Information processing device for vehicle

Abstract

To provide an information processing device for a vehicle that can suppress an increase in a load by suppressing a transmission frequency to a server.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises: a positional information acquiring device that acquires information for indicating a position of a vehicle; and an information transmitting device that periodically transmits the information for indicating the position of the vehicle acquired by the positional information acquiring device to a server. The information processing device changes a transmission interval, during which the information for indicating the position of the vehicle is transmitted to the server, depending on a speed range of the vehicle. The information processing device makes a transmission interval in a second speed range, in which the speed of the vehicle is higher than a first speed range, longer than a transmission interval in the first speed range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a system including a server and an in-vehicle information communication device. The in-vehicle information communication device transmits information about the current location of the vehicle to the server. The in-vehicle information communication device transmits location information to the server when there is congestion, such as when traffic jams are occurring, and suppresses transmission of location information when there is no congestion. With this configuration, the in-vehicle communication device can efficiently notify the location of the vehicle during congestion while suppressing the number of communications when there is no congestion, thereby notifying the road congestion situation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-143024 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Vehicle location information can be used not only to grasp congestion conditions, but also to record vehicle driving history, investigate traffic flow, etc. If the frequency of communication between the server and an information processing device mounted on the vehicle that transmits vehicle location information to the server is too low, the vehicle location cannot be accurately grasped. On the other hand, if the frequency of communication between the information processing device and the server is too high, the load on the information processing device will be large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The means for solving the above problems and their effects will be described below. A vehicle information processing device for solving the above problem includes a position information acquisition device that acquires information indicating a vehicle position, and an information transmission device that periodically transmits the information indicating the vehicle position acquired by the position information acquisition device to a server. The vehicle information processing device changes a transmission interval for transmitting the information indicating the vehicle position to the server according to a vehicle speed range, and sets the transmission interval when the vehicle is in a second speed range, which is higher than a first speed range, to be longer than the transmission interval when the vehicle is in the first speed range. Effect of the Invention

[0006] When the vehicle speed increases, the information processing device of the vehicle increases the transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the vehicle's position to the server. For example, when the vehicle speed is high, the number of roads on which the vehicle can travel is limited, so the server can reasonably predict the vehicle's travel route without receiving information indicating the vehicle's position frequently. Therefore, when the vehicle speed is high, the information processing device of the vehicle increases the transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the vehicle's position to the server, thereby reducing the frequency of transmission from the information processing device to the server. This makes it possible to prevent the load on the information processing device from becoming too large. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing system including an information processing device of a vehicle according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the information processing device of the vehicle according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram of the mode switching process executed by the information processing device of the vehicle according to the embodiment when a guide route is not set. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a state transition diagram of the mode switching process executed by the vehicle information processing device according to the embodiment when a guide route is set. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing device for a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. <Configuration of vehicle information processing device 10> The vehicle information processing device 10 is mounted on the vehicle 100. The information processing device 10 is connected to the server 200 so as to be able to communicate with the server 200. The information processing device 10 transmits information about the current position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. The information processing device 10 and the server 200 constitute a vehicle information processing system. The server 200 manages, for example, information about road congestion and information about the vehicle's driving history based on the vehicle's position information. This information can be used for traffic flow surveys and the like. The server 200 collects and analyzes data on the position information of many vehicles. The server 200 also organizes and provides the collected data.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 10 is configured to include a position information acquisition device 20, an information transmission device 30, a navigation device 40, and a storage device 50. The position information acquisition device 20 acquires the current position of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the position information acquisition device 20 acquires the current position of the vehicle 100 using radio waves received by a receiver of a satellite positioning system from a satellite. The information transmission device 30 periodically transmits the position information of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20 to a server 200. The navigation device 40 is configured to include a receiver of the satellite positioning system, a display, an input unit, and a storage unit that stores data such as map information. The navigation device 40 sets a guide route to a destination and performs route guidance. The storage device 50 is realized by, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The storage device 50 stores mode information corresponding to a speed range described below.

