Information Processing Apparatus and Information Processing Method

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, which make it possible to maintain reliability, reduce costs, and replace a deteriorated emergency notification device at an appropriate time. In the present invention, the time from when charging starts from a supercapacitor, which is a power source for an emergency notification device for a vehicle, until the supercapacitor is fully charged is measured as state information indicating the degree of deterioration of the supercapacitor, an evaluation value is calculated based on the state information, and based on a comparison between the evaluation value and a threshold value, it is determined whether it is necessary to replace the emergency notification device according to the deterioration of the supercapacitor. The present invention can be applied to a system for determining whether an emergency notification device having a supercapacitor as a power source and installed in a vehicle needs to be replaced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of reducing costs and replacing a deteriorated emergency reporting device at an appropriate timing while maintaining reliability. Background Art

[0002] Telematics auto insurance that identifies a driving state using a smartphone owned by a driver and reflects the driving state in an insurance premium is becoming common.

[0003] Telematics auto insurance is auto insurance that evaluates driving based on a driving state of a driver obtained using a smartphone owned by the driver as an insurance contractee and provides a discount on an insurance premium or the like based on the evaluation result.

[0004] In telematics auto insurance, a technique has been proposed for promoting safe driving by evaluating driving based on a driving state of a driver obtained using a smartphone owned by the driver as an insurance contractee, notifying the driver's smartphone of the driving evaluation, and displaying the driving evaluation (see Patent Document 1).

[0005] Furthermore, in telematics auto insurance, since it is assumed that the driver as an insurance contractee owns a smartphone, there is such a service in which an emergency reporting device including a button or the like to be operated in the event of an emergency in a vehicle is installed in the vehicle, and notification of the occurrence of an emergency is performed from the emergency reporting device via the smartphone as an additional service of auto insurance.

[0006] Citation List

[0007] Patent Document

[0008] Patent Document 1: WO 2019 / 069732 A Summary of the Invention

[0009] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0010] Meanwhile, an emergency reporting device generally has a configuration driven by an external power supply supplied from an accessory or the like of a vehicle, but in the event of an emergency, it is conceivable that the emergency reporting device may become in a state where power supply from the vehicle is impossible.

[0011] Specifically, it is desirable that the emergency reporting device can operate more stably in a high emergency situation where power supply from the vehicle becomes impossible.

[0012] That is, the emergency reporting device needs to have a configuration capable of independently driving a power supply when power supply from the vehicle becomes impossible.

[0013] As a power source that can be independently driven by an emergency reporting device, a disposable battery, a rechargeable battery, etc. can be considered.

[0014] In the case of a disposable battery, if the battery is discharged, the battery becomes unusable.

[0015] In addition, a rechargeable battery does not have a risk of discharge, but in the case of using a battery in a vehicle with a harsh usage environment (especially an environment relative to temperature), from the viewpoints of safety and cost, the types of batteries that can be used are limited.

[0016] For example, a supercapacitor can be considered as a rechargeable battery, but when using a liquid dielectric, when repeating a high-temperature state, the liquid evaporates, and deterioration progresses. The battery can be used for a longer time than a disposable battery, but before the battery deteriorates and becomes unusable, the emergency reporting device itself including the battery must be replaced.

[0017] However, since the degree of deterioration of the supercapacitor varies greatly depending on the usage environment of the vehicle used by the insurance contractee, if all the emergency reporting devices of the insurance contractees are replaced during an absolutely consistent safe period, the deterioration does not progress, and fully usable emergency reporting devices are also replaced, which results in cost deterioration.

[0018] In view of this situation, the present disclosure has been made, and specifically, by evaluating the deterioration of the emergency reporting device and separately performing a notification of an appropriate replacement timing, it is possible to reduce costs while maintaining reliability and replace the deteriorated emergency reporting device at an appropriate timing.

[0019] Solution to the problem

[0020] An information processing apparatus and an information processing method according to an aspect of the present disclosure are an information processing apparatus including: a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating the degree of deterioration of hardware; and a reliability evaluation unit that evaluates the reliability of the hardware based on the state information.

[0021] An information processing method according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method including: acquiring state information indicating the degree of deterioration of hardware; and evaluating the reliability of the hardware based on the state information.

[0022] In one aspect of the present disclosure, state information indicating the degree of deterioration of hardware is acquired; and the reliability of the hardware is evaluated based on the state information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the emergency reporting system of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of the emergency reporting device.

[0026] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of the user terminal.

[0027] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of the management server.

[0028] Figure 6 It is a diagram showing the reliability evaluation method.

[0029] Figure 7 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of the call center server.

[0030] Figure 8 It is a diagram showing the map information.

[0031] Figure 9 It is shown by Figure 3 The flowchart of the emergency reporting management process performed by the emergency reporting device in

[0032] Figure 10 It is shown by Figure 4 The flowchart of the emergency reporting management process of the user terminal in

[0033] Figure 11 It is shown by Figure 5 The flowchart of the emergency reporting management process of the management server in

[0034] Figure 12 It is shown by Figure 7 The flowchart of the emergency reporting management process performed by the call center server in

[0035] Figure 13 It is a diagram showing an application example of the configuration of the call center server.

[0036] Figure 14 It is shown by Figure 13 The flowchart of the emergency reporting management process performed by the call center server in

[0037] Figure 15 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a general personal computer. Detailed implementation manners

[0038] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that in this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0039] Hereinafter, modes for executing the present technology will be described. The description will be given in the following order.

[0040] 1. Overview of the present invention

[0041] 2. Preferred embodiments

[0042] 3. Application examples

[0043] 4. Examples executed by software

[0044] <<1. Overview of the present invention>>

[0045] The present disclosure can evaluate the deterioration of an emergency reporting device and separately execute notification of an appropriate replacement timing, so that costs can be reduced and the deteriorated emergency reporting device can be replaced at an appropriate timing while maintaining reliability.

[0046] In recent years, as an emergency reporting system for smoothly contacting an automobile insurance company in an emergency such as an accident during driving, an emergency reporting device having a function of immediately contacting an automobile insurance company by pressing an emergency reporting button has attracted attention.

[0047] There are roughly two methods for ensuring the power supply of such an emergency reporting device. One is a method of obtaining power from a USB port, an accessory socket, etc. provided in a vehicle. The other is a method of installing some power source on the emergency reporting device itself.

[0048] Generally, a configuration in which power is supplied from a USB port or an accessory socket provided in a semi-permanent vehicle is usually adopted.

[0049] However, the state of using the emergency reporting device is a situation where a failure such as an accident occurs, and when the emergency reporting device is placed in such a situation on a public road, the vehicle usually stops on the road shoulder and the engine stops in many cases.

[0050] As described above, in the case where the engine stops, electric power cannot be obtained from the vehicle side, so that the emergency reporting device cannot be used.

[0051] That is, when it is desired to make the emergency reporting device most functional, there is a possibility of losing power and not being able to use the emergency reporting device.

[0052] Therefore, even in the event of an emergency, it is necessary to install some power sources (batteries) on the emergency reporting device itself to ensure power configuration.

[0053] Batteries are roughly divided into primary batteries that are premised on replacement and secondary batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged.

[0054] When the battery can be used even when the engine is stopped and running, it is desirable to use a secondary battery when power from the vehicle side can be ensured, so that the configuration can be made semi-permanently available.

[0055] However, since the emergency reporting device installed in the vehicle may be left in an environment where the temperature inside the vehicle reaches nearly 90 degrees in summer such as in hot sunlight, it is difficult to use a secondary battery from the perspective of safety.

[0056] That is, in the case of using a battery, there is basically no configuration that can be used even when the engine is stopped, has safety, and can be used for a long time.

[0057] Therefore, consider using a charge-discharge type passive component called a supercapacitor instead of a battery as the power configuration installed on the emergency reporting device.

[0058] By using a supercapacitor, the emergency reporting device can be driven by the power supplied from the vehicle. When the engine is running, the supercapacitor is charged, and when the engine is stopped, the emergency reporting device is driven by releasing the power charged in the supercapacitor.

[0059] In addition, since the components used for the supercapacitor are passive components, there is basically no ignition risk such as that of a secondary battery, and therefore, safety can also be ensured.

[0060] However, since the dielectric is a liquid, the supercapacitor may cause a reduction in power due to volatilization in the vehicle at high temperatures.

[0061] In addition, other components in the emergency reporting device may cause some abnormalities in the vehicle at high temperatures.

[0062] In view of this background, usually more stringent quality standards are set and attempts are made to leave a margin in reliability, but this increases the quality cost and adversely affects the investment effect (ROI).

