Information notification system, vehicle control device, program, and information notification method

Abstract

A vehicle control unit (17) is provided with an information determination unit (51) and an information provision unit (53). The information determination unit (51) determines notification-enabled information indicating a condition required for notifying an occupant of application information on the basis of a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle traveling condition, a vehicle exterior condition, and a vehicle interior condition. The information provision unit (53) provides the application program with the notification-enabled information determined by the information determination unit (51). The application program requests the vehicle control unit (17) to notify the passenger of the application information on the basis of the notifiable information provided from the information providing unit (53).

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This international application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-129307 filed with the Japan Patent Office on August 15, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a technology for notifying passengers on a vehicle of information. Background Art

[0004] Conventionally, it is known to provide (ie, notify) various information technologies to passengers in a vehicle (eg, a car) via terminal devices such as a display and a speaker mounted on the vehicle (eg, see Patent Document 1 listed below).

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology in which a vehicle communicates with a center device via a network, and information provided from the center device to the vehicle is notified to passengers from a terminal device mounted on the vehicle.

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-157881

[0007] As a result of detailed studies by the inventors, the following problems have been found with respect to the prior art.

[0008] In the vehicle, for example, various parking states such as waiting at a traffic light and parking are assumed. Under such conditions, it is considered to notify the passengers of various information such as information necessary for safety, advertisements, etc.

[0009] For example, if we consider the case where different advertisements are provided to passengers at different times for notifying passengers of information (e.g., the time at which the advertisements are played), since the parking time of a vehicle varies depending on the state of the vehicle (e.g., the parking state), there is a concern that the entire advertisement may not be played during the parking time.

[0010] For example, when an advertisement is played while waiting at a red traffic light, it is possible that the traffic light turns green and the driving mode is switched to green during the advertisement, and the advertisement is interrupted in the middle. For example, the display of the advertisement screen or the audio of the advertisement may be interrupted and switched to the screen or audio of the route guidance required for driving. Summary of the invention

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technology capable of appropriately notifying passengers of a vehicle of information at an appropriate time.

[0012] (1) One aspect of the present disclosure is an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are installed in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and information provided by the applications, that is, application information, is notified to passengers from the vehicle.

[0013] In the information notification system, the vehicle includes an information determination unit (51) and an information provision unit (53) as a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the operation of the vehicle.

[0014] The information determination unit is configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition representing at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a condition outside the vehicle, and a condition inside the vehicle, wherein the vehicle driving condition represents the driving condition of the vehicle, the condition outside the vehicle represents the condition around the vehicle, the condition inside the vehicle represents the condition inside the vehicle cabin, and the notifiable information represents the conditions required when notifying passengers of application information.

[0015] The information providing unit is configured to provide the application with the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit.

[0016] Furthermore, the application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

[0017] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the passengers of the vehicle of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate timing.

[0018] Specifically, in the present disclosure, the vehicle control unit provides the application with notifiable information (for example, the time when notification can be made, the type of notification, the method of notification, etc.) determined based on the vehicle's driving conditions, conditions outside the vehicle, and conditions inside the vehicle, so that the application can enable the vehicle control unit to notify the passengers of application information based on the notifiable information.

[0019] In other words, in the present disclosure, the application enables the vehicle control unit to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information, so the vehicle control unit can notify the passenger of the application information appropriately at an appropriate time (for example, in a notification method, content, etc. that allows the passenger to easily grasp the notification content).

[0020] (2) Another aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device (17) for notifying a passenger of application information as provided information from the vehicle based on a request from one or more applications installed in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud.

[0021] The vehicle control device includes an information determination unit (51), an information provision unit (53), and a passenger provision unit (57).

[0022] The information determination unit is configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition representing at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a condition outside the vehicle, and a condition inside the vehicle, wherein the vehicle driving condition represents the driving condition of the vehicle, the condition outside the vehicle represents the condition around the vehicle, the condition inside the vehicle represents the condition inside the vehicle cabin, and the notifiable information represents the conditions required when notifying passengers of application information.

[0023] The information providing unit is configured to provide the application with the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit.

[0024] The passenger providing unit is configured to instruct a notification device (11) to provide the passenger with the application information when a request is made from the application to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

[0025] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the passengers of the vehicle of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate timing.

[0026] In other words, in the present disclosure, if a request is made from an application to notify a passenger of application information based on notifiable information provided from the information providing unit, the notification device is instructed to use the application information to provide it to the passenger, so that the vehicle control device can notify the passenger of the application information appropriately at an appropriate time (for example, in a state such as a notification method and content that allows the passenger to easily grasp the content of the notification).

[0027] (3) Another aspect of the present disclosure is a program executed by an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are installed in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and which notifies passengers of information provided by the applications, that is, application information, from the vehicle.

[0028] In the program, notifiable information is determined based on vehicle-related conditions representing at least one of the vehicle's driving condition, the vehicle's external condition, and the vehicle's internal condition, and the determined notifiable information is provided to an application, so that the application, based on the provided notifiable information, requests a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the vehicle's movements to notify passengers of application information, wherein the vehicle's driving condition represents the vehicle's driving condition, the vehicle's external condition represents the vehicle's surrounding condition, the vehicle's internal condition represents the vehicle's cabin condition, and the notifiable information represents the conditions required when notifying passengers of the application information.

[0029] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the passengers of the vehicle of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate timing.

[0030] (4) Another aspect of the present disclosure is an information notification method in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and information provided by the application, that is, application information, is notified from the vehicle to a passenger.

[0031] In the information notification method, notifiable information is determined based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a condition outside the vehicle, and a condition inside the vehicle, and the determined notifiable information is provided to an application, so that the application, based on the provided notifiable information, requests a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the movement of the vehicle to notify the passenger of the application information, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates the driving condition of the vehicle, the condition outside the vehicle indicates the condition around the vehicle, the condition inside the vehicle indicates the condition inside the vehicle cabin, and the notifiable information indicates the conditions required when notifying the passenger of the application information.

[0032] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the passengers of the vehicle of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate timing.

[0033] In addition, the reference numerals in parentheses in the column and the claims indicate the correspondence relationship with specific elements described in an embodiment described later as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 It is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the information notification system according to the first embodiment.

[0035] Figure 2 It is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of the configuration such as the vehicle-mounted device in the first embodiment.

[0036] Figure 3 It is an explanatory diagram showing the electrical configuration of the vehicle-mounted device in the first embodiment.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a block diagram functionally showing the vehicle control unit, the vehicle application unit, and the server application unit in the first embodiment.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a flowchart showing the control process of the information notification system according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0040] [1. First embodiment]

[0041] In the first embodiment, an information notification system applied to a vehicle (for example, an automobile) will be described.

