Article

Abstract

To provide an article for branching a signal from an antenna which transmits a signal in a vehicle.SOLUTION: A relay cable device 1 comprises a first connector 2 and a second connector 3, a relay cable 4 which relays therebetween, and a branch cable 5 which is branched from the relay cable 4. The relay cable device 1 is solely connected to an antenna in a vehicle. The first connector 2 is connected to an antenna side connector of the antenna, and the second connector 3 is connected to a cable side connector. A signal branched from the relay cable 4 by the branch cable 5 is transmitted to a vehicle repeater in the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, an object that transmits a signal. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, remote control has been performed in vehicles via wireless communication. Patent Document 1 shows an example of such technology. Patent Document 1 relates to a remote starting device for a vehicle. In Patent Document 1, remote control is performed as follows. First, the driver of the vehicle 1 carries the portable device 16 and operates the remote control 34 at a location away from the vehicle 1 to wirelessly transmit a remote control start signal from the remote control 34. When the wireless transceiver 32 of the in-vehicle device 30 receives this remote control start signal, it outputs an engine start signal SSW2 to the vehicle control unit 4. Upon receiving the engine start signal SSW2, the vehicle control unit 4 inquires of the verification control unit 6 about engine start permission, and the verification control unit 6 transmits a request signal from the wireless transceiver 18.

[0003] When the in-vehicle device 30 receives this request signal at the wireless transceiver unit 32, it amplifies the request signal and transfers it to the remote control 34. When the wireless transceiver unit 36 ​​of the remote control 34 receives the request signal, it transfers this request signal to the wireless transceiver unit 24 of the portable device 16. When the portable device 16 receives the request signal, it transmits a pin code signal including a pin code from the wireless transceiver unit 24 or transponder unit 26. When the remote control 34 receives this pin code signal, it amplifies the pin code signal and wirelessly transmits it from the wireless transceiver unit 36. When the vehicle-mounted device 30 receives this pin code signal, it transmits the pin code signal from the wireless transceiver 32 or the transponder 35 to the wireless transceiver 18 or the transponder 20 of the verification control unit 6. When the verification control unit 6 receives the pin code signal, it collates the reference code with the pin code. When the reference code and the pin code match, the verification control unit 6 outputs an engine start permission signal to the vehicle control unit 4. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-121791 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the remote control of Patent Document 1, when a signal is wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle side, the vehicle-mounted device 30, which is the receiving side, wirelessly receives the signal by the wireless transmission / reception unit 32. However, when receiving this signal wirelessly, the vehicle-mounted device 30 must be installed in a position and direction that optimizes the reception performance of the wireless transmission / reception unit 32 for radio waves. For this reason, the vehicle-mounted device 30 must be placed in a position and direction that provides the best reception performance while checking the indicator of the measuring device. Moreover, since the vehicle-mounted device 30 cannot be placed anywhere, it is quite difficult to place the vehicle-mounted device 30 and ensure reception performance, and it takes time to find such a place. Therefore, the inventor has realized the transmission of signals by connecting a device that transmits signals to the antenna without using wireless communication. In order to relay the signal from the antenna, it is preferable to place a device that splits the signal between the antenna and the wiring to the antenna. The device that splits the signal can be, for example, a relay cable device. A relay cable device is a device in which a pair of connectors are placed on both ends of one or more relay cables, and a branch cable is connected to the relay cable. The relay cable device is used by interposing the connectors of the relay cable device between the connectors on the antenna side to which the cable is connected. For example, it is possible to use an electrotap as a simple connector to connect a branch cable to the middle of the cable, but with a simple installation such as an electrotap, a poor connection may occur due to a mistake in the work depending on the skill of the worker.

[0006] When a relay cable device is attached for wired connection to an antenna, the following problems may arise, for example. (a) In many cases, connectors other than the intended connector are provided at the location where the relay cable device is attached on the cable path for branching from the antenna, and it is time-consuming to find the intended connector. It is difficult to know which connector to remove in order to insert the branch cable connector, and there is a problem in that, for example, when trying to remove a certain connector and insert the branch cable, one realizes that he has removed the wrong connector into which the branch cable cannot be inserted, and then removes another connector and realizes that he has removed the wrong connector into which the branch cable cannot be inserted. (b) There was a problem that connector shapes were not common among vehicle manufacturers, and even among vehicle models of the same manufacturer, connector shapes were not common among vehicle models. This was because how and to which connector a cable is connected is optimized according to the allocation of functions in the vehicle design, the sequence and ease of assembly, etc., depending on the vehicle manufacturer and vehicle model. Also, because the idea is to group cables together into a harness, the cable shape is not consistent depending on the vehicle model. Therefore, in order to accommodate these connectors, many different types of relay cable devices had to be prepared according to the differences in vehicle models. Therefore, molds for manufacturing many different types of connectors had to be prepared, which resulted in mold costs. In addition, workers had to perform tasks such as attaching relay cables to connectors and attaching branch cables in many different types of relay cable devices, which was troublesome, and the production had to be done in small lots. As a result, the labor costs of the relay cable devices were high. In addition, many types of relay cable devices had to be stocked, and storage space for them had to be secured. (c) Many connectors and cables are concentrated at the location where the relay cable device is to be installed, and it may be difficult to install the relay cable device at this location due to space limitations. While the above-mentioned problems arise when installing an antenna relay cable device, the inventors have examined the current state of antennas in various vehicle models and discovered that, at present, the same antennas for authenticating vehicle control are supplied exclusively regardless of the vehicle model or manufacturer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the various problems mentioned above. (1) In a vehicle that wirelessly transmits a signal into the vehicle cabin from an antenna installed in the vehicle and determines whether to allow a specified vehicle operation based on a response signal received from a portable device installed in the vehicle cabin, the device for acquiring the signal in another system that uses the signal preferably comprises a first connector that fits into one of a pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside, the pair of connectors being provided on wiring in the vehicle from a vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna, and a second connector that fits into the other connector, a relay line that relays the signal between the first connector and the second connector, and a branch line for acquiring the signal. This allows signals close to the antenna to be received by wire, for example. Also, unlike receiving signals wirelessly from an antenna, there is no need to take the time to set up other systems that use the signals. In addition, in order to address the above-mentioned issue (i), since other connectors are unlikely to be located in the position of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside, it is less likely that the desired connector will be found or that connectors will be mixed up. In addition, in order to address the above issue (b), since the connectors provided uniquely for the antennas are common, all that is required is a first connector and a second connector that mate with such connectors, and there is no need to prepare many different types of "things." Furthermore, in regard to the problem (c) above, since the antenna is disposed independently, it is advantageous in terms of space when attaching the "object."

[0008] Here, the "object" may be, for example, an object capable of transmitting a signal, for example, a structure that branches the wiring from the vehicle device to the antenna. The relay line or branch line may be, for example, a cable, and in particular, a wire body that is covered by itself. A first connector and a second connector may be attached to the cable. The relay line or branch line may be, for example, a printed circuit board on which the relay line and the branch line are arranged, and a connector that is connected to the relay line or the branch line may be formed on the printed circuit board, but it is particularly preferable to form the relay line or branch line from a connector member and a wiring member without providing a printed circuit board. In particular, the wiring member may be made of a flexible material. In this way, it is easy to bend and insert the relay line or branch line into a narrow empty space left in the vehicle or into different empty spaces between different vehicle models. The "vehicle that wirelessly transmits a signal from an antenna provided in the vehicle into the vehicle cabin and determines whether or not to permit a predetermined operation of the vehicle based on a response signal received from a portable device in the vehicle cabin" may be, for example, a vehicle control system that controls the vehicle by wirelessly exchanging signals between a vehicle control device and a portable device capable of wirelessly communicating with the vehicle control device. The vehicle control system may be, for example, a system that controls the vehicle when authentication information stored in the vehicle control device and authentication information stored in a portable device capable of wirelessly communicating with the vehicle control device satisfy a predetermined authentication condition. The "authentication information satisfies the predetermined authentication condition" may be, for example, a match between the predetermined authentication condition or a match between a different authentication condition calculated each time as the authentication condition. The "predetermined operation of the vehicle" may be, for example, starting the engine. The "other system using the signal" may be, for example, a relay system that relays wireless communication between a vehicle control device and a portable device capable of wireless communication with each other in a vehicle control system that controls a vehicle by wirelessly exchanging signals between the vehicle control device and the portable device. The devices constituting the relay system that relays wireless communication may be, for example, a first repeater disposed on the vehicle side and a second repeater carried together with the portable device. The pair of connectors "closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside" may have a structure in which, for example, the antenna side connector of the pair of connectors is exposed from the antenna housing as part of the antenna unit that is the antenna body, is directly fixed to the antenna housing, or is supported near the antenna housing by a connector (for example, a very short cable). For example, even if a connector connected to the internal circuit of the antenna unit is disposed inside the antenna housing, if that connector cannot be fitted with an external connector, it cannot be the connector "closest to the antenna" as defined here. The term "wiring" refers to any electrical connection, and may refer to not only conductors such as cables and wires, but also wiring that includes components such as resistors and capacitors. The same applies to other lines such as "relay lines" and "branch lines." The first connector may be, for example, a connector that fits into the antenna side connector of a pair of connectors closest to the antenna provided on wiring in the vehicle from the vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna, and the second connector may be, for example, a connector that fits into the vehicle device side connector of a pair of connectors closest to the antenna provided on wiring in the vehicle from the vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna.

