the portable device 2 side is exactly the same as the process shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. The description about is also omitted.

Incidentally, the process executed by the portable device 2 when using the remote keyless entry function is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5).
[Effects of Second Embodiment]
Even in the electronic key system as described above, the channel can be automatically changed even if the user does not manually set the channel by operating the switch, as in the first embodiment.

  That is, it is necessary to set the effective channel and the channel change order in advance with the diagnostic tool 3, but once the setting is made, the automatic operation is automatically performed according to the usage environment of the electronic key system. You can change the channel.

  Moreover, according to the electronic key system, when the response from the portable device 2 is successfully received, the communication result information indicating that the response channel at the time of successful reception is valid is accumulated in the communication result storage unit 10A. . Therefore, when setting with the diagnostic tool 3, the effective channel and the channel change order can be set based on the communication result information. In the process of S210, a plurality of channels are set based on the setting with the diagnostic tool 3. Can set the priority.

Therefore, for example, unlike the case where the channel is changed according to a predetermined order that cannot be changed, the channel to be first tried for transmission / reception is determined to be “extremely communicable” determined based on the communication performance information. Channel with high possibility ”. Therefore, it is possible to improve the response until the authentication is established without causing a problem that it takes time to change to a channel that is not easily disturbed.
(3) Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the processing executed by the in-vehicle device 1 when using the smart function is merely configured differently from the other embodiments, and therefore the following description will focus on differences from the other embodiments. To do.

[Processes executed by in-vehicle devices and portable devices when using smart functions]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of processing executed by the in-vehicle device 1 when the smart function is used. The third embodiment combines the configurations of the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

  Specifically, after the process of S105 is executed, in the third embodiment, first, it is determined whether or not the setting in the diagnostic tool 3 described in the second embodiment has been made (S220). And when the setting by the diagnostic tool 3 is not made (S220: NO), the vehicle-mounted apparatus 1 performs the process of S110 like 1st Embodiment. In this case, the processing after S112 is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment.

  On the other hand, when the setting is made in the diagnostic tool 3 (S220: YES), the in-vehicle device 1 executes the process of S210 as in the second embodiment. In this case, the processing after S112 is exactly the same as that of the second embodiment.

  Note that the processing after S112 is exactly the same as that in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here. Further, when the in-vehicle device 1 executes the process shown in FIG. 9, the process to be executed on the portable device 2 side is exactly the same as the process shown in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. The description about is also omitted.

[Effect of the third embodiment]
Even in the electronic key system as described above, the channel can be automatically changed even if the user does not manually set the channel by operating the switch, as in the first and second embodiments.

In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily set whether the vehicle-mounted device 1 functions as in the first embodiment or functions as in the second embodiment.
[Modifications, etc.]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said specific one Embodiment, In addition, it can implement with a various form.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the information about the channel with which communication with the portable device 2 is established is accumulated in the communication result storage unit 10A for the past 10 times. However, how many times the information is accumulated in the past. Is optional.

  However, if too much information is accumulated over a long period of time, even if there is a change in the channel that is likely to be disturbed, the communication performance accumulated in the past is relatively large and the latest communication performance is relatively small. Will not be reflected in the priority order. Accordingly, considering such points, it is effective to accumulate information about the past 10 to 20 times.

  In addition, in order to eliminate an excessively old communication performance and reflect a new communication performance to a priority order in this way, whenever the communication performance is accumulated, information indicating the date and time is also accumulated, and the date and time is excessive. You may comprise so that old information may be excluded. In other words, the new communication performance may be reflected in the priority order by a method other than the accumulation count.

The schematic block diagram of the electronic key system demonstrated as 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart of the process which a vehicle-mounted apparatus performs at the time of smart function utilization in 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of a communication performance memory | storage part. The flowchart of the process which a portable device performs at the time of smart function utilization. The flowchart of the process which a portable machine performs at the time of using a remote keyless entry function. The schematic block diagram of the electronic key system demonstrated as 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which illustrated the screen displayed when calling the priority setting function of the channel for response in a diagnostic tool. The flowchart of the process which a vehicle-mounted apparatus performs at the time of smart function utilization in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart of the process which a vehicle-mounted apparatus performs at the time of smart function utilization in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Car-mounted apparatus, 2 ... Portable machine, 10 ... Control part, 10A ... Communication performance memory | storage part, 10B ... Diagnostic tool setting memory | storage part, 11 ... LF transmission part, 13. ..RF receiver, 15 ... engine switch, 16 ... door switch, 20 ... controller, 22 ... LF receiver, 23 ... RF transmitter, 23A ... transmission frequency selection , 24... Operation unit, 25... Keyless communication channel storage unit.

