Information processor, information processing method, programs and recording medium

Abstract

To provide an information processor, an information processing method, a program, and a recording medium that appropriately inform a driver that he / she should make an occupant get off a vehicle when he / she leaves the vehicle, according to a situation.SOLUTION: In a communication system, an in-vehicle device includes: an occupant determining unit for determining whether or not an occupant of a predetermined attribute other than a driver rides together on a vehicle; a parking start detection unit for detecting a start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquisition unit for acquiring situation information indicating an external situation around a location of the vehicle when the start of parking is detected; an external situation determination unit for determining whether or not an external situation meets predetermined conditions; and a notification control unit for notifying, via a speaker and a touch panel display, of the fact that the occupant of the predetermined attribute should get off the vehicle in response to detection of the start of parking of the vehicle when it is determined that the occupant of the predetermined attribute rides on the vehicle and that the external condition meets the predetermined conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and a recording medium that perform information processing for issuing a warning to the outside of a vehicle, for example. [Background technology]

[0002] When a driver leaves a parked vehicle, it may be better to have passengers other than the driver get out of the vehicle rather than leaving them in the vehicle. For example, if there is a child passenger on a hot summer day, leaving the child in the vehicle may cause health problems such as heat stroke. Therefore, a system has been proposed that detects the presence of a passenger in the vehicle and issues a warning when the driver leaves the vehicle (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-144613 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It goes without saying that children should not be left behind in a vehicle, and the warning system described above can prevent the so-called abandoned child from occurring when the driver forgets about the presence of passengers. However, if the driver has to prompt passengers to get out of the vehicle every time the driver leaves the vehicle, the effectiveness of the warning to the driver decreases.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device that can appropriately notify passengers that they should get off the vehicle when the driver leaves the vehicle, depending on the situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that it comprises an occupant determination unit that determines whether or not an occupant with a specified attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; a detection unit that detects the start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquisition unit that acquires situation information indicating the external situation around the position of the vehicle when the start of parking is detected; a situation determination unit that determines whether or not the external situation satisfies a specified condition; and a notification control unit that, when it is determined that an occupant with the specified attribute is present in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the specified condition, causes a notification unit to notify that the occupant with the specified attribute should disembark in response to the detection of the start of parking of the vehicle.

[0007] The invention described in claim 8 is an information processing method executed by an information processing device, comprising: an occupant determination step of determining whether or not an occupant with a specified attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; a detection step of detecting the start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquisition step of acquiring situation information indicating an external situation around the position of the vehicle when the start of parking is detected; a situation determination step of determining whether or not the external situation satisfies a specified condition; and an alarm control step of, when it is determined that an occupant with the specified attribute is present in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the specified condition, causing an alarm unit to notify that the occupant with the specified attribute should disembark in response to the detection of the start of parking of the vehicle.

[0008] The invention described in claim 9 is an information processing program executed by an information processing device having a computer, characterized in that the computer is caused to execute an occupant determination step of determining whether or not an occupant with a specified attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle, a detection step of detecting the start of parking of the vehicle, a situation information acquisition step of acquiring situation information indicating the external situation around the position of the vehicle when the start of parking is detected, a situation determination step of determining whether or not the external situation satisfies a specified condition, and an alarm control step of, when it is determined that an occupant with the specified attribute is present in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the specified condition, causing an alarm unit to notify that the occupant with the specified attribute should disembark in response to the detection of the start of parking of the vehicle.

[0009] The invention described in claim 10 is a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores an information processing program for causing an information processing device equipped with a computer to execute the following: an occupant determination step for determining whether or not an occupant with a specified attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; a detection step for detecting the start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquisition step for acquiring situation information indicating the external situation around the position of the vehicle when the start of parking is detected; a situation determination step for determining whether or not the external situation satisfies a specified condition; and an alarm control step for, when it is determined that an occupant with the specified attribute is present in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the specified condition, causing an alarm unit to notify that the occupant with the specified attribute should disembark in response to the detection of the start of parking of the vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a communication system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a front seat portion of a vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of weather information. [Figure 4B]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination table. [Figure 4C] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of weather information. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of a first process for disembarking notification executed by an in-vehicle device. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of a second process of disembarking notification executed by the in-vehicle device. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of a third process of disembarking notification executed by the in-vehicle device. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of a fourth process of disembarking notification executed by the in-vehicle device. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a server according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail. In the following description of each embodiment and in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate substantially the same or equivalent parts. EXAMPLES

[0012] Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100 is configured by connecting an in-vehicle device 10 mounted on a vehicle M as a moving body and a server 30 via a network NW.

