WO2016103664A1

WO2016103664A1 - Position estimating device

Info

Publication number: WO2016103664A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/006303
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宗範松本; 豊生村上
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2014-12-26
Filing date: 2015-12-17
Publication date: 2016-06-30
Also published as: JP6483436B2; JP2016125884A

Abstract

A position estimating device is provided with a plurality of detection antennas (112-114), a transmitting unit (15, S135), and a position estimating unit (15, S150). The detection antennas have a pre-set communication range, and are provided in different installation positions in a vehicle. The transmitting unit selects a detection antenna one at a time in accordance with a pre-set fundamental order so that time periods for transmission do not overlap, and transmits a detection wave having a pre-set intensity via the selected detection antenna. In the position estimating unit, detection waves transmitted by the transmitting unit are configured as a detection wave group, a detection wave group received by a portable device is configured as a reception wave group, and a signal indicating the reception intensity of detection waves for each selected detection antenna in the reception wave group is configured as an intensity pattern signal, and the position of the portable device is estimated on the basis of the reception intensity for each detection antenna in the intensity pattern signal.

Description

Position estimation device

Cross-reference of related applications

This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2014-266100 filed on Dec. 26, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a position estimation device that estimates the position of a portable device that is mounted on a vehicle and carried by a user.

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for controlling a vehicle such as locking and unlocking a vehicle door and starting an engine using a portable device that is carried by a vehicle user and communicates as an electronic key registered in advance in the vehicle is known. In such a technique, a technique for estimating the position of the portable device with respect to the vehicle is important.

In Patent Document 1, in order to estimate in which of the predetermined areas inside and outside the vehicle such a mobile device is located, a detection antenna is installed in the vehicle according to the number of areas and the detection is performed. When a detection signal of a different format is transmitted for each antenna and the detection signal received by the portable device can be identified from which detection antenna, the transmission area of the identified detection antenna is carried. A technique for estimating the position of the apparatus is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 3738981

However, in the above technique, in order to estimate the position with high accuracy, it is necessary to increase the number of detection antennas, and the configuration becomes complicated.

This disclosure is intended to provide a position estimation device that can accurately estimate a position with a simple configuration.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a position estimation device that detects the position of a mobile device that is mounted on a vehicle and carried by a user includes a plurality of detection antennas, a transmission unit, and a position estimation unit. The plurality of detection antennas have a predetermined communication range, and are provided at different installation positions in the vehicle. The transmission unit selects detection antennas one by one in accordance with a predetermined basic order so that transmission time zones do not overlap, and transmits a detection wave having a predetermined intensity via the selected detection antenna. The estimation unit sets the detection wave transmitted by the transmission unit as the detection wave group, sets the detection wave group received by the portable device as the reception wave group, and determines the reception intensity of the detection wave for each detection antenna selected in the reception wave group. Using the received signal as an intensity pattern signal, the position of the portable device is estimated based on the reception intensity of each detection antenna in the intensity pattern signal.

When a detection wave having a predetermined equal intensity is transmitted from the detection antenna, the reception intensity of the detection wave by the portable device is when the distance of the portable device is short or far from the detection antenna to which the detection wave is transmitted. It will be bigger than. In the above configuration, the range that the portable device can take for each detection antenna is specified based on the magnitude relationship of the received intensity of the detection wave for each detection antenna indicated by the intensity pattern signal, and the position of the portable device is estimated Is done.

According to this, since the position of the portable device is estimated based on the magnitude relationship of the reception strengths of the detection waves received by the portable device, it is necessary to increase the number of detection antennas according to the number of regions whose positions are to be detected. It is possible to accurately estimate the position of the portable device with a smaller number of detection antennas than a certain prior art, that is, with a simple configuration.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawing
The block diagram which shows the structure of the smart entry system provided with the vehicle equipment and the portable device. The flowchart which shows an example of the position estimation process which the control part of a vehicle equipment performs. The float which shows an example of the receiving intensity signal transmission process which the portable device control part of a portable device performs. The figure explaining an example of the process as a smart entry system. (A) is a figure which shows the installation position of an antenna about a 1st operation example, (b) is a figure which shows the transmission timing of a detection wave, (c) is a figure explaining an intensity | strength pattern signal. (A) is a figure which shows the installation position of an antenna about a 2nd operation example, (b) is a figure which shows the transmission timing of a detection wave, (c) is a figure explaining an intensity | strength pattern signal. The figure which shows an example of the output based on the movement estimation result of a portable machine, and an estimation result about a 2nd operation example. (A) is a figure which shows the installation position of an antenna about a 3rd operation example, (b) is a figure which shows the transmission timing of a detection wave, (c) is a figure explaining an intensity | strength pattern signal. The figure which shows an example of the output based on the movement estimation result of a portable machine, and an estimation result about a 3rd operation example. (A) is a figure which shows the installation position of an antenna about a 4th operation example, (b) is a figure which shows the transmission timing of a detection wave, (c) is a figure explaining an intensity | strength pattern signal.

Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[1. Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a smart entry system 1 that is an embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. The smart entry system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 2 mounted on a vehicle and a portable device 3 that can be carried by a user of the vehicle. The smart entry system 1 uses the portable device 3 as an electronic key registered in advance in the vehicle, and performs communication between the portable device 3 and the in-vehicle device 2 to lock and unlock the vehicle door and start the engine. It is a system which controls vehicles, such as.

[1-1. Configuration of portable device]
First, the configuration of the portable device 3 will be described. The portable device 3 functions as an electronic key for performing at least one of locking and unlocking of a vehicle door and engine starting operation, and is a wireless communication device that transmits and receives data to and from the in-vehicle device 2. is there. The portable device 3 includes an LF reception unit 31, an RF transmission unit 32, and a portable device control unit 33.

The LF receiving unit 31 receives a transmission wave of a predetermined first frequency (for example, LF band (about 100 KHz)) transmitted from the in-vehicle device 2 via a reception antenna (not shown), and from the in-vehicle device 2. The transmitted transmission data is demodulated. The RF transmission unit 32 modulates a transmission carrier wave of a predetermined second frequency (for example, UHF band (300 to 400 MHz band)) using response data from the portable device control unit 33. A transmission signal to the in-vehicle device 2 is generated and transmitted from a transmission antenna (not shown).

The portable device control unit 33 is an electronic device including a microcomputer having a CPU 331, a ROM 332, a RAM 333, and the like. In the ROM 332, an ID code for causing the portable device 3 to function as an electronic key registered in advance in the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle is recorded. Hereinafter, an electronic key registered in advance in the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle is referred to as a registration key.

The CPU 331 executes various processes for realizing the functions of the portable device 3 according to the program recorded in the ROM 332. For example, the portable device control unit 33 controls the power supply circuit (not shown), so that the RF transmission unit 32 in a state where the power is not supplied (sleep state) is in a state where the power is supplied (wakeup state). To migrate. In addition, the RF transmitter 32 in the wake-up state is shifted to the sleep state.

Further, when the CPU 331 receives the detection wave group transmitted from the in-vehicle device 2 according to the program recorded in the ROM 332, the CPU 331 causes the in-vehicle device 2 to estimate the position of the portable device 3 based on the reception intensity of the detection wave group. Reception intensity signal transmission processing for transmitting a reception intensity signal for the purpose is executed.

[1-2. In-vehicle device configuration]
Next, the configuration of the in-vehicle device 2 will be described. The in-vehicle device 2 includes an LF communication unit 11, an RF communication unit 12, a sensor unit 13, a control target unit 14, and a control unit 15.

The LF communication unit 11 includes an LF transmission unit 111, a driver seat transmission antenna 112, a passenger seat antenna 113, and a trunk transmission antenna 114. In the following, the driver seat transmission antenna is referred to as the D seat antenna 112, the passenger seat antenna 113 is referred to as the P seat antenna 113, and the trunk transmission antenna 114 is referred to as the T antenna 114. Further, according to the description, the D seat antenna 112, the P seat antenna 113, and the T antenna 114 are described as transmitting antennas 112 to 114. In the drawing, the driver's seat transmission antenna 112 is indicated as D antenna, the passenger's seat antenna 113 is indicated as P antenna, and the trunk transmission antenna 114 is indicated as T antenna. Further, an RF receiving antenna 122 to be described later is indicated as an RF antenna in the drawing.

The LF transmission unit 111 generates a transmission signal to the portable device 3 by modulating the transmission carrier wave of the first frequency that is the LF band using the transmission data output from the control unit 15, and the generated transmission A signal is transmitted as a transmission wave from each of the transmission antennas 112 to 114. As shown in FIG. 5A, which will be described later, the D seat antenna 112 is provided on the vehicle interior side of the vehicle door on the driver seat side, and the P seat antenna 113 is provided on the vehicle interior side of the vehicle door on the passenger seat side. The T antenna 114 is provided outside the trunk room of the trunk room door. Each transmission antenna 112 to 114 has a communication range of a predetermined range both inside and outside the vehicle with these doors as the center.

Referring back to FIG. The LF transmitter 111 transmits the transmission wave so that the transmission intensities from the transmission antennas 112 to 114 are equal. Further, the LF transmission unit 111 includes a switch (not shown), and selects one of the transmission antennas 112 to 114 as an antenna for transmitting a transmission wave according to the switch instruction from the control unit 15 by the switch. Is possible. Hereinafter, the antenna selected according to the switching instruction is referred to as a selected antenna. A transmission wave based on the transmission data output from the control unit 15 is transmitted only from the selected antenna. That is, no transmission wave is output from any of the transmission antennas 112 to 114 other than the selected antenna.

The RF communication unit 12 is installed, for example, in a room mirror in front of the driver's seat. The installation position of the RF communication unit 12 is not limited to this, and may be provided in a pillar, a trunk room, or the like. The RF communication unit 12 includes an RF reception unit 121 and an RF reception antenna 122.

