JPH10184128A - Vehicular remote operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a convenience for use or safety regarding a vehicular remote operation device. SOLUTION: Both of a light signal and an electric wave signal are transmitted by operating switches 14 and 15 attached to a transmitter 5 for remotely opening and closing sliding doors 2a and 2b. In this case, the light signal is used to specify which of the doors 2a and 2b to be operated. As a result, the doors 2a and 2b are operated under the visual check of the open/close operation thereof. Consequently, safety is improved. On the other hand, an ID code requiring a processing time or an emergency stop signal requiring speediness can be received, independent of the direction of the transmitter 5, when an electric wave is used. According to this construction, the transmitter 5 is not required to be held along a constant direction for a long time, thereby improving a convenience for use as well as safety.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for spatially transmitting a predetermined signal for remotely controlling various devices mounted on a vehicle from a transmitter outside the vehicle to a receiver provided on the vehicle body side. The present invention relates to a remote control device for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a remote control device for remotely controlling various devices mounted on a vehicle, a function code for causing an operation target to perform a predetermined operation, and whether a transmitter is an authorized transmitter or not are identified. For transmitting an ID code or the like from the transmitter at hand to the control means of the operation target via the receiver provided on the vehicle body side, between the transmitter and the receiver Generally, radio waves and light are used as transmission media for spatially transmitting signals.

[0003] When light is used as a signal transmission medium, it is necessary to perform a switch operation of the transmitter from a position where the receiver can be seen because of its characteristic that the straightness is strong and it is difficult to diffract. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the operation while visually observing the operation of the operation target, which is rather preferable for ensuring thorough safety confirmation.

Similarly, when light is used as a signal transmission medium, the transmission and reception areas of a transmitter and a receiver are adjusted by utilizing the characteristics of light, such as having higher directivity than radio waves. The optical signal of the transmitter cannot be simultaneously received between the plurality of receivers corresponding to each of the plurality of operation objects. Then, when control is performed such that only the operation target corresponding to the receiver that has received the optical signal from the transmitter is operated, this transmission is performed in a state where the transmitter is directed to the receiver corresponding to the operation target to be operated. Only by operating one switch shared among a plurality of operation objects provided in the container, the operation object is specified, and the desired operation object can be selectively operated, thereby improving the usability. .

[0005]

As described above, when light is used as a signal transmission medium, an advantage that cannot be realized by radio waves due to its straightness and directivity can be obtained, but the signal transmission / reception time can be obtained from its characteristics. There is a restriction that the light-emitting unit of the transmitter must be kept facing the light-receiving unit of the receiver for a while. However, in recent years, the number of operation objects increases for the purpose of improving convenience, and the code tends to be complicated due to security reasons and the like, and accordingly, the time required for signal transmission and reception tends to be long. For this reason,
When light is used as the signal transmission medium, the transmitter is required to be held in a fixed direction for a long time, which causes inconvenience such that the usability is deteriorated. In addition, it is preferable that an automatic door opening / closing device or the like is adapted to perform an emergency stop, but if this is to be performed by light, it takes time to adjust the direction of the transmitter to the light receiving unit, and it is not possible to quickly respond. There is a risk.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems and improve the usability and safety, in the present invention, a predetermined signal by a spatial transmission wave is provided from a transmitter outside the vehicle to the vehicle body. In a vehicle remote control device for remotely controlling an operation target by transmitting it to a receiver, both light and radio waves as the spatial transmission waves can be transmitted by a common operation means.

[0007] Thus, if the characteristics of light and radio waves are effectively utilized, and the light, which must directly face the transmitting unit to the receiving unit, is used for an operation requiring a safety confirmation, the safety confirmation is naturally performed thoroughly, and moreover, Since the time required for transmitting and receiving the optical signal is reduced as compared with the case where all the signals required for the operation are transmitted by light, the inconvenience of keeping the transmitter facing the receiver for a long time is reduced. It becomes possible. In addition, emergency stop signals etc. are transmitted by radio waves,
As long as it is within the receiving area of the receiver, the receiver can reliably receive the signal regardless of the orientation of the transmitter, and each operation such as emergency stop can be performed quickly and reliably.

In particular, it is preferable that a plurality of the operation objects are used, and light is used as a signal for specifying which one of the plurality of operation objects is operated. As a result, transmission / reception of the optical signal is completed in a very short time, and the signal that requires time for processing such as the remaining ID code and function code is continuously received by the receiver by radio waves regardless of the direction of the transmitter. Can be. For this reason, by simply pointing the transmitter to the receiver for a moment to specify the operation target, the predetermined operation can be reliably performed on the desired operation target, and an extremely good feeling of use can be achieved. .

