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

Abstract

A vehicle control unit (17) includes an information decision unit (51) and an information provision unit (53). The information decision unit (51) determines notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying various application information to an occupant based on vehicle-related situations that indicate at least one of the vehicle driving situation, the vehicle exterior situation, or the vehicle interior situation. The information provision unit (53) provides the notifiable information determined by the information decision unit (51) to the application. The application requests the vehicle control unit (17) to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit (53).

Description

Cross-reference to a related application

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-129307 filed on August 15, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a technology for notifying an occupant in a vehicle of information. State of the art

[0003] Conventionally, a technology for providing (i.e., notifying) various kinds of information to occupants of a vehicle (for example, an automobile) via terminal devices such as an in-vehicle display or an in-vehicle speaker is known (for example, see Patent Literature 1 below).

[0004] The technology described in Patent Literature 1 includes a vehicle communicating with a center device via a network and notifying the occupant of information provided to the vehicle from the center device via an in-vehicle terminal device. Literature from the state of the artPatent literature

[0005] Patent Literature 1: JP 2004-157881 A Summary of the invention

[0006] As a result of a detailed study by the inventor, the following difficulties were found in the conventional technology.

[0007] A vehicle may be in various stop states, such as waiting at a traffic light or parked. Depending on these situations, it may be possible to notify the occupants of various types of information, such as necessary safety information and promotional information.

[0008] For example, considering a case where advertisements are provided to the occupants with different times at which notification of information is provided to the occupants (for example, advertisement playback times), since the stop time of the vehicle varies depending on the vehicle state (for example, the stop state), there is a risk that the advertisement cannot be played in its entirety during the stop time.

[0009] For example, if the advertisement is playing while the vehicle is waiting at a red light, the advertisement may be cut off in the middle by playback when the light turns green and the vehicle enters driving mode. For example, a screen displaying an advertisement or the audio of the advertisement may be interrupted and switched to a screen or audio of route guidance required for driving.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is desirable to provide technology that can appropriately notify the vehicle occupant of information at an appropriate time.

[0011] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, in an information notification system (1), one or more applications are provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided from the vehicle to an occupant.

[0012] In this information notification system, the vehicle includes an information decision unit (51) and an information provision unit (53) as a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle.

[0013] The information decision unit is configured to determine communicable information indicating the conditions necessary to notify an occupant of application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, vehicle driving situation indicating the driving situation of the vehicle, vehicle exterior situation indicating the situation in the surroundings of the vehicle, and vehicle interior situation indicating the situation inside the vehicle.

[0014] The information providing unit is configured to provide the communicable information determined by the information decision unit to the application.

[0015] Furthermore, the application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the communicable information provided by the information providing unit.

[0016] According to this configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle occupant of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate time.

[0017] Specifically, in the present disclosure, the vehicle control unit provides the application with notifiable information (e.g., a notification possible time, a notification type, a notification mode, etc.) determined based on the vehicle driving situation, the vehicle exterior situation, and the vehicle interior situation. Therefore, the application can notify the occupant of the application information through the vehicle control unit based on the notifiable information.

[0018] In other words, in the present disclosure, the application notifies the occupant of the application information to the vehicle control unit based on the notifiable information. Therefore, the vehicle control unit can appropriately notify the occupant of the application information at an appropriate time (for example, with a notification method or content that makes it easy for the occupant to understand the notification content).

[0019] (2) According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle control unit (17) notifies an occupant of application information, which is information provided by a vehicle to the occupant based on a request from one or more applications provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud.

[0020] This vehicle control device includes an information decision unit (51), an information provision unit (53) and an occupant provision unit (57).

[0021] The information decision unit is configured to determine communicable information indicating the conditions necessary to notify an occupant of application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, vehicle driving situation indicating the driving situation of the vehicle, vehicle exterior situation indicating the situation around the vehicle, and vehicle interior situation indicating the situation inside the vehicle.

[0022] The information providing unit is configured to provide the communicable information determined by the information decision unit to the application.

[0023] The occupant provision unit is configured to instruct a notification device (11) to provide the application information to the occupant using the application information when the application requests that notification of the application information be provided to the occupant based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit.

[0024] According to this configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle occupant of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate time.

[0025] In other words, in the present disclosure, when an application requests to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit, the notification device is instructed to provide the application information to the occupant. Therefore, the vehicle control device can appropriately notify the occupant of the application information at an appropriate time (for example, with a notification method or content that makes it easy for the occupant to understand the notification content).

[0026] (3) According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a program is executed by an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided from the vehicle to an occupant.

[0027] This program determines notifiable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the vehicle driving situation indicating a driving situation of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior situation indicating a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or the vehicle interior situation indicating a situation inside the vehicle, provides the determined notifiable information to the application; and causes the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) controlling an operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

[0028] According to this configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle occupant of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate time.

[0029] (4) According to another aspect of the present disclosure, in an information notification method, one or more applications are provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided from the vehicle to an occupant.

[0030] This information notification method determines notifiable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the vehicle driving situation indicating a driving situation of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior situation indicating a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or the vehicle interior situation indicating a situation inside the vehicle, provides the determined notifiable information to the application; and causes the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) that controls an operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information.

[0031] According to this configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle occupant of information (ie, application information) at an appropriate time.

[0032] In addition, the numbers in parentheses in this column and in the claims indicate the conformity to the specific means described in the embodiment described later as one aspect and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of an information notification system according to a first embodiment. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of the configuration of an in-vehicle device and the like in the first embodiment. Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an electrical configuration of an in-vehicle device according to the first embodiment. Fig. 4 is a block diagram functionally showing a vehicle control unit, a vehicle application unit, and a server application unit in the first embodiment. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a control process of the information notification system according to the first embodiment. Description of embodiments

[0033] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 1. First embodiment

[0034] In the first embodiment, an information notification system applied to a vehicle (for example, an automobile) is described. 1-1. Overall configuration

[0035] As it is in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, in the first embodiment, an information notification system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 3 as a vehicle configuration and a server 5 as a cloud configuration. It should be noted that this information notification system 1 is an example of a mobility IoT system, where IoT is an abbreviation for the Internet of Things.

[0036] The in-vehicle device 3 includes a sensor unit 7, a communication unit 9, an actuator 11, and a vehicle control device 13, and the vehicle control device 13 is connected to the sensor unit 7, the communication unit 9, and the actuator 11.

