Patent Application
20070290554
This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-169119 filed on Jun. 19, 2006.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle control system, which changes a position of a seat to ease entry of an occupant into a passenger compartment of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-211819 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-316231 recite systems which ease entry of an occupant into a passenger compartment of a vehicle. Specifically, in the system recited in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-211819, a remote control transmitter is provided. When a user operates a switch, which is provided on the remote control transmitter, slide doors, which are provided to a driver seat and a front passenger seat, respectively, can be opened and closed. In this way, when the occupant(s) gets into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, the door(s) can be opened and closed automatically. Thus, the entry of the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment is facilitated.
However, when both hands are full of, for example, baggage, it is difficult to operate the switch of the transmitter. In order to address this problem, the system of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-316231 includes a smart entry key, a receiver and a control device. The smart entry key periodically transmits a radio signal, which includes an ID code signal. The receiver receives this radio signal outputted from the smart entry key. The control device opens a slide door of the vehicle when an impact is applied to a side sill of the vehicle upon reception of the radio signal. In this way, even in the ease where the hands are full of, for example, baggage, the slide door can be easily opened to facilitate the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
However, each of the systems, which are recited in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-211819 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-316231, merely automatically opens the slide door in response to the operation of the switch and does not further facilitate the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment. Here, it should be understood that a seat position also has a significant influence on the easiness of the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment in addition to the opening and closing of the door.
For example, upon the opening of the door by the occupant, when a front space in front of the seat, which is located aside of the door, is narrow, it is often difficult to get into the seat or to move to another seat. Furthermore, generally, in a case of a vehicle, which has three rows of seats, when the occupant is trying to get into the seat in the third row, the occupant needs to move the seat in the second row toward the front side of the vehicle or to tilt a seat back of the seat in the second row. When this kind of work needs to be performed every time the occupant gets into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, the occupant may be annoyed.
The present invention addresses the above disadvantage. Thus, it is an objective of the invention to provide a vehicle control system, which further facilitates entry of an occupant into a passenger compartment of a vehicle by changing a corresponding seat position.
To achieve the objective of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system, which includes a sensing means and a position changing means. The sensing means is for sensing a number and a location of at least one occupant, who approaches a vehicle to get into a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The position changing means is for changing a position of at least one predicted seat of the vehicle, on which the at least one occupant is predicted to be seated, to increase an available space for occupant entry based on a sensed result of the sensing means.
The invention, together with additional objectives, features and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:
A vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The vehicle control system of the present embodiment controls locking and unlocking of each door 11-14 of a vehicle 10 based on a result of verification of an ID code of a portable device (an electronic key) 1, which is performed through intercommunication between the portable device 1 and a vehicle side unit installed in the vehicle 10. The vehicle side unit also controls a seat position and a steering wheel position in a passenger compartment to ease entry of a driver into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, the vehicle control system is implemented in the vehicle 10, which has three rows of seats. The vehicle 10 has front right and left swing doors 11, 13 for the front row (first row) of the seats (a driver seat and a front passenger seat) and right and left slide doors 12, 14 for the two rear rows (the second and third rows) of the seats.
As shown in
The vehicle side unit includes the extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d, which are provided to the doors 11-14, respectively, of the vehicle 10. The vehicle side unit also includes the intravehicular transmitter 2e, which is provided in the passenger compartment. The extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d and the intravehicular transmitter 2e transmit the request signal based on a transmission command signal received from a control device 4 of the vehicle unit.
When the vehicle 10 is parked upon locking of each door 11-14, the request signal is transmitted from the extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d. A communication area is formed around each door 11-14 of the vehicle 10 based on a transmittable range of the request signal of the corresponding extravehicular transmitter 2a-2d. Thus, approaching of a carrier(s), who carries the portable device 1, to the corresponding door(s) 11-14 can be detected. Furthermore, a communication area of the intravehicular transmitter 2e is set to cover an interior space of the passenger compartment, so that it is possible to sense whether the portable device 1 is present in the passenger compartment. Alternatively, multiple intravehicular transmitters 2e may be provided such that a sum of communication areas of the multiple intravehicular transmitters 2e covers the entire interior space of the passenger compartment.
The vehicle side unit further includes a receiver 3, which is provided in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. The receiver 3 is placed in a response signal receivable state while being synchronized with outputting of the transmission command signal from the control device 4 to the transmitters 2a-2e. Thus, the receiver 3 can receive the response signal transmitted from the portable device 1. The response signal, which is received by the receiver 3, is outputted to the control device 4. The control device 4 verifies whether the ID code, which is included in the response signal, satisfies a predetermined relationship (e.g., matching of the ID code with a corresponding preregistered ID code). Then, based on the result of the verification, the control device 4 controls the locking and unlocking of the doors 11-14 and also controls the seat position and the steering wheel position to ease the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment.
