Vehicle control system

Abstract

A vehicle control system for providing a remote operation service for remotely operating a device mounted in a vehicle using a terminal outside the vehicle, the vehicle being provided with a service control unit that stops the remote operation service when the amount of power consumed by a vehicle-mounted battery exceeds a threshold value when power cannot be generated, and that controls the remote operation service when the amount of power consumed by the vehicle-mounted battery exceeds the threshold value when the amount of power consumed by the vehicle-mounted battery exceeds the threshold value. The terminal is provided with a display control unit that, when the remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle, displays a reason that the remote operation service cannot be used on a display screen.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system that provides a remote operation service capable of remotely operating a device mounted on a vehicle using a mobile terminal or the like outside the vehicle. Background Art

[0002] International Publication No. 2013 / 124990 discloses a system for remotely operating a device mounted on a vehicle by transmitting an operation command input by a user to a terminal outside the vehicle to the vehicle (remote operation service).

[0003] In order to prevent the battery installed in the vehicle from being exhausted, a prescribed limit is set on the power that can be consumed from the vehicle battery when the vehicle is not in a state where it can generate electricity (non-generating). Therefore, in the case where the power consumption of the vehicle battery is large, it is necessary to stop the remote operation service. However, if the reason for stopping the remote operation service of the vehicle is not notified to the user, the user may feel inconvenienced by not being able to use the remote operation service. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a vehicle control system capable of notifying a user, via a terminal outside the vehicle, of a reason why a remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle.

[0005] One method of the disclosed technology is to provide a vehicle control system that uses a terminal outside the vehicle to remotely operate a remote operation service of a device installed in the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is equipped with a service control unit, and when the power consumption of the vehicle battery exceeds a threshold when power generation is impossible, the service control unit stops the remote operation service, and the terminal is equipped with a display control unit, and when the remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle, the display control unit will display the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used on a display screen.

[0006] According to the vehicle control system disclosed above, when the remote operation service is stopped because the power consumption of the vehicle battery exceeds the threshold when the vehicle is not in a state capable of generating electricity, the user can be notified of the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used through the screen display of the terminal outside the vehicle.

[0007] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 It is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of display control executed by the vehicle control system.

[0010] Figure 3 This is an example of information displayed on the screen of a terminal outside the vehicle.

[0011] Figure 4 This is an example of information displayed on the screen of a terminal outside the vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] When the power consumption of the vehicle battery exceeds a threshold and the remote operation service is stopped when the vehicle is not generating electricity, the vehicle control system involved in the present disclosure notifies the user through a screen display on a terminal outside the vehicle that the remote operation service cannot be used due to the high power consumption of the vehicle.

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Implementation

[0015] structure

[0016] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall structure of a vehicle control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The vehicle control system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle 110 , a terminal 120 , and a center 130 .

[0017] vehicle

[0018] The vehicle 110 is a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), or the like that is equipped with a battery 112 that supplies electric power to one or more devices (on-vehicle devices) mounted on the vehicle 110 .

[0019] The vehicle 110 has a function for realizing a “remote operation service” that enables remote operation of a specific in-vehicle device in the vehicle 110 from a terminal 120 outside the vehicle.

[0020] In addition, the vehicle 110 is provided with a service control unit 111, which can control the execution (permission) / stop (prohibition) state of the remote operation service based on the power generation status of the vehicle 110 and the power consumption of the battery 112. In addition, the vehicle 110 is connected to the center 130 so as to be communicable, and performs transmission and reception of information, notifications, and requests with the center 130. In addition, the vehicle 110 can notify the center 130 of the execution (permission) / stop (prohibition) state of the remote operation service controlled by the service control unit 111. In particular, when the remote operation service is stopped due to the high power consumption of the battery 112 when power generation cannot be performed, the vehicle 110 can notify the center 130 of, for example, a signal indicating excessive power consumption, a signal indicating an increased risk of battery exhaustion, and the like.

[0021] terminal

[0022] The terminal 120 is an information terminal device such as a smartphone or a personal computer, which is possessed by a user or a manager of the vehicle 110 and has a display screen 122 .

[0023] The terminal 120 has a function for realizing a remote operation service in cooperation with the vehicle 110 .

[0024] The terminal 120 is connected to the center 130 so as to be communicable, and performs transmission and reception of information, notifications, requests, etc. with the center 130. The terminal 120 can receive a notification from the center 130 that the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 has been stopped (prohibited). In addition, the terminal 120 can send a request (such as a request for vehicle synchronization) required to execute the remote operation service to the center 130.

[0025] In addition, the terminal 120 includes a display control unit 121, which can control the display of contents related to the remote operation service on the display screen 122. When a UI fade request described later is received from the center 130, the user interface (UI) of the remote operation service can be faded and displayed on the display screen 122, and the high power consumption of the vehicle 110 can be displayed on the display screen 122. At this time, when the faded UI on the display screen 122 is touched, "unable to use due to excessive power consumption" or the like can be displayed in the dialog box.

[0026] Typically, the terminal 120 is associated with the vehicle 110 by being registered and managed in the vehicle 110 and the center 130 .

[0027] center

[0028] The center 130 is, for example, a so-called data center that collects and manages various data and information related to the plurality of vehicles 110 .

[0029] The center 130 is connected to the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120 so as to be communicable, and performs the sending, receiving, and relaying of information, notifications, and requests. When receiving a notification conveying that the remote operation service has been stopped from the vehicle 110 (for example, a signal of excessive power consumption), the center 130 can manage the information of the notification by turning on a predetermined "excessive power consumption" flag, etc. When the "excessive power consumption" flag is turned on, when a request for executing the remote operation service (vehicle synchronization request) is sent from the terminal 120, the center 130 can also send a request to the terminal 120 to display the stopped remote operation service on the display screen 122 in a display form different from other vehicle services that are not stopped (UI fading request).

