Car sharing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019001925-A1
Application number	US-201816018237-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 26, 2018
Priority date	Jun 29, 2017
Publication date	Jan 3, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A car sharing system includes a car sharing device installed in a vehicle. The car sharing device is configured to perform ID verification via an electronic key system of the vehicle in a state in which key information registered to the mobile terminal has been authenticated to allow an onboard device to be operated by the mobile terminal. The car sharing system includes a key function unit that implements a smart function to perform the ID verification through bidirectional short-range wireless communication with the electronic key system, a determination processing unit that determines whether or not a condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied, and an actuation switching unit that validates the smart function if the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied.

First claim

1 . A car sharing system comprising:
a car sharing device installed in a vehicle, wherein the car sharing device is configured to perform wireless communication with a mobile terminal that can be actuated as a vehicle key of the vehicle by registering key information, authenticate the key information through the wireless communication, and perform ID verification via an electronic key system of the vehicle in a state in which the key information has been authenticated to allow an onboard device to be operated by the mobile terminal; a key function unit arranged in the car sharing device, wherein the key function unit implements a smart function to perform the ID verification through bidirectional short-range wireless communication with the electronic key system; a determination processing unit that determines whether or not a condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied; and an actuation switching unit that validates the smart function when the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied.

2 . The car sharing system according to claim 1 , wherein the car sharing device is configured to be connected through wireless communication to the electronic key system and not wire-connected to the electronic key system.

3 . The car sharing system according to claim 1 , wherein whenever sharing of the vehicle is started or whenever an engine of the vehicle is started, the determination processing unit and the actuation switching unit perform a series of processes to determine whether or not the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied and validate the smart function when the condition has been satisfied.

4 . The car sharing system according to claim 1 , wherein if the car sharing device receives an actuation permission request from the mobile terminal that requests for actuation permission of the onboard device when a vehicle door of the vehicle is in an unlock state, the determination processing unit determines that the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied.

5 . The car sharing system according to claim 4 , wherein the actuation permission request is an engine start permission request that requests an engine of the vehicle to be started.

6 . The car sharing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the car sharing device further includes a timer that starts to measure an elapsed time in response to receiving an unlock request of the vehicle door from the mobile terminal, and the determination processing unit determines that the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied if the elapsed time from when the unlock request was received has reached a time set in advance to the timer.

7 . The car sharing system according to claim 6 , comprising:
a user state determination unit configured to determine a state of a user carrying the mobile terminal; and a timer time setting unit that sets a time of the timer based on a determination result of the user state determination unit.

8 . The car sharing system according to claim 1 , wherein
if the car sharing device receives an engine start permission request from the mobile terminal that requests an engine of the vehicle to be started when a vehicle door of the vehicle is in a lock state, the determination processing unit determines that the condition for permitting actuation of the smart function has been satisfied, and if the car sharing device receives the engine start permission request when the vehicle door is in the lock state, the actuation switching unit switches the vehicle door from the lock state to an unlock state and validates the smart function.

Assignees

• Tokai Rika Co Ltd

Inventors

• Arakawa Masahiro
• Oya Masahiko
• Oshima Masaki
• Sekine Kiyotoshi
• Kubo Yutaka
• Iwashita Hiroaki

Classifications

• G07C9/215

  the system having a variable access-code, e.g. varied as a function of time · CPC title

• G07C9/00571

  operated by interacting with a central unit · CPC title

• G07C2009/00793

  by Hertzian waves · CPC title

• B60R25/24 Primary

  using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user · CPC title

• B60W2040/0809

  Driver authorisation; Driver identity check · CPC title