Vehicle door control system and method
First Claim
1. A vehicle door control system comprising a vehicle-side unit and a hand-held device for controlling vehicle doors in a vehicle in accordance with a result of collation of an ID code, which is conveyed by a response signal transmitted by the hand-held device in response to a request signal transmitted by the vehicle-side unit, with an ID code registered in advance in the vehicle-side unit, wherein the vehicle-side unit includes:
- a receiver for receiving the response signal from the hand-held device;
a compartment external transmitter for transmitting the request signal to an outside of a compartment of the vehicle;
a compartment internal transmitter for transmitting the request signal to the inside of the compartment of the vehicle;
a lock state control section for controlling lock/unlock states of the vehicle doors;
an automatic door opening/closing section capable of automatically carrying out operations to open and close the vehicle doors;
an operation detection section for detecting a predetermined operation carried out by a holder of the hand-held device on the vehicle doors; and
a door state control section for controlling the automatic door opening/closing section and the lock state control section to automatically close and lock the vehicle doors, when the operation detection section detects the predetermined operation with at least one vehicle door in an open state and a result of collation of the ID code conveyed in the response signal transmitted by the hand-held device in response to the request signal transmitted by the compartment external transmitter is an OK and no response signal is transmitted by the hand-held device in response to the request signal transmitted by the compartment internal transmitter, wherein the door state control section includes a level adjustment section for setting at least one of strength of the request signal transmitted by the compartment internal transmitter and sensitivity of the hand-held device to receive the request signal to levels lower than respective normal levels, when the compartment internal transmitter transmits the request signal with the one vehicle door being in the open state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
When a compartment internal transmitter of a vehicle-side unit transmits a request signal with vehicle doors opened, at least one of strength of the request signal and sensitivity of a hand-held device to receive the request signal are set at a level lower than a normal level. Thus, even when the vehicle doors are in an open state, a communication area of the compartment internal transmitter is prevented from being extended to cover the outside of the compartment. As a result, when the holder of the hand-held device operates any of the vehicle doors from a location outside the vehicle compartment, it is possible to avoid an erroneous assumption that the hand-held device is left behind in the vehicle compartment and to execute a sequence of consecutive operations.
25 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A vehicle door control system comprising a vehicle-side unit and a hand-held device for controlling vehicle doors in a vehicle in accordance with a result of collation of an ID code, which is conveyed by a response signal transmitted by the hand-held device in response to a request signal transmitted by the vehicle-side unit, with an ID code registered in advance in the vehicle-side unit,
wherein the vehicle-side unit includes: -
a receiver for receiving the response signal from the hand-held device;
a compartment external transmitter for transmitting the request signal to an outside of a compartment of the vehicle;
a compartment internal transmitter for transmitting the request signal to the inside of the compartment of the vehicle;
a lock state control section for controlling lock/unlock states of the vehicle doors;
an automatic door opening/closing section capable of automatically carrying out operations to open and close the vehicle doors;
an operation detection section for detecting a predetermined operation carried out by a holder of the hand-held device on the vehicle doors; and
a door state control section for controlling the automatic door opening/closing section and the lock state control section to automatically close and lock the vehicle doors, when the operation detection section detects the predetermined operation with at least one vehicle door in an open state and a result of collation of the ID code conveyed in the response signal transmitted by the hand-held device in response to the request signal transmitted by the compartment external transmitter is an OK and no response signal is transmitted by the hand-held device in response to the request signal transmitted by the compartment internal transmitter, wherein the door state control section includes a level adjustment section for setting at least one of strength of the request signal transmitted by the compartment internal transmitter and sensitivity of the hand-held device to receive the request signal to levels lower than respective normal levels, when the compartment internal transmitter transmits the request signal with the one vehicle door being in the open state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A vehicle door control method for a vehicle having a plurality of doors, an external transmitter and an internal transmitter, the method comprising:
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detecting a predetermined operation on a door;
transmitting a first request signal and a second request signal from the external transmitter to an outside of the vehicle and from the internal transmitter to a compartment of the vehicle, respectively, when the predetermined operation on the door is detected; and
performing automatic door control including at least one of door closing and door locking, when a first response signal is received from a hand-held device in response to the first request signal but no second response signal is received from the hand-held device in response to the second request signal, wherein the transmitting step includes checking whether any door of the vehicle is open, and reducing at least one of strength of the second request signal of the internal transmitter and signal receiving sensitivity of the hand-held device when any door is open, thereby preventing the hand-held device from responding to the second request signal. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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Specification