[0063] In addition, it is easy to imagine that there are obvious differences in quality degradation between the emergency reporting device in a vehicle managed under strong sunlight and the emergency reporting device in a vehicle managed in an underground parking lot etc. without being managed under strong sunlight.

[0064] In this case, if only an emergency reporting device with a high failure tendency in a vehicle managed under strong sunlight is detected and a new emergency reporting device is sent again to prompt replacement, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of replacing the emergency reporting device more than necessary and reduce costs.

[0065] Therefore, in the present disclosure, the evaluation capacitance of the supercapacitor is calculated as information indicating the deterioration state of the emergency reporting device and is sent to a user terminal (such as a smart phone, etc.) owned by the user when the user enters the vehicle.

[0066] In addition, the user terminal sends the information indicating the deterioration state of the emergency reporting device to a management server managed and operated by an automobile insurance company on the network.

[0067] Then, the management server monitors the quality deterioration of the emergency reporting device based on the information indicating the deterioration state of the emergency reporting device and only prompts the replacement of the emergency reporting device that has deteriorated more than a predetermined state and needs to be replaced.

[0068] With such a configuration, an emergency reporting system is realized that can be used for a long time even in a state where the engine is stopped while maintaining the safety of the emergency reporting device and improving the ROI.

[0069] Next, an overview of the present disclosure will be specifically described with reference to Figure 1 the emergency reporting system in

[0070] As Figure 1 shown, the emergency reporting system of the present disclosure includes a vehicle M, a user terminal T, a management server Sv, and a call center Cc.

[0071] The vehicle M is a vehicle in which a user who is an insurance subscriber of the driver is located and is equipped with an emergency reporting device E.

[0072] The emergency reporting device E has a configuration that can be detached from the vehicle M and includes a control unit Cte that controls the entire operation, an emergency reporting button B that operates in an emergency, and a charging device Cp that charges electricity when the engine of the vehicle M is running and supplies the charged electricity to the control unit Cte when the engine of the vehicle M is stopped.

[0073] When the engine of the vehicle M is running, the control unit Cte is driven by the electricity supplied from the power source P of the vehicle M and supplies electricity to the charging device Cp to charge the charging device Cp.

[0074] In addition, when the engine of the vehicle M is stopped, the control unit Cte is driven for a predetermined time corresponding to the charging time by the electricity supplied by charging the charging device Cp.

[0075] In addition, the control unit Cte has a short-range communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and when the emergency report button B is operated, the control unit Cte notifies a user terminal T including a smart phone or the like of an emergency report indicating the occurrence of an emergency through the short-range communication function.

[0076] In addition, when the engine of the vehicle M is started, the control unit Cte measures the time until the charging device Cp is fully charged as information indicating the deterioration state of the charging device Cp, controls the short-range communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and notifies the user terminal T of this time.

[0077] The charging device Cp is, for example, a super capacitor including a dielectric composed of a liquid, charges the electric power supplied from the power source P of the vehicle M, and supplies electric power to the control unit Cte within a predetermined time after the supply of electric power from the power source P stops.

[0078] Since the charging device Cp can be used in harsh environments such as under strong sunlight, for example, the vehicle M, when the high-temperature state continues, the dielectric evaporates, the charge capacity decreases, and deterioration progresses.

[0079] Although the emergency report device E is provided with various configurations other than the charging device Cp, there are few emergency notification devices more likely to deteriorate than the charging device Cp, and generally, the degree of deterioration of the charging device Cp can be considered as the substantial deterioration of the emergency report device E.

[0080] Therefore, in the charging device Cp, the time from the start of charging to full charge (that is, the capacitance of the charging device Cp) is information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency report device E. Therefore, the control unit Cte measures, for example, the time from the start of the engine until the charging device Cp is fully charged as information indicating the deterioration of the emergency report device E, and notifies the user terminal T of this time as status information.

[0081] It should be noted that since the charging device Cp is discharged for a predetermined time by driving the control unit Cte each time the engine is turned off, when a predetermined time has passed after stopping the engine and restarting the engine, the charging device Cp is in a fully discharged state.

[0082] Therefore, the time from the start of the engine to full charge is the time from the fully discharged state to full charge according to the capacitance that can be charged in the charging device Cp, and thus can be used as a guide indicating the deterioration state of the charging device Cp.

[0083] The user terminal T is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smart phone owned by a user who is an insurance subscriber.

[0084] The user terminal T includes a control unit Ctt that controls the entire operation of the user terminal T, an organic electroluminescence (EL), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and includes a display unit D that displays various types of information.

[0085] An application for implementing an emergency reporting system is installed in the user terminal T, and the control unit Ctt operates by executing the installed application.

[0086] When an emergency report indicating the occurrence of an emergency is sent from the emergency reporting device E of the vehicle M through a short-range communication function, the control unit Ctt notifies the receipt of the emergency call to a management server Sv managed and operated by an automobile insurance company via Wi-Fi or a public network.

[0087] Since the user terminal T includes a device (not shown) having a position information detection function such as GPS, the control unit Ctt notifies the management server Sv of the position information of the current position of the vehicle M.

[0088] In addition, in response to a notification indicating the receipt of an emergency report including the position information of the vehicle M, the control unit Ctt receives map information indicating the position information of the staff who support the emergency of the user vehicle M and the position information of the vehicle M supplied from the management server Sv, and causes the display unit D to display the map information.

[0089] Therefore, the user who is an insurance subscriber driving the vehicle M can visually recognize an image of map information including the position information of the staff who support the emergency of the user's vehicle M and the position information of the vehicle M displayed on the display unit D of the user terminal T, and can grasp when the staff will arrive.

[0090] In addition, when the user terminal T acquires status information including the time from the engine start to full charge of the charging device Cp as information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E, the user terminal T notifies the management server Sv of the status information.

[0091] Then, when information indicating the need to replace the emergency reporting device E is sent from the management server Sv based on the status information indicating the deterioration of the emergency reporting device E, the information is displayed on the display unit D.

[0092] Therefore, the user can recognize the deterioration of the emergency reporting device E. Specifically, the deterioration of the electrostatic capacitance of the charging device Cp has progressed, and it is time to replace it.

[0093] The management server Sv includes a control unit Csv that controls the entire operation of the management server Sv, and a reliability evaluation unit G that evaluates the reliability of the emergency reporting device E based on status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E.

[0094] The control unit Csv branches the information sent from the user terminal T into an emergency report indicating that an emergency has occurred and status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E, and notifies the emergency report to the call center CC.

[0095] The call center CC is a server that includes, for example, an information processing device operated by staff supporting emergencies, and when notifying the occurrence of an emergency and the position information of the vehicle M, gives an instruction to dispatch staff for supporting the user to the site based on the position information of the vehicle M.

[0096] In addition, the call center CC acquires the position information of the staff detected by the terminal possessed by the staff to be dispatched to the scene, generates supervisor information including both the position information and the position information of the vehicle M, and notifies the user terminal T via the management server Sv.

[0097] In addition, the control unit Csv of the management server Sv outputs the status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E to the reliability evaluation unit G.

[0098] The reliability evaluation unit G performs an evaluation based on the time from the engine start of the charging device Cp to full charge (which is the status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E), evaluates whether the evaluation continues for a predetermined period or longer after the evaluation becomes lower than a predetermined threshold, whether the emergency reporting device E can be used while maintaining reliability, that is, whether replacement is required, and outputs the evaluation result as a reliability evaluation result to the control unit Csv.

[0099] The control unit Csv notifies the reliability evaluation result to the call center CC.

[0100] In this case, the call center CC determines whether the emergency reporting device E needs to be replaced based on the reliability evaluation result, and in the case of replacement required, the charging device Cp arranges the emergency reporting device E for replacement, that is, a new emergency reporting device E, and delivers the emergency reporting device E to the user who is the insurance subscriber of the target vehicle M, for example, by home delivery, etc.

[0101] In addition, for example, the call center CC generates information indicating that the emergency reporting device E needs to be replaced as an image, and sends the image to the user terminal T owned by the user who is the insurance saver of the target vehicle M via the management server Sv.

[0102] Through the above series of processes, it is possible to grasp the deterioration state of the charging device Cp that indicates the deterioration of the emergency reporting device E, and only selectively replace those deteriorated emergency reporting devices E that need to be replaced.

[0103] Therefore, for each vehicle M with different usage environments, according to the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device E, only the emergency reporting device E that needs to be replaced can be replaced. Therefore, by realizing an emergency reporting system that can be used for a long time even in a state where the engine is stopped while maintaining the safety and reliability of the emergency reporting device E, and further realizing cost reduction, the ROI can be improved.

