Verification control device

Abstract

To provide a collation control device capable of cancelling a remote immobilizer function, with high versatility.SOLUTION: A collation control device includes a control unit 111 which cancels a remote immobilizer function as a function of not permitting starting of an engine of a vehicle 100, on condition that information on a unique key ID periodically updated and transmitted to the vehicle 100 by a management center 200 has been collated with information on a unique ID of an electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100. In a state where communication between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 is interrupted, when an operation signal requesting cancellation of the remote immobilizer function is input, the control unit 111 cancels the remote immobilizer function on condition that the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100 has been detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a collation control device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various techniques related to a remote immobilizer function have been proposed to prevent unauthorized use and theft of a vehicle by notifying the vehicle of a command that disables starting of the vehicle engine in response to a request from a user. For example, the system described in Patent Document 1 is a system in which a unique key ID held in a vehicle is managed to be updatable through wireless communication between the vehicle and a management center. When communication between the vehicle and the management center is interrupted, the key ID transferred from the management center to the vehicle through a specific mobile terminal is updated as the unique key ID held in the vehicle, and the remote immobilizer function is released on the condition that the validity of the unique ID of the electronic key of the vehicle is determined using the updated unique key ID.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, when communication between the vehicle and the management center is interrupted, there is a high possibility that communication between the mobile terminal held by the vehicle occupants and the management center is also interrupted, and further improvement in versatility is required for releasing the remote immobilizer function.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a collation control device that can release a remote immobilizer function with high versatility. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The matching control device that solves the above problem includes a control unit that deactivates the remote immobilizer function, which is a function that prevents the vehicle's engine from starting, on the condition that the information regarding a unique key ID that the management center periodically updates and transmits to the vehicle is matched with the information regarding a unique ID held by the vehicle's electronic key. The control unit, when communication between the vehicle and the management center is interrupted and an operation signal requesting the deactivation of the remote immobilizer function is input, deactivates the remote immobilizer function on the condition that the vehicle's electronic key is detected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the remote immobilizer function can be deactivated with high versatility. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a cylinder representing an example of the configuration of a matching control device. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows an example of the process for disabling a remote immobilizer. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of a typical remote immobilizer deactivation process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] An embodiment of the matching control device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the verification control device 110 periodically updates information regarding the unique key ID held by the vehicle 100 by coordinating with a management center 200 that is mounted on the vehicle 100 and configured to communicate with the vehicle 100. The verification control device 110 then compares the updated information regarding the unique key ID with the information regarding the unique ID held by the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100 to determine the validity of the information regarding the unique ID held by the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100. If validity is determined, the remote immobilizer function is deactivated.

[0011] The matching control device 110 is connected, for example, to a DCM (Data Communication Module) 120, a key communication device 130, a door lock sensor 140, an engine switch 150, an engine control device 160, and a monitor 170.

[0012] The DCM120 is configured to communicate with the management center 200 and obtains information regarding the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 unique to the vehicle 100, which is periodically updated and managed by the management center 200.

[0013] The key communication device 130 is configured to communicate with the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100 and acquires information regarding the unique ID of the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100.

[0014] The door lock sensor 140 is a sensor that is operated when locking or unlocking the doors of the vehicle 100. When the door lock sensor 140 detects a lock operation, the verification control device 110 determines the validity of the unique ID of the electronic key 300, and, if the validity is determined, controls the vehicle 100 to lock its doors.

[0015] The engine switch 150 is a switch operated to start or stop the engine of the vehicle 100. When the engine switch 150 is operated to start the engine of the vehicle 100, the verification control device 110 determines the validity of the unique ID of the electronic key 300, and if the validity is determined, controls the vehicle 100 to start its engine. On the other hand, if the validity of the unique ID of the electronic key 300 is not determined, the verification control device 110 controls the vehicle 100 not to start its engine, even if the engine switch 150 is operated.

[0016] The engine control device 160 is a vehicle control device that controls the drive of the engine of the vehicle 100, and is connected to other vehicle control devices, including the matching control device 110, via a vehicle network.

[0017] The monitor 170 is a device that notifies the user of various information. For example, if the DCM 120 is outside the communication range, or if there is an abnormality in the operation of the DCM 120 and it does not respond, it displays that authentication of the electronic key 300 is required to deactivate the remote immobilizer function.

[0018] The matching control device 110 is implemented by a control unit 111, which consists of a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), executing a program (software). Some or all of the components of the control unit 111 may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in the storage unit 112 of the matching control device 110, such as an HDD or flash memory, or it may be stored on a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM and installed in the storage unit 112 of the matching control device 110 when the storage medium is inserted into a drive device.

[0019] The control unit 111 determines that the unique ID of the electronic key 300 is valid, provided that the information regarding the unique key ID 113 held in the vehicle 100 is matched with the information regarding the unique ID of the electronic key 300 of the vehicle 100. Then, based on the determination that the unique ID of the electronic key 300 is valid, the control unit 111 deactivates the remote immobilizer function and controls the vehicle 100 to allow the engine to start. For example, if the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 is valid and the key ID 113 and the unique ID are pre-associated, the control unit 111 determines that the unique ID of the electronic key 300 is valid. As a result, the control unit 111 starts the engine of the vehicle 100 in response to the operation of the engine switch 150.