[0009] (1-1) In a vehicle that wirelessly transmits a signal into the passenger compartment from an antenna installed in the vehicle and determines whether to allow a specific vehicle operation based on a response signal received from a portable device inside the passenger compartment, the device is for acquiring the signal in another system that uses the signal, and the wiring path in the vehicle from a vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna has multiple pairs of connectors, and preferably includes a first connector that fits into one of the pair of connectors having fewer wirings, and a second connector that fits into the other connector, a relay line that relays the signal between the first connector and the second connector, and a branch line for acquiring the signal. In this way, by connecting an "object" to a pair of connectors with fewer wirings, less work time is required to check the wiring during installation compared to when connecting to a pair of connectors with a relatively large number of wirings. The first and second connectors that fit the pair of connectors with fewer wirings do not become larger and do not incur manufacturing costs compared to when connecting to a pair of connectors with a relatively large number of wirings.

[0010] (1-2) In a vehicle that wirelessly transmits a signal from an antenna installed in the vehicle into the vehicle cabin and determines whether or not to permit a specific operation of the vehicle based on a response signal received from a portable device in the vehicle cabin, the device is for acquiring the signal in another system that uses the signal, and the wiring path in the vehicle from a device in the vehicle that generates the signal to the antenna has multiple pairs of connectors, Among the plurality of pairs of connectors, there are connectors in which a connector having a wiring other than the wiring leading to the antenna is disposed near the pair of connectors, and a connector in which a connector having a wiring other than the wiring leading to the antenna is not disposed near the pair of connectors, It is preferable to have a first connector that fits into one of the pair of connectors in the vicinity of which there is no connector connected to wiring other than the wiring leading to the antenna, a second connector that fits into the other connector, a relay line that relays signals between the first connector and the second connector, and a branch line for acquiring the signals. In this way, there are multiple connectors in the wiring path in the vehicle leading to the antenna, and the "thing" is connected to the pair of connectors that are closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. Since the "thing" cannot be connected to any of the multiple connectors in the wiring path in the vehicle leading to the antenna that are not closest to the antenna, the "thing" will not be connected to an area where many types of connectors are gathered, eliminating problems such as selecting the connector to be installed or picking up the wrong one. In particular, it is preferable to have a first connector, a second connector, a relay line, and a branch line that have both the configurations of (1) and (1-2). More preferably, it is preferable to have a first connector, a second connector, a relay line, and a branch line that have both the configurations of (1), (1-1), and (1-2).

[0011] (2) The wiring in the vehicle from the vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna is provided with a pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside, and one or more pairs of connectors that are not closest to the antenna, and wiring other than the wiring leading to the antenna is connected to the connectors that are not closest to the antenna, and the first and second connectors are preferably fitted into the connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. This is the idea of ​​fitting the first and second connectors to the connector of the pair having fewer wirings, for example. In this way, when wirings other than the wiring of the antenna material are connected to the "connector that is not closest to the antenna," many problems will occur if an "object" is placed on this "connector that is not closest to the antenna." For example, since multiple wires are concentrated in the "connector that is not closest to the antenna," it is difficult to tell at a glance what wire is for what. Therefore, first of all, it takes extra time to check the wiring during installation. Also, for example, since multiple wirings are connected, the "connector that is not closest to the antenna" tends to become larger, which increases material costs. Also, for example, the shape of the "connector that is not closest to the antenna" is not necessarily uniform for each vehicle model, so the type and number of wirings concentrated in the "connector that is not closest to the antenna" are not the same for each vehicle model. Therefore, in that case, the number of dies for manufacturing the first connector and the second connector of the "thing" increases, which increases the die cost. Also, for example, it is necessary to incorporate a corresponding number of relay wires according to the number of poles (number of terminals) of the first connector and the second connector of the "thing", which increases the labor cost. These factors also increase the manufacturing cost when manufacturing the "thing". Also, for example, when preparing many types of "things", it is necessary to secure a place to stock these many types of "things", and it is also time-consuming to select one that corresponds to the vehicle model from the many types of "things". On the other hand, if the first and second connectors are configured to be fitted into the connector closest to the antenna that is accessible from the outside, the above-mentioned problems will not arise, the installation work of the first and second connectors will be simplified, and the manufacturing costs of the first and second connectors will be reduced.

[0012] The reason why connectors are arranged midway along cables in vehicles is as follows. The cable that transmits the signal is connected with a connector at the boundary position of each area, for example, near the boundary between the engine room side and the instrument panel, or near the boundary between the engine room side and the passenger compartment side, to form a path. The reason that the cable is divided and connected with a connector in this way is that if the cable in a vehicle was connected to the target device in a single line without a connector along the way, it would be too difficult to handle the cable during the assembly process in vehicle manufacturing. For this reason, the cable in a vehicle is generally connected to the target device in the vehicle via a connector along the way. In addition, the same type of cables are bundled together to form a harness via one connector, and each harness has multiple different connectors. The location where the connectors are concentrated is generally near the above-mentioned boundary. The location where the connectors are concentrated is generally a place where workers can easily access the connector positions to connect the connectors when assembling the vehicle, and at the same time, it is good for workers to easily access the connector positions when maintaining and repairing the vehicle, so it is an appropriate location for arranging the connectors both empirically and efficiently. Therefore, the connectors are often stored in a storage space provided, for example, near the front lower part of the passenger seat.

[0013] (3) The wiring in the vehicle from the vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna is provided with a pair of connectors closest to the antenna that are accessible from the outside, and one or more pairs of connectors that are not closest to the antenna, and a connector to which wiring within the vehicle other than the wiring leading to the antenna is connected is located near the connector that is not closest to the antenna, and the first and second connectors are preferably fitted into the connector closest to the antenna that is accessible from the outside. With this configuration, the first and second connectors of the "object" can be fitted into the vehicle connector without any other connectors around them, allowing the worker to work with ample space. Also, the first and second connectors can be fitted into the connector closest to the antenna on the wiring leading to the antenna, so there is no risk of connector mix-up. On the other hand, if an "object" is to be placed on a pair of connectors that is not closest to the antenna, for example, it is necessary to distinguish between the connector that is originally intended to be attached and other connectors in the vicinity, which will waste time. Also, if the attachment area is narrow, the wiring of the connector will get in the way during attachment.

[0014] (4) Of the pair of connectors closer to the antenna, either the first or second connector that mates with the connector on the antenna side should preferably be a connector that mates with a connector provided on the antenna. The inventors actually disassembled and examined many cars distributed in various countries, and found that in vehicles in which a signal is wirelessly transmitted from an antenna installed in the vehicle to the vehicle interior and a response signal received from a portable device in the vehicle interior is used to determine whether or not to permit a specific operation of the vehicle, the antenna uses a common connector among different models of the same manufacturer, and also among different models of different manufacturers. On the other hand, they also found that such a possibility is low for other connectors. Since the connector closest to the antenna is common even among different models, one type of "thing" having a first connector and a second connector that fit into that connector is sufficient for most models. At least, the number of types can be significantly reduced compared to connectors that fit into other connectors. Therefore, there is no need to secure the manufacturing costs of manufacturing many types of connectors and the space to stock those many types of connectors. Here, the "connector provided on the antenna" may be, for example, a connector fixed directly to the housing of the antenna, or may be exposed from the housing of the antenna as part of the antenna unit contained within the housing, or may be a connector fixed to a connection other than the housing (for example, a very short cable) that extends slightly from the antenna side. (5) Of the pair of connectors closer to the antenna, either the first or second connector that mates with the connector on the antenna side may be a connector that mates with a connector fixed to the antenna side. This allows the antenna and the connector on the antenna side to be integrated, eliminating the need to prepare many different types of connectors on the antenna side and promoting the standardization of the antenna side connector. As a result, the shape of the connector that fits with the many types of antenna side connectors will also be standardized, eliminating the need to prepare many different types.

