JP5382575B2 - Lock / unlock control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to the opening and closing of doors for vehicles such as automobiles and buildings such as houses, the opening and closing of lids of containers such as luggage mounted on vehicles, and the activation and termination of information processing equipment such as personal computers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lock / unlock control device that can be configured at low cost and can perform high-precision operation control.

  As a device for locking and unlocking a door for a vehicle such as an automobile, a vehicle door locking / unlocking intention confirmation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This vehicle door opening / unlocking intention confirmation device detects that a user has come into contact with an operation handle (door handle) arranged on the outer surface of the outer panel of the door when the door is opened, and unlocks the door. An unlock sensor for confirming the intention and a lock sensor for confirming the intention of locking by detecting that the user has contacted from the outside when closing the door are provided.

  In the vehicle door application / unlocking intention confirmation device, the unlock sensor is provided between the outer panel and the operation handle so as to correspond to a portion where a user's hand can be inserted. Is provided with a lock sensor at the end of the operation handle in the longitudinal direction.

Japanese Patent No. 3502848

  However, in the vehicle door application / unlocking intention confirmation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a material having a temperature variation in relative permittivity such as resin is disposed around each sensor. For this reason, in order to cope with the fluctuation of the capacitance detected by the temperature change, the threshold value can be corrected for a gradual fluctuation, or the temperature compensation circuit using the thermistor can set the threshold value. However, there is a problem that the cost increases because the circuit configuration becomes expensive and the number of mounting points and man-hours increase.

  Further, as mentioned in the above-mentioned problem of Patent Document 1, for example, when an antenna or the like used for a user identification code transmission / reception device of a so-called smart entry system is disposed close to a sensor in an operation handle, The electrostatic capacitance detected by the sensor may change due to the influence of radio noise such as a user identification code signal, a radio of a vehicle, or a mobile phone. For this reason, currently, there are measures to avoid the system, such as avoiding simultaneous operation of the sensor and the transmission / reception device, but such measures have the problem that the degree of freedom in design is significantly reduced. is there.

  Further, when a substance having a relative dielectric constant of 80, such as moisture such as rain water, adheres to the operation handle and is present around the sensor, the detected capacitance similarly changes. For this reason, all the variation patterns by the ECU (electronic control unit) are programmed, or the structure of the sensor electrode is changed. However, this increases the cost of the ECU, the sensor, and the like. There is.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lock / unlock control device that can be configured at low cost and can perform highly accurate operation control.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, a lock / unlock control device according to the present invention includes a signal receiving unit that receives a signal from a portable device possessed by a user, and a signal received by the signal receiving unit. A user identification unit that identifies the user based on the electrode, an electrode unit provided in the contacted part of the actuated body, a detection circuit unit that outputs a detection signal indicating a capacitance detected by the electrode unit, A lock / unlock control device comprising: a control unit that controls locking / unlocking of the operation of the operated body based on the identification result of the user identification unit and the detection signal output from the detection circuit unit The electrode portion includes a ground electrode disposed on a surface side of the contacted portion that is in contact with the user so that an electrode surface faces the surface, and is parallel to the ground electrode at a predetermined interval. Characterized in that it is configured to have a location has been detected electrode.

  The lock / unlock intention detection apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, and performs the lock / unlock control of the operation of the actuated object based on a highly accurate operation that can be configured at low cost. be able to.

  The contacted part is made of a member having elasticity at least at the electrode part arrangement position, and the electrode part is provided in the contacted part so that the space between the ground electrode and the detection electrode is in a space state. It has been.

  At least one pair of the electrode portions may be provided inside the contacted portion, and each electrode portion may be disposed on the inner side on the detection electrode side.

  The electrode unit may further include a guard electrode on the opposite side of the detection electrode from the ground electrode, to which the same potential as the detection electrode or a predetermined fixed potential is applied.

  The signal receiving unit includes, for example, an antenna unit provided inside the contacted unit.

  The electrode unit may further include a shield electrode covering the periphery thereof.

  For example, at least a part of the electrode part is formed on any one of a flexible printed circuit board, a membrane circuit, and a rigid printed circuit board.

  The electrode portion is made of, for example, a conductive material that is at least partially applied to the inside of the contacted portion.