[0037] Among these, the sensor unit 7 may include a device that detects the driving situations of a vehicle (ie, the subject vehicle), a device that detects the situations inside the vehicle (ie, the interior where the occupants sit), a device that detects the situations around the vehicle, and the like.

[0038] Examples of devices that detect the driving situations of a vehicle (i.e., the vehicle driving situation) include a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, a steering sensor that detects the steering angle, a gear position sensor that detects the gear status, a GPS device that detects the current position of the vehicle, and the like.

[0039] Devices for detecting the interior situation of a vehicle (ie the vehicle interior situation or vehicle interior situation) include a camera for recording the interior, a seat sensor for detecting the seating status of an occupant and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the vehicle.

[0040] Devices for detecting the situation around the vehicle (i.e., the situation outside the vehicle) include radar devices, lidar devices, sonar, cameras that capture images of the vehicle's surroundings, and the like. As described later, the situation around the vehicle can be detected based on information from an external device, such as the cloud.

[0041] The communication unit 9 is a communication device used to communicate with devices outside the vehicle (for example, the cloud server 5).

[0042] The actuator 11 is an actuator used to notify the occupant of information (for example, application information).

[0043] The vehicle control device 13 is a device that controls the operation of the vehicle and includes a vehicle application unit 15 and a vehicle control unit 17, as will be described later.

[0044] In contrast, the server 5 contains a server application unit 19, as will be described later. 1-2. Information notification system configurations

[0045] Next, each configuration of the information notification system 1 will be described in more detail. Vehicle configuration

[0046] As it is in Fig. 2, the vehicle control device 13 includes the vehicle application unit 15 that controls the operation of a vehicle application (hereinafter, vehicle app), which is application software (hereinafter, application) installed in the vehicle, and the vehicle control unit 17 that controls the operation of the vehicle.

[0047] The vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 may each be implemented using a known CPU and memory such as a ROM or a RAM. However, a case where the vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 are implemented using the same CPU and memory will be described here as an example.

[0048] As described above, the vehicle control device 13 is an electronic control unit (i.e., ECU) that includes a memory such as a CPU 13a, a ROM 13b, and a RAM 13c (see Fig. 3). ECU is an abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit. In other words, the vehicle control device 13 is a device equipped with a known microcomputer (not shown). The memory is not limited to a memory inside a microcomputer, but may be any of various storage devices outside a microcomputer (for example, a hard disk).

[0049] Various functions performed by the ECU are implemented by the CPU 13a executing programs stored in a non-volatile tangible storage medium. In this example, the memory corresponds to a non-volatile tangible storage medium for storing a program. Furthermore, by executing this program, a process corresponding to the program is executed.

[0050] In addition, the memory stores not only various programs (e.g., programs for controlling the operation of the vehicle and programs for implementing the applications described above), but also various data used in executing the various programs. For example, information such as warnings (i.e., alarm signals or alerts) and advertisements to be provided to the occupants, as described later, are stored.

[0051] The method for implementing the various functions of the ECU is not limited to software, and some or all of the elements may be implemented using one or more hardware parts. For example, in a case where the functions described above are implemented by an electronic circuit that is hardware, the electronic circuit may be implemented by a digital circuit containing a large number of logic circuits, an analog circuit, or a combination of these.

[0052] The vehicle control unit 17 described above functionally includes a driving situation recognition unit 21, a vehicle interior situation recognition unit 23, a vehicle exterior situation recognition unit 25, and a situation determination unit 27. These configurations and other functional configurations will be described later with reference to Fig. 4 described in detail.

[0053] As described above, the in-vehicle device 3 also includes various actuators serving as the actuator 11 for providing (i.e., notifying) various information (e.g., application information) to the occupant. Hereinafter, the actuator 11 is referred to as an actuator.

[0054] Examples of the actuator 11 include a display device 33 such as a display element, a navigation display, or a rear seat display, a speaker 35, a steering wheel 37 equipped with a vibration device (not shown), and the like. Each actuator 11 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 via an interface (i.e., I / F) 32. Overall hardware configuration of the in-vehicle device

[0055] An example of the overall hardware configuration of the in-vehicle device is described here. These configurations are well known and are briefly described below.

[0056] As it is in Fig. 3, the vehicle is equipped with the vehicle control device 13, another ECU 41, a plurality of ECUs 43, a plurality of ECUs 45, the communication unit 9 which is a vehicle external communication device, and an in-vehicle communication network 47.

[0057] The ECU 41 controls the multiple ECUs 43 to achieve coordinated control of the entire vehicle.

[0058] The ECU 41 is located for each domain or operating area divided by a function in the vehicle and primarily controls multiple ECUs 45 present within that domain. Each ECU 43 is connected to a subordinate ECU 45 via a lower-layer network located individually for each ECU 43. The ECU 43 functions to centrally manage an access privilege of the ECU 45 according to its control and to authenticate users. The domains or operating areas are, for example, a powertrain domain, a body domain, a chassis domain, and a cockpit domain.

[0059] The ECUs 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the powertrain domain include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls an internal combustion engine, an ECU 45 that controls a motor or electric motor, and an ECU 45 that controls the battery.

[0060] The ECUs 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the body domain include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls an air conditioner and an ECU 45 that controls a door.

[0061] The ECUs 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the chassis domain include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls braking and an ECU 45 that controls the steering wheel 37.

[0062] The ECUs 45 connected to the ECU 43 belonging to the cockpit domain include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls the display of the display device 33, such as display elements and various indicators, an ECU 45 that controls the operation of the speaker 35, and an ECU 45 that controls input devices operated by the vehicle occupant.

[0063] The communication unit 9 performs data communication with a communication device outside the vehicle (for example, a cloud server 5) via the wide area wireless communication network NW.

[0064] The in-vehicle communication network 47 includes CAN-FD and Ethernet (registered trademarks). CAN-FD is an abbreviation for CAN with flexible data rate. The CAN-FD connects the ECU 41 to each ECU 43 and the communication unit 9 via a bus. The Ethernet connects the ECU 41 individually to each of the ECUs 43 and the communication unit 9.

[0065] The ECU 41, like the vehicle control device 13, is an electronic control unit primarily including a microcomputer including a CPU 41a, a ROM 41b, a RAM 41c, and the like. The ECUs 43 and 45 have the same configuration.

[0066] The ECU 41 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 to perform data communication with the vehicle control device 13. That is, the vehicle control device 13 receives information from the ECU 43 and the ECU 45 via the ECU 41. In addition, the vehicle control device 13 sends requests related to vehicle control and the like to the ECU 41, and transmits the requests to the ECU 43 and the ECU 45 via the ECU 41. Server configuration

[0067] As it is in Fig. 2, the cloud server 5 includes the server application unit 19, which controls the operation of applications installed on the server 5 (hereinafter server applications).