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of the present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle remote control device constructed according to the present invention. This vehicle remote control device locks and unlocks left and right hinged front doors 1a and 1b and left and right sliding rear doors 2a and 2b, opens and closes left and right sliding rear doors 2a and 2b, and opens and closes a horn 3. A remote control of each operation of a panic alarm by sounding and turning on of a headlight 4 includes a portable transmitter 5 for emitting an optical signal and a radio signal, and a left and right rear portion for receiving an optical signal emitted from the transmitter 5. A pair of light receiving units 6a and 6b provided on the doors 2a and 2b, a receiving antenna 7 for receiving a radio signal emitted from the transmitter 5, and a light receiving unit 6
a and 6b and a control unit 8 for controlling the operation of the driving means of each of the operation objects based on signals from the receiving antenna 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the right and left light receiving units 6a and 6b and the receiving antenna 7 are connected to the control unit 8 via a predetermined conductive cable. The control unit 8 has door lock actuators 9a, 9b, 1 for locking and unlocking the four doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b on the front, rear, left and right, respectively.
The door slide actuators 11a and 11b for opening and closing the rear doors 0a and 10b and the rear doors 2a and 2b, the horn 3, and the headlight 4 are connected via predetermined conductive cables.

The transmitter 5 includes doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2
b. Locking and unlocking switches 12 and 13 for instructing locking and unlocking of b, door opening and door closing switches 14 and 15 for instructing opening and closing of rear doors 2a and 2b, panic alarm And a panic alarm switch 16 for operating the.

The transmission switches 12 to 16 are connected to a CPU 17 built in the transmitter 5 as shown in FIG. The CPU 17 includes a transmission switch 1
A signal generating means for reading a predetermined code stored in the EEPROM 18 in advance and generating a transmission code in accordance with the operations 2 to 16 is provided. The CPU 17 is connected to an optical output unit 20 including an LED 19 for transmitting an optical signal, a transmission antenna 21 for transmitting a radio signal, and a radio output unit 23 including a high-frequency circuit 22 for performing transmission processing.

On the other hand, the light receiving units 6a and 6b for receiving the optical signal from the transmitter 5 are provided with a photodiode 24 for detecting the optical signal, as shown in FIG. The photodiode 24 includes an amplifier circuit (AMP) 2
5. A filter circuit (BPF) 26 and a waveform shaping circuit 27 are sequentially connected.

As shown in FIG. 5, a receiving antenna 7 for receiving a radio signal from the transmitter 5 is connected to a radio frequency circuit 28 for performing a receiving process in the control unit 8.
It is connected to PU29. The CPU 29 has an ID code in the input code signal from the high frequency circuit 28 and EE
ID code matching means for checking a unique ID code stored in the PROM 30 in advance, and performs any operation of locking / unlocking the door, opening / closing the rear door, and panic alarm based on the function code in the input code signal. There are provided a function determining means for determining whether the power should be applied and a receiving position determining means for determining which of the left and right light receiving units 6a and 6b has received the optical signal. Drive circuits (not shown) of the door lock actuators 9a, 9b, 10a, and 10b, the door slide actuators 11a and 11b, the horn 3, and the headlight 4 are connected to the CPU 29 via an input / output interface 31.

In such a vehicle remote control device,
To lock and unlock the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b
One of the switches 12 and 13 for locking / unlocking the door of the transmitter 5 may be pressed within the receivable area of the receiving antenna 7.
Then, a radio signal including the ID code and the lock / unlock function code is transmitted from the transmission antenna 21. When this radio signal is received by the receiving antenna 7,
The received signal is sent to the control unit 8. In the control unit 8, the ID code in the received signal input to the CPU 29 is collated with the stored code by the code signal collating means, and if they match, the function determining means determines which operation should be performed. If it is determined that the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b are locked or unlocked, the door lock actuators 9a, 9b.
A lock or unlock drive signal is sent to 10a and 10b,
All the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b on the front, rear, left and right are unlocked or locked at the same time. In this case, the optical signal is not transmitted, and all the signals required for the remote operation are transmitted only by radio waves.
Is received, the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b are locked and unlocked.

To operate the panic alarm, press the panic alarm switch 16 of the transmitter 5 within the receivable area of the receiving antenna 7 in the same manner as the operation of the door locking / unlocking switches 12 and 13. Good. Then, a radio signal including the ID code and the predetermined function code is transmitted from the transmission antenna 21. When this radio signal is received by the receiving antenna 7, the received signal is sent to the control unit 8, each process of code collation and function determination is performed, and a driving signal is sent to the horn 3 and the headlight 4. Then, the horn 3 is sounded and the headlights 4 are turned on.

On the other hand, in order to open and close the rear doors 2a and 2b, the transmitter 5 is directed to the light receiving units 6a and 6b on the side where the rear doors 2a and 2b are to be operated, and the doors are opened and closed. Press one of switches 14 and 15. Then, the ID code and the rear door 2a
A radio signal including a function code indicating opening and closing of 2b is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 21. When this radio signal is received by the receiving antenna 7, the received signal is sent to the control unit 8, and each process of ID code collation and function determination is performed.