[0042] [1-1. Overall composition]

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, in the first embodiment, the information notification system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 3 as a vehicle-side configuration and a server 5 as a cloud-side configuration. The information notification system 1 is an example of a mobile IoT system, where IoT is an abbreviation of Internet of Things.

[0044] The vehicle-mounted device 3 includes a sensor unit 7 , a communication unit 9 , a drive unit 11 , and a vehicle control device 13 . The vehicle control device 13 is connected to the sensor unit 7 , the communication unit 9 , and the drive unit 11 .

[0045] Among them, the sensor unit 7 may include a device for detecting the driving condition of a vehicle (i.e., the vehicle itself), a device for detecting the condition inside the vehicle cabin (i.e., the cabin where passengers ride), and a device for detecting the condition around the vehicle.

[0046] As devices for detecting the driving condition of the vehicle (i.e., the driving condition of the vehicle), for example, there can be listed a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration of the vehicle, a steering sensor for detecting the steering angle, a gear position sensor for detecting the state of the gear, and a GPS device for detecting the current position of the vehicle.

[0047] As devices for detecting the condition inside the vehicle cabin (ie, cabin condition), there can be cited a camera for photographing the cabin, a seat sensor for detecting the seated state of a passenger, and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the cabin.

[0048] As a device for detecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle (i.e., the conditions outside the vehicle compartment), radar devices, lidar devices, sonars, cameras for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle, etc. can be listed. In addition, as described later, the surrounding conditions of the vehicle can also be detected based on information from external devices such as the cloud.

[0049] The communication unit 9 is a communication device used to communicate with a device outside the vehicle (for example, the cloud server 5 ).

[0050] The driving unit 11 is an actuator used to notify passengers of information (for example, application information).

[0051] The vehicle control device 13 is a device for controlling the operation of the vehicle, and includes a vehicle application unit 15 and a vehicle control unit 17 as described later.

[0052] On the other hand, the server 5 includes a server application unit 19 as will be described later.

[0053] [1-2. Components of the information notification system]

[0054] Next, each component of the information notification system 1 will be described in more detail.

[0055] <Vehicle side configuration>

[0056] like Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle control device 13 includes a vehicle application unit 15 for controlling the operation of application software installed in the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as application), that is, an application on the vehicle side (hereinafter referred to as vehicle-side application), and a vehicle control unit 17 for controlling the operation of the vehicle.

[0057] In addition, although the vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 can be implemented by a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM or other memory, the case where the vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 are implemented by the same CPU and memory is used as an example for explanation.

[0058] As described above, the vehicle control device 13 includes a CPU 13a, a ROM 13b, a RAM 13c, etc. (see Figure 3 ) memory, etc. ECU is an abbreviation of Electronic Control Unit: Electronic Control Unit. In other words, the vehicle control device 13 is a device having a well-known microcomputer (not shown). In addition, the memory is not limited to the memory in the microcomputer, and various storage devices outside the microcomputer (for example, a hard disk, etc.) can be listed.

[0059] The various functions executed by the ECU are realized by the CPU 13a executing the program stored in the non-migrating physical recording medium. In this example, the memory corresponds to the non-migrating physical recording medium storing the program. In addition, by executing the program, the method corresponding to the program is executed.

[0060] In addition, the memory stores not only various programs (e.g., programs for controlling the movement of the vehicle, programs for implementing the above-mentioned application programs), but also various data used when executing the various programs. For example, information such as reminders (i.e., warnings) and advertisements provided to passengers as described later is stored.

[0061] The method of realizing the various functions of the ECU is not limited to software, and one or more hardware may be used to realize some or all of the elements. For example, when the functions are realized by an electronic circuit as hardware, the electronic circuit may be realized by a digital circuit including many logic circuits, or an analog circuit, or a combination thereof.

[0062] The vehicle control unit 17 functionally includes a driving state recognition unit 21, an in-vehicle state recognition unit 23, an out-vehicle state recognition unit 25, and a state determination unit 27. Figure 4 These components and other functional components are described in detail.

[0063] Furthermore, as described above, the vehicle-mounted device 3 includes various actuators as the drive unit 11 in order to provide (ie, notify) various information (eg, application information) to the passenger. In addition, hereinafter, the drive unit 11 is referred to as an actuator.

[0064] Examples of the actuator 11 include a display device 33 such as an instrument, a navigation display, and a rear seat display, a speaker 35, and a steering wheel 37 having a vibration device (not shown). Each actuator 11 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 via an interface (i.e., I / F) 32.

[0065] <Overall hardware configuration of the vehicle-mounted device>

[0066] Here, an example of the overall hardware configuration of the vehicle-mounted device is described. In addition, these configurations are well-known configurations, so they are briefly described.

[0067] like Figure 3 As shown, the vehicle includes the vehicle control device 13 , another ECU 41 , a plurality of ECUs 43 , a plurality of ECUs 45 , a communication unit 9 as an external communication device, and an internal communication network 47 .

[0068] The ECU 41 integrates the plurality of ECUs 43 to achieve coordinated control of the entire vehicle.

[0069] ECU41 is provided for each domain divided according to the functions in the vehicle, and mainly performs control of multiple ECU45 existing in the domain. Each ECU43 is connected to the subordinate ECU45 via a lower layer network provided independently. ECU43 has a function of centrally managing the access rights to the subordinate ECU45 and performing user authentication. Domains are, for example, powertrain, body, chassis, and cockpit.

[0070] The ECU 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the powertrain domain includes, for example, an ECU 45 for controlling an engine, an ECU 45 for controlling a motor, and an ECU 45 for controlling a battery.

[0071] The ECU 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the vehicle body domain includes, for example, an ECU 45 for controlling an air conditioner and an ECU 45 for controlling vehicle doors.

[0072] The ECU 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the chassis domain includes, for example, an ECU 45 for controlling brakes, an ECU 45 for controlling the steering wheel 37 , and the like.

[0073] The ECU 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the cockpit domain includes, for example, the ECU 45 for controlling the display of the display device 33 of the instrument and various displays, the ECU 45 for controlling the operation of the speaker 35, and the ECU 45 for controlling the input device operated by the vehicle passengers.

[0074] The communication unit 9 performs data communication with a communication device outside the vehicle (for example, the cloud server 5 ) via the wide area wireless communication network NW.

[0075] The in-vehicle communication network 47 includes CAN FD and Ethernet (registered trademark). CAN FD is an abbreviation of CAN with Flexible Data Rate. CAN FD connects the ECU 41, each ECU 43, and the communication unit 9 via a bus. Ethernet connects the ECU 41, each ECU 43, and the communication unit 9 independently.

