In-vehicle device, program, and information processing method

Abstract

The present invention provides an in-vehicle device that can transmit integrated data, generated by integrating multiple communication data acquired from multiple wired communication units, via a wireless communication unit. [Solution] The in-vehicle device comprises a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, an in-vehicle device that communicates wirelessly, a wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless communication device, a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, and a control unit that controls communication between the wireless communication unit and the wired communication unit. The control unit acquires communication data from the plurality of wired communication units, generates integrated data by integrating the acquired communication data, and transmits the generated integrated data via the wireless communication unit.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device, a program, and an information processing method. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A vehicle is equipped with an on-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for controlling on-vehicle devices such as a power train system for engine control and a body system for air conditioner control. The on-vehicle ECU includes an arithmetic processing unit such as an MPU, a rewritable non-volatile storage unit such as a RAM, and a communication unit for communicating with other on-vehicle ECUs, and controls on-vehicle devices by reading and executing a control program stored in the storage unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). PRIOR ART DOCUMENT PATENT DOCUMENT

[0003] Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-97851 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] However, the on-vehicle ECU of Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the transmission, via a wireless communication unit, of integrated data generated by integrating a plurality of pieces of communication data acquired from a plurality of wired communication units.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle device and the like capable of transmitting, via a wireless communication unit, integrated data generated by integrating a plurality of pieces of communication data acquired from a plurality of wired communication units. MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM

[0006] An in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, an in-vehicle device that communicates wirelessly, comprising a wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless communication device, a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, and a control unit that controls communication between the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units, wherein the control unit acquires communication data from the plurality of wired communication units, generates integrated data by integrating the acquired plurality of communication data, and transmits the generated integrated data via the wireless communication unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle device, etc., that transmits integrated data, generated by integrating multiple communication data acquired from multiple wired communication units, via a wireless communication unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an in-vehicle system including an in-vehicle device according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram illustrating the physical configuration of an in-vehicle device. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the signal format in communication data. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating information about signal categories (signal category table). [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating integrated data. [Figure 6] This flowchart illustrates the processing (basic processing) of the control unit of an in-vehicle device. [Figure 7] This flowchart illustrates the processing (highest priority processing) of the control unit of the in-vehicle device according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 8] This flowchart illustrates the processing (recall of standby data) of the control unit of the in-vehicle device according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 9] This flowchart illustrates the processing (deletion of standby data) performed by the control unit of an in-vehicle device. [Figure 10] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating information (wait counter table) showing the wait counter for the waiting data. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] [Description of Embodiments in this Disclosure] First, embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described. Furthermore, at least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any way.

[0010] (1) An in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, an in-vehicle device that communicates wirelessly and comprises a wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless communication device, a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, and a control unit that controls communication between the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units, wherein the control unit acquires communication data from the plurality of wired communication units, generates integrated data by integrating the acquired plurality of communication data, and transmits the generated integrated data via the wireless communication unit.

[0011] In this embodiment, the wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle and the on-board device communicate with each other wirelessly (send and receive), and in performing such wireless communication, the on-board device may function as a transmitter and the wireless communication device may function as a receiver. In this case, the on-board device includes, for example, an in-vehicle communication unit compliant with communication protocols such as CAN (Control Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), and Ethernet (registered trademark), or a plurality of wired communication units including an input / output I / F to which a conductive cable (direct wire) that transmits only one signal is connected. The control unit of the on-board device generates integrated data containing the communication data obtained from the plurality of wired communication units. Then, the control unit of the on-board device outputs the integrated data to the wireless communication device via the wireless communication unit, thus eliminating the need to route communication cables or wire harnesses between the on-board device and the wireless communication device. When an in-vehicle device has multiple wired communication units to which physically different communication cables are connected, routing these different communication cables (bundles of wires) between different components in the vehicle requires, for example, passing the bundles of wires through grommets provided in the components, which raises concerns about hindering the flexibility of vehicle design. In contrast, by wirelessly transmitting and receiving integrated data, which combines the multiple communication data transmitted on each of the different communication cables, between the in-vehicle device and the wireless communication device, cable routing between the in-vehicle device and the wireless communication device becomes unnecessary, thereby improving the flexibility of vehicle design.

[0012] (2) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit determines the size of a packet to be transmitted via the wireless communication unit according to the communication load in the wireless communication unit, and if the size of the packet is less than the data size of a plurality of communication data, it selects communication data according to a signal category set in advance for the communication data and generates the integrated data by integrating the selected communication data, and if the size of the packet is equal to or greater than the data size of a plurality of communication data, it generates the integrated data by integrating the plurality of communication data.

[0013] In this embodiment, the control unit of the in-vehicle device determines the size of the packets to be transmitted via the wireless communication unit according to the communication load in the wireless communication unit. This allows for the generation of packets of an appropriate size according to the bandwidth currently available in the wireless communication unit, effectively suppressing or preventing, for example, communication buffer overflow or excessive retransmission. Furthermore, if the data size of multiple communication data acquired in a predetermined processing unit period (the sum of the sizes of each communication data) exceeds the packet size, the control unit of the in-vehicle device selects the communication data according to a signal category pre-set for the communication data and generates integrated data including only the selected communication data. The signal category may be set such that, for example, the higher the priority of the ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) set for the application in which the communication data is used, the more preferentially the data is selected. By generating integrated data according to the signal category of each of the multiple communication data in this way, integrated data can be generated using communication data selected with appropriate priority. When the data size of multiple communication data sets is less than or equal to the packet size, the control unit of the in-vehicle device generates integrated data that includes all communication data acquired within a predetermined processing unit period, without selecting any part of the communication data. This effectively suppresses delays in the communication data.