The RF reception unit 121 receives a transmission wave of the second frequency transmitted from the portable device 3 via the RF reception antenna 122, and the RF reception unit 121 receives the reception signal received via the RF reception antenna 122. Data for response from the portable device 3 is demodulated and input to the control unit 15.

The sensor unit 13 includes a lock sensor 131 and an unlock sensor 132. The lock sensor 131 is a touch sensor provided in the vicinity of the door handle of the vehicle door on the driver's seat side, detects contact of the part of the user's human body with the lock sensor 131, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 15. . In addition, a user here means the passenger | crew of the own vehicle containing a driver | operator. The unlock sensor 132 is a touch sensor provided on the door handle of the vehicle door on the driver's seat side, detects contact with the unlock sensor 132 by a part of the user's human body, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 15. To do.

The control target unit 14 includes, for example, a door opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes a vehicle door on the driver's seat side, a door locking / unlocking mechanism that locks and unlocks the vehicle door, and a trunk room door locking / unlocking that locks and unlocks the trunk room door. At least a mechanism and a speaker for performing voice notification are provided.

The control unit 15 is an electronic control device including a microcomputer having a CPU 51, a ROM 52, a RAM 53, and the like. The ROM 52 of the control unit 15 stores an ID code of a registration key and various basic pattern signals described later. Various programs are recorded in the ROM 52, and the control unit 15 (CPU 51) executes processing for performing various controls based on communication with the portable device 3 in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 52.

For example, when the portable device 3 is located within a predetermined range with respect to the vehicle door, the control unit 15 receives the detection signal from the lock sensor 131 and locks the vehicle door by the locking / unlocking mechanism. When the detection signal is received from the unlock sensor 22, the vehicle door is unlocked by the door locking / unlocking mechanism.

In parallel with these processes, the control unit 15 transmits a detection wave (detection wave group) to the portable device 3, and a reception intensity signal generated by the portable device 3 based on the reception result of the detection wave group. , And a position estimation process for estimating the position of the portable device 3 based on the received intensity signal is executed.

[2. processing]
Next, processing for estimating the position of the portable device 3 executed by the control unit 15 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device control unit 33 of the portable device 3 will be described.

[2-1. In-vehicle device processing]
First, an example of the position estimation process executed by the control unit 15 (CPU 51) of the in-vehicle device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The position estimation process is a process that is repeatedly executed while the vehicle is stopped, for example. The previous intensity pattern signal described later is overwritten in the RAM 53 every time the position estimation process is repeatedly executed. In addition, when the subject is abbreviate | omitted in the following explanatory text, the control part 15 (CPU51) is made into a subject in the sentence.

First, in S110, a wakeup signal for shifting the portable device 3 to the wakeup state is transmitted using the first frequency. Specifically, a switching instruction for selecting the D-seat antenna 112 is transmitted to the LF transmission unit 111 and transmission data including a wake-up signal is output to the LF transmission unit 111.

In subsequent S115, it is determined whether or not the ACK signal, which is a response signal from the portable device 3 to the wake-up signal transmitted in S110, is received by the RF reception unit 121 via the RF reception antenna 122 at the second frequency. To do. If the ACK signal is not received, the process proceeds to S110, and the wakeup signal is repeatedly transmitted until the ACK signal is received. If an ACK signal is received, the process proceeds to S120.

In S120, the ID code is transmitted using the first frequency. Specifically, a switching instruction for selecting the D-seat antenna 112 is transmitted to the LF transmission unit 111, and transmission data including an ID code as a registration key recorded in the ROM 52 is output to the LF transmission unit 111.

In the subsequent S125, it is determined whether or not the RF receiver 121 has received a code response signal, which is a response signal from the portable device 3 to the ID code transmitted in S120, at the second frequency. If no code response signal is received, the process waits until a code response signal is received. If a code response signal is received, the process proceeds to S130.

In S130, it is determined whether or not the code response signal received in S125 is a coincidence signal. The coincidence signal is received from the portable device 3 when the ID code transmitted in S120 matches the ID code registered in advance in the portable device 3, that is, when the portable device 3 is the registration key of the in-vehicle device 2. A signal to be transmitted. If the coincidence signal has not been received, the process proceeds to S110. If the coincidence signal has been received, the process proceeds to S135.

In S135, detection waves are transmitted from the respective transmission antennas 112 to 114. Specifically, an antenna having a predetermined period according to a predetermined basic order in the order of the D seat antenna 112, the P seat antenna 113, and the T antenna 114 so that transmission time zones for transmitting detection waves do not overlap. A switching instruction for switching the transmission antennas 112 to 114 is output to the LF transmission unit 111 for each selection period. Then, for each antenna selection period, transmission data is output to the LF transmission unit 111 during an antenna transmission period that is predetermined to be equal to or shorter than the antenna selection period. In this embodiment, as an example, the antenna selection period and the antenna transmission period are set equal. The transmission data output to the LF transmission unit 111 during the antenna transmission period is not particularly defined, but is a signal that changes as determined in advance, such as a signal in which logical values 0 and 1 are alternately repeated. Alternatively, it may be a signal whose logic value changes at random.