[0015] (6) It is preferable that the first connector and the second connector are also capable of being fitted with a pair of connectors that are not closest to the antenna and are provided on wiring in the vehicle leading to the antenna, which is provided on the vehicle device side that generates the signal, rather than the pair of connectors that are closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside of the wiring path leading to the pair of connectors that are closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. This means that when two or more pairs of connectors are formed on the path of "wiring in the vehicle from the vehicle device that generates the signal to the antenna," the first connector and the second connector of the "object" can be connected to either connector, thereby increasing the freedom of the mounting position of the "object."

[0016] (7) It is preferable that the first connector and the second connector are mateable with a pair of connectors closest to the antenna that are accessible from the outside and are positioned in a location that is relatively less accessible than the connector that is not closest to the antenna. In such a configuration, for example, if the first and second connectors of the "object" are attached to a connector that is not close to the antenna, many other connectors tend to be concentrated in an easily accessible location where the connector that is not close to the antenna is located, making it difficult to find the connector that is not close to the antenna and is the target for placing the "object". In addition, there is not necessarily enough space to place a new "object", so installation may be difficult. On the other hand, in a difficult-to-access location where the "connector closest to the antenna" is located, many other connectors are unlikely to be concentrated, making it easy to find the target "connector closest to the antenna". In addition, there is also space available because connectors other than the "connector closest to the antenna" are unlikely to be concentrated. Therefore, by attaching the "object" to such a location, it is expected that the worker's work time will be reduced and the connectors will be less likely to be mixed up.

[0017] (8) The vehicle may be provided with a plurality of antennas for wirelessly transmitting signals into the vehicle cabin, and the first connector and the second connector may be connectors that mate with the connector closest to the antenna that is accessible from the outside and is on the path to the antenna that is located closest to the center of the vehicle among the plurality of antennas provided in the vehicle. If the first connector and the second connector are attached to such a "connector closest to the antenna," they can be easily accessed from any direction in the vehicle, facilitating the installation of the first connector and the second connector to the "connector closest to the antenna."

[0018] (9) The other system that utilizes the signal is a system that requires connection to at least a push switch, an ignition switch, a brake signal line, and a power source of the vehicle, and the vehicle is provided with a plurality of antennas that wirelessly transmit signals into the passenger compartment, and the first connector and the second connector are preferably connectors that mate with the connector that is closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside and is on the path to the antenna that is located accessible from the driver's seat among the plurality of antennas provided in the vehicle. The vehicle's push switch, ignition switch, brake signal line, and power supply are all positioned in front of the driver's seat in a location that can be accessed and connected from the driver's seat inside the vehicle, and the connector that mates with the connector closest to the antenna on the path to the antenna is also located in a location that can be accessed from the driver's seat, so wiring work to other systems that use signals can be concentrated in one place, improving work efficiency. (10) The vehicle is provided with a plurality of antennas which wirelessly transmit signals into the vehicle cabin, and the plurality of antennas have a common pair of connectors which are closest to the antennas and accessible from the outside, and the first connector and the second connector are preferably disposed between the connector closest to the antenna of one of the antennas. This allows the worker to select an antenna located in an easy-to-work position and attach the "object." (11) It is preferable that the antenna is disposed near the center of the vehicle in the width direction. This allows workers to choose an antenna that is easy for them to work with and attach the "object." In particular, if the antenna is located near the center of the vehicle's width, work can be done from either side of the vehicle, and the work area is secured, which is good for work.

[0019] (12) It is preferable that the shape of the first connector is such that the antenna side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside can be fitted together, and that the shape of the first connector is different from the shape of the wiring side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. In this way, even if the first connector is configured so that it has a different connection portion shape from the wiring side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna, both are capable of fitting together and connecting with the antenna side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a connector with the same shape as the wiring side connector for the first connector. For example, it is possible to use a connector that is already available as a mass-produced product as the first connector. This eliminates the need for a mold to manufacture the first connector, and significantly reduces the manufacturing costs related to the connector.

[0020] (13) It is preferable that the number of terminals of the second connector and the inter-terminal pitch are configured to be the same as that of the antenna side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside, and that the shape of the guide portion of the second connector that guides the wiring side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside for mating is made different from that of the antenna side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. As long as the shape of the guide portion is such that the terminals of the connectors can be connected to each other, the shape of the second connector and the shape of the connector on the antenna side can be different, and connectors with a variety of different guide portion shapes can be applied, with the number of terminals and the pitch between the terminals being the only essential conditions, thereby significantly reducing the manufacturing costs of the connectors. (14) It is preferable that the first connector has a connecting portion having the same shape as the wiring side connector of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside. This eliminates the need to prepare separate first connectors and wiring-side connectors, and allows for commonality of parts, resulting in cost reduction.

[0021] (15) The other system utilizing the signal may be a system installed in the vehicle and equipped with a function of wirelessly transmitting a signal based on the signal at least to the outside of the vehicle cabin. Since there is little degradation in the signal obtained from the antenna, other systems can perform accurate transmission operations when wirelessly transmitting this signal to the outside of the vehicle cabin based on the signal. The signal to be wirelessly transmitted may be, for example, a signal used when determining whether authentication information stored in the vehicle control device and authentication information stored in a portable device capable of wirelessly communicating with the vehicle control device satisfy a predetermined authentication condition. When wirelessly transmitting the signal to the outside of the vehicle cabin, the signal should be transmitted at a frequency higher than the frequency at which other systems receive the signal and at a power higher than the power of the wireless transmission. (16) The other system utilizing the signal may be a system that wirelessly relays the signal to a portable device outside the vehicle cabin, relays a response signal to the relayed signal from the portable device outside the vehicle cabin, and generates the response signal that can be received by the vehicle. With such a system, there is little degradation of the signal obtained via a wired connection from the antenna, so that when other systems wirelessly transmit this signal to outside the vehicle cabin, the transmission can be performed accurately, and the response signal from the portable unit outside the vehicle cabin is also accurate. (17) The determination of whether or not to permit a specified operation of the vehicle is made by exchanging authentication information on the vehicle control device side and authentication information on the portable device side, and it is preferable that the specified operation of the vehicle is permitted when specified authentication conditions are met. In this way, by permitting a predetermined operation of the vehicle when the authentication conditions are met, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from malfunctioning. The above-mentioned inventions (1) to (17), (1-1), and (1-2) can be arbitrarily combined. For example, the invention may not have all or a part of (1) but may have at least one of the other configurations (2) to (17). However, it is particularly preferable to have the configuration (1) and to have a combination with at least one of the configurations (2) to (17). It is particularly preferable to have the configuration (1-1) and to have a combination with a component described in at least one of the configurations (1) to (17). It is particularly preferable to have the configuration (1-2) and to have a combination with a component described in at least one of the configurations (1) to (17). Any component of each of the inventions (1) to (17), (1-1), and (1-2) may be extracted and combined with other components. Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, for example, a signal close to an antenna can be received by wire. Also, unlike when a signal is received wirelessly from an antenna, there is no need to take the time to set up other systems that use the signal. In addition, as an effect on the above problem (i), since it is unlikely that other connectors will be placed in the position of the pair of connectors closest to the antenna and accessible from the outside, it is less likely that the desired connector will be found or that connectors will be mixed up. In addition, as an effect on the above problem (b), since the connectors provided uniquely for the antennas are common, all that is required is a first connector and a second connector that mate with such connectors, and there is no need to prepare many different types of "things." In addition, as an effect of the above objective (C), since the antenna is placed alone, it is advantageous in terms of space when attaching the "object." [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a relay cable device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1A is a perspective view of a first connector and a cable side connector of the relay cable device, and FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2A is a front view of the first connector of the relay cable device, and FIG. [Figure 4] (a) is a rear view of the antenna, and (b) is a side view of the antenna fixed to the vehicle. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the wiring state of a relay cable device from a vehicle repeater. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing the position of the antenna inside the vehicle and the connection position of the relay cable device of the vehicle repeater. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the mating relationship of the first connector to the antenna-side connector of the antenna, where (a) is a state before mating and (b) is a state after mating is completed. [Figure 8] 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the mating relationship of the cable side connector to the second connector, where (a) is a state before mating and (b) is a state after mating is completed. [Figure 9] 13 is a partially broken cross-sectional plan view illustrating a state in the middle of inserting the cable side connector into the second connector; FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of a vehicle remote control system including a relay system. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the electrical configuration and signal exchange of a vehicle remote control system including a relay system. [Figure 12] FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a path from an antenna to a vehicle control device in an embodiment, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a path from an antenna to a vehicle control device in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. These drawings are used to explain technical features that may be adopted by the present invention. The configurations and shapes of the devices described are merely illustrative examples. The present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto, and various changes, modifications, and improvements may be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a relay cable device 1 which transmits a signal of the present invention. The relay cable device 1 is composed of a first connector 2, a second connector 3, two relay cables 4 which connect metal terminals in the first and second connectors 2, 3, and a branch cable 5 which branches off from either of the relay cables 4 on the hot side. As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3(a), 5, 8, etc., the plastic housing 6 of the first connector 2 is manufactured by injection molding using a mold. However, other manufacturing methods using a mold, such as extrusion molding, may also be used. The first connector 2 is a connector of the same shape as the cable side connector 46 described later, and is not a connector specific to the application at this position, but a general-purpose product that is widely available. In the following explanation, the face shown in Figure 3(a) is the front. The housing 6 has a terminal accommodating section 7. The terminal accommodating section 7 is a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is flat in the vertical direction, and the frontmost surface is a contact surface 7a formed in a plane. The upper surface of the terminal accommodating section 7 is formed in a plane such that the rear side is one step higher than the front side (in this embodiment, the height difference is, for example, 0.5 mm). Inside the terminal accommodating section 7, three through holes 8 are formed that are arranged on the same plane in the horizontal direction and communicate in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the through holes 8 are partitioned from adjacent through holes 8 inside the terminal accommodating section 7 by a partition wall 9. The frontmost surface of the through holes 8 is a terminal insertion opening 10 that has a square outer shape that is narrowed to a small diameter. The adjacent through holes 8 (and the terminal insertion opening 10) are spaced equally apart, and the central one of the three through holes 8 is arranged in the center of the terminal accommodating section 7 in the left-right width direction.

