JP3378213B2 - In-vehicle communication device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle communication device used when performing a predetermined instruction operation in a center cluster in an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, air conditioners (A / C)
When instructing various in-vehicle units such as an audio device and an audio device, a predetermined instructing operation is performed by pushing various switches 2 of the center cluster 1 installed in the instrument panel of the automobile as shown in FIG. I was going.

In this case, a switch input control panel 4 in which various switches 2 are mounted in a cluster body (casing) 3
(Printed wiring board) is built-in, and a switch signal related to an operation instruction from the switch input control panel 4 is provided on the rear side of the cluster body 3 for an in-vehicle network (in-vehicle LAN).
The gateway ECU 6 for sending to the vehicle is installed. Between the switch input control panel 4 and the gateway ECU 6 is shown in FIG.
As described above, they are connected by a predetermined wire means such as a connecting member called a board-to-board connector or a wire harness, and information is transferred by serial communication or the like through the wire means.

[0004]

In the above conventional in-vehicle communication device, the switch input control panel 4 and the gateway ECU 6 are provided.
Since it was connected by a predetermined wired means, it is necessary to design in consideration of such connection, but at this time it is necessary to design in consideration of the wiring and the assemblability of the board-to-board connector etc. in advance. In many cases, this is contrary to the miniaturization and simplification of the device.

Further, in the case of adopting the wired structure as described above, in consideration of wiring efficiency, it is necessary to dispose the switch input control panel 4 and the gateway ECU 6 close to each other. Then, for example, the gateway ECU 6 is installed in an automobile. In the case of installing in a instrument panel, it is difficult and inconvenient to perform switch input operation from a remote position such as a rear seat (rear seat).

By operating the remote controller 7 from outside the vehicle, wireless communication such as infrared rays or radio waves is executed to lock (lock) or unlock (unlock) the door of the vehicle ( (See FIG. 9). When installing such a keyless entry unit as an option, it is necessary to newly design it considering the installation location, but in this case, it is necessary to design the in-vehicle communication device in consideration of the installation of the keyless entry unit. However, as described above, the result often goes against the downsizing and simplification of the device.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle communication device capable of transmitting an instruction to a gateway ECU for a switch input or a keyless entry instruction to each on-vehicle unit and achieving miniaturization and simplification. is there.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems,
The invention according to claim 1 is a switch input control panel for inputting a switch for operating various vehicle-mounted units in a vehicle at a predetermined position in the vehicle, and a display device for displaying predetermined information. And a center cluster integrally mounted in the cluster body, a controller installed on the back side of the cluster body of the center cluster and transmitting an instruction signal for instructing driving of the on-vehicle unit, A remote control device for performing a remote instruction operation by a wireless signal to the unit, the switch input control panel of the center cluster, on the rear side of the switch input control panel, information about the input operation of the switch. The control unit includes a wireless transmission unit for transmitting a wireless signal, and the control unit includes the wireless transmission unit of the center cluster and the remote control unit. Wireless receiving means including a plurality of receiving elements for receiving wireless signals from the wireless device, a recognition control circuit for recognizing various instruction operations based on the wireless signals received by the wireless receiving means, and a recognition control circuit An instruction signal transmitting means for transmitting an instruction signal for instructing to drive various vehicle-mounted units in the vehicle based on the recognition, wherein the cluster body is a smoke plate for improving the contrast of the display image of the display. At least, the display screen of the display is arranged limited to a part of the smoke board, on the rear side of the switch input control panel of the center cluster, the wireless receiving means of the control unit. Receiving elements associated with the center cluster among the receiving elements are arranged, on the back side of the area protruding from the display screen of the display of the smoke plate, Receiving element associated to said respective remote control unit of the receiving device of the wireless receiving means of the serial controller in which is disposed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, any one or a plurality of remote control devices prepared in advance for a plurality of types are selectively applied to the remote control device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the radio signal is an optical signal in a predetermined frequency band.

[0011]

1 is a diagram showing an in-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This in-vehicle communication device includes a switch input control panel 11 and a display 12 as shown in FIG.
A center cluster 13 in which is integrated, a gateway ECU (control unit) 14 installed on the back side of the cluster body 13a of the center cluster 13, and a remote control for performing a remote instruction operation to the gateway ECU 14. And the controller 15 from the center cluster 13 and the remote controller 15 to the gateway ECU.
All of the instruction signals to be sent to 14 are made by wireless signals such as infrared signals.

