JP3358573B2 - Keyless entry system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyless entry system mounted on a vehicle, and more particularly to a keyless entry system capable of switching and using two or more types of answer back means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 8-289372 and 10-173567 disclose a wireless keyless entry system used for a vehicle.

[0003] This is because, when a signal including an identification code output from a transmitter constituted as an electronic key is received by a receiver provided in a vehicle by operation of a user such as a driver, and it is determined that the signal is normal, A desired operation intended by the user is controlled by a controlled part such as an opening / closing operation of a door lock of the vehicle.

[0004]

In such a system, when the signal from the transmitter is normally received by the receiver, or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal, the fact is described. In order to notify the user, in this case, it is considered to have a so-called answer back function for driving a horn mounted on the vehicle for a certain period of time.

[0005] Such answerback function is convenient for finding and confirming the position of the vehicle in a large parking lot, for example.

However, the use of a horn at night or in a residential area has a problem of inconvenience to the surroundings.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to flash various lamps such as an indoor lamp and a hazard lamp mounted on the vehicle as an answer back function. There is a difficult problem.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a keyless entry system comprising:
A transmitter for transmitting a signal including a unique identification code by an operation of a user via an antenna, a receiver for receiving the signal from the transmitter via an antenna, and the receiver In addition to determining the identification code in the signal received and the registration code stored in the storage unit and outputting an output signal for performing the desired operation intended by the user when the two codes match, and Two types including a type that uses only sound as a medium to notify the user when a signal is normally received by the receiver or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal.
Answer back function including more than one answer back means
And by operating the transmitter,
Select a backslash method and usually give priority
Said answer back means of said answer back function
Operate at the time of driving and set the priority
Control to control the specified answerback means as operable
And a part . In particular, the answer back
One type of means is to use sound as a medium.
Do not drive if the time is later than a certain time
(Claim 2).

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A transmitter 10 for transmitting a signal including a unique identification code by an operation of a user via an antenna 13 and an antenna 23 for transmitting the signal from the transmitter 10
And the identification code in the signal received by the receiver 20 and the registration code stored in the storage unit 24, and when the two codes match, the user To output an output signal for performing the intended operation intended and to inform the user when the signal is normally received by the receiver 20 or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal.
Two or more types of answer servers including those that use sound only as a medium
Drive the answer-back function including
The answer back means is operated by the operation from the transmitter 10.
Selected and normally prioritized answer back
Operating the answering unit when the answer back function is activated.
After a certain period of time, the priority server
And a control unit 21 that controls the locking means to be operable.
Things.

This makes it possible to use answer-back means according to the environment and purpose.

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

[0020]

[0021]

[0022]

In particular, one type of answer back means uses sound as a medium, and the current time is a certain time.
If it is later , the control unit 21 controls so as not to drive.

As a result, it is possible to realize a user-friendly configuration in which the use of an undesired answer back means is suppressed irrespective of the user's intention.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 relates to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a portable transmitter for opening and closing a door lock (controlled portion) of a four-wheeled vehicle, and a lock switch 1 for locking the door lock.
1. Unlock switch 12 for unlocking, a control unit including a microcomputer that detects selection of these switches and controls a transmitting unit 14 to output a predetermined signal including a predetermined identification code via an antenna 13 15.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a receiver mounted on the vehicle, reference numeral 21 denotes a control unit including a microcomputer or the like which identifies the signal from the transmitter 10 and performs predetermined processing described later, and reference numeral 22 denotes a transmitter 10
, A reception unit for receiving the signal from the antenna via an antenna 23, a storage unit 24 including a storage element such as a ROM for storing a registration code, and 25 an instruction from the control unit 21, for example, an output signal for performing a predetermined operation. A drive unit 27 for a controlled unit that drives a drive unit 26 such as a door lock motor based on the vehicle. A warning horn 28 mounted on the vehicle and various lights such as an interior light and a hazard lamp mounted on the vehicle are provided. This is a drive unit for answer back that drives the lamp 29.

When a user such as a driver presses the lock switch 11 or the unlock switch 12 of the transmitter 10, a signal including an identification code is output from the transmitter 10, and when this signal is input by the receiver 20, the signal is received. The identification code of the signal is compared with the registration code stored in the storage unit 24, and when it is determined that the formats are regular and the same, the format is used by the controlled unit corresponding to the signal. The control unit 21 controls the driving unit 25 to perform a desired operation intended by the user.
Output a signal to

At the same time, when a signal from the transmitter 10 is normally received by the receiver 20, or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal, the user is notified to notify the user of this. In, the control unit 21 outputs a signal to the drive unit 27 in order to realize a so-called answer-back function of driving the horn 28 mounted on the vehicle for a certain period of time.

As two or more types of answer back means for realizing this answer back function, in addition to the sounding of the horn 28 (first answer back means), various lamps 29 are provided.
Lighting or blinking (second answer back means),
The priority order is programmed in the control unit 21 in advance, and in this embodiment, the specification is such that the former has priority.
At least one kind of answerback means uses sound, and the remaining at least one kind of answerback means preferably uses a different medium so as to use light.

Thus, the user can send his own transmitter 10
Can be known that the operation has been realized in the vehicle.

