Control device and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a control device and a vehicle. The control device is mounted in a vehicle having a tailgate that can be remotely controlled. A control unit of the control device executes opening control of the tail gate when a predetermined condition is satisfied when an opening control command of the tail gate is received from an external device. The predetermined conditions include that the driving of the power source of the vehicle is stopped and the inclination angle of the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to or less than a predetermined angle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to remote control of a tailgate of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-082969 discloses a system for remotely controlling the movement of a control object in a vehicle through a portable device operated by a user. In the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-082969, when the state of the portable device is transferred to a predetermined movement state that restricts the user's operation during the process of the control object moving through remote control, a stop process is performed to stop the control object. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-082969 records that the tailgate of the vehicle is included in the control object. Summary of the invention

[0003] An object of the present disclosure is to improve safety associated with remote control of a tailgate of a vehicle.

[0004] A control device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a control device mounted on a vehicle having a tailgate that can be remotely controlled, wherein:

[0005] A control unit is provided for executing the opening control of the tailgate when a predetermined condition is satisfied when receiving the opening control command of the tailgate from an external device,

[0006] The predetermined conditions include:

[0007] The driving of the power source of the vehicle is stopped, and the inclination angle of the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle.

[0008] A vehicle according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes the control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, safety associated with remote control of a tailgate of a vehicle can be improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like elements, and in which:

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the flow of information in a remote control system according to an embodiment;

[0012] Figure 2 This is a block diagram for explaining the hardware configuration of the control device of the embodiment and various devices mounted on the vehicle;

[0013] Figure 3is a diagram showing a situation where a vehicle is parked on an inclined surface;

[0014] Figure 4 is a flow of information processing related to tailgate opening control based on remote control according to an embodiment;

[0015] Figure 5 is a block diagram for explaining the hardware configuration of a control device and various devices mounted on a vehicle according to a modification of the embodiment; and

[0016] Figure 6 This is a flow of information processing related to tailgate opening control by remote control according to a modification of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] In recent years, a technology for remotely controlling a target vehicle from a location far from the target vehicle has been developed. As an example of remote control, the opening and closing control of the tailgate of a vehicle can be exemplified. If the tailgate of a vehicle can be opened and closed by remote control, even when the user of the vehicle is in a location far from the vehicle, the user can use the vehicle as a storage place for luggage, etc. However, since the tailgate is opened by the operation of a user in a location far from the vehicle, ensuring the safety of the vehicle and its surroundings becomes a problem. The present disclosure is made in view of such problems.

[0018] The control device of the first embodiment of the present disclosure is a device installed in a vehicle having a tailgate capable of remote control. When the tailgate of the vehicle is opened by remote control, the control device receives a tailgate opening control instruction sent from an external device. Here, the external device is a device located outside the vehicle and is a device capable of communicating with the vehicle via a network. For example, the external device receives a remote control execution instruction sent from a user terminal operated by a user of the vehicle. In addition, the external device that receives the remote control execution instruction sends a control instruction for executing the instructed remote control to the control device of the vehicle.

[0019] Furthermore, the control unit of the control device performs the tailgate opening control when receiving the tailgate opening control command from the external device. At this time, the control unit performs the tailgate opening control when a predetermined condition related to the vehicle is satisfied. That is, if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the control unit does not perform the tailgate opening control even if the tailgate opening control command is received.

[0020] Here, the predetermined condition includes that the driving of the power source of the vehicle stops and the inclination angle of the front-to-back direction of the vehicle relative to the horizontal plane is less than a predetermined angle. It should be noted that the power source of the vehicle is, for example, an internal combustion engine or a motor. When the driving of the power source of the vehicle stops, the vehicle stops. In addition, the inclination angle of the front-to-back direction of the vehicle relative to the horizontal plane changes according to the conditions of the ground on which the vehicle is parked, etc. That is, when the vehicle is parked on an inclined surface, the vehicle also tilts.

[0021] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the tailgate from opening due to remote control when the vehicle is moving. In addition, if the tailgate is opened when the vehicle is parked in a state where it is greatly tilted in the front-to-back direction, the luggage placed in the vehicle may fall outside the vehicle. In contrast, in the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the tailgate from opening due to remote control when the vehicle is greatly tilted in the front-to-back direction. As a result, it is possible to prevent the luggage placed in the vehicle from falling outside the vehicle when the tailgate is opened. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the safety related to the remote control of the tailgate of the vehicle.

[0022] The following describes specific embodiments of the present disclosure based on the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the present embodiment do not limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure to these unless otherwise specified.

