JP5776543B2 - Vehicle anti-theft device and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle antitheft device and method for preventing use of a vehicle when the vehicle is stolen.

  A so-called hybrid car, plug-in hybrid car, hybrid vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle, or other vehicle or transport machine (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle etc.”) equipped with a motor (electric motor) as a power source in addition to the engine is practical. It has become. And measures against such vehicle theft are also required.

  As a conventional technique for preventing theft of a vehicle, a technique for disabling a vehicle engine, a door lock, or the like based on a remote operation or a vehicle theft report is known (for example, described in Patent Documents 1 and 2). Technology). These conventional techniques make the vehicle itself unusable in response to theft.

  However, forcing the engine of the vehicle to stop by giving a stop command to the engine has a problem that safety to the surroundings cannot always be ensured, for example, during traveling.

  Further, as another conventional technique for preventing theft of a vehicle, a technique is known that includes means for receiving theft information and prohibits charging of the battery when the theft information is stored (for example, a patent). Technique described in Document 3). This prior art is an effective technique because consideration is given to safety in that the vehicle cannot be used when the battery capacity of the vehicle is exhausted.

  However, this prior art requires theft information to be received wirelessly, resulting in a complicated system and increased costs. In addition, whether or not the theft information can be received is not necessarily guaranteed, and there is a problem that the charging to the battery cannot be restricted without the theft information.

  Further, a conventional technique is known in which the terminal cannot be used without a dedicated charger after the capacity of the secondary battery mounted on the terminal is once insufficient (for example, a technique described in Patent Document 4). .

  However, this prior art requires a dedicated charger, and the program must be communicated between the charger and the terminal, and the control is complicated. In a vehicle, since a system for supplying charging power is not a dedicated system, there is a problem that such a conventional technique cannot be applied.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-97835 JP 2002-59812 A JP 2011-183839 A JP 2009-183119 A

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to prohibit a charging operation of a vehicle battery by simple control when the vehicle is stolen.

  An example of an aspect is that a timer unit that counts a set timer time and sets a charge state signal to prohibit charging when the timer time count ends, and a request for starting a charging operation to a battery of a vehicle by a user. On the other hand, if the charge state signal indicates that charging is permitted, the charging operation is started, and if the charge state signal indicates that charging is prohibited, the charging prohibition notification unit that notifies the user of charging prohibition and the charging prohibition notification A charge prohibition canceling authentication unit that authenticates a user when there is a request to cancel charging prohibition by a corresponding user operation, and sets a charge state signal to permit charging when the authentication is successful, and starts a charging operation; In response to the start of the charging operation, if the timer time has been reached, the timer time is reset to restart the timer unit counting operation, and if the timer time has not been reached And a timer control unit for the control does not reset the timer time.

  According to the present invention, when the vehicle is stolen, it is possible to prohibit the charging operation of the vehicle battery without forcing the authorized user to perform complicated operations with simple control.

It is a block diagram of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the control operation of a timer part. It is a flowchart which shows control operation | movement of a charge prohibition notification part, a charge prohibition cancellation | release authentication part, and a timer control part. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of user authentication.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment is implemented as a control system for charging a battery 104 for driving a vehicle driving motor of a vehicle from a system that supplies charging power such as a charging stand.

The charging connector 102 is a power connection port that connects to a power supply connector such as a charging stand.
The charger 103 charges the battery 104 based on the power supplied from the charging stand via the charging connector 102.

  In addition to controlling the charging operation by the charger 103, the charging control unit 101 controls the charging restriction operation at the time of vehicle theft in this embodiment. For this purpose, the charging control unit 101 includes a timer unit 105, a charging prohibition notification unit 107, a charging prohibition release authentication unit 108, and a timer control unit 109.

The timer unit 105 counts the set timer time, and sets the charging state signal 106 to charging prohibition when the timer time count ends.
The charge prohibition notification unit 107 causes the charger 103 to start the charging operation if the charging state signal 106 indicates charging permission in response to a request for starting the charging operation to the battery of the vehicle by the user. In addition, the charging prohibition notification unit 107 notifies the user of charging prohibition if the charging state signal 106 indicates charging prohibition. Here, the user's request to start the charging operation on the battery of the vehicle is, for example, an operation in which the user inserts the charging connector 102 into the power supply connector of the system that supplies charging power. At this time, for example, the charging prohibition notification unit 107 detects a change in voltage of the power supply cable connected to the charging connector 102 and recognizes the occurrence of a charging operation start request.