[0104] <<2. Preferred Embodiment>>

[0105] <Configuration Example of Emergency Reporting System>

[0106] Next, a configuration example of an emergency reporting system to which the technology of the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to Figure 2 The emergency reporting system 11 described below is a system that quickly reports an emergency to an automobile insurance company when an emergency occurs while a driver who is an automobile insurance subscriber is driving a vehicle.

[0107] Figure 2 The emergency reporting system 11 is a system that quickly reports an emergency to an automobile insurance company when an emergency occurs while a driver who is an automobile insurance subscriber is driving a vehicle.

[0108] The specific configuration of the emergency reporting system 11 may be an emergency reporting service additionally provided through an application installed in a user terminal owned by a user when a discount service for the premium of a telematics automobile insurance is provided, or may be a service in which the emergency reporting service is provided separately. Here, the emergency reporting system 11 that only provides the emergency reporting service will be described.

[0109] Figure 2 The emergency reporting system 11 described below includes vehicles 31-1 to 31-n, user terminals 32-1 to 32-n, a management server 33, and a call center server 34.

[0110] Note that the vehicles 31-1 to 31-n and the user terminals 32-1 to 32-n are simply referred to as vehicles 31 and user terminals 32 without particularly needing to distinguish them.

[0111] The vehicle 31 is a vehicle driven by a user who is an automobile insurance subscriber, and includes a power source 51 that generates electricity by operating an engine and supplies the electricity to the emergency reporting device 52, and an emergency reporting device 52 having an emergency reporting button 79 that is operated by the user in the event of an emergency ( Figure 3 ).

[0112] The power source 51 supplies the power generated by the operation of the engine to the emergency reporting device 52 via, for example, an accessory socket or a USB port provided inside the vehicle 31. The power source 51 includes, for example, a DC / DC converter (not shown), and converts the voltage of the power generated by the vehicle 31 into a voltage that can be supplied to the emergency reporting device 52 and supplies the voltage.

[0113] The power source 51 supplies power in a state where the engine is running, and substantially does not supply power in a state where the engine has stopped.

[0114] The emergency reporting device 52 includes an emergency reporting button 79 operated by the driver who is an automobile insurance subscriber in the event of an emergency ( Figure 3 ), and when the emergency reporting button 79 is operated, an emergency report indicating that an emergency has occurred is notified to the user terminal 32 owned by the user who is the driver via short-range communication (e.g., Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.).

[0115] Since the emergency reporting button 79 is a button operated during an emergency, the emergency reporting button is configured to be illuminated by an LED 73 or the like at a position having, for example, high visibility, or to have a shape with high operability so that the operation can be reliably performed even in a state where the driver is confused.

[0116] It should be noted that in this specification, the description will be made based on the following assumption: when the emergency reporting button 79 is operated, the driver who announces the occurrence of the emergency recognizes the occurrence of the emergency, but as long as the occurrence of the emergency can be recognized, a configuration other than a physical button can be used.

[0117] For example, when a voice such as a scream is detected by voice detected by a microphone or the like, it can be recognized that an emergency has occurred and an emergency report can be issued, or when it is recognized from the recognition result of an image captured by a camera or the like that an emergency has occurred, an emergency report can be issued.

[0118] The emergency reporting device 52 includes a super capacitor 76, and is driven by the power supplied from the power source 51, and supplies power to the super capacitor 76 to charge the super capacitor 76 when the engine is running and power is supplied from the power source 51.

[0119] In addition, in the case where the engine has stopped, the emergency reporting device 52 is driven by the power charged in the super capacitor 76.

[0120] In addition, the emergency reporting device 52 measures the charging time from the start of engine startup, the start of power supply from the power supply 51, and the start of charging of the supercapacitor 76 to full charge as status information indicating the degree of deterioration according to the capacitance of the supercapacitor, and notifies the user terminal 32 owned by the user of the status information including the measured charging time.

[0121] The user terminal 32 is a mobile terminal such as a smart phone owned by a user who is an insurance subscriber and drives the vehicle 31, and realizes the functions of the present disclosure by installing an application for implementing the emergency reporting system.

[0122] The user terminal 32 notifies the management server 33 via a network 35 including Wi-Fi, public network, etc. of an emergency report indicating the occurrence of an emergency provided by the emergency reporting device 52 of the vehicle 31 and status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device 52.

[0123] The user terminal 32 includes a GPS device 159 ( Figure 4 ) for acquiring the position information of the vehicle, and when sending an emergency report to the management server 33, sends the emergency report to the management server 33 together with the position information.

[0124] The management server 33 is a server managed and operated by an automobile insurance company, and when acquiring an emergency report indicating the occurrence of an emergency including the position information of the user terminal 32, notifies the call center server 34 via the network 35.

[0125] At this time, the call center server 34 generates information for arranging staff to support the user in response to the emergency based on the position information of the vehicle 31, notifies a terminal device (not shown) owned by the staff, and rushes to the vehicle 31 where the occurrence of the emergency is notified.

[0126] At this time, the call center server 34 acquires the position information detected by a terminal device (not shown) owned by the staff, generates an image including map information and the position information of the vehicle 31, and notifies the user terminal 32 of the image via the management server 33.

[0127] Therefore, the user terminal 32 displays an image including map information, which includes the position information of the staff and the vehicle 31.

[0128] The user who owns the user terminal 32 can grasp the arrival time of the staff supporting the user based on the displayed map information.

[0129] In addition, when the management server 33 receives status information including information on the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 sent from the user terminal 32, the management server 33 evaluates the reliability of the supercapacitor 76 based on the charging time as the status information, draws the evaluation result of the reliability, determines the necessity of replacing the emergency reporting device 52 based on whether a predetermined period or more has passed after the evaluation value becomes lower than a predetermined threshold, and notifies the call center server 34 of the result as the reliability evaluation result.

[0130] At this time, when it is determined based on the reliability evaluation result that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced, the call center server 34 arranges for the replacement of the new emergency reporting device 52 to be delivered to the user, and notifies the user terminal 32 via the management server 33 of the information indicating that the current emergency reporting device 52 will be replaced and the new emergency reporting device 52 is arranged.

[0131] When the user terminal 32 acquires the information indicating that the current emergency reporting device 52 is being replaced and the new emergency reporting device 52 is arranged, the information is displayed.

[0132] Therefore, the user of the user terminal 32 can recognize that the current reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 has deteriorated, that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced, and that the emergency reporting device 52 for replacement is arranged.

[0133] <Configuration Example of Emergency Reporting Device>

[0134] Subsequently, a detailed configuration example of the vehicle 31 will be referred to Figure 3 for description.

[0135] The vehicle 31 includes a power source 51 and an emergency reporting device 52. When the engine of the vehicle 31 is running, the power source 51 operates and supplies power to the emergency reporting device 52. The emergency reporting device 52 is a device that operates when the user and the driver as the insurance contract applicant issue an emergency report in the event of an emergency. In addition, the emergency reporting device 52 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the vehicle 31 and needs to be replaced due to aging deterioration.

[0136] The emergency reporting device 52 includes a diode 71, a chipset 72, a light-emitting diode (LED) 73, a transistor 74, a charging gate transistor 75, a supercapacitor 76, a transistor 77, a resistor 78, an emergency reporting button 79, and an antenna 80.

[0137] The diode 71 rectifies the power supplied from the power source 51 and supplies the rectified power to the chipset 72, the LED 73, the charging gate transistor 75, and the resistor 78.

[0138] The chipset 72 is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chipset, driven by the power from the power source 51, and sends an emergency report indicating that an emergency has occurred and status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 to the user terminal 32 through communication (such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.) from the antenna 80.

[0139] The chipset 72 includes terminals 72a to 72f.

[0140] The terminal 72a is connected to the diode 71, monitors the voltage of the power supplied from the power source 51, monitors whether the power supply from the power source 51 is received, and receives the power supply from the power source 51 when the power supply is received. In addition, when the power supply from the power source 51 stops, it receives the power supplied by the supercapacitor 76.

[0141] The terminal 72b is connected to the supercapacitor 76 and monitors the charging voltage of the supercapacitor 76 when the supercapacitor is powered on or charged.

[0142] The terminal 72c is connected to the gate of the transistor 77 and controls the on / off of the charging gate transistor 75 by controlling the on / off of the transistor 77. More specifically, the terminal 72c turns on the transistor 77 and turns on the charging gate transistor 75 in such a way that the gate of 75 is closed and the voltage supplied from the power source 51 is not supplied to the supercapacitor 76. At this time, the voltage measured at 72b is not the initial voltage accumulated in the supercapacitor 76.

[0143] In addition, the terminal 72c turns off the transistor 77 and turns off the charging gate transistor 75 in such a way that the gate of 75 is open and the supercapacitor 76 is charged with the power supplied from the power source 51. At this time, the time is measured at 93 until the voltage measured at 72b reaches the maximum voltage that can be accumulated in the supercapacitor 76.