[0014] (3) In the in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit determines the size of the packet such that the size of the packet decreases as the communication load of the wireless communication unit increases.

[0015] In this aspect, the control unit of the in-vehicle device periodically or steadily acquires the communication load in wireless communication with the wireless communication device from the wireless communication unit. The communication load includes, for example, bandwidth usage rate, packet retransmission rate, collision occurrence rate during packet transmission, and the like. The control unit of the in-vehicle device determines the packet size such that the size of the packet storing integrated data decreases as the communication load in the wireless communication unit increases, whereby the size of the integrated data generated in one process also decreases. In this way, a packet of an appropriate size can be generated according to the bandwidth currently available in the wireless communication unit.

[0016] (4) In the in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the signal categories include a first category that is selected with the highest priority, a second category that has a lower priority than the first category and corresponds to communication data requiring real-time processing, and a third category that has a lower priority than the second category and corresponds to communication data for which delayed processing or intermittent processing is allowed.

[0017] In this embodiment, when generating integrated data, the signal categories used for the priority in selecting communication data include a first category, a second category having a lower priority than the first category, and a third category having a lower priority than the second category. The first category is assigned to communication data including signals that are selected with the highest priority. The second category is assigned to communication data including signals that require real-time processing. The third category is assigned to communication data including signals for which delayed processing or intermittent processing is allowed, that is, it is a signal category assigned when even if part of the communication data is thinned out, the operation of an application that uses the thinned communication data as input data is guaranteed. Since the priority of signal categories is set in at least three stages as described above, the selection priority for generating integrated data can be appropriately set for a plurality of pieces of communication data transmitted respectively through different communication cables.

[0018] (5) In the in-vehicle device according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the communication data of the second category and the third category includes event-based communication data transmitted when an event occurs in the vehicle, and continuous communication data continuously transmitted from a sensor mounted on the vehicle, and in the same signal category, the event-based communication data is selected with priority over the continuous communication data.

[0019] In this embodiment, the communication data to which the second category is set and the communication data to which the third category is set include event-related communication data and continuous communication data. Event-related communication data is communication data transmitted when an event occurs in the vehicle, and for example, it includes on / off data transmitted from a switch when the switch is turned on or off, or communication data including messages or commands transmitted from an in-vehicle ECU. Continuous communication data is communication data transmitted continuously or steadily from various sensors such as LiDAR or infrared sensors mounted on the vehicle. In this case, event-related communication data transmitted when an event occurs (event-driven) tends to have a higher priority or importance in terms of vehicle control than continuous communication data transmitted continuously, and it is required that the latency (delay time) relative to the time of the event occurs be short. In response to this, the control unit of the in-vehicle device, when the signal category is the same, preferentially selects event-related communication data over continuous communication data, generates integrated data, and transmits it, so that control can be suitably performed according to the temporal characteristics of these communication data.

[0020] (6) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit reduces the size of the event communication data by performing an extraction process on the event communication data when selecting the event communication data to generate the integrated data.

[0021] In this embodiment, when the control unit of the in-vehicle device selects event-related communication data to generate integrated data, it performs an extraction process on the event-related communication data. For example, if the event-related communication data is on / off data, the control unit of the in-vehicle device performs the extraction process by extracting the on rising edge period and the off falling edge period. By performing this extraction process on the event-related communication data, the size of the event-related communication data can be reduced, substantially increasing the amount of communication data that can be stored in the integrated data, or decreasing the size of the integrated data, thereby reducing the communication load in the wireless communication unit, i.e., the traffic in wireless communication between the in-vehicle device and the wireless communication device.

[0022] (7) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit reduces the size of the continuous communication data by performing a decimation process on the continuous communication data when selecting the continuous communication data to generate the integrated data.

[0023] In this embodiment, the control unit of the in-vehicle device performs decimation on continuous communication data when selecting continuous communication data to generate integrated data. For example, if the continuous communication data is digital data obtained by sampling analog data continuously transmitted from a sensor at a predetermined period using an AD converter included in the input / output I / F, for example, the control unit of the in-vehicle device performs decimation by deleting a portion of the digital data. By performing decimation on continuous communication data in this way, the size of the continuous communication data can be reduced, substantially increasing the amount of communication data that can be stored in the integrated data, or decreasing the size of the integrated data, thereby reducing the communication load in the wireless communication unit, i.e., the traffic in wireless communication between the in-vehicle device and the wireless communication device.

[0024] (8) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, when the size of the packet becomes less than the data size of multiple communication data, the control unit saves the communication data that was not selected when generating the current integrated data as standby data, and generates the next integrated data including the saved standby data.

[0025] In this embodiment, when the packet size determined according to the communication load in the wireless communication unit becomes less than the data size of multiple acquired communication data, that is, when the data size of multiple communication data acquired in a predetermined processing unit period (the sum of the sizes of each communication data) exceeds the packet size, the control unit of the in-vehicle device selects the communication data to be included in the integrated data based on the signal category of each communication data. At this time, the size of the integrated data will be less than or equal to the packet size. Then, the control unit of the in-vehicle device saves the communication data that was not selected as standby data in an accessible storage area such as the storage unit of the in-vehicle device. The saved standby data (unselected communication data) will be included in the integrated data when the integrated data is generated in the next instance. In this way, even if communication data is not selected during the generation of the integrated data, the unselected communication data is saved as standby data, selected in subsequent integrated data generation, stored in the integrated data, and transmitted, thereby ensuring the communication quality for all communication data acquired via multiple wired communication units.

