JP2020127134A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a communication system that can improve position determination accuracy of a mobile terminal.SOLUTION: A vehicle 1 includes a position determination unit 32 that determines a position of a mobile terminal 2 in the case where the vehicle performs communication connection and wireless communication when the mobile terminal 2 receives a radio wave transmitted from a verification ECU 4 mounted on the vehicle 1. The position determination unit 32 determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 based on reception intensity and identification information of a signal that is transmitted from a communication module 31 provided on the vehicle 1 and includes the identification information for identifying the communication module.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication system in which a mobile terminal communicates with its communication partner and wirelessly communicates.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, for example, in a vehicle, there is known a communication system in which a mobile terminal carried by a user and an in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle are wirelessly connected for communication to perform wireless communication between the two and control the vehicle. There is. As a communication system, a smart verification system is known in which a mobile terminal automatically responds to a radio wave transmitted from an in-vehicle device to perform ID authentication (smart verification) by wireless communication.

Patent Document 1 discloses a smart verification system including a position determination system that determines the position of a mobile terminal with respect to a vehicle. In this position determination system, when the in-vehicle device and the mobile terminal are connected for communication, the reception intensity when the mobile terminal receives the radio wave transmitted from another communication device mounted in the vehicle is measured, and the reception intensity is measured. The matching position is determined as the position of the mobile terminal. In the smart verification system, the position determination system determines whether or not the mobile terminal is located near the vehicle.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0235486

By the way, when performing the position determination based on the reception intensity, the determination accuracy may be deteriorated due to the influence of disturbance.
An object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of improving the position determination accuracy of a mobile terminal.

A communication system for solving the above-mentioned problem is a communication system in which, when a radio wave transmitted from one of a mobile terminal and its communication partner is received by the other, a communication connection is made and wireless communication is executed, From a communication device provided to a communication partner, a signal containing identification information for identifying the communication device is repeatedly transmitted at regular or irregular intervals, and the signal measured when the portable terminal receives the signal. A position determination unit that determines the position of the mobile terminal with respect to the communication partner based on the signal reception intensity and the identification information is provided.

The communication system of the present invention can improve the position determination accuracy of a mobile terminal.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the authentication system provided in the vehicle. The figure which shows the arrangement position of a communication module. The flow which shows the procedure of position determination.

An embodiment of the communication system will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 as a communication partner includes an authentication system 3 that authenticates whether the mobile terminal 2 is correct or not through wireless communication. The authentication system 3 corresponds to a communication system. The mobile terminal 2 is preferably a high-performance mobile phone having a telephone function and capable of communicating with the vehicle 1 using short-range wireless communication. The authentication system 3 of this example is a short-range wireless verification system that executes ID verification by short-range wireless communication triggered by communication from the vehicle 1. The short-range wireless communication is preferably, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication.

The vehicle 1 is provided with a verification ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 4 that performs ID verification, a body ECU 5 that manages the power supply of in-vehicle electrical components, and an engine ECU 7 that controls the engine 6. The verification ECU 4 corresponds to the first communication device. These ECUs are connected through a communication line 8 inside the vehicle. The communication line 8 is composed of, for example, a CAN (Controller Area network) or a LIN (Local Interconnect network).

The electronic key ID and the key unique key of the mobile terminal 2 registered in the vehicle 1 are written and stored in the memory 9 of the verification ECU 4. In the authentication system 3, a series of ID verification is automatically performed by mutual communication between the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2, and the door lock and unlock and the engine start are performed on condition that the ID verification is established. Is allowed.

The body ECU 5 controls the operation of the door lock mechanism 11 as a mechanical portion that locks and unlocks the vehicle door 10. The vehicle door 10 is provided with an exterior door handle 12 for operating opening and closing of the vehicle door 10. The exterior door handle 12 is provided with a touch sensor 13 for detecting a user's touch operation on the exterior door handle 12 as a trigger for unlocking the door, for example. Further, the vehicle exterior door handle 12 is provided with a lock button 14 that is operated, for example, when locking the door. The body ECU 5 controls the operation of the door lock mechanism 11 based on the detection signals of the touch sensor 13 and the lock button 14 when the ID verification is established and the portable terminal 2 is located outside the vehicle 1. ..