[0068] Similarly to the vehicle application unit 15, the server application unit 19 may be implemented by a known CPU 19a, memories such as a ROM 19b and a RAM 19c, and the like.

[0069] If there are multiple vehicles, the server 5 configured as described above may additionally collect vehicle data sent via the communication unit 9 from each of the vehicle control devices 13 of each vehicle. Furthermore, the server 5 may store the collected data for each vehicle in a memory (not shown). Additionally, the server 5 may generate a digital twin based on the vehicle data stored in the memory. The digital twin is normalized index data. 1-3. Functional configuration of the information notification system

[0070] Next, functions and configurations of the information notification system 1 are described. Vehicle configuration

[0071] As it is in Fig. As can be seen in Figure 4, the vehicle control unit 17 functionally includes a first processing unit 50 and a second processing unit 60.

[0072] The first processing unit 50 is a processing unit that performs processing to provide communicable information to an application based on the vehicle driving situation and the situations inside and outside the vehicle.

[0073] The first processing unit 50 described above functionally includes the driving situation recognition unit 21, the vehicle interior situation recognition unit 23, the vehicle exterior situation recognition unit 25, and the situation determination unit 27. In addition, the situation determination unit 27 functionally includes an information decision unit 51 and an information provision unit 53.

[0074] On the other hand, the second processing unit 60 is a processing unit that performs processing when there is a request (ie, a notification request) from an application to notify an occupant of information (ie, application information, which is information provided by the application). The second processing unit 60 functionally includes an occupant provision determination unit 55 and an occupant provision unit 57.

[0075] A specific description is given below. Function of the first processing unit

[0076] The driving situation recognition unit 21 is configured to recognize the driving situation of the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the driving situation of the vehicle. Examples of the vehicle driving situations include stopping, driving, driving at a high speed equal to or higher than a predetermined value, driving at a low speed lower than a predetermined value, and the like. Examples of the state in which the vehicle is stopped include stopping due to traffic regulations, such as at a traffic light, a railroad crossing, an intersection, or a pedestrian crossing, and other times of stopping.

[0077] The vehicle interior situation detection unit 23 is configured to detect the situation inside the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the situation inside the vehicle (i.e., the vehicle interior situation). Examples of the vehicle interior situations include the number of occupants, the seating positions of the occupants, the use of the actuator 11 that provides information to the occupants, the temperature inside the vehicle, and the operating status of the air conditioner.

[0078] The vehicle external situation recognition unit 25 is configured to recognize the situation around the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the situation around the vehicle (i.e., the situation outside the vehicle) and information obtained from the cloud. Examples of situations around the vehicle (i.e., the subject vehicle) include the driving situations of other vehicles around the subject vehicle, the type of road (for example, whether it is an expressway or a general road), the situations of the road (for example, whether there is a traffic jam), the situations of roadside objects and other structures around the road (for example, the presence of traffic lights and various road signs), ambient weather situations, and ambient brightness.

[0079] The situation determination unit 27 determines the situation in which the vehicle is located based on 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 situations inside and outside the vehicle.

[0080] The situation determination unit 27 performs the following processes of the information decision unit 51 and the information provision unit 53 based on the situation in which the vehicle is located.

[0081] The information decision unit 51 is configured to determine communicable information indicating the conditions necessary to notify various application information such as safety information and infotainment information to occupants based on vehicle-related situations indicating at least one of the vehicle driving situation, the vehicle exterior situation, or the vehicle interior situation.

[0082] The notifiable information (ie, information provided by the vehicle control unit 17 to the application) indicating the conditions necessary to notify the occupant of the application information is information that serves as a basis for the application to determine whether to notify the occupant of the application information and how to provide the application information.

[0083] The communicable information may, for example, include at least one of the parameters, communicable time, notification type, or notification mode, according to a situation.

[0084] The notifiable time is the time during which the notification of the application information can be provided to the occupant. In other words, this is the time during which the actuator 11 can be driven or controlled to notify the occupant of the application information, in other words, the idle time during which the actuator 11 is not driven, or the idle time during which there are no plans to drive the actuator 11. The time can be, for example, a time from a certain time to a certain time.

[0085] The communicable time can be determined from the current usage state of the actuator 11 and the plan for using the actuator 11.

[0086] The notification type is the type of device (i.e., the actuator 11) that notifies the occupant of the application information. In other words, the notification type is the notification method (i.e., the notification means). Examples of notification means include visual devices such as a display element, a head-up display, and a center display; audio devices such as a speaker; and tactile devices such as a steering wheel.

[0087] The situation-based notification mode is information indicating a desirable state for notifying the occupant depending on the situation. Examples of the situation-based notification mode include, for example, when an occupant (e.g., the driver) is busy driving the vehicle (i.e., is in the busy state), information indicating that the occupant is busy, and information indicating a state appropriate for the busy state (e.g., notification of only application information for a short period of time).

[0088] In addition, examples of notification modes according to the situation include modes corresponding to at least one of the following situations: the driving situations of the vehicle, the situations inside the vehicle (for example, the situations of the occupants), and the situations around the vehicle (i.e., the outside), as described later.

[0089] For example, if the vehicle control unit 17 provides information to an application indicating that the application is busy (i.e., a notification mode appropriate for the situation), the application may provide the vehicle control unit 17 (and therefore the occupants) with application information (e.g., only application information for a short period of time) corresponding to the busy state (i.e., in an information provision state appropriate for the busy state).

[0090] For example, in the busy state, it is considered that a compact notification of the contents of the application information (for example, a notification of only part of the information) is provided or a notification of application information that is less urgent (ie, less important) is not provided.

[0091] Therefore, when the vehicle control unit 17 provides the notification mode suitable for the situation for an application, the application can notify the vehicle control unit 17 of application information in an appropriate state (e.g., an appropriate method or appropriate content) depending on the notification mode. Alternatively, it is possible to prohibit notification of the application information or wait until a situation suitable for the notification mode occurs before notifying the application information.

[0092] The information providing unit 53 is configured to provide the communicable information determined by the information decision unit 51 to the server 5 or an application installed in the vehicle (ie, a server application or vehicle application), for example, periodically. Function of the second processing unit

[0093] The occupant provision determination unit 55 is configured to determine whether it is actually possible to notify (i.e., provide) the application information at that time when there is a request (i.e., a notification request) from an application to notify the occupant of the application information. In other words, the occupant provision determination unit 55 can confirm whether there is actually time to provide the application information to the occupant at that time, and whether the actuator 11 can be driven to provide the application information to the occupant.