[0026] (9) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit generates the integrated data by increasing the standby counter value for the standby data that continues to be stored each time the integrated data is generated, and by selecting standby data with a larger standby counter value in the same signal category with priority over standby data with a smaller standby counter value.

[0027] In this embodiment, the control unit of the in-vehicle device performs integrated processing on multiple communication data acquired during a predetermined processing unit period, and generates integrated data. That is, integrated data is generated each time a processing unit period has elapsed. At this time, for standby data, each time a processing unit period has elapsed, a determination is made as to whether or not to store it in the integrated data, according to the signal category of the standby data. In this case, it is expected that standby data assigned to a relatively low-priority signal category will repeatedly be determined not to be stored, i.e., to be standby. In response to this, the control unit of the in-vehicle device assigns a standby counter value (initial value: 0) to standby data that has been determined not to be stored (standby determination), and thereafter, each time standby (standby determination) is repeated for that standby data, the control unit increases the standby counter value (+1: increment processing). Then, for the same signal category, the control unit of the in-vehicle device generates integrated data by prioritizing the selection of standby data with a larger standby counter value over standby data with a smaller standby counter value, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the communication data stored as standby data.

[0028] (10) In an in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the standby data is stored in a storage area accessible by the control unit, and when the free space in the storage area falls below a predetermined value, the control unit deletes the standby data with the largest standby counter value in the same signal category.

[0029] In this embodiment, standby data is stored in a storage area accessible by the control unit, such as the storage unit of the in-vehicle device. The storage area where standby data is temporarily stored (standby data area) is an area reserved in advance in the storage unit, and its area size (allocation size) is predetermined. Communication data (standby data) that was not selected when integrated data was generated is stored in this standby data area. For example, if the communication load of the wireless communication unit remains relatively high, or if the amount of communication data acquired via multiple wired communication units remains large, there is a concern that the standby data area may become strained (insufficient free space) due to the increase in standby data. In response to this, if the free space in the storage area (standby data area) falls below a predetermined value, such as 10% or less of the area size of the standby data area, the control unit of the in-vehicle device discards (deletes) the standby data with the largest standby counter value in the same signal category. In this way, by deleting the standby data with the largest standby counter value within the same signal category, the standby data with the most standby counts, i.e., the oldest standby data, is deleted. This reduces the impact on vehicle control caused by deleting communication data, while efficiently preventing the depletion of the standby data area.

[0030] (11) A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a wireless communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, and a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, wherein a computer that controls communication in the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units is instructed to perform the following processes: acquire communication data from the plurality of wired communication units, generate integrated data by integrating the acquired plurality of communication data, and transmit the generated integrated data via the wireless communication unit.

[0031] In this embodiment, a program can be provided that causes a computer to operate as an in-vehicle device that generates integrated data by integrating multiple communication data acquired from multiple wired communication units and transmits it via a wireless communication unit.

[0032] (12) An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a wireless communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, and a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, wherein a computer that controls communication in the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units is instructed to perform the following processes: acquire communication data from the plurality of wired communication units, generate integrated data by integrating the acquired plurality of communication data, and transmit the generated integrated data via the wireless communication unit.

[0033] In this embodiment, an information processing method is provided that causes a computer to operate as an in-vehicle device that generates integrated data by integrating multiple communication data acquired from multiple wired communication units and transmits it via a wireless communication unit.

[0034] [Details of the Embodiments of the Invention] This disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating its embodiments. An in-vehicle device 1 according to an embodiment of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to these examples and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims, as indicated by the claims.

[0035] (Embodiment 1) The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an in-vehicle system S including an in-vehicle device 1 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the physical configuration of the in-vehicle device 1. The in-vehicle system S has an in-vehicle device 1 mounted on a vehicle C as its main device, and includes a wireless communication device 2 that is wirelessly connected to the in-vehicle device 1. Multiple physically different communication cables are connected to the in-vehicle device 1, and through these communication cables, it is communicatively connected to in-vehicle equipment 4 including, for example, a sensor 41, a switch 42, or an actuator 43, and an in-vehicle ECU 3. These communication cables include, for example, a CAN bus, a LIN bus, an Ethernet cable, a direct wire, or an analog cable.

[0036] The in-vehicle device 1 transmits each piece of communication data acquired via these multiple communication cables to the wireless communication device 2 via wireless communication. The wireless communication device 2 is connected to multiple communication cables, similar to the in-vehicle device 1, and the communication cables of the in-vehicle device 1 and the communication cables of the wireless communication device 2 include the same type of communication cables and are in a corresponding relationship. Therefore, the wireless communication device 2 also transmits each piece of communication data acquired via the multiple communication cables to the in-vehicle device 1 via wireless communication. In this way, the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2 communicate with each other via wireless communication. Each of these communication cables is separated between the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2, but by performing wireless communication between the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2, which are connected to multiple communication cables of the same type, the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2 function as relay device units that logically connect the separated communication cables. In this case, the in-vehicle device 1 (wireless communication unit 101) functions as a wireless transmission unit, and the wireless communication device 2 functions as a wireless reception unit.