[0144] The terminal 72d is connected to the emergency report button 79 and detects the on / off of the emergency report button 79.

[0145] The terminal 72e is connected to the antenna 80 and is used to communicate with the user terminal 32 through communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0146] The terminal 72f is connected to the gate of the transistor 74 and controls the on / off of the transistor 74 to control the lighting or turning off of the LED 73.

[0147] In addition, the chipset 72, as a configuration for implementing these functions, includes a power switching unit 91, a state measurement unit 92, and a report processing unit 93.

[0148] The power switching unit 91 monitors the terminal 72a to monitor whether power is supplied from the power supply 51, and stops the application of voltage at 72c and the monitoring of the capacitor power at 72b according to the monitoring status.

[0149] In the case of engine startup, the state measurement unit 92 turns on the transistor 77 connected to the terminal 72c and turns on the charging gate transistor 75. Then, the gate of 75 is closed, and the voltage supplied from the power supply 51 is not supplied to the supercapacitor 76. At this time, the voltage measured at 72b is not the initial voltage accumulated in the supercapacitor 76. Thereafter, the terminal 72c turns off the transistor 77 and turns off the charging gate transistor 75 in such a way that the gate of 75 is empty and the supercapacitor 76 is charged with the power supplied from the power supply 51. At this time, the time is measured at 93 until the voltage measured at 72b reaches the maximum voltage that can be accumulated in the supercapacitor 76.

[0150] Then, the state measurement unit 92 monitors the charging start voltage of the supercapacitor 76 at the terminal 72b from the timing of the start of charging of the supercapacitor 76, measures the time until the charging voltage reaches the charging voltage regarded as fully charged, and measures the state information as the charging time of the supercapacitor 76.

[0151] The report processing unit 93 monitors the voltage of the terminal 92d, monitors whether the emergency report button 79 is operated, and when the emergency report button is operated, notifies the user terminal 32 of an emergency report indicating that an emergency has occurred via the antenna 80 at the terminal 72e.

[0152] In addition, when the emergency report button 79 is operated, the report processing unit 93 turns on the LED 73 by controlling the gate voltage of the transistor 74 connected to the terminal 72f to visually identify the operation of the emergency report button 79.

[0153] In addition, when the state measurement unit 92 measures the state information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76, the report processing unit 93 notifies the user terminal 32 via the antenna 80 at the terminal 72e.

[0154] <Configuration example of user terminal>

[0155] Next, a configuration example of the user terminal 32 will be described with reference to Figure 4 Describe the configuration example of the user terminal 32.

[0156] The user terminal 32 includes a control unit 151, an input unit 152, an output unit 153, a storage unit 154, a communication unit 155, a driver 156, a removable storage medium 157, and a GPS device 159, and they are connected to each other via a bus 158 and can send and receive data and programs.

[0157] The control unit 151 includes a processor and a memory and controls the overall operation of the user terminal 32. In addition, the control unit 151 includes a status information processing unit 171 and a report processing unit 172.

[0158] The status information processing unit 171 controls the communication unit 155 to determine whether status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 has been sent from the emergency report device 52 through short-range communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0159] Then, in the case of sending the status information, the status information processing unit 171 acquires the status information and controls the communication unit 155 to send the status information and the information for identifying the status information processing unit 171 to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0160] In addition, based on the status information, in the case where the deterioration of the emergency report device 52 has progressed, the replacement timing has arrived, and information indicating that the emergency report device 52 for replacement has been arranged, the status information processing unit 171 controls the communication unit 155, receives the information, and displays the information on a display or the like constituting the output unit 153.

[0161] The report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to determine whether an emergency report has been sent from the emergency report device 52. In the case where an emergency report has been sent, the report processing unit 172 controls the GPS 159 to acquire the emergency report and its own location information, and controls the communication unit 155 to send information indicating that the emergency report has been received, the location information, the contractor information, etc. to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0162] In addition, when the status information processing unit 171 acquires map information from the call center server 34 via the management server 33 based on the emergency report, the status information processing unit 171 displays the map information on a display or the like constituting the output unit 153. The map information includes the location information of the staff for supporting the response to the emergency and its own location information.

[0163] The input unit 152 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. Through these input devices, the user inputs operation commands and supplies various input signals to the control unit 151.

[0164] The output unit 153 is controlled by the control unit 151 and outputs the supplied operation screen and the image of the processing result to a display device including a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence (EL), etc. for display.

[0165] The storage unit 154 includes a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a semiconductor memory, etc., is controlled by the control unit 151, and writes or reads various data and programs including content data.

[0166] The communication unit 155 is controlled by the control unit 151 to implement communication indicated by a local area network (LAN), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. in a wired or wireless manner, and sends and receives various data and programs to and from various devices through the network 35 as needed.

[0167] The drive 156 reads data from a removable storage medium 157 such as a disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk (including a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk (including a mini disk (MD)), or a semiconductor memory, and writes data to the removable storage medium 157.

[0168] The GPS 159 is controlled by the control unit 151, receives signals from a plurality of satellites (not shown), detects position information on the earth (e.g., latitude information and secondary information) based on the signals received from the plurality of satellites, and provides the position information to the control unit 151.

[0169] <Configuration example of the management server>

[0170] Next, a configuration example of the management server 33 will be described with reference to Figure 5 Describe the configuration example of the management server 33.

[0171] The management server 33 includes a control unit 191, an input unit 192, an output unit 193, a storage unit 194, a communication unit 195, a drive 196, and a removable storage medium 97, and is connected to each other via a bus 198 and can send and receive data and programs.

[0172] The control unit 191 includes a processor and a memory, and controls the entire operation of the management server 33. In addition, the control unit 191 includes an information separation unit 201, a reliability evaluation unit 202, and a report processing unit 203.

[0173] When receiving an emergency report from the user terminal 32 by controlling the communication unit 195, the information separation unit 201 identifies each of them, provides the emergency report from the user terminal 32 to the report processing unit 203, and provides status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 to the reliability evaluation unit 202. The emergency report from the user terminal 32 includes the charging time of the supercapacitor 76.

[0174] The reliability evaluation unit 202 evaluates the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 based on the status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76, and the control communication unit 195 sends the evaluation result to the call center server 34.

[0175] Note that later, reference will be made to Figure 6 Describe a method for evaluating the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 based on the status information including the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 in the reliability evaluation unit 202.

[0176] Then, when information indicating the need to replace the emergency reporting device 52 and setting the information of the emergency reporting device 52 for replacement is provided from the call center server 34 based on the reliability evaluation result, the reliability evaluation unit 202 controls the communication unit 195 to notify the user terminal 32 of the information.

[0177] The report processing unit 203 controls the communication unit 195 to send an emergency report including location information from the user terminal 32 to the call center server 34.

[0178] Then, based on the emergency report including location information from the user terminal 32, when map information including the location information of the staff for supporting the emergency of the user of the vehicle 31 and the location information of the vehicle 31 where the emergency has occurred is supplied from the call center server 34, the report processing unit 203 controls the communication unit 195 to notify the user terminal 32 of the map information.

[0179] The input unit 192 includes input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc. Through this input device, the user inputs operation commands and supplies various input signals to the control unit 191.

[0180] The output unit 193 is controlled by the control unit 191, and outputs the supplied operation screen and the image of the processing result to a display device including a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence (EL), etc. for display.

[0181] The storage unit 194 includes a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a semiconductor memory, etc. The storage unit 194 is controlled by the control unit 191, and writes or reads various data and programs including content data.

[0182] The communication unit 195 is controlled by the control unit 191, and transmits various data and programs to various devices and receives various data and programs from various devices in a wired (or wireless (not shown)) manner via a communication network indicated by a local area network (LAN) or the like.

[0183] The drive 196 reads data from a removable storage medium 197 such as a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk (including a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk (including a mini disk (MD)), or a semiconductor memory, and writes data to the removable storage medium 197.

[0184] <Method for evaluating reliability>

[0185] Here, a method for the reliability evaluation unit 202 to evaluate the reliability of the emergency report device 52 will be described.

[0186] The reliability evaluation unit 202 calculates an evaluation value E(T) indicated by the following formula (1) based on the charging time T of the super capacitor 76 as state information, evaluates the reliability of the emergency report device 52 based on whether the evaluation value E(T) is higher than an evaluation threshold Eth indicated by formula (2), and determines whether it is necessary to replace the emergency report device 52 based on the evaluation result.

