JP7628827B2 - Terminal key system, wireless authentication device, and communication control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal key system that uses a terminal as a key, a wireless authentication device, and a communication control method.

Conventionally, terminal key systems that use a terminal such as a high-performance mobile phone as a key to operate a vehicle are well known (see Patent Document 1, etc.). In this type of terminal key system, for example, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used for communication between the vehicle's communication module and the terminal. When the terminal approaches the vehicle's communication module, short-range wireless communication between the vehicle's communication module and the terminal is initiated. The terminal is then authenticated by this short-range wireless communication, and if the terminal is authentic, the vehicle door and engine start are permitted or executed.

JP 2020-72343 A

For example, if a terminal is left near a vehicle, short-range wireless communication may be automatically started or continued even if the user has no intention of operating the vehicle. This could result in a large amount of dark current being consumed by the vehicle and the terminal.

The terminal key system that solves the above problem is configured to authenticate the terminal by short-distance wireless communication between the wireless authentication unit provided on the terminal operation target and the terminal, and to operate the equipment of the operation target based on the authentication result, and is equipped with a monitoring unit that monitors whether the terminal is being used or not based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is being used by a user, and a stop processing unit that stops the operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target when it is determined from the monitoring result of the monitoring unit that the terminal is not being used when the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication connection state.

The wireless authentication device that solves the above problem includes a communication module that performs short-range wireless communication with a terminal, a wireless authentication unit that authenticates the terminal through the short-range wireless communication with the terminal and activates a device to be operated based on the authentication result, and a restriction unit that obtains monitoring results from a monitoring unit that monitors whether the terminal is being used based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is being used by a user, and when the restriction unit determines from the monitoring result of the monitoring unit that the terminal is not being used, it stops the operation of at least one of the terminal and the device to be operated.

The communication control method that solves the above problem is a method used in a terminal key system that authenticates the terminal by short-distance wireless communication between a wireless authentication unit provided on the terminal operation target and the terminal, and operates the equipment of the operation target based on the authentication result. The terminal key system monitors whether the terminal is in use based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is in use by a user, and when the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication-connected state, and it determines from the monitoring result of the terminal use status that the terminal is not in use, stops the operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target.

The present invention can reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a terminal key system according to a first embodiment. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing switching of the state of short-range wireless communication in the terminal; 1A is a schematic diagram of the operation when there is movement of the terminal, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the operation when there is no movement of the terminal. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure for authenticating key information registered in a terminal. A diagram showing the procedure for locking and unlocking vehicle doors using a terminal. A procedure diagram for starting a vehicle engine. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a terminal according to a first modified example of the first embodiment. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing switching of the state of short-range wireless communication in the terminal; FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a terminal according to a second modified example of the first embodiment. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing switching of the state of short-range wireless communication in the terminal; FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a terminal key system according to a second embodiment. A schematic diagram of operation when the device is in motion. A schematic of how the device works when there is no movement. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a terminal according to a first modified example of the second embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the terminal key system. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an operation when the terminal is gripped in the second modification of the second embodiment. Schematic diagram of operation when the device is not being held. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a terminal according to a third modified example of the second embodiment. Schematic of operation when the device is not charging. Schematic diagram of operation when the device is charging. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an operation when the terminal is away from the router in the fourth modification of the second embodiment. A schematic of how it works when a device is close to the router.

First Embodiment
A first embodiment of a terminal key system, a wireless authentication device, and a communication control method will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 3, which is an object 2 to be operated by the terminal 1, is equipped with a terminal key system 5 that authenticates the terminal 1 through short-range wireless communication and activates the equipment 4 of the vehicle 3. The terminal key system 5 is not an electronic key that is a dedicated key for the vehicle 3, but is intended to enable the vehicle 3 to be operated by the terminal 1 as well. The vehicle 3 may be a personal vehicle owned by a user, or a shared car that is shared by multiple people.

The terminal 1 is, for example, a multi-function terminal that mainly has telephone functions, such as a highly functional mobile phone. The terminal key system 5 downloads key information Dk necessary for authentication from an external device to the terminal 1, enabling the terminal 1 to operate the vehicle 3. The key information Dk is, for example, a one-time key (one-time password) that is permitted to be used only once or for a certain period of time.

The near-field wireless communication may be either PAN (Personal Area Network) communication or short-field wireless communication. Examples of personal area network communication include Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, UWB (Ultra Wide Band) communication, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. The Bluetooth communication may be BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). Examples of short-field wireless communication include NFC (Near Field Communication), which is a type of RFID.

The terminal 1 includes a terminal control unit 8 that controls the operation of the terminal 1, an input unit 9 used when performing input operations on the terminal 1, a display unit 10 consisting of a display or the like, a memory 11 capable of storing data, a network communication unit 12 that communicates with the outside through network communication, and a communication module 13 that performs short-range wireless communication. The terminal 1 communicates with, for example, a server (not shown) via the network communication unit 12, and downloads key information Dk to the memory 11. The terminal 1 performs short-range wireless communication with the vehicle 3 via the communication module 13. The display unit 10 is, for example, a touch panel. Note that the registration of the key information Dk to the terminal 1 is not limited to a format in which it is registered from a server, and may be, for example, a method of registering by image reading of code information, or a method of acquiring through communication with the main key.

Furthermore, the terminal 1 is not limited to one that can be used as a key for the vehicle 3 by registering the key information Dk. For example, the terminal 1 may be one that can be used as a key for the vehicle 3 by registering a predetermined session key in advance. The session key is, for example, a key for performing one-time authentication such as challenge-response authentication. The session key may be registered from outside, or may be registered in the terminal 1 in advance.

In the terminal 1, an application 14 required for operating the terminal 1 as a key for the vehicle 3 is registered in the memory 11. The application 14 is, for example, software that enables the terminal 1 to be used as a key for the vehicle 3. The application 14 is, for example, obtained from a server or the like through network communication and written and stored in the memory 11. By registering the application 14 in the terminal 1, it becomes possible to download the key information Dk to the terminal 1 and to operate the vehicle 3 from the terminal 1.

The terminal key system 5 includes a wireless authentication device 17 that authenticates the terminal 1 through short-range wireless communication. The wireless authentication device 17 includes a wireless authentication unit 18 that executes the authentication process, and a communication module 19 that executes short-range wireless communication. The wireless authentication unit 18 executes short-range wireless communication with the terminal 1 via the communication module 19 provided in the vehicle 3, and authenticates the key information Dk registered in the terminal 1.

