IN-VEHICLE INSTRUMENT CONTROL DEVICE

• US 20120239249A1
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Automotive Electronics Company Limited (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Omron Automotive Electronics Company Limited (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Aragai, Takashi, Ukai, Yusuke, Miyazaki, Hirohito
• Granted Patent: US 8,600,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles

Abstract

An in-vehicle instrument control device, that controls a power source of a plurality of in-vehicle instruments operated by power from the power source provided in a vehicle, includes a plurality of operation units to operate the respective in-vehicle instruments; and a plurality of power source control units that are each provided between the operation unit and the power source, and the in-vehicle instrument, and each supply the power from the power source to the in-vehicle instrument when a predetermined operation signal is inputted from the operation unit.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle instrument control device that controls a power source of a plurality of in-vehicle instruments operated by power from the power source provided in a vehicle, the device comprising:

a plurality of operation units to operate the respective in-vehicle instruments; and

a plurality of power source control units that are each provided between the operation unit and the power source, and the in-vehicle instrument, and each supply the power from the power source to the in-vehicle instrument when a predetermined operation signal is inputted from the operation unit.

2. The in-vehicle instrument control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user authentication request unit that requests a user authentication result to a user authentication unit; and

an in-vehicle instrument control unit that determines whether or not power supply from the power source to the in-vehicle instrument is permitted for the request from the user authentication request unit, based on the received user authentication result, and notifies the power source control unit of a determination result,

wherein after the supply of the power is started, the power source control unit requests the determination to the in-vehicle instrument control unit, and when the supply of the power is permitted by the in-vehicle instrument control unit, the power source control unit supplies the power from the power source.

3. The in-vehicle instrument control device according to claim 1, further comprising a user authentication request unit that requests a user authentication result to a user authentication unit,

wherein after the supply of the power from the power source control unit is started, the in-vehicle instrument requests the user authentication result to the user authentication unit, and upon receiving the user authentication result indicating that the user authentication has succeeded, the in-vehicle instrument has the power supplied from the power source.

4. The in-vehicle instrument control device according to claim 1, wherein after the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument is started, the power source control unit stops the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument, based on the control of the in-vehicle instrument.

5. The in-vehicle instrument control device according to claim 2, wherein after the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument is started, the power source control unit stops the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument, based on the control of the in-vehicle instrument.

6. The in-vehicle instrument control device according to claim 3, wherein after the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument is started, the power source control unit stops the supply of the power to the in-vehicle instrument, based on the control of the in-vehicle instrument.