[0010] Hereinafter, the flow of the process executed in the information processing device 10 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10. This series of processing is repeatedly executed by the information processing device 10 while the vehicle 100 is operating. As shown in FIG. 2, when this series of processing is started, the information processing device 10 first acquires position information of the vehicle 100 by the position information acquisition device 20 in processing of step S100. Specifically, the navigation device 40 grasps the current position of the vehicle 100 by using radio waves from a satellite received by a receiver of a satellite positioning system while the vehicle 100 is traveling. The position information acquisition device 20 acquires the current position of the vehicle 100 from the navigation device 40.

[0011] Next, in the process of step S110, the information processing device 10 checks the speed of the vehicle 100. The speed of the vehicle 100 may be a speed that can be obtained by a well-known method, such as a speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle 100 or a speed displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle 100.

[0012] Next, in the process of step S120, the information processing device 10 judges whether or not an execution condition for transmitting information on the current position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 is satisfied. The execution condition is a condition for judging whether or not the position information of the vehicle 100 is in a state where it can be accurately grasped. After the vehicle 100 starts operating, it takes a certain amount of time until it starts receiving radio waves from a satellite. Then, when it becomes possible to grasp the position information by receiving radio waves from a satellite and the vehicle is traveling at a certain vehicle speed, it becomes possible to judge whether or not the position information is accurately grasped based on the transition of the position information and the vehicle speed. The execution condition is, for example, a logical AND condition of the following two conditions. In other words, the information processing device 10 judges that the execution condition is satisfied when the following two conditions are both satisfied.

[0013] - The vehicle speed is equal to or greater than the second threshold. The change in the position of the vehicle 100 as detected by the navigation device 40 is consistent with the vehicle speed.

[0014] Once the execution condition is satisfied after the operation of the vehicle 100 is started, the information processing device 10 continues to determine that the execution condition is satisfied until the operation of the vehicle 100 is stopped. The second threshold value is, for example, 40 kilometers per hour.

[0015] If it is determined in the process of step S120 that the execution condition is met (step S120: YES), the information processing device 10 advances the process to step S130. In the process of step S130, the information processing device 10 performs a mode switching process to switch the transmission interval for transmitting the position information to the server 200 depending on the speed range of the vehicle 100. The details of the mode switching process will be described later with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

[0016] Next, in the process of step S140, the information processing device 10 transmits the position information of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20 to the server 200. That is, the position information of the vehicle 100 is transmitted to the server 200 at a transmission interval corresponding to the selected mode. Furthermore, in the process of step S140, the information processing device 10 transmits information relating to the selected mode to the server 200 together with information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20. Then, the information processing device 10 returns this series of processes.

[0017] On the other hand, if it is determined in the process of step S120 that the execution condition is not met (step S120: NO), the information processing device 10 returns the process. <Mode switching process> Hereinafter, the mode switching process in the vehicle information processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram of the mode switching process executed by the information processing device 10 when the guide route to the destination is not set by the navigation device 40. As shown in FIG. 3, in this mode switching process, a temporary stop mode, a low speed mode, a medium speed mode, and a high speed mode are set as modes corresponding to the speed range of the vehicle 100. The storage device 50 of the information processing device 10 stores the above-mentioned multiple modes. The speed range increases in the order of the temporary stop mode, the low speed mode, the medium speed mode, and the high speed mode. Specifically, the high speed mode is a mode in which the third threshold value is the lower limit of the vehicle speed. That is, the high speed mode is a mode corresponding to a speed range equal to or higher than the third threshold value. For example, the third threshold value is 60 kilometers per hour. The medium speed mode is a mode in which the second threshold value, which is lower than the third threshold value, is the lower limit of the speed range. That is, the medium speed mode is a mode corresponding to a speed range equal to or higher than the second threshold value and lower than the third threshold value. For example, the second threshold value is 40 kilometers per hour. The low speed mode is a mode in which the first threshold value, which is lower than the second threshold value, is the lower limit of the speed range. That is, the low speed mode is a mode corresponding to a speed range equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold. For example, the first threshold is 5 kilometers per hour. The temporary stop mode is a mode corresponding to a speed range less than the first threshold.