The vehicle 3 is equipped with a control device 21 that controls the devices 4 based on the authentication result of the wireless authentication unit 18. The control device 21 is connected to the devices 4 via a communication bus 22 provided in the vehicle 3. The communication bus 22 is preferably, for example, a controller area network (CAN) or a local interconnect network (LIN). The devices 4 include, for example, a door lock device that switches between locking and unlocking the vehicle doors, and an engine control device that controls the engine. The control device 21 operates these devices 4 based on the authentication result of the wireless authentication unit 18. For example, a switch signal of an engine switch 23 that is operated when transitioning the vehicle power supply is input to the control device 21.

The terminal key system 5 has a function (dark current reduction function) of reducing the dark current consumed by the terminal key system 5 by switching the operation of the terminal key system 5 to inactive when the terminal 1 is not in use by the user. In this example, the dark current reduction function reduces the dark current consumed by the terminal key system 5 using a detection unit 24 that can detect that the terminal 1 is being used by an authorized user. In this example, the detection unit 24 is provided in the terminal 1. The dark current reduction function is a function that prevents short-range wireless communication from switching to a communication connection by switching the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 to inactive when the terminal 1 is not being used by an authorized user or is not being used. In this example, the element 25 that is switched off is the communication module 13 that executes short-range wireless communication in the terminal 1. In addition, "stopped" refers to, for example, a non-activated (including standby) state.

The terminal key system 5 includes a monitoring unit 26 that monitors whether the terminal 1 is being used by a legitimate user. The monitoring unit 26 monitors movements occurring in the terminal 1 based on the detection signal St of the detection unit 24. The monitoring unit 26 monitors, for example, whether the terminal 1 is being used based on the detection signal St of the detection unit 24.

The detection unit 24 in this example is an acceleration detection unit 27 that detects motion occurring in the terminal 1. The acceleration detection unit 27 is preferably, for example, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a motion sensor, or the like. The acceleration detection unit 27 preferably constantly outputs a detection signal St1 corresponding to the motion to the terminal control unit 8 while the power is applied to the terminal 1. The monitoring unit 26 preferably monitors, for example, the presence or absence of motion of the terminal 1, or the type of motion, based on the detection signal St1 of the acceleration detection unit 27. The motion of the terminal 1 to be monitored includes, for example, vibration, swinging motion, shaking motion, and the like.

The terminal key system 5 includes a stop processing unit 28 that is configured to be able to stop the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 when the operation target 2 is operated by the terminal 1 based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit 26. The stop processing unit 28 in this example is provided in the terminal control unit 8 of the terminal 1. Even if the terminal 1 is in a position where it is possible to transition short-range wireless communication with the wireless authentication unit 18 to a communication connection, if the terminal 1 is not moving, the stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 (in this example, the operation of the communication module 13), thereby making it impossible for the terminal 1 to operate the operation target 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, if the acceleration detection unit 27 detects a change in motion, the stop processing unit 28 does not stop the operation of the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1. Therefore, when the terminal 1 approaches the communication module 19 of the vehicle 3, they start short-range wireless communication and enter a state in which short-range wireless communication is in progress. At this time, the terminal 1 consumes normal current in order to execute short-range wireless communication with the wireless authentication unit 18.

On the other hand, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, the stop processing unit 28 sets the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1 to a stopped state, for example, when it detects that there is no change in the output of the acceleration detection unit 27 for a certain period of time. The stopped state of short-range wireless communication is preferably achieved, for example, by stopping the operation of the communication module 13. At this time, the terminal 1 is not performing short-range wireless communication, and is therefore in a state in which current consumption is reduced.

Next, the operation of the terminal key system 5 of this embodiment will be described.
[When there is movement on terminal 1]
3A shows an example in which a user carrying the terminal 1 approaches the vehicle 3, causing motion in the terminal 1. At this time, the user walks carrying the terminal 1, and the acceleration detection unit 27 detects motion such as vibration. In this case, the stop processing unit 28 recognizes through monitoring by the monitoring unit 26 that motion is occurring in the terminal 1, and does not stop the operation of the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1. This enables the terminal 1 to perform short-range wireless communication with the wireless authentication unit 18.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of the procedure when the terminal 1 authenticates the wireless authentication unit 18 and the key information Dk through short-range wireless communication. In step 101 in the figure, the wireless authentication unit 18 periodically and repeatedly transmits an advertisement that notifies information related to its own communication. Note that the advertisement is, for example, a type of data related to information of the wireless authentication unit 18 (wireless authentication device 17), and is periodically transmitted from the communication module 19 of the vehicle 3.

In step 102, when the terminal 1 receives an advertisement transmitted from the wireless authentication device 17, if the received signal strength at the time of receiving the advertisement is equal to or greater than the connection threshold, the terminal 1 executes a scan process. The scan process is a process in which the terminal 1 requests and obtains details regarding the short-range wireless communication from the wireless authentication device 17.

In step 103, after the scanning process, the terminal 1 transmits a connection request for short-range wireless communication to the wireless authentication unit 18 via short-range wireless communication in order to pair with the wireless authentication unit 18.

In step 104, when the wireless authentication unit 18 receives the connection request from the terminal 1, it transmits a response notification to this connection request to the terminal 1 through short-range wireless communication.
In step 105, when the above pairing is properly performed between the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18, a communication connection state is established in which Bluetooth communication is established.

In step 106, when the Bluetooth communication connection is established, the terminal 1 transmits the key information Dk registered in the memory 11 to the wireless authentication unit 18 via short-range wireless communication.

In step 107, the wireless authentication unit 18 performs authentication of the key information Dk received from the terminal 1. In this example, if the wireless authentication unit 18 can correctly decrypt the key information Dk and the authentication of the key information Dk is established, it can obtain, for example, the usage time of the vehicle 3 (usage start time/usage end time), a session key to be used in subsequent short-range wireless communication, and a terminal ID that is a unique ID of the terminal 1. On the other hand, if the key information Dk is incorrect, the wireless authentication unit 18 waits and does not allow the terminal 1 to operate the vehicle.

In step 108, when the key information Dk is authenticated, the wireless authentication unit 18 transmits a key information authentication success notification notifying the same to the terminal 1 via short-range wireless communication.
In step 109, when the terminal 1 receives the key information authentication success notification transmitted from the wireless authentication unit 18, both the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 enter an authentication completion state in which they recognize the success of the authentication. The authentication completion state refers to a state in which both the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 know a common session key and terminal ID. This makes it possible to operate the vehicle (door lock/unlock operation and engine start operation) using the terminal 1.