[0094] In addition, the occupant provision determination unit 55 is configured to receive information indicating the recognition result of the driving situation by the driving situation recognition unit 21, the recognition result of the vehicle interior situation (e.g., the situation of the occupants) by the vehicle interior situation recognition unit 23, and the recognition result of the vehicle exterior situation by the vehicle exterior situation recognition unit 25. Accordingly, for example, when a notification request is received, the occupant provision determination unit 55 can adjust the state of the content of the provided application information (ie, the state of the notification) in accordance with each of the above-described recognition results and provide it to the occupant.

[0095] Additionally, it may also be determined whether it is appropriate or possible to provide notification of the application information at this time. For example, in a case where a warning or other notification regarding driving safety is currently being provided, if there is a requirement for notification of the advertisement, it may be determined that notification of the advertisement is not appropriate at this time.

[0096] In addition, the occupant provisioning determination unit 55 has an adjustment function (ie, an arbitration function) to determine which application should be given priority for execution when notification requests are received from multiple applications.

[0097] The occupant provision unit 57 is configured to drive the actuator 11 to provide the application information provided by the application to the occupant.

[0098] Here, the application information provided by the application is transmitted based on, for example, a vehicle-related situation and the notifiable information. For example, when the vehicle is parked for a long period of time and there is sufficient time for application information notification (for example, when the vehicle is idle), application information notification such as an advertisement can be performed for a prescribed sufficient period of time. On the other hand, for example, when driving on the expressway at night and there is not enough time for application information notification (for example, when one is busy), the content of the application information can be compactly set and application information notification can be performed. Function of the vehicle application unit

[0099] In addition to the vehicle control unit 17 described above, the vehicle application unit 15, which is a component for the vehicle, functionally includes an information request determination unit 61 and an information request unit 63.

[0100] The information request determination unit 61 is configured to determine, when the notifiable information is provided from the information providing unit 53 to the vehicle application unit 15, whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information.

[0101] For example, when notification of specific application information is performed by the in-vehicle application, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether there is time to provide the application information and whether the actuator 11 that provides the application information can be driven based on information such as the available notification time and the notification type. Then, based on the result of the determination, it is determined whether to make the notification request.

[0102] For example, if there is time to provide the application information and the actuator 11 is operational, the notification request is made, if not, the notification request is not made.

[0103] The information requesting unit 63 is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupant of the application information provided by the vehicle application based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit 53.

[0104] In other words, when it is determined that it is appropriate (e.g., possible) to provide the notification request based on the result of the determination by the information request determining unit 61, the information requesting unit 63 may provide the notification request to the vehicle control unit 17. Server configuration

[0105] In contrast, the server application unit 19 on the server 5 functionally includes an information request determination unit 65 and an information request unit 67, similar to the vehicle application unit 15.

[0106] Similarly to the information request determination unit 61 of the vehicle application unit 15, the information request determination unit 65 is configured to determine, when the notifiable information is provided from the information providing unit 53 to the server 5, whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information.

[0107] Similarly to the information request unit 63 of the vehicle application unit 15, the information request unit 67 is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupant of the application information provided by the application of the server 5 based on the communicable information provided by the information providing unit 53. 1-4. Control process

[0108] Next, a control process executed by the information notification system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 5 described.

[0109] The control processing executed by the information notification system 1 includes a control process executed by the server and a control process executed by the vehicle.

[0110] For example, the following process is executed when the vehicle's ignition switch is turned on.

[0111] First, in step (hereinafter S) 100 of the flowchart in Fig. 5, the vehicle control unit 17 of the vehicle control device 13 detects the vehicle driving situation, the vehicle interior situation, and the vehicle exterior situation using data from the driving situation detection unit 21, the vehicle interior situation detection unit 23, and the vehicle exterior situation detection unit 25. Then, based on the detected situation, the notification mode (i.e., the mode of notification) is determined according to the notifiable time, the notification type, and the situation as the notifiable information. At least one of the notifiable time, the notification type, and the notification mode can be determined.

[0112] In the next step S110, the notifiable time, notification type, and notification mode are transmitted to the application (ie, the server application or the vehicle application). That is, the notifiable time, notification type, and notification mode are transmitted to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0113] In addition, each application may use the information acquired by each recognition unit 21, 23, 25, so that information corresponding to each situation acquired by each recognition unit 21, 23, 25 (for example, information about the vehicle speed and the like) is transmitted to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0114] The information according to each of the situations described above may be transmitted to the server application unit 19 or the vehicle application unit 15 at a time separate from the transmission of the notifiable time, notification type, and notification mode, for example, periodically.

[0115] In S120, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 (i.e., on the application side) receive the information transmitted from each of the detection units 21, 23, and 25. Also received are the notifiable time, notification type, and notification mode.

[0116] In the next step S130, the application determines whether it is possible to notify the occupant (e.g., the driver) of the application information based on the received notifiable time, the notification type, and the notification mode. For example, if the actuator 11 is driven to provide the notification of the application information, it is determined whether the situation is such that the actuator 11 can be driven (e.g., the actuator 11 is not being used to provide other information with a higher priority) and whether there is sufficient time to drive the actuator 11 to provide the notification of all the application information. If the determination here is affirmative, the process proceeds to S140, whereas if the determination here is negative, the process returns to S120.

[0117] For example, when the display device 33 displays information related to security, it may be determined that the display device 33 is in a situation where it cannot display an advertisement that has a lower priority than security (ie, it is in a situation where it cannot provide notification).

[0118] The application information whose notification is provided after determining that notification is possible is determined by the application based on the vehicle-related information or the notifiable information. That is, application information with content suitable for the current situation is determined by the application, so that when the notification of the application information is provided to the occupant later, the notification of the application information specified here will be provided.

[0119] In S140, the vehicle control unit 17 is requested to notify the occupant of application information, such as advertisements. When the notification is requested, the application information to be notified is also transmitted to the vehicle control unit 17.

[0120] For example, the application information for notification is set (ie, prepared) in advance by an application, but the content of the application information that is the notification target for the inmate may be changed depending on, for example, the notification mode. For example, when the inmate is busy, the content of the application information that is the notification target may be changed so that the application information is compacted and only the essential parts of the application information are provided.