In the present embodiment, multiple portable devices 1 are provided, so that all of the vehicle occupants, who frequently use the vehicle 10, can carry the portable devices 1, respectively. In response to the request signal transmitted from the respective transmitters 2a-2e, each communicatable one of the multiple portable devices 1 replies the response signal, which includes the ID code that is specific to the portable device 1.
The vehicle side unit includes lock controllers 5a-5d, which are provided to the doors 11-14, respectively, of the vehicle 10 to lock and unlock the corresponding door 11-14. Specifically, each lock controller 5a-5d includes a door lock motor, which is rotated in a normal direction and a reverse direction to lock and unlock the corresponding door 11-14 in response to a lock signal and an unlock signal, respectively, which is transmitted from the control device 4.
Touch sensors 6a1-6d1 are provided to door handles 6a-6d, respectively, of the doors 11-14. Thus, when the carrier of the portable device 1 touches the door handle 6a-6d to operate the handle 6a-6d, such an operation can be detected through the corresponding touch sensor 6a1-6d1. When this operation of the door handle 6a-6d is detected, each door 11-14 is unlocked.
Furthermore, door lock switches 6a2-6d2, each of which is constructed as a push switch, are provided to the door handles 6a-6d, respectively. Each door 11-14 can be locked through operation of the corresponding door lock switch 6a2-6d2. Each door handle 6a-6d also functions as an antenna of the corresponding extravehicular transmitter 2a-2d.
The vehicle side unit further includes a seat position control device 7, which controls the seat position(s), and a steering position control device 8, which controls the steering wheel position. The seat position control device 7 and the steering position control device 8 will be described in detail with reference to
With reference to
The structures of the above seats are only for illustrative purpose and may be changed in various ways. For example the D seat 15 and the P seat 16, which serve as the front row seats, may be modified to move in the transverse direction of the vehicle like the second row seats. Furthermore, with respect to the second row seats, another seat may be provided to a space between the DR seat 17 and the PR seat 18. Alternatively, a seat with a table function (i.e., a seat that can be transformed into a table) may be provided to the space between the DR seat 17 and the PR seat 18. When the seat with the table function is moved to a location between the front D seat 15 and the front P seat 16, this seat serves as a side table. In such a case, when the seat with the table function is moved to the location between the front D seat 15 and the front P seat 16, the DR seat 17 or the PR seat 18 may be moved in the transverse direction of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, with respect to the third row seat 19, the seat 19 may be divided into multiple seat sections, which can be independently moved in the front-to-rear direction. Alternatively, the present invention may be implemented in a vehicle, which does not have the third row seat(s), i.e., a vehicle, which has only the first and second row seats.
The seat position control device 7 receives a seat position change signal from the control device 4 and outputs a drive signal to the motor of each corresponding seat to change the position of the seat to a specified seat position, which is specified by the seat position change signal. The position of each seat is sensed through a corresponding sensor (not shown) and is supplied to the seat position control device 7. The seat position control device 7 stops the outputting of the drive signal when the sensed seat position coincides with the specified seat position. The seat position can be computed or predicted based on an output duration time period of the drive signal to the motor of each corresponding seat. Furthermore, the position of each seat can be adjusted to a desired seat position by its occupant through use of a corresponding operational switch (not shown), which is connected to the seat position control device 7.
Furthermore, each seat is provided with a seating sensor (not shown), which senses seating of the occupant on the seat, and a sensor signal of the seating sensor is supplied to the control device 4. The seating sensor may be in a form of a load sensor, which senses a load applied to a seat surface of the corresponding seat.
The steering position control device 8 outputs a drive signal to a motor, which changes a tilt angle of a steering wheel 20 to raise or lower the position (steering position) of the steering wheel 20. The steering position control device 8 receives a steering position change signal from the control device 4 and outputs the drive signal to the motor to adjust the steering position to a specified steering position, which is specified by the steering position change signal.
The position of the steering wheel 20 is sensed with a position sensor (not shown), and the sensed position of the steering wheel 20 is supplied to the steering position control device 8. In this way, the steering position control device 8 can move the steering wheel 20 to the specified steering position, which is specified from the control device 4. The tilt angle of the steering wheel 20 can be adjusted to a desired position by the occupant through use of an adjust switch (not shown), which is connected to the steering position control device 8.
Next, a control operation of the control device 4 for unlocking the respective doors 11-14 and for changing the seat position(s) and the steering position based on the result of the verification of the ID code executed through the intercommunication between the vehicle side unit and each corresponding portable device 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in
First, at step S10, the transmission command signal (extravehicular request signal) is outputted from the control device 4 to the extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d to output the request signal from the extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d. Then, at step S20, it is determined whether the response signal from each corresponding communicatable portable device 1, which responds to the request signal, is received. When it is determined that the response signal is not received at step S20, it is then determined that the communicatable portable device 1 is not present in the communication areas of the extravehicular transmitters 2a-2d. Thus, the operation proceeds to step S90. In contrast, when it is determined that the response signal is received from the corresponding portable device 1 at step S20, the operation proceeds to step S30.