[0037] If, for example, the in-vehicle device 1 is located on the main body side of vehicle C and the wireless communication device 2 is located on the door side, then when connecting the main body side and the door side with a communication cable, it is necessary to route the communication cable through grommets provided on these components. In contrast, by wirelessly connecting the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2, and transmitting and receiving integrated data, which combines multiple communication data transmitted via different communication cables, wirelessly, cable routing between the in-vehicle device 1 and the wireless communication device 2 becomes unnecessary, thereby improving the design flexibility of vehicle C. Furthermore, by considering the communication load in wireless communication and the priority of multiple communication data when generating the integrated data, communication quality can be ensured.

[0038] The in-vehicle device 1 includes a control unit 11, a wired communication unit 102 (input / output I / F 12, in-vehicle communication unit 13), a storage unit 14, and a wireless communication unit 101. The control unit 11 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and performs various control and calculation processes by reading and executing a control program P (program product) and data pre-stored in the storage unit 14.

[0039] The storage unit 14 is composed of volatile memory elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory), non-volatile memory elements such as ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), or flash memory, or a combination of these storage devices, and stores the control program P (program product) and data referenced during processing in advance. The control program P (program product) stored in the storage unit 14 may be a control program P (program product) read from a recording medium M that the in-vehicle device 1 can read. Alternatively, the control program P (program product) may be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to a communication network (not shown) and stored in the storage unit 14. The storage unit 14 also stores a signal category table and a standby counter table, which will be described later.

[0040] The input / output interface 12 is, for example, a communication interface for serial communication. The input / output interface 12 includes multiple terminals, such as direct connection ports or input terminals for analog cables, and each terminal is connected to a signal line extending to an in-vehicle device 4 such as a sensor 41, a switch 42, or an actuator 43. The signal line 151 is composed of, for example, a serial cable, a wire harness, an analog cable, or a conductive cable (direct wire) that transmits only one signal.

[0041] The in-vehicle communication unit 13 is an input / output interface using a communication protocol such as CAN, LIN, or Ethernet (Ethernet / registered trademark), and the control unit 11 communicates with the in-vehicle ECU 3 or other in-vehicle equipment 4 such as relay devices that are connected to the in-vehicle network via the in-vehicle communication unit 13. Multiple in-vehicle communication units 13 are provided, and the communication protocols of each of these in-vehicle communication units 13 may be different. In this embodiment, these in-vehicle communication units 13 include, for example, an Ethernet PHY unit (EtherNet Physical Layer I / F), a CAN transceiver, and a LIN transceiver. The input / output I / F 12 and the in-vehicle communication unit 13 correspond to a wired communication unit 102 for wired communication with the in-vehicle ECU 3 or in-vehicle equipment 4 (sensor 41, switch 42).

[0042] The wireless communication unit 101 is a communication device for wireless communication using protocols such as LTE (registered trademark), 4G, 5G, and WiFi (registered trademark), and transmits and receives data with the wireless communication device 2. The wireless communication unit 101 and the control unit 11 are connected for communication purposes, for example, via an internal bus, and the wireless communication unit 101 periodically transmits information regarding the communication load, including bandwidth usage, packet retransmission rate, collision rate during packet transmission, wireless error rate, and the amount of data transmitted in the previous transmission, to the control unit 11.

[0043] The wireless communication device 2, like the in-vehicle device 1, includes a control unit, a wired communication unit (input / output I / F, in-vehicle communication unit), a storage unit, and a wireless communication unit. In other words, the wireless communication device 2 may have the same hardware configuration as the in-vehicle device 1. As will be described in detail later, the wireless communication device 2 acquires communication data (integrated data) from the in-vehicle device 1 via wireless communication and transmits the acquired communication data via the wired communication unit 102 of the wireless communication device 2.

[0044] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the signal format in communication data. The signal format in communication data includes the signal format of event-based communication data and the signal format of continuous-based communication data. Depending on the signal format of the communication data, it may be compressed (data reduction processing) and extracted as compressed information (data format after data reduction processing).

[0045] Event-related communication data is communication data transmitted when an event occurs in vehicle C, and corresponds to on / off data (ONOFF data) which includes data indicating "on" and data indicating "off". For example, event-related communication data (ONOFF data) flowing directly over a line will have a signal form that includes the rising and falling phases of the waveform. In this case, instead of sampling the ON / OFF waveform from the event-related communication data (ONOFF data), only the essence of the information (rising and falling phases of the waveform, etc.) may be extracted. The extracted data will be integrated into the integrated data and transmitted. For example, event-related communication data (ONOFF data) flowing over a CAN bus will have a signal form that includes the rising and falling phases of the SIG_LOCK message. In this case, instead of taking the entire frame of the ON / OFF information signal from the event-related communication data (ONOFF data), only the essence of the information (rising and falling phases of the signal, etc.) may be extracted. For example, event-related communication data (ON / OFF data) flowing through the LIN bus will include various command types and intervals ("command1", interval (ms), "command2", interval (ms)) as a signal format. In this case, the event-related communication data (ON / OFF data) may be extracted to retain only the message content and interval time for each command occurrence, or it may be treated in the same way as the ON / OFF data described above.

[0046] Continuous communication data is communication data transmitted continuously or regularly from various sensors 41 such as LiDAR or infrared sensors mounted on vehicle C. For example, continuous communication data (continuous data) flowing on the CAN bus will contain multiple numerical values ​​(number, number, number, ...) in the SIG_SENSOR message. In this case, data extraction may be performed by retaining continuous numerical information for all frames of the continuous communication data (continuous data). For example, continuous communication data (continuous data) flowing on an analog cable will be converted into discrete digital data according to the sampling period by an AD converter included in the input / output I / F 12, etc., and will contain multiple numerical values ​​(number, number, number, ...). In this case, data extraction may be performed by retaining continuous numerical information for all frames of the continuous communication data (continuous data).