[0013] 2 is a diagram showing a front seat portion of a vehicle M equipped with an in-vehicle device 10 according to the first embodiment. The in-vehicle device 10 is connected to an exterior camera 11, an interior camera 12, a GPS receiver 13, a microphone 14, a touch panel display 15, and a speaker 16, which are installed in the vehicle M, and includes a control unit that controls these. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 is disposed in the center of a dashboard DB in the front seat of the vehicle M.

[0014] The outside-vehicle photographing camera 11 is an imaging device that photographs the situation outside the vehicle M. The outside-vehicle photographing camera 11 may be composed of one camera or may be composed of multiple cameras. In this embodiment, the outside-vehicle photographing camera 11 is disposed on the dashboard DB.

[0015] The interior camera 12 is an imaging device that captures images of the interior of the vehicle M. In this embodiment, the interior camera 12 is provided on the upper end of the windshield FG or on the ceiling near the upper end.

[0016] In addition, the vehicle exterior shooting camera 11 and the vehicle interior shooting camera 12 may be configured as a multi-directional camera that can capture images of the outside of the vehicle M and images of the inside of the vehicle M with one camera.

[0017] The GPS receiver 13 is a receiver that receives signals (GPS signals) from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. In this embodiment, the GPS receiver 13 is disposed on the dashboard DB.

[0018] The microphone 14 is a voice input device that receives sounds inside the vehicle, such as voices emitted by the driver or passengers (hereinafter collectively referred to as passengers) of the vehicle M, and converts the received sounds into electrical signals. In this embodiment, the microphone 14 is disposed on the dashboard DB.

[0019] The touch panel display 15 is a display device that combines a display that displays a screen based on the control of the in-vehicle device 10 and a touch panel that accepts input operations from a passenger in the vehicle M. In this embodiment, the touch panel display 15 is disposed in the center of the dashboard DB.

[0020] On the touch panel display 15, for example, a navigation image in which the current position of the vehicle M and the planned travel route are superimposed on a map is displayed.

[0021] The speaker 16 is an audio output device that outputs audio based on an electrical signal transmitted from the outside. In this embodiment, the speaker 16 is provided on each of the two A-pillars AP.

[0022] The positions of the in-vehicle device 10, exterior camera 11, interior camera 12, GPS receiver 13, microphone 14, touch panel display 15 and speaker 16 in the front seat portion of the vehicle M described above are merely examples, and these may be arranged in other positions.

[0023] Next, the configurations of the in-vehicle device 10 and the server 30 that constitute the communication system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0024] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the in-vehicle device 10. The in-vehicle device 10 includes a storage unit 17, a communication unit 18, a sensor information acquisition unit 19, and a control unit 20.

[0025] The storage unit 17 is a storage device that stores and manages data necessary for processing by the control unit 20. The storage unit 17 is configured with storage devices such as a hard disk, a flash memory, an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The storage unit 17 stores various programs executed by the control unit 20, map data, etc.

[0026] The communication unit 18 is a communication device that transmits and receives data to and from external devices according to instructions from the control unit 20. The communication unit 18 includes, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to the network NW. In this embodiment, the communication unit 18 transmits and receives various information to and from the server 30. In this embodiment, the communication unit 18 transmits information on the current position of the vehicle M acquired by the GPS receiver 13 to the server 30. In addition, the communication unit 18 receives weather information, road information, and incident and accident occurrence information around the current position of the vehicle M transmitted from the server 30.

[0027] The sensor information acquisition unit 19 is connected to various sensors mounted on the vehicle M and acquires sensor information obtained by the sensors. For example, the sensor information acquisition unit 19 acquires, as sensor information, information obtained by a seating sensor that detects whether or not a passenger is seated in a passenger seat or the like.

[0028] The control unit 20 is a processing device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 20 includes, as functional blocks, a parking start detection unit 21, an occupant determination unit 22, a situation information acquisition unit 23, an outside situation determination unit 24, and a notification control unit 25. These functional blocks are formed by the control unit 20 reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 17, for example.

[0029] The parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking of the vehicle M by detecting the switch-off of the ignition key (ignition off).

[0030] The occupant determination unit 22 determines the presence or absence of passengers other than the driver and their attributes based on information from the seating sensor acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 19 and the in-vehicle video captured by the in-vehicle camera 12. For example, by analyzing the in-vehicle video using AI, it determines (estimates) whether the passengers are children (i.e., people under a certain age) or elderly people (i.e., people over a certain age).

[0031] The situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires, as situation information, information indicating a situation outside the vehicle M. In this embodiment, the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires the situation information by receiving information transmitted from the server 30 via the communication unit 18.