In this embodiment, in particular, a procedure for transmitting detection waves according to a basic order is used as a basic procedure, and this basic procedure is repeated three times to transmit detection waves. That is, the detection wave is repeatedly transmitted from each transmission antenna three times. In the following description, detection waves that are repeatedly transmitted by switching the transmission antennas 112 to 114 in accordance with the basic order in this manner are referred to as a detection wave group. A period indicated by the product of the antenna selection period, the number of transmission antennas, and the number of switching times is referred to as a detection transmission period.

In subsequent S140, it is determined whether or not the RF receiving unit 121 has received a reception intensity signal that is a response signal from the portable device 3 to the detected wave group transmitted in S135 at the second frequency. If the reception intensity signal has not been received, the process waits until it is received. If the reception intensity signal has been received, the process proceeds to S145. In the following description, the detection wave and the detection wave group received by the portable device 3 are referred to as a reception wave and a reception wave group, respectively. In the present embodiment, the received intensity signal is a data string that indicates the value of the received intensity in the received wave group over time.

Next, in S145, an intensity pattern signal is generated based on the received intensity signal. The intensity pattern signal is a data string indicating the reception intensity of the detection wave transmitted from each of the selected transmission antennas 112 to 114 in the reception wave group by the portable device 3. For example, in the present embodiment, the received intensity signal may be sampled every antenna selection period to generate an intensity pattern signal. Note that the sampling period is not limited to this.

In subsequent S150, the position of the portable device 3 is estimated. Specifically, for example, based on the reception intensity of the received wave for each of the selected transmission antennas 112 to 114 in the intensity pattern signal, the position that the portable device 3 can take with respect to each transmission antenna 112 to 114 is specified. The position of the portable device 3 is estimated. Further, for example, the intensity pattern signal when the portable device 3 is located at a predetermined basic position in the communication range of the transmission antennas 112 to 114 is recorded in the ROM 52 in advance as a basic pattern signal, and the intensity pattern signal and the basic pattern are recorded. Based on the comparison with the signal, when the intensity pattern signal matches the basic pattern signal, the basic position is set as the estimated position of the portable device 3. In the present embodiment, the position of the portable device 3 is estimated by any one of these methods according to the acquired intensity pattern signal.

Next, in S155, the previous intensity pattern signal recorded immediately before (in the most recent past) is acquired from the RAM 53.

In subsequent S160, based on the comparison between the intensity pattern signal generated in S145 and the previous intensity pattern signal acquired in S150, the change in the position of the portable device 3, that is, the movement of the portable device 3 is estimated.

Next, in S165, an output signal corresponding to the position of the portable device 3 estimated in S150 and the movement of the portable device 3 estimated in S160 is output to the control target unit 14.

In S170, the intensity pattern signal received in S140 is overwritten and recorded in the RAM 53 as the previous intensity pattern signal, the process proceeds to S110, and a series of processes is repeatedly executed.

[2-2. Processing of portable device]
Next, an example of reception intensity signal transmission processing executed by the portable device control unit 33 (CPU 331) of the portable device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The reception strength signal transmission process is a process that is repeatedly executed while power is supplied to the portable device 3, for example. In addition, when the subject is abbreviate | omitted in the following description, the portable machine control part 33 (CPU331) is made into a subject in the sentence.

First, in S210, it is determined whether or not the LF receiver 31 has received the wakeup signal at the first frequency. Specifically, when the data demodulated by the LF receiver 31 includes a wakeup signal, it is determined that the wakeup signal has been received. If the wake-up signal is not received, the process waits until the wake-up signal is received. If the wake-up signal is received, the process proceeds to S215.

In S215, power is supplied to the RF transmitter 32, and the portable device 3 is shifted to the wake-up state.

In S220, an ACK signal indicating that the portable device 3 has shifted to the wake-up state is transmitted. Specifically, the response data including the ACK signal is transmitted by the RF transmission unit 32 using the second frequency.

Next, in S225, it is determined whether or not the LF receiver 31 has received the ID code at the first frequency. Specifically, when the data demodulated by the LF receiver 31 includes an ID code, it is determined that the ID code has been received. If no ID code is received, the process waits until an ID code is received. If an ID code is received, the process proceeds to S230.

In S230, it is determined whether or not the portable device 3 is a registration key of the vehicle (onboard device 2) that is the transmission source of the ID code. Specifically, when the ID code received in S225 matches the ID code registered in the ROM 332 in advance, it is determined that the portable device 3 is a registration key. If it is not a registration key, the process proceeds to S235, and if it is a registration key, the process proceeds to S240.

In S235, the RF transmission unit 32 transmits a mismatch signal indicating that the portable device 3 is not the registration key of the in-vehicle device 2 using the second frequency. Then, the supply of power to the RF transmission unit 32 is stopped, the portable device 3 is set in the sleep state, and the process proceeds to S210.

