Denso Corporation

So-Ken Corporation

Nobuyasu Okabe

Yuuji Kakuya

Masakazu Ikeda

Kenichiro Sanji

Nobuyoshi Nagai

Kenichirou Sanji

Hiroyuki Izumi

Ryozou Fujii

A positioning system executes wireless communication with a portable terminal by adopting a radio wave of 1 GHz or higher to determine a position of the portable terminal relative to a vehicle. The positioning system includes a vehicle exterior communication device and a positioning device. The vehicle exterior communication device is disposed at an outer surface portion at least one of a side surface portion or a rear side surface portion of the vehicle, and includes an antenna receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the portable terminal. The positioning device determines whether or not the portable terminal exists at an exterior operating area being a region outside a vehicle compartment within a predetermined operating distance from the vehicle, based on a reception status of the wireless signal received by the vehicle exterior communication device from the portable terminal. The antenna radiates a main polarized wave and a cross-polarized wave.

Positioning system

A positioning system includes a vehicular exterior communication device and a positioning device. The vehicular exterior communication device has an antenna and a strength detector. The antenna is disposed at a side surface portion of the vehicle that receives a wireless signal transmitted from the portable terminal. The strength detector detects reception strength of the wireless signal received by the antenna. The positioning device determines whether the portable terminal is present at an operating area based on vehicular exterior device strength as the reception strength of the wireless signal from the portable terminal detected by the vehicular exterior communication device. The vehicular exterior communication device is disposed under a door of the vehicle in a posture in which a center of directivity of the antenna faces upward or downward.

An antenna device includes: a ground plate; an opposing conductive plate provided with a power supply point installed at a predetermined distance from the ground plate; and a short-circuit portion provided in a central region of the opposing conductive plate and electrically connecting the opposing conductive plate and the ground plate. A parallel resonance at a predetermined target frequency is generated by an inductance provided in the short-circuit portion and a capacitance between the ground plate and the opposing conductive plate; and the ground plate is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the opposing conductive plate.

Antenna device for parallel resonance

A positioning system executes wireless communication with a portable terminal by adopting a radio wave of 1 GHz or higher to determine a position of the portable terminal relative to a vehicle. The positioning system includes a vehicle exterior communication device and a positioning device. The positioning device determines whether the portable terminal exists at an exterior operating area being a region outside a vehicle compartment within a predetermined operating distance from the vehicle, based on a reception status of the wireless signal received by the vehicle exterior communication device from the portable terminal in a first mode of the vehicle exterior communication device, and determines whether the portable terminal exists inside the vehicle compartment, based on the reception status of the wireless signal received by the vehicle exterior communication device from the portable terminal in a second mode of the vehicle exterior communication device.

An antenna device includes: a ground plate made of a conductor with a flat plate shape; an opposing conductive plate made of another conductor with a flat plate shape, arranged to space apart from the ground plate by a predetermined distance, and having a power supply point electrically connected to a power supply line; a short-circuit portion electrically connecting the opposing conductive plate and the ground plate; and a radio wave shield body for shielding a propagation of an electric field, which is arranged on an upper side of the opposing conductive plate and is made of a conductor or a dielectric material. Parallel resonance at a predetermined target frequency is generated by an inductance provided in the short-circuit portion and a capacitance between the ground plate and the opposing conductive plate.

Antenna device

A vehicle system includes a portable terminal and an in-vehicle device. The portable terminal is configured to perform short-range wireless communication. The in-vehicle device is configured to locate the portable terminal based on a reception strength. The portable terminal includes a transmission unit configured to change a channel among channels. A reception strength selection unit of the in-vehicle device is configured to select a particular number of reception strengths for consecutive ones of the channels. A terminal locator unit of the in-vehicle device is configured to prioritize a largest reception strength to locate the portable terminal based on the reception strength. An upper limit of the particular number is set to be higher as an interval for transmitting information from the antenna to the in-vehicle device is shorter, and a lower limit of the particular number is set based on a multipath reduction effect.

Vehicle system, in-vehicle device, and terminal locating method

A vehicle control system includes an in-vehicle device, a mobile terminal, and one or more processors. The in-vehicle device is mounted on a vehicle. The in-vehicle device controls a lock mechanism that locks and unlocks a door of the vehicle. The in-vehicle device causes the lock mechanism to unlock the door in response to a predetermined condition being satisfied. The mobile terminal communicates with the in-vehicle device. The one or more processors determine whether the mobile terminal is present inside a vehicle compartment. The one or more processors detect whether the mobile terminal is used. The one or more processors control the vehicle control system not to satisfy the predetermined condition in response to determination that the mobile terminal is present inside the vehicle compartment.

Growing community of inventors

Kariya, Japan

Nobuyasu Okabe