[0026] A swinging portion 11 is integrally formed below the terminal accommodating portion 7. The swinging portion 11 is a swingable portion extending backward in a cantilever shape below the terminal accommodating portion 7 with the front side of the terminal accommodating portion 7 as a base. The swinging portion 11 is formed with a width slightly smaller than that of the terminal accommodating portion 7. The swinging portion 11 has a horizontal portion 11A extending backward parallel to the bottom surface 7b of the terminal accommodating portion 7 near the base, and an operating portion 11B extending obliquely downward from the horizontal portion 11A near the tip. The swinging portion 11 generates a biasing force inside the swinging portion 11, which acts as a spring force to return to the original position, by operating the operating portion 11B to swing the swinging portion 11 so as to approach the terminal accommodating portion 7 with the base as a center. The front surface of the base of the swinging portion 11 is formed flush with the abutting surface 7a of the terminal accommodating portion 7, and is configured so that the front surface of the base of the swinging portion 11 does not interfere with the fitting operation when the first connector 2 is used. A bottom surface 11 a of the base of the swinging portion 11 serves as a guide surface when the first connector 2 is fitted into the second connector 3 . A protruding claw 12 is formed on the underside of the swinging portion 11. A tapered surface 12a is formed on the claw 12 at a gentle angle toward the front side, which is the advancing direction of the first connector 2, so that the claw 12 abuts against an abutment portion in the advancing direction. A pair of legs 13 extending downward are formed on the rear side of the terminal accommodating portion 7 at both ends in the left and right direction. The legs 13 are formed to guide the claw 12 when it swings and to protect the claw 12.

[0027] A pair of side rails 14 extending linearly in the front-to-rear direction (longitudinal direction) of the terminal accommodating portion 7 are formed on the left and right side positions of the terminal accommodating portion 7. The side rails 14 are formed at opposing left and right positions of the housing 6 along the bottom surface 7b of the terminal accommodating portion 7. The positions at which the side rails 14 are formed are slightly below the center of the vertical width of the housing 6 (here, the distance L1 shown in FIG. 3(a)). Two female terminals 15 are disposed as metal terminals in the terminal accommodating portion 7. Each female terminal 15 is disposed in two of the three through holes 8 on either side of the terminal accommodating portion 7. Each female terminal 15 is accommodated in the front portion of the through hole 8 and is connected to one end of the relay cable 4 led from the rear opening 18 of the through hole 8 into the terminal accommodating portion 7 via a crimp terminal 16. The vertical width distance L1 from the terminal accommodating portion 7 in the front of the housing 6 to the base of the swinging portion 11 is 6.5 mm. The horizontal width dimension L2 of the terminal accommodating portion 7 of the housing 6 is 7.2 mm, and the horizontal width dimension including both side rails 14 is 10 mm. These sizes are merely examples.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3(b), 5, 8, 9, etc., the plastic housing 21 of the second connector 3 is manufactured by injection molding using a mold. However, like the first connector 2, other manufacturing methods using a mold, such as extrusion molding, may also be used. The second connector 3 is not the same shape as the antenna side connector 37 described later, but has a different shape, and is not a connector specific to the application at this position, but a general-purpose product that is widely available. In the following explanation, the face shown in Figure 3(b) is the front. The housing 21 has a terminal accommodating portion 22. The terminal accommodating portion 22 is a rectangular parallelepiped that is flat in the vertical direction, and a tubular portion 23 is integrally formed in front of the terminal accommodating portion 22. The terminal accommodating portion 22 and the tubular portion 23 are configured to have the same width in the left-right direction, and the tubular portion 23 is configured to protrude slightly downward in the vertical direction. The tubular portion 23 is a bottomed cylinder whose outer periphery is formed into a rounded rectangle, and the bottomed portion, i.e., the innermost part, is the front surface 22a formed on the plane of the terminal accommodating portion 22. A pair of guide rails 24 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the bottom surface 23a of the cylindrical portion 23. Each guide rail 24 is disposed equidistant from the adjacent left and right inner wall surfaces (i.e. equidistant from the left and right sides of a straight line extending in the front-rear direction passing through the center of the left-right direction inside the cylindrical portion 23). Both guide rails 24 extend from the opening 25 position to the front surface 22a of the terminal accommodating portion 22. The mutual distance between both guide rails 24 is configured to be slightly larger than the width of the housing 6 of the first connector 2, so that the housing 6 can be disposed therebetween. The height from the bottom surface 23a of the cylindrical portion 23 to the upper surfaces of both guide rails 24 corresponds to the length from the base bottom surface 11a of the swinging portion 11 of the first connector 22 to the lower surface of the side rail 14. A shallow ridge 26 is formed between both guide rails 24 and at a position facing the opening 25 of the cylindrical portion 23. As shown in Figures 2(b) and 8(a)(b), the ridge portion 26 extends in the left-right direction near the opening 25, then bends 90 degrees at both ends and extends along the side rails 14 to the front surface 22a of the terminal accommodating portion 22. The vertical distance L3 between the upper surface of the ridge portion 26 in the internal space of the cylindrical portion 23 and the ceiling surface 23b inside the cylindrical portion 23 is 7 mm, and the horizontal distance L4 is 14 mm. These sizes are just an example.

[0029] Inside the terminal accommodating portion 22, a plurality of (five in this embodiment) through holes 28 are formed, which are arranged on the same horizontal plane and communicate in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the through holes 28 are partitioned from adjacent through holes 28 inside the terminal accommodating portion 22 by partition walls 29. The frontmost through holes 28 are terminal projection openings 30 having a square outer shape with a small diameter. Five terminal projection openings 30 are exposed horizontally in the lateral direction on the front surface 22a of the terminal accommodating portion 22. The adjacent through holes 28 (and terminal projection openings 30) are spaced evenly, and the central through hole 28 is located in the center of the terminal accommodating portion 22 in the left-right width direction. The spacing between the respective through holes 28 is set to be the same as the spacing between the respective through holes 8 of the terminal accommodating portion 7 of the first connector 2. Two male terminals 31 are disposed as metal terminals in the terminal accommodating portion 22. Each male terminal 31 is disposed in the second and fourth positions in the row of through-holes 28 of the terminal accommodating portion 22. When disposed, the distance between the two male terminals 31 matches the distance between the female terminals 15 on the first connector 2 side. Each male terminal 31 is accommodated in the through-hole 28 near the front surface 22a of the terminal accommodating portion 22, with its front end protruding into the tubular portion 23. Each male terminal 31 is connected, via a crimp terminal 32, to the other end of the relay cable 4 led from the rear opening 33 of the through-hole 28 into the terminal accommodating portion 22. 1 and 5, a branch cable 5 is connected to the middle (e.g., at the middle position) of one of two relay cables 4 that is the hot side of the two relay cables 4 arranged between the first connector 2 and the second connector 3. The connection portion of the branch cable 5 is protected by being wrapped with a rubber sleeve 34.