  The charge prohibition release authentication unit 108 authenticates the user when a request for canceling the charge prohibition is made by a user operation corresponding to the notification of charge prohibition, and sets the charge state signal 106 to permit charging when the authentication is successful. At the same time, the charging operation is started.

  The timer control unit 109 starts the charging operation when the charging prohibition notifying unit 107 indicates that the charging state signal 106 indicates charging permission, or when the charging prohibition canceling authentication unit 108 has succeeded in user authentication. When the timer time has been reached, the timer time is reset and the count operation of the timer unit 105 is restarted. When the timer time has not been reached, the timer time is not reset.

  With the configuration of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the timer unit 105 sets the charge state signal 106 to charge prohibition when the time measurement for a certain period (for example, one week or one month) ends, and the user charges in this state. When starting, the user is notified that charging is prohibited. In response to this, the user can perform a user authentication operation for canceling the charging prohibition. For example, when the user transmits the password to the vehicle side by voice utterance and the authentication is successful, the charging prohibition is released and charging can be started. Thereafter, only when the timer time has been reached, after the charge state signal 106 is set to permit charging, the timer unit 105 starts counting for a certain period (timer time) again. If the user tries to start charging before the timer unit 105 finishes timing, the charging can be started without requiring user authentication because the charging state signal 106 indicates charging permission.

  Here, when the vehicle is stolen, the theft can initially drive the vehicle as it is, but when the timer unit 105 finishes timing for a certain period, the battery 104 runs out of capacity and starts charging. The charging prohibition screen appears. Here, since the thief does not know the password, user authentication cannot be successful, charging cannot be started, and the vehicle cannot be used any more. As a result, the effect of preventing theft of the vehicle can be exhibited.

  In the present embodiment, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to receive theft information by wireless communication or the like, and it becomes possible to limit the charging of the stolen vehicle with simple control by a timer, and the effect of preventing theft at low cost. Can be demonstrated.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the timer unit 105 of FIG. This control operation is realized, for example, as an operation in which a CPU (central processing unit) in a microcomputer (not shown) constituting the charging control unit 101 executes a control program stored in a memory (not shown). This control operation is executed independently of the control operations of a charge prohibition notification unit 107, a charge prohibition release authentication unit 108, and a timer control unit 109, which will be described later.

  First, the timer unit 105 starts counting a timer time set in a memory or register (not shown) by the timer control unit 109 described later (step S201).

Next, the timer unit 105 determines whether the count for the set timer time has ended and the timer time has been reached (step S202).
If the timer time has not been reached and the determination in step S202 is NO, the timer unit 105 continues to count the timer time (repetition processing from step S202 to S201).

  When the timer time is reached and the determination in step S202 is YES, the timer unit 105 sets the state value indicated by the charge state signal 106 held in a memory or register (not shown) to prohibit charging (steps S202 → S203). ). Thereafter, the timer unit 105 ends the timer time counting operation.

As described above, the charging state signal 106 is set to charge prohibition every time a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer unit 105 started operating in response to the start of charging described later.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control operations of the charge prohibition notification unit 107, the charge prohibition release authentication unit 108, and the timer control unit 109 of FIG. As in the case of FIG. 2, this control operation is also realized, for example, as an operation in which a CPU in a microcomputer (not shown) constituting the charge control unit 101 executes a control program stored in a memory (not shown). The

First, the standby state is maintained until the charging connector 102 is inserted into the power supply connector of the system that supplies charging power (determination in step S301 is NO).
When charging connector 102 is inserted and the determination in step S301 is YES, in particular, the state value of charge state signal 106 held in a memory or register (not shown) is confirmed (step S302), and the state value indicates that charging is prohibited. It is determined whether or not there is (step S303).

  If the charging state signal 106 indicates that charging is permitted and the determination in step S303 is NO, the charger 103 in FIG. 1 is instructed to start the charging operation (steps S303 → S304). On the other hand, if the charging state signal 106 indicates that charging is prohibited and the determination in step S303 is YES, the user is notified of charging prohibition (step S309).

The processes in steps S302, S303, S304, and S309 described above realize the function of the charge prohibition notification unit 107 in FIG.
When charging prohibition is notified to the user in step S309, the user can select whether or not to request cancellation of charging prohibition. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the user has requested to cancel charging prohibition (step S310).

  If the user does not request to release charging prohibition and the determination in step S310 is NO (for example, when the theft gives up), the process returns to the standby process for determining whether to insert the charging connector in step S301 (steps S310 to S301).

When the user requests to release charging prohibition and the determination in step S310 is YES, the authentication information from the user is further received and confirmed (step S311).
As a result, it is determined whether or not the authentication is successful (step S312).