[0076] The ECU 41 is an electronic control device that is mainly composed of a microcomputer including a CPU 41 a, a ROM 41 b, a RAM 41 c, etc., similarly to the vehicle control device 13. The ECU 43 and the ECU 45 also have the same configuration.

[0077] ECU41 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 in a manner that enables data communication therebetween. That is, the vehicle control device 13 receives information from ECU43 and ECU45 via ECU41. In addition, the vehicle control device 13 sends requests related to vehicle control to ECU41, or sends requests to ECU43 and EUC45 via ECU41.

[0078] <Server side configuration>

[0079] As mentioned above Figure 2 As shown, the cloud server 5 includes a server application unit 19 that controls the operation of an application program (hereinafter referred to as a server-side application) installed in the server 5 .

[0080] The server application unit 19 , like the car application unit 15 , can be realized by a well-known CPU 19 a , a memory such as a ROM 19 b , and a RAM 19 c .

[0081] In addition, the server 5 of the above-mentioned structure can collect the vehicle data sent from the vehicle control device 13 of each vehicle via the communication unit 9 when there are multiple vehicles. And the server 5 can store the collected data in the storage unit (not shown) for each vehicle. In addition, the server 5 can create a digital twin based on the vehicle data stored in the storage unit. The digital twin is standardized index data.

[0082] [1-3. Functional structure of information notification system]

[0083] Next, the functional configuration of the information notification system 1 will be described.

[0084] <Vehicle side configuration>

[0085] like Figure 4 As shown, the vehicle control unit 17 functionally includes a first processing unit 50 and a second processing unit 60 .

[0086] The first processing unit 50 is a processing unit that performs processing to provide information that can be notified to an application based on the driving condition of the vehicle and the conditions inside and outside the vehicle.

[0087] The first processing unit 50 functionally includes a driving state recognition unit 21, an interior state recognition unit 23, an exterior state recognition unit 25, and a state determination unit 27. The state determination unit 27 functionally includes an information determination unit 51 and an information provision unit 53.

[0088] On the other hand, the second processing unit 60 is a processing unit that performs processing when there is a request (i.e., notification request) from the application to notify the passenger of information (i.e., information provided by the application, i.e., application information). The second processing unit 60 functionally includes a passenger provision determination unit 55 and a passenger provision unit 57.

[0089] A specific description will be given below.

[0090] (Function of the first processing unit)

[0091] The driving state recognition unit 21 is configured to recognize the driving state of the vehicle based on the information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the driving state of the vehicle. Examples of the driving state of the vehicle include parked, running, high-speed running at a speed higher than a predetermined value, and low-speed running at a speed lower than a predetermined value. In addition, examples of parked include parked based on traffic regulations such as traffic lights, road crossings, intersections, and pedestrian crossings, and other parking.

[0092] The vehicle interior condition recognition unit 23 is configured to recognize the vehicle interior condition based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the vehicle interior condition (i.e., the vehicle interior condition). Examples of the vehicle interior condition include the number of passengers, the positions of passengers seated, the use condition of the actuator 11 that provides information to the passengers, the temperature in the vehicle interior, the operating condition of the air conditioner, and the like.

[0093] The vehicle exterior condition recognition unit 25 is configured to recognize the vehicle exterior condition based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the vehicle exterior condition (i.e., the vehicle exterior condition) and information obtained from the cloud side. Examples of the vehicle exterior condition include the driving condition of other vehicles around the vehicle, the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling (e.g., a highway or a general road), the condition of the road on which the vehicle is traveling (e.g., the presence or absence of traffic congestion), the condition of buildings such as roadside objects around the road (e.g., the presence of traffic lights and various road signs), the surrounding weather conditions, the surrounding brightness, and the like.

[0094] The situation determination unit 27 determines the situation of the vehicle based on the information from the driving situation recognition unit 21 , the vehicle interior situation recognition unit 23 , and the vehicle exterior situation recognition unit 25 , that is, based on the situation of the vehicle itself and the situation inside and outside the vehicle.

[0095] In the situation determination unit 27, based on the situation of the vehicle, the following processing is performed by the information determination unit 51 and the information provision unit 53.

[0096] The information determination unit 51 is configured to determine the notifiable information indicating the conditions required for notifying passengers of various application information such as safety-related information and entertainment information based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the vehicle's driving conditions, conditions outside the vehicle, and conditions inside the vehicle.

[0097] The notifiable information indicating the conditions required when notifying the passenger of the above-mentioned application information (i.e., information provided from the vehicle control unit 17 to the application) refers to information that serves as the basis for determining whether the application notifies the passenger of the application information or how to provide the application information.

[0098] As the notifiable information, for example, at least one of a notifiable time, a notification type, and a notification method corresponding to a situation can be listed.

[0099] The notifiable time refers to the time when the application information can be notified to the passenger. In other words, it is the time when the actuator 11 can be driven to notify the passenger of the application information, that is, the idle time when the actuator 11 is not driven or the idle time scheduled to not drive the actuator 11. In addition, as the time, for example, the time from a certain time to a certain time can be listed.

[0100] The notification available time can be determined based on the current usage state of the actuator 11 and the usage schedule of the actuator 11 .

[0101] The type of notification refers to the type of device (i.e., actuator 11) that notifies the passenger of the application information. In other words, it is the method of notification (i.e., the unit of notification). As the unit of notification, for example, visual devices such as instruments, head-up displays, and center displays, auditory devices such as speakers, and tactile devices such as steering wheels can be listed.

[0102] The notification method corresponding to the situation is information indicating the preferred state in which the passenger is notified according to the situation. As the notification method corresponding to the situation, for example, when the passenger (e.g., the driver) is busy with driving operations (i.e., busy), information indicating that the passenger is busy, information indicating a state suitable for the busy state (e.g., content such as notification of application information limited to a short time), etc. can be listed.

[0103] In addition, as a method of notification corresponding to the condition, as described later, a method corresponding to at least one of the driving condition of the vehicle, the internal condition of the vehicle (for example, the condition of the passengers), and the condition of the surroundings (i.e., the outside) of the vehicle can be listed.

[0104] For example, if information indicating busyness (i.e., a notification method corresponding to the status) is provided from the vehicle control unit 17 to the application, the application can provide the vehicle control unit 17 (and therefore, the passenger) with application information corresponding to the busy status (i.e., provided in a status suitable for providing information in a busy status) (e.g., providing application information only for a short time).

[0105] For example, in the case of a busy state, it is conceivable to compactly report the content of the application information (for example, report a part of the information) or not to report application information with low urgency (that is, low importance).

