Digital key system, locking management method

Abstract

To reduce the number of occurrences where a key is unlocked irrespective of the intention of an owner of electronic equipment.SOLUTION: A digital key system includes: a sensor mounted on a vehicle, for positioning the position of electronic equipment by performing communication with the electronic equipment by UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) communication, and for generating positioning data showing the positioning result; a storage part for storing an allowable range which is the range of height with respect to the vehicle; a determination part for determining whether or not the height of the electronic equipment with respect to the vehicle is within the allowable range based on the positioning data; and an output part for outputting determination data showing whether or not a door of the vehicle may be unlocked based on the result determined by the determination part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital key system and a lock management method. [Background technology]

[0002] While traditional vehicle keys have been physical, digital keys have become popular in recent years. Digital keys can control vehicles, primarily by locking and unlocking the vehicle and starting the engine. For example, they can use UWB (ultra-wideband wireless communication) to measure the distance between the vehicle and a smartphone key, and unlock the vehicle doors and other parts when it detects that the smartphone holding the key is approaching within a certain range of the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2023 / 120307 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in recent years, parents may temporarily hand over their smartphones to their children to watch videos, check maps, etc. In such cases, if the UWB function is turned on and another person, such as a family member, approaches the vehicle while holding the smartphone, there is a risk that the car may be unlocked without the owner's intention.

[0005] The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a digital key system and locking management method that can reduce the risk of locks being opened regardless of the owner's intentions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention includes a sensor mounted on a vehicle that communicates with an electronic device via UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) communication to determine the position of the electronic device and generate positioning data representing the positioning result, a memory unit that stores an allowable range that is a range of heights relative to the vehicle, a judgment unit that judges whether the height of the electronic device relative to the vehicle is within the allowable range based on the positioning data, and an output unit that outputs judgment data representing whether the vehicle door may be unlocked based on the result judged by the judgment unit.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a lock management method executed by a computer, which includes using a sensor mounted on a vehicle to communicate with an electronic device via UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) communication to determine the position of the electronic device, generating positioning data representing the positioning result, referencing a memory unit that stores an allowable range of height relative to the vehicle, determining based on the positioning data whether the height of the electronic device relative to the vehicle is within the allowable range, and outputting determination data representing whether the vehicle doors may be unlocked based on the determination result. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility of an electronic device being unlocked regardless of the owner's intention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a digital key system S according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions of the digital key system S. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of registration data. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of data representing usage log data. [Figure 5]3 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the digital key system. [Figure 6] 3 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the digital key system. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of a display screen displayed on the terminal 20A. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a warning is displayed on the terminal 20 of the notification destination. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A digital key system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a digital key system S according to one embodiment of the present invention. The digital key system S includes a vehicle 10, terminals 20 (20A, 20B), and a determination server 30. The vehicle 10 is provided with doors that can be unlocked or locked using a digital key. The terminal 20 (20A, 20B) has a function of wirelessly communicating with the vehicle 10 and a function of wirelessly communicating with the determination server 30, and has, for example, a function of communicating with a sensor mounted on the vehicle 10 and a function of sending an instruction to the vehicle 10 to unlock or lock the doors of the vehicle 10. The terminal 20 may be an electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet, mobile phone, etc. The determination server 30 has the function of communicating wirelessly with the terminal 20, and in response to an inquiry from the terminal 20, determines whether or not the doors of the vehicle 10 can be unlocked or locked, and transmits the determination result to the terminal 20.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions of the digital key system S. The vehicle 10 includes a memory unit 101 , a communication unit 102 , a sensor 103 , and a control unit 104 . The storage unit 101 stores various types of data. The communication unit 102 communicates with the terminal 20A and the terminal 20B. For example, the communication unit 102 receives data indicating whether or not the doors of the vehicle 10 may be unlocked from the terminal 20A or the terminal 20B based on a short-range wireless communication standard. The short-range wireless communication may use, for example, near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0012] The sensor 103 is mounted on the vehicle 10 and communicates with electronic devices (e.g., terminals 20A and 20B) via UWB (Ultra-Wide Band; ultra-wideband wireless communication), thereby determining the position of the electronic devices (e.g., terminals 20A and 20B) with which it is communicating, and generating positioning data representing the positioning results. The sensor 103 measures the distance from the sensor 103 to an electronic device (for example, terminal 20A, terminal 20B) and the angle (arrival angle) at which the signal reaches the sensor 103, which is the receiver, from the electronic device on the transmitter side, and outputs the results as positioning results. Such distance and angle measurements can be performed using the UWB positioning function.

[0013] The control unit 104 controls each part of the vehicle 10 .

[0014] Next, the terminal 20A includes a storage unit 201, a communication unit 202, a display unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a warning unit 206, a display control unit 207, a guide display unit 208, and a control unit 209. The storage unit 201 stores various data. For example, the storage unit 201 stores a digital key that enables various operations, such as opening and closing the doors of the vehicle 10, to be performed remotely. The digital key is data used to lock or unlock the doors of the vehicle by performing short-range wireless communication between an electronic device and the vehicle without using a physical key.

