Vehicle-mounted intelligent control device

Abstract

A vehicle-mounted intelligent control device comprises: a request input unit for receiving an operation request of vehicle equipment in response to an input from a mobile terminal; an environment data input unit acquiring data related to a driving environment of the vehicle from a predetermined sensor on the vehicle; a device control unit that controls the desired vehicle equipment; and an operation determination unit that determines whether a vehicle equipment operation is executable in response to the operation request input to the request input unit. The operation determination unit determines whether or not an operation is executable based on the traveling environment of the vehicle acquired through the environment data input unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle-mounted intelligent control device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there have been more opportunities for drivers and other passengers to use smart devices such as smartphones in vehicles. In addition, various technical developments are underway to facilitate the use of smart devices in vehicles.

[0003] For example, the vehicle access restriction device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a vehicle equipment control unit (17) and a vehicle equipment operation prohibition instruction unit (16), wherein the vehicle equipment control unit (17) controls the operation of vehicle equipment (tailgate, door lock mechanism, headlights and hazard lights) based on an operation instruction from a mobile communication terminal (1), and the vehicle equipment operation prohibition instruction unit (16) is capable of issuing a prohibition instruction to the vehicle equipment control unit (17) to prohibit the operation control of the vehicle equipment. With this configuration, the vehicle access restriction device is designed to reduce unauthorized access from malicious hackers and the like, thereby reducing the impact on the vehicle (2).

[0004] Citation List

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: WO2019 / 188748 Summary of the invention

[0007] By using the technology in Patent Document 1, it is possible to restrict the operation of vehicle equipment in response to an operation instruction obtained through unauthorized access by a third party. However, when an authorized user (such as the driver of the vehicle) issues an operation instruction from a mobile communication terminal, the operation of the vehicle equipment is not restricted.

[0008] Therefore, for example, even in a vehicle driving situation where it is dangerous to operate a specific vehicle equipment such as a tailgate, a door lock mechanism, a headlight, or a hazard light, or even in a situation where a mobile communication terminal erroneously detects an input operation that is not intended by an authorized user such as a driver, the vehicle equipment may be activated. Therefore, when a passenger of the vehicle uses a mobile communication terminal on or near the vehicle, there is a concern that the safe driving conditions of the vehicle may be adversely affected. On the other hand, from the perspective of passenger convenience, it is preferable to be able to operate various vehicle equipment using a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone on or near the vehicle.

[0009] The present invention is completed in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle intelligent control device that can operate various vehicle equipment by using a mobile terminal while maintaining a safe driving state of the vehicle.

[0010] The above-mentioned object according to the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.

[0011] The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device includes: a request input unit, which receives an operation request for vehicle equipment in response to an input from a mobile terminal; an environment data input unit, which acquires data related to the driving environment of the vehicle from a predetermined sensor on the vehicle; a device control unit, which controls the desired vehicle equipment; and an operation determination unit, which determines whether a vehicle equipment operation is executable in response to the operation request input to the request input unit. The operation determination unit determines whether an operation is executable based on the driving environment of the vehicle acquired through the environment data input unit.

[0012] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device of the present invention, various vehicle equipment can be operated by using a mobile terminal while maintaining a safe driving state of the vehicle.

[0013] The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention can be clarified by carrying out the reading mode of the present invention described below (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 : is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle-mounted system including the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the intelligent control unit.

[0016] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a control condition table.

[0017] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the intelligent control unit.

[0018] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing another configuration 1 of the intelligent control unit.

[0019] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing another configuration 2 of the intelligent control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle system 100 including an in-vehicle intelligent control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The intelligent control unit 10 is equivalent to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device in this embodiment.

[0022] Figure 1The shown in-vehicle system 100 includes an intelligent control unit 10, a control condition table 20, an auxiliary system ECU 31, a short-range communication unit 32, a vehicle speed sensor 35, a raindrop sensor 36, an illuminance sensor 37, an air pressure sensor 38 and a plurality of vehicle equipment 33, and is used when installed on a vehicle.

[0023] The vehicle equipment 33 includes a headlight 33a, a brake light 33b, a turn signal circuit 33c, a wiper 33d, a defroster 33e, a horn 33f, a door lock 33g, etc. These vehicle equipment 33 are devices commonly equipped in various types of vehicles, and the driver and other passengers can turn on and off various functions by operating the unique switches that are standard in each vehicle.

[0024] on the other hand, Figure 1 The smart control unit 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a smart control function, that is, it controls various vehicle equipment 33 while ensuring safety according to the operation input of a smart device (mobile terminal) such as a smart phone 40 prepared by the driver or other passengers by an authorized user.