In step 110, after transitioning to the authentication completion state, the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 execute communication to confirm whether or not the establishment of short-range wireless communication is maintained. In this example, each of the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 monitors whether or not the establishment of communication is maintained by transmitting periodic radio waves at a predetermined periodic interval (connection interval) and confirming whether or not a response to this periodic radio wave can be received. In other words, if the terminal 1 transmits periodic radio waves at a predetermined periodic interval and receives a response to this periodic radio wave, it is determined that the establishment of communication is maintained, and the same process is executed by the wireless authentication device 17.

When terminal 1 is no longer able to receive a response from wireless authentication device 17 to the periodic radio waves it transmits, it disconnects communication. Also, when wireless authentication device 17 is no longer able to receive a response from terminal 1 to the periodic radio waves it transmits, it disconnects communication.

Figure 5 illustrates an example of a procedure for locking and unlocking a vehicle door using terminal 1. For example, if short-range wireless communication is reconnected after authentication of key information Dk has already been completed, it is preferable that terminal 1 and wireless authentication unit 18 are authenticated using the session key obtained when decrypting key information Dk. Then, if authentication using the session key is established, terminal 1 and wireless authentication unit 18 transition to an authentication complete state. The session key may also be updated to a new key each time communication is reconnected.

In step 201, the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 transition to an authentication complete state through short-range wireless communication.
In step 202, when a vehicle door locking/unlocking operation is performed on the terminal 1, the terminal 1 transmits an operation signal S1 corresponding to the operation to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In the case of an unlocking operation of the vehicle door, the operation signal S1 is an unlock request signal. In the case of a locking operation of the vehicle door, the operation signal S1 is a lock request signal.

When the wireless authentication unit 18 receives an operation signal S1 from the terminal 1, the wireless authentication unit 18 outputs this operation signal S1 to the control device 21. In other words, if the wireless authentication unit 18 and the terminal 1 are both in an authentication complete state, the wireless authentication unit 18 transmits the received operation signal S1 to the control device 21 via the communication bus 22. The operation signal S1 includes, for example, a command requesting the start of a locking/unlocking operation.

In step 203, when the control device 21 receives the operation signal S1 from the wireless authentication unit 18, it operates based on the operation signal S1 to lock or unlock the vehicle doors. For example, when the control device 21 receives an unlock request signal as the operation signal S1 from the wireless authentication unit 18, it outputs an operation command Sr notifying the door lock device via the communication bus 22 to unlock the vehicle doors. Also, when the control device 21 receives a lock request signal as the operation signal S1 from the wireless authentication unit 18, it outputs an operation command Sr notifying the door lock device via the communication bus 22 to lock the vehicle doors.

Figure 6 shows an example of the procedure for starting the engine of the vehicle 3 using smart engine start, which does not require operation of the terminal 1. In step 301 of the figure, when starting the engine, the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 are first transitioned to an authentication complete state, just as when locking and unlocking the vehicle doors.

In step 302, when an engine start permission operation is performed on the terminal 1, the terminal 1 transmits a permission request signal S2 corresponding to the operation to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. The permission request signal S2 is a signal that requests the wireless authentication unit 18 to permit engine start.

In step 303, when the control device 21 detects that the engine switch 23 has been operated, for example, it checks with the wireless authentication unit 18 whether or not the authentication has been completed. When the control device 21 recognizes that the wireless authentication unit 18 has received a permission request signal S2 from the terminal 1 and that both the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 are in the authentication completed state, it permits the power transition operation (engine start operation) by the engine switch 23.

In step 304, when the engine switch 23 is operated, if the wireless authentication unit 18 has received a permission request signal S2 from the terminal 1, and if both the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 are in an authentication complete state, the control device 21 outputs an operation command Sr that permits engine start to the engine control device via the communication bus 22. This makes it possible to drive the vehicle 3.

[If there is no movement on terminal 1]
As shown in FIG. 3B, after using the vehicle 3, the engine is stopped, the vehicle door is locked, and the terminal 1 is placed in a predetermined position at the entrance of the house. In this case, since the terminal 1 is not carried, the acceleration detection unit 27 does not detect any movement such as vibration. Therefore, the stop processing unit 28 recognizes that there is no movement in the terminal 1 and stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. In this example, the stop processing unit 28 transitions the communication module 13 of the terminal 1 to a non-activated state, so that the terminal 1 cannot perform short-range wireless communication. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

Note that, for example, if terminal 1 is performing short-distance wireless communication, the operation may be stopped after this communication ends. Also, the operation may be stopped a certain time after it is detected that terminal 1 is not moving. Furthermore, the stop processing unit 28 is not limited to determining that terminal 1 is stopped immediately when terminal 1 has stopped moving, and may determine that terminal 1 is not moving, for example, when no movement of terminal 1 is detected for a certain period of time.

The communication module 19 of the wireless authentication unit 18 is in a state where it periodically transmits advertisements to search for terminals 1 with which to communicate. However, a terminal 1 whose communication module 13 has been stopped will not respond to advertisements periodically transmitted from the communication module 19 even if it is located within the communication area of the communication module 19. This prevents the vehicle 3 from being operated by a terminal 1 that is left in a specified position. This also improves security against unauthorized use of the vehicle 3.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The terminal key system 5 authenticates the terminal 1 by establishing short-range wireless communication between the wireless authentication unit 18 provided on the operation target 2 of the terminal 1 and the terminal 1, and operates the device 4 of the operation target 2 based on the authentication result. The monitoring unit 26 of the terminal key system 5 monitors whether the terminal 1 is being used or not based on a detection signal St from the detection unit 24 that can detect whether the terminal 1 is being used by a user or not. If the stop processing unit 28 of the terminal key system 5 determines from the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26 that the terminal 1 is not being used while the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 are in a communication connected state, it stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2.

According to the configuration of this example, whether or not the terminal 1 is being used by the user is monitored based on the detection signal of the detection unit 24, and if it is determined that the terminal 1 is not being used by the user, the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 is stopped, making it impossible for the terminal 1 to operate the operation target 2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the terminal 1 is being used by the user, it is determined that the legitimate user who possesses the terminal 1 intends to operate it, and the operation of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 is not stopped. In this way, if it is determined that the terminal 1 is not being used by the user, the operation of the operation target 2 by the terminal key system 5 is stopped, and the terminal key system 5 is not operated. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

(2) Terminal 1 is a multi-function terminal that mainly has a telephone function. With this configuration, it is possible to use the multi-function terminal as a key for the operation target 2 (an electronic key for the vehicle 3), thereby improving convenience for the user.