[0015] The communication unit 202 has a function of communicating with the vehicle 10 and a function of communicating with the determination server 30 . The communication unit 202 is capable of communicating with the communication unit 102 of the vehicle 10 based on a short-range wireless communication standard, and is also capable of communicating with the sensor 103 of the vehicle 10 using UWB. The communication unit 202 also has a function of communicating with the determination server 30 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

[0016] The display unit 203 displays various data and may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel. The input unit 204 accepts input of instructions that specify the tolerance range. The input unit 204 may be a touch panel combined with the display unit 203. The input unit 204 may also be configured to accept input of various instructions by acquiring operation details input from an input device such as a mouse or keyboard. The input unit 204 also accepts input of authentication data. The authentication data may be a character string (passcode) made up of a combination of numbers and letters, or biometric data for biometric authentication. The biometric data may be, for example, fingerprint data for fingerprint authentication or face image data for face authentication.

[0017] The output unit 205 outputs determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked to the vehicle 10 based on the result of the determination made by the determination unit 304. When the output unit 205 receives the determination data, it communicates with the vehicle 10 equipped with the sensor 103, which is the communication partner when communicating by UWB.

[0018] The warning unit 206 outputs a warning when the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted. The warning unit 206 outputs a warning to a destination electronic device other than the electronic device. The destination electronic device is, for example, a terminal associated with and registered with the terminal 20A, and may be, for example, the terminal 20B. A user may own, for example, a tablet in addition to a smartphone, or may own multiple smartphones. In this case, when one owner owns multiple electronic devices, any of the owned electronic devices can be registered as the destination electronic device. Furthermore, when other users who use the vehicle 10, such as a family member of the user who owns the terminal 20A, own an electronic device other than the terminal 20A, an electronic device owned by the family member may be registered as the destination electronic device.

[0019] The display control unit 207 displays at least one of the positioning data and the determination data on a display device (for example, the display unit 203). By displaying the positioning data, the user can later check the position (height) at which the determination request was made. Furthermore, by displaying the determination data, the user can check the history of whether or not the door opening / closing operation was permitted. The display control unit 207 displays the history of the judgment data on the display device.

[0020] When height and body height are input as the allowable range from the input unit 204, the guide display unit 208 displays guide information indicating the approximate height of which body part the height corresponds to. The control unit 209 controls each unit of the terminal 20A. The terminal 20B has the same functions as the terminal 20A, and therefore the explanation thereof will be omitted.

[0021] The determination server 30 includes a storage unit 301 , a communication unit 302 , a registration unit 303 , a determination unit 304 , an authentication request transmission unit 305 , an authentication unit 306 , an output unit 307 , and a control unit 308 . The storage unit 301 stores various data, and includes a registration data storage unit 3011 and an authentication result storage unit 3012. The registration data storage unit 3011 stores an allowable range, which is a range of heights for a vehicle. The authentication result storage unit 3012 stores usage log data including the result of the determination made by the determination unit 304 and the positioning data used in the determination.

[0022] The communication unit 302 communicates with each of the terminals 20A and 20B wirelessly.

[0023] The registration unit 303 writes the allowable range input from the input unit 204 of the terminal 20 (terminal 20A or terminal 20B) into the storage unit 301. The registration unit 303 writes the acceptable range determined by at least one of a first process that determines the acceptable range based on the height input by the user via the input unit 204 and a second process that determines the acceptable range based on the height input by the user via the input unit 204 into the memory unit 301. The registration unit 303 may be configured to write a plurality of different allowable ranges into the storage unit 301. Furthermore, the registration unit 303 may be configured to write the allowable range into the registration data storage unit 3011 of the storage unit 301 when a registration instruction is input for the displayed guide information.

[0024] The determination unit 304 determines whether the height of the electronic device (for example, the terminal 20A) relative to the vehicle 10 is within the allowable range stored in the storage unit 301 based on the positioning data. Even if the positioning data obtained as the object of judgment is within the allowable range, if the positioning data differs from the height tendency indicated by the positioning data when unlocking of the vehicle doors was permitted, which is included in the usage log data, the judgment unit 304 outputs a judgment result indicating that an authentication request should be sent to the authentication request sending unit 305.

[0025] When the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted, the authentication request transmitting unit 305 transmits an authentication request to the electronic device (terminal 20A or terminal 20B). When the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted, the authentication request transmitting unit 305 transmits an authentication request to a second electronic device different from the electronic device. The authentication request sending unit 305 sends an authentication request to the electronic device or the second electronic device based on the determination result from the determining unit 304.

[0026] The authentication unit 306 acquires authentication data sent from the electronic device in response to an authentication request, and determines whether the authentication data is correct. Furthermore, the authentication unit 306 may acquire authentication data transmitted from the second electronic device in response to an authentication request, and determine whether the authentication data is correct.

[0027] Based on the result of the determination made by the determination unit 304, the output unit 307 outputs to the terminal 20 determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked. If it is determined that the authentication data is correct, the output unit 307 outputs determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked. The control unit 308 controls each unit of the determination server 30 .