The center cluster 13 is a cluster body 13
a is in the instrument panel of the car,
The switch input control panel 11, the display 12, and the gateway ECU 14 are installed on the rear side of the vehicle so as to face the inside of the vehicle such as the driver's seat.

A display unit 1 is provided on a part of the cluster body 13a.
The smoke plate 13b for improving the contrast of the display image in 2 is fixed. This smoke board 13b
The surface or inside of the plate body made of glass or industrial plastic is formed in a cloudy state, and while maintaining a certain degree of light transmission, the smoke plate 1 can be seen by the viewer.
The image on the opposite side of 3b is formed in a semi-transparent shape so as not to directly enter the eye. In addition, this smoke board 13
The formation area of b is set to be larger than that of the display panel 12a serving as the display screen of the display 12, and the smoke plate 13b
In the area protruding from the display panel 12a of the display device 12 of FIG. Arranged to face.

Further, the cluster body 13a is provided with a plurality of holes 13c for exposing the respective switches 16 of the switch input control panel 11 to the driver seat side. Reference numeral 13d in FIG. 1 indicates a unit hole for loading / unloading a cassette tape and opening / closing an ashtray in the cassette deck.

The switch input control panel 11 has a plurality of switches 16 for issuing drive instructions to various on-vehicle units.
Are integrated, and an electric signal related to an operation instruction of these switches 16 is photoelectrically converted by a light emitting element (wireless transmission means) 18 such as an infrared LED installed on the back surface of a predetermined circuit board 17 to generate a wireless signal. Is transmitted to the light receiving element 25e (FIGS. 1 and 5) of the gateway ECU 14 wirelessly.

The switch 16 is a general push button type switch or a slide type switch, and is the circuit board 1 described above.
7 is mounted on the front surface side (inside the passenger compartment). Switch 1
6 is an audio switch for operating an in-vehicle audio device, an in-vehicle air conditioner device (air conditioner)
There is an air conditioner switch to operate the.

Circuit board 1 of this switch input control board 11
A light emitting element 18 such as the above infrared LED is arranged on the rear surface of the vehicle 7 (on the front side of the vehicle), and the light emitting element 18 transmits an infrared signal (transmission data) to the gateway ECU 14. Communication (signal transmission) by the light emitting element 18 may be any method known as an infrared signal communication method. For example, a method of superimposing a subcarrier on transmission data ( Sharp's ASK method) is adopted. Generally, as the transmission data, as shown in FIG. 2, a value of "0" and a value of "1" are often transmitted alternately, but in this method, a section where the value of the transmission data is "0" is used. The subcarrier of 500 kHz is superposed and transmitted, and the receiving side recognizes the switch input by demodulating the subcarrier of 500 kHz.

The display 12 is a liquid crystal display (LC
D) or a predetermined display element such as a fluorescent display tube (VFD) is used, and is mounted on a predetermined display element drive circuit board 12b as shown in FIG. 3 to drive various indicators and various vehicle-mounted units. Etc. are displayed. Here, display 1
Data exchange between the gateway 2 and the gateway ECU 14,
Although a wired connection structure may be used, it is preferable that both the display 12 and the gateway ECU 14 be provided with infrared communication means for two-way wireless communication so that infrared signals can be wirelessly communicated. In this case, as will be described later, the center cluster 13 or the remote controller 15 and the gateway ECU 14 can be configured by the same communication means as the mechanism for communication, so that the in-vehicle communication device can be downsized as a whole.

Further, as described above, the display panel 12a of the display unit 12 is formed to be smaller than the formation area of the smoke plate 13b, and further, the region protruding from the display panel 12a of the smoke plate 13b of the display element drive circuit board 12b. As for FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 4, the light receiving elements 25a to 25d of the gateway ECU 14 installed behind (FIGS. 1 and 5).
On the other hand, a light transmitting hole 19 for transmitting an infrared signal from the remote controller 15 is formed. This makes it possible to prevent the smoke plate 13b from recognizing the light receiving elements 25a to 25d (FIGS. 1 and 5) of the gateway ECU 14, and thus to prevent the appearance from being spoiled.

