JP6905814B2 - Vehicle door lock device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door lock device that locks and unlocks a vehicle using an electronic key.

Some vehicle door lock devices are equipped with an electronic key system in which the door lock device automatically locks the door (hereinafter referred to as a lock) when an occupant carrying a portable device (electronic key) leaves the vehicle.

In such an electronic key system, bidirectional communication is performed between the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle and the portable device, and the position of the occupant who possesses the portable device is specified.
Specifically, the in-vehicle device is provided with an LF transmitter that outputs a response request signal in the LF (Low Frequency) band to the portable device, and the portable device is UHF (Ultra High) based on the reception of the response request signal by the LF receiver. A UHF transmission / reception unit for transmitting a response signal in the Frequency) band to an in-vehicle device is provided. The response signal includes an ID code that identifies the portable device, a reception level of the response request signal received by the portable device, and the like.

The in-vehicle device has an indoor collation operation that detects whether or not the portable device is located in the vehicle based on the response signal output from the portable device, and the portable device is within the LF communicable area where the response request signal in the LF band arrives. Performs an outdoor collation operation to detect whether or not it is located.

Then, when the occupant holding the portable device closes the door and leaves the vehicle, the in-vehicle device detects whether or not the portable device remains in the vehicle by the indoor collation operation, and further, the portable device is in the LF communication possible area by the outdoor collation operation. When it is detected that the vehicle has moved to the outside, the door lock device is activated by the operation of the portable device or the door switch by the occupant to lock the door.

By such an operation, the door can be locked while preventing the portable device from being confined in the vehicle.
In addition, when the occupant holding the portable device gets into the vehicle, the portable device, that is, the occupant is located in the LF communicable area outside the vehicle, touches the sensor of the doorknob, operates the door switch, or operates the portable device. At that time, the door is unlocked (hereinafter referred to as unlocked).

Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle in which an in-vehicle device to be controlled can be selected by selecting a moving direction of the portable device, and operability and portability are improved by reducing the number of operation switches of the portable device. Remote control system for use is disclosed.

Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle communication system that detects the position of an electronic key and drives an air conditioner of the vehicle when the electronic key approaches the vehicle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-5678 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-905

In the vehicle door lock device as described above, the door cannot be unlocked unless the occupant possessing the portable device touches the sensor of the door knob, operates the door switch, or operates the portable device. Therefore, when the occupant hurriedly tries to get into the car, the operation is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door lock device capable of promptly unlocking a door.

The vehicle door lock device for solving the above problems is provided in the in-vehicle device and the portable device, and the narrow area communication device for detecting whether or not the portable device is located in the communicable area outside the vehicle interior of the vehicle and the in-vehicle device. A wide-area communication device provided in the device and the portable device, which transmits and receives vehicle information in a communicable area wider than the communicable area of the narrow-area communication device by bidirectional communication between the in-vehicle device and the portable device. In the vehicle door lock device, the detection device that detects the automatic unlock instruction operation of the occupant and outputs the automatic unlock preparation signal to the portable device, and the automatic unlock preparation signal are transmitted via the wide area communication device. Based on the reception of the portable device to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device and the automatic unlock preparation signal mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, the narrow-area communication device is carried within the communicable region of the narrow-area communication device. It is characterized by being equipped with an automatic unlocking device that unlocks the door when a machine is detected.

With this configuration, when the detection device detects an automatic unlock instruction operation, an automatic unlock preparation signal is sent to the automatic unlock device, and when the portable device moves into the communicable area of the narrow area communication device, the door is unlocked. Will be done.

Further, in the vehicle door lock device, it is preferable that the detection device detects a temporal change in acceleration accompanying the operation of the occupant and outputs the automatic unlock preparation signal.
With this configuration, when the acceleration acting on the detection device increases due to the occupant's automatic unlock instruction operation, the detection device outputs an automatic unlock preparation signal to the portable device.

Further, in the vehicle door lock device, it is preferable that the automatic unlock device increases the detection frequency of the portable device by the narrow area communication device based on the reception of the automatic unlock preparation signal.

With this configuration, when the automatic unlock device receives the automatic unlock preparation signal, the frequency of the polling operation for detecting whether or not the portable device has moved within the communicable area of the narrow area communication device is increased.

Further, in the above-mentioned vehicle door lock device, it is preferable that the detection device is a wearable device capable of communicating with the portable device.
With this configuration, the wearable device generates an automatic unlock preparation signal and sends it to the portable device.

Further, in the above-mentioned vehicle door lock device, it is preferable that the portable device is integrally provided with the detection device.
With this configuration, the detection device integrally formed with the portable device detects the temporal change of the acceleration acting on the portable device.

According to the vehicle door lock device of the present invention, the door can be unlocked quickly.

