JP6615576B2 - Vehicle communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle communication system.

  Conventionally, communication between a body and a door of an automobile has been performed via an electric wire inserted into a bellows-like corrugated tube (exterior material) disposed between the body and the door. However, it is necessary to pass an electric wire through the corrugated tube or to attach the corrugated tube to the body and the door, and workability is poor.

  Therefore, a signal circuit structure has been proposed in which an optical transceiver is provided on each of the body and the door, and a control signal is transmitted and received between the optical transceivers (Patent Document 1). In this signal circuit structure, a half mirror is installed in front of the body side optical transceiver, and the light passing through the half mirror is exchanged between the body side and door side transceiver when the door is fully closed, and when the door is fully opened. Sends and receives light reflected from the half mirror. By providing the half mirror in this way, communication can be performed both when the door is fully closed and when the door is fully open.

  However, the signal circuit structure of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the number of parts increases because a half mirror is used. Moreover, it is necessary to determine the angle of the half mirror according to the opening / closing angle of the door. In addition, when the door opening / closing angle is large, communication may not be possible if the door is half open.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-117058

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the communication system for vehicles which can communicate from the fully open position of a door to a fully closed position, aiming at reduction of a number of parts.

The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described problem, includes a body-side light emitting portion attached to a body of an automobile, and a door-side light receiving portion attached to a door that is rotatably provided to the body. A vehicle-side communication system that communicates between the body-side light-emitting portion and the door-side light-receiving portion, θ1 = connecting the door-side light-receiving portion and the body-side light-emitting portion at the fully closed position of the door When the angle formed between the first straight line and the second straight line connecting the door-side light receiving unit and the body-side light emitting unit at the fully open position of the door, the maximum light emission angle of the body-side light emitting unit is ( θ1 / 2) or more so that the optical axis of the body-side light emitting unit is directed to the door-side light receiving unit located at the center between the fully open position of the door and the fully closed position of the door. Vehicle characterized by being arranged Existing communication system. In the light emitting unit, the light on the optical axis is the strongest, and the light becomes weaker as the angle with the optical axis increases. The maximum light emission angle is the maximum value among the light emission angles of the light emitting unit that can be received by the light receiving unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the body-side light emitting unit includes a body-side light-emitting element and an optical member, and the optical member refracts light emitted from the body-side light-emitting element, so that the body The vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the maximum light emission angle of the side light emitting unit is made to approach the (θ1 / 2).

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the maximum light emission angle of the body side light emitting section is set to (θ1 / 2) or more, it is not necessary to use a half mirror. Therefore, communication can be performed from the body side to the door side from the fully open position to the fully closed position of the door while reducing the number of parts.

Further , the optical axis of the body side light emitting part is arranged to face the door side light receiving part at the center position between the fully open position of the door and the fully closed position of the door. Thereby, communication can be performed efficiently.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the body-side light emitting unit includes the body-side light-emitting element and the optical member, and the optical member refracts the light emitted from the body-side light-emitting element, thereby causing the body-side light emission. The maximum light emission angle of the part is made to approach θ1 / 2. As a result, the maximum emission angle corresponding to the rotation angle of the door can be easily achieved, and communication can be performed efficiently.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the communication system for vehicles of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the body side radio | wireless module and door side radio | wireless module shown in FIG. It is a schematic top view of the body side radio | wireless module and door side radio | wireless module shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the body side radio | wireless module and door side radio | wireless module which are shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a relationship among a maximum light emission angle θmax of a body side light emitting unit, a maximum light emission angle θmax ′ of a body side light emitting element, a lens angle, and C shown in FIG. 2. It is a schematic top view of the body side radio | wireless module and door side radio | wireless module which are shown in FIG. 1 in other embodiment.

  First, before describing the vehicle communication system 1 of the present invention, the structure of the vehicle will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle generally includes a metal body 2 and a door 3 that covers an opening provided on the left and right rear sides of the body 2. A battery (not shown) is disposed in, for example, the engine room of the body 2, and power is supplied from the battery to the electronic devices 4 arranged in various parts such as the door 3 of the vehicle. The body 2 is also provided with an ECU that controls the electronic device 4 disposed on the door 3.

  The door 3 is provided with electronic devices 4 such as various motors and liquid crystal panels for raising and lowering the window glass and opening and closing the side mirrors. The door 3 has a hinge portion 3A attached to the opening frame of the body 2, and is attached to the body 2 so as to be rotatable about the hinge portion 3A as a rotation axis Z. The vehicle communication system 1 of the present invention performs mutual communication between the body 2 and the door 3 described above.