[0028] The above-mentioned memory unit 101, memory unit 201, and memory unit 301 are configured by a storage medium, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Read / Write Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or any combination of these storage media. The storage units 101, 201, and 301 may be, for example, nonvolatile memories.

[0029] The communication unit 102 and control unit 104 of the vehicle 10, the communication unit 202, input unit 204, output unit 205, warning unit 206, display control unit 207, guide display unit 208, and control unit 209 of the terminal 20A, and the communication unit 302, registration unit 303, judgment unit 304, authentication request sending unit 305, authentication unit 306, output unit 307, and control unit 308 of the judgment server 30 may each be composed of a processing device such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0030] Furthermore, the determination server 30 may be a physical server or a cloud server provided by a cloud computing service.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the registration data. The registration data includes terminal identification information, authentication data, tolerance ranges, and notification destination terminal identification information. The terminal identification information is terminal identification information assigned to the terminal that registered the registration data. The authentication data is transmitted from a terminal to which terminal identification information is assigned and registered, and is used as correct answer data in the authentication process that is executed when the height is not within the allowable range. The allowable range is a range of allowable values ​​transmitted from a terminal to which terminal identification information is assigned and registered. One allowable range may be registered for one piece of terminal identification information, or multiple different ranges may be registered. The notification destination terminal identification information is terminal identification information assigned to a terminal that is a terminal device different from the terminal whose height is measured by the sensor 103 and that can input authentication data. A user may own multiple smartphones, or may own a smartphone and a tablet. In such a case, it is possible to register the terminal identification information of one of the electronic devices (e.g., a smartphone) used as a UWB digital key, and also to register the terminal identification information of another electronic device as the notification destination terminal identification information. Furthermore, the terminal indicated by the notification destination terminal identification information may be a terminal owned by a user (e.g., a family member) different from the user of the smartphone used as a UWB digital key.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data representing usage log data. The usage log data includes terminal identification information, positioning data, determination data, and determination time. The terminal identification information is terminal identification information assigned to the terminal for which height positioning was performed. The positioning data indicates the result of height positioning. The determination data indicates the result of determining whether the height is within an allowable range. The determination time indicates the time when the determination whether the height is within an allowable range was performed.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the digital key system. First, the user operates terminal 20A to open a menu screen for registering an allowable range and inputs a height representing the allowable range (step S101). The target height to be input may be a height corresponding to the height at which the user holds terminal 20A, which is the target for UWB communication with vehicle 10, when unlocking the door of vehicle 10. For example, if the user often approaches vehicle 10 with terminal 20A in his / her trouser pocket when unlocking vehicle 10, the user inputs the height of terminal 20A when it is placed in the trouser pocket. Furthermore, if the user often approaches vehicle 10 with terminal 20A in his / her breast pocket when unlocking vehicle 10, the user inputs the height of terminal 20A when it is placed in the breast pocket.

[0034] The input unit 204 of the terminal 20A receives an operational input of height data representing the allowable range based on an operational input from the user. The control unit 209 of the terminal 20A transmits the received data representing the allowable range, the terminal identification information assigned to the terminal 20A, and a registration request for the allowable range to the determination server 30 via the communication unit 202 (step S102). Here, the user may input not only the allowable range data but also authentication data to be registered. The input authentication data may be, for example, any of a passcode, fingerprint data, and facial image data. When the authentication data to be registered is input, the terminal 20A transmits the authentication data, the terminal identification information, and a registration request to the determination server 30.

[0035] When the registration unit 303 of the determination server 30 receives the data representing the acceptable range, the terminal identification information, and the registration request transmitted from the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302, it registers the received data representing the acceptable range and the terminal identification information by writing them into the registration data storage unit 3011 (step S102). When the registration unit 303 of the determination server 30 receives the authentication data, terminal identification information, and registration request from the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302, it writes the received authentication data and terminal identification information into the registration data storage unit 3011 to register them. When the registration is completed, the registration unit 303 of the determination server 30 transmits a registration completion notification to the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302. When the terminal 20A receives the registration completion notification, it displays a message indicating the registration completion on the display screen of the display unit 203. This allows the user to understand that the tolerance range has been registered.

[0036] Next, the user carries terminal 20A and approaches the vicinity of vehicle 10. At this time, the user may approach vehicle 10 with terminal 20A in a trouser pocket, breast pocket, or bag, or may approach while holding terminal 20A in the user's hand.

[0037] The sensor 103 of the vehicle 10 determines whether the terminal 20A is within a communicable distance by UWB communication, and when the terminal 20A reaches a communicable distance, performs UWB communication with the terminal 20A to measure the position of the terminal 20A (step S103). Here, the sensor 103 generates positioning data that is the result of measuring the distance to the terminal 20A and the angle of arrival using the sensor 103 as a reference. When the positioning data is generated, the control unit 104 of the vehicle 10 transmits the positioning data to the terminal 20A. The positioning data may be transmitted by short-range wireless communication. When the terminal 20A receives the positioning data from the vehicle 10, it transmits the positioning data and the terminal identification information to the determination server 30 (step S104).