[0019] A transmission interval for location information is set for each mode. The higher the speed range the mode corresponds to, the longer the transmission interval is set. Specifically, the transmission interval is set to "small" for the temporary stop mode and low speed mode. The transmission interval is set to "medium" for the medium speed mode. The transmission interval is set to "large" for the high speed mode.

[0020] The transmission interval is an interval at which the information transmission device 30 transmits the position information of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. The navigation device 40 and the position information acquisition device 20 acquire the position information of the vehicle 100 at intervals of, for example, less than one second. The information transmission device 30 transmits the position information to the server 200 at a transmission interval set according to the mode. When the transmission interval is "small", the information transmission device 30 transmits the position information to the server 200 at intervals of, for example, less than one second, which is the same as the interval at which the navigation device 40 and the position information acquisition device 20 acquire the position information. When the transmission interval is "medium", the information transmission device 30 transmits the position information to the server 200 at intervals of, for example, several seconds. In this case, the information transmission device 30 transmits the position information acquired at that time to the server 200 every several seconds. In other words, when the transmission interval is "medium", the frequency at which the position information is transmitted to the server 200 is lower than when the transmission interval is "small", and thinned-out position information is transmitted to the server 200. When the transmission interval is "long", the information transmission device 30 transmits the location information to the server 200 at intervals of several tens of seconds, for example. In this case, the information transmission device 30 transmits the currently acquired location information to the server 200 every several tens of seconds. In other words, when the transmission interval is "long", the frequency of transmitting the location information to the server 200 is further lower than when the transmission interval is "medium", and more thinned-out location information is transmitted to the server 200.

[0021] As shown in the state transition diagram of Figure 3, in the mode switching process, the mode transition occurs each time the transition condition is met. When the execution condition is met and the switching process starts, the switching process starts from the medium speed mode.

[0022] When the medium speed mode is selected, the transmission interval is set to “medium.” When the medium speed mode is selected and the speed of the vehicle 100 becomes equal to or greater than the third threshold, the high speed mode is selected and the mode transitions to the high speed mode.

[0023] When the high speed mode is selected, the transmission interval is set to “large.” When the high speed mode is selected and the speed of the vehicle 100 becomes less than the third threshold, the medium speed mode is selected and the mode transitions to the medium speed mode.

[0024] When the medium speed mode is selected, if the speed of the vehicle 100 falls below the second threshold, the low speed mode is selected and the mode transitions to the low speed mode. When the low speed mode is selected, the transmission interval is set to "small". When the low speed mode is selected and the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 becomes equal to or greater than the second threshold, the medium speed mode is selected and the mode transitions to the medium speed mode. When the low speed mode is selected and the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 becomes less than the first threshold, the temporary stop mode is selected and the mode transitions to the temporary stop mode. When the temporary stop mode is selected, the transmission interval is set to "small".

[0025] When the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 remains equal to or lower than the stop threshold for a certain period of time while the temporary stop mode is selected, the stop mode is selected and the mode transitions to the temporary stop mode. The stop threshold is lower than the first threshold. The stop threshold is, for example, 3 kilometers per hour. The stop mode is the mode corresponding to the lowest vehicle speed range among the multiple modes. When the stop mode is selected, the information processing device 10 stops transmitting the position information. That is, the information processing device 10 stops transmitting the position information to the server 200 in the processing of S140. When the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 becomes higher than the stop threshold while the stop mode is selected, the temporary stop mode is selected and the mode transitions to the temporary stop mode.

[0026] Fig. 4 is a state transition diagram of the mode switching process executed by the information processing device 10 when a guide route to a destination is set by the navigation device 40. The mode switching process when a guide route is set is only partially different from the mode switching process when a guide route is not set as described with reference to Fig. 3. Specifically, only the condition for switching to the expressway mode is different. Therefore, only this difference will be described here. Description of the same configuration as the example of the mode switching process shown in Fig. 3 will be omitted.