[0032] Specifically, the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires, as the situation information, "weather information" which is information on the weather conditions around the current position of the vehicle M. The acquired weather information includes information on the change in temperature within a predetermined period of time around the vehicle position, weather information such as sunny or rainy, humidity, wind strength, etc.

[0033] In addition, the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires, as the situation information, “road information” which is information about roads around the current position of the vehicle M. The acquired road information includes information about the type of road, such as a national highway, and statistical data on traffic volume.

[0034] In addition, the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires, as situation information, "incident and accident occurrence information" which is information on incidents and accidents that have occurred within a predetermined period of time in the vicinity of the current location of the vehicle M. The acquired incident and accident occurrence information includes information on the number of traffic accidents and the number of incidents of a specific type.

[0035] The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines, based on the situation information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23, whether or not the situation outside the vehicle M satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0036] Specifically, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not the weather conditions are such that the passengers will be adversely affected physically or psychologically, based on the weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23. For example, if the passengers are children, elderly people, sick people, etc. and have difficulty adjusting the temperature themselves, there is a risk that they will suffer physical damage if the temperature inside the vehicle rises to a predetermined temperature or higher. For this reason, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not the temperature and weather (i.e., the weather) are such that the temperature inside the vehicle will rise to a predetermined temperature or higher.

[0037] The temperature inside the vehicle is affected not only by the outside temperature but also by the weather conditions, such as sunny or cloudy. For example, even if the outside temperature is the same, when the weather is sunny and when it is cloudy, the temperature rises faster, resulting in a difference in the temperature inside the vehicle after, for example, several hours. Therefore, the outside condition determination unit 24 makes a determination based on a combination of the temperature prediction information and the weather prediction information included in the weather information.

[0038] 4A is a diagram showing weather information WD1 as an example of weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23. The weather information WD1 includes, for example, forecast information on the weather condition for up to three hours from the current time point and information on the expected maximum temperature as forecast information on temperature change.

[0039] The outside vehicle situation determination unit 24 refers to the weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23 and a determination table in which an acceptable temperature range is set for each type of weather condition, for example, to determine whether the temperature and weather conditions are such that the temperature inside the vehicle will rise to a predetermined temperature or higher.

[0040] 4B is a diagram showing an example of a judgment table TB including setting information of the allowable range of temperature for each weather type. The allowable range of temperature is set based on whether the outside temperature is such that the temperature inside the vehicle is dangerously high or low for living organisms. The allowable range of temperature may be changed depending on the season.

[0041] The outside-vehicle situation determination unit 24 refers to the determination table TB to acquire information on the weather condition and the predicted maximum temperature contained in the weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23, identifies the allowable temperature range set for the weather condition, and determines whether the temperature within a specified period of time obtained based on the weather information is within the allowable temperature range.

[0042] When the air temperature within a predetermined time period obtained based on the weather information exceeds the allowable air temperature range, the vehicle exterior condition determination unit 24 determines that the weather conditions are such that the interior temperature is expected to reach a temperature dangerous to a living organism, and that the conditions outside the vehicle M satisfy the predetermined conditions. On the other hand, when the air temperature within a predetermined time period obtained based on the weather information is within the allowable air temperature range, the vehicle exterior condition determination unit 24 determines that the weather conditions are such that the interior temperature is maintained at an appropriate temperature for a living organism, and that the conditions outside the vehicle M do not satisfy the predetermined conditions.

[0043] In addition, for example, if a passenger is a child, a woman, or a person with some kind of mental disability, and is left alone in the vehicle, there is a risk that the passenger will feel scared and suffer psychological damage if lightning or hail falls around the vehicle location. For this reason, the outside-vehicle situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not the weather conditions are such that a certain weather (sky condition) will occur based on the weather information.

[0044] In the judgment table TB shown in Fig. 4B, no allowable temperature range is set for thunder, hail, and rainstorm. When the weather condition obtained based on the weather information is any of thunder, hail, and rainstorm, the exterior condition judgment unit 24 judges that the condition outside the vehicle M satisfies the predetermined condition regardless of the temperature.

[0045] 4C is a diagram showing weather information WD2 as another example of weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23. In the weather information WD2, time is divided into 30-minute intervals, and forecast information on weather conditions and information on expected maximum temperatures are associated with each divided time.

[0046] The vehicle exterior condition determination unit 24 may determine whether or not the conditions outside the vehicle M satisfy a predetermined condition based on weather information WD2 as shown in Fig. 4C. For example, the vehicle exterior condition determination unit 24 may determine whether or not each of the temperatures every 30 minutes obtained based on the weather information WD2 is included in the acceptable temperature range for each weather condition in the determination table TB in Fig. 4B, and may determine whether or not the conditions outside the vehicle M satisfy the predetermined condition based on whether or not the length and proportion of the time during which it is determined that the temperature is included in the acceptable range satisfy a predetermined reference value.