The engine ECU 7 controls the operation of the engine 6 of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is provided with an engine switch 15 for operating the power supply transition of the engine 6. The engine switch 15 is preferably a push-type switch, for example. The engine ECU 7 controls the transition of the engine 6 by operating the engine switch 15 under a predetermined condition. It should be noted that, as the predetermined conditions mentioned here, ID verification is established, the portable terminal 2 is located in the room of the vehicle 1, a brake pedal (not shown) of the vehicle 1 is stepped on, The fact that the transmission of the vehicle 1 is in the parking range and the combination thereof are included.

The verification ECU 4 includes an antenna 16 for performing near field communication with the mobile terminal 2. The antenna 16 of this example performs BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication with the mobile terminal 2. In the BLE communication of this example, the mobile terminal 2 is a master and the verification ECU 4 is a slave. In the BLE communication, the BLE communication connection is executed by the master responding to the advertising packet from the slave. The relationship between the master and the slave is not limited to this, and the verification ECU 4 may be the master and the mobile terminal 2 may be the slave. The antenna 16 periodically transmits an advertising packet to the area near the vehicle 1.

The mobile terminal 2 includes a terminal control unit 20 that controls the operation of the mobile terminal 2, a network communication module 21 that performs network communication in the mobile terminal 2, and a terminal communication unit that performs near field communication (BLE communication) in the mobile terminal 2. 22 and 22. The terminal control unit 20 is provided with a user interface application 23 that manages the operation of the authentication system 3 in the mobile terminal 2. The terminal control unit 20 uses the user interface application 23 to perform various processes such as ID verification with the vehicle 1 (verification ECU 4), locking/unlocking operation of the vehicle door 10, and starting operation of the engine 6.

The electronic key ID and the key unique key of the mobile terminal 2 are written and stored in the memory 24 of the mobile terminal 2. The electronic key ID and the key unique key are acquired from a server or the like through, for example, network communication and are registered (electronic key registration) in the vehicle 1 through near field communication.

When the portable terminal 2 receives the advertising packet from the verification ECU 4 and establishes the BLE communication connection with the verification ECU 4, the mobile terminal 2 automatically executes the ID verification by mutual communication through the verification ECU 4 and the BLE communication. For example, when the electronic key registration of the mobile terminal 2 is completed and the BLE communication connection is established between the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2, the electronic key ID is transmitted and received between the verification ECU 4 and the terminal control unit 20. The electronic key ID is collated and the cryptographic authentication such as challenge response authentication using the key unique key is performed. When the verification ECU 4 confirms that the verification and the authentication are successful, the verification ECU 4 determines that the ID verification is successful. The series of ID collation is automatically executed without the user operating the portable terminal 2 or the vehicle 1.

The authentication system 3 includes a position determination system 30 that determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 with respect to the vehicle 1 when the vehicle 1 and the mobile terminal 2 communicate with each other. The position determination system 30 of this example determines where the mobile terminal 2 is located with respect to the vehicle 1 when the vehicle 1 and the mobile terminal 2 perform ID verification. Further, this position determination may be performed at any timing during the ID collation communication. That is, the position determination may be performed before ID verification, after ID verification, or during ID verification.

The vehicle 1 is provided with a plurality of communication modules 31 for performing near field communication with the mobile terminal 2. The communication module 31 corresponds to the second communication device. The communication module 31 is connected to the verification ECU 4 by wire or wirelessly.

The position determination system 30 includes a position determination unit 32 that determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 with respect to the vehicle 1. The position determination unit 32 of this example is provided in the verification ECU 4 of the vehicle 1. When the BLE communication connection is established between the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2, the position determination unit 32 of this example transmits a signal (hereinafter simply referred to as a signal) for determining the position of the mobile terminal 2 from the communication module 31. Let

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication module 31 includes a first communication module 31a provided on the side mirror on the driver side of the vehicle 1, a second communication module 31b provided on the side mirror on the passenger side, and a rear view module. And a third communication module 31c provided on the door.

The communication modules 31a to 31c each have a module ID as unique identification information (see FIG. 1). The module ID is unique information corresponding to the mounting positions of the communication modules 31a to 31c, for example. The communication modules 31a to 31c transmit the signals by including the respective module IDs. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 2, the reachable range of the signals transmitted from the communication modules 31a to 31c is the inside of the vehicle 1 and the outside of the vehicle door 10 (for example, the driver's door, the passenger seat door, and the back door). It covers the nearby area.