[0047] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a data reduction process on the communication data according to the signal format of the communication data, as shown in the flowchart described later. Continuous communication data (continuous data) retains continuous numerical information for all frames when data is extracted, but in the data reduction process, a portion of the continuous numerical information (number, number, number, ...) may be thinned out in order to lengthen the effective sampling period. In other words, the thinning process on continuous communication data (continuous data) is a process in which some numbers in the continuous numerical information are thinned out (deleted) so that the operation of the application that uses the continuous communication data as input data is guaranteed to work. In this case, the thinning process may, for example, thin out numbers in an even order in the continuous numerical information arranged in chronological order. Alternatively, the decimation process may involve, for example, calculating the average value of two adjacent numbers (the nth number and the (n+1)th number) in a sequence of sequential numerical information arranged in time, and then constructing the sequence of numerical information using the calculated average value, thereby halving the number of numbers contained in the sequence of numerical information.

[0048] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating information about signal categories (signal category table). The storage unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 1 stores information about signal categories, for example, in a table format (signal category table). The signal category table includes management items such as signal category, category content, processing, wired communication unit 102 number, and signal type. The management items of the signal category store identifiers such as numbers or symbols that indicate the priority when selected. In this embodiment, the signal categories are set in five stages from A to E, and are determined in such order that communication data of category A has the highest priority and communication data of category E has the lowest priority.

[0049] The category content management item stores an example of content corresponding to the signal category. The processing management item stores the processing details when the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data volume reduction processing on communication data with the corresponding signal category set. The wired communication unit 102 number management item stores a number that uniquely identifies the wired communication unit 102 to which communication data with the corresponding signal category is sent and received. The signal type management item stores the type of signal contained in the communication data with the corresponding signal category set.

[0050] Communication data with signal category A is given the highest priority, and all other signals (communication data) are put on hold or discarded, and the data is transmitted immediately. In this embodiment, the communication data of signal category A is acquired via the wired communication unit 102 of communication line 1 (direct line) by the wired communication unit 102 number, and includes the signal type of ON / OFF signal or airbag signal.

[0051] The communication data category for which signal category B is set is real-time ON / OFF, and after transmission, it is processed to be discarded. In this embodiment, the communication data for signal category B is acquired via the wired communication unit 102 of communication line 2 (direct line / CAN) by the wired communication unit 102 number, and includes signal types such as ON / OFF signals, real-time requests, and door open / closed status signals.

[0052] The communication data category set for signal category C is real-time and continuous, and undergoes a process of decimation before transmission, after which it is discarded. In this embodiment, the communication data for signal category C is acquired via the wired communication unit 102 of communication line 3 (direct line / CAN) by the wired communication unit 102 number, and includes continuous signals, real-time requests, and door pressure sensor signal types.

[0053] The communication data for which signal category D is set typically consists of signals and ON / OFF states, and is either put into standby mode or discarded after transmission. In this embodiment, the communication data for signal category D is acquired via the wired communication unit 102 of communication line 4 (LIN) by the wired communication unit 102 number, and includes message signals and user button operation signals.

[0054] The communication data category for which signal category E is set is normally a signal / continuous, and is subjected to decimation, standby processing, or discarding after transmission. In this embodiment, the communication data of signal category E is acquired via the wired communication unit 102 of communication line 4 (direct line / LIN) by the wired communication unit 102 number, and includes ON / OFF signals and temperature sensor data signal types.

[0055] In this case, signal category A corresponds to the first category, which is selected with the highest priority. Signal categories B and C have a lower priority than the first category (A) and correspond to the second category, which corresponds to communication data that requires real-time processing. In this second category, signal category B, which is set for event-related communication data, is selected with higher priority than signal category C, which is set for continuous-related communication data. Signal categories D and E have a lower priority than the second category (C) and correspond to the third category, which corresponds to communication data for which delayed processing or intermittent processing (decimation processing) is permitted. In this third category, signal category D, which is set for event-related communication data, is selected with higher priority than signal category E, which is set for continuous-related communication data.

[0056] When generating integrated data, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may refer to a signal category table when selecting the communication data to be included in the integrated data. That is, when the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 acquires communication data from the wired communication unit 102, it identifies the wired communication unit 102 number. Then, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 identifies the type of signal (signal type) included in the communication data by referring to the header or payload of the acquired communication data.

[0057] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may identify the signal category corresponding to the identified wired communication unit 102 number and signal type by referring to a signal category table. In this case, for wired communication unit 102 (wired communication unit 102 number) through which only a single type of communication data flows, such as a direct line or analog cable, the signal category may be identified using only the wired communication unit 102 number. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a data volume reduction process for the communication data according to the identified signal category.

[0058] Thus, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 operates as a software function unit that performs various functions by executing programs stored in the memory unit 14. This software function unit includes a transmission packet size determination unit, an information integration unit, and a data standby unit. The transmission packet size determination unit determines the size of the packets to be transmitted via the wireless communication unit 101 (wireless transmission unit) according to the communication load in the wireless communication unit 101 (wireless transmission unit). The information integration unit generates integrated data by integrating the acquired and selected communication data. The data standby unit performs a process to hold the communication data that was not selected when generating the integrated data. These processes performed by the software function units will be explained later in the flowchart as processes performed by the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1.