[0187] [Mathematical formula 1]

[0188] E(T) = (T - T')…(1)

[0189] [Mathematical formula 2]

[0190]

[0191] Here, E(T) is the evaluation value, T is the charging time (measurement time) until full charge, and when the super capacitor 76 deteriorates to a state where replacement is required, T” is the theoretical charging time when charging the capacitor.

[0192] In addition, Eth is the evaluation threshold, V is the charging voltage (measurement voltage) of the super capacitor 76 when the engine is started, C is the capacitance when the super capacitor 76 has deteriorated to a state where replacement should be considered, R is the resistance value of the charging time control resistor, and e is the natural logarithm.

[0193] That is, the super capacitor 76 deteriorates as the capacitance gradually decreases as the dielectric of the liquid evaporates over time.

[0194] Then, the charging time T of the super capacitor 76 decreases as the capacitance decreases.

[0195] Therefore, as Figure 6 shown, as time passes and deterioration progresses, the shorter the charging time T, the more gradually the evaluation value E(T) decreases.

[0196] Therefore, the reliability evaluation unit 202 plots the evaluation value E(T) against the passage of time t in Figure 6 and determines whether the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced based on whether a predetermined time period Tth or more has elapsed after the evaluation value E(T) becomes less than the evaluation threshold Eth.

[0197] Here, the evaluation threshold Eth is the evaluation value E(T) when the capacitor has deteriorated to a state where replacement of the emergency reporting device 52 including the supercapacitor 76 should be considered.

[0198] Furthermore, the predetermined time period Tth is the time period during which the emergency reporting device 52 including the supercapacitor 76 is allowed to be used without being replaced in a state where the evaluation value E(T) is below the evaluation threshold Eth (i.e., in a state where the emergency reporting device 52 including the supercapacitor 76 has deteriorated to a state where replacement of the emergency reporting device including the supercapacitor is considered).

[0199] Therefore, values corresponding to the performance of the supercapacitor 76 are set for the evaluation threshold Eth and the predetermined period Tth.

[0200] In the example of Figure 6 , the evaluation value E(T) is calculated each time the engine is started and the evaluation value E(T) is repeatedly plotted, and thus, the evaluation value E(T) becomes less than the evaluation threshold Eth at time t1, and in a state where the evaluation value E(T) is less than the evaluation threshold Eth, until time t2 when a predetermined time period Tth has elapsed from time t1, an evaluation result indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 (the supercapacitor 76 thereof) is sufficient is output as the reliability evaluation result.

[0201] Then, after time t2 when a predetermined time period Tth has elapsed after the evaluation value E(T) becomes less than the evaluation threshold Eth, the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 (the supercapacitor 76 thereof) is regarded as insufficient, and an evaluation result indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced is output as the reliability evaluation result.

[0202] <Configuration Example of Call Center Server>

[0203] Next, a configuration example of the call center server 34 will be described with reference to Figure 7 the description.

[0204] The call center server 34 includes a control unit 221, an input unit 222, an output unit 223, a storage unit 224, a communication unit 225, a driver 226, and a removable storage medium 227, and is connected to each other via a bus 228, and is capable of sending and receiving data and programs.

[0205] Note that the configuration of the call center server 34 is basically similar to the configuration of the management server 33, and the control unit 221, the input unit 222, the output unit 223, the storage unit 224, the communication unit 225, the driver 226, the removable storage medium 227, and the bus 228 respectively correspond to the control unit 191, the input unit 192, the output unit 193, the storage unit 194, the communication unit 195, the driver 196, the removable storage medium 197, and the bus 198, and thus, detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0206] However, instead of the information separation unit 201, the reliability evaluation unit 202, and the report processing unit 203 in the control unit 191, the control unit 221 includes a reliability processing unit 231 and a report processing unit 232.

[0207] When receiving the reliability evaluation result from the management server 33 through the control communication unit 225, the reliability processing unit 231 arranges a new emergency reporting device 52 for replacement, and based on the reliability evaluation result, when the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced, the reliability reporting device 52 is delivered to the user of the corresponding vehicle 31.

[0208] At this time, the reliability processing unit 231 controls the communication unit 225 to send, via the management server 33, information indicating that the current reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 has deteriorated due to aging and thus needs to be replaced to the user terminal 32, and the delivery of a new emergency reporting device 52 for replacement has been arranged.

[0209] When sending an emergency report including location information via the management server 33, the report processing unit 232 controls and receives the communication unit 225.

[0210] Then, based on the location information of the vehicle 31 that has sent the emergency report, an instruction for dispatching staff for support is given, map information including the location information of the staff detected by the terminal device carried by the staff and the location information of the vehicle 31 where the emergency occurred is generated, the report processing unit 232 controls the communication unit 225, and the map information is sent to the user terminal 32 via the management server 33.

[0211] The map information is, for example, the information as Figure 8 shown, and Figure 8The map information 301 in

[0212] includes an icon 311 indicating the position of the user's vehicle 31 where an emergency has occurred and an icon 312 indicating the position of the supporting staff. Figure 8 By displaying the map information as shown

[0213] on the user terminal 32, in an emergency, the user can know when the supporting staff will arrive.

[0214] Next, the emergency report management process in the emergency report system 11 will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 12 the flowchart of Figure 2 .

[0215] It should be noted that Figure 9 shows the processing of the emergency report device 52 in the vehicle 31, Figure 10 shows the processing of the user terminal 32, Figure 11 shows the processing of the management server 33, and Figure 12 shows the processing of the call center server 34.

[0216] In step S11 ( Figure 9 ), the state measurement unit 92 of the emergency report device 52 monitors the voltage of the terminal 72a, determines whether to start the engine and starts the power supply from the power source 51, and repeats similar processing until the power supply from the power source 51 starts.

[0217] If it is determined in step S11 that the power supply from the power source 51 starts, the processing proceeds to step S12.

[0218] In step S12, the power supply switching unit 91 is driven by the power supplied from the power source 51 via the terminal 72a.

[0219] In step S13, the state measurement unit 92 monitors the terminal 72b and measures the initial voltage of the supercapacitor 76.

[0220] In step S14, the state measurement unit 92 controls the terminal 72c to turn on the transistor 77, turns on the charging gate transistor via the resistor 78 and starts charging the supercapacitor 76.

[0221] In step S15, the state measurement unit 92 further monitors the voltage of the terminal 72b to monitor the charging voltage of the supercapacitor 76, measures the charging time until the supercapacitor is fully charged, and outputs the charging time as state information to the report processing unit 93.

[0222] In step S16, the report processing unit 93 transmits, via the antenna 80, information regarding the charging time of the measured supercapacitor 76 as status information to the user terminal 32 through communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0223] In step S31( Figure 10 ), the status information processing unit 171 of the user terminal 32 controls the communication unit 155 to determine whether information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the emergency report device 52 through communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0224] When it is determined in step S31 that information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the emergency report device 52, the process proceeds to step S32.

[0225] In step S32, the status information processing unit 171 controls the communication unit 155 to acquire status information including the information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 sent from the emergency report device 52.

[0226] In step S33, the status information processing unit 171 controls the communication unit 155 to send the status information including the information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0227] In step S61( Figure 11 ), the information separation unit 201 controls the communication unit 195 to determine whether information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0228] When it is determined in step S61 that information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the user terminal 32, the process proceeds to step S62.

[0229] In step S62, the information separation unit 201 controls the communication unit 195 to receive the status information sent from the management server 33 and output the status information to the reliability evaluation unit 202, where the status information includes the information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76.

[0230] In step S63, the reliability evaluation unit 202 obtains an evaluation value E indicating the reliability of the emergency report device 52 by calculating the above formula (1), and compares the evaluation value E with the evaluation threshold Eth defined by formula (2) to evaluate the evaluation value E.

[0231] Specifically, the reliability evaluation unit 202 calculates the above formula (1), plots the evaluation value E indicating the reliability of the emergency report device 52 in a time series, and evaluates whether the reliability of the emergency report device 52 is sufficient based on whether a specified time Tth has elapsed after the evaluation value E is lower than the evaluation threshold Eth, and determines the necessity of replacement.

[0232] Here, the reliability evaluation result of the reliability evaluation unit 202 is information indicating whether the reliability is low, and replacement needs to be performed according to the reliability evaluation result of the emergency report device 52.

[0233] In step S64, the reliability evaluation unit 202 controls the communication unit 195 to send the reliability evaluation result to the call center server 34 via the network 35. The reliability evaluation result is information indicating whether the emergency report device 52 has low reliability and needs to be replaced.

[0234] In step S91( Figure 12 ), the reliability processing unit 231 of the call center server 34 controls the communication unit 225 to determine whether the reliability evaluation result has been sent from the management server 33.