(3) The stop processing unit 28 executes processing to stop operation of at least one of the communication modules 13, 19 of the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 (in this example, the communication module 13 of the terminal 1). With this configuration, when it is determined that the terminal 1 is not being used by the user, the short-range wireless communication of the terminal key system 5 is stopped. Therefore, the dark current consumed by the system can be reduced by the simple method of stopping short-range wireless communication. In addition, the dark current of both the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 can be kept low.

(4) The detection unit 24 is an acceleration detection unit 27 that detects motion occurring in the terminal 1. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the motion of the terminal 1 based on the detection signal St1 of the acceleration detection unit 27. The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 when it is determined that there is no motion in the terminal 1 based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26. With this configuration, for example, when the user has placed the terminal 1 in a predetermined place and has no intention of operating the operation target 2, it is possible to transition the operation of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 to a stopped state. Therefore, when the user has no intention of operating the operation target 2, the terminal key system 5 is not operated, and the dark current consumed by the system can be reduced.

(First modification of the first embodiment)
Next, a first modified example of the first embodiment will be described. In the first modified example of the first embodiment, the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description will be omitted. Only different parts will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 7, the detection unit 24 in this example is a grip sensor 30 that detects the grip of the terminal 1. The grip sensor 30 is disposed, for example, on the side of the terminal 1. The grip sensor 30 outputs a detection signal St2 corresponding to the state in which the terminal 1 is being gripped to the monitoring unit 26. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the grip of the terminal 1 by the user based on the detection signal St2 of the grip sensor 30. When the stop processing unit 28 determines that the terminal 1 is being gripped based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26, it does not stop the operation of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, if the stop processing unit 28 determines that the terminal 1 is being gripped based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit 26 that monitors the output of the grip sensor 30, the stop processing unit 28 does not stop operation of the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1. Therefore, when the terminal 1 approaches the communication module 19 of the vehicle 3, they start short-range wireless communication and enter a state in which short-range wireless communication is in progress. At this time, the terminal 1 consumes normal current in order to execute short-range wireless communication with the wireless authentication unit 18.

On the other hand, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, the stop processing unit 28 sets the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1 to a stopped state if it recognizes that the system has not been used for a certain period of time. For example, the system has not been used for a certain period of time when the door lock/unlock operation or the engine start operation using the terminal key system 5 has not been performed. The short-range wireless communication is stopped, for example, by stopping the operation of the communication module 13. Therefore, the terminal 1 does not perform short-range wireless communication, and current consumption is reduced.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(5) The detection unit 24 is a grip sensor 30 that detects the grip of the terminal 1. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the grip of the terminal 1 by the user based on the detection signal St2 of the grip sensor 30. When the stop processing unit 28 determines that the terminal 1 is being gripped based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26, it does not stop the operation of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2. According to this configuration, communication is not established simply because the terminal 1 is near the operation target 2, and communication is established only when the grip sensor 30 detects that the terminal 1 is being gripped. Therefore, the dark current consumed by the system can be kept low compared to when communication is established all the time.

(Modification 2 of the First Embodiment)
Next, a second modification of the first embodiment will be described. Note that in the second modification of the first embodiment, only the differences from the first and second embodiments will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal 1 is capable of wireless communication with the wireless LAN router 32 via the network communication unit 12. This communication is preferably, for example, personal area network communication. For example, personal area network communication is preferably Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication, and other examples include Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication and UWB (Ultra Wide Band) communication.

The terminal 1 is equipped with an ID registration unit 33 that registers the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router 32 in the terminal 1. The ID registration unit 33 is provided, for example, in the terminal control unit 8. The terminal 1 becomes able to communicate with the wireless LAN router 32 by registering the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router 32 in the terminal 1 using the ID registration unit 33. The fixed ID is a unique ID constructed, for example, from numbers and English letters.

The detection unit 24 is a received signal strength measurement unit 34 that measures the received signal strength of radio waves when the terminal 1 in which the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router 32 is registered communicates wirelessly with the wireless LAN router 32. The received signal strength measurement unit 34 outputs a detection signal St3, which is the measurement result, to the terminal control unit 8. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the measurement result of the received signal strength measurement unit 34. The monitoring unit 26 in this example monitors the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the detection signal St3 input from the received signal strength measurement unit 34. The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 according to the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26.

Now, in this example, when terminal 1 enters the communication area of wireless LAN router 32, if the wireless LAN router 32 has a registered fixed ID, communication is established between this wireless LAN router 32. At this time, the received signal strength measurement unit 34 of terminal 1 measures the received signal strength of the radio waves exchanged in communication with wireless LAN router 32. The received signal strength may be measured using radio waves received by terminal 1, or may be measured using radio waves received by wireless LAN router 32. The measurement of the received signal strength may be performed only once, or may be performed multiple times. When measuring multiple times, the average or weighted average of the received signal strength may be calculated and this value may be used as the measurement value.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, the stop processing unit 28 sets the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1 to a stopped state if the received signal strength of the radio waves from the wireless LAN router 32 of the fixed ID is strong based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit 26 that monitors the received signal strength of the radio waves communicated between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32. In this way, when the received signal strength is strong, for example, the terminal 1 is indoors and it is highly likely that the user has no intention of operating the operation target 2, so short-range wireless communication is not possible. The short-range wireless communication stopped state is achieved, for example, by stopping the operation of the communication module 13. Therefore, the terminal 1 does not perform short-range wireless communication and is in a state of reduced current consumption.

On the other hand, when the terminal 1 is in an activated state, the stop processing unit 28 does not stop the operation of the short-range wireless communication of the terminal 1 if the received signal strength of the radio waves from the wireless LAN router 32 of the fixed ID is weak, based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit 26 that monitors the received signal strength of the radio waves communicated between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32. In this way, when the received signal strength is weak, for example, the terminal 1 is outdoors, and there is a high possibility that the user intends to operate the operation target 2, so short-range wireless communication is permitted. Therefore, when the terminal 1 approaches the communication module 19 of the vehicle 3, they start short-range wireless communication and enter a state in which short-range wireless communication is in progress. At this time, the terminal 1 consumes normal current in order to execute short-range wireless communication with the wireless authentication unit 18.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(6) The detection unit 24 is a reception signal strength measurement unit 34 that measures the reception signal strength of radio waves when the terminal 1 in which the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router 32 is registered and the wireless LAN router 32 communicate wirelessly. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the measurement result of the reception signal strength measurement unit 34. The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 according to the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26. According to this configuration, communication is not established only when the terminal 1 is present near the operation target 2, and communication is established only when the reception signal strength of the radio waves communicated between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 is weak. Therefore, the dark current consumed by the system can be kept low compared to the case where communication is established all the time.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which the method of applying restrictions to the terminal key system 5 of the first embodiment is changed. Therefore, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations are omitted, and only the different parts will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 11, in this example, the restriction of the terminal key system 5 is executed in the vehicle 3, not in the terminal 1. More specifically, the terminal 1 transmits a notification relating to the detection signal St1 detected by the acceleration detection unit 27 (hereinafter, referred to as the detection signal notification Sk) to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. The transmission of the detection signal notification Sk is executed, for example, by the monitoring unit 26. The detection signal notification Sk may be transmitted at any timing as long as short-range wireless communication is possible. It is also preferable that the detection signal notification Sk is transmitted periodically and repeatedly at a predetermined cycle.