  The detection circuit unit is mounted on the same surface or the opposite surface on the same substrate as the electrode unit, for example.

  The operated body is a door for a vehicle or a building, and the contacted portion is a door handle provided on the door.

  Moreover, the said to-be-operated body may be a cover part of the container mounted in the vehicle, and the said to-be-contacted part may be provided in the lid | cover opening / closing means with which this cover part was equipped.

  Furthermore, the said to-be-operated body is information processing apparatus, and the said to-be-contacted part may be provided in the user authentication means with which this information processing apparatus was equipped.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lock / unlock control device that can be configured at low cost and can perform highly accurate operation control.

It is sectional drawing which shows the example of the to-be-contacted part in which a part of lock / unlock control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was provided. It is a perspective view which permeate | transmits and shows the door handle in which a part of the same locking / unlocking control apparatus was provided. It is A-A 'sectional drawing of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the example of the whole structure of the lock / unlock control apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the example of the other state of the door handle shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structural example of the detection circuit from which a duty ratio changes according to an electrostatic capacitance. FIG. 7 is an operation waveform diagram showing operation waveforms in the circuit of FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating still another configuration example of the door handle illustrated in FIG. 5.

  Exemplary embodiments of a lock / unlock control device according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a contacted part provided with a part of the lock / unlock control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a part of the lock / unlock control device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the lock / unlock control device, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the example of the other state of the door handle shown.

  The lock / unlock control device according to the present embodiment identifies the user and detects the user's contact with the contacted portion provided on the operated body to lock / unlock the operation of the operated body. Control is performed. Specifically, the lock / unlock control device is configured as follows, for example.

  That is, the lock / unlock control device transmits a signal from a main unit arranged on the side of the operated body that performs lock / unlock, for example, to a portable device owned by the user, and from the portable device that has received this signal to the main unit When a user identification key is transmitted as a response signal and a user is identified, a signal receiving unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a “receiving unit”) that receives a signal (identification result signal) output from the main unit. ).

  In addition, the lock / unlock control device includes an electrode portion provided inside a contacted portion provided on the operated body, and a detection circuit portion that outputs a detection signal indicating a capacitance detected by the electrode portion. And a control unit that controls locking / unlocking of the operation of the operated body by signals from the receiving unit and the detection circuit unit (information indicating the identification result and the detection result).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode portion 10 of the lock / unlock control device includes a detection electrode 11 and a ground electrode 12 provided inside the contacted portion 1. The contacted portion 1 is made of, for example, a resin molded member, and at least at the location where the electrode portion 10 is disposed (around the electrode portion 10), the contacted portion 1 on the placement location side has elasticity and similarly has elasticity. A structure in which the resin layer 2 is filled is provided. In addition, the to-be-contacted part 1 may be comprised so that the to-be-contacted part 1 and the resin layer 2 may consist of the resin molding member (namely, integrally molded member) of the same material, and may have elasticity.

  The electrode unit 10 has, for example, an electrode surface on the surface side where the user's finger F contacts in the contact unit 1 (that is, on the surface side close to the outer surface of the contacted unit 1 in the portion where the user's finger F contacts). The ground electrode 12 is disposed so as to face the ground, and the detection electrode 11 is disposed, for example, so that the electrode surface is parallel to the ground electrode 12 with a predetermined distance L. In addition, this electrode part 10 is arrange | positioned so that it may be in the state which forms the space 10a which the distance between each electrode 11 and 12 left | separated by the distance L inside the to-be-contacted part 1. FIG.

  Further, at least a part of the electrode part 10 is formed on any one of a flexible printed circuit board (FPC), a membrane circuit (membrane sheet), and a rigid printed circuit board (RPC), or is applied to the inside of the contacted part 1. Or formed of a conductive material or a metal foil. Furthermore, each electrode 11 and 12 of the electrode part 10 may have a structure made of a conductive member such as an electric wire or a member patterned with silver paste.

  Therefore, in the lock / unlock control device configured as described above, as shown by the two-dot short chain line in FIG. 1, the user is identified after the user is identified on the side of the object to be contacted 1. By pressing (touching) the contacted portion 1 with the finger F, the distance L between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12 is shortened.

