Vehicle environment control device

• US 7,228,213 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2004
• Issued: 06/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Kishimoto, Satoru, Sakai, Naoki, Seike, Yasushi, Maeno, Yoshihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli; Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US10/838,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20040225419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/49
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/00 Safety devices for propulsion-unit control, specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles, e.g. preventing fuel supply or ignition in the event of potentially dangerous conditions for electrically-propelled vehicles B60L3/00; road vehicle drive control systems for purposes not related to the control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/00; drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/252 Fingerprint recognition
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/08 Interaction between the driver and the control system

Abstract

A vehicle environment control device for recognizing and controlling the state of vehicle-associated equipment and a vehicle environment has a personal data storage section for storing user'"'"'s personal data associated with users of the vehicle M, a fingerprint information storage section for storing information about fingerprints of authorized users thereof, a section for identifying a user based on fingerprint information, a section for reading personal data (such as a physique) of the identified user thereof from the personal data storage section and a section for setting the vehicle M to be an environment suitable for the user (such as setting a seat position) based on the read personal data, resulting in improved convenience of a driver or occupants in using a vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle environment control device for recognizing and controlling the state of vehicle-associated equipment and a vehicle environment, said vehicle environment control device comprising:

a personal data storage section for storing personal data of a user of the vehicle associated with the user;

a user identification section for identifying the user;

a personal data reading section for reading the personal data of the user of the vehicle from the personal data storage section based on the identification result by said user identification section;

a vehicle environment setting section for setting the vehicle to be an environment suitable for the identified user based on the personal data read by said personal data reading section; and

an antitheft unit for generating a state of inconvenience for driving the vehicle through the use of said vehicle environment setting section;

wherein the user is identified by said user identification section based on voice print information, face image information, or both of voice print information and face image information,

wherein the vehicle environment set by said vehicle environment setting section includes at least one from among the positions of a seat, a brake pedal, mirrors and a steering wheel, an expanding force of an air bag, a stiffness of a suspension, and a timing of shifting, and

wherein the state of inconvenience for driving the vehicle is generated when a determination is made by said user identification section that a person desiring to use the vehicle is not an authorized user of the vehicle.