Control device, control method, and control system

Abstract

[Problem] To achieve both position estimation accuracy and responsiveness. [Solution] Provided is a control device comprising a control unit that, on the basis of the strength of a reception signal that conforms to the communication standard stipulating that the reception signal is received by a communication device mounted on a mobile body from a portable apparatus carried by a user of the mobile body, controls to execute an operation defined by a controlled device mounted on the mobile body. The reception signal strength includes a first reception signal strength and a second reception signal strength. The control unit determines the number of measurements of the second reception signal strength taken by the communication device on the basis of the first reception signal strength measured by the communication device, and determines, on the basis of the second reception signal strength measured by the communication device, whether to cause the controlled device to execute the defined operation.

Description

Control device, control method, and control system

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a control method, and a control system.

[0002] In recent years, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a technology has been developed that estimates the position of a portable device based on the received signal strength of a signal received from the portable device, and controls the operation of a controlled device mounted on a mobile body based on the results of the position estimation.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-32169

[0004] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the accuracy of the position estimation of the portable device increases as the number of times the received signal strength is measured increases, but the responsiveness decreases.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to achieve both high position estimation accuracy and responsiveness.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, a control device is provided that includes a control unit that controls the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on a mobile body based on the received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by a communication device mounted on the mobile body from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the control unit determines the number of times the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determines whether to cause the controlled device to perform the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

[0007] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a control method is provided, which includes controlling the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on a mobile body based on the received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by a communication device mounted on the mobile body from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the controlling further includes determining the number of times the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determining whether to cause the controlled device to perform the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

[0008] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a control system is provided, comprising a communication device mounted on a mobile body and a program executed by a computer that controls the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on the mobile body based on the received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by the communication device from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the program determines the number of times the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determines whether to cause the controlled device to execute the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

[0009] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both high position estimation accuracy and responsiveness.

[0010] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining determination of the number of measurements of a second received signal strength based on a first received signal strength according to the embodiment; and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow by the control system 1 according to the embodiment.

[0011] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0012] In addition, in this specification and drawings, when multiple identical components are to be described separately, letters or the like may be added to the end of the reference numerals. On the other hand, when it is not necessary to distinguish between multiple identical components, the letters or the like may be omitted and a description common to all of the multiple identical components may be given.

[0013] <1. Embodiment> <<1.1. System Configuration Example>> First, a functional configuration example of a control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, a control system 1 according to this embodiment includes a moving object 10 and a portable device 20 .

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile object 10 according to this embodiment is equipped with a communication device 110, a control device 120, and a controlled device 130.

[0017] The portable device 20 according to this embodiment is also equipped with a communication device 210 and has a control application 220 installed therein.

[0018] (Mobile object 10) The mobile object 10 according to this embodiment may be a vehicle such as a car, an aircraft, or a ship.

[0019] (Communication Device 110) The communication device 110 according to this embodiment performs wireless communication with a communication device 210 mounted on the portable device 20 in accordance with a prescribed communication standard.

[0020] The prescribed communication standard may be, for example, BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy).

[0021] However, the prescribed communication standard is not limited to the above example, and may be set arbitrarily.

[0022] The mobile object 10 may be equipped with one or more communication devices 110 .

[0023] (Control device 120) The control device 120 according to this embodiment includes a control unit that controls the execution of a specified operation by the controlled device 130 based on the received signal strength (RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the signal received by the communication device 110 from the portable device 20.

[0024] The received signal strength may include a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength.

[0025] One of the features of the control device 120 of this embodiment is that it determines the number of times the communication device 110 measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device 110, and determines whether or not to cause the controlled device 130 to perform a specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device 110.

[0026] According to the above-described features, it is possible to achieve both high accuracy and responsiveness in estimating the position of the portable device 20 .

[0027] The functions of the control device 120 according to this embodiment are realized by various processors. The details of the functions of the control device 120 according to this embodiment will be described later.

[0028] (Controlled Device 130 ) The controlled device 130 according to this embodiment may be any of various devices that perform a specified operation under the control of the control device 120 .

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, when the controlled device 130 is mounted on a mobile body 10, the controlled device 130 may be, for example, a locking / unlocking device that locks / unlocks a door provided on the mobile body 10 as the above-mentioned specified operation.

[0030] However, controlled device 130 and the prescribed operation are not limited to the above example.