The block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the door lock device for a vehicle. The flowchart which shows the operation of the door lock device for a vehicle. The sequence diagram which shows the operation of the door lock device for a vehicle.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the vehicle door lock device will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle door lock device shown in FIG. 1 includes a portable device 1 possessed by a vehicle occupant, an in-vehicle device 2 mounted on the vehicle, and a wearable device 3 possessed by the occupant.

The in-vehicle device 2 includes an in-vehicle control unit 4, a UHF transmission / reception unit 5, an out-of-vehicle LF transmission unit 6, and an in-vehicle LF transmission unit 7.
The UHF transmission / reception unit 5 receives the UHF band response signal res output from the portable device 1 and outputs the response signal res to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4. Further, the in-vehicle control unit 4 has a function of transmitting and receiving various information about the vehicle to and from the portable device 1 via the UHF transmission / reception unit 5.

The vehicle-external LF transmission unit 6 is provided on, for example, the center pillars on both sides of the vehicle and the trunk lid, and transmits the response request signal req output from the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 toward the portable device 1 outside the vehicle. The in-vehicle LF transmission unit 7 is provided in the vehicle interior and transmits the response request signal req output from the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 toward the portable device 1 in the vehicle interior.

Compared to UHF communication, LF communication can set a stable communicable area in a narrow area (within the range of about 1 m from the vehicle in the LF transmission unit 6 outside the vehicle). Therefore, LF communication is adopted for the indoor collation operation and the outdoor collation operation of the portable device 1 performed between the in-vehicle LF transmission unit 7 and the outdoor LF transmission unit 6 of the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 1.

UHF communication can set a wider communicable area than LF communication, but the communicable area is liable to fluctuate depending on the conditions around the vehicle, and is not suitable for indoor collation operation and outdoor collation operation.

Instead of UHF communication, RF communication using a carrier wave in an RF (Radio Frequency) band other than the UHF band may be used.
An operation signal and a detection signal for detecting that the door has been closed by the occupant are input from the door switch 8 to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4. Further, a door control device 9 is connected to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4. Then, when the operation signal is input from the door switch 8, the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 controls the door control device 9 to switch the door lock device to the locked state or the unlocked state.

Further, when the in-vehicle control unit 4 receives the automatic unlock preparation signal from the portable device 1, the vehicle shifts to the automatic unlock preparation state, and when the portable device 1 enters the LF communicable area outside the vehicle, the door is unlocked. Controls the door control device 9.

The portable device 1 includes a portable device control unit 10, a UHF transmission / reception unit 11, an LF reception unit 12, and a BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) transmission / reception unit 13. The LF receiving unit 12 receives the LF signal output from the LF transmitting unit 6 outside the vehicle and the LF transmitting unit 7 inside the vehicle as a response request signal req, and outputs the LF signal to the portable device control unit 10. Further, the LF receiving unit 12 has a function of detecting the reception level (electrolytic strength) of the LF signal received from the LF transmitting unit 6 outside the vehicle and the LF transmitting unit 7 inside the vehicle, and outputs the reception level to the portable device control unit 10. ..

The portable device control unit 10 transmits the reception level output from the LF reception unit 12 as a response signal res to the vehicle-mounted device 2 via the UHF transmission / reception unit 11. The response signal res generated by the portable device control unit 10 includes the ID information set in the portable device 1.

Further, the portable device control unit 10 can transmit and receive various vehicle information to and from the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 via the UHF transmission / reception unit 11.
The BLE transmission / reception unit 13 performs BLE communication with the BLE transmission / reception unit 15 provided in the wearable device 3, receives an automatic unlock preparation signal output from the wearable device 3, and outputs the automatic unlock preparation signal to the portable device control unit 10.

The wearable device 3 includes an acceleration sensor 16, a CPU 17, and a BLE transmission / reception unit 15. The acceleration sensor 16 detects acceleration information accompanying the movement of the occupant possessing the wearable device 3 and outputs the acceleration information to the CPU 17.

The CPU 17 detects the moving state of the wearable device 3, that is, the behavior of the occupant, based on the acceleration information output from the acceleration sensor 16. Then, when the occupant performs an automatic unlock instruction operation such as running, shaking or hitting the wearable device 3, the operation is detected and the automatic unlock preparation signal is carried via the BLE transmission / reception unit 15. Output to machine 1.

When the portable device control unit 10 receives the automatic unlock preparation signal from the wearable device 3, the portable device 1 outputs the automatic unlock preparation signal to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 via the UHF transmission / reception unit 11. The vehicle-mounted control unit 4 shifts to the automatic unlock preparation state based on the reception of the automatic unlock preparation signal.

When the in-vehicle control unit 4 shifts to the automatic unlock preparation state, the period for outputting the response request signal req to the portable device 1 is shortened in order to detect whether or not the portable device 1 has entered the LF communicable area outside the vehicle. Then, the polling operation with high detection frequency is performed.