In S240, the coincidence signal indicating that the portable device 3 is the registration key of the in-vehicle device 2 is transmitted by the RF transmission unit 32 using the second frequency.

In subsequent S245, it is determined whether or not a detection wave from the in-vehicle device 2 has been received. If the detection wave is not received, the process waits until the detection wave is received. If the detection wave is received, the process proceeds to S250.

Next, in S250, it is determined whether or not reception of the detection wave group transmitted from the in-vehicle device 2 is completed, that is, whether or not all detection waves are received. As described above, the detection wave group is set so that transmission from the in-vehicle device 2 is completed during a predetermined detection transmission period. Thus, as an example, in the present embodiment, when a predetermined detection reception period elapses after the coincidence signal is transmitted in S240, the detection wave group is received from the in-vehicle device 2. Judge that completed.

In step S255, when the reception of the detection wave group is completed, a reception intensity signal is generated. The reception intensity signal is a data string that is arranged in order according to the reception time of the reception intensity of the detected wave group received from the in-vehicle device 2. In other words, the received intensity signal is a data string that shows changes in received intensity in the received wave group in time series.

In S265, the reception intensity signal generated in S260 is transmitted from the RF transmission unit 32 using the second frequency, the process proceeds to S210, and a series of processes is repeated.

[2-3. Processing as a smart entry system]
As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the smart entry system 1 sequentially executes processing by the in-vehicle device 2 (the control unit 15) and the portable device 3 (the portable device control unit 33).

First, the in-vehicle device 2 transmits a wake-up signal (time t1). When the portable device 3 receives the wakeup signal at time t2 (time t2), the portable device 3 transmits an ACK signal after shifting to the wakeup state (time t3). When receiving the ACK signal from the portable device 3 (time t4), the in-vehicle device 2 transmits an ID code (time t5). The portable device 3 transmits a coincidence signal as a code response signal when the transmitted ID code is equal to the ID code recorded in advance (t7). When the in-vehicle device 2 receives the coincidence signal as a code response signal (t8), it transmits a detection wave group (t9). The portable device 3 receives the detection wave group and transmits a reception intensity signal generated based on the reception wave group (t10) (t11). The in-vehicle device 2 receives the reception intensity signal from the portable device 3 (t12), and estimates the position of the portable device 3 based on the reception intensity signal. And the vehicle equipment 2 performs the output according to the estimated position with respect to the control object part 14. FIG.

[3. Operation]
Next, an operation example of the in-vehicle device 2 in the smart entry system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

[3-1. First operation example]
First, an example in which the position of the portable device 3 is estimated based on the intensity pattern signal will be described. As an example, FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example in which the portable device 3 is located at the first position 91 (P1) close to the T antenna 114, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the detection wave group to do. FIG. 5C shows an intensity pattern signal generated based on the received intensity signal transmitted from the portable device 3 that has received the detection wave group shown in FIG. It is the figure (henceforth an intensity | strength pattern diagram) which showed the vertical axis | shaft as reception intensity | strength.

As shown in FIG. 5C, when the portable device 3 is located near the T antenna 114 (for example, the first position 91), the reception intensity of the received wave with respect to the detection wave transmitted from the T antenna 114 is It is larger than the reception intensity of the received wave corresponding to the detected wave transmitted from another antenna. Therefore, when the intensity pattern signal generated based on the received intensity signal indicates the magnitude relationship of the received intensity as described above, the control unit 15 sets the position of the portable device 3 near the T antenna 114, specifically, Presumed to be near the trunk room.

[3-2. Second operation example]
Next, an operation example for estimating the movement of the portable device 3 based on the intensity pattern signal will be described. In FIG. 6A shown as an example, the vehicle door on the driver's seat side is a slide door, and the position of the D seat antenna 112 is changed from an open state position 112a to a closed state position 112b according to the open / closed state of the slide door. To change. In FIG. 6A, a second position 92 (P2) indicates a position near the slide door outside the passenger compartment, and a third position 93 (P3) indicates a position in the passenger compartment. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a detection wave group transmitted by the in-vehicle device 2. 6C shows the second position 92 (where the vehicle door is open), the third position 93 (where the vehicle door is closed), and the second position 92 (where the vehicle door is closed) shown in FIG. 6A. It is a figure which shows an example of an intensity | strength pattern diagram when the portable device 3 is located in each of a door (closed state). Hereinafter, the respective intensity pattern diagrams are referred to as a first pattern, a second pattern, and a third pattern in order. FIG. 7 shows the estimation results for the movement of the portable device 3 and the output based on the estimation results when signals illustrated as the first pattern to the third pattern are acquired as the intensity pattern signal and the previous intensity pattern signal. It is a figure which shows an example.