Next, a specific use of the features of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The user operates the lock switch 11 of the transmitter 10.
When the unlock switch 12 is pressed for a certain period of time t1, a signal including an identification code is output from the transmitter 10. When this signal is input to the receiver 20, the identification code of the received signal and the registration stored in the storage unit 24 are stored. The control unit 21 compares the codes with each other and determines that the formats are regular and the same, and switches the answerback function.

That is, switching from the sounding of the horn 28 as the first answerback means to the lighting or blinking of the various lamps 29 as the second answerback means.

Thereafter, the user operates the lock switch 11 or the unlock switch 1 of the transmitter 10 within a predetermined time t2.
When the user presses 2, the control unit 21 checks the signal in the same manner as described above, and then outputs a signal to the drive unit 25 so that the controlled unit performs a desired operation intended by the user.
When the signal from the receiver 20 is received normally by the receiver 20, or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal,
The control unit 21 outputs a signal to the drive unit 27 in order to realize an answerback function for driving the various lamps 29 mounted on the vehicle for a certain period of time. FIG. 2 shows a case where the lock switch 11 is pressed within a certain time t2, and the turn lamp blinks twice in a short time as various lamps 29 as answer back means.

When the receiver 20 receives a signal from the transmitter 10 after a certain time t2, the answerback function starts the sound of the horn 28 as the first answerback means which is set as a normal means. Return automatically. FIG. 2 shows a case where the unlock switch 12 is pressed after a certain time t2 and the horn 28 serving as the answer back means is sounded once.

With such a configuration, a plurality of answer back means can be appropriately selected according to the user's judgment, and the operation and effect of solving the problem regarding the answer back function can be obtained.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which only one switch 11 is provided in the transmitter 10.
This switch 11 is kept for a certain period of time t3 to t4 (t3 <t4).
Each time it is pressed once, a signal is output, but the receiver 2
The 0 control unit 21 repeatedly recognizes the door lock command and the unlock command each time the signal is input, and realizes the desired operation and the answerback function according to the command.

Also in this configuration, the first priority, which normally has a higher priority,
The answer-back function is realized by the answer-back means of FIG.
t5) When pressed for more than a second time, the first answer back is switched to the second answer back means.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as in the above-described embodiment, and it is possible to simplify the configuration of the transmitter 10.

It is needless to say that the present invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the gist, and that the first and second answerback means are not limited to the configurations of the respective embodiments. Different use media, such as at least one kind of answerback means using sound and the remaining at least one kind of answerback means using light, can be used according to the environment and purpose. It has a great effect on using.

Further, a third or more answerback means may be prepared and switched as an answerback function.

Further, as a means for switching the answerback means, a configuration in which a dedicated switch is provided in the transmitter 10 is not excluded, but in this case, the configuration of the transmitter 10 becomes complicated, and switching is forgotten. However, it cannot be denied that a problem of unintentionally driving the answerback means due to the above-mentioned problem cannot be denied, which is not desirable.

In a configuration in which one type of answerback means uses sound as a medium as in the case of the first answerback means, the current time is longer than a certain time.
Slow (generally, the control unit 2
In the case where a configuration for supplying time data to 1 is required), the configuration is such that the control unit 21 controls so as not to drive, so that there is less fear of inconvenience to the surroundings, which is convenient.

The present invention is not limited to a four-wheeled vehicle, but can be applied to, for example, a snowmobile or a ship. In this case, the controlled part is a lock of an opening / closing lid of a storage box or the like. Can be considered.
In such a case, the answerback function not only facilitates the discovery of own property in a wide ski area or a marina, but also, by appropriately selecting a plurality of answerback means for realizing the answerback function. Solving the problem with the back function,
Answer back means according to the environment and purpose can be used.

[0046]

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately select a plurality of answer back means according to the judgment of the user, and to use answer back means according to the environment and purpose. It is possible to provide a keyless entry system that solves the problem related to the back function.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a time series diagram for explaining the operation method of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a main block diagram illustrating a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 transmitter 11 switch 12 switch 20 receiver 21 control unit 25 drive unit 26 drive unit (controlled unit) 27 drive unit 28 horn (first answer back means) 29 lamp (second answer back means)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-10-278704 (JP, A) JP-A-11-17781 (JP, A) JP-A-10-25936 (JP, A) JP-A-10-278 268865 (JP, A) JP-A-4-146382 (JP, A) JP-A-8-31575 (JP, A) JP-A-10-166696 (JP, A) JP-A 8-289372 (JP, A) JP-A-10-173567 (JP, A) JP-A-10-186440 (JP, A) JP-A-9-65457 (JP, A) JP-A-8-126073 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04Q 9/00-9/10

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transmitter for transmitting a signal including a unique identification code by an operation of a user via an antenna, a receiver for receiving the signal from the transmitter via an antenna, The identification code in the received signal and the registration code stored in the storage unit are determined, and an output signal for performing a desired operation intended by the user is output when the codes match, and the signal is output. Two types including a type in which only a sound is used as a medium for notifying the user when the receiver normally receives the signal or when the desired operation is completed based on the signal.
Answer back function including the above answer back means
Driven and operated by the transmitter.
Choosing a server backpack and usually prioritized
The answer back means is used to drive the answer back function.
Priority setting after a certain period of time
Control section for controlling the restored answerback means to be operable
And a keyless entry system comprising: 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said answerback means uses sound as a medium, and said control unit controls not to drive when the current time is later than a predetermined time. Item 2. The keyless entry system according to item 1.