JP6498982B2 - Remote starter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote starter.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a power engine starting system in which when a user gets into a vehicle with a portable device, authentication communication is performed between the portable device and a communication device installed in the vehicle so that the engine can be started. This system is also called Smart Entry (registered trademark) in part. The communication distance between the portable device and the communication device constituting this power engine starting system is usually such that communication within the vehicle is possible. The reason why the communication distance is limited in the vehicle is to prevent theft by making the engine startable only when a user with a portable device gets into the vehicle.

  On the other hand, there is a need to start a vehicle engine to which a power engine starting system is applied by remote control. A remote starter is known as a device that meets this need. The remote starter is a device incorporated in the power engine starter system, and includes an in-vehicle device and a remote controller. The in-vehicle device is installed in the vehicle, and the remote controller is carried by the user together with the portable device.

  When starting the engine using the remote starter, the user operates a switch provided on the remote controller. Then, the in-vehicle device and the remote controller relay communication between the portable device and the vehicle, and the remote starter makes the engine startable. Then, when the engine can be started, the vehicle-mounted device starts the engine.

  The in-vehicle device and the remote control that constitute the remote starter have a longer communication distance than the portable device that constitutes the power engine start system. Therefore, when the remote starter is used, the engine of the vehicle to which the power engine start system is applied can be started by remote control. Moreover, when the remote starter is used, only the user carrying the remote control and the portable device can start the engine, so the remote starter starts the engine by remote operation while satisfying the anti-theft request of the power engine starting system. be able to.

  By the way, the power engine starting system includes two communicators installed in a part of the instrument panel where a push button switch of the engine is installed (hereinafter referred to as “switch installation part”) and a center cluster part. . The communication device installed in the switch installation part is a communication device capable of proximity power feeding, but has a narrow communication range. The communication device installed in the center cluster installation portion is a communication device that cannot perform proximity power feeding, but has a wider communication range than the communication device installed in the switch installation portion.

  However, if the in-vehicle device of the remote starter is installed in a vehicle to which the power engine starting system is applied, the in-vehicle device may communicate with both communication devices. Then, there is a possibility that a mixed line occurs or an unexpected operation due to unnecessary communication occurs.

Therefore, the installation location of the in-vehicle device of the remote starter is limited, for example, it must be installed at a position away from the communication device that is not scheduled to communicate when starting the engine.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote starter that can freely install an in-vehicle device.

  The remote starter of the present invention according to claim 1 is a pair of a vehicle and a portable device capable of short-range wireless communication, and a plurality of communications that are separately installed in the vehicle and capable of the short-range wireless communication Engine and a control device for starting the power engine of the vehicle on the basis of a start condition that communicates with the portable device via any one of the communication devices and communicates with the portable device. A remote starter incorporated in the vehicle, installed in the vehicle, capable of the short-range wireless communication and long-range wireless communication, and when an operation is accepted, between the control device and the portable device A start switch for instructing execution of communication for establishing the start condition, and an operation device capable of carrying the short-range wireless communication and the long-range wireless communication and being portable; and between the communication device and the control device Block communication And a communication signal for establishing the start condition on the communication route from the control device to the communication device, the in-vehicle device, the operation device, and the portable device in order from the control device. A relay unit provided in the operating device and the in-vehicle device, which is converted into a signal for wireless communication and a signal for long-distance wireless communication and relayed to each other, and provided in the in-vehicle device, and the start switch is provided When operated, the communication device includes a communication blocking unit that blocks communication between the communication device other than the communication device constituting the communication route and the control device using the circuit breaker.

According to this, when the start switch is operated, the communication devices other than the communication device constituting the communication route from the control device to the portable device are blocked by the circuit breaker.
Therefore, when the remote starter according to the present invention is used, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of crosstalk at least when the power engine is started, so that the vehicle-mounted device can be freely installed.

Note that, for example, short-range wireless communication includes communication that enables communication within the vehicle, and long-range wireless communication includes communication that enables communication outside the vehicle.
Next, as in the remote starter described in claim 2, the communication cut-off unit configures a communication route after the start switch is operated and before communication for establishing the start condition is performed. Communication between other communication devices and the control device may be blocked using a breaker. In this way, communication between the communication device and the control device unnecessary for this communication is interrupted before communication between the control device and the portable device is started in order to establish the start condition. It is possible to suppress the malfunction of the control device.