  Next, the vehicle communication system 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle communication system 1 includes a power line Lp, a communication line Lc, a body-side wireless module 11 attached to the body 2, and a door-side wireless module 12 attached to the door 3.

  The power line Lp is connected to the battery and supplies power from the battery. The power supply line Lp is branched into a plurality on the body 2 side, one of which is connected to the body-side wireless module 11. The body side wireless module 11 operates by receiving power supply from the power supply line Lp.

  The other one of the power supply lines Lp branched on the body 2 side is routed to the door 3 through between the body 2 and the door 3. As explained in the background art, the power supply line Lp is inserted between the body 2 and the door 3 by inserting the power supply line Lp into a corrugated tube having one end attached to the body 2 and the other end attached to the door 3. It is possible.

  The power supply line Lp routed on the door 3 side is further branched into a plurality, and one of them is connected to the door-side wireless module 12. The door-side radio module 12 operates by receiving power supply from the power supply line Lp. Further, the power supply line Lp is connected to a plurality of electronic devices 4 provided on the door 3 with the remainder branched on the door 3 side. The plurality of electronic devices 4 operate by receiving power supply from the power supply line Lp.

  As described above, the power supply line Lp is configured such that the body 2 and the door 3 are routed, so that power can be supplied to the door 3 at any position from the fully closed position to the fully open position. it can.

  The communication line Lc is connected to the ECU, transmits a control signal (electric signal) from the ECU, and transmits a control signal from the electronic device 4. The communication line Lc is connected to the body side wireless module 11. The communication line Lc is also routed to the door 3 described above, and is connected between the door-side wireless module 12 and the electronic device 4 in the door 3.

  The body side radio module 11 converts a control signal from the communication line Lc into an optical signal and transmits it to the door side radio module 12, and converts an optical signal received from the door side radio module 12 into a control signal, It transmits to ECU via the communication line Lc routed to the body 2. In contrast, the door-side radio module 12 converts a control signal from the electronic device 4 into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the body-side radio module 11, and uses the optical signal received from the body-side radio module 11 as a control signal. It converts and transmits to the electronic device 4 via the communication line Lc routed to the door 3. Thus, since communication is performed between the body 2 and the door 3 by light, the communication line Lc is not routed between the body 2 and the door 3.

  In the present embodiment, one communication line Lc is drawn out from the door-side wireless module 12 and branched into a plurality of parts to connect to each electronic device 4, but this is not a limitation. A plurality of communication lines Lc may be drawn from the door-side wireless module 12 and the plurality of communication lines Lc may be connected to the plurality of electronic devices 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the body side wireless module 11 includes a body side light emitting unit 11a, a body side light receiving unit 11b, a body side control element 11c, a body side substrate 11d, and a body side cover 11e. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the door-side wireless module 12 includes a door-side light emitting unit 12a, a door-side light receiving unit 12b, a door-side control element 12c, a door-side substrate 12d, and a door-side cover 12e. I have.

  The body side light emitting unit 11a converts a control signal output from the ECU into an optical signal, and the door side light emitting unit 12a converts the control signal output from the electronic device 4 into an optical signal. The body side light emitting unit 11a is configured by a body side light emitting element 11a1 and a lens 11a2 as an optical member, and the door side light emitting unit 12a is configured by a door side light emitting element 12a1 and a lens 12a2 as an optical member. Has been. The light emitting elements 11a1 and 12a1 are configured by, for example, LEDs or VCSELs having a wavelength of 350 nm to 1000 nm.

  The lenses 11a2 and 12a2 are provided corresponding to the light emitting elements 11a1 and 12a1, respectively. The lenses 11a2 and 12a2 refract the light from the light emitting elements 11a1 and 12a1 to focus or diverge it.

  The body side light receiving part 11b is composed of a body side light receiving element 11b1 and a lens 11b2, and the door side light receiving part 12b is composed of a door side light receiving element 12b1 and a lens 12b2. The light receiving elements 11b1 and 12b1 are constituted by photodiodes, for example.

  The lenses 11b2 and 12b2 are provided corresponding to the light receiving elements 11b1 and 12b1, respectively. The lenses 11b2 and 12b2 refract light from the outside to focus or diverge it.

  The control elements 11c and 12c are constituted by, for example, a microcomputer. The body side control element 11c controls the body side light emitting element 11a1 and the body side light receiving element 11b1, and the door side control element 12c controls the door side light emitting element 12a1 and the door side light receiving element 12b1. The substrate 11d is mounted with the elements 11a1, 11b1, and 11c, and the substrate 12d is mounted with the elements 12a1, 12b1, and 12c. In the present embodiment, control elements 11c and 12c are disposed between the light emitting elements 11a1 and 12a1 and the light receiving elements 11b1 and 12b1.