[0106] Therefore, when the vehicle control unit 17 provides the application with a notification method corresponding to the situation, the application can notify the vehicle control unit 17 of the application information in an appropriate state (e.g., appropriate method, content) according to the notification method. Alternatively, the application information may not be notified, or the notification of the application information may be waited until the situation becomes suitable for the notification method.

[0107] The information providing unit 53 is configured to periodically provide the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit 51 to an application program installed in the server 5 or the vehicle (ie, a server-side application or a vehicle-side application), for example.

[0108] (Function of the Second Processing Unit)

[0109] The passenger provision determination unit 55 is configured to determine whether the application information can actually be notified (i.e., provided) at the present time when there is a request (i.e., notification request) from the application to notify the passenger of the application information. In other words, the passenger provision determination unit 55 can confirm whether there is actually time to provide the application information to the passenger at the present time, and confirm whether the actuator 11 is in a state that can be driven in order to provide the application information to the passenger.

[0110] In addition, the passenger provision determination unit 55 is configured to receive information indicating the recognition result of the driving condition by the driving condition recognition unit 21, the recognition result of the in-vehicle condition (e.g., the condition of the passenger) by the in-vehicle condition recognition unit 23, and the recognition result of the in-vehicle condition by the in-vehicle condition recognition unit 25. Therefore, the passenger provision determination unit 55 can adjust the state of the content of the provided application information (i.e., adjust the state of the notification) based on the above-mentioned recognition results, for example, when there is a notification request, and provide it to the passenger.

[0111] In addition, at the same time, it can also be determined whether it is appropriate or possible to notify the application information now. For example, when a warning or the like related to driving safety is currently being notified, if there is a request to notify an advertisement, it can be determined that it is not appropriate to notify the advertisement now.

[0112] Furthermore, the passenger provision determination unit 55 has a function of adjusting which application should be executed with priority (ie, a mediation function) when receiving notification requests from a plurality of applications.

[0113] The passenger providing unit 57 is configured to drive the actuator 11 to provide the passenger with application information provided by the application.

[0114] Here, for example, the application information provided by the application is set based on the vehicle-related conditions and the notifiable information. For example, when the vehicle is parked for a long time, if there is enough time to notify the application information (for example, when the vehicle is not busy), the application information such as advertisements can be notified with a predetermined sufficient length. On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle is driving on a highway at night, if there is not enough time to notify the application information (for example, when the vehicle is busy), the content of the application information can be compactly set to notify the application information.

[0115] (Functions of the car application department)

[0116] Furthermore, unlike the above-described vehicle control unit 17 , the vehicle application unit 15 as a configuration on the vehicle side functionally includes an information request determination unit 61 and an information request unit 63 .

[0117] The information request determination unit 61 is configured to determine whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information when the notifiable information is provided from the information provision unit 53 to the vehicle application unit 15 .

[0118] For example, when a certain application information is notified by the vehicle-side application, it is determined whether there is time to provide the application information and whether the actuator 11 providing the application information can be driven based on, for example, the notification time and the notification type provided by the vehicle control unit 17. And, based on the determination result, it is determined whether to make a notification request.

[0119] For example, when there is time for providing application information and the actuator 11 can be driven, the notification request is made, and otherwise, the notification request may not be made.

[0120] The information requesting unit 63 is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of the application information provided by the application program on the vehicle side, based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit 53 .

[0121] In other words, when the information request unit 63 determines that it is appropriate (eg, possible) to make a notification request based on the result of the determination by the information request determination unit 61 , the information request unit 63 makes a notification request to the vehicle control unit 17 .

[0122] <Server side configuration>

[0123] On the other hand, on the server 5 side, the server application unit 19 is also similar to the car application unit 15 in that it includes an information request determination unit 65 and an information request unit 67 in terms of functions.

[0124] The information request determination unit 65 is similar to the information request determination unit 61 of the vehicle application unit 15 and is configured to determine whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information when the notifiable information is provided from the information providing unit 53 to the server 5 .

[0125] The information requesting unit 67 is similar to the information requesting unit 63 of the vehicle application unit 15 and is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of application information provided by the application on the server 5 side based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit 53 .

[0126] [1-4. Control Process]

[0127] Next, based on Figure 5 The control process performed in the information notification system 1 will be described.

[0128] Furthermore, the control process performed in the information notification system 1 includes a control process performed on the server side and a control process performed on the vehicle side.

[0129] For example, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, the following processing is performed.

[0130] exist Figure 5 In step (hereinafter referred to as S) 100 of the flowchart, first, in the vehicle control unit 17 of the vehicle control device 13, the vehicle driving condition, the vehicle internal condition, and the vehicle external condition are grasped using data from the driving condition recognition unit 21, the vehicle internal condition recognition unit 23, and the vehicle external condition recognition unit 25. Then, based on the grasped conditions, the notification time, the type of notification, and the notification method corresponding to the condition (i.e., the notification method) are determined as the notifiable information. In addition, at least one of the notification time, the notification type, and the notification method may be determined.

[0131] Next, in S110, the notification time, notification type and notification method are sent to the application (i.e., server-side application, vehicle-side application). In other words, the notification time, notification type and notification method are sent to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0132] In addition to this, in each application, there are cases where information obtained through each identification unit 21, 23, 25 is used, so the information corresponding to the above-mentioned conditions obtained in each identification unit 21, 23, 25 (for example, information such as the speed of the vehicle) is sent to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0133] In addition, the information corresponding to the above-mentioned conditions may be sent to the server application unit 19 and the car application unit 15 at a time different from the sending of the notifiable time, notification type and notification method, for example, periodically.

[0134] In S120, the server application unit 19 and the car application unit 15 (ie, on the application side) receive information sent from the identification units 21, 23, and 25. In addition, the notification time, notification type, and notification method are received.

[0135] Next, in S130, on the application side, based on the received notification time, notification type, and notification method, it is determined whether the situation is such that the passenger (e.g., driver) can be notified of the application information. For example, in the case of driving the actuator 11 to notify the application information, it is determined whether the situation is such that the actuator 11 can be driven (e.g., the situation where the actuator 11 is not used to provide other high-priority information), and whether there is enough time to drive the actuator 11 to notify the entire application information. If a positive determination is made here, the process proceeds to S140, and if a negative determination is made, the process returns to the above-mentioned S120.

[0136] For example, when the display device 33 is performing a display related to safety, it can be determined that it is a situation where an advertisement with a priority lower than safety cannot be displayed on the display device 33 (that is, it is a situation where notification cannot be made).

[0137] In addition, on the application side, the application information to be notified after the situation is determined to be notifiable is set based on the vehicle-related information and the notifiable information. In other words, on the application side, the application information with the content suitable for the current situation is set, so that when the application information is notified to the passenger later, the application information set here is notified.