Here, each extravehicular transmitter 2a-2d outputs the request signal, which includes a specific identification code that is specific or unique to the extravehicular transmitter 2a-2d. The portable device 1 replies the response signal that includes the identification code of the corresponding extravehicular transmitter 2a-2d, from which the request signal is received. Alternatively, the control device 4 may command the respective transmitters 2a-2d to sequentially transmit the request signal one after another. In this way, the control device 4 can determine which one of the request signals of the transmitters 2a-2d is responsible for the response signal replied from the portable device 1. That is, it is possible to identify one or more of the doors 11-14, toward which the carrier(s) of the portable device 1 is approaching.
At step S30, it is determined whether the ID code, which is included in the response signal, satisfies the predetermined relationship (e.g., matching of the ID code with the preregistered ID code) to verify the ID code. When it is determined that the ID code is valid through the verification of the ID code at step S30, the operation proceeds to step S40. In contrast, when it is determined that the ID code is invalid at step S30, the operation proceeds to step S90.
At step S40, the seat position(s) and/or steering position is changed based on the number and the location of the occupant(s) having the portable device 1 to ease the entry of the occupant(s) having the portable device 1 into the passenger compartment. In the present embodiment, as described above, the multiple portable devices 1 are provided to permit all of the vehicle occupants, who frequently use the vehicle 10, to carry his/her own portable device 1. Therefore, the number and the location of the occupant(s), who is going to enter the passenger compartment of the vehicle, can be identified based on the number of the valid portable device(s) 1 and the location(s) of the extravehicular transmitter(s) 2a-2d, to which the corresponding portable device(s) 1 responds.
Exemplary cases for changing the seat position(s) and the steering position will be described with reference to
In contrast, with reference to
Furthermore, with reference to
Furthermore, there may be a case where no occupant is trying to get into the front passenger seat 16, and one occupant is trying to get into the front passenger's rear seat 18 through the front passenger's rear seat door 14. In such a case, with reference to
Furthermore, through the intercommunication between the respective portable devices 1 and the vehicle side unit, when five or more occupants are detected or when approaching of two or more occupants to the driver's rear seat door 12 or the front passenger's rear seat door 14. is detected, it is assumed that at least one occupant will get into the third row seat 19. In such a case, in order to ease the entry of the occupant into the third row seat 19, one of the second row seats 17, 18, which is close to the driver's rear seat door 12 or the front passenger's rear seat door 14, toward which the occupants are approaching, is moved away from that door 12, 14 in the transverse direction of the vehicle. For example, in a case of
Simultaneously with the movement of the above second row seat in the transverse direction of the vehicle, the third row seat 19 is moved toward the rear side of the vehicle, for example, to the rear end position of the third row seat 19. Through the above seat position adjustment, the entry of the occupant into the third row seat 19, which is most difficult among the front, second and third row seats, can be significantly eased.
At the time of changing each corresponding seat position described above, if each corresponding seat position is already in its appropriate position (its instructed position), the seat position will not be changed. Furthermore, in some cases, depending on the relationship between each corresponding seat position in the parked state of the vehicle and its instructed seat position, each corresponding seat may possibly be moved in an opposite direction, which is opposite from the direction indicated in the corresponding one of
In the present embodiment, when at least one carrier, who is carrying the portable device 1, is recognized, the touch sensor 6a1-6d1 of the corresponding door(s) 11-14, toward which the carrier is approaching, is activated to place the door(s) 11-14 in an unlock standby state. Then, at step S50, it is determined whether an unlock operation is performed, i.e., whether the carrier of the portable device 1 has grabbed the door handle 6a-6d of the corresponding door 11-14, which is placed in the unlock standby state.
Unless “YES” is returned at step S50, steps S10-S40 are repeated. Thus, even when the multiple occupants approach the corresponding doors 11-14 one after the other at different timing, the portable devices 1 of these occupants can be individually recognized.
When “YES” is returned at step S50, the operation proceeds to step S60. At step S60, each door 11-14 is unlocked. In this way, the occupant, who carries the portable device 1, can unlock and open the respective doors 11-14 of the vehicle. At the time of entering the passenger compartment, the position of the corresponding seat 11-14 has been changed in the above described manner. Thus, the occupant can easily enter the passenger compartment. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, while the occupant, who carries the portable device 1, is located outside of the passenger compartment (i.e., before the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment), the corresponding seat position(s) and/or steering position is changed. Therefore, for example, when the carrier of the portable device 1 gets into the passenger compartment, the corresponding seat position(s) and/or steering position have been already changed.