Here, for example, a signal illustrated as a third pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and immediately thereafter, a signal illustrated as a second pattern is used as a new intensity pattern signal. Assume that it was acquired. In this case, the control unit 15 compares the intensity pattern signal with the previous intensity pattern signal, and the reception intensity corresponding to the detection wave transmitted from the P seat antenna 113 is increased. The movement of the portable device 3 to is estimated. As an example, the control unit 15 is based on the fact that these are intensity pattern signals when the sliding door is in a closed state. In other words, the user carrying the portable device 3 exists in the vehicle compartment and the sliding door is closed. Based on the state, a locking instruction for locking the sliding door is output to the door locking mechanism.

On the other hand, for example, a signal illustrated as a third pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and immediately thereafter, a signal illustrated as a first pattern is acquired as a new intensity pattern signal. Suppose that In this case, the control unit 15 compares the intensity pattern signal with the previous intensity pattern signal and estimates that the portable device 3 has not moved, and also estimates that the slide door has changed from the closed state to the open state. And as an example, the control part 15 outputs the alerting | reporting instruction | indication for alert | reporting with a speaker that the sliding door was in the open state.

Further, for example, a signal illustrated as a second pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and immediately thereafter, a signal illustrated as a first pattern is acquired as a new intensity pattern signal. Suppose that In this case, the control unit 15 estimates the movement of the portable device 3 from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior by comparing the intensity pattern signal with the previous intensity pattern signal. And as an example, the control part 15 outputs the open state holding | maintenance instruction | indication for hold | maintaining the open state of a slide door.

When it is estimated that there is no movement of the portable device 3, the estimated position of the portable device 3 is output to the control target unit 14, and the estimated position of the portable device 3 is used in the processing in the control target unit 14. Also good.

[3-3. Third operation example]
Next, another operation example for estimating the movement of the portable device 3 based on the intensity pattern signal will be described. In FIG. 8A as an example, as described above, the first position 93 indicates a position outside the passenger compartment close to the T antenna 114, and the second position 92 corresponds to the D seat antenna 112 with the vehicle door closed. Indicates the location outside the vehicle compartment. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a detection wave group transmitted by the in-vehicle device 2. FIG. 8C is a diagram showing an example of an intensity pattern diagram when the portable device 3 is located at each of the second position (where the vehicle door is closed) and the first position shown in FIG. is there. Hereinafter, the intensity pattern diagrams are referred to as a fourth pattern and a fifth pattern, respectively. FIG. 9 shows the estimated result of the movement of the portable device 3 and the output accompanying the estimated result when the signals illustrated as the fourth pattern to the fifth pattern are acquired as the intensity pattern signal and the previous intensity pattern signal, respectively. FIG.

Here, for example, a signal illustrated as a fourth pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and immediately thereafter, a signal illustrated as a fifth pattern is used as a new intensity pattern signal. Assume that it was acquired. In this case, the control unit 15 compares the intensity pattern signal with the previous intensity pattern signal, and estimates the movement of the portable device 3 from the vicinity of the vehicle door to the vicinity of the trunk room. For example, when the position near the trunk room is detected as the estimated position of the portable device 3 for a predetermined period or longer, the control unit 15 outputs a trunk room unlocking instruction for unlocking the trunk room.

On the other hand, for example, a signal illustrated as a fifth pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and immediately thereafter, a signal illustrated as a fourth pattern is acquired as a new intensity pattern signal. Suppose that In this case, the control unit 15 compares the intensity pattern signal with the previous intensity pattern signal, and estimates the movement of the portable device 3 from the vicinity of the trunk room to the vicinity of the vehicle door. For example, when the trunk room is in an unlocked state, the control unit 15 outputs a notification instruction for performing notification with a speaker that conveys a message that locks the trunk room.

When it is estimated that the portable device 3 is not moved, the control unit 15 may output the estimated position of the portable device 3 to the control target unit 14 as described above, or the trunk room at that time An instruction to hold the state (unlocked state or locked state) may be output.

[3-4. Fourth operation example]
Next, another operation example for estimating the movement of the portable device 3 based on the intensity pattern signal will be described. In FIG. 10A as an example, the vehicle door on the driver's seat side is configured to be opened and closed by a hinge, and the position of the D seat antenna 112 is changed from the closed state position 112c to the open state according to the open / close state of the vehicle door. It changes like the state position 112d. In FIG. 10A, a fourth position 94 (P4) indicates a position outside the passenger compartment behind the vehicle door. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a detection wave group transmitted by the in-vehicle device 2. FIG.10 (c) is a figure which shows an example of an intensity | strength pattern diagram in case a vehicle door is a closed state and an open state, when the portable device 3 is located in the 4th position shown to Fig.10 (a). Hereinafter, the intensity pattern diagrams will be referred to as a sixth pattern and a seventh pattern, respectively.