[0038] When the determination unit 304 of the determination server 30 receives the positioning data and the terminal identification information from the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302, it calculates the height from the positioning data. Here, the determination unit 304 determines the height of the terminal 20A relative to the vehicle 10 from the relationship between the distance from the vehicle 10 to the terminal 20A and the angle of arrival. Then, the determination unit 304 reads out the allowable range associated with the received terminal identification information, and determines whether the calculated height falls within the read allowable range (step S105).

[0039] Here, with UWB, for example, the angle of arrival can be measured with an accuracy of about ±3° relative to the horizontal direction with respect to the position of the electronic device (terminal 20A in this case) that is the communication partner from the position of sensor 103, and the distance can be measured with an accuracy of about ±10 cm. Therefore, when the height is calculated based on the positioning results, it is also possible to distinguish whether the person holding terminal 20A is a child or an adult. For example, the height at which a standing infant holds terminal 20A in front of their chest is considered to be lower than the waist of an adult. Also, the height at which a child in a stroller holds terminal 20A in front of their chest is considered to be slightly higher than the knees of an adult. Therefore, if the user is an adult, by registering an allowable range according to the height of the user's own breast pocket or trouser pocket, which is different from the height at which a child who may accompany the user holds terminal 20A, it becomes possible to prevent the vehicle 10 from being unlocked even if a child approaches the vehicle 10 while holding terminal 20A, but to unlock the vehicle 10 when the user approaches the vehicle 10 while holding terminal 20A. If the determined height falls within the allowable range, the determination unit 304 transmits a determination result indicating that the height falls within the allowable range to the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302 (step S106).

[0040] When the output unit 205 of the terminal 20A receives from the determination server 30 a determination result indicating that the value falls within the allowable range, the output unit 205 outputs determination data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked to the vehicle 10 by short-range wireless communication via the communication unit 202 (step S107). Here, a process related to unlocking the doors using the digital key stored in the storage unit 201 is executed between the terminal 20A and the vehicle 10.

[0041] When the control unit 104 of the vehicle 10 receives determination data from the terminal 20A via short-range wireless communication through the communication unit 102 indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked, the control unit 104 unlocks the locked doors by executing an unlocking process using a digital key. As a result, when the user approaches the vehicle 10 while holding the terminal 20A at a height within the allowable range, the user can unlock the doors of the vehicle 10 even without performing any operation input to unlock the doors.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the digital key system. Here, the processing from step S201 to step S205 is the same as the processing from step S101 to step S105 in FIG. 5, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted. If the result of the determination by the determination unit 304 in step S205 indicates that the calculated height is not within the allowable range, the authentication request transmission unit 305 determines that the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted, and transmits an authentication request to a pre-registered electronic device. Here, if the registered electronic device is the terminal 20A, the authentication request is transmitted to the terminal 20A (step S206).

[0043] When the warning unit 206 of the terminal 20A receives the authentication request from the authentication request transmission unit 305 of the determination server 30, it determines that the request indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted, and outputs a warning screen for making an authentication request to the display unit 203 of the terminal 20A (step S207). The warning screen may display a message such as "Please input authentication data into the terminal" to prompt the user to input authentication data. The warning unit 206 may also output a warning sound or a voice message such as "Please input authentication data into the terminal" from a speaker mounted on the terminal 20A. The user holding terminal 20A checks the screen of terminal 20A and inputs authentication data (step S208). Here, the authentication data input is pre-registered authentication data. For example, if a passcode has been registered as authentication data, the user inputs the passcode via input unit 204.

[0044] The terminal 20A performs authentication processing based on the input passcode. For example, the terminal 20A transmits the input passcode, terminal identification information, and an authentication request to the determination server 30. The authentication unit 306 of the determination server 30 performs authentication processing to determine whether the authentication data transmitted from the terminal 20A is correct. For example, the authentication unit 306 performs authentication processing by determining whether the combination of the passcode and terminal identification information transmitted from the terminal 20A is registered in the storage unit 301. If the combination of the passcode and terminal identification information is registered in the storage unit 301, the authentication unit 306 outputs data indicating that the authentication data is correct to the output unit 307. When the output unit 307 receives from the authentication unit 306 a result indicating that the authentication data is correct, the output unit 307 transmits, via the communication unit 302 to the terminal 20A, determination data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked.

[0045] When the terminal 20A receives the judgment data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked from the judgment server 30, the terminal 20A outputs the judgment data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked to the vehicle 10 via short-range wireless communication 202 (step S209). When the control unit 104 of the vehicle 10 receives, via short-range wireless communication, through the communication unit 202 from the terminal 20A, determination data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked, the control unit 104 unlocks the doors that are in a locked state.

