US 11,866,005 B2
Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method, recording medium with program for control recorded, and vehicle control system
Satoshi Hasegawa, Wako (JP); Seonghun Lee, Wako (JP); Katsuyasu Yamane, Wako (JP); and Fumiaki Yamaguchi, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Dec. 10, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/117,529.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-227114 (JP), filed on Dec. 17, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0179020 A1, Jun. 17, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 5/00 (2006.01); B60R 25/24 (2013.01); G07C 5/00 (2006.01); H04W 4/02 (2018.01); E05B 49/00 (2006.01); B60R 25/01 (2013.01); B60R 25/20 (2013.01)
CPC B60R 25/245 (2013.01) [G07C 5/008 (2013.01); H04W 4/023 (2013.01); B60R 25/01 (2013.01); B60R 25/209 (2013.01); B60R 2325/101 (2013.01); B60R 2325/207 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising a CPU (central processing unit) that includes:
a vehicle communication control unit performing communication by a first communication specification with a mobile terminal used by a user of a vehicle when the mobile terminal positions within an out-vehicle communication area within a predetermined distance from the vehicle;
a first distance measuring unit measuring a vehicle-terminal distance with first precision, the vehicle-terminal distance being a distance between the vehicle and the mobile terminal;
a vehicle position information obtaining unit obtaining vehicle position information including current position information on the vehicle;
a terminal position information obtaining unit obtaining terminal position information including current position information on the mobile terminal transmitted from the mobile terminal by the first communication specification by receiving the terminal position information from the mobile terminal through the vehicle communication control unit;
a second distance measuring unit measuring the vehicle-terminal distance with second precision based on the vehicle position information and the terminal position information, the second precision being measurement precision lower than the first precision;
a high-precision distance measurement determining unit determining whether the first distance measuring unit is caused to measure the vehicle-terminal distance or not based on the vehicle-terminal distance measured by the second distance measuring unit, and determining to cause the first distance measuring unit to measure the vehicle-terminal distance when the vehicle-terminal distance decreases by a predetermined distance or larger in a plurality of the vehicle-terminal distances measured at different points in time by the second distance measuring unit; and
an electronic-key-app operation recognizing unit recognizing that an electronic key app for remotely operating the vehicle with the mobile terminal is in operation based on operating state information on the mobile terminal transmitted from the mobile terminal to the vehicle communication control unit,
wherein the high-precision distance measurement determining unit determines to cause the first distance measuring unit to measure the vehicle-terminal distance when the electronic-key-app operation recognizing unit recognizes that the electronic key app is in operation even though the vehicle-terminal distance does not decrease by a predetermined distance or larger in a plurality of the vehicle-terminal distances measured at different points in time by the second distance measuring unit.