  Next, as in the remote starter described in claim 3, the vehicle-mounted device may instruct the control device to start the power engine after communication for establishing the start condition is performed. . In this way, when the start switch is operated, not only the start condition of the power engine is satisfied, but also the power engine is automatically started.

  Next, as in the remote starter described in claim 4, as an example, long-range wireless communication is performed using UHF band radio waves, and short-range wireless communication is performed using LF band radio waves. You may make it do.

  Note that when there are two communication devices, the breaker may block communication between the communication device capable of proximity power feeding to the portable device and the control device.

FIG. 1A is a schematic configuration diagram of the power engine starting system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic view of the instrument panel of the vehicle to which the power engine starting system of the present embodiment is applied as viewed from the inside of the vehicle. It is a block diagram of the power engine starting system of this embodiment. It is a timing chart of communication performed with the power engine starting system of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the power engine starting system 1 of the present embodiment includes a control device 110 and an in-vehicle device 4 as a configuration provided in the vehicle 100. The power engine starting system 1 includes a remote controller 5 (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller 5) and a portable device 120 as a configuration that is assumed to be carried by the user.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the power engine starting system 1 includes a communication device 130 installed in the center cluster 190 and a push button switch 131 installed on the right side portion of the steering 192 in the instrument panel 191 of the vehicle 100. I have. The push button switch 131 includes a communication device 132 (see FIG. 2).

  In the power engine starting system 1, the components other than the in-vehicle device 4 and the remote controller 5 are provided in the vehicle 100 from the time of production. The in-vehicle device 4 and the remote controller 5 are retrofitted to the vehicle 100 and are collectively referred to as the remote starter 3. In other words, the power engine starting system 1 of the present embodiment is a system in which the remote starting device 3 is incorporated later. The remote starter 3 may be incorporated from the time of production.

  The vehicle 100 includes two communication devices 130 and 132 that are spaced apart from each other in the vehicle 100. The communication device 130 and the communication device 132 are different from the communication device 132 in terms of communication distance. However, it is different in that the communication distance is long and only the communication device 132 can perform proximity power supply in terms of proximity power supply. Corresponding to the proximity power supply of the communication device 132, the portable device 120 is operated not only by battery power (not shown) but also by power received from the communication device 132 by proximity power supply. Since the communication device 130 has a long communication distance, it is assumed that the communication device 130 is mainly used for communication with the portable device 120 at the time of production. The communication device 132 is used when the battery power of the portable device 120 is low or disappears. It is assumed that it will be used.

  The power engine starting system 1 forms a communication route from the control device 110 to the communication device 130, the communication device 132, and the portable device 120 in order from the control device 110 at the time of production. The communication route from the in-vehicle device 4 to the remote controller 5 to the portable device 120 is formed. As described above, the vehicle 100 includes the two communication devices 130 and 132. However, in the power engine starting system 1 of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the communication device 130 having a long communication distance is used.

Next, each structure with which the power engine starting system 1 is provided is demonstrated in detail using FIG.
The control device 110 is a device that communicates with the portable device 120 via any one of the communication devices 130 and 132 and starts the engine 150 of the vehicle 100 on the basis that the communication with the portable device 120 is performed.

  The control device 110 is an ECU mounted on the vehicle 100 and includes functional blocks of a collation unit 112, a storage unit 114, and a drive control unit 116. The control device 110 may be composed of a plurality of ECUs or a single ECU.

  The collating unit 112 is a functional block for realizing a so-called immobilizer function, and executes engine start communication described later. The storage unit 114 stores a reference code and a recitation code. In the power engine starting system 1, the vehicle 100 and the portable device 120 are paired, but the reference code and the recitation code are paired between the vehicle 100 and the portable device 120 when engine start communication described later is performed. This code is used to check whether The drive control unit 116 is a functional block for controlling the drive of the engine 150.

  The control device 110 is communicably connected to the communication device 130 and the push button switch 131 via a cable. Among these, a breaker 134 is attached to a cable connecting the control device 110 and the push button switch 131. When the circuit breaker 134 is opened, communication between the push button switch 131 and the control device 110 is blocked.

  The cable that connects the control device 110 and the communication device 132 is a communication signal when the control device 110 performs wireless communication via the communication device 132 or when the push button switch 131 is pressed. Used for transmission of an engine start signal SSW sent to 110. The cable connecting the control device 110 and the communication device 130 is used for communication of a communication signal when the control device 110 performs wireless communication via the communication device 130.