Here, for example, a signal illustrated as a sixth pattern is acquired as an intensity pattern signal (previous intensity pattern signal), and then a signal illustrated as a seventh pattern is acquired as a new intensity pattern signal. Suppose that When acquiring the intensity pattern signal illustrated as the sixth pattern, the control unit 15 estimates the fourth position 94 as the position of the portable device 3 and outputs an instruction to automatically open the vehicle door to the door opening / closing mechanism. When the vehicle door starts to open, the reception intensity of the reception wave corresponding to the detection wave transmitted from the D seat antenna 112 and the P seat antenna 113 increases. Therefore, when the signal illustrated as the seventh pattern is acquired as the intensity pattern signal, the control unit 15 estimates that the portable device 3 does not move and transmits from the D seat antenna 112 and the P seat antenna 113. When the received intensity of the received wave corresponding to the detected wave exceeds a predetermined proximity detection level, an instruction to automatically open the vehicle door is output to the door opening / closing mechanism.

In the first operation example to the fourth operation example, as described above, the control unit 15 determines the position of the portable device 3 based on the magnitude relationship between the reception strengths of the reception waves of the transmission antennas 112 to 114 in the intensity pattern signal. May be estimated, or the position of the portable device 3 may be estimated based on a comparison between a basic pattern signal recorded in advance in the ROM 52 and an intensity pattern signal generated based on the received intensity signal. In the latter case, for example, in the operation example 1, the control unit 15 records the signal illustrated in FIG. 5C in the ROM 52 as a basic pattern signal whose basic position is the first position 91, and receives the reception intensity. The position of the portable device 3 may be estimated based on a comparison between the intensity pattern generated based on the signal and the basic pattern signal.

[4. effect]
According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects can be obtained.

[4A] Since a detection wave having a predetermined equal intensity is transmitted from the D seat antenna 112, the P seat antenna 113, and the T antenna 114, the reception intensity when the detection wave is received by the portable device 3 is transmitted. The position varies depending on the position of the portable device 3 with respect to the antennas 112 to 114. The intensity pattern signal is a signal indicating the reception intensity of the reception wave corresponding to the detection wave from the transmission antenna selected from among the transmission antennas 112 to 114. For this reason, the position which the portable device 3 can take with respect to each transmission antenna is specified based on the magnitude relation of the reception intensity of the reception wave for each selected transmission antenna. Thereby, the position of the portable device 3 is estimated. According to this, since the position of the portable device 3 can be estimated based on the intensity pattern signal, the number of transmissions is smaller than that in the conventional technique in which the number of transmission antennas needs to be increased according to the number of regions to be detected. With the antenna, that is, with a simple configuration, the position of the portable device can be accurately estimated.

In addition, a detection wave having a predetermined intensity is transmitted from the transmission antennas 112 to 114. According to this, it is possible to accurately estimate the position of the portable device 3 with a simpler configuration than the conventional technique that needs to transmit detection signals in different formats for each transmission antenna.

[4B] The control unit 15 may estimate the movement of the portable device 3 based on a change with time of the intensity pattern signal. According to this, the movement of the portable device 3 can be estimated with a simple configuration.

[4C] The transmission antennas 112 to 114 may have a communication range both inside and outside the vehicle interior. According to this, the position of the portable device 3 can be estimated based on the intensity pattern signal with a small number of transmission antennas. As a result, the in-vehicle device 2 and the smart entry system 1 can be easily configured.

[4D] The control unit 15 may select the transmission antennas 112 to 114 in accordance with the basic order for each predetermined antenna selection period and transmit the detection wave. According to this, by performing sampling based on the antenna selection period in the received wave group or the received intensity signal, each received wave corresponding to the detected wave transmitted from the transmitting antennas 112 to 114 can be easily identified. be able to. As a result, the position of the portable device 3 can be estimated with high accuracy.

[4E] The basic order may be determined so as to go around the transmission antennas 112 to 114, that is, all the transmission antennas are selected once. According to this, compared with the case where the basic order is not determined to make a round of the transmission antennas 112 to 114, that is, only the D seat antenna 112 and the P seat antenna 113 are selected multiple times, for example. Thus, the position of the portable device 3 can be estimated with higher accuracy than the case where it is determined as described above.

[4F] The control unit 15 may transmit the detection wave group by repeating this basic procedure a plurality of times (three times in the above embodiment), with the procedure of transmitting the detection wave according to the basic order as a basic procedure. According to this, tolerance to noise or the like can be improved. As a result, the position of the portable device 3 can be estimated with high accuracy.

The [4G] ROM 52 may previously record an intensity pattern signal when the portable device 3 is located at a predetermined basic position in the communication range of the transmission antennas 112 to 114 as a basic pattern signal. Further, the control unit 15 may determine whether or not the portable device 3 is located at the basic position based on the comparison between the acquired intensity pattern signal and the basic pattern signal. According to this, by recording basic pattern signals for various basic positions in the ROM 52, it is possible to accurately estimate the position of the portable device 3 with a small number of antennas based on these basic pattern signals. Can do.

[4H] The control unit 15 may perform output in accordance with the estimated position of the portable device 3. According to this, according to the position of the user carrying the portable device 3, various controls such as opening / closing operation of the vehicle door and locking / unlocking operation of the trunk room door can be appropriately performed.