[0046] As a result, if the user approaches the vehicle 10 while holding the terminal 20A at a height different from the allowable height range, the user cannot unlock the door, but the door can be unlocked by inputting the authentication data. For example, if the height of a trouser pocket is registered as the allowable height range, and a warning screen is displayed when the user approaches the vehicle 10 with the terminal 20A in his breast pocket, the door can be unlocked by inputting the authentication data.

[0047] For example, when a user carries terminal 20A, the user may carry it in a bag, in a pocket, or in the hand, and the manner of holding the terminal may be generally the same in many cases. Therefore, the user can remotely unlock the vehicle by registering an allowable range based on the height corresponding to the manner of holding the terminal, depending on the manner of holding the terminal that the user usually uses. Therefore, even when using the above-described digital key system, the user can unlock the vehicle 10 by holding the terminal in the usual manner.

[0048] Furthermore, there is a case where the terminal 20A approaches the vehicle 10 while being held by a user other than the user who normally uses the vehicle. For example, if the user leaves the terminal 20A with their child (e.g., an infant) and the child arrives near the vehicle 10 before the user, but the user has not yet arrived near the vehicle 10, the height of the terminal 20A is the height held by the infant. If the height is not within the allowable range, a warning screen is displayed on the terminal 20A. In this case, even if the terminal 20A is near the vehicle 10, the door of the vehicle 10 is not unlocked. Here, if the user is not aware that the child holding the terminal 20A has arrived at the vehicle 10 first, the door may be unintentionally unlocked, and the user may not be aware that the door has been unlocked. Furthermore, even if the user is aware that the child holding the terminal 20A has arrived at the vehicle 10 first, there is a case where the user does not want the door to be unlocked until the user arrives. According to this embodiment, if the terminal 20A is not within the allowable range, the door is not unlocked, thereby preventing the door from being unintentionally unlocked. In this way, even if the terminal 20A (electronic device) is handed over to a user other than the user for whom the allowable range has been registered, it can be prevented from being unlocked from a height outside the allowable range. Here, in the state where the warning screen is displayed, even if the height of terminal 20A is moved to the allowable range, the warning state may be maintained and the door may not be unlocked. This makes it possible to prevent the door from being unlocked without inputting authentication data.

[0049] In the above-described embodiment, one tolerance range may be registered for the terminal identification information, or multiple tolerance ranges may be registered. For example, by registering a tolerance range according to the height at which the user normally uses the vehicle and a tolerance range according to the height at which the user's child holds the terminal 20A, the doors of the vehicle 10 can be unlocked when either the user or the user's child holds the terminal 20A. For example, if a family member, such as the user's child, does not own an electronic device such as a smartphone, the child does not have a digital key assigned to them and cannot open or close the doors of the vehicle 10. However, the child can open or close the doors by using the terminal 20A. This makes it possible to allow the use of a digital key even with a person with whom the digital key is not shared by registering a tolerance range in advance. On the other hand, if the terminal 20A is temporarily handed over to a child of an acquaintance or the like while visiting, and the child approaches the vehicle 10 while holding the terminal 20A at a height that is outside the tolerance range, the doors can be prevented from being unlocked. It is also possible to require authentication from the terminal 20A to use the digital key.

[0050] Furthermore, even when the user temporarily hands over terminal 20A to not only his or her child but also an acquaintance in order to show them the navigation screen and not for the purpose of unlocking the vehicle 10, if the height at which the acquaintance holds terminal 20A is different from the height at which the user normally holds terminal 20A, vehicle 10 can be prevented from being unlocked even when the user approaches vehicle 10. This makes it possible to prevent the doors of vehicle 10 from being unlocked unintentionally, even when terminal 20A is temporarily handed over to an acquaintance. Furthermore, even if the terminal 20A is stolen or lost and picked up by someone else, if the height at which the user normally holds the terminal 20A is different, the vehicle 10 can be prevented from being unlocked even if the user approaches the vehicle 10.

[0051] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, if the height of terminal 20A is not within the allowable range, a warning is output to terminal 20A and authentication data is requested to be input from terminal 20A, but the terminal that requests input of authentication data may be a terminal other than terminal 20A. For example, when destination terminal identification information is registered in the registration data, and the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted and a warning is notified to terminal 20A, authentication request transmission unit 305 may refer to the registration data stored in storage unit 301, read out the destination terminal identification information associated with the terminal identification information of terminal 20A, and transmit an authentication request to the terminal (second electronic device) indicated by the read out destination terminal identification information. Here, when the terminal identification information of terminal 20B is registered as the destination terminal identification information, the authentication request is transmitted to terminal 20B.

[0052] As a result, for example, in a case where the user has temporarily handed over terminal 20A to a family member of the user and is located away from vehicle 10 while carrying terminal 20B, the authentication request can be received by terminal 20B. Then, if it is OK to unlock vehicle 10, the authentication data is input via the input unit of terminal 20B. In this way, when a person other than the user attempts to unlock using terminal 20A, if the height of terminal 20A is not within the allowable range, the user can receive the authentication request using an electronic device other than terminal 20A, and can recognize that an unlocking operation is being attempted using terminal 20A, and if there is no problem, the user can unlock the vehicle.