  The control device 110 is also connected to the in-vehicle device 4 so as to be communicable with a cable. The cable connecting the control device 110 and the in-vehicle device 4 is used for transmitting an engine start signal SSW and a foot brake signal FBS sent from the in-vehicle device 4 to the control device 110 when engine start communication described later is executed. .

  The communication device 130 and the communication device 132 are communication devices that can perform wireless communication in the LF band (134 kHz) and the UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz), that is, the short-range wireless communication in the present embodiment. Short-range wireless communication is wireless communication in which the communication range is limited to the inside of the vehicle. As described above, the communicator 130 and the communicator 132 are spaced apart from the instrument panel 191 on the right side of the steering and the center cluster 190. Among these, the communication device 132 can perform proximity power feeding, and the communication device 130 has a wider communication range than the communication device 132.

  The communicator 130 and the communicator 132 have a function of mutually converting a communication signal between a wireless communication signal and a communication signal for communication between the control device 110 and a wired communication. . The communication device 132 performs proximity power feeding when transmitting a communication signal as an LF band wireless communication signal.

  The portable device 120 is paired with the vehicle 100 and can perform wireless communication in the LF band (134 kHz) and the UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz), that is, the short-range wireless communication in this embodiment. The portable device 120 includes a wireless communication unit 122, a verification unit 124, and a storage unit 126.

  The wireless communication unit 122 is a control block that performs wireless communication in the LF band (134 kHz) and the UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz). The collating unit 124 is a control block that executes engine start communication described later. The storage unit 126 is a control block that stores a reference code and a recitation code.

  The wireless communication unit 122 can also receive proximity power supply from the communication device 132. The portable device 120 normally operates with a battery (not shown). However, when the wireless communication unit 122 receives proximity power supply, the portable device 120 operates even with the power obtained by the proximity power supply.

  In the power engine starting system 1, when the remote starting device 3 is not provided, when the user gets on the vehicle 100 with the portable device 120, the communication device 130, the communication device 132, and the portable device 120 are sequentially installed from the control device 110. A communication route is formed. When the push button switch 131 is pressed and the engine start signal SSW is transmitted to the control device 110, communication for establishing a start condition is executed between the control device 110 and the portable device 120. After this communication is executed, when the brake is depressed and the push button switch 131 is pressed again, the control device 110 starts the engine 150.

  Thus, in the power engine starting system 1, when the remote starting device 3 is not provided, the control device 110 and the portable device 120 can directly communicate to start the engine.

  The in-vehicle device 4 is a device that constitutes the remote starter 3, and wireless communication in the LF band (134 kHz) and the UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz), that is, the short-range wireless communication in this embodiment and the UHF band (920 MHz). ) Wireless transmission, that is, a long distance wireless communication in the present embodiment. The in-vehicle device 4 includes a relay unit 42 and a blocking unit 44. In the present embodiment, long-distance wireless communication is communication that enables communication within a range from the vehicle 100 to a radius of 1000 m. The communication distance is not limited to a radius of 1000 m from the vehicle 100.

  The relay unit 42 is a functional block that mutually converts a LF band (134 kHz) and UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz) radio communication signal and a UHF band (920 MHz) radio communication signal and relays them. The blocking unit 44 is a functional block that opens and closes the blocking machine 134.

  When the operation is accepted, the remote controller 5 includes a start switch 50 that instructs the execution of communication between the control device 110 and the vehicle-mounted device 4 to establish a start condition, and constitutes the remote starter 3. , LF band (134 kHz) and UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz) wireless communication, that is, short-range wireless communication in the present embodiment, and UHF band (920 MHz) wireless transmission, that is, long-range wireless communication in the present embodiment. It is a device that can. The remote controller 5 is a device corresponding to the operating device of the present invention. The remote control 5 includes a relay unit 52 in addition to the start switch 50.

  The relay unit 52 converts the LF band (134 kHz) and UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz) radio communication signals and the UHF band (920 MHz) radio communication signals to each other and relays them. It is a functional block.

  In the power engine starting system 1, when the remote starting device 3 is provided, the communication device 130, in order from the control device 110, regardless of the inside or outside of the vehicle 100, as long as it is within the communication range of the in-vehicle device 4 and the remote controller 5. A communication route to the in-vehicle device 4, the remote controller 5, and the portable device 120 is formed. When the start switch 50 is pressed, engine start communication, which will be described later, is performed, and communication for establishing a start condition is executed, and the engine 150 is also automatically started.