[0020] The memory unit 112 stores the key ID 113 and the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113. The expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 is updated when the authentication process between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 is successfully completed and transmitted from the management center 200 to the vehicle 100.

[0021] Next, the release process of the remote immobilizer function executed by the collation control device 110 of the present embodiment in a situation where the communication between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 is interrupted will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2. The flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is executed, for example, when an operation signal of the engine switch 150 is acquired.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the collation control device 110 first determines whether the DCM 120 is outside the communication range based on the signal acquired from the DCM 120 (step S10).

[0023] If the collation control device 110 determines in the previous step S10 that the DCM 120 is outside the communication range (step S10 = YES), the collation control device 110 displays on the monitor 170 that authentication of the electronic key 300 is required to release the remote immobilizer function (step S30).

[0024] On the other hand, if the collation control device 110 determines in the previous step S10 that the DCM 120 is not outside the communication range, the collation control device 110 determines whether the DCM 120 has no response (step S20).

[0025] If the collation control device 110 determines in the previous step S20 that the DCM 120 has no response (step S20 = YES), the collation control device 110 displays on the monitor 170 that authentication of the electronic key 300 is required to release the remote immobilizer function (step S30).

[0026] On the other hand, if the collation control device 110 determines in the previous step S20 that the DCM 120 has a response (step S20 = NO), the collation control device 110 performs a normal remote immobilizer release process (step S40).

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, when performing a normal remote immobilizer release process, the collation control device 110 first determines whether authentication has been established between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 (step S41).

[0028] If the verification control device 110 determines that authentication has been established between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 (step S41 = YES), it obtains information regarding the expiration date 114 of the latest key ID 113 from the management center 200 and updates the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 (step S42).

[0029] On the other hand, if the verification control device 110 determines that authentication cannot be established between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 (step S41=NO), it proceeds to step S43 without updating the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113. Cases in which authentication cannot be established between the vehicle 100 and the management center 200 include, for example, cases where the information used for authentication does not match, when the vehicle 100 is outside the communication range, or when the management center 200 is experiencing a malfunction.

[0030] Next, the verification control device 110 determines whether the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 is valid or not (step S43).

[0031] If the verification control device 110 determines that the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 is valid (step S43 = YES), it deactivates the remote immobilizer function and unlocks the lock on the starting of the vehicle 100's engine (step S44), and then terminates the flowchart shown in Figure 2.

[0032] On the other hand, if the verification control device 110 determines that the expiration date 114 of the key ID 113 is not valid (step S43=NO), it terminates the flowchart shown in Figure 2 without deactivating the remote immobilizer function.

[0033] Returning to Figure 2, in step S30, the verification control device 110 displays on the monitor 170 that authentication of the electronic key 300 is required to unlock the engine starting of the vehicle 100. Based on the signal received from the electronic key 300 via the key communication device 130, the device determines whether or not the electronic key 300 has been detected (step S50).

[0034] Then, if the verification control device 110 determines in step S50 that the electronic key 300 has been detected (step S50 = YES), it determines that authentication of the electronic key has been successful, deactivates the remote immobilizer function, and unlocks the engine start lock of the vehicle 100 (step S60), thus ending the flowchart shown in Figure 2.

[0035] The embodiments described above are provided to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit its interpretation. The present invention can be modified or improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents thereof are also included. That is, any design modifications made to each embodiment by those skilled in the art are also included within the scope of the present invention, as long as they retain the features of the present invention. For example, the elements and their arrangement, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., of each embodiment are not limited to those exemplified and can be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, each embodiment is illustrative, and it goes without saying that partial substitution or combination of the configurations shown in different embodiments is possible, and these are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they retain the features of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] 100...Vehicle, 110...Verification control device, 111...Control unit, 112...Storage unit, 113...Key ID, 114...Expiration date, 120...DCM, 130...Key communication device, 140...Door lock sensor, 150...Engine switch, 160...Engine control device, 170...Monitor, 200...Management center, 300...Electronic key.

Claims

[Claim 1] The system includes a control unit that disables the remote immobilizer function, which prevents the vehicle's engine from starting, on the condition that the information regarding the unique key ID, which is periodically updated and transmitted to the vehicle by the management center, is matched with the information regarding the unique ID held by the vehicle's electronic key. When communication between the vehicle and the management center is interrupted, the control unit, upon receiving an operation signal requesting the deactivation of the remote immobilizer function via the operation of a switch located inside the vehicle, notifies the vehicle that authentication of the electronic key is required to deactivate the remote immobilizer function, and deactivates the remote immobilizer function on the condition that the vehicle's electronic key is detected after the operation signal has been received and the notification has been issued. Verification control device.

Images