[0023] Implementation

[0024] System Overview

[0025] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing the flow of information in the remote control system of the present embodiment. The remote control system 1 is a system for remotely controlling a vehicle 10. The remote control system 1 includes a control device 100 mounted on the vehicle 10, a user terminal 200, and a management server 300.

[0026] The control device 100 controls various devices mounted on the vehicle 10. In addition, the vehicle 10 is a vehicle that can be a remotely controlled object. The vehicle 10 is equipped with a tailgate 11 that can be opened and closed by remote control. In the vehicle 10, the tailgate 11 is controlled by the control device 100. In addition, various sensors for detecting the state of the vehicle 10 are mounted on the vehicle 10. Then, the detection values ​​of various sensors are input to the control device 100.

[0027] The user terminal 200 is a terminal associated with a user of the vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, the user terminal 200 is held by a user who is not riding in the vehicle 10. The user is, for example, the owner of the vehicle 10. In addition, the user may also be a driver of the vehicle 10 who parks the vehicle 10 and gets off the vehicle 10. The management server 300 is a server device that remotely controls the vehicle 10. It should be noted that the management server 300 functions as an "external device" in the present disclosure.

[0028] The control device 100, the user terminal 200, and the management server 300 are connected to each other via a network. Here, as the network, for example, a wide area network (WAN) as a public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone, etc., may be adopted. In addition, the network may also include a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone, a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc.

[0029] When the user wants to perform remote control of the vehicle 10, based on the user's input, an instruction to perform remote control is sent from the user terminal 200 to the management server 300. When the management server 300 receives the instruction to perform remote control from the user terminal 200, it sends a control command for the remote control that is instructed to be performed to the control device 100 of the vehicle 10. When the control device 100 receives the control command from the management server 300, it controls the device that is the target of remote control.

[0030] For example, when the control device 100 receives a control instruction for opening and closing the tailgate 11 from the management server 300, the control device 100 performs the opening and closing control of the tailgate 11. However, when the received control instruction is an opening control instruction for the tailgate 11, the control device 100 first determines whether a predetermined condition is satisfied. And, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the control device 100 performs the opening control of the tailgate 11. It should be noted that the details of the opening control of the tailgate 11 based on remote control will be described later.

[0031] Hardware structure of the control device

[0032] Figure 2It is a block diagram for explaining the hardware structure of the control device 100 of the embodiment and various devices mounted on the vehicle 10. The control device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, an in-vehicle communication module 130 and a communication module 140. The control unit 110 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the control device 100. The control unit 110 includes a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU, Central Processing Unit), a main storage device such as a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory) and an auxiliary storage device such as a read-only memory (ROM, Read Only Memory). It should be noted that the CPU is an example of a processor resource. In addition, RAM and ROM are examples of memory resources. The control unit 110 can perform arbitrary information processing based on various programs and various data. However, part or all of the functions of the control unit 110 can also be implemented by hardware circuits such as ASIC and FPGA.

[0033] The storage unit 120 is composed of any storage device such as RAM, ROM, hard disk drive, flash memory, etc. The storage unit 120 may also include a removable medium (removable recording medium). Here, the removable medium is, for example, a USB memory, an SD card, or a disk recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk. The storage unit 120 stores programs executed by the control unit 110 and various data for executing the programs. In addition, the storage unit 120 stores control data for executing programs for remote control of the vehicle 10.

[0034] The in-vehicle communication module 130 is an interface for the control device 100 to communicate with other devices provided in the vehicle 10 using a predetermined in-vehicle communication standard. Examples of the predetermined in-vehicle communication standard include a controller area network (CAN) or a local interconnect network (LIN).

[0035] The vehicle 10 is provided with various devices such as a tailgate motor 12, a start switch 13, and a tilt angle sensor 14. The control device 100 communicates with the management server 300 via the in-vehicle communication module 130. The tailgate motor 12 is a motor for driving the opening and closing of the tailgate 11. The control device 100 performs opening and closing control of the tailgate 11 by driving the tailgate motor 12. The start switch 13 is a switch for driving a power source (such as an internal combustion engine, a motor, etc.) of the vehicle 10. When the start switch 13 is turned on, the control device 100 drives the power source of the vehicle 10. In addition, when the start switch 13 is turned off, the control device 100 stops driving the power source of the vehicle 10. The tilt angle sensor 14 is a sensor that detects the tilt angle of the front and rear directions of the vehicle 10 relative to the horizontal plane. Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle 10 parked on an inclined surface. Figure 3 As shown, when the vehicle 10 is parked on an inclined surface such as an uphill slope, the vehicle 10 is tilted in the front-rear direction. At this time, the tilt angle sensor 14 detects the tilt angle Va of the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 relative to the horizontal plane. Then, the detection value of the tilt angle sensor 14 is input to the control device 100.