[0053] The terminal 20B transmits the input authentication data together with the terminal identification information of the terminal 20B to the determination server 30. When the authentication unit 306 of the determination server 30 receives the authentication data and the terminal identification information from the terminal 20B, the authentication unit 306 performs authentication processing by determining whether or not the combination of the received terminal identification information and authentication data is registered in the storage unit 301. If the combination of the terminal identification information and the authentication data is registered in the storage unit 301, the authentication unit 306 outputs to the output unit 307 determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked, and if the combination is not registered, the authentication unit 306 outputs to the output unit 307 determination data indicating that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted. The output unit 307 transmits the determination data obtained from the authentication unit 306 to the terminal 20A via the communication unit 302.

[0054] Based on the judgment data received from the judgment server 30, the terminal 20A outputs judgment data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked or judgment data indicating that the vehicle doors are not permitted to be unlocked to the vehicle 10 via the communication unit 202 by short-range wireless communication. As a result, when the vehicle 10 receives determination data indicating that the vehicle doors may be unlocked, the vehicle unlocks the doors, and when the vehicle receives determination data indicating that the vehicle doors are not permitted to be unlocked, the vehicle keeps the doors unlocked.

[0055] Here, the case where terminal 20B inputs authentication data when it receives an authentication request has been described, but instead of using authentication data, it is also possible to display "Unlock" and "Do Not Unlock" buttons on the display screen of terminal 20B, have the user select one of the buttons, and transmit the selection result to determination server 30. In this case, when an instruction to "Unlock" is input from terminal 20B, determination server 30 may transmit determination data permitting unlocking of the door to terminal 20A to unlock the door, and when an instruction to "Do Not Unlock" is input from terminal 20B, determination server 30 may transmit determination data not permitting unlocking of the door to terminal 20A to keep the door locked.

[0056] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the display control unit 207 of the terminal 20A may cause at least one of the positioning data and the determination data to be displayed as usage log data on a display device (for example, the display unit 203). This usage log data may be displayed when a user inputs an instruction to display it via the input unit 204, or may be displayed in response to the unlocking or locking of the doors. For example, when the positioning data is displayed, the user can later check the position (height) at which the determination request was made. When the determination data is displayed, the user can check the history of whether the opening or closing operation of the doors of the vehicle 10 was permitted. When the determination data is displayed, the time at which the determination data was made may also be recorded as a log, and this determination time may also be displayed together with the determination data. This allows the user to know when the determination was made and the opening or closing operation was performed. Furthermore, when the positioning data and the determination data are displayed, it is possible to know at what position (height) the determination request was made and whether or not an opening / closing operation was performed at that height. In this case, by also displaying the determination time, it is possible to know the position (height) at which the determination request was made, whether or not an opening / closing operation was performed at that height, and the time at which the opening / closing operation was performed.

[0057] In this way, since the display control unit 207 is configured to display the log, the user can not only know the circumstances under which the user performed the opening and closing operation of the door of the vehicle 10, but also can know the history of the height at which a determination request was made by a person other than the user using the terminal 20A and when the door was opened and closed. For example, based on the history, it becomes possible to know when the door was unlocked by a family member of the user, or when the terminal 20A was stolen and unlocked by a third party. Here, the usage log data may be accessible from the terminal 20A, or may be accessible from an electronic device (e.g., the terminal 20B) registered as notification destination terminal identification information.

[0058] FIG. 7 is an example of a display screen displayed on the terminal 20A, and is a diagram showing an example of an input screen when registering an allowable range. The user inputs his / her own height into a height input field (reference numeral 700) from the input unit 204. The control unit 209 of the terminal 20A acquires height data representing the height input from the input unit 204 and transmits the acquired height data to the determination server 30. When the registration unit 303 of the determination server receives the height data from the terminal 20A, it obtains height candidates according to the height indicated by the height data and transmits them to the terminal 20A.

[0059] Here, the registration unit 303 may determine the allowable range by either a first process of determining the allowable range based on the height input by the user via the input unit 204, or a second process of determining the allowable range based on the height input by the user via the input unit 204. The registration unit 303 obtains height candidates, for example, by multiplying the height indicated by the input height data by a predetermined coefficient. For example, if the height is input as 180 cm and the coefficient is 0.78, the height candidate is obtained as 140 cm. The coefficient used is a coefficient that corresponds to approximately the height of a breast pocket, but a coefficient (e.g., 0.4) that corresponds to approximately the height of a trouser pocket may also be used.

[0060] Furthermore, here, the registration unit 303 may obtain height candidates and generate guideline data indicating a guideline for how much body height the height candidates correspond to, and transmit the guideline data to the terminal 20A. For example, when the registration unit 303 obtains height candidates using a coefficient of 0.78, the registration unit 303 may generate the guideline data "about breast pocket height," and when the registration unit 303 obtains height candidates using a coefficient of 0.4, the registration unit 303 may generate the guideline data "about waist height." The guideline data may be stored in advance in the storage unit 301 in association with the numerical values ​​of the coefficients. In this way, the registration unit 303 may generate the guideline data according to the applied coefficient by reading it from the storage unit 301. Here, the guideline data is sent to terminal 20A and displayed, so even if you look at the numbers indicating the height candidates, it may be difficult to understand what height on the body they correspond to. However, by checking the guideline data, it is easier to understand what the height is.