  The covers 11e and 12e are made of an epoxy (EP) -based or silicone (SI) -based resin that can ensure a transmittance of 80% or more (wavelength 350 nm to 1000 nm) in a long-term vehicle-mounted environment.

  The covers 11e and 12e cover the front surfaces of the substrates 11d and 12d. The lenses 11a2, 11b2, 12a2, and 12b2 protrude from the covers 11e and 12e and are provided integrally with the covers 11e and 12e.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the body-side wireless module 11 is provided so that the body-side light emitting unit 11 a and the body-side light receiving unit 11 b are arranged side by side on the rotation axis Z of the door 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the body side light emitting part 11a is arranged on one side (lower side) on the rotation axis Z, and the body side light receiving part 11b is arranged on the other side (upper side) on the rotation axis.

  The door-side wireless module 12 is provided such that the door-side light emitting unit 12 a and the door-side light receiving unit 12 b are arranged toward the rotation axis Z of the door 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the door-side light emitting unit 12a is disposed on the other side (upper side) of the rotating shaft, and the door-side light receiving unit 12b is disposed on one side (lower side) of the rotating shaft.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the body side light emission part 11a is a center position (in the figure dotted line in the figure) of the fully closed position of the door 3 shown by the continuous line in FIG. 3, and the fully opened position of the door 3 shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. It is arranged so as to face the door side light receiving part 12b in (shown). More specifically, the optical axis LL of the body side light emitting part 11a is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the light receiving surface of the door side light receiving part 12b at the center position.

  Also, a first straight line L1 connecting the door side light receiving part 12b and the body side light emitting part 11a in the fully closed position, and a second straight line L2 connecting the door side light receiving part 12b and the body side light emitting part 11a in the fully open position, Is set so that the maximum light emission angle θmax of the body side light emitting portion 11a is equal to or larger than (θ1 / 2) and is substantially equal.

  Note that the light on the optical axis LL is the strongest in the body side light emitting unit 11a, and the light becomes weaker as the angle with the optical axis LL increases. The maximum light emission angle θmax is the maximum value among the light emission angles of the body side light emitting unit 11a that can be received by the door side light receiving unit 12b. In the present embodiment, since the body side light emitting unit 11a is provided on the rotation axis Z, θ1 is provided to be equal to the rotation angle of the door 3, for example, approximately 90 °.

  Moreover, the body side light-receiving part 11b is arrange | positioned so as to oppose the door side light-emitting part 12a in the center position shown by the dotted line in FIG. More specifically, the optical axis LL of the door side light emitting unit 12a at the center position is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the light receiving surface of the body side light receiving unit 11b.

  In the present embodiment, since the body side light receiving portion 11b is provided on the rotation axis Z, the light on the optical axis LL of the door side light emitting portion 12a is received on the body side at any position from the fully closed position to the fully open position. It is incident on the part 11b. For this reason, the door side light emission part 12a should just be what can receive the light on the optical axis LL to the body side light-receiving part 11b at least.

  Next, the lens 11a2 of the body side wireless module 11 will be described with reference to FIG. As for the body side light emitting element 11a1, the maximum light emission angle θmax ′ may not be equal to or larger than (θ1 / 2) or may not be equal. The lens 11a2 may be used to refract the light from the body side light emitting element 11a1 so as to diverge or converge so that the maximum light emission angle θmax is equal to or larger than (θ1 / 2).

As shown in FIG. 5, the maximum light emission angle of the body side light emitting element 11a1 itself is θmax ′, the maximum light emission angle of the body side light emitting portion 11a having the lens 11a2 is θmax, and the surface M2 perpendicular to the lens surface and the optical axis LL Is defined as C, and the refractive index α of the lens. The relationship between the maximum light emission angles θmax ′ and θmax and the angle C is expressed by the following equation (1).
C = tan ⁻¹ ((α × sin θmax′−sin θmax) / (α × cos θmax′−sin θmax)) (1)
When C is positive, it indicates a convex surface, and when C is negative, it indicates a concave surface.

  In the present embodiment, the angle C of the lens 11a2 is designed so that θmax = approximately 45 degrees (= θ1 / 2). However, when the body side light emitting element 11a1 is heated to a high temperature of 100 degrees ± 5 degrees, the light emission power is reduced, so that the maximum light emission angle θmax is decreased. For this reason, it is necessary to design the lens surface based on the maximum light emission angle θmax ′ at a high temperature.

