Denso Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Takeshi Kumazaki

Kazuhiro Nakashima

Ifushi Shimonomoto

Toshio Shimomura

Kentaro Teshima

Kenji Kato

Koji Yoshida

Kiyokazu Ohtaki

Kenichi Ogino

Ryusuke Ishikawa

Haruyuki Tsuzuki

Toru Maeda

Hisashi Kato

Koichi Masamura

Takashi Saiki

Hiroshi Yagyu

Kazunari Nakamura

Yoshinori Fukuoka

Yoshinori Goto

Masahito Kojima

Katsutoshi Haruna

Akiyoshi Osumi

Toru Yamaguchi

Yoichi Kato

A wearable key device is to be used while being worn on a predetermined position of a body and includes a ring communication module, an imaging device, and a ring controller. The ring communication module is configured to wirelessly communicate with an authentication device provided to a predetermined protection object. The imaging device is configured to capture an image of the predetermined position of the body. The ring controller is configured to acquire wearer information that is biometric information of a wearer who wears the wearable key device based on the image captured by the imaging device. The wearer information is used for determining whether the wearer is an authorized user.

Wearable key device and electronic key system

A vehicle authentication system includes a ring-type wearable device, an in-vehicle device, and a communication terminal. The in-vehicle device performs authentication regarding use of the vehicle. The in-vehicle device causes a short-range communication module to perform short-range wireless communication with the ring-type wearable device that has unique identification information. The in-vehicle device acquires information received by a wide area communication module configured to communicate, via a network, with the communication terminal configured to make a reservation for the use of the vehicle.

Vehicle authentication system and in-vehicle device

A vehicle-side unit transmits a first request signal WAKE periodically toward a portable unit, and transmits a second request signal CHLG at every predetermined transmission interval specific to the vehicle-side unit upon reception of a first response signal ACK from the portable unit in response to the transmitted WAKE. The portable unit is operable with power supplied from a battery. The portable unit transmits ACK upon reception of WAKE and becomes ready for reception of CHLG at a timing CHLG is transmitted in accordance with the transmission interval specific to the vehicle-side unit.

Vehicle device control system with a disabling feature

A portable equipment detecting system includes an antenna having a first element of which a longitudinal direction is defined as a running direction of the vehicle, a second element of which longitudinal direction is defined as a direction perpendicular to the running direction of the vehicle and the vertical direction of the vehicle, and a bypass wiring of which one end is connected to a connection point between the first and second elements; and detecting circuit adapted to switch between three power-supplied states of the antenna including a first supplied state, a second supplied state and a third supplied state, and to detect a location of the portable equipment based on an acknowledge signal from the portable equipment when the power-supplied state is switched.

Portable equipment detecting system

A voice guidance system for a vehicle includes a transmitter, a tuner, a touch sensor, a smart ECU, a D-seat speaker, and a P-seat speaker, which are all mounted in a vehicle. It is used for an in-vehicle system, such as a smart entry system, which performs intercommunication with a portable unit. In this guidance system, a smart ECU stores in a memory information indicating that a user has performed predetermined operation with the smart entry system. When it is determined that a user will use the smart entry system, the following processing is performed: voice guidance about the operation procedures for the system is outputted from a driver seat speaker or a passenger seat speaker when information indicating that the user has performed the predetermined operation in the past is not stored in the memory; and voice guidance is disabled when information indicating that the user has performed the predetermined operation is stored.

Voice guidance system for vehicle

In a rain shelter control system for vehicular doorways, an electronic key ECU causes exterior signal transmitters to periodically transmit request signals. When a portable device receives the request signal in an arrival range of the request signals, the portable device generates a response signal responsive to the request signal. When a receiver receives the response signal from the portable device, the electronic key ECU operates to automatically open any of rain shelters near the portable device, so that a holder of the portable device and passengers fold their umbrellas under the opened rain shelters, so that they can get into a vehicle without being exposed to rain. Besides, the electronic key ECU operates to automatically open the rain shelter when they get off the vehicle.

Rain shelter control system and method for doorway

A smart entry system for a vehicle includes a transmitter on a vehicle and a portable unit carried by a user. The transmitter transmits a request signal which defines a user detection area to detect whether the portable unit transmits a response signal to indicate the user. When the user enters the detection area while all the doors are locked, an unlock standby state is set. When the user touches a touch sensor of a driver-seat side door under the unlock standby state, only the driver-seat side door is first unlocked. The other doors are kept locked if the user opens the D-door by the time when Tseconds elapse. On the other hand, all the doors are unlocked when Telapses while the driver-seat side door is not opened.