[0025] The intelligent control unit 10 includes an electronic circuit in which a main component is a control element such as a microcomputer, and various functions required of the intelligent control unit 10 are realized by reading and executing a predetermined program prepared in advance.

[0026] The control condition table 20 stores data of predetermined control conditions required for correct judgment by the microcomputer of the intelligent control unit 10. The data of the control condition table 20 is stored in, for example, a nonvolatile memory. A specific example of the control condition table 20 will be described later.

[0027] The auxiliary system ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 31 controls the opening and closing of each vehicle equipment 33 connected to the downstream side according to the instruction from the intelligent control unit 10 and the instruction from the unique switch (not shown) on the vehicle. The auxiliary system ECU 31 can be omitted, and each vehicle equipment 33 can be directly controlled by the intelligent control unit 10.

[0028] The short-range communication unit 32 is a communication module capable of relatively short-range communication using a communication system compatible with a standard wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and provides a function for contactless communication between a smartphone 40 placed on or near the vehicle and the intelligent control unit 10 on the vehicle.

[0029] A communication method other than radio waves can also be used as a close-range communication method. For example, a display that displays a QR code (registered trademark) and a camera that can read the displayed QR code can be combined to perform optical communication.

[0030] The vehicle speed sensor 35 is a speed sensor provided as standard in the vehicle, and can output a pulse signal each time the output shaft of the transmission rotates a certain amount, for example. Therefore, by monitoring the number of pulses of the pulse signal, the running speed (km / h) of the vehicle can be grasped.

[0031] The raindrop sensor 36 can output a signal indicating the condition of raindrops adhering to the window glass of the vehicle. For example, by using a reflective optical sensor or camera disposed inside the windshield, the condition of waterdrops adhering to the glass surface can be detected, and the rainfall condition or the environmental condition that has a negative impact on the driver's field of vision can be estimated.

[0032] The illuminance sensor 37 is installed near the windshield, for example, and can output a signal indicating the brightness of the ambient illuminance. By using the signal detected by the illuminance sensor 37, the difference between the daytime and nighttime environments and the change in illuminance caused by entering or leaving a tunnel can be understood.

[0033] The air pressure sensor 38 can output a signal indicating whether the air pressure of each wheel of the host vehicle is normal.

[0034] When an operation instruction for each vehicle equipment 33 is input from the smartphone 40, the intelligent control unit 10 uses the vehicle speed sensor 35, the raindrop sensor 36, the illumination sensor 37, and the air pressure sensor 38 to grasp the condition of the driving environment of the host vehicle, and determines whether the operation is possible based on the control conditions registered in the control condition table 20. Therefore, it is also possible to perform very convenient operations using the smartphone 40 while ensuring the safety of the host vehicle. The details will be described later.

[0035] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the intelligent control unit 10 .

[0036] like Figure 2 As shown, the intelligent control unit 10 includes an intelligent device cooperation unit 11, a sensor data acquisition unit 12, a vehicle equipment operation unit 13, and a safety determination unit 14. In addition, the smartphone 40 includes an operation request generation unit 41, which generates a request for an operation instruction for each vehicle equipment 33 based on the screen operation of the smartphone 40 or the sensor input.

[0037] The smart device cooperation unit 11 controls communication so that a mobile terminal such as a smartphone 40 of an authorized user and the smart control unit 10 can cooperate with each other. For example, operations such as communication pairing are performed in advance between a specific smartphone 40 owned by a driver or the like and the smart control unit 10 on a vehicle owned by the driver, data such as a key used in communication encryption is exchanged, and the smartphones 40 that can cooperate are limited to authorized terminals. In addition, the smart device cooperation unit 11 obtains a request for an operation instruction for each vehicle equipment 33 from the operation request generation unit 41 of the smartphone 40.

[0038] The sensor data acquisition unit 12 periodically acquires data indicating the latest driving environment from, for example, the vehicle speed sensor 35 , the raindrop sensor 36 , the illuminance sensor 37 , the air pressure sensor 38 , etc., and transmits the data to the safety determination unit 14 .

[0039] The vehicle equipment operating unit 13 outputs a signal for operating each vehicle equipment 33 to be operated to the vehicle equipment 33 according to the operation instruction from the safety determination unit 14 .

[0040] When a request for an operation instruction for each vehicle equipment 33 is input from the smartphone 40, the safety judgment unit 14 determines whether the operation is feasible based on the conditions of the driving environment of the vehicle as obtained from the outputs of the vehicle speed sensor 35, raindrop sensor 36, illuminance sensor 37, air pressure sensor 38, etc., and the various control conditions in the control condition table 20.