[0059] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating integrated data. The data size of the integrated data is generated so that it is less than or equal to the packet size determined according to the communication load when generating the integrated data. That is, the determined packet size corresponds to the allowed packet size, and the data size of the integrated data (packet size after integration) is less than or equal to the allowed packet size (packet size after integration ≤ allowed packet size). If the maximum packet size determined according to the communication load (allowed packet size) is larger than the data size of the integrated data to be generated, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may reduce the size of the packet itself to be the same as the data size of the integrated data. That is, if the total size of the communication data to be included in the integrated data and transmitted (relayed) to the wireless communication device 2 is smaller than the allowed packet size, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may reduce the packet size itself without filling the empty space with zeros, etc., if there is sufficient space in the packet. Integrated data is generated according to the packet size in this way, and the integrated data includes a selection of communication data (communication line 1 data, communication line 2 data, communication line 3 data).

[0060] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing (basic processing) of the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 routinely performs the following processing when, for example, the vehicle C is running (e.g., the IG switch is on) or stopped (e.g., the IG switch is off).

[0061] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 acquires communication data via a plurality of wired communication units 102 (S101). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 stores each piece of communication data acquired via the plurality of wired communication units 102 in a buffer area pre-allocated in, for example, the storage unit 14 (buffering). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs this buffering process at predetermined processing intervals, and after the elapsed processing period, it generates integrated data. That is, in each processing period, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs the process of buffering the acquired plurality of communication data and generating integrated data, and by repeating this process, it continues the process of periodically generating integrated data.

[0062] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 extracts data to be transmitted from the acquired communication data (S102). For each acquired communication data, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 identifies the wired communication unit 102 number of the wired communication unit 102 that received the communication data, and the type of signal (signal type) contained in the communication data. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 identifies the signal category of the communication data by referring to the signal category table according to the identified wired communication unit 102 number, or the combination of the wired communication unit 102 number and the signal type.

[0063] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a process to extract data to be transmitted from the communication data according to the identified signal category. For example, if the signal category is event-type communication data (ON / OFF type data) such as B or D, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 extracts the essence of the information (such as the rising and falling periods in the waveform, or the rising and falling periods in the signal). For example, if the signal category is continuous communication data (continuous data) such as C or E, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may perform data extraction by retaining continuous numerical information for all frames. By performing data extraction in this way, it is possible to reduce the amount of communication data stored in the integrated data while ensuring communication quality.

[0064] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 determines the size of the packet to be transmitted via the wireless communication unit 101 (S103). Based on communication log data from the wireless communication unit 101, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 determines the packet size (allowed packet size: maximum value) based on the communication load, including, for example, bandwidth utilization, packet retransmission rate, collision rate during packet transmission, wireless error rate, or the amount transmitted in the previous transmission. At this time, the wireless communication unit 101 may provide feedback to the control unit 11, such as periodically transmitting information about this communication load. When determining the packet size, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may refer to a packet size table pre-stored in the storage unit 14. The packet size table may include communication load and packet size as management items, and may be defined so that the packet size decreases as the communication load increases (the amount of communication load increases).

[0065] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a size comparison between the total size of the extracted data and the size of the determined packets (S104). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 determines whether the total size of the data exceeds the size of the packets (S105). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a size comparison based on the relationship between the total size of the data extracted from each of the multiple communication data, i.e., the size of the data to be included in the integrated data, and the size of the determined packets (allowed packet size: maximum value), and determines whether the total size of the data (size of the integrated data) exceeds the size of the packets.

[0066] If the size of the integrated data exceeds the size of the packet (S105:YES), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data reduction processing (S1051). The data reduction processing is performed in stages, and in this embodiment, for example, it is performed in seven stages. If the size comparison determination criterion (size of integrated data ≤ packet size) is met in any stage of the reduction processing, the subsequent reduction processing is not performed.

[0067] As the first stage in the data volume reduction process, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs decimation on the communication data "normal signal, continuous" of signal category E. As the second stage in the data volume reduction process, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs decimation (a process of decimating a portion of continuous numerical information (numerical value, numerical value, numerical value)) on the communication data "real-time, continuous" of signal category C. As the third stage in the data volume reduction process, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs standby processing (storing as standby data in a standby data area (buffer area)) on the communication data "normal signal, ON / OFF" of signal category D. As the fourth stage in the data volume reduction process, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs further decimation on the communication data "normal signal, continuous" of signal category E. As the fifth stage in the data volume reduction process, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs further decimation on the communication data "real-time, continuous" of signal category C. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs standby processing on the communication data of signal category E, "normal signal, continuous," as the sixth stage in the data volume reduction process. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs standby processing on the communication data of signal category B, "real-time, ON / OFF," as the seventh stage in the data volume reduction process.

[0068] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data volume reduction processing in stages according to the number of loops in S1051. That is, in the first processing of S1051, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs the first stage of data volume reduction processing. After the loop processing, in the second processing of S1051, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs the second stage of data volume reduction processing. The data volume reduction processing for communication data according to the signal category may be performed according to the processing defined in the signal category table. That is, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may determine the content of the data volume reduction processing for communication data according to the signal category by referring to the signal category table.

[0069] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 recursively performs the size comparison process and the data volume reduction process by executing the data volume reduction process again from S104 after performing the data volume reduction process. The data volume reduction process is performed in stages, and it is assumed that the size comparison determination criterion (integrated data size ≤ packet size) cannot be met in a single process (one stage of processing). In response to this, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 can suppress excessive reduction processing by performing the data volume reduction process in stages until the determination criterion (integrated data size ≤ packet size) is met.