[0047] Furthermore, if there is a road with heavy traffic volume near the vehicle position, passengers such as children may be in danger if they get out of the vehicle without permission. Therefore, based on the road information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23, the outside vehicle situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not there is a road of a predetermined type, such as a national highway, or a road whose traffic volume is statistically equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value near the current position of the vehicle M (for example, within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position).

[0048] Furthermore, when a certain type of incident or accident occurs frequently around the vehicle position, there is a risk of physical danger to passengers such as children, women, and the elderly. For this reason, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not the number of accidents that have occurred around the current position of the vehicle M (for example, within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position) within a predetermined period of time in the past is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, based on the incident / accident occurrence information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23. Furthermore, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines whether or not the number of incidents of a certain type that have occurred around the current position of the vehicle M within a predetermined period of time in the past is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, based on the incident / accident occurrence information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23.

[0049] When the occupant determination unit 22 determines that there is a passenger with a specified attribute (e.g., a child or an elderly person) and the exterior situation determination unit 24 determines that the situation outside the vehicle M satisfies any of the above-mentioned specified conditions, the notification control unit 25 promptly controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 when the parking start detection unit 21 detects that parking of the vehicle M has started, to notify the passenger that they should exit the vehicle.

[0050] 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 30. The control unit 31 is a processing device including a CPU and a RAM.

[0051] The communication unit 32 is a communication device that transmits and receives data to and from external devices in accordance with instructions from the control unit 31. The communication unit 32 includes, for example, a NIC for connecting to the network NW.

[0052] The storage unit 33 is a storage device that stores and manages data necessary for processing by the control unit 31. The storage unit 33 is configured with a storage device such as a hard disk, a flash memory, an SSD, etc. The storage unit 33 stores, for example, map information for identifying a target area of ​​weather information, road information, etc. based on the vehicle position information received by the server 30 from the in-vehicle device 10.

[0053] Next, a description will be given of the functional blocks of the control unit 31. Each functional block is formed, for example, by the control unit 31 reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 33.

[0054] The vehicle position acquisition unit 34 acquires information on the current position of the vehicle M received by the communication unit 32 from the in-vehicle device 10 as vehicle position information.

[0055] The weather information acquisition unit 35 acquires weather information indicating the weather conditions around the vehicle position based on information on the current position of the vehicle M (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle position) acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. For example, the weather information acquisition unit 35 accesses a weather forecast database (not shown) on the network via the communication unit 32, and acquires changes in the weather conditions around the vehicle position within a predetermined time from the current time as weather information. As described above, the weather information includes information on changes in temperature, weather information such as sunny or rainy, humidity, wind strength, etc.

[0056] The road information acquisition unit 36 ​​acquires information on the types of roads existing around the vehicle position and statistical traffic volume as road information. For example, the road information acquisition unit 36 ​​acquires the road information by accessing a road information database (not shown) on a network via the communication unit 32.

[0057] The incident / accident information acquisition unit 37 acquires information on incidents and accidents that have occurred around the vehicle position as incident / accident information. For example, the incident / accident information acquisition unit 37 accesses an accident information database or an incident information database on the network via the communication unit 32 to acquire incident / accident information for a predetermined period going back from the present time.

[0058] Next, an example of the operation of the in-vehicle device 10 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0059] First, a description will be given of the processing operation of a first disembarking notification process, which is one of the processes for disembarking notification based on weather information. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing routine REX1 of the first disembarking notification process.

[0060] The occupant determination unit 22 of the control unit 20 determines whether or not a person such as a child or an elderly person is in the vehicle other than the driver based on the information of the seating sensor acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 19 and the vehicle interior image captured by the vehicle interior image capturing camera 12 (STEP 101). If it is determined that a person such as a child or an elderly person is not in the vehicle (STEP 101: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX1 of the first disembarking notification processing.

[0061] On the other hand, if it is determined that a person such as a child or an elderly person is in the vehicle (STEP 101: YES), the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires weather information from the server 30 via the communication unit 18 (STEP 102).

[0062] The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 predicts a change in the vehicle interior temperature based on the weather conditions and air temperature, based on the weather information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23 (STEP 103).

[0063] The vehicle exterior condition determining unit 24 determines whether or not the air temperature and weather conditions are such that the temperature inside the vehicle is predicted to rise to a temperature equal to or higher than a reference value (STEP 104).

[0064] When it is determined that the temperature and weather conditions are not such that the temperature inside the vehicle is predicted to rise to a temperature equal to or higher than the reference value (STEP 104: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX1 of the first disembarking notification processing.