[0138] In S140, the vehicle control unit 17 is requested to notify the passenger of application information such as advertisements. In addition, when the notification is requested, the application information to be notified is also sent to the vehicle control unit 17.

[0139] In addition, although the application information to be notified is set (i.e., prepared) in advance by the application, the content of the application information notified to the passenger may be changed according to the notification method, for example. For example, if the passenger is busy, the content of the application information to be notified may be changed to make the application information compact and provide only the main part of the application information.

[0140] In S150, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether there is a request to notify the passenger of application information such as advertisements from the server application unit 19 or the vehicle application unit 15. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S160, while if the determination is negative, the process returns to the above-mentioned S100.

[0141] In S160, the vehicle control unit 17 determines again whether the situation is such that the application information can be notified to the passenger, as in S140. In other words, here, the actual current situation (for example, the speed of the vehicle, etc.) is considered to determine again whether the above notification is to be made. In other words, a final determination is made as to whether the application information is to be notified. If a positive determination is made here, the process proceeds to S170, and if a negative determination is made, the process returns to S100.

[0142] In S170, the vehicle control unit 17 performs processing for notifying the passenger of application information. For example, the actuator 11 such as the display device 33 is driven to notify the passenger of application information such as advertisements. In other words, based on the vehicle-related information and the notifiable information, application information with contents suitable for the current situation is notified.

[0143] Then in S180, the vehicle control unit 17 sends the application information that the passenger has actually been notified to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15. In addition, if a negative determination is made in S160 and the application information is not notified, it is also possible to send to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 that no notification is made.

[0144] In S190, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 receive the notification of the application information to the passenger from the vehicle control unit 17, and temporarily terminate the present process.

[0145] [1-5. Effect]

[0146] According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0147] (1a) In the first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 determines the notifiable information based on the vehicle driving conditions, vehicle external conditions, and vehicle internal conditions obtained by the recognition units 21, 23, and 25. Then, the notifiable information is provided to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 (i.e., the application installed in the application units 15 and 19). Then, based on the notifiable information, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 cause the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of the information provided by the application (i.e., application information).

[0148] Thus, in the first embodiment, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 cause the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information, so the vehicle control unit 17 can properly notify the passenger of the application information at an appropriate time. In other words, the actuator 11 that can be used for notification can be used, for example, to reliably notify the passenger of the required application information by taking a sufficient time to notify the application information.

[0149] (1b) In the first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 can set the notification possible time, notification type, and notification method (ie, notification method) according to the situation as the notification possible information and provide it to the application.

[0150] In addition, in the application, the notification method corresponding to the situation can be set based on the vehicle-related situation and provided to the vehicle control unit 17. For example, when the passenger is busy, the notification method can be set to compact the application information according to the busy state.

[0151] (1c) In the first embodiment, the application can set application information to be notified to the passenger based on the vehicle-related status and the notifiable information.

[0152] This makes it possible to notify passengers of appropriate application information at an appropriate time.

[0153] (1d) In the first embodiment, the application determines whether the application information can be notified to the passenger. Thus, based on the determination result, if the application information can be notified, the application information can be appropriately notified.

[0154] In addition, the application can also determine whether it is a state suitable for notifying the passenger of application information. For example, when the information required for driving safety is currently notified, it can be determined that it is not suitable for notifying, for example, an advertisement.

[0155] (1e) In the first embodiment, whether the state is such that the application information can be notified to the passenger is determined by the vehicle control unit 17. Thus, if the state is such that the application information can be notified, the application information can be appropriately notified based on the determination result.

[0156] In addition, the vehicle control unit 17 may determine whether it is a state suitable for notifying the passenger of application information. For example, when information necessary for driving safety is currently being notified, it may be determined that it is not suitable to notify, for example, advertisements.

[0157] In addition, as states suitable for notifying passengers of application information, it is possible to list states in which, when notifying passengers of application information, the current situation is not hindered, the current situation is not negatively affected, or at least the current situation is not deteriorated with respect to conditions such as drivability (i.e., a state indicating ease of driving), vehicle or passenger safety, and passenger comfort.

[0158] (1f) In the first embodiment, when the vehicle control unit 17 notifies the passenger of application information, it sends a notification to the application. This allows the application to understand that the notification has been made, thereby preventing the application from requesting the notification again.

[0159] Furthermore, when the application information is not to be notified to the passenger, a non-notification message may be sent to the application, thereby allowing the application to request notification again at a predetermined time later.

[0160] [1-6. Correspondence]

[0161] Next, the relationship between the first embodiment and the present disclosure will be described.

[0162] The information notification system 1 corresponds to an information notification system, the vehicle control unit 17 corresponds to a vehicle control unit, the information determination unit 51 corresponds to an information determination unit, and the information provision unit 53 corresponds to an information provision unit.

[0163] [2. Second Embodiment]

[0164] The basic structure of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment. In addition, the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment represent the same structure, and the above description is referred to.

[0165] In the second embodiment, various adjustment processes are performed by the vehicle control unit 17 .

[0166] <Example 2a>

[0167] In the present embodiment 2a, the vehicle control unit 17 adjusts which application information is to be notified to the passenger when a plurality of applications request notification of application information to the passenger. For example, it adjusts which application information is to be notified and which application information is not to be notified.

[0168] For example, when a vehicle is traveling in bad weather conditions and the time available for notifying application information is limited, if there are two types of application information to be notified: weather-related application information and advertisement-related application information, the weather-related application information is selected for notification.

[0169] <Example 2b>

[0170] In the present embodiment 2b, when a plurality of applications each request to notify a passenger of application information, the vehicle control unit 17 adjusts the order in which the application information is notified to the passenger.

[0171] For example, when there is a request to notify both application information related to safety and application information related to general advertisements, the application information related to safety has a higher priority, so the application information with a higher priority is notified to the passenger in order. In this way, the application information that is more necessary for the passenger can be notified to the passenger quickly.

[0172] <Example 2c>

[0173] In this embodiment 2c, when there is a notification request to notify the passenger of application information through the application, the second processing unit 60 of the vehicle control unit 17 adjusts the state of notifying the passenger of application information to a state that conforms to the actual vehicle-related state (i.e., the vehicle-related state).

[0174] For example, when driving at high speed (i.e., when the driver is busy), in order not to put an excessive burden on the driver compared to driving at low speed, the content of the advertisement may be adjusted to be notified compactly, or the content of the display or the sound notification may be adjusted to be notified only by sound. In this way, the application information can be appropriately notified to the passenger according to the actual situation.

[0175] Furthermore, adjusting the state in the case of notifying the above-mentioned passenger also includes not notifying the passenger (hereinafter, the same).

