This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-025001 filed with the Japan Patent Office on Feb. 12, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The disclosure relates to a vehicle control system that includes a control apparatus included in a vehicle; and a portable device carried by a user of the vehicle. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a vehicle control system having a function of automatically opening and closing a door by detecting a user's predetermined gesture.
There is known a door opening and closing system in which, even when a user has his/her hands full, a sliding door, a rear door, etc., of a vehicle can be automatically opened or closed by detecting a gesture such as a user's leg motion. In the system, a kick sensor that detects a leg motion is provided underneath the sliding door or rear door. When the user, for example, stands near the sliding door and performs a movement of kicking out his/her leg such that an end of the leg is put into a space between a vehicle body and the ground, the kick sensor detects the leg motion, and the sliding door is automatically opened or closed based on a detection signal outputted from the kick sensor. JP 2014-500414 W discloses a door opening and closing system including such a kick sensor.
In addition, JP 2013-7171 A discloses a system that automatically opens and closes a door by detecting a gesture using an obstacle sensor such as laser radar. In the system, an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle in an opening/closing path of a door is provided to a door mirror, etc., and the door is automatically opened or closed based on detection of a user's hand or leg motion by the obstacle sensor.
However, the mode of a hand or leg gesture varies from user to user. For example, when a leg motion is detected by a kick sensor, some users may kick out their legs quickly and some users may kick out their legs slowly. In addition, some users may lift up their legs high and some users may not lift up their legs so high. Conventionally, however, a detection criterion for detection of performing of a predetermined gesture (e.g., a threshold for an output voltage of the kick sensor) is preset as a fixed value. Hence, the kick sensor may not respond depending on the user's gesture habit, which may cause trouble in automatic opening and closing of a door.
An object of the disclosure is to provide a vehicle control system capable of performing smooth automatic opening and closing of a vehicle door, taking into account a user's gesture habit.
A vehicle control system according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure includes a vehicle control apparatus mounted on a vehicle; and a portable device carried by a user. The vehicle control apparatus includes: a door driving unit configured to open and close a door of the vehicle; a detector configured to detect a gesture of the user; and a controller configured to determine, based on a detection signal, whether a predetermined gesture is performed, and allow the door driving unit to open or close the door when the predetermined gesture is performed, the detection signal being outputted from the detector. The portable device includes: a first portable device configured to perform communication with the vehicle control apparatus; and a second portable device configured to perform communication with the first portable device. The second portable device transmits, based on a fact that a predetermined operation by the user is performed, a notification signal to the first portable device, the notification signal notifying about the predetermined operation. When the first portable device receives the notification signal from the second portable device, the first portable device transmits the notification signal together with an identification code of the first portable device to the vehicle control apparatus. When the vehicle control apparatus detects, by the detector, a gesture of the user after receiving the notification signal and the identification code from the first portable device, the vehicle control apparatus extracts a feature of the gesture from a detection signal for the gesture, and stores the feature so as to be associated with the identification code. The controller determines whether the predetermined gesture is performed, based on a result of a comparison between a feature extracted from a detection signal for a subsequent gesture and the stored feature.
According to the vehicle control system, the user can customize the detection criteria of the detector according to his/her gesture habit, only by performing a predetermined operation on the second portable device and then performing a gesture such as a kick movement. Hence, the vehicle control apparatus can accurately detect a gesture regardless of who the user is, and can perform smooth automatic opening and closing of the door.
In one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first portable device may be an electronic key for locking or unlocking a door of the vehicle, and the second portable device may be a smartphone that performs near-field wireless communication with the first portable device.
In one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first portable device and the second portable device may be integrated. A vehicle control system in this case includes a vehicle control apparatus and a single portable device carried by a user. The portable device transmits, based on a fact that a predetermined operation by the user is performed, a notification signal together with an identification code of the portable device to the vehicle control apparatus, the notification signal notifying about the predetermined operation. When the vehicle control apparatus detects, by the detector, a gesture of the user after receiving the notification signal and the identification code from the portable device, the vehicle control apparatus extracts a feature of the gesture from a detection signal for the gesture, and stores the feature so as to be associated with the identification code. The controller determines whether the predetermined gesture is performed, based on a result of a comparison between a feature extracted from a detection signal for a subsequent gesture and the stored feature.
In this case, too, the portable device may be a smartphone or may be an electronic key for locking or unlocking the door of the vehicle.
In one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the feature of the gesture may include at least one of a peak value of the detection signal, time taken for the detection signal to reach the peak value, and a change rate at a rise of the detection signal.
