Vehicle remote control system and vehicle-mounted apparatus incorporated in the same

• US 10,388,091 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2018
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ohshima, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin C
• Application Number:
  US15/872,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20180144566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 340 561
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2018 Central base unlocks or authorises unlocking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/00 Steering not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A vehicle remote control system including an electronic key pre-registered as a device via which a vehicle can be remote-operated, and a mobile communication device pre-registered as a device that belongs to a user of the vehicle. In the system, a vehicle-mounted authentication unit is configured to determine whether or not authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded, and a vehicle-mounted allowance determination unit is configured to, if it is determined by the vehicle-mounted authentication unit that the authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded, allow operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted activation unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle remote control system comprising:

an electronic key pre-registered as a device via which a vehicle can be remote-operated;

a mobile communication device pre-registered as a device that belongs to a user of the vehicle;

a vehicle-mounted authentication unit configured to determine whether or not authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded; and

a vehicle-mounted allowance determination unit configured to, if it is determined by the vehicle-mounted authentication unit that the authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded, allow operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted activation unit,

wherein at least one of the electronic key and the mobile communication device comprises;

a primary authentication unit configured to, if determining that both the electronic key and the mobile communication device are communicable with each other and carried by the user, determine that authentication between the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded; and

a transmit processing unit configured to, if it is determined by the primary authentication unit that the authentication between the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded, transmit to the vehicle via a transmitter an authentication signal including a signal indicative of the electronic key and the mobile communication device being pre-registered devices,

wherein the vehicle-mounted authentication unit is configured to, upon receipt of the authentication signal, authenticate the authentication signal, and upon successful authentication of the authentication signal, determine that the authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein

a primary communication device that is one of the electronic key and the mobile communication device is configured to transmit to the vehicle an authentication signal including a signal indicative of the one of the electronic key and the mobile communication device being a pre-registered device, and

the vehicle-mounted authentication unit is configured to, upon receipt of the authentication signal at a receiver mounted in the vehicle, transmit a confirmation signal to a secondary communication device that is the other of the electronic key and the mobile communication device, and if the receiver has received a response signal transmitted from the secondary communication device in response to the confirmation signal, determine that authentication of the electronic key and the mobile communication device has succeeded.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the activation unit is an automatic-driving control unit for controlling automatic driving of the vehicle.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein

the automatic-driving control unit is configured to, during automatic driving of the vehicle, sequentially acquire a surroundings condition of the vehicle and sequentially transmit to the mobile communication device a surroundings condition signal indicative of the acquired surroundings condition, and

the mobile communication device comprises a receiver configured to receive the surroundings condition signal, and a display configured to display the surroundings condition based on the surroundings condition signal received by the receiver.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein

the mobile communication device is configured to transmit to the automatic-driving control unit an automatic driving instruction signal for instructing the automatic-driving control unit to start automatic driving, and

the vehicle-mounted authentication unit is configured to, upon receipt of the automatic driving instruction signal, authenticate the electronic key and the mobile communication device.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein

the allowance determination unit is configured to, if disallowing operation of the automatic-driving control unit, transmit a disallowance signal indicative of disallowance of automatic driving via a vehicle-mounted transmitter, and

at least one of the electronic key and the mobile communication device comprises a display configured to, upon receipt of the disallowance signal, display thereon an indication that the operation of the automatic-driving control unit has been disallowed.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the activation unit includes a door lock unit to lock or unlock vehicle doors, an engine control unit to start the engine of the vehicle, or a program updater to update a program of a controller mounted in the vehicle.