The remote controller 15 has a portable card size, a small shape installed at a predetermined position such as a rear seat in an automobile, etc., and emits an infrared LED or the like according to a predetermined button operation. An infrared signal as a wireless signal is transmitted from the element 21. The power supply for transmitting the button operation as an electric signal to the light emitting element 21 and for driving the light emitting element 21 to emit light is
It is supplied from a built-in battery mounted inside the remote controller 15 itself. When the IrDA system, which is a general infrared communication system, is adopted as the communication system between the remote control device 15 and the gateway ECU 14, and thus there are a plurality of types of remote control devices 15 (see reference numerals 15a to 15d in FIG. 5). , Simultaneous operation is also possible. In this case, each remote controller 15a
For ~ 15d, not only the transmission function but also the reception function is required. Here, as the remote controller 15, as shown in FIG. 5, a wireless remote controller for keyless entry (keyless remote controller) 15a for locking (locking) or unlocking (unlocking) a door of a vehicle.
And a rear seat wireless remote control (rear seat remote controller) 15b for performing operations of an air conditioner (A / C), an audio device, etc. from the rear seats,
A wireless remote controller for car navigation (navigation remote controller) 15c for operating the car navigation device from the rear seats, and a wireless remote controller for television reception for operating the television receiver from the rear seats. (TV remote control) 15d
There is. Here, the rear seat wireless remote control device 15b, the car navigation wireless remote control device 15c, and the television receiver wireless remote control device 15d are installed at predetermined positions near the rear seats.

The gateway ECU 14 reads the infrared signal from the light emitting element 18 on the rear surface of the remote controller 15 and the switch input control panel 11, converts the infrared signal into a signal of a predetermined multiplex protocol format, and through a predetermined vehicle-mounted LAN (not shown). , A door lock unit, an air conditioner (A / C), an audio device, a car navigation device, a television receiver, and the like, and each load is operated. Specifically, this gateway ECU 14 is, as shown in FIG.
An infrared transmitter / receiver (wireless receiver) 26 including light receiving elements 25a to 25e such as infrared LEDs, and an instruction operation for each of the electric signals photoelectrically converted by the infrared transmitter / receiver 26 (keyless remote control device, rear seat remote control operation, A recognition control circuit (recognition control means) 27 is recognized as a navigation remote control operation, a TV remote control operation, and a cluster switch system operation), and each in-vehicle unit is instructed through the in-vehicle LAN according to the instruction operation recognized by the recognition control circuit 27. Gateway function unit (instruction signal transmitting means) 28 for transmitting a signal
With.

Here, the infrared transmitting / receiving unit 26, as shown in FIG. 6, receives the signals photoelectrically converted by the light receiving elements 25a to 25e,
Two amplifiers 31, 32 and two capacitors 33, 3
4 is passed through a limiter 35 connected in series, and then only a specific frequency component of them is passed through a bandpass filter (BPF) 36, demodulated by a demodulator 37, and then for noise removal. Is integrated by the integrator 38, compared with a predetermined reference value by the comparator 39, and as a result of this comparison, when the voltage is larger than the predetermined reference value, the switch element (NPN transistor) 40 is turned on to recognize. An instruction signal is transmitted to the control circuit 27. Incidentally, FIG.
Reference numeral 41 in the figure is a pull-up resistor described in the collector of the switch element 40. In FIG. 6, for simplification, any one of the remote controllers 15a to 15d is used.
Although only the circuit corresponding to the above is illustrated, in reality, one circuit is configured in parallel corresponding to all the remote controllers 15a to 15d. Further, as described above, since the IrDA system, which is a bidirectional communication system, is adopted for the communication between the remote controllers 15a to 15d and the infrared transmission / reception unit 26, not only the reception function but also the
Although it also has a signal transmission function for each of the remote controllers 15a to 15d, it is omitted in FIG. 6 for simplification.

The recognition control circuit 27 is a functional component that operates according to a predetermined software program in a general CPU to which a ROM and a RAM are connected.

Further, the gateway function unit 28 is a vehicle-mounted L
It is a functional circuit for performing mutual communication with each on-vehicle unit through the AN, and has a function of converting a signal given from the recognition control circuit 27 into an instruction signal in a predetermined multiplex communication protocol format and sending it out. .