Next, engine start communication executed in the power engine start system 1 will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG.
This engine start communication is started when the start switch 50 of the remote controller 5 is pressed.

  When the start switch 50 is pressed, a start signal in the UHF band (920 MHz) is wirelessly transmitted from the remote controller 5 to the in-vehicle device 4 (arrow a). Transmission of the UHF band (920 MHz) start signal is executed by the relay unit 52 of the remote controller 5.

  When receiving the UHF band (920 MHz) start signal, the in-vehicle device 4 outputs the engine start signal SSW to the control device 110 (arrow b). Reception of the UHF band (920 MHz) start signal and transmission of the engine start signal SSW to the control device 110 are executed by the relay unit 42 of the in-vehicle device 4.

  Further, when the in-vehicle device 4 receives the start signal in the UHF band (920 MHz), the in-vehicle device 4 instructs the blocking unit 44 to execute a process for opening the blocking device 134. Since the communication device 132 does not constitute a communication route provided with the remote starter 3, the in-vehicle device 4 blocks the communication between the communication device 132 and the control device 110 by opening the breaker 134.

  When the control device 110 receives the engine start signal SSW from the in-vehicle device 4, the verification unit 112 sends a request signal including the reference code stored in the storage unit 114 to the communication device 130. Then, the communication device 130 converts the request signal into an LF band (134 kHz) signal and wirelessly transmits it (arrow c).

When the in-vehicle device 4 receives the request signal in the LF band (134 kHz), the relay unit 42 converts the request signal into the UHF band (920 MHz) and wirelessly transmits it (arrow d).
When the remote controller 5 receives a request signal in the UHF band (920 MHz), the relay unit 52 converts the signal into an LF band (134 kHz) signal and wirelessly transmits it (arrow e).

  When the portable device 120 receives an LF band (134 kHz) request signal, the wireless communication unit 122 sends a reference code included in the request signal to the verification unit 124. The collation unit 124 collates the reference code sent from the wireless communication unit 122 with the reference code stored in the storage unit 126. If the reference code matches, the verification code stored in the storage unit 126 is sent to the wireless communication unit 122. send. And the radio | wireless communication part 122 converts the answer signal containing a recitation code into the signal of a UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz), and transmits by radio | wireless (arrow f).

  When receiving a UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz) answer signal, the remote controller 5 converts the relay unit 52 into a UHF band (920 MHz) answer signal and transmits the answer signal to the in-vehicle device 4 (symbol g).

  When the in-vehicle device 4 receives the answer signal in the UHF band (920 MHz), the relay unit 42 converts the answer signal in the UHF band (314 MHz or 312.5 MHz) and transmits the answer signal to the communication device 130 (symbol h).

  When the communication device 130 receives the answer signal, the communication device 130 changes the signal to a signal capable of wired communication and transmits the signal to the control device 110. Then, control device 110 causes collation unit 112 to collate whether or not the recitation code included in the answer signal received from communication device 130 matches the recitation code stored in storage unit 114. If it is determined by this collation that the received recitation code matches the recitation code stored in the storage unit 114, the collation unit 112 permits the drive control unit 116 to start the engine 150. That is, in this engine start communication, a request signal is communicated between the control device 110 and the portable device 120 as a communication signal for establishing the engine start condition, and when this communication is performed, The engine 150 start condition is satisfied.

  The in-vehicle device 4 further transmits the engine start signal SSW and the foot brake signal FBS and the control device 110 when a predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the answer signal to the control device 110 (reference numerals i, j).

  The drive control unit 116 of the control device 110 starts the engine 150 when receiving the engine start signal SSW and the foot brake signal FBS from the in-vehicle device 4 while the engine start is permitted from the verification unit 112.

The power engine starting system 1 described above has the following characteristic operational effects.
In the power engine starting system 1 of the present embodiment, when the start switch 50 is operated, the communication devices 132 other than the communication device 130 configuring the communication route from the control device 110 to the portable device 120 communicate with the control device 110. Is interrupted by the interrupter 134.

  Therefore, when this power engine starting system 1 is used, it is possible to suppress at least the occurrence of cross-talk when the engine 150 is started, so that the in-vehicle device 4 can be freely installed in the vehicle 100.

