Remote Control Device

Abstract

To provide a remote operation device which enables a remote control operator to correctly grasp a communication environment.SOLUTION: A remote operation device 10 includes: a speaker 11 which can send a supersonic signal Ω which controls operation of on-vehicle apparatuses (51-54); an information acquisition unit 18 which detects information of a noise sound inside a vehicle; a control unit 19 which calculates a degree of transfer easiness of a supersonic signal Ω from the detected information; and a display unit 13 which displays the calculated transfer easiness degree as a communication quality level of the supersonic signal Ω. The information acquisition unit 18 measures a change degree of each changing operation state of the on-vehicle apparatuses (51-54) based on the operation signal Ω. The control unit 19 recalculates the transfer easiness degree based on the change degree to update the display of the communication quality level.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for checking the quality of ultrasonic communication performed between a target in-vehicle device and a control terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, technologies have been developed that allow drivers to remotely control in-vehicle devices such as air conditioners and navigation systems using mobile terminals or remote controllers (hereinafter collectively referred to as "control terminals") while in a moving vehicle. Radio wave or infrared communication is often used as a means of communication between the in-vehicle devices and the control terminal. In addition, ultrasonic communication using ultrasonic waves is also known. Note that ultrasonic signals are easily disturbed by any disturbance such as environmental noise in the inaudible range (approximately 18 kHz or higher) used in ultrasonic communication. For example, the sound of a plastic bag rubbing against another bag contains inaudible sound components, and such sounds reduce the communication quality of ultrasonic communication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-63284 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The communication quality of ultrasonic communication changes from moment to moment depending on the environment around the vehicle, such as the current traffic conditions, outside temperature, weather, driving mode, etc. In order for a remote operator to comfortably remotely operate an in-vehicle device, it is necessary for the operator to accurately understand the changes in the communication environment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a remote control device that allows a remote operator to accurately grasp the communication environment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The remote control device according to the present embodiment includes a speaker capable of emitting an ultrasonic signal for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle device, an information acquisition unit for detecting information related to noise sound within the vehicle, a control unit for calculating a degree of communication ease of the ultrasonic signal from the information, and a display unit for displaying the calculated degree of communication ease as a communication quality level of the ultrasonic signal, The in-vehicle device changes its operation to an operation mode in which a generation state of an operation sound that may cause the noise is different based on the ultrasonic signal, and The information acquisition unit The degree of change in the operating mode The control unit measures The degree of change in the operating mode The ease of communication is recalculated based on the above-mentioned, and the display of the communication quality level is updated. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The present invention provides a remote control device that allows a remote operator to accurately grasp the communication environment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a remote control device and on-board equipment according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of a smartphone as an example of a remote control device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram of the interior of a vehicle equipped with an on-board device remotely operated by a remote control device according to an embodiment, viewed from the roof side. [Figure 4] (A) A table showing a map of the start delay time for each operation to be received, and (B) a table showing a map of the added time for each timing of change in driving state. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the remote control device and the in-vehicle device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] First, using Figures 1 to 4, we will explain the remote control device 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "control device 10") and the in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) (hereinafter referred to as the "target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54)") that are operated by the control device 10 using an ultrasonic signal Ω. FIG. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a vehicle 100 equipped with an operating device 10 and target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) according to the embodiment. 2(A) and (B) are schematic diagrams of a smartphone 10a, which is an example of the operating device 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the interior of a vehicle 100 equipped with target on-board devices (51 to 54) viewed from the roof side. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the periphery of an inner panel 80 on which the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) are provided.

[0011] <Operation device 10> The operation device 10 is a mobile terminal 10a owned by a user 200, such as a smartphone as shown in Figures 2(A) and (B). The operation device 10 may also be a PC (Personal Computer), a wearable device, a public terminal, a specially designed and manufactured remote controller, or an in-vehicle operation terminal 10b installed near a rear seat 53c (Figure 3). In the following embodiment, an example will be described in which a smartphone 10a (mobile terminal 10a) is used as the operation device 10 by separately installing an application program developed for remote operation, as appropriate.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the operation device 10 includes a speaker 11, a microphone 12, a display unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a processing circuit 15. The storage unit 14 is configured, for example, with a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), or a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). In addition, the processing circuit 15 performs the functions of a transmission / reception unit 17, an information acquisition unit 18, a control unit 19, and an input / output unit 20 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 14.