[0070] If the size of the integrated data does not exceed the size of the packet (S105: NO), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs the integration into a packet process (S106). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs the integration into a packet process, which is the process of integrating (storing) the communication data that has undergone data volume reduction processing into integrated data, if the size of the integrated data does not exceed the size of the packet, that is, if the size comparison determination requirement (size of integrated data ≤ packet size) is met.

[0071] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 transmits an integrated packet via the wireless communication unit 101 (S107). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 transmits an integrated packet to the wireless communication device 2 via the wireless communication unit 101. After the transmission of the integrated packet is successfully completed, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 deletes the communication data (standby data) integrated (stored) in the integrated packet from the buffer area (standby data area).

[0072] The wireless communication unit 101 temporarily stores the integrated data acquired from the in-vehicle device 1 via wireless communication in its own storage unit. The wireless communication unit 101 extracts each of the multiple communication data included in the integrated data and transmits them via the in-vehicle communication unit corresponding to the extracted communication data. In this case, if the extracted communication data contains, for example, the essence of the extracted information (such as the rising and falling periods in a waveform, or the rising and falling periods in a signal), the wireless communication unit 101 restores the communication data before extraction (such as an ON / OFF waveform) based on that essence and transmits the restored communication data.

[0073] (Embodiment 2) Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing (highest priority processing) of the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 according to Embodiment 2. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 routinely performs the following processing when, for example, the vehicle C is running (e.g., the IG switch is on) or stopped (e.g., the IG switch is off).

[0074] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 acquires communication data via a plurality of wired communication units 102 (S201). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 extracts data to be transmitted from the acquired communication data (S202). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes S201 to S202 in the same manner as the processes S101 to S102 in Embodiment 1.

[0075] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 determines whether or not the highest priority data is included (S203). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 determines whether or not there is communication data defined in signal category A in the signal category table that is the highest priority data among the communication data to be integrated into the current integrated data.

[0076] If the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A) is not included (S203: NO), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes S204 to S208, similar to the processes S103 to S107 in Embodiment 1.

[0077] If the data to be integrated into the current integrated data contains the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A) (S203:YES), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may, when the data to be integrated into the current integrated data contains the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A), either put the other communication data into standby processing (save it as standby data in the standby data area (buffer area)) or discard it and remove it from the buffer area (standby data area).

[0078] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs integration processing into a packet, including the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A) (S207). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 transmits the integrated packet via the wireless communication unit 101 (S208). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 generates integrated data by performing integration processing into a packet, including the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A). In this case, the communication data stored (integrated) in the integrated data may consist only of the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A). By storing (integrating) only the highest priority data (communication data of signal category A) in the integrated data, the packet size can be reduced, making it less susceptible to the effects of communication load in wireless communication. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 transmits the generated integrated packet to the wireless communication device 2 via the wireless communication unit 101, similar to S107 in Embodiment 1.

[0079] (Embodiment 3) Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processing (recall of standby data) of the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 according to Embodiment 3. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 routinely performs the following processing when, for example, the vehicle C is running (e.g., the IG switch is on) or stopped (e.g., the IG switch is off).

[0080] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 acquires communication data via a plurality of wired communication units 102 (S301). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 extracts data to be transmitted from the acquired communication data (S302). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes S301 to S302 in the same way as the processes S101 to S102 in Embodiment 1.

[0081] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data integration, including standby data (S303). Communication data that was not integrated into the integrated data during the previous integrated data generation process (communication data that was not selected) is temporarily stored as standby data in the standby data area. When the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 stores the unselected communication data as standby data, it assigns a standby counter value (initial value: 0) to the standby data. The standby counter value is increased (+1: increment process) each time a standby (standby determination) is repeated for the standby data.

[0082] When generating integrated data, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 processes not only the communication data buffered during the processing unit period corresponding to the current process, but also the standby data that was treated as standby data in previous processes, as communication data to be integrated. At this time, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs a process to generate integrated data (data integration) by prioritizing the selection of standby data with a large standby counter value over standby data with a small standby counter value within the same signal category.

[0083] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes from S304 to S306, similar to the processes S103 to S105 in Embodiment 1.

[0084] If the size of the integrated data exceeds the size of the packet (S306: YES), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data volume reduction processing (S3061). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs processing S3061 in the same way as processing S1051 in Embodiment 1. At this time, when the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 performs data volume reduction processing in S3061, and performs waiting processing on communication data, it assigns a waiting counter value (initial value: 0) to the waiting data. For waiting data where waiting processing was performed in the previous integrated data generation processing and also in the current integrated data generation processing (waiting data for which waiting processing has been repeated), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 increments the waiting counter value of the waiting data for which waiting processing has been repeated by 1.

[0085] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes from S307 to S308, similar to the processes S106 to S107 in Embodiment 1.

[0086] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating the processing (deletion of standby data) of the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 routinely performs the following processing when, for example, the vehicle C is running (e.g., the IG switch is on) or stopped (e.g., the IG switch is off).

[0087] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 executes the processes S311 to S318 in the same way as the processes S301 to S308 in Embodiment 3. That is, in this flowchart, the process of generating integrated data is executed in the same way as the processes S301 to S308, while deleting standby data according to the free space in the standby data area.