In this example, the stop processing unit 28 is provided in the vehicle 3 (specifically, the wireless authentication unit 18). In this way, the operation stop in this example is a process in which the operation of the vehicle 3 is transitioned to a stop. In this example, the element 25 to be stopped is the communication bus 22 that outputs the operation command Sr to the device 4 in the vehicle 3. In this way, the operation stop that is executed when no movement of the terminal 1 is detected is a process that does not start the communication bus 22.

Next, the operation of the terminal key system 5 of this embodiment will be described.
[When there is movement on terminal 1]
12 shows an example in which a user carrying the terminal 1 approaches the vehicle 3, causing motion in the terminal 1. At this time, the user walks carrying the terminal 1, so the acceleration detection unit 27 detects motion such as vibration. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk1 including data indicating that motion is occurring in the terminal 1 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, the monitoring unit 26 periodically transmits the detection signal notification Sk1 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts, for example. The detection signal notification Sk1 may be transmitted, for example, every time vibration of the terminal 1 is detected.

The detection signal notification Sk (Sk1) may be a notification including information notifying the presence or absence of vibration.The detection signal notification Sk (Sk1) may be a notification including data indicating the value of vibration.
When the stop processing unit 28 receives from the terminal 1 a detection signal notification Sk1 including data indicating that motion is occurring in the terminal 1, the stop processing unit 28 does not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5. Specifically, the stop processing unit 28 executes a process of starting the communication bus 22. For example, the stop processing unit 28 puts the communication bus 22 into an active state by outputting a start request to a communication device that controls the operation of the communication bus 22. This enables signals to be exchanged via the communication bus 22 between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4, so that the terminal 1 can operate the vehicle 3.

[If there is no movement on terminal 1]
13 shows an example in which the terminal 1 is not moving, for example, by placing the terminal 1 at a predetermined position at the entrance of the home. In this case, the terminal 1 is not carried, so the acceleration detection unit 27 does not detect any movement, such as vibration. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk2 including data indicating that the terminal 1 is not moving to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. The monitoring unit 26 may transmit the detection signal notification Sk2 periodically at a predetermined cycle (connection interval Ts), or may transmit the detection signal notification Sk2 every time vibration of the terminal 1 is detected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives from the terminal 1 a detection signal notification Sk2 including data indicating that there is no movement in the terminal 1, it stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. Specifically, the stop processing unit 28 executes a process to not start the communication bus 22. For example, the stop processing unit 28 stops the communication bus 22 by outputting a request to stop the communication bus 22 to a communication device that controls the operation of the communication bus 22. As a result, signals cannot be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, and the terminal 1 cannot operate the vehicle 3. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system. It also makes it possible to keep the increase in dark current caused by continuing to activate the communication bus 22 to a minimum.

The communication module 19 of the wireless authentication unit 18 is in a state where it periodically transmits advertisements to search for the terminal 1 with which it will communicate. Therefore, when the terminal 1 enters the communication area of the communication module 19, it responds to the advertisement and transitions the short-range wireless communication to a communication connection state. However, in this example, since the communication bus 22 is not activated, even if the short-range wireless communication between the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication unit 18 transitions to a communication connection state, no operation command Sr is output to the communication bus 22 and the device 4 does not operate. This prevents the vehicle 3 from being operated by the terminal 1 that is left in a specified position. This also improves security against unauthorized use of the vehicle 3.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(7) The terminal 1 transmits a detection signal notification Sk corresponding to the detection signal St1 detected by the acceleration detection unit 27 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. The stop processing unit 28 executes processing to stop the operation of the operation target 2. According to this configuration, when the motion of the terminal 1 is not detected, the terminal 1 transmits a detection signal notification Sk to the operation target 2 to stop the operation of the operation target 2. This makes it possible to stop the operation of the operation target 2 at the beginning or midway, which contributes to reducing the power consumed by the operation of the operation target 2.

(8) The stop processing unit 28 executes processing to not activate the communication bus 22 through which the operation command Sr is output to the device 4 in the operation target 2. According to this configuration, when no movement of the terminal 1 is detected, the communication bus 22 of the operation target 2 is not activated, and therefore the operation command Sr is not output from the communication bus 22 to the device. This prevents the communication bus 22 from performing unnecessary communication, which contributes to power saving in this respect.

(Modification 1 of the second embodiment)
Next, a first modified example of the second embodiment will be described. Note that in the first modified example of the second embodiment, only the differences from the other embodiments will be described.

As shown in FIG. 14, the detection unit 24 is a satellite radio wave detection unit 38 that detects the position of the terminal 1 by satellite radio waves Xs received from a communication satellite 37. In this way, the detection unit 24 uses a global positioning system. The global positioning system is preferably, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System). In this case, the satellite radio wave detection unit 38 is a GPS terminal. The satellite radio wave detection unit 38 outputs a detection signal St4 corresponding to the position of the received satellite radio waves Xs to the terminal control unit 8.

The monitoring unit 26 of the terminal 1 monitors the position of the terminal 1 based on the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio wave detection unit 38. For example, it is preferable that the monitoring unit 26 constantly monitors the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio wave detection unit 38. The monitoring unit 26 transmits a notification related to the detection signal St4 detected by the satellite radio wave detection unit 38 (hereinafter, referred to as a detection signal notification Sk3) to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication.

The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 in accordance with the position or change in position of the terminal 1 based on the received detection signal notification Sk3. The stop processing unit 28 stops operation, for example, when it is determined from the monitoring result of the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38 that the user is located far away from the operation target 2. Alternatively, the stop processing unit 28 stops operation, for example, when the monitoring result of the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38 indicates that there is no change in the detection signal St4.