  As a result, the capacitance between the electrodes 11 and 12 increases, and a signal based on the capacitance value corresponding to the increase in the detection circuit unit is output. Operation lock / unlock can be controlled. Since each electrode 11 and 12 is covered with the resin layer 2 and the space 10a is in an air (or vacuum) state, the influence of the temperature characteristics of the relative permittivity of the material to be contacted 1 and the resin layer 2 is affected. Since the initial capacity is not easily received (that is, the initial capacity is constant), the temperature of the initial capacity does not need to be changed, and the configuration can be made inexpensively. Moreover, since the electrode part 10 arrange | positioned at the to-be-contacted part 1 is covered with the resin layer 2, it does not need a waterproofing process.

  Examples of the object to be operated include a door for a vehicle or a building, a lid portion (for example, a lid of a console box) mounted on the vehicle, and an information processing device (for example, a personal computer). It is done. As the contacted part 1, for example, when the actuated body is a door for a vehicle or a building, a door handle provided on the door, and when the actuated body is a lid mounted on the vehicle, provided on the lid part Examples of the lid opening / closing means (for example, a lid opening / closing handle or switch), and, in the case of an information processing device, include user authentication means (for example, a fingerprint authentication unit) provided in the information processing device. In addition, the operated body and the contacted portion 1 are not limited as long as the lock / unlock control device according to the present invention can be applied.

  Next, an example in which the above-described lock / unlock control device is applied to a door for a vehicle or a building and a door handle provided on the door will be described. In the following, description overlapping with the above-described part is omitted. The lock / unlock control device of this example identifies the user at the door 3 and detects the user's contact with the door handle 4 provided on the door 3 to lock or unlock the door 3. (Unlock) operation control is performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the lock / unlock control device 100 has, for example, a hollow molding and has an upper wall portion 4 a, a lower wall portion 4 b, and side wall portions 4 c and 4 d, and a resin layer 2 in the hollow portion. It has a door handle (corresponding to the contact portion 1) 4 having a shape that forms a space 9 between the door 3 and a resin molded member provided.

  In the resin layer 2 of the door handle 4, the lock / unlock control device 100 is opposed to the first electrode portion 10A provided along the inner surface of the side wall portion 4d on the door 3 side, for example, and the side wall portion 4d. A pair of electrode portions including the second electrode portion 10B provided along the inner surface of the side wall portion 4c is provided.

  The first and second electrode portions 10A and 10B are provided on the door handle 4 with the detection electrode 11 side being inward, and are opposite to the surface facing the ground electrode 12 of each detection electrode 11. It has a guard electrode 13 formed on the side surface. The guard electrode 13 is driven, for example, given the same potential as the detection electrode 11 or a predetermined fixed potential, guards the influence of the mutual capacitance changes of the electrode portions 10A and 10B, and as shown in FIG. In addition, for example, the influence of disturbance factors such as water wetting due to moisture W adhering to the outer surface of the door handle 4 is guarded.

  Further, the lock / unlock control device 100 is formed integrally or separately with the first and second electrode portions 10A and 10B, for example, a circuit portion provided in the resin layer 2 inside the door handle 4. 20 (see FIG. 4). The circuit unit 20 detects a capacitance value based on the capacitance detected by the detection electrodes 11 of the electrode units 10A and 10B, and outputs a switch output as a control signal for opening and closing the door 3. Output to a door opening / closing mechanism (not shown).

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the circuit unit 20 is formed, for example, by being mounted on the same or opposite surface on the same substrate as the substrate 19 on which the electrode portions 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B are formed. The circuit unit 20 includes, for example, a buffer 21, a detection circuit 23, a low-pass filter (LPF) 24, a control circuit 25, and a reception unit 26.

  The buffer 21 realizes a high input impedance and a low output impedance with a 1 × amplifier, for example, and drives the guard electrode 13 to the same potential as that of the detection electrode 11, for example, with the guard electrode 13 always in a high impedance state. The output from the detection electrode 11 is input to the detection circuit 23. The detection circuit 23 outputs a pulse signal whose frequency or duty ratio changes according to the capacitance between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12.

