JP6391505B2 - Car equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device that can be operated using a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller).

In recent years, in-vehicle devices that can be operated using a remote controller have become widespread. For example, there are an infrared remote controller that communicates with an in-vehicle device by infrared communication, and a remote controller that communicates with the in-vehicle device by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark; hereinafter, registered trademark is omitted).
Such a remote control can be used by any occupant of the vehicle. However, in order to ensure the safety of driving the vehicle, it is necessary to limit the operation input by the driver while the vehicle is running. .

  For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an in-vehicle device that performs control so that an operation input is not accepted when a remote control operator is a driver. In this in-vehicle device, the first to third light receiving elements are arranged side by side in front of the vehicle, and the filter is disposed in front of the light receiving surfaces of the first to third light receiving elements. This filter has a function of blocking infrared rays, and its central portion is open. This opening is installed in front of the light receiving surface of the second light receiving element in the center of the first to third light receiving elements.

  Thereby, the light receiving element which receives this light can be changed according to the light irradiation angle of the remote controller. That is, the space in front of the opening is a receivable space A in which the light beam of the remote control is received by the second light receiving element. In the space on the right side of the light receivable space A through the light unreceivable space, a light receivable space B in which the first light receiving element receives light is formed. In the space on the left side of the light receivable space A through the light unreceivable space, a light receivable space C is formed in which the third light receiving element receives light.

When the driver's seat is on the right side of the light receiving space A, when the light beam of the remote control is received by the first light receiving element in the light receiving space B, it can be determined that the remote control operator is the driver. If the light is received at, it can be determined that the remote control is operated by a person other than the driver.
Thus, the remote control operator can be specified by which light receiving element receives the light beam of the remote control, and when the driver inputs an operation, control that does not accept the operation input can be performed.

JP 2005-9892 A

In the in-vehicle device described in Patent Document 1, the light-receivable space and the light-rejectable space are alternately formed through the opening of a filter installed in front of the light-receiving element. In the non-light-receiving space, the signal from the remote controller is not received and the remote controller operation is not accepted. In addition, when the light beam emitted from the remote controller is diffracted at the opening, the remote controller operator may be erroneously determined by being received by a light receiving element corresponding to a direction different from the direction in which the remote controller is operated.
Thus, the conventional in-vehicle device has a problem that the remote control operation is not convenient and the remote control operation by the driver cannot be restricted accurately.
Furthermore, since three or more light receiving elements are required, it cannot be denied that the cost is increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described problem, and provides an in-vehicle device capable of accurately restricting a remote control operation by a driver while the vehicle is running without impairing the convenience of the remote control operation with a simple configuration. Objective.

An in-vehicle device according to the present invention is an in-vehicle device that is installed on a dashboard in a vehicle or built in a dashboard, and includes a pair of signal reception units, a reception processing unit, a comparison unit, and a determination unit. The pair of signal receiving units are installed in the in-vehicle device corresponding to the driver seat and the passenger seat in the vehicle, respectively, and at least one of them has directivity on the driver seat or the passenger seat side, and the operation signal transmitting unit is operated. The operation signal sent in is received. The reception processing unit measures the reception intensity of the operation signal received by the pair of signal reception units. Comparing section, confirm that by comparing the reception strength measured respectively by a pair of the reception processing unit, the received signal strength of the signal receiving unit corresponding to the driver's seat is equal to or greater than the received signal strength of the signal receiving unit corresponding to the front passenger's seat At the same time, it is confirmed that the reception intensity of the signal reception unit corresponding to the driver's seat is a reception intensity equal to or higher than a specified threshold. The determination unit determines whether or not the operation signal transmission unit is operated by the driver at the driver's seat based on the confirmation result by the comparison unit, the driver operates the operation signal transmission unit, and the vehicle is running If it is determined that there is, control is performed so that this operation is not accepted.

