Vehicle-mounted device

Abstract

Reducing power consumption of an external battery in an external relay or the like. 【Solution means】An in-vehicle device 10 according to an embodiment includes a detection unit 11 that detects lighting of a room lamp 2 of a vehicle 1, and when the in-vehicle device 10 is in a sleep state and the detection unit 11 detects lighting of the room lamp 2, the in-vehicle device 10 is turned on, a normally-closed type external relay 20 of the vehicle 1 is opened, and a control unit 12 that prevents starting of the engine of the vehicle 1.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device.

Background Art

[0002] In the conventional automobile sales and automobile lease industries, it was impossible to obtain a vehicle without passing a strict finance credit review. However, today, for those who have the ability to pay but could not pass the conventional credit review, a service is proposed in which the credit review is omitted to provide a vehicle, and if the usage fee (for example, monthly fee) is not paid within a predetermined period, the vehicle is remotely stopped and the position of the vehicle is identified for recovery.

[0003] As a system for realizing such a service, Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle device with a remote control function including a relay input / output unit that controls an external relay for switching between an inoperable state and an operable state of a vehicle, mounted on the vehicle. When the user fails to pay the usage fee within a predetermined period or when vehicle theft is detected, a system is disclosed in which the external relay is controlled to restrict the vehicle startup by remote control.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] In Patent Document 1, when the in-vehicle device receives a command to switch the vehicle from an operable state to an inoperable state, the relay input / output unit switches the external relay of the vehicle to the inoperable state.

[0006] Here, when the external relay is closed, the vehicle is in an operable state, and when the external relay is open, the vehicle is in an inoperable state.

[0007] For example, when the external relay is of the normally closed type, the vehicle can be started when power is not supplied to the excitation coil of the external relay, and the vehicle cannot be started when power is supplied to the excitation coil of the external relay.

[0008] However, when the vehicle is switched to a state where it cannot be started, even when the engine is not running, power is always supplied to the excitation coil of the external relay. Therefore, in the external relay, power is being consumed, and there is a problem that the power of the external battery may be consumed by the current flowing through the excitation coil that controls the external relay when the engine is not running.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle device that can reduce the consumption of power of an external battery in an external relay or the like.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] An in-vehicle device according to an embodiment is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, and includes a detection unit that detects the lighting of a room lamp of the vehicle, and when the in-vehicle device is in a sleep state and the detection unit detects the lighting of the room lamp, the in-vehicle device is turned on, the normally closed type external relay of the vehicle is opened, and a control unit that prevents the engine of the vehicle from starting.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle device that can reduce the consumption of power of an external battery in an external relay or the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the ratios of the respective dimensions are different from the actual ones. Therefore, specific dimensions and the like should be determined with reference to the following description. Also, there may be portions where the dimensional relationships and ratios are different between the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0014] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 2, the in-vehicle device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0016] Here, one in-vehicle device 10 is installed in one vehicle 1. The installation location of the in-vehicle device 10 on the vehicle 1 can be anywhere on the vehicle 1. When the in-vehicle device 10 is retrofitted, it can be arranged in a place where installation work is easy, such as under the passenger seat. Also, from the viewpoint of preventing theft, the in-vehicle device 10 can be arranged in a place where it is difficult to remove, for example, under the engine room or inside the instrument panel. Furthermore, the in-vehicle device 10 can be built in the vehicle 1 in advance during the manufacture of the vehicle 1.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the input line (for example, GPIO) of the in-vehicle device 10 is connected to the dome lamp 2 of the vehicle 1.

[0018] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 10 is configured to be able to supply power to the normally-closed external relay 20 of the vehicle 1.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 10 includes a detection unit 11 and a control unit 12.

[0020] The detection unit 11 detects the lighting of the room lamp 2 of the vehicle 1 through the above-described input line due to any one of (1) the door of the vehicle 1 being opened, (2) the door of the vehicle 1 being unlocked, and (3) the smart key being recognized as being inside or near the vehicle 1.

[0021] When the in-vehicle device 10 is in the sleep state and the detection unit 11 detects the lighting of the room lamp 2, the control unit 12 turns on the in-vehicle device 10, opens the external relay 20, and prevents the engine of the vehicle 1 from starting.

[0022] In this embodiment, when the vehicle 1 is not in use, for energy saving, the in-vehicle device 10 is set to the sleep state, the external relay 20 is not supplied with power from the in-vehicle device 10, and is in the closed state.

[0023] According to such a configuration, when the engine of the vehicle 1 is not started, the in-vehicle device 10 enters the sleep state, the external relay 20 enters the closed state, and the consumption of the power of the external battery can be reduced.

[0024] Also, it takes a little time for the in-vehicle device 10 to switch from the sleep state to the on state and for the external relay 20 to switch from the closed state to the open state. During such a switching time, the starting of the engine of the vehicle 1 is not blocked, and the vehicle 1 is in a state where it can be started.