Claims (11)

In order to cause the in-vehicle device to perform various controls by performing wireless communication between the in-vehicle device and a portable device carried by a user, and performing wireless communication between the in-vehicle device and the portable device. An electronic key system that performs the necessary authentication,
The portable device is
When a response request is transmitted from the in-vehicle device side, the response request can be received, and when the response request is received, a response channel notified from the in-vehicle device side is used to respond to the response request. The response is configured to be transmitted to the in-vehicle device side,
The in-vehicle device is
The response request can be transmitted to the portable device side, and when the response request is transmitted, one channel can be selected from a plurality of channels and the channel can be notified to the portable device side as the response channel. Then, when the response is transmitted from the portable device side, the response channel is configured to be able to receive the response,
If reception of the response fails as a result of attempting to transmit the response request and receiving the response, a channel different from that at the time of reception failure is reselected as the response channel from the plurality of channels. Configured to try again to send the response request and receive the response,
As a result of trying to send the response request and receiving the response, if the response has been successfully received, the plurality of channels are used as communication performance information indicating that the response channel at the time of successful reception is valid. For each, the frequency of successful reception of the response or information that can be used to calculate the frequency is stored in the communication performance storage means, so that priorities can be set for the plurality of channels based on the communication performance information Composed of
In attempting to transmit the response request and receive the response, when selecting or reselecting the response channel from the plurality of channels, one channel is selected in descending order of priority. is configured to,
The communication performance storage means can store the communication performance information for a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined period. When storing the new communication performance information, the oldest communication performance information is deleted and a new one is stored. An electronic key system configured to add the communication performance information . When the in-vehicle device tries to transmit the response request and receive the response, the in-vehicle device collates the ID included in the response with the reference ID stored on the in-vehicle device side, The electronic key system according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the results match, the electronic key system is configured to determine that the response transmitted from the predetermined portable device has been successfully received . The in-vehicle device is configured to set, for the plurality of channels, a priority order that is higher for a channel having a higher frequency of successful reception of the response based on the communication performance information. The electronic key system according to claim 2. The in-vehicle device can transmit the communication performance information to a terminal device capable of communicating via a communication path, and the priority order determined on the terminal device side based on the communication performance information is set to the plurality of channels. The electronic key system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electronic key system is configured to be set for the electronic key. The in-vehicle device can be set from the terminal device so that some of the plurality of channels are used as the response channel while the remaining channels are not used as the response channel. The electronic key system according to claim 4. The portable device is configured to store the response channel notified from the in-vehicle device side in a response channel storage unit, and responds to a predetermined operation when a predetermined operation is received from a user. A command to be transmitted is transmitted to the in-vehicle apparatus using the response channel stored in the response channel storage means.
The electronic key system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein An in-vehicle device capable of configuring the electronic key system according to claim 1 by combining with a portable device carried by a user,
The response request can be transmitted to the portable device side, and when the response request is transmitted, one channel can be selected from a plurality of channels and the channel can be notified to the portable device side as the response channel. Then, when the response is transmitted from the portable device side, the response channel is configured to be able to receive the response,
If reception of the response fails as a result of attempting to transmit the response request and receiving the response, a channel different from that at the time of reception failure is reselected as the response channel from the plurality of channels. Configured to try again to send the response request and receive the response,
As a result of trying to send the response request and receiving the response, if the response has been successfully received, the plurality of channels are used as communication performance information indicating that the response channel at the time of successful reception is valid. For each, the frequency of successful reception of the response or information that can be used to calculate the frequency is stored in the communication performance storage means, so that priorities can be set for the plurality of channels based on the communication performance information Composed of
In attempting to transmit the response request and receive the response, when selecting or reselecting the response channel from the plurality of channels, one channel is selected in descending order of priority. Configured as
The communication performance storage means can store the communication performance information for a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined period. When storing the new communication performance information, the oldest communication performance information is deleted and a new one is stored. A vehicle-mounted device for an electronic key system, characterized in that the communication performance information is added . When attempting to send the response request and receive the response, the ID included in the response is checked against the control ID stored on the in-vehicle device side, and the matching result is determined to match. The in- vehicle device for an electronic key system according to claim 7, wherein when the response is received, the response transmitted from the predetermined portable device is determined to have been successfully received . The configuration is such that, based on the communication performance information, a priority is set higher for the plurality of channels as the frequency of successful reception of the response increases. An on-vehicle device for the electronic key system described. The in-vehicle device can transmit the communication performance information to a terminal device capable of communicating via a communication path, and the priority order determined on the terminal device side based on the communication performance information is set to the plurality of channels. The on-vehicle device for an electronic key system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the on-vehicle device is configured to be set for the electronic key system. The in-vehicle device can be set from the terminal device so that some of the plurality of channels are used as the response channel while the remaining channels are not used as the response channel. The vehicle-mounted device for an electronic key system according to claim 10.

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