[0031] For example, controlled device 130 may be an engine. In this case, the specified action may be to allow or restrict engine start.

[0032] Furthermore, for example, controlled device 130 may be a lighting device. In this case, the specified operation may be to turn on or off the light.

[0033] (Portable Device 20) The portable device 20 according to this embodiment is carried by the user of the mobile object 10 (for example, the owner of the mobile object 10, or a person authorized by the owner to use the mobile object 10, etc.).

[0034] The portable device 20 according to this embodiment may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a wearable device, or the like.

[0035] (Communication Device 210) The communication device 210 according to this embodiment performs wireless communication with the communication device 110 mounted on the mobile object 10 in accordance with a prescribed communication standard.

[0036] (Control Application 220) The control application 220 according to this embodiment includes at least a program for controlling the above-described wireless communication by the communication device 210.

[0037] The above describes an example of the functional configuration of the control system 1 according to this embodiment. Note that the functional configuration described above with reference to Fig. 1 is merely an example, and the functional configuration of the control system 1 according to this embodiment is not limited to this example.

[0038] The functional configuration of the control system 1 according to this embodiment can be flexibly modified according to specifications, operation, and the like.

[0039] <<1.2. Detailed Functions>> Next, the functions of the control system 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0040] As described above, in recent years, a technology has been developed that estimates the position of a portable device based on the received signal strength of a signal received from the portable device, and controls the operation of a controlled device mounted on a moving object based on the results of the position estimation.

[0041] According to the above technology, for example, the position of a smartphone (an example of a portable device) carried by a user can be estimated by measuring the received signal strength of a signal transmitted from the smartphone, and if the distance between the smartphone and a vehicle (an example of a moving body) is within a specified range, it is possible to perform control such as allowing the unlocking of a door (an example of a controlled device) provided on the vehicle.

[0042] However, in existing systems, the above-mentioned control is provided by a so-called active function that is triggered by the user operating a smartphone, and it is common for only one communication device to be installed in the vehicle.

[0043] Here, when attempting to provide the above-mentioned control using a so-called passive function that is not triggered by a user's operation of the smartphone, it is important to estimate the smartphone's position with high accuracy.

[0044] In order to estimate the location of a smartphone with higher accuracy, it is possible to increase the number of times the received signal strength of the signal transmitted from the smartphone is measured, or to increase the number of communication devices that measure the received signal strength.

[0045] However, if a vehicle is equipped with multiple communication devices and each of the multiple communication devices measures the received signal strength of the signal transmitted from the smartphone multiple times, the responsiveness of the passive function may be significantly reduced.

[0046] The technical concept according to one embodiment of the present invention has been conceived with the above points in mind, and makes it possible to achieve both high position estimation accuracy and responsiveness.

[0047] To this end, the control device 120 according to this embodiment first causes the communication device 110 mounted on the moving body 10 to measure a first received signal strength of the signal transmitted from the portable device 20 .

[0048] Next, the control device 120 determines the number of times the communication device 110 measures the second received signal strength based on the measured first received signal strength.

[0049] Next, the control device 120 determines whether to cause the controlled device 130 to perform a prescribed operation based on the second received signal strength measured the determined number of times.

[0050] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining how to determine the number of times to measure the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength according to this embodiment.

[0051] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the mobile object 10 is equipped with five communication devices 110A to 110E.

[0052] The five communication devices 110A to 110E are located at different positions in the mobile unit 10.

[0053] For example, the communication device 110A is disposed in the front of the vehicle interior.

[0054] Further, for example, the communication device 110B is disposed at the rear of the vehicle interior.

[0055] Further, for example, the communication device 110C is arranged outside the vehicle 10 on the passenger seat side.

[0056] Further, for example, the communication device 110D is disposed outside the vehicle 10 on the driver's seat side.

[0057] Further, for example, the communication device 110E is disposed outside the rear of the vehicle 10 .

[0058] As shown in Figure 2, when multiple communication devices 110 are installed on the mobile body 10, one of the multiple communication devices 110 performs connection communication with the portable device 20 and authenticates the portable device 20 based on information sent and received in the connection communication.

[0059] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the communication device 110A performs connection communication with the portable device 20, and authenticates the portable device 20 based on information such as a digital key received from the portable device 20 during the connection communication.

