Vehicle equipment control system and method

• US 20070024121A1
• Filed: 07/12/2006
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Nakashima, Kazuhiro, Teshima, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 7,696,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/10.200
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/245 where the antenna reception area plays a role
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks

Abstract

A vehicle equipment control system locks vehicle doors by any one of auto-lock and trigger lock systems. In the auto-lock system, a wide communication area is set that covers an entire vehicle compartment is set. In the trigger lock system, a narrow communication area is set that disables the communication with a portable unit carried by a user near a vehicle. When no response signal is received from the portable unit in the respective communication areas, the respective vehicle doors are locked. Accordingly, even when any one of the auto-lock and trigger lock systems is used, the portable unit is prevented from being left in the compartment, and the respective vehicle doors can be locked.

Claims

1. A vehicle equipment control system comprising:

a portable unit that transmits a response signal including an ID code in response to a request signal; and

an in-vehicle unit that transmits the request signal, receives the response signal from the portable unit, performs a comparison between the ID code included in the response signal and a pre-registered code, and controls vehicle equipment in accordance with a comparison result,

wherein the in-vehicle unit comprises;

a receiver that receives the response signal from the portable unit;

an inside transmitter that, by using a compartment of a vehicle as a communication area for communication with the portable unit, transmits the request signal toward the compartment;

a trigger switch that is proved in a vehicle door and that provides an instruction for locking of the vehicle door;

communication area varying means that, in a case that the trigger switch is not operated, sets the communication area for the communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit to be relatively large in comparison with a case that the trigger switch has been operated; and

lock control means that locks the vehicle door in accordance with an event where the response signal responding to the request signal transmitted from the inside transmitter is not received in the communication area set by the communication area varying means.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the in-vehicle unit further comprises a door opening/closing detection means that detects open/close operations of the vehicle door; and

the lock control means tries the two-way communication with the portable unit by causing the request signal to be transmitted from the inside transmitter in the communication area set by the communication area varying means when the open/close operation of the vehicle door has been detected by the door opening/closing detection means.

3. The control system according to claim 2, wherein:

the lock control means first executes door lock control according to an auto-lock system that executes the door lock control in accordance with the result of two-way communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit in the communication area set to be relatively large, when the open/close operation of the vehicle door is detected by the door opening/closing detection means; and

the lock control means interrupts an auto door lock control and then executes, by interruption, door lock control according to a trigger lock system that executes the door lock control in accordance with the result of the two-way communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit in the communication area set to be relatively small, when operation of the trigger switch is performed during the execution of the auto door lock control.

4. The control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the communication area varying means sets the communication area for the communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit to any one of a first communication area and a second communication area larger than the first communication area.

5. The control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the communication area varying means adjusts at least one of a transmission output level of the request signal transmitted from the inside transmitter and a reception sensitivity level of the request signal in the portable unit, thereby causing the size of the communication area to be varied.

6. The control system according to claim 4, wherein:

the lock control means first tries the two-way communication by setting the communication area to the first communication area in the event that the trigger switch is not operated, and

the lock control means then tries again the two-way communication by setting the communication area to the second communication area, when the response signal is not received from the portable unit.

7. The control system according to claim 6, wherein:

the in-vehicle unit further comprises an alarm generating means that generates an alarm to a user; and

the lock control means causes the alarm generating means to generate the alarm without locking the vehicle door when the response signal has been received from the portable unit under a condition that the communication area is set to the first communication area.

8. The control system according to claim 6, wherein:

the lock control means causes the two-way communication to be repeatedly executed a predetermined number of times when the response signal has been received from the portable unit under a condition that the communication area is set to the second communication area; and

the lock control means causes the two-way communication to terminate and causes the alarm generating means to generate the alarm when response signals have been continually received from the portable unit in the predetermined number of times of the two-way communication.

9. The control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the in-vehicle unit further comprises an outside transmitter that transmits the request signal toward a periphery of the vehicle by using the periphery of the vehicle as a communication area with the portable unit; and

the lock control means verifies that the response signal responding to the request signal transmitted from the inside transmitter is not received by the receiver when the trigger switch is not operated, and then locks the vehicle door when the reception of the response signal responding to the request signal transmitted from the outside transmitter becomes impossible.

10. The control system according to claim 9, wherein:

the in-vehicle unit further comprises alarm generating means that generates an alarm to a user; and

the lock control means causes the two-way communication between the outside transmitter and the portable unit to terminate and causes the alarm generating means to generate the alarm, when the number of reception times of response signals responding to the request signal transmitted from the outside transmitter has reached a predetermined number of times.

11. The control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the in-vehicle unit further comprises an outside transmitter that, by using a periphery of the vehicle as a communication area with the portable unit, transmits the request signal toward the periphery of the vehicle; and

the lock control means tries the two-way communication with the portable unit by using the inside transmitter and the outside transmitter when the trigger switch is operated,

wherein, the lock control means locks the vehicle door when the response signal is not received responding to the request signal transmitted from the inside transmitter and when the response signal is received responding to the request signal transmitted from the outside transmitter.

12. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle unit further comprises:

engine control means that controls an operation state of an engine of the vehicle; and

permitting means that permits the engine control means to start the engine when the response signal corresponding to the pre-registered code has been received through the two-way communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit when an instruction for starting the engine has been provided by a user,

wherein the communication area varying means sets the communication area for the communication between the inside transmitter and the portable unit to a communication area that is set when the trigger switch has been operated, upon start permission control by the permitting means.

13. A vehicle equipment control method comprising:

transmitting a request signal from an inside transmitter provided in a vehicle compartment when an opening/closing operation of a vehicle door is detected, the request signal having a predetermined output level with which a portable unit is capable of receiving the request signal outside the compartment;

transmitting the request signal from the inside transmitter at an output level lower than the predetermined output level so that the portable unit is capable of receiving the request signal only in a vehicle compartment, when a locking operation of the vehicle door is detected; and

transmitting another request signal from an outside transmitter provided outside the vehicle when the portable unit has transmitted no response signal to the request signal transmitted in response to the locking operation; and

controlling locking of the vehicle door based on a response signal transmitted from the portable unit.