As shown in FIG. 15, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk3 including a detection signal St4 from the satellite radio wave detection unit 38 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. It is preferable that the monitoring unit 26 periodically transmits the detection signal notification Sk3 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts, for example.

When the user intends to operate the operation object 2, the position of the terminal 1 changes in accordance with the user's movements. When the stop processing unit 28 confirms that a change has occurred in the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio wave detection unit 38 based on the detection signal notification Sk3 received from the terminal 1, it does not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5. Specifically, the stop processing unit 28 executes a process to start the communication bus 22. This enables signals to be exchanged via the communication bus 22 between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4. This makes it possible for the terminal 1 to operate the operation object 2.

The stop processing unit 28 may also not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5 if it determines that the terminal 1 is located near the operation target 2 (vehicle 3) based on the detection signal notification Sk3 (detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38) received from the terminal 1. This determination can be achieved, for example, by providing satellite radio detection units 38 in both the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 and comparing the detection signals St4 of these satellite radio detection units 38. In this way, if the user carrying the terminal 1 is located near the operation target 2 (vehicle 3), use of the terminal key system 5 may be permitted.

On the other hand, if the user has no intention of operating the operation object 2, the position of the terminal 1 does not change. When the stop processing unit 28 confirms that there is no change in the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38 based on the detection signal notification Sk3 received from the terminal 1, it stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. For example, when there is no change in the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38 for a certain period of time, it stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. At this time, the stop processing unit 28 executes a process not to start the communication bus 22. This makes it impossible to exchange signals via the communication bus 22 between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4. Therefore, since the operation of the operation object 2 by the terminal 1 is impossible, it is possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

The stop processing unit 28 may also stop the operation of the terminal key system 5 when it determines, based on the detection signal notification Sk3 (detection signal St4 of the satellite radio detection unit 38) received from the terminal 1, that the terminal 1 is located far from the operation target 2 (vehicle 3). This determination can be achieved, for example, by providing satellite radio detection units 38 in both the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 and comparing the detection signals St4 of these satellite radio detection units 38. In this way, if the user carrying the terminal 1 is located far from the operation target 2 (vehicle 3), the use of the terminal key system 5 may be disabled.

In this example, the determination of whether or not to stop the operation of the terminal key system 5 may be made, for example, by a method using both the acceleration detection unit 27 and the satellite radio wave detection unit 38. As one example, the use of the terminal key system 5 may be permitted when the movement of the terminal 1 is detected from the detection signal St1 of the acceleration detection unit 27 while the position change of the terminal 1 is confirmed from the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio wave detection unit 38. In this case, it becomes possible to accurately determine whether or not the user intends to operate the operation target 2.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(9) The detection unit 24 is a satellite radio wave detection unit 38 that detects the position of the terminal 1 by the satellite radio wave Xs received from the communication satellite 37. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the position of the terminal 1 based on the detection signal St4 of the satellite radio wave detection unit 38. The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 according to the position or change in position of the terminal 1 based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26. According to this configuration, the communication bus 22 is activated only when the user who holds the terminal 1 has an intention to operate the operation target 2. Therefore, while there is no intention to operate the operation target 2, the communication bus 22 can be kept in an inactive state, and the dark current can be reduced accordingly. In addition, when there is no movement of the terminal 1 and the user has no intention to operate the operation target 2, the system does not operate due to the inactivation of the communication bus 22, so that security against unauthorized use can be improved.

(Modification 2 of the second embodiment)
Next, a second modification of the second embodiment will be described. Note that in the second modification of the second embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

In this example, the detection unit 24 is a grip sensor 30 that detects the grip of the terminal 1. The grip sensor 30 is disposed, for example, on the side of the terminal 1. The grip sensor 30 outputs a detection signal St3 corresponding to the state in which the terminal 1 is being gripped to the monitoring unit 26. The monitoring unit 26 of the terminal 1 monitors the grip of the terminal 1 by the user based on the detection signal St3 of the grip sensor 30. In this example, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a notification (detection signal notification Sk) related to the detection signal St3 detected by the grip sensor 30 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. When the stop processing unit 28 determines that the terminal 1 is not being gripped based on the received detection signal notification Sk, it stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2.

As shown in FIG. 16, when the terminal 1 is gripped, the grip sensor 30 detects this. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk4 including data indicating that the terminal 1 is gripped to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk4 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives a detection signal notification Sk4 from the terminal 1, which includes data indicating that the terminal 1 has been gripped, it does not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5, but activates, for example, the communication bus 22. This enables signals to be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, making it possible to operate the vehicle 3 using the terminal 1.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the terminal 1 is not being held, the grip sensor 30 detects this. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk5 including data indicating that the terminal 1 is not being held to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk5 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives a detection signal notification Sk5 from the terminal 1, which includes data indicating that the terminal 1 is not being held, the stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. Specifically, the stop processing unit 28 executes processing to not start the communication bus 22. As a result, signals cannot be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, and the terminal 1 cannot operate the vehicle 3. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(10) The communication bus 22 of the operation target 2 is not activated simply because the terminal 1 is near the operation target 2, and the communication bus 22 transitions to an activated state only when the grip sensor 30 detects that the terminal 1 is being held. Therefore, the dark current consumed by the system can be kept low compared to when the communication bus 22 is constantly activated.

(Modification 3 of the second embodiment)
Next, a third modification of the second embodiment will be described. Note that in the third modification of the second embodiment, only the differences from the first and second embodiments will be described.

As shown in FIG. 18, the detection unit 24 in this example is a battery charge amount detection unit 41 that detects the charge amount (remaining amount) of the battery 40 of the terminal 1. The battery charge amount detection unit 41 in this example is provided in the terminal control unit 8. The battery charge amount detection unit 41 detects the charge amount of the battery 40, for example, by monitoring the voltage of the battery 40, and outputs a detection signal St5 corresponding to the charge amount to the terminal control unit 8. The monitoring unit 26 of the terminal 1 monitors the charge amount of the battery 40 based on the detection signal St5 of the battery charge amount detection unit 41. In this example, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a notification (detection signal notification Sk) related to the detection signal St5 of the battery charge amount detection unit 41 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. When the stop processing unit 28 determines that the terminal 1 is being charged based on the received detection signal notification Sk, it stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2.