Then, when it is detected that the portable device 1 has entered the LF communicable area outside the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 unlocks the door.
Next, the operation of the vehicle door lock device configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the operation flow of the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 of the vehicle door lock device, and FIG. 3 shows the operation sequence of the vehicle-mounted control unit 4, the portable device 1, and the wearable device 3. In FIG. 3, the processes corresponding to the operation flow shown in FIG. 2 will be described with the same number of steps.

When the occupant carrying the portable device 1 and the wearable device 3 is away from the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 responds with an LF signal in order to detect whether or not the portable device 1 has returned to the LF communicable area outside the vehicle. The request signal req is output at low frequency.

When the occupant returns to the vehicle and starts running as an automatic unlock instruction operation in order to quickly get into the vehicle interior, the wearable device 3 detects the automatic unlock instruction operation based on the increase in acceleration (temporal change). An automatic unlock preparation signal is transmitted to the portable device 1. The portable device 1 transmits the automatic unlock preparation signal to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 by UHF communication.

When the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 receives the automatic unlock preparation signal (step 1), the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 shifts to the automatic unlock preparation state (step 2), and polls so as to increase the frequency of outputting the response request signal req of the LF signal. Change the setting of (step 3).

Next, the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 detects whether or not the occupant possessing the portable device 1 has entered the LF communicable area outside the vehicle for a predetermined period of time (step 4). Then, when the occupant enters the LF communicable area outside the vehicle, the door is unlocked immediately after the authentication operation of the portable device 1 (step 5), and the automatic unlock operation is terminated.

In step 4, if the occupant does not enter the LF communicable area outside the vehicle within a certain period of time, the automatic unlock preparation state is reset (step 6), and the process returns to step 1.
With the vehicle door lock device as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) When the occupant returns to the vehicle and performs an automatic unlock instruction operation such as running, the door can be automatically unlocked when the occupant enters the LF communicable area outside the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to quickly get into the vehicle interior without requiring an unlocking operation such as touching the door switch.

(2) When the wearable device 3 detects the automatic unlock instruction operation, the portable device 1 can transmit the automatic unlock preparation signal to the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 by UHF communication. Then, the vehicle-mounted control unit 4 can increase the frequency of polling operations based on the reception of the automatic unlock preparation signal. Therefore, when the occupant enters the LF communicable area outside the vehicle, the portable device 1 can be quickly detected and the door can be unlocked.

(3) In order to transmit and receive various vehicle information, the LF transmitters 6 and 7, the LF receiver 12, the UHF transmitters and receivers 5 and 11, and the portable device 1 provided in the in-vehicle device 2 and the portable device 1, respectively. An automatic unlocking device was configured by using the BLE transmission / reception units 13 and 15 and the acceleration sensor 16 mounted on the wearable device 3. Therefore, since it is not necessary to add a new electrical configuration to the portable device 1, the wearable device 3, and the in-vehicle device 2, the automatic unlocking device can be configured while suppressing an increase in cost.

The above embodiment may be changed as follows.
-A wearable device and a portable device may be integrated.
A carrier wave in an RF (Radio Frequency) band other than the UHF band may be used as the carrier wave band for bidirectional communication between the vehicle-mounted control unit and the portable device.

-The wearable device may be a smartphone.
-In addition to the doors on which passengers get on and off, sliding doors and hatchback gates may be automatically unlocked.

1 ... Portable device, 2 ... In-vehicle device, 3 ... Detection device (wearable device), 4 ... Automatic unlock device (In-vehicle control unit), 5, 11 ... Wide area communication device (UHF transmission / reception unit), 6, 7, 12 … Narrow area communication device (LF transmitter / receiver).

Claims (3)

A narrow area communication device provided in an in-vehicle device and a portable device to detect whether or not the portable device is located in a communicable area outside the vehicle interior.
A wide-area communication device provided in the vehicle-mounted device and the portable device to transmit and receive vehicle information in a communicable area wider than the communicable area of the narrow-area communication device by bidirectional communication between the vehicle-mounted device and the portable device. In a vehicle door lock device equipped with
A wearable device provided with an acceleration sensor that enables BLE communication with the portable device. Based on the acceleration information output from the acceleration sensor, the occupant's automatic unlock instruction operation is detected and an automatic unlock preparation signal is issued. The detection device that outputs to the portable device and
The portable device that transmits the automatic unlock preparation signal to the in-vehicle device via the wide area communication device, and the portable device.
Based on the reception of the automatic unlock preparation signal mounted on the in-vehicle device, the narrow area communication device detects the portable device within the communicable area of the narrow area communication device for a preset fixed time. A vehicle door lock device, characterized in that it is equipped with an automatic unlock device that unlocks the door when. In the vehicle door lock device according to claim 1,
The detection device is a vehicle door lock device, which detects a temporal change in acceleration accompanying an operation of the occupant and outputs the automatic unlock preparation signal. In the vehicle door lock device according to claim 1 or 2.
The automatic unlock device is a vehicle door lock device characterized in that the frequency of detection of a portable device by the narrow area communication device is increased based on the reception of the automatic unlock preparation signal.

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