When the feature includes a peak value of the detection signal, a predetermined threshold may be set for the peak value.
According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a vehicle control system can be provided that is capable of performing smooth automatic opening and closing of a vehicle door, taking into account a user's gesture habit.
Embodiments of the disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the identical or equivalent component is designated by the identical numeral. In embodiments of the disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more through understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the invention.
A configuration of a vehicle control system according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to
Here, the electronic key 2 is an example of a “first portable device” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure, and the smartphone 3 is an example of a “second portable device” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure.
The kick sensor 17 is composed of, for example, a capacitive proximity sensor. As shown in
As such, since the pattern of a detection signal of the kick sensor 17 varies depending on the user, if detection criteria for detection of a kick movement by the kick sensor 17 are fixed, then an event may occur where a kick movement can be detected for a certain user, but cannot be detected for another user. In the disclosure, on the other hand, as will be described in detail later, the detection criteria of the kick sensor 17 are customized according to a user, by which a kick movement can be accurately detected regardless of who the user is.
The vehicle control apparatus 1 includes a controller 10, a memory 11, an LF (Low Frequency) transmitter 12, a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) receiver 13, a request switch 14, a door lock apparatus 15, a sliding door driving unit 16, a kick sensor 17, and an in-vehicle device 18. Although the vehicle control apparatus 1 includes various types of blocks in addition to those, they are not directly related to the disclosure and thus are not shown. Note that the vehicle control system 100 of
The controller 10 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the vehicle control apparatus 1. The memory 11 includes memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The LF transmitter 12 intermittently transmits, in a predetermined cycle, an LF signal for checking the presence of the electronic key 2. The UHF receiver 13 receives a UHF signal (described later) which is transmitted from the electronic key 2. The request switch 14 forms a passive entry system, together with the electronic key 2. The request switch 14 is provided near a door knob and detects a user's approach or touch. The door lock apparatus 15 includes, for example, a lock mechanism that locks and unlocks doors of the vehicle V; and a drive circuit that allows the lock mechanism to operate. The sliding door driving unit 16 includes, for example, a motor for opening and closing the sliding door SD (
Here, the sliding door driving unit 16 is an example of a “door driving unit” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure, and the kick sensor 17 is an example of a “detector” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure.
The electronic key 2 includes a controller 20, a memory 21, an LF receiver 22, a UHF transmitter 23, a near-field wireless communication unit 24, an operating unit 25, and a display 26. Although the electronic key 2 also includes other blocks than those, they are not directly related to the disclosure and thus are not shown.
The controller 20 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the electronic key 2. The memory 21 includes memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The LF receiver 22 receives the above-described LF signal which is transmitted from the LF transmitter 12 of the vehicle control apparatus 1. The UHF transmitter 23 transmits commands (described later) to the vehicle control apparatus 1 by UHF communication. The near-field wireless communication unit 24 includes a communication circuit for near-field wireless communication such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The operating unit includes a plurality of operating buttons provided to a main body of the electronic key 2. The display 26 includes a plurality of LED lamps provided to the main body of the electronic key 2.
The smartphone 3 includes a controller 30, a memory 31, an operating unit 32, a display 33, a near-field wireless communication unit 34, a calling unit 35, and a communication unit 36. Although the smartphone 3 includes various types of blocks in addition to those, they are not directly related to the disclosure and thus are not shown.
The controller 30 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the smartphone 3. The memory 31 includes memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The operating unit 32 includes operating buttons provided to a main body of the smartphone 3 and operating buttons displayed on the display 33. The display 33 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel provided to the main body of the smartphone 3 and a drive circuit for the liquid crystal panel. The near-field wireless communication unit 34 includes a communication circuit which is the same as that of the near-field wireless communication unit 24 of the electronic key 2. The calling unit 35 includes a speaker, a microphone, an audio circuit, and the like. The communication unit 36 includes a communication circuit that is connected to an Internet line to perform communication with a server, etc.
Next, procedural steps for customizing the detection criteria of the kick sensor 17 in the vehicle control system 100 configured in the above-described manner will be described with reference to a flowchart of
When the detection criteria are customized, the user P first starts an application for customization by operating the smartphone 3 (step S301). By doing so, an initial screen 33a such as that shown in
When the user P selects a setting target by pressing the kick sensor sensitivity setting button B1 on the selection screen 33b (step S305), the near-field wireless communication unit 34 of the smartphone 3 transmits a customize start command that instructs to start the sensitivity (detection criteria) setting of the kick sensor 17, to the near-field wireless communication unit 24 of the electronic key 2 (step S306). When the electronic key 2 receives the customize start command by the near-field wireless communication unit 24 (step S201), the electronic key 2 transmits the customize start command together with an identification code (hereinafter, referred to as “ID”) of the electronic key 2, as a UHF signal, from the UHF transmitter 23 to the vehicle control apparatus 1 (step S202). The ID of the electronic key 2 is prestored in the memory 21.
