Remote starter

• US 9,372,831 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Harumoto, Satoshi, Nishimura, Ryuji, Ohta, Mitsuru, Hamaue, Itsuki, Yoshimura, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Algahaim, Helal A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mott, Genna
• Application Number:
  US13/691,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20130151038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• Field of Search: 701/2, 701/29.4, 455/418, 340/5.64
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00778 the input being a stationary vehicle position, e.g. parking or stopping
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A remote starter transmits vehicle position information at a time of parking start to an information processor upon the parking start of a vehicle. The information processor judges whether to transmit a request for starting of the vehicle based on the vehicle position information and mobile-terminal position information upon reception of the request for starting of the vehicle and the mobile-terminal position information from a mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A vehicle controller that is installed in a vehicle and that transmits parking position information to an information processor that is located outside the vehicle upon detection of parking start of the vehicle, the vehicle controller comprising:

a communicator that communicates with the information processor by transmitting and receiving information;

a detector that detects the parking start of the vehicle;

a position-information-obtaining-part that obtains the parking position information, the parking position information being a location where the vehicle is parked;

a memory that stores an execution history of an application that is installed in a mobile terminal which communicates with the information processor, and that uses the parking position information; and

a controller that judges whether to transmit the parking position information based on the execution history, when the parking start of the vehicle is detected by the detector, the execution history being information that associates the parking position information with a number of times of the application executed at the location where the vehicle is parked.

2. The vehicle controller of claim 1, wherein

when the application is an application for executing a processing for remote starting of a driving apparatus of the vehicle, the controller judges that transmission of the parking position information is permitted when a number of times of the remote starting executed at the location where the vehicle is parked is equal to or above a predetermined number of times.

3. The vehicle controller of claim 2, wherein

the execution history is information that associates the parking position information with the number of times of the application executed that uses the parking position information, and with a date and time or a season of parking, and

the controller judges that the transmission of the parking position information is permitted further when the number of times of the remote starting executed corresponding to the date and time or the season when the vehicle has been parked is equal to or above the predetermined number of times.

4. The vehicle controller of claim 1, wherein

when the application is an application for providing a function for displaying on the mobile terminal a direction or a distance from a current position of the mobile terminal to the location where the vehicle is parked,

the controller judges that transmission of the parking position information is permitted when the number of times of the application executed at the location where the vehicle is parked is equal to or above the predetermined number of times.

5. The vehicle controller of claim 1, wherein

the memory stores parking lot information including position information of a parking lot and an area or parking capacity of the parking lot, and

when the application is an application for providing a function for displaying on the mobile terminal a direction or a distance from a current position information of the mobile terminal to the location where the vehicle is parked,

the controller judges that transmission of the parking position information is permitted when one of either the area or the parking capacity of the parking lot corresponding to the location where the vehicle parked is equal to or above predetermined values.

6. The vehicle controller of claim 1, wherein

the memory stores a number of times of parking at the location where the vehicle is parked, and

the controller judges that the parking position information is to be transmitted until a number of times of parking at the location where the vehicle is parked reaches a predetermined number of times, while after the number of times exceeds the predetermined number of times of parking at the location where the vehicle is parked, the controller judges whether to transmit the parking position information at the parking start based on the execution history.

7. The vehicle controller of claim 1, wherein

in a case where an application for executing an antitheft function of the vehicle is included among applications that are installed in the mobile terminal, the controller judges that the parking position information is to be transmitted, while in another case where the application for executing the antitheft function is not included, the controller judges whether to transmit the parking position information based on the execution history.

8. A vehicle control system comprising:

a vehicle controller;

a mobile terminal that stores an application using parking position information; and

an information processor that obtains the parking position information from the vehicle controller and that transmits the parking position information to the mobile terminal,

the vehicle controller being installed in a vehicle and transmitting the parking position information to the information processor, which is located outside the vehicle, upon detection of parking start of the vehicle, the vehicle controller including;

a communicator that communicates with the information processor by transmitting and receiving information;

a detector that detects the parking start of the vehicle;

a position-information-obtaining-part that obtains the parking position information, the parking position information being a location where the vehicle is parked;

a memory that stores an execution history of the application that is installed in the mobile terminal which communicates with the information processor, and that uses the parking position information; and

a controller that judges whether to transmit the parking position information based on the execution history, when the parking start of the vehicle is detected by the detector, the execution history being information that associates the parking position information with a number of times of the application executed at the location where the vehicle is parked.