[0061] The control unit 209 of the terminal 20A displays candidate heights and guide data (guide information) in a use height input field (reference numeral 701). The user checks the heights and guide data displayed as candidates in the use height input field (reference numeral 701), confirms whether or not to register this height, and performs a touch input on the "OK" button displayed on the screen as a confirmation result from the input unit 204 of the terminal 20A. If the use height needs to be corrected, the user corrects the value in the use height input field (reference numeral 701) and then performs a touch input on the "OK" button.

[0062] Here, the control unit 209 of the terminal 20A may display buttons such as "higher" and "lower" on the display unit 203 as buttons for correcting the height candidate, and may accept an operation input to any of the buttons from the input unit 204. When there is a touch input to either the "higher" or "lower" button, the operation content is transmitted from the terminal 20A to the determination server 30. The determination server 30 corrects the height candidate according to the operation content. For example, when "higher" is pressed, the registration unit 303 adds a predetermined correction amount, such as 3 cm, to the height candidate, and when "lower" is pressed, the registration unit 303 subtracts a predetermined correction amount, such as 3 cm, from the height candidate, and transmits the calculation result to the terminal 20A as the height candidate. In this way, corrections are made as necessary, and when an operation input is made to the "OK" button on the terminal 20A, the determination server 30 determines the height candidate as the specified height. Once the height is determined, the registration unit 303 determines a predetermined range based on this height as the allowable range and writes it as registration data in the storage unit 301. The predetermined range may be determined as an allowable range from "+10 cm" to "-10 cm" based on the determined height. For example, if the height is "140 cm," the allowable range is determined as "150 cm to 130 cm."

[0063] Here, we have explained the case where the registration unit 303 determines the allowable range from the input height, but it is also possible to have the height itself input from terminal 20A and determine the allowable range using this height as a reference in the same manner as described above.

[0064] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when a warning is displayed on the terminal 20 of the notification destination. Here, altitude measurement is performed from a terminal 20 different from the notification destination terminal 20 to unlock the vehicle doors, and a message (reference numeral 800) is displayed based on the fact that the altitude is not within the allowable range. In response to this warning, an operation button (reference numeral 801) is displayed to instruct whether or not to permit the doors to be unlocked. After checking this warning, the user can input whether or not to permit the doors to be unlocked using the operation button (reference numeral 801).

[0065] Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, when using a vehicle's digital key, it is possible to easily determine whether the person is the owner by using UWB (ultra-wideband wireless communication) positioning based on a pre-registered height, and then control the key. Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the security level of the vehicle digital key can be improved.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 304 may determine whether the height obtained for the terminal 20 falls within an allowable range, and even if the height is within the allowable range, determine to request authentication if the trend differs from the height history when the height was determined to be within the allowable range in the usage log data. The determination of whether the trend differs may be made, for example, by extracting a predetermined number (e.g., 10 or 20) of height data from the most recent to the past when the height was determined to be within the allowable range, going back in time from the most recent to the past, and determining that the trend is similar and allowing the lock to be unlocked if the height obtained this time is between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the extracted heights. However, if the height is outside the maximum and minimum values, the determination unit 304 may determine that the trend is different and request authentication. This allows for improved security, as authentication is required if the height deviates from the user's usage trend even if the allowable range is relatively wide.

[0067] In the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 304 determines whether the height of the terminal 20A falls within the allowable range. However, the height may be calculated based on a single piece of positioning data transmitted from the terminal 20A and the determination may be made as to whether the height falls within the allowable range. Alternatively, the determination unit 304 may receive from the terminal 20A a plurality of pieces of positioning data measured at different times according to a measurement interval and make a determination on each of the pieces of positioning data acquired multiple times during a predetermined determination period. If at least one of the determination results obtained multiple times during the determination period does not fall within the allowable range, the determination unit 304 may cause the authentication request transmission unit 305 to transmit a determination result indicating that the unlocking of the doors of the vehicle 10 is not permitted. This requires the person carrying the terminal 20A to keep the height of the terminal 20A within the allowable range for a certain period of time, so that the door will not be unlocked even if the person accidentally holds the terminal 20A at a height within the allowable range.

[0068] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the registration unit 303 may determine an acceptable range based on the history of the determination data and write the range to the storage unit 301. For example, the registration unit 303 may refer to the usage log data based on the terminal identification information assigned to the terminal to be registered, read out a plurality of unlocking heights, determine the height based on the average, median, mode, or the like of these values, determine an acceptable range according to this height, and write the range to the storage unit 301. In this way, it is possible to set an acceptable range according to a height that is likely to be used when the user unlocks the door, or to update the acceptable range.