Here, the pressing of the kick sensor sensitivity setting button B1 is an example of a “predetermined operation” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The customize start command is a signal notifying about the pressing of the kick sensor sensitivity setting button B1, and is an example of a “notification signal” in one or more embodiments of the disclosure.
When the vehicle control apparatus 1 receives, by the UHF receiver 13, the customize start command and ID transmitted from the electronic key 2 (step S101), the vehicle control apparatus 1 sets a customize setting mode to ON (step S102). Thereafter, the vehicle control apparatus 1 waits for the kick sensor 17 to detect a kick movement (step S103).
On the other hand, on the smartphone 3, by the selection of the kick sensor sensitivity setting at step S305, the screen on the display 33 changes to a navigation screen 33c such as that shown in
If the vehicle control apparatus 1 detects, by the kick sensor 17, the above-described kick movement (step S103; YES), the controller 10 analyzes a detection signal outputted from the kick sensor 17, and extracts features of the kick movement (step S104). The features are considered to include, for example, a peak value Ep of the detection signal, time Tp taken for the detection signal to reach the peak value Ep, and a change rate (slope) α at a rise of the detection signal, such as those shown in
The controller 10 stores, in the memory 11, the above-described features together with the ID of the electronic key 2 (step S105). The memory 11 is provided with, for example, a table such as that shown in
When storing of the features is done, the vehicle control apparatus 1 transmits a signal notifying about the completion of feature setting, to the electronic key 2 (step S106). The signal is transmitted, as an LF signal, from the LF transmitter 12. The reason that the LF signal is transmitted is because by using a low-frequency magnetic field, a communication area around the vehicle is limited to a range on the order of two meters from the vehicle, improving security. Thereafter, the vehicle control apparatus 1 sets the customize setting mode to OFF (step S107).
When the electronic key 2 receives, by the LF receiver 22, the LF signal transmitted from the vehicle control apparatus 1 (step S203), the electronic key 2 transmits a signal notifying about the completion of feature setting, from the near-field wireless communication unit 24 to the smartphone 3 (step S204).
When the near-field wireless communication unit 34 of the smartphone 3 receives the signal (step S308), the screen on the display 33 of the smartphone 3 changes to a setting completion notification screen 33e such as that shown in
When the user P presses the setting cancel buttons C and D2 on the navigation screens 33c and 33d of
By the above, the operation of customizing the detection criteria (features) of the kick sensor 17 is completed. After this, opening and closing of the sliding door SD by a kick movement at normal times are performed according to procedural steps of a flowchart of
In
When the user P performs a kick movement and the kick sensor 17 detects the kick movement (step S123; YES), the controller 10 analyzes a detection signal of the kick sensor 17 and extracts features described in
If the kick movement determination is OK (step S126; YES), the controller 10 allows the sliding door driving unit 16 to drive the sliding door SD (step S127). If opening or closing of the sliding door SD is completed (step S128; YES), the controller 10 ends a series of processes. If the kick movement determination is NG (step S126; NO), the controller 10 ends a series of processes without performing steps S127 and S128.
Note that a determination as to whether to open or close the sliding door SD by a kick movement can be made as follows. Specifically, when a kick movement is performed with the sliding door SD being closed which is detected by a door sensor (not shown), the sliding door driving unit 16 opens the sliding door SD. On the other hand, when a kick movement is performed with the sliding door SD being opened which is detected by the door sensor, the sliding door driving unit 16 closes the sliding door SD.
According to the above-described first embodiment, the user P can customize the detection criteria of the kick sensor 17 according to his/her kick movement habit, only by pressing the kick sensor sensitivity setting button B1 on the smartphone 3 and then performing a kick movement. Hence, the vehicle control apparatus 1 can accurately detect a kick movement regardless of who the user is, and can perform smooth automatic opening and closing of the sliding door SD.
In addition, in the first embodiment, since the electronic key 2 and the smartphone 3 are used as portable devices and a signal is transmitted from the smartphone 3 to the vehicle control apparatus 1 through the electronic key 2, the electronic key 2 serves as a gateway. Hence, compared to a case in which a signal is directly transmitted to the vehicle control apparatus 1 from the smartphone 3 connected to the Internet, security performance on the vehicle side can be enhanced.