  If the user authentication is not successful and the determination in step S312 is NO (for example, if the theft has performed a moderate operation), the process returns to the charging connector insertion determination standby process in step S301 (steps S312 → S301).

  If the user authentication is successful and the determination in step S312 is YES, in particular, the state value of the charging state signal 106 held in a memory (not shown) is changed to charging permission (step S313).

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S304, and the charging operation is started for the charger 103 of FIG.
The control operations in steps S310 to S313 described above realize the function of the charge prohibition release authentication unit 108 in FIG.

  When the charging operation starts after the process of step S303 or S313 (step S304), the charging control unit 101 continues the charging operation until it is determined that the charging by the charger 103 has been fully charged (step S305). (→ S306 is NO → S305 is repeatedly determined).

  When charging is completed and the determination in step S306 is YES, whether or not the timer unit 105 in FIG. 1 has reached the timer time (whether or not the determination in step S202 in FIG. 2 is YES). Is determined (step S307).

  When the timer time has been reached and the determination in step S307 is YES, in particular, the timer time is reset in a memory or register (not shown), and the counting operation of the timer unit 105 of FIG. 1 shown in the flowchart of FIG. It is restarted (step S308).

On the other hand, if the timer time has not been reached and the determination in step S307 is NO, the process in step S308 is not executed.
The processing in steps S307 and S308 described above realizes the function of the timer control unit 109 in FIG.

After the process in step S308 or after the determination in step S307 is NO, the process returns to the charging connector insertion standby process in step S301.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user authentication screen displayed on, for example, a display next to the driver's seat in accordance with the processing of steps S309 to S312 in FIG. This screen example is an example when the vehicle is equipped with a voice recognition system.

  First, as a notification of charging prohibition to the user in step S309 in FIG. 3, an example screen as shown in FIG. 4A is displayed. Thus, for example, when the user utters “cancel”, the determination in step S310 in FIG. 3 is YES after the voice is recognized on the system side. On the other hand, when the user utters “end”, for example, the determination in step S310 in FIG.

  Subsequently, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed, prompting the input of a personal identification number (user authentication). When the user utters the personal identification number in response to this, the confirmation processing in step S311 in FIG. 3 is executed after the voice is recognized on the system side.

  Then, if the authentication is successful and the determination in step S312 of FIG. 3 is YES, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. 4C is displayed, and the charging prohibition state is released and charging is started. Is displayed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively perform the charging restriction when the vehicle is stolen without inconvenience to the user.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Charging control part 102 Charging connector 103 Charger 104 Battery 105 Timer part 106 Charging state signal 107 Charging prohibition notification part 108 Charging prohibition cancellation | release authentication part 109 Timer control part

Claims (4)

A timer unit that performs a count of the set timer time, and sets a charge state signal to prohibit charging when the timer time count ends, and
In response to the user's request to start the charging operation on the battery of the vehicle, the charging operation is started if the charging state signal indicates permission of charging, and if the charging state signal indicates prohibition of charging, the user is notified. A charging prohibition notification section for notifying charging prohibition;
The user is authenticated when a request to cancel charging prohibition is made by the user's operation corresponding to the notification of charging prohibition, and when the authentication is successful, the charging state signal is set to charging permission and the charging is performed. A charge prohibition release authentication unit that starts operation;
In response to the start of the charging operation, when the timer time has been reached, the timer time is reset to restart the counting operation of the timer unit, and when the timer time has not been reached, the timer A timer control unit for performing control without resetting the time;
A vehicle antitheft device comprising: The start request for the charging operation of the vehicle battery by the user is an operation of inserting a charging connector for charging the vehicle battery by the user into a connector of a system for supplying charging power.
The vehicle antitheft device according to claim 1. Executes the count of the set timer time, sets the charge state signal to charge prohibition at the end of the timer time count,
In response to the user's request to start the charging operation on the battery of the vehicle, the charging operation is started if the charging state signal indicates permission of charging, and if the charging state signal indicates prohibition of charging, the user is notified. Notify charging prohibition,
The user is authenticated when a request to cancel charging prohibition is made by the user's operation corresponding to the notification of charging prohibition, and when the authentication is successful, the charging state signal is set to charging permission and the charging is performed. Start working,
Corresponding to the start of the charging operation, if the timer time has been reached, the timer time is reset to restart the timer counting operation, and if the timer time has not been reached, the timer time Do not reset
The vehicle theft prevention method characterized by the above-mentioned. The start request for the charging operation of the vehicle battery by the user is an operation of inserting a charging connector for charging the vehicle battery by the user into a connector of a system for supplying charging power.
The vehicle theft prevention method according to claim 3.

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