According to this invention, at least one can be realized with a simple configuration including a pair of signal receiving units having directivity on the driver's or passenger's side.
In addition, the structure in which the space where the operation signal cannot be received is not adopted, and the operation signal transmission unit is operated by the driver of the driver's seat based on the comparison result of the reception intensity of the operation signal received by the signal reception unit. It is determined whether or not there is.
Therefore, the trouble caused by the space where the operation signal cannot be received does not occur, and the remote control operation by the driver while the vehicle is traveling can be accurately restricted without impairing the convenience of the remote control operation.

It is the schematic which looked at the vehicle equipment and remote control reception area which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention from the upper direction in a vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle equipment of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the vehicle equipment of FIG. It is the schematic which saw another example of the vehicle equipment and remote control reception area which concern on Embodiment 1 from the upper direction in a vehicle. It is the schematic which saw another example of the vehicle equipment and remote control reception area which concern on Embodiment 1 from the upper direction in a vehicle.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of in-vehicle device 1 and remote control reception areas 103 and 104 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from above in vehicle 100. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the in-vehicle device 1 of FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a driver B1 sits in a driver seat 102b facing the handle 101, an occupant A1 in the passenger seat 102a adjacent thereto, an occupant A2 in the passenger seat side of the rear seat 102c, and an occupant B2 in the driver seat side. Shows the case of sitting.

The in-vehicle device 1 is an electronic device such as a car navigation device or a car audio device, and is installed on or built in the dashboard of the vehicle 100, for example. The in-vehicle device 1 can be remotely operated using the remote controller 4.
The remote control 4 embodies the operation signal transmission unit of the present invention, and is a wireless remote control that transmits an operation signal in response to an operation input from an occupant including the driver of the vehicle 100. Unless otherwise specified, the driver includes the driver.
Hereinafter, a case where the remote controller 4 communicates with the in-vehicle device 1 via Bluetooth will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle device 1 includes a passenger seat side antenna 2, a driver seat side antenna 3, a passenger seat side reception processing unit 5, a driver seat side reception processing unit 6, a comparison unit 7, a determination unit 8, and functional processing. The unit 9 is provided. The passenger seat side antenna 2 and the driver seat side antenna 3 are installed corresponding to the driver seat 102b and the passenger seat 102a in the vehicle 100, respectively, and receive a pair of signal receptions for receiving the operation signals transmitted by the operation of the remote controller 4. Part.
The passenger seat side reception processing unit 5, the driver seat side reception processing unit 6, the comparison unit 7, the determination unit 8, and the function processing unit 9 are a CPU, a system LSI (large scale integrated circuit) that executes a program stored in a memory. ) Or the like.
Further, a plurality of processing circuits may cooperate to execute the functions of the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5, the driver seat side reception processing unit 6, the comparison unit 7, the determination unit 8, and the function processing unit 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, the passenger seat side antenna 2 is a Bluetooth antenna installed corresponding to the passenger seat 102a in the vehicle 100, and has a directivity on the side of the passenger seat 102a. An operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 4 is received.
That is, “the passenger seat side antenna 2 is installed corresponding to the passenger seat 102 a” means that the area of the passenger seat 102 a in the vehicle 100 and the rear seat 102 c behind it is located at a position where the remote control reception area 103 includes the area of the passenger seat This corresponds to installing the side antenna 2.
As shown in FIG. 1, the driver's seat side antenna 3 is a Bluetooth antenna installed corresponding to the driver's seat 102b in the vehicle 100, and has a directivity on the driver's seat 102b side. An operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 4 is received.
Further, “installing the driver's seat side antenna 3 corresponding to the driver's seat 102 b” means that the area of the driver seat 102 b in the vehicle 100 and the rear seat 102 c behind the vehicle seat is located at a position where the remote control reception area 104 includes the remote control reception area 104. This corresponds to installing the antenna 3.

  Note that the Bluetooth antenna is generally an omnidirectional antenna, and thus it is necessary to devise a way to give directivity to the reception characteristics. For example, the passenger seat side antenna 2 and the driver seat side antenna 3 are each covered with a metal case partially opened, and the openings are directed in a direction in which directivity is desired. As a result, the antennas 2 and 3 can receive signals in the remote control reception areas 103 and 104 that extend from the opening of the case, and can impart directivity to the reception characteristics.

The passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 is a component embodying the reception processing unit in the present invention, and measures the reception intensity A of the operation signal received by the passenger seat side antenna 2.
The driver seat side reception processing unit 6 is a component that embodies the reception processing unit in the present invention, and measures the reception intensity B of the operation signal received by the driver seat side antenna 3.
In addition, although the case where the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 and the driver seat side reception processing unit 6 are separately provided is shown in FIG. 2, these may be combined into one reception processing unit.

The comparison unit 7 compares the reception intensities A and B respectively measured by the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 and the driver seat side reception processing unit 6 and compares the reception intensities A and B with the driver seat side antenna 3 installed corresponding to the driver seat 102b. It is confirmed whether or not the reception intensity B equal to or higher than the prescribed threshold is obtained.
For example, when the reception strength A measured by the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 and the reception strength B measured by the driver seat side reception processing unit 6 are compared in magnitude, and the reception strength B is equal to or higher than the reception strength A, The reception intensity B is compared with a specified threshold value. The specified threshold value is the minimum value (lower limit value) of the reception intensity obtained when the driver B1 of the driver seat 102b operates the remote controller 4.
Therefore, when the comparison unit 7 obtains a comparison result indicating that the reception intensity B is equal to or greater than the specified threshold, the reception state of the driver's seat side antenna 3 when the driver B1 operates the remote controller 4 can be specified.

The determination unit 8 determines whether or not the operation of the remote control 4 from the driver B1 is based on the confirmation result by the comparison unit 7, and the driver B1 operates the remote control 4 and the vehicle 100 is traveling In addition, control is performed so that this remote control operation is not accepted.
For example, when the reception intensity B of the operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 4 is equal to or higher than the reception intensity A and the reception intensity B is equal to or higher than a specified threshold, the remote control is operated near the driver's seat side antenna 3. Therefore, it is determined that the remote control operation of the driver B1 has been performed.

Further, the determination unit 8 inputs a vehicle speed signal of the vehicle 100 while the in-vehicle device 1 is activated, and determines whether or not the vehicle 100 is traveling.
If it is determined that the remote control operation of the driver B1 has been performed, the determination unit 8 sends a signal instructing the function processing unit 9 not to accept this operation if the vehicle 100 is traveling at that time.

  The function processing unit 9 analyzes the operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 4 and executes a process according to the remote controller operation. For example, when the in-vehicle device 1 is a car navigation device, the function processing unit 9 executes information processing related to the navigation function. However, when a signal instructing not to accept the operation is received from the determination unit 8, the function processing unit 9 receives the operation signal via the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 or the driver seat side reception processing unit 6. However, the process corresponding to the operation signal is not executed.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the in-vehicle device 1 of FIG.
The passenger seat side antenna 2 and the driver seat side antenna 3 receive an operation input of the remote controller 4 by an occupant of the vehicle 100 (step ST1). Here, the remote controller 4 is a Bluetooth remote controller, and its transmission characteristic is omnidirectional. Therefore, the operation signal from the remote controller 4 is received by the passenger seat side antenna 2 and the driver seat side antenna 3.

  In step ST2, the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 measures the reception intensity A of the operation signal received by the passenger seat side antenna 2, and the driver seat side reception processing unit 6 is received by the driver seat side antenna 3. The reception intensity B of the operation signal is measured. Reception strengths A and B measured by the passenger seat side reception processing unit 5 and the driver seat side reception processing unit 6 are output to the comparison unit 7.

The comparison unit 7 compares the reception strength A with the reception strength B to check whether the reception strength B is equal to or higher than the reception strength A (step ST3). At this time, when the reception strength B is equal to or higher than the reception strength A (step ST3; YES), the comparison unit 7 compares the reception strength B with the specified threshold value to determine whether the received strength B is equal to or higher than the specified threshold value. Is confirmed (step ST4).
The prescribed threshold value corresponds to the minimum value of the reception intensity of the operation signal obtained when the driver B1 of the driver seat 102b operates the remote controller 4 as described above. For example, the relationship between the reception intensity according to the distance between the remote controller 4 and the driver's seat side antenna 3 and the distance range in which the driver B1 sitting on the driver's seat 102b can operate the remote controller 4 are obtained in advance by experiment. It is conceivable that the minimum reception strength obtained within the range is set as the specified threshold value.