[0041] Figure 3 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the control condition table 20 .

[0042] Figure 3 The control condition table 20 shown holds data of a control target item 21 , an operation request type 22 , a control permission item 23 , a scene determination condition 24 , and a risk level item 25 in a state of being associated with each other.

[0043] exist Figure 3 In the example, as shown in control target item 21, data related to vehicle equipment such as headlights, brake lights, turn signal circuits, wipers, washers, defrosters, horns, door locks, interior lights, meters, brakes, motors, and batteries are all pre-registered.

[0044] For vehicle equipment capable of receiving multiple types of operation requests, multiple operation request categories are registered in the item of the operation request type 22 as follows.

[0045] Request to turn off the headlights

[0046] Request to turn on the headlights

[0047] Request to turn off the wipers

[0048] Request to turn on the wipers

[0049] Request to turn off the defroster

[0050] · Request to turn on the defroster

[0051] · Operation request to unlock the door

[0052] · Operation request to close the door lock

[0053] Request to turn off interior lights

[0054] Request to turn on the interior lights

[0055] The operation request of the electric motor equipped in the vehicle is a request for instructing switching of the torque characteristic.

[0056] The control permission item 23 of the control condition table 20 stores the information indicating " ○ ” or “x”, corresponding to whether the operation from the smartphone 40 is allowed.

[0057] The scene determination condition 24 of the control condition table 20 holds data divided into four items, namely, a driving condition 24a, a rainfall condition 24b, an ambient illumination condition 24c, and a tire pressure condition 24d.

[0058] The data of the travel condition 24 a is data that can be used to determine whether there is an operational risk related to the travel speed (km / h) and the travel direction of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor 35 .

[0059] The data of the rainfall condition 24b is data that can be used to determine whether there is rainfall in the driving environment of the host vehicle detected by the raindrop sensor 36, that is, the weather condition of "rain" or "sunny".

[0060] The data of the environmental illumination status 24 c is data that can be used to determine the brightness of the environmental illumination in the driving environment of the host vehicle detected by the illumination sensor 37 , that is, “bright”, “dark”, etc.

[0061] The data of the tire pressure status 24 d is data that can be used to determine whether the air pressure at each wheel of the host vehicle detected by the air pressure sensor 38 is appropriate.

[0062] The risk level item 25 of the control condition table 20 stores predetermined data indicating whether the risk level of the operation from the smartphone 40 is high or low in a scenario where one or all of the driving conditions 24a, rainfall conditions 24b, ambient illumination conditions 24c, and tire pressure conditions 24d that satisfy the scene judgment condition 24.

[0063] For example, when the following conditions are met, that is, the vehicle equipment to be operated by the smartphone 40 is "headlight", the operation request type 22 is "OFF", the current driving speed is 5 km / h or higher, and the ambient illumination condition 24c is "dark", according to the data in the risk level item 25 of the control condition table 20, it can be seen that the scene is a high-risk scene.

[0064] For example, when the following conditions are met, that is, the vehicle equipment to be operated by the smartphone 40 is "wiper", the operation request type 22 is "OFF", and the current output of the raindrop sensor 36 is "rain" in the rainfall condition 24b, according to the data in the risk level item 25 of the control condition table 20, it can be seen that the scene is a high-risk scene.

[0065] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the intelligent control unit 10. Figure 4 The operation shown.

[0066] The authorized smartphone 40 capable of operating the vehicle equipment connected to the in-vehicle system 100 has pre-installed dedicated application software (application) prepared for cooperation with the in-vehicle system 100. In addition, in a state where the application on the smartphone 40 is activated, a predetermined pairing is performed in advance so that the smartphone 40 and the in-vehicle system 100 can communicate with each other securely. Therefore, a passenger operating the smartphone 40 near the in-vehicle system 100 can perform input operations in cooperation with the in-vehicle system 100 while viewing the interface of the application.

[0067] When the passenger operates the smartphone 40 to generate an operation request for desired vehicle equipment, the operation request is input to the smart control unit 10 via the short-range communication unit 32 ( S11 ).

[0068] In S12, the intelligent control unit 10 identifies whether the operation target corresponds to a controllable device in relation to the operation request received in S11. Specifically, in the control availability item 23 of the control condition table 20, in the case where a " ○ ”, the operation target device is regarded as a controllable device, and the processing proceeds to the next processing S13. In the case where data “x” indicating that the corresponding operation target device is uncontrollable is registered, the operation target device is regarded as an uncontrollable device, the processing enters S20, and the request is rejected.