[0088] If the size of the integrated data exceeds the size of the packet (S316: YES), the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 discards the standby data (S3161). The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 increases the free space of the standby data area by discarding the standby data when the size of the integrated data exceeds the size of the packet. The storage unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 1 has a storage area (standby data area) reserved in advance for temporarily storing standby data, and the area size (allocation size) of the standby data area is predetermined. The standby data area may be a buffer area for storing (buffering) communication data acquired from multiple wired communication units 102, or it may be defined as an area different from the buffer area.

[0089] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 sets a standby counter value for standby data when saving standby data to the standby data area, and increments the standby counter value by one each time the standby process for the standby data is repeated. The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may also store the standby counter value set in this way in the storage unit 14, for example, in a table format (standby counter table).

[0090] Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating information (wait counter table) showing the wait counter for wait data. The wait counter table includes data and a wait counter as management items. The data management item stores the wait data for which a wait process has been performed and the signal category of said wait data. The stored wait data is not limited to cases where the actual wait data itself is stored; for example, it may store the address in the wait data area where the wait data is stored. The wait counter management item stores the number of times the wait process has been repeated for the wait data, and the larger the value of the wait counter, the older the wait data is (data with a long elapsed time from the time of acquisition to the present).

[0091] The control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 discards (deletes) the standby data with the largest standby counter value in the same signal category when the free space in the standby data area falls below a predetermined value, such as 10% or less of the area size of the standby data area. This allows the oldest standby data to be deleted in order within each signal category. After discarding the standby data, the control unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 1 may perform data volume reduction processing similar to that in S3061.

[0092] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims, not in the sense described above, and all modifications within the sense and scope equivalent to the claims are intended.

[0093] With respect to the multiple claims described in the claims, they can be combined with each other regardless of the form of reference. Multiple dependent claims that depend on multiple claims may be described in the claims. Multiple dependent claims that depend on multiple dependent claims may also be described. Even if multiple dependent claims that depend on multiple dependent claims are not described, this does not limit the description of multiple dependent claims that depend on multiple dependent claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] C Vehicle S In-vehicle system 1 In-vehicle device 11 Control Unit 12 Input / Output Interfaces 13. In-vehicle communications unit 14 Storage section M recording medium P Control Program (Program Product) 101 Wireless Communication Section 102 Wired Communications Department 2 Wireless communication device 3 In-vehicle ECU 4 In-vehicle equipment 41 sensors 42 switches 43 Actuators

Claims

1. A wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle and an in-vehicle device that communicates wirelessly, The wireless communication device and a wireless communication unit for wireless communication, Multiple wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the aforementioned vehicle, The system comprises a wireless communication unit and a control unit that controls communication in the wired communication unit, The control unit, The communication data is acquired from multiple wired communication units. Integrated data is generated by combining the multiple communication data acquired. The generated integrated data is transmitted via the wireless communication unit. In-vehicle device.

2. The control unit, The size of the packets to be transmitted via the wireless communication unit is determined according to the communication load in the wireless communication unit. If the size of the packet is less than the data size of multiple communication data, the communication data is selected according to the signal category pre-set for the communication data. By integrating the selected communication data, the integrated data is generated. If the size of the packet exceeds the data size of the multiple communication data, the combined data is generated by integrating the multiple communication data. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit determines the packet size such that the packet size decreases as the communication load of the wireless communication unit increases. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned signal category is The first category, which is selected with the highest priority, A second category, which has a lower priority than the first category mentioned above, corresponds to communication data that requires real-time processing, This includes a third category with a lower priority than the second category, corresponding to communication data for which delayed or intermittent processing is permitted. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2.

5. The communication data of the second category and the third category are Event-related communication data transmitted when an event occurs in the aforementioned vehicle, This includes continuous communication data transmitted continuously from sensors mounted on the vehicle, Within the same signal category, the event-based communication data is selected with priority over the continuous-based communication data. The in-vehicle device according to claim 4.

6. When the control unit selects the event-related communication data and generates the integrated data, it reduces the size of the event-related communication data by performing an extraction process on the event-related communication data. The in-vehicle device according to claim 5.

7. When the control unit selects the continuous communication data and generates the integrated data, it reduces the size of the continuous communication data by performing a decimation process on the continuous communication data. The in-vehicle device according to claim 5.

8. When the size of the packet becomes less than the data size of multiple communication data, the control unit saves the communication data that was not selected when generating the current integrated data as standby data. The integrated data for subsequent uses is generated, including the saved standby data. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2.

9. The control unit, Each time the integrated data is generated, the waiting counter value is increased for the waiting data that continues to be stored. The integrated data is generated by selecting standby data with a larger standby counter value over standby data with a smaller standby counter value within the same signal category. The in-vehicle device according to claim 8.

10. The standby data is stored in a storage area accessible by the control unit. When the free space in the storage area falls below a predetermined value, the control unit deletes the standby data with the largest standby counter value in the same signal category. The in-vehicle device according to claim 9.

11. The system comprises a wireless communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle, and a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, and a computer that controls the communication between the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units, The communication data is acquired from multiple wired communication units. Integrated data is generated by combining the multiple communication data acquired. The generated integrated data is transmitted via the wireless communication unit. A program that executes a process.

12. The system comprises a wireless communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle, and a plurality of wired communication units for wired communication with an in-vehicle ECU or in-vehicle equipment mounted on the vehicle, and a computer that controls the communication between the wireless communication unit and the wired communication units, The communication data is acquired from multiple wired communication units. Integrated data is generated by combining the multiple communication data acquired. The generated integrated data is transmitted via the wireless communication unit. An information processing method that executes a process.

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