Here, when the reception intensity B is equal to or greater than the specified threshold (step ST4; YES), the comparison unit 7 notifies the determination unit 8 to that effect.
When the determination unit 8 receives a notification from the comparison unit 7 that the reception intensity B is equal to or greater than the specified threshold value, the determination unit 8 determines that the operation is the remote control 4 from the driver B1 sitting in the driver seat 102b.
When it is determined that the driver B1 has operated the remote controller 4, the determination unit 8 checks whether or not the vehicle 100 is traveling based on the vehicle speed signal (step ST5). The vehicle speed signal may be obtained from a vehicle control unit provided in the vehicle 100.

When vehicle 100 is traveling (step ST5; YES), determination unit 8 determines that driver B1 operates the remote control and vehicle 100 is traveling, and does not accept this operation (operation not possible). A signal for instructing the function processing unit 9 is sent out (step ST6).
The function processing unit 9 does not execute the process of the function indicated by the operation signal in accordance with the instruction from the determination unit 8.
Thereby, the remote control operation by the driver B1 when the vehicle 100 is running is restricted.

On the other hand, when the reception strength B is less than the reception strength A (step ST3; NO), or when the reception strength B is equal to or higher than the reception strength A, but the reception strength B is less than the specified threshold (step ST4; NO). The comparison unit 7 notifies the determination unit 8 to that effect. If the determination unit 8 is notified by the comparison unit 7 that the reception intensity B is less than the reception intensity A, the determination unit 8 determines that the remote control operation is performed by the passenger A1 in the passenger seat 102a or the passenger A2 behind the passenger seat 102a.
In addition, when the reception intensity B is equal to or higher than the reception intensity A but is notified that the reception intensity B is less than the specified threshold, the determination unit 8 determines that the remote control operation is performed by the occupant B2 behind the driver B1.
When the reception intensity B is greater than or equal to the reception intensity A and the reception intensity B is greater than or equal to the specified threshold, but the vehicle 100 is stopped (step ST5; NO), the determination unit 8 restricts the remote control operation by the driver B1. It is determined that it is not timing.
In these cases, the determination unit 8 does not give an instruction to the function processing unit 9, and the remote control operation is accepted. That is, the function processing unit 9 executes processing corresponding to the remote control operation.

In addition, although the passenger seat side antenna 2 has directivity on the passenger seat 102a side and the driver seat side antenna 3 has directivity on the driver seat 102b side, the present invention is limited to this configuration. Is not to be done. For example, the reception characteristic of one antenna may be omnidirectional.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of in-vehicle device 1A and remote control reception areas 103A and 104 according to Embodiment 1 as viewed from above in vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. 4, in the in-vehicle device 1A, the reception characteristic of the passenger side antenna 2A is omnidirectional, and the remote control reception area 103A is a spherical area centered on the passenger side antenna 2A.
Also in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the passenger seat side antenna 2A is installed corresponding to the passenger seat 102a. In this case, the passenger seat side antenna 2A is installed at a position where at least the area of the passenger seat 102a and the rear seat 102c behind it is included in the remote control reception area 103A.

If the reception intensity B at the driver's seat side antenna 3 having directivity on the side of the driver's seat 102b is equal to or higher than the reception intensity A at the passenger's seat side antenna 2A and more than the above-mentioned prescribed threshold value, the remote control from the driver B1 4 can be determined.
If the received intensity is other than this, it can be determined that the remote control is operated by a passenger other than the driver B1.
That is, even if it is configured as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to determine the remote control operation of the driver B1 with the same processing flow as that in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of in-vehicle device 1B and remote control reception areas 103 and 104A according to Embodiment 1 as viewed from above in vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. 5, in the in-vehicle device 1B, the reception characteristic of the driver's seat side antenna 3A is omnidirectional, and the remote control reception area 104A is a spherical area centered on the driver's seat side antenna 3A.
Also in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the driver's seat side antenna 3A is installed corresponding to the driver's seat 102b. In this case, the driver's seat side antenna 3A is installed at a position where at least the area of the driver's seat 102b and the rear seat 102c behind it is included in the remote control reception area 104A.