[0069] In S13, the intelligent control unit 10 obtains the latest information from the vehicle speed sensor 35, the raindrop sensor 36, the illumination sensor 37 and the air pressure sensor 38, and accurately grasps the current status, such as the driving condition, the rainfall condition, the ambient illumination and the tire pressure.

[0070] In S14, the intelligent control unit 10 compares the information about the current state acquired in S13 with the driving condition 24a, the rainfall condition 24b, the ambient illumination condition 24c, and the tire pressure condition 24d of the scene determination condition 24 in the control condition table 20, and identifies whether the current state is consistent with the scene in which the corresponding operation is dangerous. When consistency is detected, the process proceeds to the next S15, and when no consistency is detected, the process proceeds to S19.

[0071] For the scene detected to be consistent in S14, the intelligent control unit 10 refers to the data in the risk level item 25 of the control condition table 20 in S15 to grasp the risk level. In addition, when the risk level is "low", the process enters S16. When the risk level is "high", the process enters S20 and rejects the corresponding request.

[0072] In S16 , the smart control unit 10 transmits a confirmation request regarding the operation intention of the user (passenger) to the smartphone 40 as the request source.

[0073] On the other hand, when the application on the smartphone 40 receives a confirmation request from the intelligent control unit 10, the application notifies the user of the confirmation request on the screen and requests a confirmation input to operate the vehicle equipment. In addition, when receiving a confirmation input from the user through a button operation on the screen, etc., the application on the smartphone 40 transmits information indicating a confirmation response to the intelligent control unit 10.

[0074] In S17, when the intelligent control unit 10 receives a confirmation response from the smartphone 40 as the request source, the intelligent control unit 10 identifies whether the response is "operation OK" in the next step S18. When the intelligent control unit 10 detects a response of "operation OK", the intelligent control unit 10 proceeds to S19, and the intelligent control unit 10 performs an operation (on and off, etc.) on the specific vehicle equipment that the user of the smartphone 40 instructs to operate. When a response other than "operation OK" is detected, the intelligent control unit 10 proceeds from S18 to S20, and rejects the operation request for the corresponding vehicle equipment.

[0075] As described above, by using the intelligent control unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the driver and other passengers of the present vehicle can operate vehicle equipment 33 such as the headlight 33a, brake light 33b, turn signal circuit 33c, wiper 33d and defroster 33e by using an intelligent device such as a smartphone 40. In addition, Figure 4 In the operation shown, the intelligent control unit 10 allows the operation only when the environment such as the driving state of the vehicle is in a low-risk situation, thereby easily ensuring safety.

[0076] In addition, if Figure 4In the operation shown, when the intelligent control unit 10 receives an operation request from the smartphone 40, the intelligent control unit 10 requests the operator's confirmation (S16), receives the operator's answer (S17), and performs the operation on the vehicle equipment 33 only when it is confirmed that the operator has the operation intention (S18), thereby realizing highly reliable control. For example, when an error detection occurs on the smartphone 40 side, in which an input operation that is not intended by the user of the smartphone 40 is regarded as an operation request for the vehicle equipment 33, the intelligent control unit 10 can reject the operation request in S20.

[0077] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the materials, shapes, sizes, quantities, and arrangement positions of the components in the above-described embodiments can be freely selected without limitation as long as the present invention can be achieved.

[0078] For example, the intelligent control unit may have the following Figure 5 and 6 Description of the same components as those of the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

[0079] Figure 5 1 is a block diagram showing another configuration 1 of the intelligent control unit. In this configuration, an operation request generation unit 41 that generates a request for an operation instruction of each vehicle equipment 33 is provided in the intelligent control unit 10 instead of the smartphone 40. The operation request generation unit 41 of the intelligent control unit 10 acquires data corresponding to the screen operation or sensor input of the smartphone 40 via the smart device cooperation unit 11, and generates a request for an operation instruction of each vehicle equipment 33.

[0080] Figure 6 2 is a block diagram showing another configuration 2 of the intelligent control unit. In this configuration, the safety determination unit 14 is provided in the smartphone 40 instead of the intelligent control unit 10. When the safety determination unit 14 obtains a request for an operation instruction of each vehicle equipment 33 from the operation request generation unit 41, in the case where the current situation does not match the scenario where the corresponding operation is dangerous or Figure 4 In the case of “operation OK” in S18 shown, the safety determination unit 14 transmits a request for an operation instruction to the smart device coordination unit 11 of the smart control unit 10 .

[0081] Here, the features of the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [5].