[0235] If it is determined in step S91 that the reliability evaluation result has been sent from the management server 33, the process proceeds to step S92.

[0236] In step S92, the reliability processing unit 231 controls the communication unit 225 to receive the reliability evaluation result sent from the management server 33.

[0237] In step S93, the reliability processing unit 231 determines whether the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the emergency report device 52 has low reliability and needs to be replaced.

[0238] In step S93, if the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the emergency report device 52 has low reliability and needs to be replaced, the process proceeds to step S94.

[0239] In step S94, the reliability processing unit 231 gives an instruction regarding the arrangement of the emergency report device 52 for replacing the emergency report device 52, indicating low reliability and the need for replacement, and causes the emergency report device 52 for replacement to be delivered to the user who is the corresponding insurance subscriber by home delivery.

[0240] In step S95, the reliability processing unit 231 controls the communication unit 225 to send a notification indicating that the emergency report device 52 for replacement has been arranged and the reliability evaluation result indicating that the emergency report device 52 has low reliability and needs to be replaced to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0241] On the other hand, in step S93, when the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is sufficient and replacement is not required, the process proceeds to step S96.

[0242] In step S96, the reliability processing unit 231 controls the communication unit 225 to send the reliability evaluation result indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 does not need to be replaced to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0243] In step S65( Figure 11 ) the reliability evaluation unit 202 controls the communication unit 195 to receive, via the network 35, the reliability evaluation result indicating the necessity of replacing the emergency reporting device 52 sent from the call center server 34.

[0244] In step S66, the reliability evaluation unit 202 controls the communication unit 195 to send, via the network 35, the reliability evaluation result indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced to the user terminal 32.

[0245] Note that since the reliability evaluation result is information generated in the management server 33, the reliability evaluation result can be sent from the management server 33 to the user terminal 32 without waiting for a notification from the call center server 34.

[0246] In step S34( Figure 10 ) the status information processing unit 171 controls the communication unit 155 to receive, via the network 35, the reliability evaluation result indicating the necessity of replacing the emergency reporting device 52 sent from the management server 33.

[0247] In step S35, the status information processing unit 171 displays the received reliability evaluation result, which indicates the necessity of replacing the emergency reporting device 52, on the display of the output unit 153.

[0248] Through the processing so far, when the engine is started, the initial voltage of the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency reporting device 52 is measured and charging is started, the charging time until full charge is measured, and it is sent to the management server 33 by the user terminal 32.

[0249] The management server 33 evaluates the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 based on the charging time, generates information indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced as the reliability evaluation result based on the evaluation result, and sends the reliability evaluation result to the call center server 34.

[0250] The call center server 34 generates reliability evaluation information indicating the necessity to replace the emergency report device 52 based on the reliability evaluation result, and sends the reliability evaluation information to the user terminal 32 via the management server 33.

[0251] The user terminal 32 displays, as the reliability evaluation result, information indicating the necessity to replace the emergency report device 52 based on the charging time until the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency report device 52 is fully charged.

[0252] Therefore, the emergency report device 52 that needs to be replaced can be identified based on the degree of deterioration in the reliability evaluation result based on the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency report device 52.

[0253] Therefore, costs can be reduced, and the deteriorated emergency report device 52 can be replaced at an appropriate timing while maintaining reliability.

[0254] In addition, in step S17 ( Figure 9 ), the report processing unit 93 monitors the voltage of the terminal 72c and determines whether the emergency report button 79 has been operated.

[0255] If it is determined in step S17 that the emergency report button 79 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0256] In step S18, the report processing unit 93 sends an emergency report indicating that the emergency report button 79 has been operated by communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) to the user terminal 32 via the antenna 80.

[0257] In step S36 ( Figure 10 ), the report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to determine whether an emergency report has been sent from the emergency report device 52 by communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0258] If an emergency report is sent in step S36, the process proceeds to step S37.

[0259] In step S37, the report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to acquire the emergency report sent from the emergency report device 52 by communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0260] In step S38, the report processing unit 172 controls the GPS 159 to acquire its own location information.

[0261] In step S39, the report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to send the emergency report including the location information to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0262] In step S67 ( Figure 11 ), the information separation unit 201 controls the communication unit 195 to determine whether an emergency report has been sent from the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0263] In the case where an emergency report is sent in step S67, the process proceeds to step S68.

[0264] In step S68, the information separation unit 201 controls the communication unit 195 to receive, via the network 35, an emergency report including the location information sent from the user terminal 32.

[0265] In step S69, the information separation unit 201 controls the communication unit 195 to send, via the network 35, an emergency report including the location information to the call center server 34.

[0266] In step S97 ( Figure 12 ), the report processing unit 232 controls the communication unit 225 to determine whether an emergency report including the location information has been sent from the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0267] In the case where an emergency report including the location information is sent in step S97, the process proceeds to step S98.

[0268] In step S98, the report processing unit 232 controls the communication unit 225 to receive, via the network 35, an emergency report including the location information sent from the management server 33.

[0269] In step S99, the report processing unit 232 identifies the location of the vehicle 31 that has sent the emergency report based on the location information, and generates information indicating that the staff supports the insurance policyholder of the driver of the vehicle 31 that has issued the emergency report.

[0270] That is, through this process, staff are dispatched to support the driver of the vehicle 31 that has made an emergency report.

[0271] In step S100, the report processing unit 232 acquires the location information detected by the mobile terminal owned by the assisting staff, generates map information including the location information of the vehicle 31 that has sent the emergency report and the location information of the person towards whom support is provided, and controls the communication unit 225 to send the map information to the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0272] It should be noted that in step S91, if the reliability evaluation result is not sent, the processing of steps S92 to S96 is skipped. In addition, in the case where there is no emergency report in step S97, the processing of steps S98 to S100 is skipped.

[0273] In addition, in step S101, the report processing unit 203 determines whether an instruction to terminate is given, and if no instruction to terminate is given, the process returns to step S91. That is, the processes of steps S91 to S101 are repeated until an instruction to terminate is given.

[0274] Then, in step S101, when an instruction to terminate is given, the process is terminated.

[0275] In addition, in step S70 ( Figure 11 ), the report processing unit 203 controls the communication unit 195 to obtain map information sent from the call center server 34 via the network 35.

[0276] In step S71, the report processing unit 203 controls the communication unit 195 to send the obtained map information to the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0277] Note that in step S61, if the status information is not sent, the processes of steps S62 to S66 are skipped. In addition, if there is no emergency report in step S67, the processes of steps S68 to S71 are skipped.

[0278] In addition, in step S72, the report processing unit 172 determines whether an instruction to terminate is given, and if no instruction to terminate is given, the process returns to step S61. That is, the processes of steps S61 to S72 are repeated until an instruction to terminate is given.

[0279] Then, in step S72, when an instruction to terminate is given, the process is terminated.

[0280] In addition, in step S40 ( Figure 10 ), the report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to obtain map information sent from the management server 33 via the network 35.

[0281] In step S41, for example, the report processing unit 172 controls the communication unit 155 to display the obtained map information as an image as shown in Figure 8 on the display of the output unit 153.

[0282] It should be noted that in step S31, if the status information is not sent, the processes of steps S32 to S35 are skipped. In addition, if there is no emergency report in step S36, the processes of steps S37 to S41 are skipped.

[0283] In addition, in step S42, the report processing unit 172 determines whether an instruction to terminate is given, and if no instruction to terminate is given, the process returns to step S31. That is, the processes of steps S31 to S42 are repeated until an instruction to terminate is given.

[0284] Then, in step S42, when an instruction to terminate is given, the process is terminated.

[0285] Through the above series of processes, when the emergency report button 79 is operated in the emergency report device 52, an emergency report is notified to the user terminal 32.

[0286] When notifying the emergency report, the user terminal 32 acquires the position information of the vehicle 31 and notifies the position information to the call center server 34 via the management server 33.

[0287] Upon receiving the emergency report, the call center server 34 arranges the dispatch of support personnel based on the included position information, acquires the position information detected by the mobile terminal carried by the support staff, generates map information including the position information of the vehicle 31 for which the emergency report has been issued and the position information of the support staff, and sends the map information to the user terminal 32 via the management server 33.

[0288] In the user terminal 32, map information including its own position information and the position information of the support staff is displayed.

[0289] Thereby, an emergency report can be made quickly, and the map information including the staff dispatched for support and its own position information can be visually confirmed, and it can be grasped when the staff arrives.

[0290] Therefore, the user who operates the emergency report button 79 can quickly present the following information, that is, in an emergency situation such as whether the support staff arrives or how long it takes for the support staff to arrive, the user most wants to know this information, and in the event of an emergency, the user's uneasy mental state can be alleviated.