[0121] In S150, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether there has been a request from the server application unit 19 or the vehicle application unit 15 to notify the occupant of application information, such as advertisements. If the determination here is affirmative, the process proceeds to S160, whereas if the determination here is negative, the process returns to S100.

[0122] In S160, the vehicle control unit 17, similar to S140, again determines whether it is possible to notify the occupant of the application information. That is, here, considering the actual current situation (e.g., vehicle speed, etc.), it is determined whether to provide the notification again. That is, the final determination is made as to whether to provide the notification of the application information. If the determination here is affirmative, the process proceeds to S170, whereas if the determination here is negative, the process returns to S100.

[0123] In S170, the vehicle control unit 17 executes a process for notifying the occupant of the application information. For example, the actuator 11 of the display device 33 or the like is driven to notify the occupant of application information such as advertisements. In other words, notification of the application information appropriate to the current situation is provided based on the vehicle-related information and the notifiable information.

[0124] In the next step S180, the vehicle control unit 17 transmits to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 a result that the application information notification has actually been provided to the occupant. If the negative determination is made in S160 and the application information has not been notified, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 may be notified of the result that the application information notification has not been provided.

[0125] In S190, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 receive from the vehicle control unit 17 the result that the application information has been notified to the occupant and temporarily terminate this process. 1-5. Effects

[0126] According to the present first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0127] (1a) In the first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 determines the notifiable information based on the vehicle driving situation, the vehicle exterior situation, and the vehicle interior situation obtained from each of the recognition units 21, 23, and 25. Further, the notifiable information is provided to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 (i.e., the applications 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 notify the vehicle control unit 17 of the information provided by the application (i.e., application information) for the occupant.

[0128] In this way, in this first embodiment, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 notify the occupant of the application information through the vehicle control unit 17 based on the notifiable information, so that the vehicle control unit 17 can appropriately notify the occupant of the application information at the appropriate time. In other words, for example, by using the actuator 11 that can be used for notification, it is possible to take sufficient time to notify the occupant of necessary application information.

[0129] (1b) In the first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 may set the notifiable information such as the notifiable time, the notification type, and the notification mode (ie, the mode of notification) according to the situation and provide the information to the application.

[0130] The notification mode according to the situation can be set in the application based on the vehicle-related situation and provided to the vehicle control unit 17. For example, when the occupant is busy, the notification mode can be set according to the busy state, such as making the application information compact.

[0131] (1c) In the first embodiment, the application may set application information that is the notification target for the occupant based on the vehicle-related situation and the notifiable information.

[0132] This makes it possible to provide the occupant with notification of appropriate application information at the appropriate time.

[0133] (1d) In the first embodiment, it is determined whether the application is in a state where it is possible to notify the occupant of application information through the application. Therefore, according to the determination result, if notification is possible, it is possible to appropriately provide the notification of application information.

[0134] Separately, the application may determine whether it is appropriate to notify the occupant about the application information. For example, if a notification about information necessary for safe driving is currently provided, it may determine that it is not appropriate to provide a notification about, for example, advertisements.

[0135] (1e) In the first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether it is possible to notify the occupant of application information. Therefore, according to the determination result, if the notification is possible, it is possible to appropriately provide the notification of application information.

[0136] Separately, the vehicle control unit 17 may determine whether it is appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information. For example, if a notification of information necessary for safe driving is currently provided, it may be determined that it is not appropriate to provide a notification of, for example, the advertisement. In addition, examples of appropriate conditions for notifying the application information to the occupant include a condition in which, when the occupant is notified of the application information, there is no disturbance to the current situation, a condition in which no adverse effects on the current situation occur, a condition in which at least no deterioration in the current situation progresses, and the like. The conditions are related to drivability (ie,a condition indicating ease of driving), the safety of the vehicle and its occupants, and the comfort of the occupants.

[0137] (1f) In the first embodiment, when the vehicle control unit 17 notifies the occupant of application information, the vehicle control unit 17 transmits the notification to the application. This allows the application to detect that the notification has been provided. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the process such as reissuing the notification request.

[0138] If notification of application information is not provided to the inmate, a provision indicating no notification can also be transmitted to the application. This allows the application to request the application again at a later time. 1-6. Correspondence relationship

[0139] Next, the relationship between the first embodiment and the present disclosure will be described.

[0140] The information notification system 1 corresponds to the information notification system, the vehicle control unit 17 corresponds to the vehicle control unit, the information decision unit 51 corresponds to the information decision unit, and the information provision unit 53 corresponds to the information provision unit. 2. Second embodiment

[0141] A basic configuration of a second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, and therefore, a difference from the first embodiment will be primarily described below. Note that the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment denote the same configuration and refer to the previous descriptions.

[0142] In the second embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 executes various adjustment processes. Embodiment 2a

[0143] In this Embodiment 2a, when notification requests are made from multiple applications each requesting to notify the occupant of application information, the vehicle control unit 17 sets which application information is to be notified to the occupant. For example, settings are made for the notification target of the application information and the non-notification target of the application information.

[0144] For example, in a case where a vehicle is running in bad weather and there is a limitation on the time during which notification of application information is possible, when notification of both application information related to weather and application information related to advertisements has been provided, the application information related to weather is selected and the notification is provided. Embodiment 2b

[0145] In this embodiment 2b, when notification requests are made from multiple applications each requesting to notify the occupant of application information, the vehicle control unit 17 sets the notification order of each application information to the occupant.

[0146] For example, if a notification request is made for application information related to security and application information related to general advertising, it is assumed that the application information related to security has a higher priority, so the notification of the application information with the highest priority is provided to the inmates in that order. This makes it possible to promptly notify the inmate of application information that is extremely important or urgently needed by the inmate. Embodiment 2c

[0147] In this embodiment 2c, when an application makes the notification request to notify the occupant of application information, the second processing unit 60 of the vehicle control unit 17 sets the state when the occupant is notified of the application information to match the actual vehicle-related situation (ie, the vehicle-related situation).

[0148] For example, when driving at high speed (i.e., when the driver is busy), the advertisement content can be set to be more compact so as not to cause excessive burden to the driver compared to when driving at low speed, or the notification content displayed and provided via audio can be set to content provided only via audio. This makes it possible to appropriately notify the occupant of application information depending on the actual situation.

[0149] It should be noted that setting the state when the occupant is notified includes not notifying the occupant (the same applies below). 3. Third embodiment

[0150] A basic configuration of a third embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, and therefore, a difference from the first embodiment will be primarily described below. Note that the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment denote the same configuration and refer to the previous descriptions.