In the in-vehicle communication device having the above structure, when the switch 16 of the center cluster 13 is directly operated in the driver's seat or the passenger's seat, as shown in FIG.
The electric signal related to the operation instruction in 6 is electrically recognized by the circuit board 17 of the switch input control panel 11, and photoelectrically converted by the light emitting element 18 such as an infrared LED installed on the back surface of the circuit board 17, An infrared signal, which is a wireless signal, is transmitted to the infrared transmitting / receiving unit 26.

In the gateway ECU 14, the infrared signal is wirelessly received by the light receiving element 25e of the infrared transmitter / receiver 26, photoelectrically converted, and the recognition control circuit 27 recognizes the operated instruction operation function. The gateway function unit 28 transmits an instruction signal to each on-vehicle unit through the on-vehicle LAN. As a result, the load of each vehicle-mounted unit is driven as instructed.

In this case, if necessary, the fact that each on-vehicle unit is being driven is returned to the gateway ECU 14, and the display unit 12 displays that fact.

In the switch operation of the center cluster 13, when a plurality of switches 16 are operated at the same time, since signals are transmitted and received in a one-to-one correspondence, one of the signals applied at the same time should be ignored. To do.

Next, when it is desired to remotely drive the load of each on-vehicle unit using the remote controllers 15a to 15d from the rear seat or outside the vehicle, the operator operates a predetermined button of the remote controllers 15a to 15d. In accordance with this, an infrared signal as a wireless signal is sent from the light emitting element 21 such as an infrared LED toward the center cluster 13.

Here, in the center cluster 13, a display element drive circuit board 12b on which the display 12 and the like are mounted is mounted over the smoke plate 13b facing the operator side, and in a predetermined area of the smoke plate 13b, The display status of various indicators and various vehicle-mounted units is displayed on the display panel 12a, and the display panel 12a of the smoke board 13b is displayed.
In the area protruding from the operator, the light-transmitting hole 19 of the display element drive circuit board 12b and the light-receiving elements 25a to 25d of the gateway ECU 14 are arranged on the extension line as seen from the operator. Therefore, the infrared signals from the remote controllers 15a to 15d are transmitted through the light transmitting hole 19 of the display element drive circuit board 12b to the gateway ECU 1
It is incident on the four light receiving elements 25a to 25d.

Since the infrared signal is transmitted by the IrDA system, even if there are a plurality of types of remote controllers 15 (see reference numerals 15a to 15d in FIG. 5), simultaneous operation of these is possible.

In this way, the air conditioner (A /
Various operations such as C) and the audio device can be easily performed using the remote controllers 15a to 15d from outside the vehicle or from a place separated from the center cluster 13 such as a rear seat.

Further, if the gateway ECU 14 and the center cluster 13 are connected by a wire or a wire connecting means such as a board-to-board connector, it is necessary to design in advance in consideration of the assemblability. Since the communication between them is performed by wireless communication called an infrared signal, it is not necessary to consider the assembling property for wired connection, and the assembling man-hour is reduced. In this case, for example, when any one of the remote controllers 15a to 15d (for example, the wireless remote controller 15a for keyless entry or the like) is attached or detached as an option, it is necessary to consider the assembling property of wiring for that purpose. Since it is not necessary, it is not necessary to design with consideration for the installation location, and the design can be changed easily.

Further, in the gateway ECU 14, a wireless remote controller for keyless entry (keyless remote controller) 15a and a wireless remote controller for a rear seat for executing operations of an air conditioner (A / C), an audio device and the like from the rear seat. Control device (remote control for rear seat) 15b and wireless remote control device for car navigation (navigation remote control) for operating the car navigation device from the rear seat etc.
15c and a television receiver wireless remote controller (TV remote controller) 15d for operating the television receiver from the rear seats and the like are prepared, and instruction signals of all these operation systems are used as radio signals. The light receiving elements 25a to 25d in the gateway ECU 14 for communication are transmitted by infrared signals.
Since it is arranged behind the smoke plate 13b common to the display 12, it is possible to prevent the in-vehicle communication device from becoming large in size.

In the above embodiment, the infrared signal is used as the wireless signal, but any optical signal in a predetermined frequency band may be used, or
Electromagnetic wave signals may be used.