[4I] The control unit 15 may perform output according to the estimated movement of the portable device 3. According to this, various detailed control can be performed according to various movement situations of the user carrying the portable device 3.

In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 corresponds to an example of a position estimation device, the portable device 3 corresponds to an example of a portable device, the transmission antennas 112 to 114 correspond to an example of a detection antenna, and the control unit 15 Is equivalent to an example as a transmission unit, a reception unit, a position estimation unit, an output unit, and a movement estimation unit, and the ROM 52 is equivalent to an example as a recording unit. S135 corresponds to an example of processing as a transmission unit, S140 corresponds to an example of processing as a reception unit, S150 corresponds to an example of processing as a position estimation unit, and S165 corresponds to an example of processing as an output unit. This corresponds to an example, and S160 corresponds to an example of processing as a movement estimation unit.

[5. Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this indication was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this indication can take various forms, without being limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

[5A] In the above embodiment, the detection wave is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 2 using the first frequency, but the frequency of the detection wave is not limited to this. For example, detection waves may be transmitted at different frequencies for each of the selected transmission antennas 112 to 114.

[5B] The received intensity signal transmitted from the portable device 3 to the in-vehicle device 2 is a signal in which the received intensity in the received wave group is arranged in time series, but is not limited thereto. For example, the received intensity signal may be a signal indicating the received intensity for each received wave in the received wave group. That is, in the portable device 3, the reception intensity in the reception wave group is generated as a signal indicating the reception intensity for each reception wave by the portable device corresponding to the detection wave transmitted from each selected transmission antenna, You may transmit this to the vehicle equipment 2 as a received intensity signal.

[5C] The operation example shown in the above embodiment is merely an example. Based on the intensity pattern signal, various movements of the user carrying the portable device 3 and various movements of each part of the vehicle in which the transmission antenna is installed are shown. May be detected. For example, when a strength pattern signal indicating that the user carrying the portable device 3 is about to get into the vehicle is detected, the control unit 15 outputs an instruction to stop the operation of closing the vehicle door to the door opening / closing mechanism. May be.

[5D] The functions of one component in the above embodiment may be distributed as a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component. Moreover, you may replace a part of structure of the said embodiment with the well-known structure which has the same function. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit a part of structure of the said embodiment as long as a subject can be solved. 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. In addition, all the aspects included in the technical idea specified from the wording described in the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

[5G] The present disclosure includes the smart entry system 1, the in-vehicle device 2, the control unit 15, the portable device 3, the portable device control unit 33, a program for causing the control unit 15 to function, and a medium storing the program It can be realized in various forms such as a program for causing the portable device control unit 33 to function, a medium on which the program is recorded, and a position estimation method.

The flowchart described in this application or the process of the flowchart is composed of a plurality of sections (or referred to as steps), and each section is expressed as, for example, S100. Further, each section can be divided into a plurality of subsections, while a plurality of sections can be combined into one section. Further, each section configured in this manner can be referred to as a device, module, or means.

Claims

A position estimation device that estimates the position of a mobile device (3) that is mounted on a vehicle and carried by a user,
A plurality of detection antennas (112 to 114) having a predetermined communication range and provided at different installation positions in the vehicle;
A transmitting unit that selects the detection antennas one by one in accordance with a predetermined basic order so that transmission time zones do not overlap each other, and transmits a detection wave having a predetermined intensity via the selected detection antennas ( 15, S135)
The detection wave transmitted by the transmission unit is a detection wave group, the detection wave group received by the portable device is a reception wave group, and the detection wave of each detection antenna selected in the reception wave group A position estimation unit (15, S150) that estimates a position of the portable device based on a reception intensity of each detection antenna in the intensity pattern signal, using a signal indicating reception intensity as an intensity pattern signal;
A position estimation apparatus comprising:
The position estimation apparatus according to claim 1,
A position estimation apparatus comprising a movement estimation unit (15, S160) for estimating movement of the portable device based on a change of the intensity pattern signal with time.
The position estimation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The detection antenna is a position estimation device having a communication range both inside and outside the vehicle.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transmission unit is a position estimation device that selects the detection antennas according to the basic order for each predetermined antenna selection period.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The position estimation device in which the basic order is determined so as to make a round of the plurality of detection antennas.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A position estimation device that uses the detected waves transmitted by repeating the basic order a plurality of times as the detected wave group.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A recording unit (52) that pre-records the intensity pattern signal as a basic pattern signal when the portable device is positioned at a predetermined basic position in the communication range of the plurality of detection antennas;
The position estimation unit is configured to determine whether or not the portable device is located at the basic position based on a comparison between the intensity pattern signal and the basic pattern signal.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A position estimation apparatus provided with the 1st output part (15, S165) which performs the output according to the position of the said portable apparatus estimated by the said position estimation part.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
A position estimation apparatus provided with the 2nd output part (15, S165) which performs the output according to the movement of the said portable apparatus estimated by the said movement estimation part.