  This pulse signal is input to the LPF 24. The LPF 24 smoothes the pulse signal from the detection circuit 23 and outputs a detection signal. The control circuit 25 inputs a signal output from the receiving unit 26 and also receives a detection signal from the LPF 24 and outputs a switch to an external door opening / closing mechanism or the like in accordance with these signals. The receiving unit 26 receives an identification result signal from, for example, a main body (not shown) provided on the door 3 side and outputs the signal.

  6 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of the detection circuit 23 in which the duty ratio changes according to the capacitance C, and FIG. 7 is an operation waveform diagram showing an operation waveform in the circuit of FIG. The detection circuit 23 includes, for example, a trigger signal generation circuit 231 that outputs a trigger signal TG having a constant period, and a timer circuit 232 that outputs a pulse signal Po whose duty ratio changes depending on the magnitude of the capacitance C connected to the input terminal. And is configured.

  The timer circuit 232 includes, for example, two comparators 2321 and 2322 and an RS flip-flop circuit (hereinafter referred to as “RS-FF”) in which outputs of the comparators 2321 and 2322 are input to the reset terminal R and the set terminal S, respectively. 2323, a buffer 2324 that outputs the output DIS (discharge signal) of the RS-FF 2323 to the LPF 24, and a transistor 2325 that is ON / OFF controlled by the output DIS of the RS-FF 2323.

  The comparator 2322 compares the trigger signal TG output from the trigger signal generation circuit 231 as shown in FIG. 7 with the threshold value Vth2 divided by the resistors R1, R2, and R3, and synchronizes with the trigger signal TG. Set pulse is output. This set pulse sets the Q output of RS-FF 2323.

  The Q output turns off the transistor 2325 as a discharge signal DIS, and is connected between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12 to the ground capacitance C of the detection electrode 11 and the input terminal and the power supply line. Charging is performed at a speed determined by a time constant by the resistor R4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the potential of the input signal Vin rises at a speed determined by the capacitance C.

  When the input signal Vin exceeds the threshold value Vth1 determined by the resistors R1, R2, and R3, the output of the comparator 2321 is inverted and the output of the RS-FF 2323 is inverted. As a result, the transistor 2325 is turned on, and the charge accumulated in the detection electrode 11 is discharged through the transistor 2325.

  Therefore, the timer circuit 232 outputs a pulse signal Po that oscillates at a duty ratio based on the capacitance C between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12, as shown in FIG. The LPF 24 smoothes this output to output a DC detection signal Vout as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the waveform indicated by the solid line and the waveform indicated by the dotted line indicate that the former has a smaller capacitance than the latter, and the waveform indicated by the dotted line indicates the proximity state of the user.

  The lock / unlock control device 100 configured in this way includes the signal output from the receiving unit 26 by the control circuit 25 of the circuit unit 20 and the electrostatic capacitance between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12 of the electrode units 10A and 10B. When the capacity C increases, the user's contact with the door handle 4 provided on the door 3 is detected, and a switch output for causing the door opening / closing mechanism or the like to lock or unlock the door 3 is performed. Accordingly, it is possible to perform operation control with high accuracy and can be configured at low cost.

  In addition, when the antenna of the main body which receives the response signal transmitted from the portable device described above is provided inside the door handle 4, for example, the electrode portions 10A and 10B may have the following configuration. . FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing still another configuration example of the door handle shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the lock / unlock control device of this example is similar to the previous example in that it includes a pair of electrode portions 10A ′ and 10B ′. Since the antenna 8 of the authentication main body is provided, the difference is that the periphery of each of the electrode portions 10A ′ and 10B ′ is covered with the shield electrode 14. The shield electrode 14 operates as a magnetic shield and has an effect of not exerting the influence of the antenna 8 on the electrode portions 10A 'and 10B'.

  With this configuration, the circuit unit 20 and the main unit can be operated at the same time, so that the degree of freedom in system design for controlling the lock / unlock operation is improved. If the circuit unit 20 and the main unit are not operated simultaneously, the shield electrode 14 may not be provided.

  In the lock / unlock control device according to the above-described embodiment, the duty ratio of the output pulse is determined by the time constant of the resistor and the capacitor as the detection circuit 23 that detects the capacitance C between the detection electrode 11 and the ground electrode 12. Although a description has been given using a configuration using a known well-known timer circuit (timer IC) 232, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following may be used.

