US 12,225,428 B2Granted

Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.

InventorSatoshi Hasegawa

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Abstract

A vehicle control device including: a first terminal position recognition unit that recognizes a first position of a user terminal with respect to a vehicle by activating a first prescribed number of a plurality of second communication antennas and by performing second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal; and a terminal distance recognition unit that: recognizes a distance between the vehicle and the user terminal by activating a second prescribed number, which is less than the first prescribed number, of the second communication antennas based on the first position and by performing the second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal; and, thereafter, repeatedly executes terminal distance recognition processing for recognizing the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal by changing the number of the second communication antennas to be activated in accordance with the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A vehicle control device comprising a processor that includes:

a first wireless communication establishment recognition unit configured to recognize that first wireless communication is established between a user terminal and a vehicle, the user terminal being used by a user of the vehicle and performing the first wireless communication by a first communication specification and second wireless communication by a second communication specification with the vehicle;
a first terminal position recognition unit configured to recognize a first position of the user terminal with respect to the vehicle by activating, among a plurality of second communication antennas of the second communication specification provided to the vehicle, a first prescribed number of a plurality of the second communication antennas and by performing the second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal, when the first wireless communication establishment recognition unit recognizes that the first wireless communication is established between the vehicle and the user terminal;
a terminal distance recognition unit configured to:
select a second prescribed number, which is less than the first prescribed number, of the second communication antennas based on the first position so that the second communication antennas are divided into a group of selected second communication antennas and a group of unselected second communication antennas, activate the group of the selected second communication antennas and deactivate the group of the unselected second communication antennas, and perform the second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal to recognize a distance between the vehicle and the user terminal;
and, thereafter, repeatedly execute terminal distance recognition processing for recognizing the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal by changing the number of the second communication antennas to be activated in accordance with the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal;
and
a control unit configured to perform control of the vehicle based on the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal.

4 more elements

A vehicle control method executed by a computer, the vehicle control method comprising:

a first wireless communication establishment recognition step of recognizing that first wireless communication is established between a user terminal and a vehicle, the user terminal being used by a user of the vehicle and performing the first wireless communication by a first communication specification and second wireless communication by a second communication specification with the vehicle;
a first terminal position recognition step of recognizing a first position of the user terminal with respect to the vehicle by activating, among a plurality of second communication antennas of the second communication specification provided to the vehicle, a first prescribed number of a plurality of the second communication antennas and by performing the second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal, when the first wireless communication establishment recognition step recognizes that the first wireless communication is established between the vehicle and the user terminal;
a terminal distance recognition step of:
selecting a second prescribed number, which is less than the first prescribed number, of the second communication antennas based on the first position so that the second communication antennas are divided into a group of selected second communication antennas and a group of unselected second communication antennas, activating the group of the selected second communication antennas and deactivate the group of the unselected second communication antennas, and performing the second wireless communication between the vehicle and the user terminal to recognize a distance between the vehicle and the user terminal;
and, thereafter, repeatedly executing terminal distance recognition processing for recognizing the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal by changing the number of the second communication antennas to be activated in accordance with the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal;
and
a control step of performing control of the vehicle based on the distance between the vehicle and the user terminal.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/669,524Filed 11 Feb 2022
Priority: JP 2021-0363088 Mar 2021
Published: US 2022/0286809 A18 Sep 2022
Granted: 11 Feb 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

G07C 9/00309
Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers…:…
H04W 4/023
Services making use of location information: using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets…
G07C 5/008
Registering or indicating the working of vehicles: communicating information to a remotely located station
H04W 4/025
Services making use of location information: using location based information parameters

Family

US 2022/0286809 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Sep 2022
US 12,225,428 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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