[0013] The transmitter / receiver 17 transmits an ultrasonic signal Ω that controls the operation of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) via the speaker 11. The speaker 11 may be an existing speaker provided for audio, or a dedicated speaker provided separately for ultrasonic communication. The target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) that are remotely controlled by this ultrasonic signal Ω are, for example, an air conditioner 51 (hereinafter referred to as "air conditioner 51"), lighting 52, a seat 53, or an IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) 54. Note that the target in-vehicle devices are not limited to the above examples, and may be electronically controllable in-vehicle accessories such as a lock mechanism for a door opening / closing lever, an in-vehicle camera, a conventional navigation system, an audio device, or the like.

[0014] IVI54 is a system that provides a combination of functions such as navigation, location information service, multimedia playback such as music and video, voice communication, data communication, and Internet connection. The IVI 54 will be described in detail below in the description of the vehicle 100.

[0015] The target in-vehicle devices (51-54) are connected to an in-vehicle communication network 90 such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a Local Interconnect Network (LIN). For example, an ultrasonic receiver 79 is provided in the IVI 54, and the ultrasonic receiver 79 receives an ultrasonic signal Ω emitted by the operation device 10. Then, the IVI 54 serves as a repeater to transmit an operation instruction to the target in-vehicle devices (51-54) via the communication network 90. Each of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) may have its own ultrasonic receiver 79 and may be remotely controlled by the operation device 10A to directly perform its functions. In response to the remote control, for example, in the multimedia playback function of the IVI 54, functions such as start, stop, volume increase / decrease, media playback, fast forward, or fast rewind are executed.

[0016] In the following, an example will be described in which the target in-vehicle device (51 to 54) is an IVI 54, and a microphone 72 of the IVI 54 capable of detecting an ultrasonic signal Ω is provided in a display unit 71 provided between the driver's seat 53a and the passenger seat 53b on the inner panel 80, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The ultrasonic communication commands may be acquired from a server 400 connected via the Internet 300. Alternatively, basic commands may be stored in the memory units 14, 73 of the devices (10, 70), and additional commands may be acquired from the server 400.

[0017] Returning to the explanation of the configuration of the operation device 10, the following will be described. The information acquisition unit 18 detects information relating to noise sounds inside the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as "noise-related information"). Here, noise-related information refers to information related to disturbances that impede ultrasonic communication or causes of disturbances, such as the traveling speed of the vehicle 100, the traveling acceleration of the vehicle 100, the opening degree of the window 84, or the air volume of the air conditioner 51.

[0018] For example, the conditioned air σ sent from the air outlet 51a of the air conditioner 51 in FIG. 3 forms a temperature boundary surface between the mobile terminal 10a operated by the user 200 and the microphone 72 of the IVI 54 due to the temperature difference with the surrounding air. Air-conditioned airflow σ blown from air outlet 51a of the front seat air conditioner and air outlet 51b of the rear seat air conditioner flows between mobile terminal 10a held by user 200 seated in rear seat 53c and IVI 54. If ultrasonic signal Ω enters the temperature boundary surface formed at the boundary between air-conditioned air σ and the surrounding air, it may be disturbed by being reflected by the temperature boundary surface, which may significantly affect ultrasonic communication. Therefore, the information acquisition unit 18 acquires the air blowing sound inside the vehicle 100 via the microphone 12 of the mobile terminal 10a.

[0019] Furthermore, when the air conditioner 51 is operated, operation sounds of the air conditioner 51 are generated, such as the sound of the conditioned air σ coming out of the air outlets 51a, 51b coming into contact with the fins of the air outlets 51a, 51b, and the sound of the motor. These operation sounds may contain ultrasonic waves that may cause disturbances in the band used for the ultrasonic signal Ω, and therefore such operation sounds are also included in the noise-related information. The information acquisition unit 18 may directly acquire ultrasonic waves contained in such operation sounds of devices in the vehicle 100 as noise-related information.