  Further, in the power engine starting system 1, the shut-off unit 44 communicates after the start switch 50 is operated and before communication (communication from reference symbol c to reference symbol h in FIG. 3) is established. The communication between the communication device 132 other than the communication device 130 constituting the route and the control device 110 is blocked using the blocker 134. In this way, in order to establish the start condition, communication between the communication device 132 and the control device 110 unnecessary for this communication is cut off before communication between the control device 110 and the portable device 120 starts. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the malfunction of the control device 110 due to a cross line or the like.

  Further, in the power engine starting system 1, the in-vehicle device 4 instructs the control device 110 to start the engine after communication (communication from the symbol c to the symbol h) is performed to establish the starting condition. Yes. In this way, when the start switch 50 is operated, not only the start condition of the engine 150 is satisfied, but also the engine 150 is automatically started.

Although the embodiment has been described above, it is needless to say that the invention described in the claims is not limited to the above embodiment and can take various forms.
(1) In the above embodiment, the communication between the communication device 132 and the control device 110 is blocked by the breaker 134. However, the communication between the communication device 130 and the control device 110 may be blocked.

(2) In the above embodiment, radio waves in the LF band and the UHF band are used. However, radio waves in bands other than these may be used.
(3) In the above embodiment, the communication device 132 is provided inside the push button switch 131, but these may be separate components.

(4) In the above embodiment, only one round-trip communication is performed using the request signal and the answer signal, but the engine start may be permitted by performing multiple communications.
(5) In the above embodiment, an example of starting the engine 150 has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to starting a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

  (6) In the above embodiment, since it is assumed that the engine is started when the push button switch is pressed, when the start switch 50 is pressed, the engine start signal SSW is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 4 to the control device. The example transmitted to 110 has been described, but when it is assumed that the foot brake has been stepped on or the door for getting on and off has been opened and closed, a signal indicating these is used instead of the engine start signal SSW. May be.

  (7) Each component of the present invention is conceptual and is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the functions of one component may be distributed to a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be replaced with a known configuration having a similar function. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power engine starting system, 3 ... Remote starting device, 4 ... Onboard machine, 5 ... Remote control,
42 ... Relay unit, 44 ... Blocking unit, 50 ... Start switch, 52 ... Relay unit, 100 ... Vehicle,
110 ... Control device 112 ... Verification unit 114 ... Storage unit 116 ... Drive control unit
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 ... Portable machine, 122 ... Wireless communication part, 124 ... Collation part, 126 ... Memory | storage part,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 ... Communication apparatus 131 ... Push button switch, 132 ... Communication apparatus, 134 ... Breaker 150 ... Engine, 190 ... Center cluster, 191 ... Instrument panel,
192 ... Steering.

Claims (5)

A portable device that is paired with a vehicle and capable of short-range wireless communication;
A plurality of communicators installed separately in the vehicle and capable of short-range wireless communication;
A control device that communicates with the portable device via any one of the communication devices and starts a power engine of the vehicle on the basis of communication with the portable device;
A remote starter incorporated into a power engine start system comprising:
An in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle and capable of short-range wireless communication and long-range wireless communication;
When an operation is accepted, a start switch is provided for instructing execution of communication for establishing the start condition between the control device and the portable device, and the short-range wireless communication and the long-range wireless communication are possible and A portable controller,
A circuit breaker for blocking communication between the communication device and the control device;
The communication signal for establishing the start condition on the communication route from the control device to the communication device, the in-vehicle device, the operating device, and the portable device in order, the short-range wireless communication signal And the relay unit provided in the operating device and the vehicle-mounted device, which convert and relay to the long-distance wireless communication signal,
A communication cut-off unit that is provided in the in-vehicle device and cuts off communication between the communication device other than the communication device that constitutes the communication route and the control device when the start switch is operated; A remote starter comprising: The remote starter according to claim 1, wherein
The communication blocking unit is
After the start switch is operated, before the communication for establishing the start condition is performed, the communication between the communication device other than the communication device constituting the communication route and the control device is connected to the breaker. Remote starter characterized by using and shutting off. The remote starter according to claim 1 or 2,
The in-vehicle device is
A remote starter characterized by instructing the control device to start the power engine after communication for establishing the start condition is performed. The remote starter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The long-range wireless communication is performed using radio waves in the UHF band,
The short-range wireless communication is performed using an LF band radio wave. The remote starter according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The breaker is
A remote starter that cuts off communication between the communication device capable of proximity power feeding to the portable device and the control device of the two communication devices.