[0065] On the other hand, if it is determined that the temperature and weather conditions are such that the temperature inside the vehicle is predicted to rise to or above the reference value (STEP 104: YES), the parking start detection unit 21 determines whether or not parking of the vehicle M has been detected based on the state of the ignition key of the vehicle M (STEP 105).

[0066] If the parking start detection unit 21 has not detected the parking start (STEP 105: NO), the process returns to STEP 102, and the processes in STEP 102 to STEP 105 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

[0067] When the parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking (STEP 105: YES), the notification control unit 25 controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 to notify the passenger that they should get off the vehicle (STEP 106).

[0068] The above processing routine performs the first disembarking notification process, which is one of the disembarking notifications according to the weather conditions around the vehicle position. This makes it possible to prompt the driver to have the passenger disembark when there is a passenger with a certain attribute, such as a child or an elderly person, and the temperature inside the vehicle is predicted to rise (or fall) to a level that is harmful to the passenger's health.

[0069] Next, a processing operation of a second disembarking notification process, which is another type of disembarking notification process based on weather information, will be described below. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing routine REX2 of the second disembarking notification process.

[0070] The occupant determination unit 22 of the control unit 20 determines whether or not a person such as a child or a woman is riding with the driver based on the information of the seating sensor acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 19 and the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle image capturing camera 12 (STEP 201). If it is determined that a person such as a child or a woman is not riding with the driver (STEP 201: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX2 of the second disembarking notification processing.

[0071] On the other hand, if it is determined that a person such as a child or a woman is in the vehicle (STEP 201: YES), the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires weather information from the server 30 via the communication unit 18 (STEP 202).

[0072] The vehicle exterior condition determining unit 24 determines the weather around the vehicle position within a predetermined time period based on the weather information acquired by the condition information acquiring unit 23 (STEP 203).

[0073] The outside condition determining unit 24 determines whether the weather around the vehicle position satisfies a predetermined condition, specifically, whether lightning, a rainstorm, hail, or the like will occur around the vehicle position within a predetermined time (STEP 204).

[0074] When it is determined that lightning, hail, or the like will not occur (STEP 204: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX2 of the second disembarking notification processing.

[0075] On the other hand, if it is determined that lightning or hail will occur (STEP 204: YES), the parking start detection unit 21 determines whether or not parking start of the vehicle M has been detected based on the state of the ignition key of the vehicle M (STEP 205).

[0076] If the parking start detection unit 21 has not detected the parking start (STEP 205: NO), the process returns to STEP 202, and the processes in STEP 202 to STEP 205 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

[0077] When the parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking (STEP 205: YES), the notification control unit 25 controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 to notify the passenger that they should get off the vehicle (STEP 206).

[0078] The above processing routine performs the second disembarking notification process, which is one of the disembarking notifications according to the weather conditions around the vehicle position. This makes it possible to urge the driver to disembark with the passenger when there is a passenger with a certain attribute, such as a child or a woman, and the weather around the vehicle position is expected to be thunder, hail, or other weather that would make people feel scared even inside the vehicle.

[0079] Next, a processing operation of the third disembarking notification processing, which is processing of disembarking notification based on road information, will be described. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing routine REX3 of the second disembarking notification processing.

[0080] The occupant determination unit 22 of the control unit 20 determines whether or not a person with a predetermined attribute, such as a child, is riding with the driver based on the information of the seating sensor acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 19 and the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle image capturing camera 12 (STEP 301). If it is determined that a child or the like is not riding with the driver (STEP 301: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX3 of the third disembarking notification processing.

[0081] On the other hand, if it is determined that a child or the like is in the vehicle (STEP 301: YES), the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires road information from the server 30 via the communication unit 18 (STEP 302).

[0082] The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines the road situation (surrounding road types, statistical traffic volume, etc.) around the vehicle position based on the road information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23 (STEP 303).

[0083] The outside condition determination unit 24 determines whether the road conditions around the determined vehicle position satisfy predetermined conditions, specifically, whether there are roads expected to have high traffic volume, such as national highways, or other roads with statistically high traffic volume in the area around the vehicle position (STEP 304).

[0084] When it is determined that there is no road with heavy traffic volume around the vehicle position (STEP 304: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX3 of the second disembarking notification processing.

[0085] On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a road with heavy traffic around the vehicle position (STEP 304: YES), the parking start detection unit 21 determines whether or not parking start of the vehicle M has been detected based on the state of the ignition key of the vehicle M (STEP 305).

[0086] If the parking start detection unit 21 has not detected the parking start (STEP 305: NO), the process returns to STEP 302, and the processes in STEP 302 to STEP 305 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

[0087] When the parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking (STEP 305: YES), the notification control unit 25 controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 to notify the passenger that they should get off the vehicle (STEP 306).