As shown in FIG. 19, when the terminal 1 is not being charged, the battery charge amount detection unit 41 detects this. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk6 including data indicating that the terminal 1 is not being charged to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk6 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives a detection signal notification Sk6 from the terminal 1, which includes data indicating that the terminal 1 is not being charged, it does not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5, but, for example, activates the communication bus 22. In other words, since it is highly likely that the user is using the terminal 1 when it is not being charged, the terminal key system 5 is kept activated. This enables signals to be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, making it possible to operate the vehicle 3 using the terminal 1.

As shown in FIG. 20, when the terminal 1 is being charged, the battery charge amount detection unit 41 detects this. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk7 including data indicating that the terminal 1 is being charged to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk7 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives a detection signal notification Sk7 from the terminal 1, which includes data indicating that the terminal 1 is being charged, it stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. In other words, since it is unlikely that the user is using the terminal 1 while the terminal 1 is being charged, there is no problem in stopping the terminal key system 5. In this example, the stop processing unit 28 executes processing to not start the communication bus 22. As a result, signals cannot be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, and therefore the terminal 1 cannot operate the vehicle 3. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(11) The detection unit 24 is a battery charge amount detection unit 41 that detects the charge amount of the battery 40 of the terminal 1. The monitoring unit 26 monitors the charge amount of the battery 40 based on the detection signal St5 of the battery charge amount detection unit 41. When the stop processing unit 28 determines that the battery 40 is being charged based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 26, it stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2. According to this configuration, even if the terminal 1 is present near the operation target 2, when the battery 40 of the terminal 1 is being charged, the communication bus 22 of the operation target 2 is not started, and the communication bus 22 transitions to an active state only when the battery 40 of the terminal 1 is not being charged. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the dark current consumed by the system to a low level compared to when the communication bus 22 is always activated.

(Variation 4 of the Second Embodiment)
Next, a fourth modified example of the second embodiment will be described. Note that in the fourth modified example of the second embodiment, only the differences from the other embodiments will be described.

As shown in FIG. 21, the wireless LAN router 32 is installed in a house 43 and wirelessly communicates with a terminal 1 inside or around the house 43. The terminal 1 is able to communicate with the wireless LAN router by registering the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router 32. The monitoring unit 26 of the terminal 1 monitors the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the detection signal St3 of the received signal strength measurement unit 34. In this example, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a notification (detection signal notification Sk) related to the detection signal St3 of the received signal strength measurement unit 34 to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. The stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of at least one of the terminal 1 and the operation target 2 according to the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 based on the received detection signal notification Sk.

When the terminal 1 is located outside the house 43 and far from the wireless LAN router 32, the received signal strength of the radio waves communicated between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 is weak. For this reason, the received signal strength measurement unit 34 measures the weak received signal strength. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk8 including data on the weak received signal strength to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk8 on radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives the detection signal notification Sk8 from the terminal 1, if the received signal strength data included in the notification is less than a threshold, it does not stop the operation of the terminal key system 5, but activates the communication bus 22, for example. It is preferable that the threshold is set to a value that can determine whether the terminal 1 is located indoors or outdoors. This enables signals to be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the equipment 4 via the communication bus 22, making it possible to operate the vehicle 3 using the terminal 1.

As shown in FIG. 22, when the terminal 1 is located inside the house 43 and close to the wireless LAN router 32, the received signal strength of the radio waves communicated between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32 is strong. Therefore, the received signal strength measurement unit 34 measures a strong received signal strength. In this case, the monitoring unit 26 transmits a detection signal notification Sk9 including data on the strong received signal strength to the wireless authentication unit 18 by short-range wireless communication. In this example, it is preferable for the monitoring unit 26 to transmit the detection signal notification Sk9 on the radio waves transmitted at a period of the connection interval Ts after the terminal 1 and the wireless authentication device 17 are connected.

When the stop processing unit 28 receives the detection signal notification Sk9 from the terminal 1, if the received signal strength data included in the notification is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the stop processing unit 28 stops the operation of the terminal key system 5. Specifically, the stop processing unit 28 executes processing to not start the communication bus 22. As a result, signals cannot be exchanged between the wireless authentication device 17, the control device 21, and the device 4 via the communication bus 22, and the terminal 1 cannot operate the vehicle 3. This makes it possible to reduce the dark current consumed by the system.

According to the terminal key system 5 of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(12) The communication bus 22 of the operation target 2 is not activated simply because the terminal 1 is near the operation target 2, and the communication bus 22 transitions to an activated state only when it is determined that the terminal 1 is outside based on the received signal strength of the communication between the terminal 1 and the wireless LAN router 32. Therefore, the dark current consumed by the system can be kept low compared to when the communication bus 22 is constantly activated.

This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that no technical contradiction occurs.
In each embodiment, the element 25 to which a restriction is applied is not limited to the communication module 13, 19, or the communication bus 22. For example, it may be any member, such as the device 4, the terminal control unit 8, the wireless authentication device 17, the wireless authentication unit 18, or the control device 21, that prevents the operation of the operation target 2 from being completed when the operation target 2 is operated by the terminal 1.

- In the first embodiment, when short-range wireless communication is stopped, the operation of the communication module 19 of the wireless authentication device 17 may be stopped instead of the communication module 13 of the terminal 1. Also, the operation of both communication modules 13 and 19 may be stopped.

- In the first embodiment, instead of stopping short-range wireless communication, the restriction on short-range wireless communication may be, for example, to extend the interval at which advertising (step 101) is output.

In each embodiment, the monitoring unit 26 does not necessarily have to be provided in the terminal 1, but may be provided in the operation target 2 (the vehicle 3, the wireless authentication device 17).
In each embodiment, the wireless authentication unit 18 does not have to be separate from the control device 21 and may be integrated into the control device 21 .

In each embodiment, the wireless authentication unit 18 may communicate with the control device 21 wirelessly.
In each embodiment, the wireless authentication device 17 may be a member that performs an operation similar to that of an electronic key. That is, the wireless authentication device 17 may be a member positioned as an electronic key.

- In each embodiment, the vehicle 3 may be equipped with an electronic key system in which the device 4 is activated by wireless communication with an electronic key. Examples of electronic key systems include a smart system and a wireless key system. In this case, the control device 21 may be a verification ECU that authenticates the electronic key.

In each embodiment, even if it is detected that the terminal key system 5 is not being used by the user, the terminal key system 5 may be permitted to operate for a certain period of time.
In each embodiment, the operation target 2 is not limited to the vehicle 3 and may be a member having a communication device or a communication apparatus capable of short-range wireless authentication.