[0025] Therefore, for example, when the in-vehicle device 10 switches from the sleep state to the on state triggered by the execution of an engine start operation (e.g., stepping on the brake, etc.) and the external relay 20 switches from the closed state to the open state, a malicious third party can start the engine and steal the vehicle within such a switching time.

[0026] In contrast, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, triggered by opening the door of the vehicle 1 (the room lamp 2 of the vehicle 1 lighting up), the in-vehicle device 10 switches from the sleep state to the on state, and the external relay 20 switches from the closed state to the open state. That is, since the above-mentioned switching time starts after the door of the vehicle 1 is opened, compared with the configuration triggered by the execution of the engine start operation, the time allowed for a malicious third party to start the engine is shortened, and the effect of preventing theft can be obtained.

[0027] Further, when the in-vehicle device 10 is in the sleep state and the lighting of the room lamp 2 is detected by the detection unit 11, the control unit 12 may prevent the engine of the vehicle 1 from starting only for a predetermined time after the in-vehicle device 10 switches to the on state. Here, such a predetermined time may be changeable. Also, such a predetermined time may be changeable by remote control using an application of a smartphone or the like. Furthermore, such a predetermined time may be settable in minutes.

[0028] Since theft of the vehicle 1 tends to be abandoned if it takes a long time, setting such a predetermined time longer improves the effect of preventing theft. On the other hand, when the owner of the vehicle 1 uses the vehicle 1, there is also a demand to shorten such a predetermined time to enable the engine to start quickly. Thus, there is a trade-off relationship between the effect of preventing theft (the time for preventing theft) and enabling the engine to start quickly (the time during which the owner of the vehicle 1 cannot start the engine).

[0029] Therefore, according to the above configuration, the owner of the vehicle 1 can arbitrarily set for a predetermined time, and can meet the needs of the owner of the vehicle 1.

[0030] That is, when the security function is set to on, if the control unit 12 detects that the room lamp 2 is lit by the detection unit 11, the in-vehicle device 10 may be configured to transition from the sleep state to the on state, switch the external relay 20 to the open state only for a predetermined time, and prevent the engine of the vehicle 1 from starting.

[0031] On the other hand, when the security function is set to off, if the control unit 12 detects that the room lamp is lit by the detection unit 11, even if the in-vehicle device 10 transitions from the sleep state to the on state, the external relay 20 may be kept in the closed state and the engine of the vehicle 1 may be configured to be able to start.

[0032] In addition, the in-vehicle device 10 may automatically switch to the sleep state after a predetermined time has elapsed since it switched from the sleep state to the on state.

[0033] Note that the on and off of the security function can be set by remote control using a smartphone application or the like.

[0034] According to such a configuration, by controlling the on and off of the security function, it is possible to adjust the trade-off relationship between the time for preventing theft and the time when the owner of the vehicle 1 cannot start the engine according to the needs of the owner of the vehicle 1.

[0035] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, an example of the operation of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, in step S101, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the room lamp 2 of the vehicle 1 is lit by the detection unit 11.

[0037] When it is determined that the room lamp 2 of the vehicle 1 has turned on, this operation proceeds to step S102.

[0038] In step S102, the control unit 12 switches the in-vehicle device 10 from the sleep state to the on state.

[0039] In step S103, the control unit 12 determines whether the security function is on.

[0040] If the security function is on, this operation proceeds to step S104, and if the security function is off, this operation ends.

[0041] In step S104, the control unit 12 switches the external relay 20 to the open state for a predetermined time after the in-vehicle device 10 becomes on, and prevents the vehicle 1 from starting.

[0042] According to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the external battery in the external relay 20, and compared with a configuration that prevents the vehicle 1 from starting triggered by the execution of the engine start operation, it is possible to achieve a more effective anti-theft effect.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described in detail using the above-described embodiment, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in this specification. The present invention can be implemented as modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of this specification is for the purpose of illustration and has no restrictive meaning for the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0044] 1... Vehicle 2... Room lamp 3... External relay 10... In-vehicle device 11... Detection unit 12... Control unit

Claims

1. An on-board device mounted on a vehicle, A detection unit that detects whether a room lamp of the vehicle is turned on; and a control unit that, when the vehicle-mounted device is in a sleep state and the detection unit detects that the room lamp is on, turns on the vehicle-mounted device, opens a normally closed external relay of the vehicle, and prevents the engine of the vehicle from starting.

2. 2. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1, wherein when the vehicle-mounted device is in a sleep state and the detection unit detects that the room lamp is on, the control unit prevents the engine of the vehicle from starting only for a predetermined time after the vehicle-mounted device is switched to an on state.

3. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined time is changeable.

4. The control unit is When a security function is set to ON, when the vehicle-mounted device is in a sleep state and when the detection unit detects that the room lamp is turned on, the start of the engine of the vehicle is prevented for only the predetermined time, 3. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 2, wherein when the security function is set to off, the vehicle-mounted device does not prevent the engine of the vehicle from starting even when the vehicle-mounted device is in a sleep state and the detection unit detects that the room lamp is on.

5. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 4 , wherein the security function can be turned on and off by remote control.

Images