[0088] The above processing routine performs the third disembarking notification process, which is a disembarking notification process according to the road conditions around the vehicle position. This makes it possible to urge the driver to take the child or other person with him or her when leaving the vehicle in order to prevent danger such as the child or other person left in the vehicle getting off the vehicle on their own and running out onto the road when a person with a certain attribute, such as a child, is in the vehicle and there is a road with heavy traffic around the vehicle position.

[0089] Next, a processing operation of a fourth alighting notification process, which is a process of alighting notification based on incident / accident information, will be described. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing routine REX4 of the fourth alighting notification process.

[0090] The occupant determination unit 22 of the control unit 20 determines whether or not a person with a predetermined attribute, such as a child, a woman, an elderly person, or the like, is riding with the driver based on the information of the seating sensor acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 19 and the in-vehicle image captured by the in-vehicle image capturing camera 12 (STEP 401). If it is determined that a person such as a child, a woman, an elderly person, or the like is not riding with the driver (STEP 401: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX4 of the fourth disembarking notification processing.

[0091] On the other hand, if it is determined that a person such as a child, a woman, or an elderly person is in the vehicle (STEP 401: YES), the situation information acquisition unit 23 acquires incident / accident occurrence information from the server 30 via the communication unit 18 (STEP 402).

[0092] The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 determines the occurrence status of incidents and accidents within a predetermined period of time in the vicinity of the vehicle position, based on the incident / accident occurrence information acquired by the situation information acquisition unit 23 (STEP 403).

[0093] The outside vehicle situation determination unit 24 determines whether the occurrence of incidents and accidents around the determined vehicle position satisfies predetermined conditions, specifically, whether a predetermined number or more of a specific type of incident or accident have occurred around the vehicle position within a predetermined period of time (STEP 404).

[0094] When it is determined that a specific type of incident and accident has occurred in the vicinity of the vehicle position in a predetermined number or more (STEP 404: NO), the control unit 20 ends the processing routine REX4 of the fourth disembarking notification processing.

[0095] On the other hand, if it is determined that a certain number or more of incidents and accidents of a specific type have occurred in the vicinity of the vehicle position (STEP 404: YES), the parking start detection unit 21 determines whether or not parking start of vehicle M has been detected based on the state of the ignition key of vehicle M (STEP 405).

[0096] If the parking start detection unit 21 has not detected the parking start (STEP 405: NO), the process returns to STEP 402, and the processes in STEP 402 to STEP 405 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

[0097] When the parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking (STEP 405: YES), the notification control unit 25 controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 to notify the passenger that they should get off the vehicle (STEP 406).

[0098] The above processing routine performs the fourth alighting notification process, which is a alighting notification process according to the occurrence of incidents and accidents around the vehicle position. This makes it possible to urge the driver to take the passenger with him / her when leaving the vehicle in order to prevent the passenger from being involved in an incident or accident in advance, in cases where a person with a specific attribute, such as a child, woman, or elderly person, is in the vehicle and a certain type of incident or accident occurs frequently around the vehicle position.

[0099] According to the in-vehicle device 10 of this embodiment, when the driver leaves the vehicle M in which a passenger with a specified attribute, such as a child, is riding, in cases where it is considered particularly necessary to have the passenger get off the vehicle in consideration of weather conditions, surrounding road conditions, the occurrence of incidents or accidents, etc., an alert is issued to encourage the passenger to get off the vehicle, making it possible to issue an alighting alert with a high warning effect according to the situation. EXAMPLES

[0100] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The communication system of the second embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the communication system 100 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, but differs from the first embodiment in that the processing of the disembarking notification is performed by a server device rather than an in-vehicle device.

[0101] 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle device 10A according to this embodiment. The in-vehicle device 10A includes a storage unit 17, a communication unit 18, a sensor information acquisition unit 19, and a control unit 20A.

[0102] The control unit 20A has a parking start detection unit 21, an occupant determination unit 22, and a notification control unit 25 as functional blocks.

[0103] The parking start detection unit 21 detects the start of parking of the vehicle M, similar to the embodiment 1. The occupant determination unit 22 determines the presence or absence of a passenger and their attributes, similar to the embodiment 1. The communication unit 18 transmits the detection result by the parking start detection unit 21 and the determination result by the occupant determination unit 22 to the server 30A.

[0104] The notification control unit 25 controls the speaker 16 and the touch panel display 15 in response to the control signal transmitted from the server 30A, and notifies the passenger that he or she should get off the vehicle.

