ELECTRONIC CONTROL APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE

• US 20090240385A1
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: YAMAGUCHI, Taichi
• Application Number:
  US12/395,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20090240385A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/0065 Control members, e.g. levers or knobs B60H1/00985 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/23 using manual input of alphanumerical codes

Abstract

In an electronic control system for a vehicle, when a switch manipulation signal is inputted from a portable radio device, a control apparatus sets a check condition for switching an air-conditioner from the present condition to a different condition as a check condition for checking a manipulation pattern. The control apparatus checks the manipulation pattern based on the switch manipulation signal and a count value of the number of switch manipulations and checks whether the manipulation pattern meets the check condition of the acceptable pattern. If the manipulation pattern meets the check condition, the control apparatus starts to turn on or off the air-conditioner.

Claims

1. An electronic control apparatus for controlling a control object mounted in a vehicle in response to an input signal from a manipulation switch, the apparatus comprising:

a setting section configured to set an instruction, as an acceptable instruction, that changes the control object from a present condition to a different condition;

a check section configured to check whether the input signal from the manipulation switch corresponds to the acceptable instruction; and

a control section configured to control the control object as instructed by the input signal from the manipulation switch, when the input signal from the manipulation switch is determined to be the acceptable instruction.

2. The electronic control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a signal input inhibit section configured to inhibit input of the input signal from the manipulation switch for a predetermined wait period when the check section determines that the input signal from the manipulation switch corresponds to the acceptable instruction.

3. The electronic control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver section configured to receive a switch signal, which is transmitted wirelessly from a portable device including the manipulation switch while the manipulation switch is manipulated; and

the check section being configured to check a manipulation pattern of the manipulation switch based on a reception signal produced by the receiver section to determine an instruction, and check whether the instruction of the reception signal corresponds to the acceptable instruction.

4. The electronic control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the switch signal transmitted from the portable device includes a count value indicative of the number of times of manipulating the manipulation switch; and

the check section is configured to determine the manipulation pattern of the manipulation switch based on changes of the reception signal produced from the receiver section and the count value included in the reception signal.

5. An electronic control system for controlling a control object mounted in a vehicle from an outside of the vehicle, the system comprising:

a portable radio device having a manipulation switch to be manipulated by a vehicle user to transmit a radio signal that changes a signal level thereof in correspondence to manipulation of the vehicle user and includes a count value indicative of the number of manipulations of the switch;

a memory circuit storing a predetermined relation between manipulation patterns of the manipulation switch and corresponding operations of the control object; and

a control apparatus configured to check a manipulation pattern of the switch based on the radio signal received from the portable radio device thereby to determine a corresponding operation of the control object with reference to the predetermined relation stored in the memory circuit, and to control the control object to perform the corresponding operation only when the corresponding operation is different from a present condition of the control object.