[0027] When the guidance route is set by the navigation device 40, the navigation device 40 can recognize whether the vehicle 100 is traveling on an expressway or on a general road other than an expressway. Therefore, when the guidance route is set, the information processing device 10 determines whether to select the high-speed mode corresponding to the highest speed range depending on whether the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle 100 is traveling on an expressway, as shown in Fig. 4.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 4, specifically, when the medium speed mode is selected and the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, the information processing device 10 selects the high speed mode. When the high speed mode is selected and the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle is not traveling on an expressway, the information processing device 10 does not select the high speed mode but selects the medium speed mode. When the high speed mode is no longer selected in this way, the information processing device 10 selects any one of the medium speed mode, the low speed mode, the temporary stop mode, and the stop mode depending on the speed range.

[0029] In this way, the information processing device 10 selects a mode according to the speed range through the switching process. Then, the information processing device 10 transmits the position information to the server 200 at a transmission interval according to the mode selected through the process of step S140. Furthermore, in the process of step S140, the information processing device 10 transmits information on the selected mode to the server 200 together with information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20.

[0030] <Action of this embodiment> The information processing device 10 is configured to include a position information acquisition device 20 that acquires information indicating the position of the vehicle 100, and an information transmission device 30 that periodically transmits the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20 to a server 200. The information processing device 10 changes the transmission interval at which the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 is transmitted to the server 200 according to the speed range of the vehicle 100, and sets the transmission interval in a second speed range in which the vehicle speed is higher than the first speed range to be longer than the transmission interval in the first speed range. The first speed range and the second speed range correspond to the speed ranges of the temporary stop mode, the low speed mode, the medium speed mode, and the high speed mode described above.

[0031] In this way, the information processing device 10 reduces the frequency of transmission from the information processing device 10 to the server 200 as the vehicle speed approaches a higher speed range. <Effects of this embodiment> (1) When the vehicle speed increases, the information processing device 10 increases the transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200. For example, when the vehicle speed is high, the number of roads on which the vehicle can travel is limited, so the server 200 can reasonably predict the travel route of the vehicle 100 without receiving information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 frequently. Therefore, when the vehicle speed is high, the information processing device 10 increases the transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200, thereby reducing the frequency of transmission from the information processing device 10 to the server 200. This makes it possible to prevent the load on the information processing device 10 from becoming too large.

[0032] (2) The information processing device 10 includes a storage device 50. The storage device 50 stores a plurality of modes that are selected according to the speed range of the vehicle 100, with the transmission interval being set longer for the mode corresponding to a higher speed range. The information processing device 10 changes the transmission interval by selecting a mode according to the speed range of the vehicle 100.

[0033] In the information processing device 10, for each of the multiple modes, the transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 is set to be larger as the speed range of the vehicle 100 is higher in the mode. Therefore, the information processing device 10 sets the speed range of the vehicle 100 in multiple stages, and can also manage the frequency of transmission to the server 200 in multiple stages. In this way, the information processing device 10 can prevent the frequency of transmission from the information transmission device 30 to the server 200 from being too high or too low, so that the server 200 can efficiently supplement the position of the vehicle 100 while appropriately suppressing the number of transmissions.

[0034] (3) When the information processing device 10 continues to be in a speed range in which the mode corresponding to the lowest speed range among the multiple modes is selected for a certain period of time or more, the information processing device 10 stops transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20 to the server 200.

[0035] When the vehicle 100 continues to be in an extremely low vehicle speed range, such as when the vehicle 100 is almost stopped, the position of the vehicle 100 does not change, so there is no need to transmit information about the position of the vehicle 100. In the information processing device 10, when the speed of the vehicle 100 continues to be in the lowest speed range for a certain period of time, the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20 is not transmitted to the server 200. Therefore, when the vehicle 100 continues to be in an extremely low vehicle speed range where the vehicle 100 is almost stopped, it is possible to prevent unnecessary transmission. This makes it possible to prevent the load on the information processing device 10 from becoming too large.