[0020] Even if the microphone 12 of the operation device 10 cannot detect ultrasonic waves, the information acquisition unit 18 can learn to estimate ultrasonic waves from operation sounds by machine learning or the like, thereby making it possible to estimate ultrasonic components with high accuracy from operation sounds of in-vehicle devices collected by the existing microphone 12. In particular, by having the information acquisition unit 18 learn in advance the interference frequency range specific to the vehicle 100, even noise sounds inside the vehicle that may seem unrelated at first glance can be included in the noise-related information.

[0021] Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 18 may use a GPS function installed in the mobile terminal 10a to determine the moving speed of the mobile terminal 10a and determine the running mode of the vehicle 100. For example, it is possible to estimate ultrasonic waves generated when the vehicle 100 is coasting, accelerating rapidly, or running electrically.

[0022] The control unit 19 calculates the transmission ease of the ultrasonic signal Ω from the acquired noise-related information. For example, if the blowing noise is loud, it can be assumed that the air circulation inside the vehicle is strong and the transmission ease of the ultrasonic signal Ω is low. Also, if the ultrasonic waves contained in the blowing noise have a frequency far away from the frequency of the ultrasonic signal Ω, the influence on the transmission ease is small. In addition, the control unit 19 calculates the intensity of disturbance generated by the operation sound of the air conditioner 51 in the ultrasonic communication band, and calculates the transmissibility from this intensity.

[0023] Ultrasonic waves may also be generated by air entering and exiting when the window 84 is open, the opening and closing sound of the window 84, switching noise generated from the drive source or battery of the vehicle 100, etc. These noises may also interfere with ultrasonic communication, and therefore such noises are also included in the noise-related information.

[0024] Additionally, the storage unit 14 preferably stores a map of start delay times and a map of inhibition times. Here, FIG. 4(A) is a map of the start delay time for each operation received, and FIG. 4(B) is a table showing a map of the added time for each timing of change in the driving state. 4(A), the start delay time is a period from when the operation signal Ω is transmitted until when the measurement of the communicability is started, and is specified in association with the type of device to be remotely operated, such as "air conditioner" or "navigation volume." In other words, the information acquisition unit 18 measures the communicability after the start delay time has elapsed.

[0025] When an operation signal Ω is transmitted to the in-vehicle devices (51-54), it may take time for the operating state of the in-vehicle devices (51-54) to change depending on the function that is performed in response to the operation signal Ω. For example, the air conditioner 51 may be controlled to gradually increase the air volume because the driver may feel uncomfortable with a sudden increase in air volume. Therefore, a start delay time is provided for the timing of acquiring the surrounding environment by the microphone 12 of the mobile terminal 10a after transmitting the operation signal Ω, and a start delay time is provided. By providing a start delay time, it is possible to acquire the quality level of the ultrasonic communication at an appropriate timing. For example, the time it takes for the target in-vehicle devices (51-54) to change after receiving an operation signal via ultrasonic communication varies depending on the function being performed. Therefore, by varying the start delay time, the information acquisition unit 18 measures the degree of change in operation at the timing when the function whose operation has been changed by remote operation is fully performed, and this is reflected in the communication ease. In other words, the information acquisition unit 18 receives feedback on the change in operation of the target in-vehicle devices (51-54) due to the operation signal Ω, recalculates the communication ease from the change in noise-related information, and updates the display of the communication quality level.

[0026] The added time is a time that is added to the start delay time according to the manner of change when the vehicle state changes during the start delay time, as shown in FIG. 4(B). When the traveling condition of the vehicle 100 changes, the transmission ease of ultrasonic communication temporarily improves or deteriorates. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress the influence of the change in the traveling condition on the transmission ease of ultrasonic communication by adding an additional time to the start delay time when the traveling condition changes during the start delay time.

[0027] The display unit 13 is, for example, a touch panel that combines an input device for inputting data in response to an operation by the user 200 and a display device such as a liquid crystal display device for displaying data. On the display unit 13, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 2(A) and (B), operation pages 21 for "IVI," "air conditioner," "lighting," and "seats" are displayed switchably using tabs 22. For example, Fig. 2(A) displays an operation page 21 for operating an air conditioner 51, and Fig. 2(B) displays an operation page 21 for operating an IVI 54. On the operation page 21 for the air conditioner 51 in Fig. 2(A), the air conditioner 51 is remotely adjusted using eight buttons (23a to 23h) including a circulation switch button 23a, an AUTO button 23b, an air volume button 23c, and a compressor drive button 23d.