[0036] The communication module 140 is a communication interface for connecting the control device 100 to a network. The communication module 140 is, for example, a local area network (LAN) interface board or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication. The control device 100 communicates with the management server 300 via the communication module 140 .

[0037] It should be noted that the management server 300 is also a computer having a control unit, a storage unit, and a communication module. In addition, the user terminal 200 has a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a main storage device such as a random access memory (RAM), an auxiliary storage device such as a read-only memory (ROM), and a communication interface for connecting the user terminal 200 to a network. As the user terminal 200, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a mobile computer, or a wearable computer can be exemplified.

[0038] In addition, in the present embodiment, the control device 100 does not necessarily need to be realized by a single physical structure, and may be composed of a plurality of computers that are installed in the vehicle 10 and cooperate with each other.

[0039] Information processing flow

[0040] Next, based on Figure 4The flow of information processing executed in the control device 100 is described. Here, it is assumed that a user who is located at a place far from the vehicle 10 uses the vehicle 10 as a receiving place for door-to-door delivery. In this case, in order to allow the delivery person to store the door-to-door delivery item in the vehicle, the user attempts to open the tailgate 11 of the vehicle 10 by remote control. At this time, the control device 100 performs the opening control of the tailgate 11 after confirming that the predetermined conditions for ensuring safety in the vehicle 10 are met.

[0041] Figure 4 This is a flow of information processing related to the opening control of the tailgate 11 by remote control in this embodiment. This flow is executed by the control unit 110 when the control device 100 receives an opening control command of the tailgate 11 from the management server 300.

[0042] In this process, first, in S101, it is determined whether the start switch 13 of the vehicle 10 is turned off. That is, in S101, it is determined whether the driving of the power source of the vehicle 10 is stopped. In the case of a negative determination in S101, that is, when the power source of the vehicle 10 is being driven, the execution of this process is temporarily terminated. In this case, the tailgate 11 in the vehicle 10 is not opened.

[0043] On the other hand, in the case where a positive determination is made in S101, that is, when the driving of the power source of the vehicle 10 is stopped, the processing of S102 is then executed. In S102, the tilt angle Va of the vehicle 10 in the front-rear direction detected by the tilt angle sensor 14 is obtained. Next, in S103, it is determined whether the tilt angle Va of the vehicle 10 obtained in S102 is less than the predetermined angle Va0. Here, the predetermined angle Va0 is set to an angle within a range that suppresses the movement of the luggage placed in the vehicle 10 due to the tilt of the vehicle 10. In the case where a negative determination is made in S103, that is, when the tilt angle Va of the vehicle 10 is greater than the predetermined angle Va0, the execution of this process is temporarily terminated. In this case, as in the case where a negative determination is made in S101, the tailgate 11 in the vehicle 10 is not opened.

[0044] On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in S103, the process of S104 is then executed. In S104, the opening control of the tailgate 11 is executed. Specifically, the control unit 110 drives the tailgate motor 12 in the direction of opening the tailgate 11. Thereafter, the execution of this flow is temporarily terminated.

[0045] According to the above process, it is possible to prevent the tailgate 11 from opening due to remote control when the vehicle 10 is moving. Furthermore, it is also possible to prevent the tailgate 11 from opening due to remote control when the vehicle 10 is tilted greatly in the front-rear direction. Thus, it is possible to prevent the luggage placed in the vehicle from falling outside the vehicle when the tailgate 11 is opened. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the safety related to the remote control of the tailgate 11 of the vehicle 10 can be improved.

[0046] It should be noted that the luggage placed in the vehicle may fall out of the vehicle when the tailgate 11 is opened. Figure 3 Therefore, in the present embodiment, the predetermined angle Va0 may be set to the angle at which the vehicle 10 is tilted toward the rear side. Thus, even when the vehicle 10 is tilted, if the tilting direction is toward the front side of the vehicle 10, the tailgate 11 is controlled to open.

[0047] Modifications

[0048] A modification of the present embodiment will be described below. In the present modification, the predetermined conditions when the opening control of the tailgate 11 is executed by remote control are different from those in the above-described embodiment. Figure 5 This is a block diagram for explaining the hardware configuration of the control device 100 according to this modification and various devices mounted on the vehicle 10 .

[0049] The structure of the control device 100 of this modification is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. However, in this modification, in the vehicle 10, the control device 100 communicates with the load sensor 15 and the parking brake sensor 16 via the in-vehicle communication module 130 in addition to the tailgate motor 12, the start switch 13, and the tilt angle sensor 14. The load sensor 15 is a sensor for detecting the load applied to the tailgate motor 12. The parking brake sensor 16 is a sensor for detecting whether the parking brake is applied in the vehicle 10. The detection values ​​of these sensors are input to the control device 100.