[0291] In addition, in step S18 ( Figure 9 ), the power supply switching unit 91 monitors the voltage of the terminal 72a and determines whether the engine has stopped and there is no power supply from the power supply 51.

[0292] If it is determined in step S18 that the engine has stopped and the power supply from the power supply 51 has stopped, the process proceeds to step S19.

[0293] In step S19, the power supply switching unit 91 switches the power supply to a state driven by the power charged from the terminal 72b to the super capacitor 76.

[0294] In addition, when it is determined in step S18 that the engine has not stopped, the process of step S19 is skipped.

[0295] In step S19, the power supply switching unit 91 determines whether an instruction to terminate is given, and if no instruction to terminate is given, the process returns to step S16.

[0296] That is, the processes of steps S16 to S20 are repeated until an instruction to terminate is given.

[0297] Then, in step S20, when an instruction to terminate is given, the operation is terminated.

[0298] Therefore, when the engine is started, the emergency reporting device 52 is driven by the power from the power supply 51, and when the engine stops and the power supply from the power supply 51 stops, the emergency reporting device 52 is driven by the power charged in the super capacitor 76.

[0299] Therefore, even if an emergency occurs and the engine stops and the power supply from the power supply 51 stops, the emergency reporting device 52 can be driven within the range of the capacitance charged in the super capacitor 76.

[0300] In the above description, an example of evaluating the degree of deterioration of the super capacitor 76 based on the charging time has been described. The super capacitor 76 is the power supply in the emergency reporting device 52 in the state where the engine is stopped. However, hardware other than the emergency reporting device 52 can be used as long as the super capacitor is used as the power supply under the condition that no power supply is received from the outside.

[0301] <<3. Application Example>>

[0302] <Configuration Example of Call Center Server with Management Server Function>

[0303] Although an example in which the emergency reporting management process is implemented by the emergency reporting device 52, the user terminal 32, the management server 33, and the call center server 34 installed on the vehicle 31 has been described above, by providing the call center server 34 with the function of the management server 33, the emergency reporting management process can be implemented by the emergency reporting device 52, the user terminal 32, and the call center server 34 other than the management server 33.

[0304] Figure 13This is a configuration example of the call center server 34 that has the functions of the management server 33. It should be noted that, in the Figure 13 call center server 34 in Figure 7 components with the same functions as those in the call center server 34 in

[0305] are indicated by the same reference numerals, and descriptions are omitted as needed. Figure 13 That is, the difference between the call center server 34 in Figure 7 and the call center server 34 in

[0306] is that an information separation unit 331 and a reliability evaluation unit 332 are newly provided. Figure 6 In addition, since the information separation unit 331 and the reliability evaluation unit 332 have the same functions as the information separation unit 101 and the reliability evaluation unit 102 in the management server 33 in

[0307] descriptions thereof will be omitted. Figure 13 That is, the call center server 34 in Figure 6 has a configuration that simultaneously has the functions of the management server 33 in Figure 7 and the functions of the call center server 34 in

[0308] <Emergency situation report management processing performed by the call center server in Figure 13 >

[0309] Next, the emergency situation report management processing performed by the call center server 34 in Figure 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Figure 13 >

[0310] It should be noted that, in this example, the processing of the emergency situation report device 52 and the user terminal 32 is respectively similar to the processing described with reference to Figure 9 and Figure 10 therefore, descriptions are omitted.

[0311] However, in this case, the information sent from the user terminal 32 to the management server 33 is sent to the call center server 34, and the information received by the user terminal 32 from the management server 33 is received from the call center server 34.

[0312] In step S151, the information separation unit 331 controls the communication unit 225 to determine whether information on the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0313] In the case where it is determined in step S151 that information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 as status information has been sent from the user terminal 32, the process proceeds to step S152.

[0314] In step S152, the information separation unit 331 controls the communication unit 225 to receive status information including information regarding the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 sent from the management server 33, and outputs the status information to the reliability evaluation unit 332.

[0315] In step S153, the reliability evaluation unit 332 obtains an evaluation value E indicating the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 by calculating the above formula (1), compares the evaluation value E with the evaluation threshold Eth defined by formula (2) to evaluate the evaluation value E, and outputs the evaluation value E to the reliability processing unit 231.

[0316] In step S154, the reliability processing unit 231 determines whether the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is low and needs to be replaced.

[0317] In step S155, in the case where the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is low and needs to be replaced, the process proceeds to step S155.

[0318] In step S155, the reliability processing unit 231 gives an instruction regarding the arrangement of the emergency reporting device 52 for replacement to replace the emergency reporting device 52, and causes the emergency reporting device 52 for replacement to be delivered to the user as the corresponding insurance subscriber by home delivery.

[0319] In step S156, the reliability processing unit 231 generates a reliability evaluation result indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is low and needs to be replaced, and a notice indicating that the replacement emergency reporting device 52 has been arranged, and controls the communication unit 225 to send the result to the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0320] On the other hand, in step S154, in the case where the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is sufficient and does not need to be replaced, the process proceeds to step S157.

[0321] In step S157, the reliability processing unit 231 controls the communication unit 225 to send the reliability evaluation result indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 does not need to be replaced to the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0322] In step S158, the report processing unit 232 controls the communication unit 225 to determine whether an emergency report has been sent from the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0323] In the case where an emergency report is sent in step S158, the process proceeds to step S159.

[0324] In step S159, the report processing unit 232 controls the communication unit 225 to receive, via the network 35, an emergency report including the location information sent from the user terminal 32.

[0325] In step S160, the report processing unit 232 identifies the location of the vehicle 31 that has sent the emergency report based on the location information, and generates information indicating staff support.

[0326] In step S161, the report processing unit 232 acquires the location information detected by the mobile terminal owned by the staff heading for support, generates map information including the location information of the vehicle 31 that has sent the emergency report and the location information of the staff heading for support, and controls the communication unit 225 to send the map information to the user terminal 32 via the network 35.

[0327] It should be noted that in step S151, when no status information is sent, the processing of steps S152 to S157 is skipped. In addition, when there is no emergency report in step S158, the processing of steps S159 to S161 is skipped.

[0328] In addition, in step S162, the report processing unit 232 determines whether an instruction to terminate has been given, and when no instruction to terminate has been given, the process returns to step S151. That is, the processing of steps S151 to S162 is repeated until an instruction to terminate is given.

[0329] Then, in step S162, when an instruction to terminate is given, the processing is terminated.

[0330] It should be noted that in the above description, an example has been described in which the function of the management server 33 in Figure 6 is provided to the Figure 7 call center server 34 in Figure 7 and the emergency report management processing is implemented by the emergency report device 52, the user terminal 32, and the call center server 34. However, by providing the function of the call center server 34 in Figure 6 to the management server 33 in

[0331] In addition, in the above processing, when the engine is started, the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency reporting device 52 is measured and sent to the call center server 34 via the user terminal 32.

[0332] In the call center server 34, the reliability of the emergency reporting device 52 is evaluated based on the charging time, and information indicating that the emergency reporting device 52 needs to be replaced is generated as the reliability evaluation result and sent to the user terminal 32.

[0333] In the user terminal 32, information indicating the necessity of replacing the emergency reporting device 52 is displayed as the reliability evaluation result based on the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency reporting device 52.

[0334] Through the above processing, it is possible to appropriately identify the emergency reporting device 52 that needs to be replaced according to the degree of deterioration in the reliability evaluation result based on the charging time of the supercapacitor 76 of the emergency reporting device 52.

[0335] Therefore, costs can be reduced, and the deteriorated emergency reporting device can be replaced at an appropriate timing while maintaining reliability.

[0336] <<3. Examples Executed by Software>>

[0337] Meanwhile, the above series of processes can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. In the case of executing this series of processes by software, the program constituting the software is installed from a recording medium into a computer included in dedicated hardware or a general-purpose computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs, for example.

[0338] Figure 15 An example configuration of a general-purpose computer is shown. The personal computer includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1001. The input / output interface 1005 is connected to the CPU 1001 via the bus 1004. The read-only memory (ROM) 1002 and the random access memory (RAM) 1003 are connected to the bus 1004.

[0339] The input / output interface 1005 is connected to an input unit 1006, an output unit 1007, a storage unit 1008, and a communication unit 1009. The input unit 1006 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. A user inputs operation commands through the input devices. The output unit 1007 outputs images of a processing operation screen and a processing result to a display device. The storage unit 1008 includes a hard disk drive or the like that stores programs and various data. The communication unit 1009 includes a local area network (LAN) adapter or the like and performs communication processing via a network indicated by the Internet. In addition, a drive 1010 that reads data from and writes data to a removable storage medium 1011 such as a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk (including a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a magneto-optical disk (including a mini disk (MD)), or a semiconductor memory is connected.