[0069] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, at least some of the functions provided in the determination server 30 may be provided in the terminal 20 (20A, 20B). For example, if the registration unit 303 and the determination unit 304 are provided in the terminal 20A, the registration data corresponding to the terminal 20A may be stored in the storage unit 201 of the terminal 20A, and the terminal 20A may determine whether the height is within the allowable range. In this case, if the height is not within the allowable range, the terminal 20A may transmit the determination data to the determination server 30, and the authentication request transmission unit 305 may transmit an authentication request to a terminal corresponding to the notification destination terminal identification information. The authentication request transmission unit 305 may be provided in the terminal 20A, and the terminal 20A may transmit an authentication request to the terminal 20B.

[0070] The functions that can be installed in the terminal 20A may be realized as application software.

[0071] The terminal 20A and the determination server 30 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing the functions may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an operating system (OS) and peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. The term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system serving as a server or client. The program may be for implementing only a portion of the functions described above, or may be capable of implementing the functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0072] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 10 vehicles 20, 20A, 20B terminals 30 Judgment Server 101,201,301 Storage section 102, 202, 302 Communications Department 103 Sensors 104,209,308 Control unit 203 Display section 204 Input section 205,307 Output section 206 Warning section 207 Display control unit 208 Guide display section 303 Registration Department 304 Judgment section 305 Authentication request sender 306 Authentication Department 3011 Registration data storage unit 3012 Authentication result storage unit S Digital Key System

Claims

1. a sensor mounted on a vehicle, communicating with an electronic device via UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) communication to measure the position of the electronic device and generate positioning data representing the positioning result; a storage unit that stores an allowable range that is a range of heights for the vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether or not the height of the electronic device relative to the vehicle is within the allowable range based on the positioning data; an output unit that outputs determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked based on the determination result of the determination unit; A digital key system with

2. an input unit that accepts input of an instruction that specifies the tolerance range; a registration unit that writes the allowable range input from the input unit into the storage unit; The digital key system according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The registration unit a first process of determining the allowable range based on a height input by a user via the input unit; a second process for determining the allowable range based on a height input by the user via the input unit; and writing the tolerance determined by at least one of the processes into the storage unit. The digital key system according to claim 2 .

4. The registration unit The allowable range is calculated based on the history of the judgment data, and is written to the storage unit. The digital key system according to claim 3.

5. The registration unit writes a plurality of different tolerance ranges into the storage unit. The digital key system according to claim 2 .

6. a warning unit that outputs a warning when the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle door is not permitted; 6. The digital key system according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. The warning unit The warning is output to a notification destination electronic device other than the electronic device.

7. The digital key system according to claim 6.

8. an authentication request sending unit that sends an authentication request to the electronic device when the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle door is not permitted; an authentication unit that acquires authentication data transmitted from the electronic device in response to the authentication request and determines whether the authentication data is correct; The output unit If the authentication data is determined to be correct, output determination data indicating whether the vehicle door may be unlocked.

6. The digital key system according to claim 1.

9. The authentication request transmission unit If the determination data indicates that unlocking of the vehicle door is not permitted, transmitting an authentication request to a second electronic device different from the electronic device; The authentication unit Acquire authentication data transmitted from the second electronic device in response to the authentication request, and determine whether the authentication data is correct.

9. The digital key system according to claim 8.

10. The determination unit determining each of the positioning data acquired multiple times during a predetermined determination period; The authentication request transmission unit If at least one of the determination results obtained multiple times during the determination period indicates that unlocking of the vehicle doors is not permitted, an authentication request is sent to the electronic device.

9. The digital key system according to claim 8.

11. an authentication result storage unit that stores usage log data including the result of the determination made by the determination unit and the positioning data used in the determination; The determination unit outputting a determination result indicating that an authentication request should be transmitted to the authentication request transmission unit when the positioning data obtained as the determination target is within the allowable range but differs from the tendency of height indicated by the positioning data when unlocking of the vehicle door was permitted, which is included in the usage log data; The authentication request transmission unit The determination unit transmits an authentication request to the electronic device or the second electronic device based on the determination result.

10. The digital key system according to claim 9.

12. a display control unit that displays at least one of the positioning data and the determination data on a display device; The digital key system according to claim 1 .

13. A display control unit that displays the history of the judgment data on a display device. The digital key system according to claim 1 .

14. a guide display unit that displays, when height and stature are input as an allowable range from the input unit, guide information indicating which part of the body the height corresponds to; When a registration instruction is input for the displayed guide information, the registration unit writes the allowable range into the storage unit. The digital key system according to claim 2 .

15. A lock management method executed by a computer, comprising: Using a sensor mounted on the vehicle, a position of the electronic device is measured by communicating with the electronic device via UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) communication, and positioning data representing the positioning result is generated; referencing a storage unit that stores an allowable range that is a range of heights relative to the vehicle, and determining whether or not the height of the electronic device relative to the vehicle is within the allowable range based on the positioning data; Based on the result of the determination, outputting determination data indicating whether or not the vehicle doors may be unlocked. A lock management method including:

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