[0105] 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 30A of this embodiment. The server 30A includes a control unit 31A, a communication unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

[0106] The control unit 31A has, as functional blocks, a vehicle position acquisition unit 34, a weather information acquisition unit 35, a road information acquisition unit 36, an incident / accident occurrence information acquisition unit 37, an occupant information acquisition unit 38, an outside vehicle situation determination unit 39, a parking start information acquisition unit 41, and an alarm control unit 42.

[0107] The occupant information acquisition unit 38 acquires the result of the occupant determination (that is, the determination result regarding the presence or absence of a passenger in the vehicle M and the attributes of the passenger) received by the communication unit 32 from the in-vehicle device 10A as occupant information.

[0108] The outside-vehicle situation determination unit 39 determines whether the situation outside the vehicle M satisfies specified conditions based on the vehicle position information acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34, the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 35, the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit 36, and the incident and accident occurrence information acquired by the incident and accident occurrence information acquisition unit 37.

[0109] Specifically, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 39 determines whether the temperature and weather are such that the temperature inside the vehicle rises to a predetermined temperature or higher, based on weather information around the vehicle position. The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 39 also determines whether the weather is such that lightning or hail will occur around the vehicle position, based on weather information. The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 39 also determines whether a road of a predetermined type, such as a national highway, or a road with a statistically high traffic volume exists within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle M, based on road information around the vehicle position. The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 39 also determines whether a predetermined number or more of specific types of incidents or accidents have occurred around the current position of the vehicle M within a predetermined period in the past, based on incident and accident occurrence information around the vehicle position.

[0110] The parking start information acquisition unit 41 acquires the parking start detection result received by the communication unit 32 from the in-vehicle device 10A as parking start information.

[0111] The notification control unit 42 generates a control signal for controlling execution of a disembarking notification in the in-vehicle device 10A when it is determined that a person with a predetermined attribute, such as a child, is in the vehicle M and the situation outside the vehicle satisfies any of the above-mentioned predetermined conditions, based on the occupant information acquired by the occupant information acquisition unit 38 and the vehicle exterior situation determined by the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 39. The generated control signal is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 10A by the communication unit 32.

[0112] With the above-mentioned configuration, in this embodiment, the server 30A mainly performs the process of the exit notification. As in the first embodiment, when the driver parks the vehicle M with passengers such as children and leaves the vehicle, it is considered particularly necessary to have the passengers exit the vehicle in consideration of the weather conditions, surrounding road conditions, the occurrence of incidents or accidents, etc., so that the exit notification with a high warning effect can be performed by issuing a notification to encourage the passengers to exit the vehicle.

[0113] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the attributes of the passengers shown in the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the exit notification may be given to passengers with other attributes. For example, in the above-described embodiment 1, the exit notification is given when a child, an elderly person, or the like is in the vehicle and the temperature inside the vehicle is predicted to rise to a predetermined level or higher based on weather information. However, when a person with other attributes, such as a sick person or a physically disabled person, is in the vehicle, the exit notification may be given based on the predicted temperature inside the vehicle.

[0114] In the above-described first embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 receives weather information from the server 30, and predicts a change in the in-vehicle temperature based on the received weather information. However, the sensor information acquisition unit 19 may acquire sensor information from a sunshine sensor or a temperature sensor mounted on the vehicle M, and the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 may predict a change in the in-vehicle temperature based on the sensor information. The vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 may also predict a change in the in-vehicle temperature by taking into account both the weather information and the sensor information.

[0115] In the above-described first embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 10 receives road information from the server 30, and determines whether or not a road of a predetermined type, such as a national highway, or a road whose traffic volume is statistically equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value exists within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle M, based on the received road information. However, the vehicle-mounted device 10 may be configured to determine the traffic volume around the vehicle position based on an outside image captured by the outside-vehicle camera 11, and to determine the traffic volume of the surrounding roads based on the determination result. The outside-vehicle situation determination unit 24 may determine the traffic volume of the surrounding roads by taking into account both the road information and the outside-vehicle image.

[0116] In the above-described first embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 receives incident / accident occurrence information from the server 30, and determines whether the number of accidents that occurred within a predetermined period of time in the vicinity of the current location of the vehicle M is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value based on the received incident / accident occurrence information. However, the in-vehicle device 10 may be configured to determine, for example, whether a suspicious person or the like is captured immediately before parking based on the outside-vehicle image captured by the outside-vehicle camera 11 using AI or the like, and determine the risk of an incident or accident occurring based on the determination result. The outside-vehicle situation determination unit 24 may also make a determination by taking into account both the incident / accident occurrence information and the outside-vehicle image.