[0340] The CPU 1001 executes various processes according to a program stored in the ROM 1002 or a program read from a removable storage medium 1011 (such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory) that is installed in the storage unit 1008 and loaded from the storage unit 1008 to the RAM 1003. The RAM 1003 also appropriately stores data and the like required for the CPU 1001 to execute various processes.

[0341] In the computer configured as described above, for example, the CPU 1001 loads a program stored in the storage unit 1008 into the RAM 1003 via the input / output interface 1005 and the bus 1004 and executes the program, and thus, executes the above-described series of processes.

[0342] For example, a program executed by a computer (CPU 1001) can be provided by being recorded on a removable storage medium 1011 such as a packaged medium or the like. In addition, the program can be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

[0343] In the computer, a program can be installed in the storage unit 1008 via the input / output interface 1005 by attaching the removable storage medium 1011 to the drive 1010. In addition, the program can be received by the communication unit 1009 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit 1008. In addition, the program can be installed in the ROM 1002 or the storage unit 1008 in advance.

[0344] It should be noted that a program executed by a computer can be a program in which processes are executed in time series in the order described in this specification, or can be a program in which processes are executed in parallel or at a necessary timing such as when a call is made.

[0345] It should be noted that Figure 15 the CPU 1001 in Figure 3 implements the chipset 72 in Figure 4 and Figure 5 and Figure 7 the functions of the control units 151, 191, and 221 in

[0346] In addition, in this specification, a system means a group of multiple components (devices, modules (components), etc.), and it does not matter whether all the components are in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices and multiple modules accommodated in separate housings and connected via a network and a single device accommodated in a single housing are all systems.

[0347] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0348] For example, the present disclosure can have a cloud computing configuration, in which a function is collaboratively shared and processed by multiple devices via a network.

[0349] In addition, each step described in the above flowchart can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0350] In addition, in the case where a step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in one step can be executed by one device or can be shared and executed by multiple devices.

[0351] It should be noted that the present disclosure can also have the following configuration.

[0352] <1> An information processing apparatus, comprising:

[0353] a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating the degree of deterioration of hardware; and

[0354] a reliability evaluation unit that evaluates the reliability of the hardware based on the state information.

[0355] <2> The information processing apparatus according to <1>, wherein

[0356] the state information acquisition unit acquires state information indicating the degree of deterioration of the power supply of the hardware.

[0357] <3> The information processing apparatus according to <2>, wherein

[0358] the power supply of the hardware is a supercapacitor.

[0359] <4> The information processing apparatus according to <3>, wherein

[0360] The status information acquisition unit acquires the charging time from the start of charging of the supercapacitor to full charge as status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the power supply of the hardware.

[0361] <5>The information processing apparatus according to <4>, wherein

[0362] The reliability evaluation unit evaluates the degree of deterioration of the power supply of the hardware based on the charging time, determines the necessity of replacing the hardware, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0363] <6>The information processing apparatus according to <5>, wherein

[0364] The reliability evaluation unit calculates an evaluation value based on the charging time, determines the necessity of replacing the hardware based on the evaluation value, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0365] <7>The information processing apparatus according to <6>, wherein

[0366] The reliability evaluation unit determines the necessity of replacing the hardware based on whether the evaluation value is lower than a threshold value, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0367] <8>The information processing apparatus according to <6>, wherein

[0368] The reliability evaluation unit calculates, as the evaluation value, the time obtained by subtracting the charging time for charging using the capacitance when the supercapacitor deteriorates to a state where replacement is required from the measured charging time, determines the necessity of replacing the hardware based on the comparison between the evaluation value and the threshold value, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0369] <9>The information processing apparatus according to <6>, wherein

[0370] The threshold value is the evaluation value in the capacitance when the state deteriorates to a state where replacement of the hardware including the supercapacitor should be considered.

[0371] <10>The information processing apparatus according to <9>, wherein

[0372] The reliability evaluation unit determines the necessity of replacing the hardware based on the duration for which the state where the evaluation value is lower than the threshold value continues, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0373] <11>The information processing apparatus according to <10>, wherein

[0374] The reliability evaluation unit determines the necessity of replacing the hardware based on whether the duration for which the state where the evaluation value based on the charging time is lower than the threshold value continues is longer than a predetermined duration, and outputs a reliability evaluation result including the determination result.

[0375] <12>The information processing apparatus according to <11>, wherein

[0376] The predetermined period is a period during which the hardware including the supercapacitor is allowed to be used without replacement when the capacitance deteriorates to a state where replacement of the hardware including the supercapacitor should be considered.

[0377] <13>The information processing apparatus according to <5>, wherein

[0378] When the reliability evaluation result is information indicating that the hardware needs to be replaced, the status information acquisition unit performs notification of the information indicating that the hardware needs to be replaced.

[0379] <14>The information processing apparatus according to <13>, wherein

[0380] The hardware is an emergency reporting device installed on a vehicle.

[0381] <15>The information processing apparatus according to <14>, wherein

[0382] The emergency reporting device measures the charging time from the start of charging of the supercapacitor to full charge, and

[0383] The status information acquisition unit acquires information related to the charging time measured by the emergency reporting device as status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device.

[0384] <16>The information processing apparatus according to <15>, wherein

[0385] The status information acquisition unit acquires, via a mobile terminal owned by a user of the vehicle, information related to the charging time measured by the emergency reporting device as status information indicating the degree of deterioration of the emergency reporting device.

[0386] <17>The information processing apparatus according to <16>, wherein

[0387] The status information acquisition unit notifies the mobile terminal of information indicating that the emergency reporting device needs to be replaced, and the mobile terminal acquires and presents the notification.

[0388] <18>The information processing apparatus according to any one of <14> to <17>, wherein

[0389] The emergency reporting device

[0390] Is driven by electric power supplied from the vehicle, and when the engine of the vehicle is running, the supercapacitor is charged using the electric power supplied from the vehicle, and

[0391] When the vehicle's engine stops, it is driven by the power charged in the supercapacitor.

[0392] <19>The information processing device according to any one of <14> to <18>, wherein,

[0393] The emergency reporting device includes an emergency reporting button operated by the user in the event of an emergency.

[0394] <20>An information processing method, comprising:

[0395] Obtaining status information indicating the degree of hardware deterioration; and

[0396] Evaluating the reliability of the hardware based on the status information.

[0397] List of reference numerals

[0398] 11 Emergency reporting system

[0399] 31, 31-1 to 31-n Vehicles

[0400] 32, 32-1 to 32-n User terminals

[0401] 33 Management server

[0402] 34 Call center server

[0403] 51, 51-1 to 51-n Power supplies

[0404] 52, 52-1 to 52-n Emergency reporting devices

[0405] 72 Chipset

[0406] 76 Supercapacitor

[0407] 79 Emergency reporting button

[0408] 92 Status measurement unit

[0409] 93 Report processing unit

[0410] 151 Control unit

[0411] 159 GPS

[0412] 171 Status information processing unit

[0413] 172 Report processing unit

[0414] 191 Control unit

[0415] 201 Information separation unit

[0416] 202 Reliability Evaluation Unit

[0417] 203 Report Processing Unit

[0418] 221 Control Unit

[0419] 231 Reliability Processing Unit

[0420] 232 Report Processing Unit

[0421] 311 Reliability Processing Unit

[0422] 312 Report Processing Unit.

Claims

1. An information processing device installed on a vehicle, comprising: A status information processing unit that charges a supercapacitor using the power supplied from the vehicle when the engine of the vehicle is running, and drives an emergency reporting device with the power charged in the supercapacitor when the engine of the vehicle stops; Obtain status information related to the degradation degree of the emergency reporting device based on the charging time of the supercapacitor, and generate a reliability assessment result based on the status information, and display information indicating whether the emergency reporting device needs to be replaced; And A reporting processing unit that, when an emergency occurs, by operating an emergency reporting button of the emergency reporting device, sends an emergency report including the location information of its own information processing device to an external device and receives support information from the external device.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein The support information is information capable of grasping whether the staff who supports the emergency of the vehicle has arrived.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein The support information is information capable of grasping when the staff will arrive.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein The support information is map information including the location information of the staff and the location information of its own.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein The information indicating whether the emergency reporting device needs to be replaced includes information indicating that an emergency reporting device for replacement has been arranged.

6. An information processing method, comprising: Obtain status information indicating the degradation degree of the emergency reporting device based on the charging time of the supercapacitor, and generate a reliability assessment result based on the status information to display information indicating whether the emergency reporting device needs to be replaced; And When an emergency occurs, send an emergency report including location information and receive support information.

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