[0030] The relay cable device 1 having such a configuration is used to directly connect to the base position of the antenna 35 shown in Fig. 4. The antenna 35 is initially placed inside the vehicle, and in the default state where a relay system described later is not installed, the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35 is fitted into the cable side connector 46 as shown in Fig. 12(a). As shown in Fig. 2(a), the cable side connector 46 has the same shape as the first connector 2. In this embodiment, when the relay system is installed, the fitted state between the antenna side connector 37 and the cable side connector 46 is released, and the relay cable device 1 is connected therebetween for use. First, the antenna 35 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of (three in this embodiment) antennas 35A-35C are disposed at different locations in the vehicle C, specifically, in three locations in this embodiment: inside the console box, under the rear seat, and under the floor inside the trunk. In this embodiment, the locations are all at the center in the width direction of the vehicle C. None of these locations are at locations where other connectors or other devices connected to cables disposed in the vehicle are disposed. In addition, these locations are easily accessible to workers, but are hidden and not visible when the vehicle is normally in the vehicle. The antenna 35 is an antenna that is originally disposed in the vehicle to transmit radio waves with a frequency of 134 kHz used when wirelessly transmitting LF data such as various command data at the first frequency, as will be described later. A cable 47 extends from each antenna 35 and is connected to a vehicle control device 50 disposed near "B" indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6 via a pair of connectors 48 stored in a connector / cable storage space (not shown) under the passenger seat in the vehicle C disposed near "A" indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6. As shown in Fig. 12(a), in addition to cable 47, a relay cable that is connected to other devices is connected to connector 48. Most vehicles, not just vehicle C, even other models and models from different manufacturers use this antenna 35 as a common specification. In addition to connector 48 connected to cable 47 that is led to antenna 35, other connectors are also stored in the storage space "A" indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 4, the antenna 35 is composed of an antenna housing 36 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, an antenna unit 40 housed in the antenna housing 36, and an antenna side connector 37 exposed to the outside from the rear end side of the antenna housing 36 in the longitudinal direction as a part of the antenna unit 40. In other words, the antenna side connector 37 is integrally formed as a part of the antenna 35. In the following description, the right side of Fig. 4(b) is regarded as the front side. The antenna housing 36 is fixed to a catch 39 fixed to the vehicle C side via a fixing connector 38 attached to the side (top surface in Fig. 4(b)). As shown in Figs. 4(a)(b), 7(a)(b), etc., the antenna side connector 37 is in the shape of a cylinder with an opening at the rear. The antenna side connector 37 is a bottomed cylinder with an outer circumferential shape formed into a rounded rectangle, and the bottomed part, i.e., the innermost part, is the rear surface 40a of the antenna unit 40. The left-right spacing L5 in the internal space of the antenna side connector 37 is 7.5 mm, and the up-down spacing L6 is 7 mm. The left-right spacing L5 of the antenna side connector 37 is a shape that allows the housing 6 to fit snugly in the left-right direction when the cable side connector 46 is mated, while the second connector 3 is wider in the left-right direction than the antenna side connector 37, so that a gap is generated in the left-right direction when the cable side connector 46 is mated (it fits snugly in both the up-down direction). A pair of left and right guide grooves 41 extending in the front-rear direction are formed in the left and right inner walls 37a of the antenna side connector 37. The guide grooves 41 extend from the opening 42 of the antenna side connector 37 to the rear surface 40a of the antenna unit 40. The guide grooves 41 are formed in positions facing each other and are arranged in positions slightly shifted to one side (downward in FIG. 4(a)) from the center in the up-down direction. A square through hole 43 communicating with the inside and outside is formed near the rear of the bottom inner wall 37b of the antenna side connector 37 closer to the guide groove 41. Ridges 44 are formed on the bottom inner wall 37b on three sides around the through hole 43 (the opening 42 side and the adjacent left and right sides) surrounding the through hole 43. As shown in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 7, two male terminals 45 as metal terminals are arranged protruding from the rear surface 40a of the antenna unit 40 toward the inside of the antenna side connector 37 at the rear. The male terminals 45 are arranged at a position closer to the ceiling wall 37c than the guide groove 41, and extend parallel to the surface of the ceiling wall 37c. The distance between the two male terminals 45 is exactly the same as the distance between the two male terminals 31 on the second connector 3 side. The pair of male terminals 45 are also arranged at the center position in the left-right direction in the antenna side connector 37 (i.e., the distance between the male terminals 45 and the inner wall 37a closer to the left or right is the same). The distance between the male terminals 45 and the ceiling wall 37c is the same as the distance between the male terminals 31 and the ceiling surface 23b of the tube portion 23.

[0032] Next, a description will be given of the operation when the first connector 2 of the relay cable device 1 is fitted into the antenna side connector 37. As described above, this operation is performed by releasing the default state in which the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35 and the cable side connector 46 are fitted together as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the worker places the abutment surface 7a of the first connector 2 facing the opening 42 on the antenna side connector 37 side, and moves the first connector 2 relatively close to the antenna side connector 37 so that it fits into the antenna side connector 37 (this can also be seen as one-sided advancement). When the side rails 14 on both sides of the housing 6 of the first connector 2 are moved relatively close to each other so that they fit into the left and right guide grooves 41 of the antenna side connector 37, the housing 6 of the first connector 2 is accommodated smoothly in the antenna side connector 37 because the outer shape of the housing 6 is almost perfectly matched with the inner shape of the first connector 2. In addition, the base bottom surface 11a of the swinging part 11 (which becomes the bottom surface of the housing 6) also slides and moves on the bottom inner wall 37b. In this way, the female terminal 15 of the first connector 2 side is positioned exactly in front of the male terminal 45 of the antenna side connector 37 while being guided by the guide grooves 41, the side rails 14, and the bottom surface and bottom inner wall 37b of the housing 6. In this case, even if one of them, for example the first connector 2, is inverted 180 degrees, the side rail 14 will not fit into the guide groove 41. This is because both the guide groove 41 and the side rail 14 are formed at positions offset from the center in the vertical direction, and therefore if the housing 6 of the first connector 2 is turned upside down, the housing 6 will collide with the vicinity of the opening 42 of the antenna-side connector 37. This eliminates problems such as male terminals 45 being unable to be inserted into female terminals 15 and breaking when they hit the first connector 2 due to incorrect upside-down arrangement. When the housing 6 is further moved closer to the antenna connector 37 after the tip of the housing 6 is fitted inside the antenna connector 37, the operation part 11B of the swinging part 11 comes into contact with the lower part of the opening 42 of the antenna connector 37 as it advances because the tip side of the operation part 11B is lowered, and as it approaches, the swinging part 11 is pushed upward and biased. As the two approach, the male terminal 45 is inserted into the female terminal 15, and the terminals are connected to each other. When the first connector 2 is fitted into the antenna connector 37, the tapered surface 12a of the claw 12 of the swinging part 11 becomes a guide surface, and the claw 12 moves over the ridge portion 44 to the through hole 43 position, and the biasing force on the swinging part 11 is released, and the swinging part 11 moves downward and the claw 12 engages with the through hole 43 on the connector 37 side (the state shown in FIG. 7(b)). In this state, the first connector 2 is housed inside the antenna connector 37 and held at its innermost position. On the other hand, when it is to be removed, the swinging portion 11 is operated to release the engagement state of the claw 12 with the through hole 43, and the two are moved relatively in the opposite direction.