[0117] In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle exterior situation determination unit 24 or 39 determines whether the number of occurrences of a specific type of incident within a past predetermined period in the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle M is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value based on incident / accident occurrence information. However, the determination subject here is not limited to a simple "number of incidents." For example, the number of incidents and accidents that have occurred in the vicinity of the vehicle position in the past may be calculated after being weighted based on the severity (level) of each incident and accident, and whether the result of the calculation is equal to or greater than a reference value may be used to determine whether the predetermined condition for disembarking notification is met. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 100 Communication Systems 10 Onboard equipment 11. Exterior camera 12 In-car camera 13 GPS receiver 14. Mike 15 Touch panel display 16 speakers 17 Memory section 18 Communications Department 19 Sensor information acquisition unit 20 Control section 21 Parking start detection unit 22 Occupant Judgment Section 23 Situation Information Acquisition Unit 24. Vehicle exterior situation determination unit 25 Notification control section 30 Servers 31 Control Unit 32 Communications Department 33 Storage section 34 Vehicle position acquisition unit 35 Weather information acquisition section 36 Road information acquisition department 37 Incident and Accident Information Acquisition Department 38 Occupant information acquisition unit 39 Vehicle exterior situation determination unit 41 Parking start information acquisition unit 42 Notification control section

Claims

1. an occupant determination unit that determines whether an occupant with a predetermined attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; A detection unit that detects when the vehicle starts parking; a situation information acquisition unit that acquires situation information indicating an external situation around the position of the vehicle when the parking start is detected; a situation determination unit that determines whether the external situation satisfies a predetermined condition; a notification control unit that, when it is determined that an occupant having the predetermined attribute is riding in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition, causes a notification unit to notify that the occupant having the predetermined attribute should get out of the vehicle in response to detection of a start of parking of the vehicle; 13. An information processing device comprising:

2. The situation information acquisition unit acquires weather information representing weather conditions around a location of the vehicle as the situation information, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the situation determination unit determines whether or not the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition based on the weather information.

3. 3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the situation determination unit determines that the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition when it is predicted that the interior temperature of the vehicle will rise to a predetermined level or higher depending on weather conditions around the location of the vehicle.

4. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the situation determination unit determines that the external situation satisfies the specified condition when the weather conditions around the location of the vehicle are specified weather conditions that are expected to cause an occupant with the specified attributes to feel fear inside the vehicle.

5. the situation information acquisition unit acquires road information representing a road condition around a position of the vehicle as the situation information; The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the situation determination unit determines that the external situation satisfies the specified condition when, based on the road information, a road of a specified type or a road with a traffic volume equal to or greater than a specified reference value is present around the vehicle position.

6. The situation information acquisition unit acquires incident and accident occurrence information representing occurrence status of incidents and accidents around the location of the vehicle as the situation information, The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the situation determination unit determines that the external situation satisfies a specified condition when the number of accidents or incidents that have occurred within a specified period of time in the vicinity of the vehicle's location satisfies the specified condition based on the incident / accident occurrence information.

7. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined attribute is a child.

8. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, an occupant determination step of determining whether or not an occupant with a predetermined attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; A detection step of detecting a start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquiring step of acquiring situation information indicating an external situation around the position of the vehicle when the parking start is detected; a situation determination step of determining whether the external situation satisfies a predetermined condition; a notification control step of, when it is determined that an occupant having the predetermined attribute is riding in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition, causing a notification unit to notify that the occupant having the predetermined attribute should get out of the vehicle in response to detection of a start of parking of the vehicle; 13. An information processing method comprising:

9. An information processing program executed by an information processing device having a computer, the information processing program comprising: an occupant determination step of determining whether or not an occupant with a predetermined attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; A detection step of detecting a start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquiring step of acquiring situation information indicating an external situation around the position of the vehicle when the parking start is detected; a situation determination step of determining whether the external situation satisfies a predetermined condition; a notification control step of, when it is determined that an occupant having the predetermined attribute is riding in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition, causing a notification unit to notify that the occupant having the predetermined attribute should get out of the vehicle in response to detection of a start of parking of the vehicle; An information processing program characterized by causing the program to execute the above steps.

10. An information processing device including a computer, an occupant determination step of determining whether or not an occupant with a predetermined attribute other than the driver is present in the vehicle; A detection step of detecting a start of parking of the vehicle; a situation information acquiring step of acquiring situation information indicating an external situation around the position of the vehicle when the parking start is detected; a situation determination step of determining whether the external situation satisfies a predetermined condition; a notification control step of, when it is determined that an occupant having the predetermined attribute is riding in the vehicle and the external situation satisfies the predetermined condition, causing a notification unit to notify that the occupant having the predetermined attribute should get out of the vehicle in response to detection of a start of parking of the vehicle; A computer-readable storage medium that stores an information processing program for executing the above.

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