[0151] The third embodiment provides various examples of cases where the notification of application information is provided to the occupant. Example 3a

[0152] In this embodiment 3a, at least one of the contents, notification methods, and notification contents when the occupant is notified of the application information is changed depending on the driving situation of the vehicle.

[0153] The process flow in this embodiment 3a is briefly described below.

[0154] For example, when the driving situation recognition unit 21 recognizes the driving situation of the vehicle, information about the driving situation and information about the notification mode according to the situation (for example, information about which notification type is possible) are transmitted in advance to an application (ie, the vehicle application unit 15 and the server application unit 19).

[0155] Based on the information transmitted from the driving information recognition unit 21, the application determines according to which condition (i.e., the notification method and the notification content) it is appropriate to transmit the application information to the vehicle control unit 17. For example, when notifying the occupant of the application information, at least one of the contents, notification method, and notification content is changed depending on the driving situation of the vehicle. Then, the notification request is made to the vehicle control unit 17 at an appropriate timing (i.e., a timing at which notification to the occupant is possible), and the application information changed as described above is also transmitted to the vehicle control unit 17.

[0156] Then, upon receiving the notification request, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether it is appropriate to actually provide the application information to the occupant and, if appropriate, provides the application information to the occupant.

[0157] In Examples 3b and 3c described later, the types of situations are different from those in Example 3a, but the processing flows are similar, so the description of the processing flows in Embodiments 3b and 3c is omitted.

[0158] Examples of changes to the notification method include changing the type of actuator 11 used or the number of actuators 11 (for example, two types: the display device 33 and the speaker 35, or three types: the display device 33, the speaker 35, and the steering wheel 37). For example, in the case of application information with a high notification priority (i.e., urgency), the actuator 11 (for example, the speaker 35) that is easy for the occupant to recognize or check without visual inspection may be used, or a large number of actuators 11 may be used. Note that changing the notification method also includes changing it so that no notification is given (the same applies below).

[0159] The vehicle driving situation may include at least one of the parameters or situations, vehicle driving speed, vehicle stopping situation or vehicle traffic jam situation.

[0160] The vehicle traveling speed may be a high speed equal to or higher than a predetermined value, or a constant speed lower than a predetermined value. The stopping situation of a vehicle indicates the situations according to which the vehicle is stopped, and examples of this stopping situation include a temporary stop status due to restrictions such as traffic lights or intersections, and a stop situation not due to such restrictions. The traffic congestion situation of a vehicle indicates the traffic congestion situation in the surroundings of the vehicle (for example, the subject vehicle), and this traffic congestion situation may include, for example, the traffic congestion situation on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, which is obtained from the cloud or the like.

[0161] A detailed example is described below.

[0162] (1) The notification method and notification content may be changed depending on the driving speed. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the vehicle speed is high or low. For example, in a case of high-speed driving, it is considered that the occupant is in the occupation state that requires attention to driving, so notification of application information may be suspended. The notification method refers to a method for providing notification of application information, and the notification content refers to the content of the application information that is the notification target (the same applies below).

[0163] (2) The notification method and notification content can be changed depending on the stopping scene (i.e., the type of vehicle stop). For example, the notification method can be changed depending on whether the vehicle is stopped while waiting for a traffic light or is otherwise parked or stopped (i.e., voluntarily parked or stopped, which is not subject to regulations). For example, when waiting at a traffic light, a notification of application information can be stopped.

[0164] (3) The notification method and notification content can be changed depending on the traffic congestion situation. For example, the notification method can be changed depending on whether the vehicle is in a traffic jam or traveling at a constant speed. For example, application information notification can be paused during a traffic congestion. Example 3b

[0165] In this Embodiment 3b, at least one of the contents, notification method, and notification content when notifying the occupant of the information is changed depending on the situation outside the vehicle. The notification method and notification content are the same as those in Embodiment 3a described above.

[0166] The vehicle external situation can be assumed to be at least one of the situations, weather situation in the surroundings of the vehicle or situation of the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0167] The weather situations include rain, cloudy and dark weather, and sunny weather. The situations of the road on which the vehicle is traveling include the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling (for example, expressway or general road), the number of lanes, whether travel is restricted due to road construction, the degree of road congestion, such as the number of other vehicles around the vehicle in question and the distance between the other vehicles, and the like. The road situations indicate the type of road, the road situation, the situation of objects on the road, and may include the traffic congestion situation of the road.

[0168] A detailed example is described below.

[0169] (1) The notification method and notification content can be changed depending on the weather. For example, the notification method can be changed depending on whether the weather is bad, such as rain or snow, or good, such as sunny or cloudy, compared to the bad weather. For example, when the weather is bad, it is considered that the occupant is in a state of activity that requires attention during driving, so notification of application information can be paused.

[0170] (2) The notification method and notification contents may be changed depending on the situation of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the road is an expressway or an ordinary road. For example, in the case of an expressway, it is deemed that the occupant is busy, so notification of application information may be paused. In addition, the notification method for general roads may be changed depending on whether the road is an ordinary city road or a narrow road that is narrower than an city road. For example, in the case of a narrow road, it is deemed that the occupant is busy, so notification of application information may be paused. Example 3c

[0171] In this Embodiment 3c, at least one of the contents, notification method, and notification content when notifying the occupant of the information is changed depending on the vehicle interior situation. The notification method and notification content are the same as those in Embodiment 3a described above.

[0172] The vehicle interior situation can be at least one of the occupant parameters, role of the occupant, state of motion of the occupant, characteristics of the occupant or the travel time of the occupant.

[0173] The occupant role denotes a functional distinction between the occupants and examples of the occupant role include whether the occupant is a driver or another occupant.

[0174] Examples of an occupant's motion state include the occupant's position within a bus or within an e-Palette with automated driving and changes therein (e.g., the position before movement and the position after movement). The occupant's position can be determined, for example, by known image recognition using camera images or using position information from a mobile device such as a smartphone.

[0175] Occupant characteristics indicate the characteristics of the occupant themselves (e.g., external characteristics and psychological characteristics), and examples of occupant characteristics include whether the occupant is an adult or a child. Furthermore, the occupant's hobbies, thoughts, physical situations, and the like can be understood as occupant characteristics. In addition, the occupant's characteristics can be set and stored in advance on the vehicle side or on the cloud side. It is also possible to obtain the information from a portable terminal worn by the occupant.