[0176] [3. Third embodiment]

[0177] The basic structure of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment. In addition, the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment represent the same structure, and refer to the previous description.

[0178] The third embodiment lists various examples of the case where the application information is notified to the passenger.

[0179] <Example 3a>

[0180] In the present embodiment 3a, at least one of the notification method and the notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information is changed according to the vehicle travel condition.

[0181] In addition, the processing sequence in this embodiment 3a is briefly described below.

[0182] For example, when the driving condition of the vehicle is identified by the driving condition identification unit 21, information on the driving condition, information on the method of notification corresponding to the condition (for example, information on what type of notification can be made, etc.), etc. are sent in advance to the application (i.e., the vehicle application unit 15, the server application unit 19).

[0183] On the application side, based on the information sent from the driving information recognition unit 21, it is determined in what state (i.e., notification method, notification content) the application information is sent to the vehicle control unit 17 side. For example, at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information is changed according to the vehicle driving conditions. In addition, a notification request is made to the vehicle control unit 17 side at an appropriate time (i.e., a time when the passenger can be notified), and the application information changed as described above is also sent to the vehicle control unit 17.

[0184] Then, the vehicle control unit 17 that has received the notification request determines whether the situation is suitable for actually providing the application information to the passenger, and provides the application information to the passenger if it is suitable.

[0185] In the later-described embodiments 3b and 3c, the types of situations are different from those in the embodiment 3a, but the processing sequence is the same, so the description of the processing sequence in the embodiments 3b and 3c is omitted.

[0186] As a change in the notification method, for example, the type of actuator 11 used or the number of actuators 11 can be changed (for example, two types of the display device 33 and the speaker 35, or three types of the display device 33, the speaker 35, and the steering wheel 37). For example, in the case of application information with a high priority (i.e., urgency) to be notified, an actuator 11 (for example, the speaker 35) that is easy for the passenger to recognize even without visual observation may be used, or the number of actuators 11 used may be increased. In addition, changing the notification method also includes a case where the notification is changed to not be performed (hereinafter, the same).

[0187] As the vehicle travel condition, at least one of the vehicle travel speed, the vehicle parking condition, and the vehicle traffic congestion condition can be adopted.

[0188] As the driving speed of the vehicle, a high speed above a prescribed value or a constant speed below a prescribed value can be used. The parking condition of the vehicle indicates the conditions under which the vehicle is parked. As the parking condition, for example, a temporary parking condition based on restrictions such as traffic lights or intersections, or a parking condition not based on these restrictions can be used. The traffic congestion condition of the vehicle indicates the traffic congestion condition around the vehicle (for example, the vehicle itself). As the traffic congestion condition, for example, the traffic congestion condition on the driving road obtained from the cloud can also be used.

[0189] Hereinafter, specific examples will be described in further detail.

[0190] (1) The notification method and notification content may be changed according to the driving speed. For example, the notification method may be changed according to whether the vehicle is traveling at a high speed or at a relatively low speed. For example, in the case of a high speed, the notification of application information may be suspended in consideration of the busy state of the driver who is paying attention to the passengers. In addition, the notification method refers to the method of notifying application information, and the notification content refers to the content of the notified application information (hereinafter, the same).

[0191] (2) The notification method and content may be changed according to the parking scene (i.e., parking method). For example, the notification method may be changed according to the situation of parking for waiting at a traffic light and other parking (i.e., unrestricted spontaneous parking). For example, the notification of application information may be suspended in the case of waiting at a traffic light.

[0192] (3) The notification method and content may be changed according to the traffic congestion situation. For example, the notification method may be changed according to whether the vehicle is in a traffic congestion situation or in a constant speed situation. For example, the notification of application information may be suspended in a traffic congestion situation.

[0193] <Example 3b>

[0194] In this embodiment 3b, at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying information to passengers is changed according to the external conditions of the vehicle. In addition, the notification method and notification content are the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment 3a.

[0195] As the vehicle external condition, at least one of the weather condition around the vehicle and the condition of the road on which the vehicle is traveling can be adopted.

[0196] Examples of weather conditions include rain, dark surroundings due to cloudy weather, and sunny weather. Examples of road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling include the type of road (e.g., expressway or general road), the number of lanes, conditions where driving is restricted due to road construction, the number of other vehicles around the vehicle or the distance to other vehicles, and other road congestion. In addition, the road conditions indicate what type of road the road is, the conditions of the road and objects on the road, and may also include traffic congestion on the road.

[0197] Hereinafter, specific examples will be described in further detail.

[0198] (1) The notification method and content may be changed according to the weather. For example, the notification method may be changed according to whether the weather is bad, such as rain or snow, or good, such as sunny or cloudy. For example, in the case of bad weather, the notification of application information may be suspended in consideration of the busy state of the driver who is paying attention to the passengers.

[0199] (2) The notification method and content may be changed according to the condition of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. For example, the notification method may be changed according to the condition of the expressway and the general road. For example, in the case of an expressway, the notification of the application information may be suspended because the passengers are considered to be busy. In addition, the notification method may be changed among general roads according to the condition of a normal urban road and a narrow road narrower than the urban road. For example, in the case of a narrow road, the notification of the application information may be suspended because the passengers are considered to be busy.

[0200] <Example 3c>

[0201] In this embodiment 3c, at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying passengers of information is changed according to the situation in the vehicle. In addition, the notification method and notification content are the same as those in the above-mentioned embodiment 3a.

[0202] As the above-mentioned in-vehicle condition, at least one of the passenger's duties, the passenger's movement status, the passenger's characteristics, and the passenger's riding time can be adopted.

[0203] The role of a passenger indicates the functional division of a passenger, and the role of a passenger may include, for example, the driver or a passenger other than the driver.

[0204] As the movement status of the passenger, for example, the position of the passenger in a bus or an autonomous driving e-Palette and its changes (for example, the position before the movement, the position after the movement) can be listed. In addition, for example, the position of the passenger can be grasped by using the well-known image recognition using camera images, the position information of mobile terminals such as smart phones (i.e., smartphones), etc.

[0205] The characteristics of the passenger refer to the characteristics of the passenger himself (for example, the characteristics of the appearance, the characteristics of the psychology), and as the characteristics of the passenger, for example, whether the passenger is an adult or a child can be listed. In addition, the preferences, thoughts, physical conditions, etc. of the passenger can also be grasped as the characteristics of the passenger. In addition, the characteristics of the passenger can be set and stored in advance on the vehicle side or the cloud side. In addition, it can also be obtained from the mobile terminal carried by the passenger.