In each embodiment, the terminal 1 is not limited to a high-function mobile phone, and may be any communication device that a user can carry.
In each embodiment, the authentication of the terminal 1 may be performed using, for example, a session key instead of the authentication of the key information Dk. In other words, the key information Dk may not be registered in the terminal 1, but a session key may be included, and the terminal 1 may be authenticated using the session key.

- In each embodiment, each of the monitoring unit 26 and the stop processing unit 28 may be configured as follows: [1] one or more processors that operate according to a computer program (software), or [2] a combination of such a processor and one or more dedicated hardware circuits, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), that executes at least some of the various processes. The processor includes a CPU and memory, such as RAM and ROM, that stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to execute the processes. Memory, i.e., computer-readable medium, includes any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer. Alternatively, instead of a computer that includes the above processor, a processing circuit configured by one or more dedicated hardware circuits that execute all of the various processes may be used.

- In each embodiment, each of the monitoring unit 26 and the stop processing unit 28 may be configured from an independent processor, or may be constructed from a processor that shares some of its functions. In this way, the monitoring unit 26 and the stop processing unit 28 are not limited to being independent functional blocks, and may be configured from a single functional block, or may be configured from a functional block that shares some of its functions.

- In each embodiment, the present disclosure has been described in accordance with the examples, but it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to those examples or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and modifications within the scope of equivalents. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms that include only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and concept of the present disclosure.

1...Terminal, 2...Operation target, 3...Vehicle, 4...Equipment, 5...Terminal key system, 13...Communication module, 17...Wireless authentication device, 18...Wireless authentication section, 19...Communication module, 22...Communication bus, 26...Monitoring section, 27...Acceleration detection section, 28...Stop processing section, 30...Grip sensor, 32...Wireless LAN router, 34...Received signal strength measurement section, 38...Satellite radio wave detection section, 41...Battery charge detection section, St...Detection signal, Sk...Detection signal notification, Sr...Operation command.

Claims (10)

A terminal key system that authenticates a terminal by performing short-distance wireless communication between a wireless authentication unit provided in an operation target of a terminal and the terminal, and operates a device of the operation target based on a result of the authentication,
a monitoring unit that monitors whether the terminal is being used based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is being used by a user;
a stop processing unit that stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target when it is determined that the terminal is not in use based on a monitoring result of the monitoring unit while the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication connected state,
the terminal transmits a detection signal notification corresponding to the detection signal detected by the detection unit to the wireless authentication unit via the short-range wireless communication;
The stop processing unit executes a process of stopping the operation of the operation target,
The stop processing unit is a terminal key system that executes a process not to start a communication bus through which an operation command is output to the device in the operation target. 2. The terminal key system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is a multi-function terminal having mainly a telephone function. the detection unit is an acceleration detection unit that detects a motion occurring in the terminal,
The monitoring unit monitors the movement of the terminal based on the detection signal from the acceleration detection unit;
The terminal key system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the stop processing unit stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation object when it determines, based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit, that there is no movement of the terminal. the detection unit is a grip sensor that detects gripping of the terminal,
The monitoring unit monitors the grip of the terminal by the user based on the detection signal of the grip sensor;
A terminal key system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stop processing unit does not stop operation of the terminal and the object to be operated when it determines that the terminal is being held based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit. A terminal key system that authenticates a terminal by performing short-distance wireless communication between a wireless authentication unit provided in an operation target of a terminal and the terminal, and operates a device of the operation target based on a result of the authentication,
a monitoring unit that monitors whether the terminal is being used based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is being used by a user;
a stop processing unit that stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target when it is determined that the terminal is not in use based on a monitoring result of the monitoring unit while the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication connected state,
the detection unit is a reception signal strength measurement unit that measures reception signal strength of radio waves when the terminal in which the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router is registered and the wireless LAN router communicate wirelessly with each other,
The monitoring unit monitors a positional relationship between the terminal and the wireless LAN router based on a measurement result of the received signal strength measuring unit,
The stop processing unit stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit and in accordance with the positional relationship between the terminal and the wireless LAN router. 6. The terminal key system according to claim 5, wherein the stop processing unit executes a process for stopping operation of at least one of the communication modules of the terminal and the wireless authentication unit. the detection unit is a satellite radio wave detection unit that detects the position of the terminal by satellite radio waves received from a communication satellite;
the monitoring unit monitors the location of the terminal based on the detection signal from the satellite radio wave detection unit;
A terminal key system as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the stop processing unit stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target in accordance with the position or change in position of the terminal based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit. a communication module for performing short-range wireless communication with a terminal;
a wireless authentication unit that authenticates the terminal through the short-range wireless communication with the terminal and operates a target device based on a result of the authentication;
a restriction unit that acquires a monitoring result from a monitoring unit that monitors whether the terminal is being used based on a detection signal from a detection unit that can detect whether the terminal is being used by a user;
When the restriction unit determines from the monitoring result of the monitoring unit that the terminal is not in use, the restriction unit executes a process to not activate a communication bus in the operation target through which an operation command is output to the equipment, thereby stopping the operation of the operation target. A communication control method used in a terminal key system, which authenticates a terminal by short-distance wireless communication between a wireless authentication unit provided in an operation target of a terminal and the terminal, and operates a device of the operation target based on a result of the authentication,
monitoring whether the terminal is being used or not based on a detection signal from a detection unit capable of detecting whether the terminal is being used by a user;
transmitting a detection signal notification corresponding to the detection signal detected by the detection unit to the wireless authentication unit by the terminal through the short-range wireless communication;
A communication control method in which, when the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication connected state, if it is determined from the monitoring results of whether the terminal is in use that the terminal is not in use, the terminal key system executes a process to not activate a communication bus in the operation object that outputs an operation command to the equipment, thereby stopping the operation of the operation object. A communication control method used in a terminal key system, which authenticates a terminal by short-distance wireless communication between a wireless authentication unit provided in an operation target of a terminal and the terminal, and operates a device of the operation target based on a result of the authentication,
monitoring whether the terminal is being used or not based on a detection signal from a detection unit capable of detecting whether the terminal is being used by a user;
The detection unit measures a received signal strength of radio waves when the terminal in which the fixed ID of the wireless LAN router is registered and the wireless LAN router communicate with each other wirelessly;
monitoring a positional relationship between the terminal and the wireless LAN router based on the measurement result of the received signal strength;
A communication control method in which, when the terminal and the wireless authentication unit are in a communication connected state, it is determined that the terminal is not in use from the monitoring results of whether the terminal is in use or not based on the positional relationship between the terminal and the wireless LAN router, and the terminal key system stops operation of at least one of the terminal and the operation target.