[0176] The occupant's travel time can be the time elapsed since the occupant entered the vehicle. For example, the driver's travel time can be used. For example, this can be determined by known image recognition using camera images.

[0177] A detailed example is described below.

[0178] (1) The notification method and notification content may be changed depending on the role of the occupant. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the occupant is the driver, the occupant is a passenger in the front passenger seat, or another occupant. For example, if the occupant is the driver, the occupant is considered to be busy, so, for example, notification of advertisements may be paused and advertisements may be communicated to persons other than the driver.

[0179] Furthermore, the notification procedure may be modified depending on whether the occupant is, for example, the bus driver or a bus passenger (i.e., a passenger). For example, if the occupant is a bus driver, the occupant is considered busy, so notification of advertisements may be paused and notification of advertisements may be provided to the occupant other than the driver.

[0180] Additionally, if, for example, the vehicle is an e-Palette with automated driving, the notification procedure can be modified depending on whether the person is a route guide or a passenger. For example, if the passenger is a route guide, the crew member is considered busy, so notification of advertisements can be paused, and advertisements can be delivered to those other than the route guide.

[0181] (2) The notification method and notification content can be changed depending on the occupant's movement state (e.g., the occupant's position). For example, when the occupant moves to another location within the vehicle, such as the e-Palette, the actuator 11 at the moved location can be used to notify the application information.

[0182] (3) The notification method and content can be changed depending on the characteristics of the inmate. For example, the notification method and content can be changed depending on whether the inmate is an adult or a child, or depending on the inmate's hobbies, thoughts, physical situations, and the like. For example, if the inmate is an adult, advertisements suitable for adults can be displayed, whereas if the inmate is a child, advertisements suitable for children can be displayed. Furthermore, even if the inmate is changed, application information corresponding to the inmate's characteristics can be provided.

[0183] (4) The notification method and notification content can be changed depending on the occupant's travel time. For example, if the occupant is on board for a long time, there is a possibility that they may become tired or bored. Therefore, when the content is important from a safety perspective, it is possible to notify the application information by increasing the intensity of the notification (for example, by making the displayed light brighter or the sound louder) compared to when the travel time is short. 4. Other embodiments

[0184] While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment and may be modified variously.

[0185] (4a) The application may be placed (i.e. installed) in at least one of the units, server and vehicle, and the number of installed applications may be one or more.

[0186] (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 automated driving. In the case of automated driving, for example, they can be applied to levels 2 to 5 according to the US SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards.

[0187] (4c) 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 configuring a processor and a memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program.

[0188] Alternatively, the information notification system, the vehicle control device, and the information notification method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by the dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0189] Alternatively, the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described in the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to perform one or more functions, and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0190] The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable, non-transitory, tangible storage medium as instructions to be executed by a computer. The technology for implementing the functions of the respective units included in the information notification system, the vehicle control device, and the information notification method does not necessarily require software, and all of the functions may be implemented using one or more pieces of hardware.

[0191] (4d) In addition to the above-described information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method, the present disclosure can also be implemented in various forms such as a system, device, and method having as components the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method, a program for causing a computer that implements the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method to function, a non-volatile tangible storage medium such as a semiconductor memory on which this program is stored, and a processing method for the information notification system and the vehicle control device.

[0192] (4e) In the above embodiment, a plurality of functions of one element may be implemented by a plurality of elements, or a function of one element may be implemented by a plurality of elements. Furthermore, a plurality of functions of a plurality of elements may be implemented by a single element, or a function implemented by a plurality of elements may be implemented by a single element. Part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted as appropriate. At least part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced by the configuration of another embodiment.

[0193] Technical idea disclosed in the present description First feature

[0194] In an information notification system (1), one or more applications are provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided by the vehicle to an occupant.The vehicle includes, as a vehicle control unit (17) configured to control an operation of the vehicle, an information decision unit (51) configured to determine notifiable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, vehicle driving situation indicating a driving situation of the vehicle, vehicle exterior situation indicating a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or vehicle interior situation indicating a situation inside the vehicle; and an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information decision unit to the application.The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the communicable information provided by the information providing unit. Second feature

[0195] In the information notification system according to the first feature, the vehicle control unit is configured to set at least one of the following parameters, notifiable time, notification type, or notification mode, as the notifiable information according to a situation and provide the at least one parameter to the application. Third feature

[0196] In the information notification system according to the first feature or the second feature, the vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether notification of the application information from the application to the occupant is possible or appropriate when the application requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information after the information providing unit provides the notifiable information to the application. Fourth feature

[0197] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to third features, the vehicle control unit is configured to set a state in which the notification of the application information is provided to the occupant in response to a request, depending on the vehicle-related situation. Fifth characteristic

[0198] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to fourth features, the application is configured to set a notification mode according to the situation based on the vehicle-related situation and provide the notification mode to the vehicle control unit. Sixth characteristic

[0199] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to fifth features, at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the driving situation of the vehicle. Seventh characteristic

[0200] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to sixth features, the driving situation of the vehicle is at least one of the driving speed of the vehicle, the stopping situation of the vehicle, and the traffic congestion situation of the vehicle. Eighth characteristic

[0201] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to seventh features, at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the external situation of the vehicle. Ninth characteristic

[0202] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to eighth features, the vehicle external situation is at least one of the weather situation around the vehicle or the situation of a road on which the vehicle is traveling. Tenth characteristic

[0203] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to ninth features, at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the vehicle interior situation. Eleventh characteristic

[0204] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to tenth features, the vehicle interior situation is at least one of the occupant parameters, role of the occupant, movement state of the occupant, characteristic of the occupant, or travel time of the occupant. Twelfth characteristic

[0205] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to eleventh features, in a case where the application includes a plurality of applications, when the plurality of applications provide a notification request for requesting the notification of each application information to the occupant, the vehicle control unit sets whether to provide the notification of at least one of the application information to the occupant or an order of notifying each application information to the occupant. Thirteenth characteristic

[0206] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to twelfth features, when the application provides a notification request for requesting notification of the application to the occupant, the vehicle control unit sets a condition for notifying the application information to the occupant to match the vehicle-related situation that is in an actual state. Fourteenth characteristic

[0207] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to thirteenth features, the application is configured to determine whether notification of the application information to the occupant is possible or appropriate, and when it is determined that notification is possible or appropriate, request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information. Fifteenth characteristic

[0208] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to fourteenth features, the vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether the notification of the application information to the occupant is possible or appropriate, and when it is determined that the notification is possible or appropriate, request the notification of the application information to the occupant. Sixteenth characteristic