[0206] As the passenger's boarding time, the time elapsed from the time the passenger boarded the vehicle can be listed. For example, the driver's driving time can be listed. For example, it can be grasped by known image recognition using camera images.

[0207] Hereinafter, specific examples will be described in further detail.

[0208] (1) The notification method and content may be changed according to the duties of the passenger. For example, the notification method may be changed according to whether the passenger is the driver, the passenger in the front passenger seat, or another passenger. For example, if the passenger is the driver, he is considered to be busy, so the advertisement notification may be suspended, or the advertisement may be notified to persons other than the driver.

[0209] In addition, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the passenger is a bus driver or a bus passenger (i.e., a traveler). For example, if the passenger is a bus driver, he is considered busy, so the advertisement notification may be suspended, or the advertisement may be notified to persons other than the driver.

[0210] Furthermore, for example, in the case of an e-Palette that is self-driving, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the person is a tour leader or a passenger. For example, if the passenger is a tour leader, the advertisement notification may be suspended because the passenger is considered busy, or the advertisement may be notified to persons other than the tour leader.

[0211] (2) The notification method and content may be changed according to the passenger's movement state (e.g., the passenger's position). For example, when a passenger moves to another position in the e-Palette or the like, the actuator 11 located at the position to which the passenger moves may be used to notify the application information.

[0212] (3) The notification method and notification content may be changed according to the characteristics of the passenger. For example, the notification method and notification content may be changed according to whether the passenger is an adult or a child, the passenger's preferences, thoughts, physical condition, etc. For example, if the passenger is an adult, an advertisement corresponding to an adult may be notified, and if the passenger is a child, an advertisement corresponding to a child may be notified. In addition, in the case of a passenger replacement, application information corresponding to the characteristics of the passenger may be provided.

[0213] (4) The notification method and content may be changed according to the passenger's riding time. For example, if the passenger's riding time is long, there is a possibility that the passenger will be tired or bored. Therefore, if the passenger's riding time is important for safety, the intensity of the report may be increased (for example, by increasing the display light or the sound) compared to the case where the riding time is short, and the application information may be notified.

[0214] [4. Other embodiments]

[0215] As mentioned above, although embodiment of this disclosure was described, this disclosure is not limited to the said embodiment, It is a matter of course that various forms can be adopted.

[0216] (4a) The application program only needs to be arranged (ie, installed) in at least one of the server and the vehicle, and the number of installed application programs may be one or more.

[0217] (4b) The information notification system, vehicle control device, program, and information notification method described in the present disclosure can be applied to manual driving and automatic driving. In the case of automatic driving, for example, it can be applied to levels 2 to 5 based on the standards of the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) of the United States.

[0218] (4c) The information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided with a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program.

[0219] Alternatively, the information notification system, the vehicle control device, and the information notification method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by a processor composed of one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0220] Alternatively, the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers consisting of a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor consisting of one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0221] In addition, the computer program may also be stored as an instruction executed by the computer in a non-migrating tangible recording medium that can be read by the computer. The method for realizing the functions of each part included in the information notification system, the vehicle control device, and the information notification method does not necessarily need to include software, and all of its functions may be realized using one or more hardware.

[0222] (4d) In addition to the above-mentioned information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method, the present disclosure can also be implemented in various ways, such as a system, device, and method that have the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method as components, a program for enabling the information notification system, vehicle control device, and a computer that implements the information notification method to function, a non-migratable tangible recording medium such as a semiconductor memory that records the program, and a processing method for the information notification system and the vehicle control device.

[0223] (4e) It is also possible to implement multiple functions of one component in the above-mentioned embodiment by multiple components, or to implement one function of one component by multiple components. In addition, it is also possible to implement multiple functions of multiple components by one component, or to implement one function implemented by multiple components by one component. In addition, it is also possible to omit a part of the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment. In addition, it is also possible to add or replace at least a part of the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment with the structure of another embodiment.

[0224] [Technical ideas disclosed in this specification]

[0225] [Project 1]

[0226] An information notification system (1) is provided in which one or more applications are installed on at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and application information is notified to passengers from the vehicle, wherein the application information is information provided by the application.

[0227] The vehicle comprises an information determination unit (51) and an information provision unit (53) as a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the movement of the vehicle.

[0228] The information determination unit (51) is configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information.

[0229] The information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit to the application.

[0230] The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

[0231] [Project 2]

[0232] According to the information notification system recorded in item 2,

[0233] The vehicle control unit is configured to set at least one of a notification possible time, a notification type, and a notification method corresponding to a situation as the notification possible information, and provide the information to the application.

[0234] [Item 3]

[0235] An information notification system according to item 1 or item 2, wherein:

[0236] The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether the state is such that the application information can be notified to the passenger or is suitable for the notification when a request is made from the application to notify the passenger of the application information after the information providing unit provides the notifiable information to the application.

[0237] [Item 4]

[0238] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein:

[0239] The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust a state in which the application information is notified to the passenger according to the vehicle-related condition, when the application information is notified to the passenger in response to the request.

[0240] [Item 5]

[0241] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein:

[0242] The application is configured to set a notification method corresponding to the vehicle-related condition based on the vehicle-related condition and provide the notification method to the vehicle control unit.

[0243] [Item 6]

[0244] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein:

[0245] The method of notifying the passenger of the application information and at least one of the content of the notification are changed according to the vehicle travel condition.

[0246] [Item 7]

[0247] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 6, wherein:

[0248] The vehicle driving condition is at least one of a driving speed of the vehicle, a parking condition of the vehicle, and a traffic congestion condition of the vehicle.

[0249] [Item 8]

[0250] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 7, wherein:

[0251] The vehicle is configured to change at least one of a notification method and notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information according to the external condition of the vehicle.

[0252] [Item 9]

[0253] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein:

[0254] The vehicle external condition is at least one of a weather condition around the vehicle and a condition of a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0255] [Item 10]

[0256] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 9, wherein:

[0257] The vehicle is configured to change at least one of a notification method and notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information according to the vehicle interior condition.

[0258] [Item 11]

[0259] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 10, wherein:

[0260] The vehicle interior condition is at least one of the passenger's duties, the passenger's movement status, the passenger's characteristics, and the passenger's boarding time.

[0261] [Item 12]

[0262] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 11, wherein:

[0263] The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust whether to notify the passenger of any of the application information or to adjust the order in which the application information is notified to the passenger when a notification request is made to notify the passenger of the application information through each of the plurality of applications.

[0264] [Item 13]

[0265] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 12, wherein:

[0266] The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust a state in which the application information is notified to the passenger to match an actual state of the vehicle when a notification request is made to notify the passenger of the application information through the application.