If the reception intensity B at the omnidirectional driver's seat side antenna 3A is equal to or higher than the reception intensity A at the passenger's seat side antenna 2, and if it is equal to or higher than the above-mentioned prescribed threshold value, it is an operation of the remote controller 4 from the driver B1. Can be determined.
If the received intensity is other than this, it can be determined that the remote control is operated by a passenger other than the driver B1.
That is, even if it is configured as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to determine the remote control operation of the driver B1 with the same processing flow as in FIG.

In the description so far, a configuration has been shown in which a Bluetooth remote control is used as the remote control 4 and the in-vehicle device 1 communicates with the Bluetooth, but an infrared remote control may be used. In this case, the passenger seat side antenna 2 and the driver seat side antenna 3 are replaced with infrared light receiving elements on the passenger seat side and the driver seat side, respectively. Even if comprised in this way, it can be made to operate | move similarly to the vehicle equipment 1, and the same effect can be acquired.
Since the infrared light receiving element has directivity in receiving characteristics, it is easy to give directivity to the passenger seat 102a side or the driver seat 102b side.

As described above, the in-vehicle devices 1, 1 </ b> A, 1 </ b> B according to Embodiment 1 can be realized with a simple configuration including a directional signal receiving unit on the passenger seat 102 a or driver seat 102 b side. Since a pair of signal receiving units is sufficient, it is advantageous in terms of cost.
In addition, the structure in which a non-light-receiving space where the operation signal cannot be received is not adopted as in Patent Document 1, and the driving of the driver's seat 102b is performed based on the comparison result of the reception intensity of the operation signal received by the signal receiving unit. It is determined whether or not the remote controller 4 is operated from the person B1.
Therefore, there is no problem caused by the non-light-receiving space, and the remote control operation by the driver B1 while the vehicle 100 is traveling can be accurately restricted without impairing the convenience of the remote control operation.

  In the present invention, any component of the embodiment can be modified or any component of the embodiment can be omitted within the scope of the invention.

  1, 1A, 1B In-vehicle device, 2, 2A Passenger side antenna, 3, 3A Driver side antenna, 4 Remote control, 5 Passenger side reception processing unit, 6 Driver side reception processing unit, 7 Comparison unit, 8 Determination unit , 9 function processing unit, 100 vehicle, 101 steering wheel, 102a passenger seat, 102b driver seat, 102c rear seat, 103, 103A, 104, 104A remote control reception area.

Claims (4)

An in-vehicle device that is installed on or built in a dashboard in a vehicle,
An operation signal is installed in the in-vehicle device corresponding to the driver seat and the passenger seat, and at least one has directivity on the driver seat or the passenger seat side, and the operation signal transmitted by the operation of the operation signal transmission unit A pair of signal receivers for receiving;
A reception processing unit that measures the reception intensity of the operation signal received by the pair of signal reception units;
By comparing the received strength measured respectively by the pair of reception processing section, together with the received strength of the signal receiving unit corresponding to the driver's seat is confirmed to be not more than the received signal strength of the signal receiving unit corresponding to the front passenger's seat A comparison unit for confirming that the reception intensity of the signal reception unit corresponding to the driver's seat is a reception intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold;
Based on the confirmation result by the comparison unit, it is determined whether or not the operation signal transmission unit is operated by the driver in the driver's seat, the driver operates the operation signal transmission unit, and the vehicle is running And a determination unit that performs control so as not to accept this operation when it is determined that the vehicle is in-vehicle. One of the pair of signal receivers has directivity on the passenger seat side,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the other of the pair of signal receiving units has directivity on the driver's seat side. One of the pair of signal receiving units performs omnidirectional reception,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the other of the pair of signal receiving units has directivity on the driver's seat side. One of the pair of signal receiving units performs omnidirectional reception,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein the other of the pair of signal receiving units has directivity on the passenger seat side.

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