The communication modules 31a to 31c transmit signals a plurality of times during a series of position determination processes. In addition, the transmission powers of the signals from the communication modules 31a to 31c are the same.
Returning to FIG. 1, the position determination system 30 includes a measurement unit 33 that measures the reception intensity of radio waves between each communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2. The measurement unit 33 of this example is provided in the terminal control unit 20 of the mobile terminal 2. Upon receiving the signal from each communication module 31 via the terminal communication unit 22, the measurement unit 33 measures the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) thereof. The measuring unit 33 measures the reception intensity for each received signal and transmits the reception intensity (reception intensity data) of the measured signal to the verification ECU 4. At this time, the reception intensity data is transmitted with the module ID included in the received signal added.

Upon receiving the reception intensity data, the position determination unit 32 calculates the position of the mobile terminal 2 based on the reception intensity data and the module ID of each communication module 31. For example, the position determination unit 32 calculates the distance between each communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 from the reception intensity data, and determines the position (coordinates) at which the distance matches as the position of the mobile terminal 2.

The position determination system 30 includes a determination unit 34 that determines whether the communication between the communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is valid. The determination unit 34 of this example is provided in the user interface application 23 of the mobile terminal 2. The determination unit 34 includes the authentication information in the signals transmitted by the communication modules 31a to 31c and transmits the signals, and determines whether the communication is valid based on the authentication information. An example of the authentication information is a random number whose value changes each time it is generated.

Next, the operation and effect of the communication system will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, in step S101, the verification ECU 4 takes an advertising state in which an advertising packet is transmitted from the antenna 16 to the area near the vehicle 1 in order to establish a BLE communication connection with the mobile terminal 2. The advertising packet is, for example, ADV_IND of Bluetooth communication. In this way, the verification ECU 4 monitors whether or not the mobile terminal 2 is located near the vehicle 1. The advertising packet is repeatedly transmitted until the BLE communication connection is established.

In step S102, when the mobile terminal 2 (terminal control unit 20) enters the area near the vehicle 1 and receives the advertising packet, it detects that the verification ECU 4 exists around the mobile terminal 2. Then, the mobile terminal 2 transmits a response to the advertising packet. As a result, wireless BLE communication connection is started with the verification ECU 4.

In step S103, the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2 automatically establish a communication connection when mutual authentication is established through device authentication (for example, address authentication) in accordance with a series of communication connection processes linked to the advertising packet. The communication connection between the two is continued until the mobile terminal 2 moves out of the range of short-range wireless communication with the verification ECU 4.

In step S104, when the BLE communication connection between the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2 is established, the determination unit 34 of the mobile terminal 2 generates a random number having a different value each time it is generated.
In step S105, the mobile terminal 2 transmits the generated random number to the verification ECU 4. The random number is preferably encrypted before being transmitted.

In step S106, when the verification ECU 4 receives the random number, it outputs the random number to the communication modules 31a to 31c. In the case of this example, each communication module 31 is connected to the verification ECU 4 by wire (for example, LIN), and a random number is output to each communication module 31 by communication via this wire. In the case of this example, the random number also serves as a command (trigger) for signal transmission of each communication module 31.

In step S107, the communication modules 31a to 31c shift to the advertising state when a random number is input.
In step S108, the communication modules 31a to 31c start transmitting signals to the mobile terminal 2 when in the advertise state. The signal transmission by each communication module 31 is repeatedly executed until the position determination processing is completed. Here, the transmitted signal includes the module ID of each communication module 31 and the received random number. The signal may be transmitted from the verification ECU 4 in addition to the communication module 31.

In step S109, when the determination unit 34 receives the signal from each communication module 31, it determines whether the communication between each communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is valid. Whether or not the communication is valid is determined based on the authentication information based on whether or not the security satisfies a predetermined standard. The determination unit 34 of this example makes a determination based on whether or not the random number included in the signal is the same as the random number generated by itself. When the received random number is the same as the generated random number, the determination unit 34 determines that the communication between the communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is valid. If the received random number is not the same as the generated random number, the determination unit 34 determines that the communication between the communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is not valid. If the determination unit 34 determines that the communication is not valid, the process ends.

In step S110, the measurement unit 33 measures the signal reception intensity. The measuring unit 33 receives the signal from the communication module 31 and, when it is determined that the communication between the communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is valid, measures the reception strength of the signal and measures the reception strength. Get the data.

In step S111, the measurement unit 33 transmits the reception intensity data to the verification ECU 4. The measurement unit 33 includes the module ID included in the signal in the reception intensity data and transmits the data.