[0267] [Item 14]

[0268] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 13, wherein:

[0269] The above-mentioned application is configured to determine whether the state is capable of notifying the above-mentioned application information to the above-mentioned passenger or the state is suitable for the above-mentioned notification. When it is determined that the state is capable of notifying the above-mentioned application information to the above-mentioned passenger or the state is suitable for the above-mentioned notification, the above-mentioned vehicle control unit is requested to notify the above-mentioned passenger of the above-mentioned application information.

[0270] [Item 15]

[0271] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 14, wherein:

[0272] The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether the state is capable of notifying the passenger of the application information or is suitable for making the notification, and if it is determined that the state is capable of notifying the passenger of the application information or is suitable for making the notification, the passenger is notified of the application information.

[0273] [Item 16]

[0274] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 15, wherein:

[0275] The application is configured to set the application information to be notified to the passenger based on the vehicle-related status and the notifiable information.

[0276] [Item 17]

[0277] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 16, wherein:

[0278] The vehicle control unit is configured to notify the passenger of the application information.

[0279] [Item 18]

[0280] An information notification system according to any one of items 1 to 17, wherein:

[0281] The vehicle control unit is configured to transmit a notification result indicating presence or absence of the notification to the application program when the application information is notified to the passenger or when the application information is not notified.

[0282] [Item 19]

[0283] A vehicle control device (17) for notifying a passenger of application information as provided information from the vehicle based on a request from one or more applications installed in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, comprising:

[0284] an information determination unit (51) configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition around the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information;

[0285] an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the application with the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit; and

[0286] The passenger providing unit (57) is configured to instruct the notification device (11) to provide the application information to the passenger when the application requests notification of the application information to the passenger based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

[0287] [Item 20]

[0288] A program is a program executed by an information notification system (1) for notifying a passenger of application information from the vehicle provided with one or more applications on at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, wherein the application information is information provided by the application, and the program is used to perform the following functions:

[0289] determining the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information; and

[0290] The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, so that the application requests a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the operation of the vehicle to notify the passenger of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

[0291] [Item 21]

[0292] An information notification method is a method for notifying a passenger of application information from the vehicle, wherein one or more applications are provided on at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, wherein the application information is information provided by the application. In the information notification method,

[0293] determining the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information; and

[0294] The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, so that the application requests a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the operation of the vehicle to notify the passenger of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

Claims

1. An information notification system, wherein one or more applications are provided on at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and an information notification system (1) is used to notify application information to passengers from the vehicle, wherein: The above application information is information provided by the above application. The vehicle comprises an information determination unit (51) and an information provision unit (53) as a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the movement of the vehicle. The information determination unit (51) is configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information. The information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit to the application. The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the passenger of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

2. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to set at least one of a notification possible time, a notification type, and a notification method corresponding to a situation as the notification possible information, and provide the information to the application.

3. The information notification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether the state is such that the application information can be notified to the passenger or is suitable for the notification when a request is made from the application to notify the passenger of the application information after the information providing unit provides the notifiable information to the application.

4. The information notification system according to claim 3, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust a state in which the application information is notified to the passenger according to the vehicle-related condition, when the application information is notified to the passenger in response to the request.

5. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The application is configured to set a notification method corresponding to the vehicle-related condition based on the vehicle-related condition and provide the notification method to the vehicle control unit.

6. The information notification system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein: The method of notifying the passenger of the application information and at least one of the content of the notification are changed according to the vehicle travel condition.

7. The information notification system according to claim 6, wherein: The vehicle driving condition is at least one of a driving speed of the vehicle, a parking condition of the vehicle, and a traffic congestion condition of the vehicle.

8. The information notification system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein: The vehicle is configured to change at least one of a notification method and notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information according to the external condition of the vehicle.

9. The information notification system according to claim 8, wherein: The vehicle external condition is at least one of a weather condition around the vehicle and a condition of a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

10. The information notification system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein: The vehicle is configured to change at least one of a notification method and notification content when notifying the passenger of the application information according to the vehicle interior condition.

11. The information notification system according to claim 10, wherein: The vehicle interior condition is at least one of the passenger's duties, the passenger's movement status, the passenger's characteristics, and the passenger's boarding time.

12. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust whether to notify the passenger of any of the application information or to adjust the order in which the application information is notified to the passenger when a notification request is made to notify the passenger of the application information through each of the plurality of applications.

13. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust a state in which the application information is notified to the passenger to match an actual state of the vehicle when a notification request is made to notify the passenger of the application information through the application.

14. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The above-mentioned application is configured to determine whether the state is capable of notifying the above-mentioned application information to the above-mentioned passenger or is suitable for the above-mentioned notification. When it is determined that the state is capable of notifying the above-mentioned application information to the above-mentioned passenger or is suitable for the above-mentioned notification, the above-mentioned application is configured to request the above-mentioned vehicle control unit to notify the above-mentioned passenger of the above-mentioned application information.

15. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether the state is capable of notifying the passenger of the application information or is suitable for making the notification, and if it is determined that the state is capable of notifying the passenger of the application information or is suitable for making the notification, the passenger is notified of the application information.

16. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The application is configured to set the application information to be notified to the passenger based on the vehicle-related status and the notifiable information.

17. The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to notify the passenger of the application information.

18. The information notification system according to claim 17, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to transmit a notification result indicating presence or absence of the notification to the application program when the application information is notified to the passenger or when the application information is not notified.

19. A vehicle control device (17) for notifying a passenger of application information as provided information from the vehicle based on a request from one or more applications installed in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, wherein: have: an information determination unit (51) configured to determine the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition around the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information; an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit to the application; and The passenger providing unit (57) is configured to instruct the notification device (11) to provide the application information to the passenger when the application requests notification of the application information to the passenger based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit.

20. A program, wherein one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and is executed by an information notification system (1) for notifying a passenger of application information from the vehicle, wherein: The above application information is information provided by the above application program, which is used to perform the following functions: determining the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information; and The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, so that the application requests a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the operation of the vehicle to notify the passenger of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

21. An information notification method, wherein one or more applications are provided on at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and the vehicle notifies a passenger of application information from the vehicle, wherein: The above application information is information provided by the above application program. In the above information notification method, determining the notifiable information based on a vehicle-related condition indicating at least one of a vehicle driving condition, a vehicle external condition, and a vehicle internal condition, wherein the vehicle driving condition indicates a driving condition of the vehicle, the vehicle external condition indicates a condition surrounding the vehicle, the vehicle internal condition indicates a condition inside a cabin of the vehicle, and the notifiable information indicates a condition required when notifying the passenger of the application information; and The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, so that the application requests a vehicle control unit (17) for controlling the operation of the vehicle to notify the passenger of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

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