[0028] Moreover, when the "IVI" tab 22 is touched, the operation page 21 of the IVI 54 in FIG. 2(B) is displayed, and the IVI 54 is remotely operated using various buttons (24a to 24g) such as the channel buttons 24a and 24b. Although not shown in the drawings, the brightness adjustment and ON / OFF of the lighting 52 are remotely controlled. Also, the reclining angle adjustment and the fore-aft position adjustment of the seat 53 are remotely controlled.

[0029] Moreover, various icons 31 indicating the remaining battery level of the mobile terminal 10a and the radio wave intensity for wireless communication are displayed in a status bar 27 at the top of the display unit 13 (display screen 26). In the mobile terminal 10a according to the embodiment, the display unit 13 displays the calculated ease of communication as a communication quality level of the ultrasonic signal Ω, for example, in the status bar 27. The communication quality level is expressed in four stages by the number of arcs 28, for example, 0 to 3, as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B).

[0030] When the communication environment for the ultrasonic signal Ω is good and the degree of communication ease is high, three arcs 28 are displayed by the icon 31 as shown in FIG. 2(A), and when the degree of communication ease drops by one level, two arcs 28 are displayed as shown in FIG. 2(B). The display format of the communication quality level is not limited to the sector icon 31 in which the arcs 28 are arranged concentrically as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), and may be represented by, for example, the number of antenna bars or a number. Furthermore, the location where the communication quality level is displayed is not particularly limited to the status bar 27, and may be anywhere on the display screen 26 as long as the user 200 can see it.

[0031] Also, depending on the degree of ease of communication, a message such as "Point the mobile terminal at the vehicle receiving unit" or "Put the mobile terminal closer to the vehicle receiving unit" may be displayed to the user 200, and the user may be notified of a specific action to improve the degree of ease of communication. Furthermore, instead of displaying the message on the display screen 26, the message may be notified by voice, and the manner of notification is not particularly limited. By notifying the user of a specific action in this manner, the user is not only able to recognize that the communication quality level is low, but also able to take a specific action to improve the communication quality level.

[0032] By providing the mobile terminal 10a with such a communication environment checking function, the user 200 can check the communication quality level on the operation device 10 before starting remote operation or during operation, and know whether ultrasonic communication is available or not. In addition, by repeatedly using the communication environment confirmation function, it becomes possible to predict the circumstances in which it will be difficult to use ultrasonic communication.

[0033] <Vehicle 100> Next, a vehicle 100 equipped with remotely controlled on-board devices (51 to 54) will be described with reference to FIG. 1, as well as FIG. 3 and FIG. The vehicle 100 is equipped with a vehicle control unit 91 (ECU: Electronic Control Unit), various sensors (92 to 96), and target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54). These devices (91 to 96) are connected to each other via the above-mentioned communication network 90 to transmit and receive information.

[0034] The ECU 91 is an on-board computer provided in multiple locations within the vehicle 100, and has, for example, an engine control function, a steering control function, a brake control function, and a data security function. For example, the brake control ECU 91 receives information on the operation of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal and the traveling speed via a pedal stroke sensor 93 and a vehicle speed sensor 92, and converts this information into control signals to apply driving force or braking force to the front wheels or the rear wheels.

[0035] The IVI 54 has a touch panel display unit 71 that combines an input device for inputting data in response to operations by the user 200, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display device for displaying data. The IVI 54 also includes an in-vehicle microphone 72, an in-vehicle memory unit 73, an in-vehicle speaker 74, and an in-vehicle processing circuit 75. In describing the IVI 54, the name of each part of the IVI 54 will be prefixed with "in-vehicle" as appropriate to distinguish it from the speaker 11, the microphone 12, the display unit 13, the memory unit 14, and the processing circuit 15 in the mobile terminal 10a.