In the case of the present example, the position determination unit 32 repeatedly executes a series of processes of signal transmission, reception intensity measurement, and reception intensity data notification in each of the communication modules 31 (only once in FIG. 3). As a result, the position determination unit 32 acquires the reception intensity data measured during communication with the mobile terminal 2 in each of the communication modules 31. The reception intensity data is stored in the memory 9.

When the mobile terminal 2 receives the signal from the communication module 31, the mobile terminal 2 transmits the included module ID and received intensity data to the verification ECU 4. On the other hand, the mobile terminal 2 does not allow the communication module 31 to authenticate itself by transmitting its own terminal information or the like to the communication module 31. Therefore, in the series of processes of signal transmission, reception intensity measurement, and reception intensity data notification, the mobile terminal 2 and the communication module 31 do not authenticate each other to establish communication connection. Therefore, the processing required for communication is reduced as compared with the case where communication connection is made with each communication module 31.

The determination unit 34 confirms the validity of communication using a random number each time a signal is received. As a result, the mobile terminal 2 does not establish communication with the communication module 31 that does not have the same random number. This improves security. Note that the random number generation (step S104) may be performed only once in a series of position determination processes, may be generated each time a signal is transmitted, or may be newly generated each time a certain period of time elapses. A random number may be generated.

In step S112, the position determination unit 32 determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 based on the received reception intensity data. The position determination unit 32 uses the module ID included in the reception intensity data to identify at which position in the vehicle 1 the communication intensity of the communication module 31 mounted is the reception intensity data. Then, based on the reception intensity data of each communication module 31, these matching positions are determined as the position of the mobile terminal 2. Since the position determination is performed based on the reception intensity data of the plurality of communication modules 31, the position of the mobile terminal 2 can be determined accurately.

In step S113, the verification ECU 4 permits the operation of the vehicle 1 based on the position of the mobile terminal 2 determined by the position determination unit 32. For example, when the ID collation is established and it is determined that the mobile terminal 2 is located near the vehicle door 10 outside the vehicle 1, the body ECU 5 determines the door based on the detection signals of the touch sensor 13 and the lock button 14. The operation of the lock mechanism 11 is controlled. Further, when the ID collation is established and it is determined that the mobile terminal 2 is located inside the vehicle 1, the engine ECU 7 operates the engine switch 15 to operate the engine 6 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Control the transition. As described above, the position determination system 30 determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 to enable control according to the position of the mobile terminal 2.

The ID collation between the vehicle 1 and the mobile terminal 2 may be executed at any timing before, after, or in the middle of the above position determination processing.
Now, in this example, the communication module 31 provided in the vehicle 1 transmits a signal including the module ID. In addition, the mobile terminal 2 includes a position determination unit 32 that determines the position of the mobile terminal 2 based on the reception intensity of the signal measured when the mobile terminal 2 receives the signal and the module ID. According to this configuration, when the position of the mobile terminal 2 is determined based on the signal transmitted from the communication module 31, the communication module 31 is identified using the module ID. Thereby, the communication module 31 that is the transmission source of the signal can be specified. Therefore, the correct position determination can be performed after obtaining the information of the transmission source of the signal, and the position determination accuracy can be improved.

Further, when determining the position of the mobile terminal 2 based on the reception intensity of the signals transmitted from the plurality of communication modules 31, it is possible to easily identify in which place the signal is transmitted from the communication module 31. can do.

In this example, a collation ECU 4 that wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal 2 and a communication module 31 that is different from the collation ECU 4 are provided. It is configured to transmit a signal for. According to this configuration, the position determination using the signal can be performed only when the mobile terminal 2 is located in the area near the vehicle 1. This contributes to power saving.

In this example, a signal transmitted by the communication module 31 is transmitted by including a random number, and the determination unit 34 that determines whether or not the communication between the communication module 31 and the mobile terminal 2 is valid based on the random number. Prepared According to this configuration, when the mobile terminal 2 and the communication module 31 are not connected for communication, it is possible to confirm the validity of the communication between them. This contributes to improving the security of communication.

The present embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. The present embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
When the mobile terminal 2 receives a signal from the communication module 31, the mobile terminal 2 may request the communication module 31 for additional information. This is applied when ADV_IND or ADV_SCAN_IND of Bluetooth communication is used for the signal. According to this configuration, more data can be transmitted from the communication module 31.

The determination unit 34 may be provided in the mobile terminal 2, the verification ECU 4, the communication module 31, or a combination thereof.
When a plurality of determination units 34 are provided, generation of random numbers and confirmation of coincidence of random numbers may be performed by different members. For example, the verification ECU 4 may generate a random number and the mobile terminal 2 may confirm the coincidence of the random number, or the communication module 31 may generate the random number and the verification ECU 4 may confirm the coincidence of the random number. ..