Next, a configuration of a vehicle control system according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
The controller 40 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the smartphone 4. The memory 41 includes memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The LF receiver 42 receives an LF signal for checking the presence of the smartphone 4, which is transmitted from the LF transmitter 12 of the vehicle control apparatus 1. The UHF transmitter 43 transmits commands (described later) to the vehicle control apparatus 1 by UHF communication. The operating unit 44 includes operating buttons provided to a main body of the smartphone 4 and operating buttons displayed on the display 45. The display 45 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel provided to the main body of the smartphone 4 and a drive circuit for the liquid crystal panel. The calling unit 46 includes a speaker, a microphone, an audio circuit, and the like. The communication unit 47 includes a communication circuit that is connected to an Internet line to perform communication with a server, etc.
A flowchart of
In
In the first embodiment, a customize start command is transmitted to the electronic key 2 by near-field wireless communication at step S306 of
In addition, in the first embodiment, the vehicle control apparatus 1 transmits a signal notifying about the completion of feature setting, as an LF signal, to the electronic key 2 at step S106 of
In addition, in the first embodiment, the smartphone 3 receives a signal notifying about the completion of feature setting from the electronic key 2 by near-field wireless communication at step S308 of
Note that, in the second embodiment, procedural steps for opening and closing the sliding door SD by a kick movement at normal times after customizing the kick movement detection criteria are the same as those shown in the flowchart of
As another example of the second embodiment, instead of the LF receiver 42 and the UHF transmitter 43 of the smartphone 4 of
According to the above-described second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the vehicle control apparatus 1 can accurately detect a kick movement regardless of who the user is, and can perform smooth automatic opening and closing of the sliding door SD. In addition, since the portable device is only the smartphone 4, the system can be simplified.
Next, a configuration of a vehicle control system according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to
The controller 50 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the electronic key 5. The memory 51 includes memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The LF receiver 52 receives an LF signal for checking the presence of the electronic key 5 which is transmitted from the LF transmitter 12 of the vehicle control apparatus 1. The UHF transmitter 53 transmits the aforementioned customize start command to the vehicle control apparatus 1 by UHF communication. The operating unit 54 includes, for example, a plurality of operating buttons provided to a main body of the electronic key 5. The display 55 includes, for example, a plurality of LED lamps provided to the main body of the electronic key 5.
The vehicle control system 300 of the third embodiment does not use a smartphone and thus screen display is not performed for operations. However, it is possible to allow the user P to perform operations required for customization of the detection criteria by using the operating buttons of the operating unit 54 or the LED lamps of the display 55 which are included in the electronic key 5.
Procedural steps for customizing the detection criteria of the kick sensor 17 in the vehicle control system 300 configured in the above-described manner are basically the same as those of
In addition, in the third embodiment, procedural steps for opening and closing the sliding door SD by a kick movement at normal times after customizing the kick movement detection criteria are the same as those shown in the flowchart of
According to the above-described third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the vehicle control apparatus 1 can accurately detect a kick movement regardless of who the user is, and can perform smooth automatic opening and closing of the sliding door SD. In addition, since the portable device is only the electronic key 5, the system can be simplified as in the second embodiment.
The disclosure can adopt various embodiments such as those shown below in addition to the above-described ones.
Although features (detection criteria) are stored in the memory 11 of the vehicle control apparatus 1 at step S105 of
Although a setting completion notification is transmitted and received using an LF signal at steps S106 and S203 of
Although the first and second embodiments show the smartphones 3 and 4 as an example of a portable device, instead of a smartphone, for example, other mobile phones or portable tablets may be used as a portable device.
Although the third embodiment shows an example in which instead of operations performed on screens, operations are performed using the operating buttons or LED lamps of the electronic key 5, the display 55 of the electronic key may be composed of a liquid crystal panel so that operations on screens such as those performed on a smartphone can be performed.
Although the setting completion notification screen 33e of
Although the above-described embodiments show, as an example, the case of opening and closing the sliding door SD by a kick movement, the disclosure can also be applied to the case of opening and closing a rear door by a kick movement. In this case, the kick sensor 17 is provided underneath the rear door. In addition, a door which is an opening/closing target is not limited to a sliding door or a rear door, and may be, for example, a door that opens and closes a trunk.
Although the above-described embodiments show, as an example, a kick movement where the user kicks out his/her leg in the manner shown in
Although the above-described embodiments show a leg movement as an example of a user's gesture, the user's gesture is not limited to a leg movement. For example, a hand or arm movement may be detected as a gesture.
While the invention has been described with reference to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-025001 | Feb 2016 | JP | national |