[0060] Other communication devices 110 that do not authenticate the portable device 20 do not need to connect and communicate with the portable device 20, but only need to be able to measure the received signal strength of the signal transmitted from the portable device 20.

[0061] Next, a detailed description will be given of how to determine the number of times to measure the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength according to this embodiment.

[0062] FIG. 2 illustrates three regions defined by a first received signal strength measured by the communication device 110 and thresholds θ1 to θ3 (θ1>θ2>θ3).

[0063] The region where the first received signal strength exceeds the threshold value θ1 is the region of the three regions that is closest to the mobile body 10. In the region close to the mobile body 10, it is required to more accurately determine whether or not to cause the controlled device 130 to perform a specified operation.

[0064] Therefore, when the first received signal strength exceeds the threshold value θ1, the control device 120 may cause the communication device 110 to measure the second received signal strength a greater number of times (e.g., 10 times) than in the other two areas.

[0065] Furthermore, the region where the first received signal strength exceeds the threshold θ3 and is equal to or less than the threshold θ2 is the region of the three regions that is farthest from the moving body 10. In the region farthest from the moving body 10, responsiveness may be prioritized.

[0066] Therefore, when the first received signal strength exceeds threshold θ3 and is equal to or less than threshold θ2, the control device 120 may have the communication device 110 measure the second received signal strength fewer times (e.g., three times) than in the other two areas.

[0067] Furthermore, the region where the first received signal strength exceeds the threshold θ2 and is equal to or smaller than the threshold θ1 is a region of the three regions that is at a medium distance from the moving body 10.

[0068] Therefore, when the first received signal strength exceeds threshold θ2 and is equal to or less than threshold θ1, the control device 120 may have the communication device 110 measure the second received signal strength a number of times that is intermediate between the other two ranges (e.g., five times).

[0069] As described above, the control device 120 according to this embodiment may determine a greater number of measurements of the second received signal strength when the measured first received signal strength exceeds a certain threshold θ compared to when the first received signal strength does not exceed the threshold θ.

[0070] The above-described control makes it possible to improve responsiveness when the portable device 20 is located relatively far from the moving body 10. This is expected to enable earlier detection of the approach of the portable device 20 to the moving body 10, and also reduces power consumption.

[0071] On the other hand, according to the above-described control, when the portable device 20 is located relatively close to the mobile body 10, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the prescribed operation can be performed by increasing the number of times the second received signal strength is measured. This not only improves security but also prevents a situation in which the prescribed operation is not performed even though the user carrying the portable device 20 is near the mobile body 10, thereby reducing the discomfort felt by the user.

[0072] In addition, when multiple communication devices 110 are installed on the mobile body 10 as shown in Figure 2, the communication device 110 that measures the second received signal strength may be all of the multiple communication devices 110, or may be at least one of the multiple communication devices 110.

[0073] For example, the control device 120 may determine the number of times to measure the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device 110A during connection communication between the communication device 110A and the portable device 20, and cause the communication devices 110A to 110E to measure the second received signal strength the determined number of times.

[0074] Furthermore, for example, after establishing connection and communication between communication device 110A and portable device 20, control device 120 may cause each of communication devices 110A-110E to measure a first received signal strength, and cause communication device 110 that measured the strongest first received signal strength to measure a second received signal strength. Since communication device 110 that measured the strongest first received signal strength is predicted to be closest to portable device 20 at the time of measuring the first received signal strength, having only that communication device 110 measure the second received signal strength is expected to further improve responsiveness.

[0075] The above has described how to determine the number of times to measure the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength. The control device 120 according to this embodiment may apply a filter to the plurality of second received signal strengths measured as described above, and determine whether to cause the controlled device 130 to perform a specified operation based on the value after applying the filter.

[0076] The filter may be, for example, a moving average.

[0077] When applying the filter, processing such as excluding outliers may be performed.

[0078] In addition, the control device 120 according to this embodiment may determine whether or not to cause the controlled device 130 to perform a specified operation based on the result of authentication of the portable device 20 based on a signal conforming to a specified communication standard transmitted and received between the communication device 110 and the portable device 20.

[0079] Specifically, if the value after application of the filter exceeds a predetermined threshold and the authenticity of the portable device 20 is confirmed based on the connection communication between any of the communication devices 110 and the portable device 20, the control device 120 may cause the controlled device 130 to perform a specified operation.

