ONBOARD DEVICE CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20090248244A1
• Filed: 02/18/2009
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: KITAGAWA, Tomoko, SUMIMOTO, Masato
• Application Number:
  US12/372,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248244A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00735 Control systems or circuits characterised by their input, i.e. by the detection, measurement or calculation of particular conditions, e.g. signal treatment, dynamic models

Abstract

There is provided an onboard device control apparatus which controls an operation of an onboard device, comprising a plurality of sensor nodes which comprises a state-detecting sensor portion to detect a specified state, a data processing portion to conduct calculation processing of data obtained by the state-detecting sensor portion, a memory portion to memorize specified data, and a communication portion to send and receive the data by wireless, respectively, a network forming means to form a network of the plurality of sensor nodes which are provided at plural locations in a vehicle compartment, and a control means to control the onboard device based on plural data of the plural sensor nodes forming the network. Accordingly, the onboard device can be properly controlled, considering the whole situation of a vehicle.

Claims

1. An onboard device control apparatus which controls an operation of an onboard device, comprising:

a plurality of sensor nodes comprising a state-detecting sensor portion to detect a specified state, a data processing portion to conduct calculation processing of data obtained by the state-detecting sensor portion, a memory portion to memorize specified data, and a communication portion to send and receive the data by wireless, respectively;

a network forming means to form a network of the plurality of sensor nodes which are provided at plural locations in a vehicle compartment; and

a control means to control the onboard device based on plural data of the plural sensor nodes forming the network.

2. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said network forming means comprises an adhoc function and/or a multihop function.

3. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein there is provided a sensor-node location calculating means which calculates location of the sensor node, the location of which is not decided, based on data of location of another sensor node, the location of which is decided, by using a centroid calculation.

4. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein there is provided a sensor-node location calculating means which calculates location of the sensor node, the location of which is not decided, based on distance of the sensor node from another sensor node, the location of which is decided, by using a multi-angle measuring, said distance being calculated from data regarding the number of hops from the sensor node, the location of which is not decided, and an average distance of one hop.

5. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said onboard device is an air-condition control device which has plural vents, said state-detecting sensor portion comprises a temperature sensor to detect temperature in the vehicle compartment, and said control means comprises a target-control-value calculating means which controls the air-condition control device based on data of the temperature sensor so as to provide a specified temperature distribution in the vehicle compartment

6. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 5, wherein said temperature sensor includes a high-speed type of temperature sensor and a low-speed type of temperature sensor, there is provided a memory means which is provided at said sensor node or a gateway point which forms the network along with the sensor node and memorizes time-series temperature characteristic data as a target control value of said specified temperature distribution, said target-control-value calculating means refers to the time-series temperature characteristic data as the target control value, and said control means controls the air-condition control device so as to obtain a temperature characteristic of the time-series temperature characteristic data.

7. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 5, wherein said target-control-value calculating means calculates a target control value based on data of a temperature difference of the plural sensor nodes so as to provide the specified temperature distribution in the vehicle compartment, and said control means controls temperature of conditioned air supplied from said plural vents of the air-condition control device so as to obtain said target control value.

8. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 5, wherein said state-detecting sensor portion comprises a sitting sensor to detect a passenger being seated in a seat, and said target-control-value calculating means calculates a target control value for the temperature distribution in the vehicle compartment based on the number of passengers seated and/or position of passengers seated.

9. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 5, wherein said sensor node further comprises a portable terminal detecting portion to detect a portable terminal which has an identification ID for identifying the passenger, the onboard device control apparatus further comprises a memory means to memorize data of said specified state which is preferable to each passenger for each identification ID of the passenger, and said target-control-value calculating means calculates a target control value for controlling said air-condition device based on said data of the specified state.

10. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 5, wherein said target-control-value calculating means calculates the target control value for controlling said air-condition device based on said data of the specified state, obtains a target control value for another identification ID via said network of the sensor nodes, and adjusts the target control values of the respective identification IDs in case there is a specified large difference in the target control values.

11. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor node comprises a receiving portion to receive an identification ID for identifying the passenger which is memorized in a memory portion of a portable terminal carried by the passenger and a specified data, said network forming means forms a network of the sensor nodes which are provided at plural locations in the vehicle compartment along with the portable terminal carried by the passenger, and said control means controls the onboard device based on plural data of the plural sensor nodes and the portable terminal carried by the passenger which form the network in such a manner that the control means determines a control value of the onboard device or permission/prohibition of an operation of the onboard device for each identification ID of the portable terminal carried by the passenger who is detected seated by the sensor nodes.

12. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 11, wherein said onboard device is an electrically-operated seat, there is provided a memory means to memorize a seat position of the electrically-operated seat for each identification ID, and said control means controls the electrically-operated seat such that the seat position of the seat controlled becomes the one which is memorized by the memory means for each identification ID.

13. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 12, wherein there is provided a data updating means which updates the seat position memorized by said memory means in such a manner that the seat position originally memorized by the memory means is replaced by a new seat position which is set through the passenger'"'"'s changing the electrically-operated seat.

14. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 12, wherein said memory means is a memory portion of said portable terminal which receives and memorizes data regarding the control of the onboard device, the data memorized by said memory portion is the one regarding a past seat position of the electrically-operated seat which is used at a past time of driving of the vehicle, and said control means controls the electrically-operated seat such that the seat position of the seat controlled becomes the past seat position which is used at the past time of driving of the vehicle, referring to the identification ID of the portable terminal and the data of the past seat position.

15. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 11, wherein said control means adjusts the target control values of the identification IDs in case there is a specified large difference in the control values of the identification IDs.

16. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 11, wherein said onboard device is a power window, there is provided a memory means to memorize data of permission/prohibition of use of the power window for each identification ID, and said control means controls the power window such that an operation of the power window is permitted or prohibited based on said data of the permission/prohibition memorized.

17. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 1, wherein said onboard device is a navigation device, plural operating means to operate the navigation device are provided at plural locations in the vehicle compartment, said state-detecting sensor portion of the sensor nodes detects a state of the passenger, there is provided a memory means to memorize data of an operational right of said operating means which is set in plural stages in accordance with the state of the passenger which is detected by the state-detecting sensor portion of the sensor nodes, there is provided an operational-right determining means to determine the operational right of said operating means by the passenger, comparing the state of the passenger detected by the state-detecting sensor portion of the sensor nodes with the plural-stage operational right memorized by the memory means, and there is an operation setting means to set said operational means so as to provide the operational right which is determined by the operational-right determining means.

18. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 17, wherein said state-detecting sensor portions of the sensor nodes are passenger detecting sensors which are provided at respective seats so as to determine a sitting position of the passenger, the data of the operational right memorized by said memory means is the one of the operational right which is set in plural stages in accordance with the sitting position of the passenger, said operational-right determining means determines the operational right of the passenger, comparing the operational right memorized with the sitting position of the passenger determined, and said operation setting means sets the operational means so as to provide the operational right determined.

19. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 17, wherein said sensor node further comprises a portable terminal detecting portion to detect a portable terminal which has an identification ID for identifying the passenger, said memory means memorizes the data of the operational right of the operating means which is set in plural stages in accordance with said identification ID, and said operational-right determining means determines the operational right of the operating means by the passenger, comparing the identification ID of the passenger which is detected as the state of the passenger with the plural-stage operational right memorized by the memory means.

20. The onboard device control apparatus of claim 19, wherein said operational-right determining means determines that in case the passenger detected by said passenger detecting sensor does not have the portable terminal or the identification ID, there exists a low-level operational right, without comparing the identification ID with the plural-stage operational right memorized by the memory means.