[0030] The communication between the center 130 and the vehicle 110 and the communication between the center 130 and the terminal 120 are typically performed wirelessly via an external network.

[0031] control

[0032] Next, refer to Figure 2 , the operation of the vehicle control system 100 involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure is described. Figure 2 This is a flowchart for explaining the processing sequence of the terminal screen display control executed by the vehicle control system 100. For example, when the ignition switch of the vehicle 110 is turned on, the terminal screen display control is started. Figure 2 Terminal screen display control illustrated in .

[0033] S201

[0034] The service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 determines whether the amount of power consumed by the battery 112 when the vehicle 110 is in a state where it cannot generate power (when not generating power) exceeds a prescribed threshold value. This determination is made to prevent the battery 112 from being exhausted. Therefore, the prescribed threshold value is set based on the capacity of the battery 112, the specifications of the on-board equipment that consumes power, and the like. In addition, the state where the vehicle 110 cannot generate power is a state where the battery 112 is not charged, for example, a state where the generator cannot work, a state where the solar panel cannot generate power, and the like. In addition, whether the vehicle 110 can generate power and the amount of power consumed by the battery 112 can be determined based on the state of the vehicle 110 detected by various detection devices (sensors, etc.) possessed by the vehicle 110, the physical quantities of the battery 112 (voltage value, current value), and the like.

[0035] When the service control unit 111 determines that the amount of power consumed by the battery 112 when the vehicle 110 is in a state where power generation is impossible (non-power generation) exceeds a predetermined threshold value ( S201 , YES), the process proceeds to S202 .

[0036] On the other hand, when the service control unit 111 determines that the vehicle 110 is in a state where it is unable to generate electricity (when not generating electricity) and the power consumption of the battery 112 does not exceed a prescribed threshold value (S201, no), and the remote operation service has been stopped (prohibited), the stop (prohibition) may be released to execute (permit) the remote operation service.

[0037] S202

[0038] The service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 stops (prohibits) the remote operation service. As a result, it is impossible to instruct the remote operation from the terminal 120 to the vehicle 110. When the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 is stopped (prohibited) by the service control unit 111, the process proceeds to S203.

[0039] S203

[0040] The service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 notifies the center 130 that the remote operation service is stopped (prohibited). This notification is made via a communication unit (not shown). In addition, the notification of stopping (prohibiting) the remote operation service can be made to the terminal 120, or to the center 130 and the terminal 120. If the service control unit 111 notifies that the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 is stopped (prohibited), the process proceeds to S204.

[0041] S204

[0042] The display control unit 121 of the terminal 120 recognizes that the remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle 110. This recognition can be performed based on a notification regarding the stop of the remote operation service received from the center 130 via a communication unit (not shown). If the display control unit 121 recognizes that the remote operation service is stopped, the process proceeds to S205.

[0043] S205

[0044] The display control unit 121 of the terminal 120 displays the reason why the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 cannot be used on the display screen 122 based on the application related to the remote operation installed in the terminal 120. Figure 3 and Figure 4 An example of information displayed on the display screen 122 of the terminal 120 is shown in FIG.

[0045] exist Figure 3 In the example of FIG. 1 , the remote operation service operation UI screen indicates that the remote operation service cannot be used because the “vehicle consumes a lot of power”. In addition, the remote operation service operation UI screen indicates that the “vehicle consumes a lot of power” by showing a diagram of a low remaining battery capacity.

[0046] In addition, when the terminal 120 receives a UI fade request from the center 130, Figure 4 As shown, the unavailable remote operation service may be displayed on the display screen 122 in a faded display mode (by making the display density lighter) different from other available vehicle services.

[0047] When the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used is displayed on the display screen 122 by the display control unit 121 , the terminal screen display control ends.

[0048] In addition, when S205 is completed, the process may return to S201 and the terminal screen display control may be repeated.

[0049] Function and effect

[0050] As described above, according to the vehicle control system 100 involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the power consumption of the battery 112 exceeds the threshold value and the remote operation service is stopped when the vehicle 110 cannot generate power, the stop of the remote operation service is notified to the terminal 120. The terminal 120 that receives the notification displays the excessive power consumption of the vehicle 110 as the reason why the remote operation service is stopped on the display screen 122 as the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used.

[0051] This control allows the user who cannot use the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 to understand the reason through the display on the display screen 122 of the terminal 120 , thereby preventing the user from feeling inconvenience.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120 communicate information about stopping the remote operation service via the center 130. However, the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120 may directly communicate information about stopping the remote operation service without going through the center 130.

[0053] The vehicle control system of the present disclosure can be used for a vehicle having a function of providing a remote operation service for the vehicle using a terminal outside the vehicle, etc.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system that provides a remote operation service for remotely operating a device mounted on the vehicle using a terminal outside the vehicle, wherein: The vehicle includes a service control unit, which stops the remote operation service when the amount of power consumed by the vehicle-mounted battery exceeds a threshold value when power generation is impossible. The terminal includes a display control unit, and when the remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle, the display control unit displays a reason why the remote operation service cannot be used on a display screen.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein: The display control unit displays on the display screen that power consumption of the vehicle is high as a reason why the remote operation service cannot be used.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein: The display control unit displays on the display screen a schematic diagram showing that the power consumption of the vehicle is high.

4. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The display control unit displays the remote operation service on the display screen in a display format different from that of other vehicle services that are not stopped.

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