[0033] Next, a description will be given of the fitting operation between the second connector 3 of the relay cable device 1 and the cable side connector 46. Since the cable side connector 46 has exactly the same shape as the first connector 2, the components of the cable side connector 46 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first connector 2, and detailed description will be omitted. As shown in Fig. 12(a), a cable 47 extends from the cable side connector 46, and is connected to a vehicle control device 50 via a connector 48 on the path of the cable 47. As shown in Fig. 8(a), the worker arranges the abutment surface 7a of the cable side connector 46 so as to face the opening 25 on the antenna side connector 37 side, and moves the cable side connector 46 relatively close so as to be fitted into the tube part 23 of the second connector 3 (this can also be seen as one of them moving forward). As shown in Fig. 9, the left and right width of the lower part of the housing 6 of the cable side connector 46 (horizontal part 11A of the swing part 11) fits exactly into the gap between the pair of guide rails 24 of the second connector 3, so that the housing 6 is smoothly accommodated in the second connector 3 using the guide rails 24 as a guide. In addition, although the side rails 14 of the cable side connector 46 do not play a role of a guide, the housing 6 fitted into the tube part 23 is placed exactly on the guide rails 24 with the base bottom surface 11a of the swing part 11 (which becomes the bottom surface of the housing 6) abutting against the bottom surface 23a inside the tube part 23, so that rattling in the vertical direction when the two are approaching each other is prevented. With the housing 6 guided by the guide rails 24 in this manner, the female terminals 15 of the cable connector 46 are positioned exactly in front of the male terminals 31 of the second connector 3 . In this case, even if one of them, for example cable-side connector 46, is turned 180 degrees, side rail 14 will not fit into guide groove 41. This is because the upper part of housing 6 (terminal accommodating portion 7 side) is formed slightly wider and would hit side rail 14. This eliminates problems such as male terminals 45 not being able to be inserted into female terminals 15 due to incorrect upside-down arrangement and hitting cable-side connector 46 and breaking. When the housing 6 is further moved closer to the cylindrical portion 23 at the stage where the tip side of the operating portion 11B of the swinging portion 11 is lowered, the operating portion 11B comes into contact with the lower portion of the opening 25 in the cylindrical portion 23 as it advances, and the swinging portion 11 is pushed upward and biased as it approaches. Also, as the two approach, the male terminal 45 is inserted into the female terminal 15, and the terminals are connected to each other. When the cable side connector 46 is fitted into the antenna side connector 37, the tapered surface 12a of the claw 12 of the swinging portion 11 becomes a guide surface, and when it goes over the ridge portion 26, the biasing force on the swinging portion 11 is released, and the swinging portion 11 moves downward and the claw 12 engages with the ridge portion 26 (the state of FIG. 8(b)). In this state, the cable side connector 46 is stored in the cylindrical portion 23 of the second connector 3 and is held at its innermost position. On the other hand, when it is to be removed, the swinging portion 11 is operated to release the engagement between the claws 12 and the ridges 26, and the two are moved relatively in the opposite direction. In this way, the first and second connectors 2, 3 of the relay cable device 1 are connected to the base position of the antenna 35 (between the antenna side connector 37 and the cable side connector 46), and then the tip side of the branch cable 5 is connected to the vehicle repeater 51 that constitutes the relay system described below.

[0034] Next, an overview of a vehicle remote control system in which such a relay cable device 1 is disposed between the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35 and the cable side connector 46 will be described. As shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, the vehicle remote control system includes a vehicle control device 50, a vehicle repeater 51, a portable repeater 52, and a portable device 53. Note that Fig. 11 shows only the basic configuration necessary for explaining the outline of the vehicle remote control system, and the vehicle remote control system may include other configurations besides this configuration. The vehicle remote control system is basically a system that controls a predetermined operation of the vehicle, such as starting the engine, under one of the conditions that authentication information stored in the portable device 53, which is called a smart key or portable key, matches authentication information stored in the vehicle control device 50. The vehicle repeater 51 and the portable repeater 52 are a relay system that is interposed between the vehicle control device 50 and the portable device 53, and by interposing the relay system, it is possible to determine whether or not to permit a predetermined operation of the vehicle even if the portable device 53 is not present in or near the vehicle.

[0035] The vehicle control device 50 is a device for controlling a specific device of a vehicle. The control of the specific device is, for example, for starting the vehicle to a state in which it can run in response to a user operation such as pressing a push start button, and includes, for example, turning on a starter motor (engine start) in an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, or turning on a power source to an electric motor in an electric automobile powered by an electric motor. Prior to controlling the device of the vehicle to be controlled, the vehicle control device 50 performs control such as starting the engine, with one of the conditions being that authentication information stored in the portable device 53 matches authentication information stored in the vehicle control device 50. In order to perform such control, the vehicle control device 50 and the portable device 53 are configured to be capable of wireless communication with each other. In order to perform such processing, the vehicle control device 50 includes a control unit 50a, a transmission / reception unit 50b, and an authentication information storage unit 50c.

[0036] The control unit 50a is configured with, for example, an MPU, etc. The control unit 50a has a function of outputting a control signal for controlling the equipment of the vehicle to be controlled, and a function of outputting command data and the like when communicating with other devices, such as a response request signal (LF data) for confirming the presence of the authorized portable device 53, based on the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage unit 50c. The transceiver 50b performs wireless communication with the transceiver mounted on the portable device 53 and the vehicle repeater 51. The transceiver 50b is, for example, a transceiver RFIC mounted on a vehicle. The transceiver 1b has a function of wirelessly transmitting LF data such as various command data output from the control unit 50a at a first frequency, a function of receiving RF data such as command data wirelessly transmitted from another device at a second frequency, and a function of passing the RF data to the control unit 50a. The second frequency is higher than the first frequency, and the communication distance of the RF data using the second frequency is also long. For example, the first frequency is 134 kHz, and the second frequency is 314 MHz. As shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle control device 50 includes an antenna 35 for transmitting the first frequency and an antenna 61 for receiving the second frequency, which are connected to the transceiver 50b. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, three transmitting antennas 35A to 35C are arranged in the vehicle, and the receiving antenna 61 is arranged, for example, in a C-pillar behind the driver's seat.

[0037] The vehicle repeater 51 is disposed at a selectable predetermined position in the vehicle, for example, a position near the center console box in front of the passenger seat or on the back of the dashboard, where it does not interfere with getting in or driving. The vehicle repeater 51 includes a control unit 51a that controls the vehicle repeater 51, a first vehicle side transmitting / receiving unit 51b for performing wired communication with the vehicle control device 50, and a second vehicle side transmitting / receiving unit 51c for performing wireless communication with the portable repeater 52. The control unit 51a is configured, for example, by an MPU or the like. The first vehicle side transmitting / receiving unit 51b and the second vehicle side transmitting / receiving unit 51c are each configured, for example, by an in-vehicle transmitting / receiving RFIC. The branch cable 5 of the relay cable device 1 relayed between the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35A and the cable side connector 46 is connected to the vehicle repeater 51.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 5, in addition to the relay cable device 1, a plurality of other relay cable devices 63-66 (for example, four in this embodiment) are arranged in the vehicle repeater 51. The other relay cable devices 63-66 are each connected between a pair of connectors provided at a predetermined position of the vehicle that is connected to devices in a plurality of vehicles, and branch the target signal (or power) and lead it to the vehicle repeater 51 by a cable. Only the relay cable device 1 is connected to a device in a single vehicle (for example, antenna 35A in this embodiment). The first other relay cable 63 is connected near "C" (behind the audio) as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The second other relay cable 64 is connected near "D" (push switch) as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The third other relay cable 65 is connected near "C" (behind the audio) as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The fourth other relay cable 66 is connected near "E" (brake switch) as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The power or signals branched off from the relay cable device 1 and each of the other relay cables 63-66 are collected at a connector 67 fixed to the housing of the vehicle repeater 51 and led to the inside of the vehicle repeater 51 at one location. A fuse 67, a body earth 68, and a connector 69 for options, etc. are extended from the relay cable device 1 by cables to the connector 67.

[0039] The first vehicle-side transmitting / receiving unit 51b transmits and receives data to and from the transmitting / receiving unit 50b of the vehicle control device 50, receives radio waves transmitted by wired communication from the antenna 35A in the transmission frequency band (first frequency) of the transmitting / receiving unit 50b, and transmits the radio waves wirelessly in the second frequency. The second vehicle-side transmitting / receiving unit 51c uses radio waves in a frequency band used by a specific low-power radio station. By using this specific low-power wireless communication, the communication distance is, for example, about 1 to 2 km in line of sight, and even if there is an obstacle, it is, for example, about several hundred meters. As shown in Fig. 10, the vehicle repeater 51 is provided with an antenna 70 for transmitting the second frequency connected to the first vehicle side transceiver 51b, and an antenna 71 for transmitting and receiving specific low-power wireless communication connected to the second vehicle side transceiver 51c. Although the antenna 71 is shown in Fig. 10 as an antenna for both transmission and reception, it may be an antenna for separate transmission and reception.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vehicle repeater 51 and the vehicle control device 50 are connected by a communication cable for wired communication. The control unit 2a of the vehicle repeater 51 uses this wired communication to transmit a foot brake signal and an engine start request signal. The foot brake signal is a signal corresponding to a signal output when the foot brake pedal of the vehicle is depressed. The engine start request signal is a signal corresponding to a signal output when, for example, the push start button of the vehicle is pressed.