[0036] The in-vehicle storage unit 73 is configured with, for example, a ROM, a RAM, or a HDD. The in-vehicle processing circuit 75 executes instructions according to the programs stored in the in-vehicle storage unit 73, whereby the IVI 54 performs various functions such as the navigation function and the location information service function described above.

[0037] As described above, a plurality of air outlets 51a, 51b of the air conditioner 51 are provided in the vehicle 100 in accordance with targets to which the conditioned airflow σ is to be sent. The air outlet 51a provided for the front seats 53a, 53b is located near the display unit 71 of the IVI 54, but is distant from the rear seat 53c. Therefore, even if the conditioned air σ is blown from the air outlet 51a, the air is not sufficiently sensed by the mobile terminal 10a of the user 200 seated in the rear seat 53c. However, even if the air is not sensed by the mobile terminal 10a, the conditioned air σ forms a temperature boundary layer near the IVI 54, which becomes a factor that inhibits ultrasonic communication. By feeding back to the mobile terminal 10a the operation of the target in-vehicle devices (51-54) that has changed due to the operation signal Ω, such factors impeding ultrasonic communication that cannot be directly sensed by the mobile terminal 10a can also be taken into account in the calculation of the communication quality level.

[0038] The IVI 54 may also transmit information such as speed acquired by sensors (91-95) located in various locations within the vehicle using the in-vehicle detection unit 76 as the communication environment transmission unit 70 from the in-vehicle transmission unit 78 to the mobile terminal 10a using ultrasonic waves, and include the information in the calculation of the communication quality level. The communication environment transmission unit 70 may also include location information of the vehicle 100 acquired by the location information acquisition unit 77 using the GPS sensor 96.

[0039] In addition, the functional units (17-20, 76-79) of the processing circuits 15, 75 of the operation device 10 and the target in-vehicle devices (51-54) can also be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integration Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) instead of software processing. Furthermore, these functional units can also be realized by a combination of software processing and hardware processing.

[0040] Next, the operation procedure of the operating device 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 (see FIGS. 1 to 4 as appropriate).

[0041] First, in order to start or adjust the target in-vehicle device (51 to 54), the user 200 starts a remote control application on the mobile terminal 10a (S11). When the remote control application is started, an operation page 21 for each of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) is displayed on the display screen 26 of the mobile terminal 10a.

[0042] Next, the operation procedure of the operating device 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 (see FIGS. 1 to 4 as appropriate).

[0043] First, in order to remotely control the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54), the user 200 starts up a remote control application on the mobile terminal 10a (S11). When the remote control application is started, an operation page 21 for each of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) as shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) is displayed on the display screen 26 of the mobile terminal 10a.

[0044] Then, the control unit 19 calculates the degree of transmissibility based on the noise-related information acquired by the information acquisition unit 18 of the mobile terminal 10a (S12). Then, the control unit 19 displays the communication quality level using the icon 29 in the status bar 27 of the display unit 13 (S13).

[0045] Next, the transmitter / receiver 17 of the mobile terminal 10a transmits the operation signal Ω to the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) (S14). In response to the remote control by the operation signal Ω, the operation of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) changes. At this time, the response speed differs depending on the type of the remotely operated target in-vehicle device (51 to 54). Therefore, the information acquisition unit 18 refers to the map of start delay times shown in Fig. 4(A) and determines the start delay time according to the type of the remotely operated target in-vehicle device (51 to 54) (S15). Then, the information acquiring unit 18 waits until the start delay time has elapsed (NO in S16), and after the start delay time has elapsed (YES in S16), measures the degree of change in the noise-related information (S17). For example, the air conditioner 51 is remotely operated using the operation signal Ω instructing a change in the air conditioning fan volume. Then, the air conditioning sound is detected from the microphone 12 of the mobile terminal 10a, and it is confirmed whether the sound of the air conditioning fan volume has actually increased.

[0046] Then, the communication ease is recalculated from this degree of change, and the display of the communication quality level is updated (S18, S19). For example, in the above example of the air conditioner 51, if the air conditioning volume increases as instructed, it is determined that the communication environment is good, and if the air conditioning volume does not increase, it is determined that the communication environment is bad.