[0209] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to fifteenth features, the application is configured to set the application information for notification to the occupant based on the vehicle-related situation and the notifiable information. Seventeenth characteristic

[0210] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to sixteenth features, the vehicle control unit is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Eighteenth characteristic

[0211] In the information notification system according to any one of the first to seventeenth features, when the vehicle control unit notifies or does not notify the occupant of the application information, the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit a notification result indicating the presence or absence of the notification to the application. Nineteenth characteristic

[0212] A vehicle control device (17) is used to notify an occupant of application information, which is information provided to the occupant by a vehicle based on a request from one or more applications provided in at least one of the vehicles or the cloud, and the vehicle control device includes: an information decision unit (51) configured to determine notifiable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the vehicle driving situation indicating a driving situation of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior situation indicating a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or the vehicle interior situation indicating a situation inside the vehicle;an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information decision unit to the application; and an occupant providing unit (57) configured to instruct a notification device (11) to provide the application information to the occupant when the application requests that notification of the application information be provided to the occupant based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit. Twentieth feature

[0213] A program is executed by an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of the vehicle or cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided by the vehicle to an occupant, and the program is executed to: determine communicable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, vehicle driving situation indicating a driving situation of the vehicle, vehicle exterior situation indicating a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or vehicle interior situation indicating a situation inside the vehicle;provide the determined communicable information to the application; and cause the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) controlling operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided communicable information. Twenty-first characteristic

[0214] In an information notification method, one or more applications are deployed in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided by the vehicle to an occupant, the method including: determining communicable information indicative of a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicative of at least one of the vehicle driving situation indicative of a driving situation of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior situation indicative of a situation in an environment of the vehicle, or the vehicle interior situation indicative of a situation inside the vehicle; providing the determined communicable information to the application;and causing the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) controlling operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided communicable information; QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 2022-129307

[0001] JP 2004-157881 A

[0005]

Claims

[1] Information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided by the vehicle to an occupant, wherein the vehicle as a vehicle control unit (17) configured to control an operation of the vehicle includes: an information decision unit (51) configured to determine communicable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, a vehicle driving situation that characterizes a driving situation of the vehicle, a vehicle external situation that characterizes a situation in the vehicle’s environment, or an interior vehicle situation that characterizes a situation inside the vehicle; and an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the communicable information determined by the information decision unit to the application, and the application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the communicable 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 the following parameters, notifiable time, notification type, or notification mode, as the notifiable information according to a situation and provide the at least one parameter to the application. [3] The information notification system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether notification of the application information from the application to the occupant is possible or appropriate when the application requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant 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 set a state in which the notification of the application information is provided to the occupant in response to a request depending on the vehicle-related situation. [5] The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the application is configured to set a notification mode according to the situation based on the vehicle-related situation and provide the notification mode to the vehicle control unit. [6] The information notification system according to claim 2 or claim 5, wherein at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the driving situation of the vehicle. [7] The information notification system according to claim 6, wherein the driving situation of the vehicle is at least one of the driving speed of the vehicle, the stopping situation of the vehicle, and the traffic jam situation of the vehicle. [8] The information notification system according to claim 2 or claim 5, wherein at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the external situation of the vehicle. [9] The information notification system according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle external situation is at least one of the weather situation around the vehicle or the situation of a road on which the vehicle is traveling. [10] The information notification system according to claim 2 or claim 5, wherein at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed at a time of notifying the occupant of the application information according to the vehicle interior situation. [11] The information notification system according to claim 10, wherein the vehicle interior situation is at least one of the occupant parameters, role of the occupant, movement state of the occupant, characteristic of the occupant, or travel time of the occupant. [12] Information notification system according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the application includes a plurality of applications, if the plurality of applications provides a notification request for requesting notification of each application information to the occupant, the vehicle control unit sets: whether notification of at least one of the application information is to be provided to the inmate, or a sequence of notification of each application information to the occupant. [13] The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein when the application provides a notification request for requesting notification of the application to the occupant, the vehicle control unit sets a condition for notifying the application information to the occupant to match the vehicle-related situation that is in an actual state. [14] The information notification system of claim 1, wherein the application is configured to to determine whether notification of the application information to the inmate is possible or appropriate, and if it is determined that notification is possible or appropriate, instruct the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information. [15] The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to to determine whether notification of the application information to the inmate is possible or appropriate, and if it is determined that notification is possible or appropriate, request notification of the application information to the inmate. [16] The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the application is configured to determine the application information for notification to the occupant based on the vehicle-related situation and the communicable information. [17] The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. [18] The information notification system according to claim 17, wherein when the vehicle control unit notifies or does not notify the occupant of the application information, the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit a notification result indicating the presence or absence of the notification to the application. [19] A vehicle control device (17) for notifying an occupant of application information, which is information provided by a vehicle to the occupant based on a request from one or more applications provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud, the vehicle control device comprising: an information decision unit (51) configured to determine communicable information indicating a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of the situations, a vehicle driving situation that characterizes a driving situation of the vehicle, a vehicle external situation that characterizes a situation in the vehicle’s environment, or an interior vehicle situation that characterises a situation inside the vehicle; an information providing unit (53) configured to provide the communicable information determined by the information decision unit to the application; and an occupant provision unit (57) configured to instruct a notification device (11) to provide the application information to the occupant when the application requests that a notification of the application information be provided to the occupant based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. [20] A program executed by an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided from the vehicle to the occupant, the program being executed to: determine communicable information that characterizes a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation that characterizes at least one of the situations, a vehicle driving situation that characterizes a driving situation of the vehicle, a vehicle external situation that characterizes a situation in the vehicle’s environment, or an interior vehicle situation that characterises a situation inside the vehicle; provide the specific shareable information to the application; and to cause the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) controlling operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided communicable information. [21] An information notification method in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of the units, vehicle or cloud, and a notification of application information, which is information provided by the one or more applications, is provided from the vehicle to an occupant, the method comprising: determining communicable information that characterizes a situation required to notify the occupant of the application information based on a vehicle-related situation that characterizes at least one of the situations, a vehicle driving situation that characterizes a driving situation of the vehicle, a vehicle external situation that characterizes a situation in the vehicle’s environment, or an interior vehicle situation that characterises a situation inside the vehicle; providing the specific communicable information to the application; and causing the application to request a vehicle control unit (17) controlling operation of the vehicle to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided communicable information.

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