The operation of the door open and door close switches 14 and 15 causes the rear door 2 to operate.
An optical signal for designating which of a and 2b to open and close is transmitted from the LED 19 of the transmitter 5 almost simultaneously with the radio signal. This optical signal is received by one of the left and right light receiving units 6a and 6b facing the light emitting unit of the transmitter 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the transmitter 5 is operated from the left side of the vehicle body, the optical signal emitted from the transmitter 5 is received by the left light receiving unit 6a arranged toward the left side of the vehicle body. However, it is not received by the right light receiving unit 6b arranged toward the right side of the vehicle body.

When the optical signal from the transmitter 5 is received by one of the light receiving units 6a and 6b, the received signal is sent to the control unit 8. Then, in the CPU 29, the receiving position determining means determines which of the left and right light receiving units 6a and 6b has received the optical signal based on the received signal, and the door slide actuators 11a and 11b to be operated are specified.
A drive signal for opening or closing is transmitted to the corresponding door slide actuators 11a and 11b, and the desired rear door 2a
-2b is opened or closed.

By performing a predetermined switch operation such as pressing the door open switch 14 during the closing operation of the rear doors 2a and 2b, the opening and closing operation of the rear doors 2a and 2b can be immediately stopped. . Rear door 2a
A signal for stopping the opening / closing operation of 2b is transmitted via radio waves. That is, a predetermined radio signal is transmitted from the transmission antenna 21 of the transmitter 2 by a predetermined switch operation, the radio signal is received by the reception antenna 7, and the reception signal is transmitted to the control unit 8.
The opening / closing operation of a.2b is stopped. As a result, as long as the transmitter 5 is in the receivable area of the receiving antenna 7, the stop signal is reliably transmitted and received irrespective of the direction of the transmitter 5, so that the stop operation of the rear doors 2a and 2b is quickly and reliably performed. be able to.

Instead of simultaneously locking and unlocking the front and rear doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b as in the above-described embodiment, an optical signal is used in the same manner as the opening / closing operation of the rear doors 2a, 2b. The doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b may be selectively locked / unlocked by designation. In this case, the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b are transmitted from the transmitter 5 by pressing the door locking and unlocking switches 12, 13.
An optical signal for designating which one of the above is to be operated is transmitted. Then, light receiving units similar to the light receiving units 6a and 6b for receiving the optical signal are provided in each of the front and rear doors 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b. At this time,
By increasing the directivity of the transmitter 5, the optical signal of the transmitter 5 cannot be simultaneously received by a plurality of light receiving units. Further, the doors 1a, 1b, 2a
-Which of 2b is to be operated is specified.
The remaining signals such as ID codes are transmitted as radio signals to the transmitter 5.
Is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 21 to the receiving antenna 7. By operating the switch toward the light receiving units of the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b for which the transmitter 5 is to be locked and unlocked, the desired doors 1a, 1b
2a and 2b can be selectively locked and unlocked.

Further, it is also possible to configure so that window glasses provided on the front, rear, left and right doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b can be opened and closed by remote control. In this case, the rear door 2 may be used to prevent unintended parts from operating.
doors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2
It is desirable that b can be selectively operated.
In other words, which of the doors 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b is to be operated is specified by an optical signal.
The same light receiving unit as the doors 1a, 1b, 2a
・ It should be provided near the window glass of 2b.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, light and radio waves are used in combination for signal transmission, so that it is better to operate the device while observing it, such as specifying an operation target, by using light. It is possible to improve safety, and on the other hand, those requiring processing time such as ID codes and those requiring quickness such as emergency stop signals can be received regardless of the direction of the transmitter by using radio waves, Since it is not necessary to hold the transmitter in a fixed direction for a long time, the usability is improved and the safety is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a vehicle remote control device configured based on the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle remote control device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a transmitter.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a light receiving unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration inside a receiving antenna and a control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a ・ 1b Front Door 2a ・ 2b Rear Door 3 Horn 4 Headlight 5 Transmitter 6a ・ 6b Light Receiving Unit 7 Receiving Antenna 8 Control Unit 9a ・ 9b ・ 10a ・ 10b Door Lock Actuator 11a ・ 11b Door Slide Actuator 12 Door Lock Switch DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Door unlock switch 14 Door open switch 15 Door close switch 16 Panic alarm switch 17 CPU 18 EEPROM 19 LED 20 Optical output unit 21 Transmitting antenna 22 High frequency circuit 23 Radio wave output unit 24 Photodiode 25 Amplifying circuit (AMP) 26 Filter circuit ( BPF) 27 Waveform shaping circuit 28 High frequency circuit 29 CPU 30 EEPROM 31 Input / output interface

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Toru Hagi 1-4-1, Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Pref. Inside of Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazunari Ochi 1-4-1, Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Stock Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masanobu Shinoda 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Pref. Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device for a vehicle for remotely controlling an operation target by transmitting a predetermined signal by a spatial transmission wave from a transmitter outside the vehicle to a receiver provided on a vehicle body side, wherein the spatial transmission A remote control device for a vehicle, wherein both light and radio waves as waves can be transmitted by common operation means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation object is a plurality of objects,
The vehicle remote control device according to claim 1, wherein light is used as a signal for designating which of the plurality of operation objects is to be operated.