The authentication information may be information (for example, a random number) generated in the process of the position determination process or information (for example, a vehicle body number) given in advance for the position determination. The authentication information includes a random number whose value changes each time it is generated, a unique ID (body number) of the vehicle 1, a terminal ID of the mobile terminal 2, an electronic key ID, an authentication key shared between the vehicle 1 and the mobile terminal 2, And combinations thereof.

The determination unit 34 can be omitted from the constituent elements.
-The communication module 31 may transmit a signal regardless of the success or failure of the communication connection between the verification ECU 4 and the mobile terminal 2.

The first communication device is not limited to the verification ECU 4, and may be, for example, one of the plurality of communication modules 31.
When the position of the mobile terminal 2 is determined, the reception intensity of the signal transmitted from the verification ECU 4 may be used for the determination.

-A plurality of communication modules 31 may not be provided, and only one may be provided. That is, only one each of the first communication device and the second communication device may be provided. For example, the position determination may be performed using the reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the verification ECU 4 and the reception intensity of the signal transmitted from the communication module 31.

-The number of communication devices is not particularly limited. The number may be one, two, or three or more.
The identification information is not limited to the module ID and may be any information that can identify each communication device.

The position determination unit 32 may be provided in the mobile terminal 2.
The signal may be ADV_IND of Bluetooth communication, ADV_SCAN_IND, ADV_NONCONN_IND, or other type of information.

The communication standard and the band of the short-distance wireless communication are not limited to those in the embodiment, and Wi-Fi may be used, for example. Also, different bands may be used between the first communication device and the second communication device.
The signal may be a signal of various aspects.

The transmission interval of the signal transmitted from the communication module 31 is not particularly limited, and may be changed appropriately according to the specifications.
-The method of performing communication connection (pairing) for near field communication between the vehicle 1 and the mobile terminal 2 is not particularly limited. For example, pairing may be performed only by operating one of the devices. Further, when the operation is performed on the vehicle 1 side at the time of pairing, a device such as a car navigation system mounted on the vehicle 1 can be applied as the input/output device. That is, when performing pairing, the operating device, operating method, authentication method, etc. can be changed as appropriate.

The mobile terminal 2 acquires the electronic key ID and the key unique key from the server through network communication, but is not limited to this. For example, a mode may be used in which the vehicle 1 is logged in (user ID and password authentication) using BLE communication, and the electronic key ID and the key unique key registered in the vehicle 1 in advance are given to the mobile terminal 2.

The ID collation performed by the authentication system 3 is not limited to the electronic key ID collation and the cryptographic authentication of the key unique key, but may be any one that can confirm the correctness of the mobile terminal 2.
-In a series of authentication, the order of ID collation and position determination of the mobile terminal 2 is not particularly limited. For example, the ID collation may be performed after the position determination, or the execution periods of the ID collation and the position determination may be overlapped.

The mobile terminal 2 is not limited to a high-performance mobile phone, and may be an electronic key tied to the vehicle 1.
The communication system is not limited to being mounted on the vehicle 1 and can be changed to various devices and devices.

1... Vehicle, 2... Portable terminal, 3... Authentication system, 4... Collation ECU, 16... Antenna, 20... Terminal control part, 22... Terminal communication part, 23... User interface application, 30... Position determination system, 31... Communication Module, 32... Position determination unit, 33... Measuring unit, 34... Determination unit.

Claims (4)

A communication system in which when a radio wave transmitted from one of a mobile terminal and its communication partner is received by the other, a communication connection is made and wireless communication is executed,
A signal including identification information for identifying the communication device was repeatedly transmitted at regular or irregular intervals from a communication device provided to the communication partner, and was measured when the mobile terminal received the signal. A communication system comprising a position determination unit that determines the position of the mobile terminal with respect to the communication partner based on the reception intensity of the signal and the identification information. A first communication device that communicates with the mobile terminal to execute the wireless communication;
A second communication device that executes the transmission of the signal,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the second communication device starts transmitting the signal when the mobile terminal and the first communication device are communicatively connected. A determination unit that includes the authentication information in the signal transmitted by the second communication device and transmits the signal, and determines whether the communication between the second communication device and the mobile terminal is valid based on the authentication information. The communication system according to claim 2, further comprising: The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mobile terminal requests the communication device to transmit additional information when receiving the signal.