  More specifically, if θmax = approximately 45 degrees, θmax ′ at a high temperature of 100 degrees ± 5 degrees = approximately 30 degrees, and the refractive index α = 1.546 of the lens 11a2, the angle C is a convex surface of approximately 7 degrees. The lens 11a2 is designed to be

  Further, if θmax = approximately 45 degrees, θmax ′ = approximately 10 degrees at a high temperature of 100 degrees ± 5 degrees, and the refractive index α = 1.546 of the lens 11a2, the angle C is approximately 28 degrees concave. The lens 11a2 is designed.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the maximum light emission angle θmax of the body side light emitting unit 11a is provided to be equal to or larger than (θ1 / 2), so that a half mirror or light is provided between the body side light emitting unit 11a and the door side light receiving unit 12b. There is no need to provide a transmission medium such as a fiber. However, what transmits the light from the body side light emitting part 11a such as transparent glass may be interposed. Therefore, communication can be performed from the body side to the door side from the fully open position to the fully closed position of the door 3 while reducing the number of parts.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the optical axis LL of the body side light emitting unit 11a is directed to the door side light receiving unit 12b at the center position between the fully open position of the door 3 and the fully closed position of the door 3. Is arranged. Thereby, communication can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, according to the above-described embodiment, the body side light emitting unit 11a is configured by the body side light emitting element 11a1 and the lens 11a2, and the lens 11a2 refracts the light from the body side light emitting element 11a1 to the body side. The maximum light emission angle θmax of the light emitting unit 11a is adjusted to be equal to (θ1 / 2). As a result, the maximum light emission angle θmax matched to the rotation angle of the door 3 can be easily achieved, and efficient communication can be performed.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the body side light emitting element 11a1 itself has the maximum light emission angle θmax ′ of 45 ° or less, but is not limited thereto. The body side light emitting element 11a1 has a maximum light emission angle θmax ′ of 45 ° (= θ1 / 2) or more, but light of 45 ° or more is wasted. In order to use these lights effectively, the lens 11a2 may refract the light from the body-side light emitting element 11a1 in the direction of condensing it so that the maximum emission angle θmax is about 45 °. Good.

  That is, the lens 11a2 refracts the light emitted from the body side light emitting element 11a1, so that the maximum light emission angle θmax of the body side light emitting unit 11a approaches θ1 / 2 compared to the case where the lens 11a2 is not provided. As long as it is provided.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the maximum light emission angle θmax of the body side light emitting unit 11a is set to approximately 45 degrees that is equal to the rotation angle of the door 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. The maximum light emission angle θmax may be 45 degrees or more.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the body side light emitting element 11a1 is disposed on the rotation axis Z. Accordingly, the maximum light emission angle θmax of the body side light emitting unit 11a may be set to be equal to or larger than the rotation angle of the door 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 6, the body-side light emitting unit 11 a may be disposed at a position shifted from the rotation axis Z. In this case, the angle θ1 formed by the first straight line L1 and the second straight line L2 is smaller than the rotation angle θ2 of the door 3.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the lenses 11a2, 11b2, 12a2, and 12b2 are provided integrally with the covers 11e and 12e. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is provided separately from the covers 11e and 12e. Also good.

  Moreover, according to embodiment mentioned above, although the power wire Lp was routed between the body 2 and the door 3, it is not restricted to this. For example, a non-contact power feeding structure using a coil may be provided in the hinge portion 3A so that power can always be fed from the body 2 to the door 3 side by non-contact.

  Moreover, according to embodiment mentioned above, although lens 11a2 was provided as an optical member, it is not restricted to this. The optical member may be a prism having an angle C.

  Further, the above-described embodiments are merely representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle communication system 2 Body 3 Door 11a Body side light emission part 11a1 Body side light emitting element 11a2 Lens (optical member)
12b Door side light receiving part L1 1st straight line L2 2nd straight line LL Optical axis θmax Maximum light emission angle of body side light emitting part

Claims (2)

A body-side light-emitting portion attached to a body of an automobile, and a door-side light-receiving portion attached to a door rotatably provided with respect to the body, between the body-side light-emitting portion and the door-side light-receiving portion In a vehicle communication system that performs communication with
θ1 = a first straight line connecting the door-side light receiving part and the body-side light emitting part at the fully closed position of the door, and a second straight line connecting the door-side light receiving part and the body-side light emitting part at the fully open position of the door. When the angle between the straight line and
The maximum light emission angle of the body side light emitting unit is provided to be (θ1 / 2) or more ,
The vehicle communication system , wherein the optical axis of the body side light emitting part is arranged to face the door side light receiving part at a center position between the fully open position of the door and the fully closed position of the door. . The body-side light-emitting unit includes a body-side light-emitting element and an optical member, and the optical member refracts light emitted from the body-side light-emitting element so that the maximum light-emitting angle of the body-side light-emitting unit is The vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle communication system approaches (θ1 / 2).

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