[0041] Portable repeater 52 is carried together with portable device 53 and can be moved inside and outside the vehicle. Portable repeater 52 includes control unit 52a that controls portable repeater 52, first portable side transceiver unit 52b for communicating with portable device 53, and second portable side transceiver unit 52c for communicating with vehicle repeater 51. Furthermore, portable repeater 52 includes operation unit 52d. The operation unit 52d is, for example, a push button switch that corresponds to an operation instruction such as a start switch, a stop switch, etc. A user who is located away from the vehicle can operate the vehicle control device 50 mounted on the vehicle by pressing the operation unit 52d, and remotely control the engine by starting or stopping the engine. In order to perform such processing, when the control unit 52a detects an operation on the operation unit 52d, it transmits an instruction command corresponding to the operation from the second mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52c. The control unit 52a is configured by, for example, an MPU. The first mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52b and the second mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52c are each configured by an RFIC for transmitting and receiving in a vehicle. The first mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52b wirelessly transmits at the receiving frequency band (first frequency) of the mobile device 53 and wirelessly receives at the transmitting frequency (second frequency) of the transmitting / receiving unit 53b. Since the communication distance is short, weak radio waves used in a weak radio station, which is one type of radio station, are used. The second mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52c uses radio waves in a frequency band used in a specified low-power radio station. As shown in Fig. 10, the mobile repeater 52 includes an antenna 72 for transmitting at a first frequency connected to the first mobile side transceiver 52b, an antenna 73 for receiving at a second frequency, and an antenna 74 for transmitting and receiving specific low-power wireless communication connected to the second vehicle side transceiver 52c. In Fig. 10, the transmitting antenna 72 and the receiving antenna 73 of the mobile repeater 52 are shown as separate entities, but this is merely a schematic representation of the existence of a transmitting side and a receiving side, and in reality, the antenna may be, for example, a shared transmitting and receiving antenna. Conversely, the antenna 74 for the specific low-power wireless communication may be a separate transmitting and receiving antenna.

[0042] The portable device 53 includes a control unit 53a, a transceiver unit 53b, and an authentication information storage unit 53c. The authentication information storage unit 53c stores a unique ID code as authentication information for the immobilizer function. The control unit 53a is configured, for example, by an MPU or the like. When the control unit 53a receives a response request signal addressed to itself from the vehicle control device 50 that is paired with the control unit 53a, the control unit 53a outputs a response signal (RF data: response data). The transceiver unit 53b performs wireless communication with the transceiver unit mounted on the vehicle control device 50 and the portable repeater 52. For example, the transceiver unit 53b is configured by an RFIC for transceiver mounted on a vehicle. The transceiver unit 53b has a function of receiving LF data such as command data wirelessly transmitted at a first frequency and passing it to the control unit 53a, and a function of wirelessly transmitting RF data such as various command data such as a response signal output from the control unit 53a at a second frequency. As shown in FIG. 10, the portable device 53 includes an antenna 75 for receiving the first frequency and an antenna 76 for transmitting the second frequency, which are connected to the transceiver unit 53b. In addition, in Figure 10, the receiving antenna 75 and the transmitting antenna 76 of the portable device 53 are shown as separate entities, but this is merely a schematic representation of the existence of a transmitting side and a receiving side, and in reality, the antenna may be, for example, a shared transmitting and receiving antenna.

[0043] In this system overview, in this embodiment, the engine can be remotely started using the relay function of the portable repeater 52 with the following sequence of communication transitions: The numbers in the following explanation of the communication transitions correspond to the communications at the positions of the numbers attached to the arrows showing the communication state by the antenna in Figure 11. (1) When the operation unit 52d is pressed, the control unit 52a of the mobile repeater 52 outputs a start signal. The second mobile side transmitting / receiving unit 52c wirelessly transmits the start signal to the vehicle repeater 51. (2) The second vehicle side transceiver 51c of the vehicle repeater 51 receives the start signal transmitted from the portable repeater 52. When the control unit 51a of the vehicle repeater 51 receives the start signal, it uses the wired communication function to transmit a foot brake signal to the vehicle control device 50 via wired communication. The vehicle repeater 51 maintains the foot brake signal ON during the relay and transmission process of each data signal described below. (3) When the control unit 50a of the vehicle control device 50 receives the foot brake signal, it accesses the authentication information storage unit 50c, acquires the ID code as the stored authentication information, and outputs a response request signal (LF data) including the ID code. The transmission / reception unit 50b transmits the LF data using a wireless transmission function.

[0044] (4) The first vehicle-side transceiver 51b of the vehicle repeater 51 receives the LF data. The vehicle repeater 51 wirelessly transmits wireless LF data based on the received LF data to the portable repeater 52 using the transmission function of the second vehicle-side transceiver 2c. The wireless LF data is reversible data to the LF data. (5) Second mobile-side transceiver 52c of mobile repeater 52 receives the wireless LF data. Mobile repeater 52 generates original LF data from the received wireless LF data, and transmits the generated LF data to mobile device 53 at the first frequency using the transmission function of first mobile-side transceiver 52b.

[0045] (6) The LF data transmitted by the portable repeater 52 is transmitted at the first frequency and is equivalent to the LF data transmitted by the transceiver 50b of the vehicle control device 50, so the transceiver 53b of the portable device 53 receives the LF data. The control unit 53a judges whether the received LF data is addressed to itself. Specifically, it judges whether the ID code included in the LF data matches its own ID code stored in the authentication information storage unit 53c. Then, if the ID codes match, the control unit 53a transmits RF data (response data) that is a response signal using the transmission function of the transceiver 4b. Note that, if the ID codes do not match, the control unit 53a does not transmit anything. (7) First mobile-side transceiver 52b of mobile repeater 52 receives the RF data. Mobile repeater 52 transmits wireless RF data based on the received RF data using the transmission function of second mobile-side transceiver 52c. The wireless RF data is reversible with respect to the LF data. (8) The second vehicle side transceiver 51c of the vehicle repeater 51 receives the wireless RF data. The vehicle repeater 51 generates original RF data from the received wireless RF data and transmits the generated RF data at a second frequency using the transmission function of the first vehicle side transceiver 51b. In addition, the control unit 51a of the vehicle repeater 51 transmits an engine start request signal to the vehicle control device 50 using the wired communication function prior to transmission of the RF data from the first vehicle side transceiver 51b. The vehicle repeater 51 wirelessly transmits the above RF data while keeping the engine start request signal ON.

[0046] With the above-described configuration, the present embodiment provides the following effects. (1) The second connector 3 constituting the relay cable device 1 has a different shape from the antenna-side connector 37 of the antenna 35. Nevertheless, the second connector 3 has a shape that allows it to be fitted with the cable-side connector 46. Therefore, a general-purpose product that is widely available and can be fitted with the cable-side connector 46 can be used, and there is no need to prepare a mold and newly mold a connector having the same shape as the antenna-side connector 37 of the antenna 35. (2) The first connector 2 constituting the relay cable device 1 has the same shape as the cable side connector 46 that is connected to the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35 that is originally used by default, so there is no need to prepare a different shape for the antenna side connector 37. In addition, the first connector 2 is not a connector specifically for use in this position, but is a general-purpose product that is widely available, so it is easily available and there is no need to prepare a mold and mold a new connector. (3) Since the relay cable device 1 is used only for the antenna 35, there are only two relay cables 4, one for the hot side and one for the cool side. This eliminates the mistake of connecting the branch cable 5 to another relay cable during the manufacturing process of the relay cable device 1 that branches off the branch cable 5, and also eliminates the need to select the correct relay cable that corresponds to the cable connected to the antenna 35, which is advantageous in terms of work. (4) Since the relay cable device 1 is used only for the antenna 35, two relay cables 4 are sufficient, one for the hot side and one for the cool side, and therefore, originally, the first connector 2 and the second connector 3 should each have two areas (through holes 8, 28) for accommodating terminals. However, the first connector 2 and the second connector 3 have three and five areas (through holes 8, 28) for attaching terminals, respectively. This is because, as long as the spacing matches the spacing based on the two terminals 45 on the antenna 35 side, it does not necessarily have to be the same as on the antenna 35 side. By making it possible to use connectors with two or more terminal attachment areas as the first and second connectors 2 and 3, the types of general-purpose connectors that can be used for the relay cable device 1 can be diversified. (5) When connecting the side rails 14 of the housing 6 of the cable-side connector 46 to the antenna-side connector 37, the guide grooves 41 are used as a guide means in the left-right direction, but when connecting the cable-side connector 46 to the second connector 3, the second connector 3 does not have such guide grooves 41. However, since the second connector 3 has guide rails 24, the spacing between the guide rails 24 serves as a guide means for the housing 6, so that the cable-side connector 46 is guided without fail into the second connector 3 even if the shapes of the mating portions of the second connector 3 and the antenna-side connector 37 are different. (6) The second connector 3 has a different shape for holding the cable-side connector 46 than the antenna-side connector 37, but even though the shapes are different, the second connector 3 is the same as the antenna-side connector 37 in that the claws 12 of the cable-side connector 46 are engaged and held. Therefore, even if the cable-side connector 46 is replaced with the second connector 3 from the antenna-side connector 37, the mated state is maintained. (7) Although the second connector 3 has a different shape from the antenna side connector 37, both connectors are shaped so that the cable side connector 46 cannot be inserted in any direction other than the specified upside down, thereby preventing problems such as the male terminals 31, 45 breaking when inserted in the wrong direction.