[0036] (4) The information processing device 10 transmits to the server 200 information relating to the selected mode together with information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by the position information acquisition device 20. Information about the selected mode can be used to investigate traffic conditions, such as congestion on the road the vehicle is traveling on.

[0037] The information processing device 10 transmits not only the information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 but also the information regarding the selected mode to the server 200. Therefore, the information processing device 10 can provide not only the information regarding the position of the vehicle 100 but also the information regarding the selected mode to the server 200.

[0038] (5) The information processing device 10 is configured to include a navigation device 40 that can set a guide route to a destination. When a guide route to a destination is set by the navigation device 40, the information transmission device 30 determines whether to select a high-speed mode corresponding to the highest speed range among a plurality of modes depending on whether the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling on an expressway. When the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, the information processing device 10 selects the high-speed mode. On the other hand, when the navigation device 40 recognizes that the vehicle is not traveling on an expressway, the information processing device 10 does not select the high-speed mode.

[0039] In the information processing device 10, when the vehicle 100 enters an expressway, switching to the high-speed mode is performed regardless of the vehicle speed. In this way, it is possible to know from the guide route information that the position of the vehicle 100 is on the expressway. Therefore, when the vehicle 100 is on the expressway, even if the speed of the vehicle 100 is slow due to, for example, traffic congestion, the transmission frequency can be kept low like the high-speed mode. This makes it possible to more efficiently prevent the load on the information processing device 10 from becoming large.

[0040] <Example of change> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.

[0041] The information processing device 10 performs switching processing between modes with adjacent speed ranges as shown in Figures 3 and 4. However, the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment can freely perform switching processing between each mode. For example, it can also perform switching processing between a low-speed mode and a high-speed mode, and between a low-speed mode and a stop mode.

[0042] The information processing device 10 stores a stop mode, a temporary stop mode, a low-speed mode, a medium-speed mode, and a high-speed mode in the storage device 50. However, the speed range does not necessarily have to be the same as in this embodiment, and may be set appropriately. For example, more modes may be set according to the speed range, or fewer modes may be set. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10...Information processing device 20…location information acquisition device 30...Information transmission device 40...Navigation device 50…Storage device 100…Vehicle 200...Server

Claims

1. a position information acquisition device for acquiring information indicating a position of a vehicle; an information transmission device that periodically transmits information indicating the position of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition device to a server, changing a transmission interval for transmitting information indicating the position of the vehicle to the server in accordance with a speed range of the vehicle; The transmission interval when the vehicle is in a second speed range in which the speed is higher than that in a first speed range is set to be longer than the transmission interval when the vehicle is in the first speed range. Vehicle information processing device.

2. A storage device is provided, the storage device stores a plurality of modes in which a larger transmission interval is set for a mode corresponding to a higher speed range, The transmission interval is changed by selecting the mode according to the speed range of the vehicle. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The information transmitting device stops transmitting, to the server, information indicating the position of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquiring device when a state in which the vehicle is in a speed range in which a mode corresponding to the lowest speed range among the plurality of speed modes is selected continues for a certain period of time or more. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 2.

4. The information transmitting device transmits to the server information regarding the selected mode together with information indicating the position of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquiring device. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 2.

5. Equipped with a navigation device that can set a guide route to a destination, when a guide route to a destination has been set by the navigation device, the information transmission device determines whether to select a high-speed mode corresponding to the highest speed range among the plurality of modes depending on whether the navigation device has recognized that the vehicle is traveling on an expressway; When the navigation device recognizes that the vehicle is traveling on a highway, a high-speed mode is selected; When the navigation device recognizes that the vehicle is not traveling on an expressway, the high-speed mode is not selected. The vehicle information processing device according to claim 2.

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