[0080] <<1.3. Processing Flow>> Next, an example of the processing flow of the control system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0081] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing by the control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0082] In the example shown in FIG. 3, first, one of the communication devices 110 establishes connection and communication with the portable device 20 and authenticates the portable device 20 (S101).

[0083] Next, one or more communication devices 110 measure a first received signal strength under the control of the control device 120 (S102).

[0084] The control device 120 determines the number of times to measure the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured in step S102 (S103).

[0085] Next, one or more communication devices 110, under the control of the control device 120, measure the second received signal strength the number of times determined in step S103 (S104).

[0086] The control device 120 applies a filter to the second plurality of received signal strengths measured in step S104 (S105).

[0087] Next, the control device 120 determines whether to perform a prescribed action based on the filtered value obtained in step S105 and the result of the authentication in step S101 (S106).

[0088] The above describes an example of the processing flow of the control system 1 according to this embodiment. Note that the processing in steps S102 to S106 shown in Fig. 3 may be repeatedly performed while connection and communication between any of the communication devices 110 and the portable device 20 continues.

[0089] <2. Supplementary Information> Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modified or altered examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0090] For example, in the above embodiment, an example is given of a case in which the control device 120 determines that when the first received signal strength exceeds a certain threshold, the number of times to measure the second received signal strength is to be greater than when the first received signal strength does not exceed the threshold.

[0091] On the other hand, when the first received signal strength exceeds a certain threshold, the control device 120 can also determine to measure the second received signal strength fewer times than when the first received signal strength does not exceed the threshold. In this case, the determination accuracy improves when the portable device 20 is located relatively far from the mobile object 10, and the responsiveness improves when the portable device 20 is located relatively close to the mobile object 10.

[0092] In the above embodiment, three thresholds θ1 to θ3 are used to determine the number of measurements of the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength, but at least one threshold θ may be set. Furthermore, the number and value of the thresholds θ may be determined statically or dynamically.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the case has been described where the determination of the number of measurements of the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength is performed by the control device 120 mounted on the mobile object 10. On the other hand, the determination of the number of measurements of the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength may be performed by the control application 220 installed in the portable device 20.

[0094] Furthermore, the steps of the processes described above do not necessarily have to be processed in chronological order according to the order shown in the flowcharts or sequence diagrams. For example, the steps of the processes of each device may be processed in an order different from the order shown, or may be processed in parallel.

[0095] Furthermore, the series of processes performed by each device described in this specification may be realized by a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Each program is, for example, loaded into RAM when executed by a computer and executed by a processor such as a CPU. The storage medium may be, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory. The program may also be distributed, for example, via a network, without using a storage medium.

[0096] 1: Control system, 10: Mobile object, 110: Communication device, 120: Control device, 130: Controlled device, 20: Portable device, 210: Communication device, 220: Control application

Claims

1. A control device comprising: a control unit that controls the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on a mobile body based on a received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by a communication device mounted on the mobile body from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the control unit determines the number of times the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determines whether or not to cause the controlled device to execute the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the number of measurements of the second received signal strength to be greater when the first received signal strength exceeds a threshold value compared to when the first received signal strength does not exceed the threshold value.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit applies a filter to the measured second received signal strengths and determines whether or not to cause the controlled device to perform the specified operation based on the value after applying the filter.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the filter includes calculating a moving average.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether or not to cause the controlled device to execute the specified operation further based on the result of authentication of the portable device based on a signal conforming to the specified communication standard transmitted and received between the communication device and the portable device.

6. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the prescribed communication standard includes BLE.

7. A control method comprising: controlling the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on a mobile body based on a received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by a communication device mounted on the mobile body from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the controlling further comprises determining the number of times that the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determining whether or not to cause the controlled device to execute the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

8. A control system comprising: a communication device mounted on a mobile body; and a program executed by a computer for controlling the execution of a specified operation by a controlled device mounted on the mobile body based on a received signal strength of a signal conforming to a specified communication standard received by the communication device from a portable device carried by a user of the mobile body, wherein the received signal strength includes a first received signal strength and a second received signal strength, and the program determines the number of times the communication device measures the second received signal strength based on the first received signal strength measured by the communication device, and determines whether or not to cause the controlled device to execute the specified operation based on the second received signal strength measured by the communication device.

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