[0050] Next, based on Figure 6 The flow of information processing executed by control device 100 according to this modification example will be described. Figure 6 This is the flow of information processing related to the opening control of the tailgate 11 based on remote control in this modification. Figure 4 Similarly, when the control device 100 receives the opening control command of the tailgate 11 from the management server 300, the control unit 110 executes the process. It should be noted that the processing from S101 to S104 in this process is the same as that in Figure 4 The processing in the steps with the same reference numerals in the illustrated flow is the same, and therefore, the description of the processing in these steps will be omitted.

[0051] In this flow, if a positive determination is made in S101, the process of S202 is then executed. In S202, it is determined whether the parking brake is applied to the vehicle 10 based on the detection value input from the parking brake sensor 16. If a negative determination is made in S202, that is, if the parking brake is not applied to the vehicle 10, the execution of this flow is temporarily terminated. In this case, the tailgate 11 is not opened in the vehicle 10. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in S202, the process of S102 is then executed.

[0052] In addition, in this flow, if a positive determination is made in S103, the process of S204 is then executed. In S204, it is determined whether the load Lm in the opening direction of the tailgate 11 applied to the tailgate motor 12 detected by the load sensor 15 is less than the predetermined load Lm0. Here, it is assumed that if the luggage placed in the vehicle 10 contacts the tailgate 11 and a load is applied to the tailgate 11 from the inside, the luggage may fall outside the vehicle if the tailgate 11 is opened. Therefore, the predetermined load Lm0 is set as a threshold value that can be determined that the load is not applied to the tailgate 11 from the inside of the vehicle 10. When the load is applied to the tailgate 11 from the inside of the vehicle 10, the load Lm in the opening direction of the tailgate 11 applied to the tailgate motor 12 becomes larger. Therefore, if the load Lm in the opening direction of the tailgate 11 applied to the tailgate motor 12 is less than the predetermined load Lm0, it can be determined that the load is not applied to the tailgate 11 from the inside of the vehicle 10.

[0053] If a negative determination is made in S205, that is, if a load is applied to the tailgate 11 from the interior of the vehicle 10, the execution of this flow is temporarily terminated. In this case, the tailgate 11 is not opened in the vehicle 10. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in S202, that is, if a load is not applied to the tailgate 11 from the interior of the vehicle 10, the process of S104 is then executed. That is, the opening control of the tailgate 11 is executed.

[0054] According to the above process, it is possible to prevent the tailgate 11 from opening due to remote control when the parking brake is not applied in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the tailgate 11 from opening due to remote control when the luggage placed in the vehicle 10 contacts the tailgate 11 and applies a load to the tailgate 11 from the inside. As a result, it is possible to prevent the luggage placed in the vehicle from falling outside the vehicle when the tailgate 11 is opened with a higher probability. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the safety related to the remote control of the tailgate 11 of the vehicle 10 can be further improved.

[0055] Other Implementations

[0056] The above-mentioned embodiment is only an example, and the present disclosure can be implemented with appropriate changes within the scope of the gist thereof. In addition, the processes and components described in the present disclosure can be implemented in combination as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0057] In addition, a process described as a process performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as a process performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, it is possible to flexibly change the hardware structure (server structure) by which each function is implemented.

[0058] The present disclosure can also be implemented in the following manner: a computer program having the functions described in the above embodiments is supplied to a computer, and one or more processors of the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program can be provided to the computer by a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium that can be connected to the system bus of the computer, or provided to the computer via a network. Non-volatile computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disk (floppy disk (registered trademark), hard disk drive (HDD)), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic card, flash memory or optical card, etc., any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

Claims

1. A control device mounted on a vehicle having a tailgate capable of remote control, wherein: The control device includes a control unit that executes the opening control of the tailgate when a predetermined condition is satisfied when receiving the opening control command of the tailgate from an external device. The predetermined conditions include: The driving of the power source of the vehicle is stopped, and the inclination angle of the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined conditions also include: No load is applied to the tailgate from inside the vehicle.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein: A sensor for detecting a load applied to a motor for opening and closing the tailgate is provided on the vehicle. The fact that no load is applied to the tailgate from the interior of the vehicle means that the load applied to the motor in the opening direction of the tailgate detected by the sensor is equal to or smaller than a predetermined load.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined conditions also include: The parking brake is applied in the vehicle. 5 . A vehicle comprising the control device according to claim 1 .

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