[0082] [1] An on-vehicle intelligent control device (intelligent control unit 10), comprising:

[0083] a request input unit (smart device cooperation unit 11) configured to receive an operation request for vehicle equipment (33) in response to an input from a desired mobile terminal (smartphone 40);

[0084] an environment data input unit (sensor data acquisition unit 12) configured to acquire data related to the driving environment of the vehicle from predetermined sensors on the vehicle side (vehicle speed sensor 35, raindrop sensor 36, illumination sensor 37, and air pressure sensor 38);

[0085] a device control unit (vehicle equipment operating unit 13) configured to control desired vehicle equipment; and

[0086] An operation determination unit (safety determination unit 14) is configured to determine whether a vehicle equipment operation is executable in response to the operation request input to the request input unit, wherein

[0087] The operation determination unit determines whether an operation is executable based on the running environment of the vehicle acquired through the environment data input unit.

[0088] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device having the configuration of [1], operation from the mobile terminal is allowed only when the risk level in the actual driving environment of the host vehicle is expected to be low. Therefore, it is possible to perform very convenient operations while ensuring the safety of the host vehicle.

[0089] [2] The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to [1], wherein

[0090] The operation determination unit grasps a travel speed of the host vehicle based on the data of the travel environment of the vehicle acquired by the environment data input unit, and performs determination under a condition including a difference in the travel speed.

[0091] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device having the configuration of [2], the operation determination unit makes a determination to reflect the difference in the driving speed of the vehicle, thereby making it easy to make an appropriate determination in consideration of the risk level of the vehicle.

[0092] [3] The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to [1] or [2], further comprising:

[0093] The determination table (control condition table 20) stores predetermined data indicating the relationship between each of a plurality of types of vehicle equipment, the type of the operation request, and a condition for determining the scene of the driving environment of the vehicle.

[0094] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device having the configuration of [3], it is possible to individually determine the conditions of the dangerous scene to be detected taking into account the characteristics peculiar to each type of vehicle equipment. Therefore, it is easy to achieve highly accurate and reliable control.

[0095] [4] The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein:

[0096] The operation determination unit grasps the risk level of each scene of the driving environment of the vehicle based on the data of the driving environment of the vehicle obtained through the environmental data input unit, and determines whether the operation is executable according to the risk level (S14, S15).

[0097] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device having the configuration of [4], since the risk level can be individually determined for various driving environment scenarios of the vehicle, highly accurate and reliable control can be easily achieved.

[0098] [5] The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein

[0099] The environmental data input unit acquires at least two pieces of data of the vehicle's driving speed, rainfall conditions, illumination of the driving environment, and tire pressure (S13), and

[0100] The operation determination unit clarifies the scene of the driving environment of the vehicle based on the plurality of pieces of data of the driving environment acquired by the environment data input unit, and makes a determination according to the scene (S14).

[0101] According to the vehicle-mounted intelligent control device having the configuration of [5], since it is possible to individually grasp the risk levels associated with various driving environment scenarios of the vehicle, such as a basic stop state, a normal driving state, a driving state in the rain, and a driving state at night, highly accurate and reliable control can be easily achieved.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted intelligent control device, comprising: a request input unit that receives an operation request for vehicle equipment in response to an input from the mobile terminal; An environmental data input unit, which acquires data related to the driving environment of the vehicle from a predetermined sensor on the vehicle; A control unit is provided to control the desired vehicle equipment; as well as an operation determination unit that determines whether a vehicle equipment operation is executable in response to the operation request input to the request input unit, wherein The operation determination unit determines whether an operation is executable based on the running environment of the vehicle acquired through the environment data input unit.

2. The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to claim 1, wherein The operation determination unit grasps a travel speed of the host vehicle based on the data of the travel environment of the vehicle acquired by the environment data input unit, and performs determination under a condition including a difference in the travel speed.

3. The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to claim 1, further comprising: The determination table stores predetermined data indicating a relationship between each of a plurality of types of vehicle equipment, the type of the operation request, and a condition for determining a scene of the driving environment of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to claim 1, wherein The operation determination unit grasps the risk level of each scene of the driving environment of the vehicle based on the data of the driving environment of the vehicle acquired by the environmental data input unit, and determines whether the operation is executable according to the risk level.

5. The vehicle-mounted intelligent control device according to claim 1, wherein The environmental data input unit acquires at least two pieces of data of the vehicle's driving speed, rainfall conditions, illumination of the driving environment, and tire pressure, and The operation determination unit clarifies a scene of the driving environment of the vehicle based on a plurality of pieces of data of the driving environment acquired by the environment data input unit, and makes a determination according to the scene.

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