[0047] The operation signal Ω may be a signal carrying a character string or a number sequence instead of the operation signal Ω for causing the target in-vehicle device (51-54) to operate. In this case, the control unit 19 of the mobile terminal 10a that receives the reply signal calculates the error rate of the reply signal. Then, the control unit 19 calculates the communication ease from the error rate and updates the communication quality level displayed in the status bar 27. Depending on the error rate, the mobile terminal 10a adjusts the output by transmitting the above-mentioned operation signal Ω multiple times, increasing the volume of the operation signal Ω, etc. It is desirable to repeatedly transmit the operation signal Ω until the error rate is improved, and to end the transmission when the error rate is improved.

[0048] When the degree of transmission ease is low, it is desirable for the transmitter / receiver 17 to take measures to transmit the operation signal Ω multiple times. As another measure, the operation signal Ω can be transmitted to the IVI 54 accurately by transmitting the operation signal Ω for a longer period or by increasing the output amount of the operation signal Ω. Similarly, when the ease of transmission is low, the user 200 may be requested to take a specific action to improve the ease of transmission, such as "point the mobile terminal at the vehicle receiving unit" or "move the mobile terminal closer to the vehicle receiving unit," as described above.

[0049] As described above, the operation device 10 according to the embodiment can display a communication quality level that matches the actual communication environment in the vehicle by feeding back the response of the target in-vehicle devices (51 to 54) by remote operation and recalculating the communication ease. Therefore, the operator of the remote operation can accurately grasp the communication environment. In addition, by delaying the start of measurement from the transmission of the operation signal Ω to the response of the target in-vehicle device (51 to 54) depending on the type of the target in-vehicle device (51 to 54), the operation requested by the operation signal Ω is fed back in a state in which it is fully performed, and is included in the transmission ease.

[0050] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as described in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10... remote control device (operation device), 10a (10)... mobile terminal (smartphone), 10b (10)... in-vehicle operation terminal, 11... speaker, 12... microphone, 13... display unit, 14... memory unit, 15... processing circuit, 17... transmission / reception unit, 18... information acquisition unit, 19... control unit, 20... input / output unit, 21... operation page, 22... tab, 23a... circulation switch button, 23b... AUTO button, 23c... air volume button, 24a... channel button, 24b... channel button, 26... display screen, 27... status bar, 28... arc, 29... icon, 31... icon, 51 (51a, 51b)... air conditioner (air conditioner), 51a... front seat outlet, 51b... rear seat outlet, 52... lighting, 53... Seat, 53...seat, 53a...driver's seat (front seat), 53b...passenger seat (front seat), 53c...rear seat, 71...display unit, 72...vehicle microphone (microphone), 73...vehicle memory unit (memory unit), 74...vehicle speaker (speaker), 75...vehicle processing circuit (processing circuit), 76...vehicle detection unit, 77...location information acquisition unit, 78...transmitter, 79...ultrasonic receiver, 80...inner panel, 84...window, 90...communication network, 91...vehicle control unit (ECU), 92...vehicle speed sensor, 93...pedal stroke sensor, 94...window sensor, 95...steering angle sensor, 96...GPS sensor, 100...vehicle, 200...user, 300...Internet, 400...server, Ω...ultrasonic signal (operation signal), σ...air conditioning wind.

Claims

1. a speaker capable of emitting an ultrasonic signal for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle device; an information acquisition unit that detects information regarding noise sound inside a vehicle; A control unit that calculates a degree of transmission ease of the ultrasonic signal from the information; a display unit that displays the calculated ease of communication as a communication quality level of the ultrasonic signal, The in-vehicle device changes its operation to an operation mode in which a generation state of an operation sound that may cause the noise is different based on the ultrasonic signal, and The information acquisition unit measures a degree of change in the operation mode, The control unit recalculates the degree of ease of communication based on the degree of change in the operating mode, and updates the display of the communication quality level.

2. A remote control device as described in claim 1, wherein the degree of change in the operating mode is measured after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission of the ultrasonic signal.

3. 3. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein a start delay time from transmission of the ultrasonic signal to measurement of the degree of change in the operating mode is varied depending on a type of the in-vehicle device remotely controlled by the ultrasonic signal.

4. 4. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein the start delay time is extended if a running state of the vehicle changes during the lapse of the start delay time.

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