Smart entry system

In a door control system, in polling collation processing, a start request signal is intermittently transmitted from a vehicle. When a human around the vehicle is detected, a start request signal is transmitted from the vehicle with high output power. A portable device returns a response signal to the vehicle. Furthermore, when the start request signal is transmitted at the high output power, the reception sensitivity is set to be lower than the normal sensitivity. When receiving the response signal from the portable device, the vehicle transmits an ID request signal, and acquires an ID code from the portable device. The ID code thus acquired is collated with each ID code registered in the vehicle. When both ID codes agree, the vehicle doors are unlocked.

Door control system and method

An entry control system includes a portable device carried by a vehicle user and a biometric sensor attached to a vehicle door. The biometric sensor includes a CCD camera and a shutter. The shutter is moved to uncover the CCD camera only when the portable device is validated. After the biometric sensor detects the biometric information based on a finger print image of the user, the shutter is moved again to cover the CCD camera. Each time the shutter moves, a brush cleans the CCD camera. The vehicle door is enabled to be opened only when the user is validated based on the biometric information.

Control system and method using biometric information

A vehicle security device for improving the security level of a vehicle. The vehicle security device is connected to an engine and communicates with a portable device. A smart ECU performs a first coded communication to establish mutual authentication with the portable device. An ID code box is connected to the smart ECU, has a first code and a second code, and does not communicate with the portable device. The ID code box performs a second coded communication using the first code to establish a second mutual authentication with the smart ECU. An engine ECU performs a third coded communication using the second code to establish a third mutual authentication with the ID code box. The engine ECU enables the engine to be started when every one of the first, second, and third mutual authentications are established.

Vehicle security device and ID code management device

A backup communication is automatically executed if a smart ID does not come back from a portable device though a comparison ECU transmits a smart ID request. In the backup communication, the comparison ECU transmits an immobilized ID request through a coil. The portable device receives the immobilized ID request if a user brings the portable device close to an engine start switch. The portable device transmits the immobilizer ID to comparison ECU. The comparison ECU sends the immobilizer ID to an ID box. The ID box compares the immobilizer ID sent from the comparison ECU with the ID stored therein. If the immobilizer ID corresponds to the stored ID, an engine ECU allows an engine start.

Vehicle control system and method

An electronic key system for an entry object such as a vehicle is comprised of a portable device and an in-object device. The portable device has a device body and an emergency key detachably accommodated in the device body. The emergency key has a transponder, which is separate from a transponder provided in the device body. The transponder is for verifying the authority of registration of an additional portable device, while the transponder is for verifying the authority of vehicle control. The device body is also capable of detachably accommodating an emergency key which has no transponder.

Electronic key system for entry objects

An electronic key system has a mobile unit and a vehicle unit. Lamps are disposed in each door handles of doors. The lamps light in different modes in accordance with states of doors, which include a locked state, an unlock-standby state, and an unlocked state. Accordingly, a user having the mobile unit can easily recognize the states of the doors when the user approaches the doors.

Vehicle electronic key system

In a security ECU, a CPU instructs a request generation circuit to generate a request signal in the normal operation mode. Thereafter, the CPU shifts from the normal operation mode to the low-power consumption mode. The request generation circuit utilizes clock signals generated by a clock signal generation circuit and continues operation even after the CPU shifts to the low-power consumption mode. Thus, the time for which the CPU operates in the normal operation mode can be reduced, and the power consumption of the entire system is thereby reduced.

In-vehicle equipment remote control system

A method of controlling a vehicle engine involves determining a predetermined start operation, which is usually performed by a driver when the driver starts a parked vehicle, and that is not exclusively performed for starting the vehicle engine, verifying a code with a portable device after determining the predetermined start operation, and starting an engine automatically after successfully verifying the code. An engine control device has a start determining mechanism for determining a predetermined start operation, which is usually performed by a driver when the driver starts a parked vehicle, and that is not exclusively performed for starting a vehicle engine, a verifying mechanism for verifying a code with a portable device after determining the predetermined start operation, and a starting mechanism for controlling an automatic engine start after successfully verifying the code.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Takeshi Kumazaki