[0047] (8) In the vehicle remote control system including the above relay system, transmission and reception by antennas were conventionally performed wirelessly. Therefore, conventional vehicle repeaters had to be installed in a position and direction that would optimize reception performance. For this reason, it was necessary to use a receiver measuring device and check the indicator to place the vehicle repeater in a position and direction that would provide the best reception performance. However, in the above embodiment, the vehicle control device 50 and the vehicle repeater 51 are wired by receiving the signal from the antenna 35. Since the vehicle repeater 51 is fixed in the vehicle and not moved, it is possible to wire the signal from such an antenna, which allows the signal to be received by wire at a position closer to the antenna, and therefore the signal can be obtained without degradation. In addition, the troublesome setting work required when receiving the signal wirelessly is eliminated, and the work time is shortened. Furthermore, since the antenna 35 is located in an easily accessible position in the vehicle, such wired work is also easy. On the other hand, antennas other than antenna 35, such as antenna 61, are not included in the vehicle, and considering their location, it is difficult to wire them because of poor workability. Also, it is rather advantageous for other antennas, such as antennas 71 and 71 to 75, to be wireless. (9) The first and second connectors 2, 3 of the relay cable device 1 are connected to the base position of the antenna 35A. Since the area in which the antenna 35A is located is a place where other connectors and cables are not concentrated, it is easy to connect the first and second connectors 2, 3. (10) In this embodiment, a connector 48 other than the antenna-side connector 37 is arranged between the antenna 35 and the vehicle control device 50. In addition to the cable 47 led to the antenna 35, cables led to other devices are also connected to this connector 48. Therefore, if it is considered to connect a relay cable device between the connectors 48 to wire the antenna 35, a connector for the relay cable device to relay these cables is necessary. In the relay cable device 1 as in this embodiment, a simple connector that is connected only to the antenna 35 can be used as a relay connector, but it is highly likely that a general-purpose connector cannot be found for such a multi-cable connector. In addition, the antenna 35 is used as a common specification for most models even if they are made by different models or manufacturers, but the shape of the connector 48 is highly likely to be inconsistent for each model. Therefore, a new mold must be manufactured for the relay connector of the connector 48 (a connector corresponding to the first and second connectors 2 and 3), which is expensive. In addition, it is also troublesome and expensive to manufacture the relay cable device itself in which such multiple cables are concentrated. Furthermore, when manufacturing using a mold, multiple cables are concentrated in one location, resulting in larger size and higher material costs. However, in this embodiment, the relay cable device 1 is not connected to a connector 48 where multiple cables are concentrated, but is connected solely to the antenna side connector 37 that is directly exposed at the base of the antenna 35, so the first and second connectors 2, 3 do not have to be large, and it is possible to use general-purpose connectors. (11) At the position where connector 48 is stored, other connectors that do not have cables connected to antenna 35 are arranged adjacent to each other, which is a disadvantage in terms of work because it takes time to search for the desired connector 48. However, in this embodiment, relay cable device 1 does not connect to connector 48 where multiple cables are concentrated, but connects solely to antenna side connector 37 that is directly exposed at the base of antenna 35, so that such a problem does not occur and work efficiency is improved. (12) As shown in Fig. 6, the antenna 35A to which the relay cable device 1 is connected is located immediately to the side of the front seat, and the other positions A to E for connecting to the vehicle repeater 51 are located along the dashboard in front of the front seat. This allows the worker to connect the other relay cable devices 63 to 66, including the relay cable device 1 to the vehicle repeater 51, in the ample space on the front seat side, which is advantageous for work.

[0048] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the following modifications can be made. The above-mentioned shapes of the first and second connectors 2, 3 of the relay cable device 1 are merely examples. The second connector 3 may be freely shaped in any other way as long as it can be connected to the cable side connector 46. The holding means between the first connector 2 and the antenna side connector 37, and between the second connector 3 and the cable side connector 46 may also be means other than the above-mentioned claws 12. The means for quickly guiding the first connector 2 into the antenna side connector 37 (the side rails 14 and the guide grooves 41) and the means for quickly guiding the cable side connector 46 into the second connector 3 (the housing 6 and the guide rails 24) may also have configurations other than those described above. In the above, the first connector 2 of the relay cable device 1 is fitted so as to be inserted into the antenna side connector 37, and the cable side connector 46 is fitted so as to be inserted into the second connector 3. This fitting relationship is in the form in which the cable side connector 46 is inserted into the antenna side connector 37, so although the second connector 3 has a different shape from the antenna side connector 37, such a male-female engagement is necessary. However, the fitting relationship in which the antenna side connector 37 is inserted into the cable side connector 46 in the antenna 35 can also be reversed, in which case it is preferable to make the second connector 3 shaped so as to be inserted into the antenna side connector 37. In that case, the fitting relationship is such that the antenna side connector 37 is inserted into the first connector 2. The male-female relationship between the female terminal 15 and the male terminals 31, 45 may be reversed. The above is an example of the shape of the antenna 35, and other shapes are also possible. In the above, the antenna 35 is disposed in three locations inside the vehicle C, but it may be disposed in one, two, or four or more locations. In the above, the antenna 35 is disposed in an easily accessible location, but it may be disposed in a location that is difficult to access. The above is one example of the shape of the antenna side connector 37 of the antenna 35. In the above, the antenna side connector 37 is configured to be part of the antenna unit 40 and to protrude at the base position of the antenna 35, but it may be provided as an antenna side connector at a protruding position where a short cable extends from the antenna housing 36, for example, in the vicinity of the antenna 35 so that the antenna and 35 can be handled as a unit. The above-mentioned shape of the cable side connector 46 is also one example. The cable side connector 46 may have a different shape from the first connector 2. Even if the cable side connector 46 has a different shape from the first connector 2, it is sufficient as long as it can be connected to both the antenna side connector 37 and the second connector 3. In the above embodiment, the intermediate connector 48 is interposed between the antenna 35 and the vehicle control device 50, but as shown in Fig. 12(b), the antenna 35 may have only the cable side connector 46 connected to the antenna side connector 37, and the cable 47 extending from the cable side connector 46 may be directly connected to the vehicle control device 50. Conversely, three or more pairs of connectors may be provided between the antenna 35 and the vehicle control device 50. Various aspects of the present invention have been described above using embodiments and modified examples, but it should be noted that these embodiments and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are provided to aid in understanding the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations explicitly described in the specification, but includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed in this specification. Although the configurations of the present invention that are sought to be patented are specified in the appended claims, it is noted that configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims may be claimed in the future. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above-mentioned embodiments. The components of each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Any component of each of the embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily combined with any component described in the Summary for Solving the Problems of the Invention or any component that embodies any component described in the Summary for Solving the Problems of the Invention. We intend to obtain rights to these as well through amendments to this application or divisional applications, etc. In addition, the applicant intends to obtain rights to the overall design or partial design by filing a conversion application to a design application. The drawings show the entire device in solid lines, but they also include partial designs claimed for a portion of the device as well as the overall design. For example, it is possible to include a portion of the device as a partial design, and it is also possible to include a portion of the device as a partial design regardless of the portion. A portion of the device may be a portion of the device, or it may be a portion of that portion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1... relay cable device, 2... first connector, 3... second connector, 4... relay cable as relay line, 5... branch cable as branch line, 53... portable device, 35A to 35C... antennas, C... vehicle.

Claims

1. a first connector configured to be fitted to an antenna connector of an antenna provided in a vehicle; a second connector configured to be able to fit a cable side connector provided on a cable electrically connected to a vehicle control device disposed in the vehicle; a relay line that relays signals between the first connector and the second connector; having The second connector includes: The first connector is configured to be capable of receiving a cable-side connector having a different shape from the antenna-side connector and the same shape as the first connector. An apparatus comprising:

2. The number of terminals of the second connector and the pitch between the terminals are the same as those of the antenna-side connector, The shape of a guide portion of the second connector for guiding the cable-side connector to enable fitting of the cable-side connector is different from the shape of a guide portion of the antenna-side connector.

2. The apparatus of claim 1.

3. The second connector has a connecting portion having the same shape as that of the antenna side connector.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The vehicle control device performs control to realize remote starting of an engine of the vehicle, A branch line for acquiring the signal is electrically connected to a vehicle repeater that repeats the signal related to the remote start between the vehicle control device and a predetermined portable device.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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