In the case where the above change in the seat position(s) and/or steering position is made, after completion of entry of the the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment, it is desirable that the seat position(s) and/or steering position is returned to its initial position. This is due to the fact that the seat position for facilitating the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment and the seat position suitable for traveling of the vehicle differ from each other. Furthermore, after the completion of the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment, the occupant should be seated on his/her seat, so that the seat position can be changed without any trouble.
At step S70, it is determined whether the entry of the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment is completed. At the time of making this determination, seating of at least the occupant into the driver seat 15 is sensed with, for example, a seating sensing switch, which is provided to each seat of the vehicle, and closure of all of the doors 11-14 is detected with, for example, courtesy lamp switches provided to the doors 11-14, respectively. Upon detection of them, it may be determined that entry of the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment is completed. Furthermore, detection of starting of the engine may be added to the above determination condition for determining the completion of the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment. That is, when the starting of the engine is detected, it may be determined that the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment is completed upon satisfaction of the above condition.
When it is determined that the entry of the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment is completed at step S70, the operation proceeds to step S80. At step S80, a signal is outputted to the seat position control device 7 and the steering position control device 8 to return the seat position(s) and/or steering position to its initial position. In this way, each seat position and the steering position are returned to its suitable position for the traveling of the vehicle.
As in the case of the present embodiment, when the seat position(s) and/or steering position is changed upon the presence of the the occupant, who carries the portable device 1, outside of the the passenger compartment, the seat position(s) and/or steering position may possibly be changed at the time of walking of the occupant, who carries the portable device 1, around the vehicle. In the case where the carrier of the portable device 1 does not initiate the entry into the passenger compartment, it is desirable that the changed seat position(s) is returned to its initial position without leaving the changed seat position(s). This is due to the fact that the desirable seat position(s) varies depending on the door, through which the occupant enters into the passenger compartment.
Therefore, at step S90, which is executed in the case where the response signal cannot be received from the portable device 1 or in the case where the result of the verification indicates the invalidity of the ID code, it is determined whether the seat position(s) is in the changed state. When “YES” is returned at step S90, the operation proceeds to step S80 where the seat position(s) and/or steering position is returned to its initial position.
That is, leaving of the carrier of the portable device 1 away from the vehicle is determined based on whether the response signal, which results in the validity of the ID code upon the verification of the ID code, is present. This is based on the fact that when the carrier of the portable device 1 is moving away from the vehicle, the intercommunication between the vehicle side unit and the portable device 1 becomes impossible, so that the response signal, which will result in the validity of the ID code upon the verification of the ID code, cannot be received any longer.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number and location(s) of the occupant(s), who is trying to get into the passenger compartment, is identified. Thus, even when the multiple occupants are trying to get into the passenger compartment, the corresponding seats can be placed into its appropriate position to ease the entry of each occupant.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the above embodiment may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For example, in the vehicle control system of the above embodiment, when the entry of the occupant(s) into the passenger compartment is completed, the seat position(s) and/or steering position is returned to its predetermined initial position. However, the appropriate seat position and/or steering position varies from person to person depending on his/her body size and preference. Thus, in the case where the seat position and/or steering position is adjusted by the occupant, the adjusted seat position and/or steering position may be stored as its initial position. In such a case, the seat position and/or steering position may be returned to the stored position thereof when it is determined that the entry of the occupant into the passenger compartment is completed. In this way, the seat position may be changed to the appropriate position, which matches with the body size and/or preference of the occupant.
The adjusted seat position and/or steering position, which is adjusted by the occupant, may be stored as its initial position by executing an operation indicated by a flowchart in
Furthermore, when the occupant has changed the seat position and/or steering position through use of the corresponding operational switch, step S130 of
When the ID code of the portable device 1 coincides with the stored ID code, which is stored in association with the changed seat position and/or steering position, there is a high possibility of that the same occupant, who has previously changed the seat position and/or steering position, gets into the driver seat 15. Thus, when the changed (adjusted) seat position and/or steering position is stored as its initial position in association with the ID code, the seat position and/or steering position can be returned to its appropriate position, which is appropriate for the occupant, who actually gets into the driver seat 15.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each occupant, who often uses the vehicle, is provided with the portable device 1. The number and location(s) of the occupant(s), who is trying to get into the passenger compartment, is identified based on the result of the verification of each corresponding ID code through the intercommunication between the vehicle side unit and each corresponding portable device 1.
However, it is possible to use other measures to identify the number and location(s) of the occupant(s), who is trying to get into the passenger compartment. For example, each door 11-14 of the vehicle may be provided with an infrared sensor device 110-140 (see
Furthermore, two cameras 150, 160 (see
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader terms is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-169119 | Jun 2006 | JP | national |