  That is, for example, a method of directly measuring impedance, a method of measuring an oscillation frequency by configuring an oscillation circuit, a method of measuring a charge / discharge time by configuring an RC charge / discharge circuit, a charge charged at a known voltage and a known capacity There are various methods, such as measuring the number of times until a predetermined voltage is charged to a known capacity by moving the charge multiple times and measuring the voltage. Alternatively, various processes such as a trigger may be performed when the signal waveform of the capacitance is analyzed and the waveform of the corresponding capacitance is obtained. Further, for example, the output of the detection electrode 11 may be directly captured by an A / D converter or the like, or the detection circuit 23 may be configured to be a differential operation type to detect the capacitance C.

  As described above, in the lock / unlock control device according to the present embodiment, the circuit configuration of the circuit unit 20 is simple, the number of mounting points and man-hours can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Even if the antenna 8 is provided in the door handle 4, the circuit unit 20 and the main unit can be operated simultaneously, so that the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

  Furthermore, even if moisture W such as rainwater adheres to the door handle 4, it is possible to reliably detect the amount of change in the capacitance C by the detection electrode 11, thereby reducing costs. As described above, the lock / unlock control device according to the present invention can be configured at low cost and can perform highly accurate operation control.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Contacted part 2 Resin layer 3 Door 4 Door handle 8 Antenna 9 Space part 10 Electrode part 11 Detection electrode 12 Ground electrode 13 Guard electrode 14 Shield electrode 20 Circuit part 21 Buffer 23 Detection circuit 24 Low pass filter (LPF)
25 control circuit 26 receiving unit 100 lock / unlock control device 231 trigger signal generation circuit 232 timer circuit

Claims (11)

A signal receiving unit for receiving a signal from a portable device possessed by the user;
A user identification unit for identifying a user based on the signal received by the signal reception unit;
An electrode part provided in the contacted part of the operated body;
A detection circuit unit that outputs a detection signal indicating the capacitance detected by the electrode unit;
A lock / unlock control device comprising: a control unit that controls locking / unlocking of the operation of the operated body based on the identification result of the user identification unit and the detection signal output from the detection circuit unit Because
The electrode unit includes a ground electrode disposed on a surface of the contacted part on which the user comes into contact so that an electrode surface faces the surface, and a detection unit disposed in parallel with the ground electrode at a predetermined interval. And having an electrode ,
The lock / unlock control device according to claim 1, wherein at least one pair of the electrode portions is provided inside the contacted portion, and each of the electrode portions is arranged on the inner side on the detection electrode side . The contacted portion is made of a member having at least the electrode portion arrangement portion having elasticity,
The lock / unlock control device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode portion is provided in a space state between the ground electrode and the detection electrode inside the contacted portion. 2. The electrode part further includes a guard electrode that is provided on the opposite side of the detection electrode from the ground electrode, to which the same potential as the detection electrode or a predetermined fixed potential is applied. Or the lock / unlock control device according to 2; The signal receiving unit, the locking and unlocking control device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that it comprises an antenna unit that is provided inside of the contact portions. 5. The lock / unlock control device according to claim 4 , wherein the electrode portion further includes a shield electrode covering the periphery thereof. 6. The lock / unlock control device according to claim 5 , wherein at least a part of the electrode part is formed on any one of a flexible printed circuit board, a membrane circuit, and a rigid printed circuit board. The lock / unlock control device according to claim 5, wherein at least a part of the electrode portion is made of a conductive material applied to the inside of the contacted portion. 7. The lock / unlock control device according to claim 6 , wherein the detection circuit unit is mounted on the same surface or the opposite surface of the same substrate as the electrode unit. The lock / unlock according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the actuated body is a door for a vehicle or a building, and the contacted part is a door handle provided on the door. Lock control device. The said to-be-operated body is a cover part of the accommodating body mounted in the vehicle, The said to-be-contacted part is provided in the lid | cover opening / closing means with which this cover part was equipped, Any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by the above-mentioned. The lock / unlock control device according to claim 1. The lock according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the operated body is an information processing device, and the contacted part is provided in a user authentication means provided in the information processing device. -Unlock control device.

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