Any communication method may be used between the center cluster 13 and the gateway ECU 14, and for example, the IrDA method may be adopted.

Further, in the above embodiment, the remote controllers 15a to 15d and the gateway ECU 1 are used.
As for communication with the communication terminal 4, any method may be adopted as long as it is a generally known wireless communication method.

[0038]

According to the first and third aspects of the present invention, when operating various on-vehicle units such as an air conditioner and an audio device, a remote control device is operated from outside the vehicle away from the center cluster or from the rear seats. In the in-vehicle communication device that can be easily operated by using, not only communication with this remote control unit but also communication between the control unit and the center cluster is performed by wireless communication. Compared with the case of connecting with a connecting means, it is not necessary to consider the assembling property for wired connection, and the assembling man-hour is reduced.

Further, in the control unit, the control unit is arranged behind a smoke plate common to the smoke plate for improving the contrast of the display image on the display unit, and wirelessly communicates with the remote control unit through the smoke plate. Since communication is performed, the overall size of the in-vehicle communication device has been reduced compared to the case where the communication with the remote controller of the control unit and the communication with the center cluster have separate assembly structures. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the remote controller is selectively applied to any one or a plurality of remote controllers prepared in advance. When installing or removing one of the devices (eg, wireless remote control for keyless entry) as an option, you can easily add or remove options without having to consider the assembling properties such as wiring. it can. In this case, claim 1
By adopting the above configuration, there is an effect that it is not necessary to design with consideration for the assembling place, and it is easy to change the design.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing an in-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram showing a comparison between IrDA and Sharp ASK waveforms.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a smoke board and an indicator.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an in-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5: Remote controller and gateway ECU
It is a figure which shows the communication operation | movement with.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an infrared transmission / reception unit in the gateway ECU.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view showing a conventional in-vehicle communication device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a connection relationship of a conventional in-vehicle communication device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation of a general keyless entry wireless remote controller for keyless entry.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Switch input control panel 12 Display 12a display panel 12b Display element drive circuit board 13 center cluster 13a cluster body 13b smoked board 15 (15a-15d) Remote control device 14 Gateway ECU 16 switch 17 circuit board 18 Light emitting element 19 Transparent hole 21 Light emitting element 25a to 25e Light receiving element 26 Infrared transmitter / receiver 27 Recognition control circuit 28 Gateway Function Unit

Of the front page Continued (72) inventor ▲ high ▼ tail Yukihiro Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Minami-ku, Kikusumi 1-chome, No. 7, No. 10, Ltd. harness Technology in the Laboratory (58) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ^7, DB name) H04Q 9/00 B60R 16/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cluster main body comprising a switch input control panel for inputting a switch for operating various on-vehicle units in a vehicle at a predetermined position in the vehicle, and a display for displaying predetermined information. A center cluster integrally mounted in the center cluster; a control unit that is installed on the back side of the cluster body of the center cluster and transmits an instruction signal for instructing to drive the in-vehicle unit; The switch input control panel of the center cluster is provided with a remote controller for performing a remote instruction operation by a wireless signal, and the switch input control panel on the back side of the switch input control panel sends information on a switch input operation by a wireless signal. The wireless communication means for controlling the center cluster and the remote controller. Wireless receiving means having a plurality of receiving elements for receiving the wireless signals, a recognition control circuit for recognizing various instruction operations based on the wireless signals received by the wireless receiving means, and recognition based on the recognition control circuit. And an instruction signal transmitting means for transmitting an instruction signal for instructing to drive various in-vehicle units in the vehicle, the cluster body having at least a smoke plate for improving the contrast of the display image of the display. However, the display screen of the display is arranged limited to a part of the smoke board, on the back side of the switch input control panel of the center cluster, of the receiving element of the wireless receiving means of the control unit. The receiving element associated with the center cluster is arranged, and the rear side of the area of the smoke plate protruding from the display screen of the display is Vehicle communication apparatus characterized by receiving devices associated to the respective remote control unit of the receiving device of the wireless receiving means control unit is disposed. 2. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein any one or a plurality of remote control devices prepared in advance are selectively applied to the remote control device. An in-vehicle communication device characterized in that 3. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless signal is an optical signal in a predetermined frequency band.