Vehicle, server, service provision system, and data transmission method

Abstract

To reduce the use of useless communication and resources while sufficiently securing accuracy of a connected service concerning mobile body communication of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle 10 for performing communication with a server which provides a connected service determines whether a transmission frequency / data size of data transmitted from the vehicle 10 to the server 20 exceeds a threshold when a travel state is changed based on data which indicates a travel state of the vehicle. When the threshold is excessive, the vehicle 10 determines a group into which the data is classified, i.e., the first group related to a transmission period, the second group related to a change of a value, or the third group related to a mobile distance interval, based on a transmission condition to be satisfied in order to keep accuracy of the connected service. When the data is determined to be classified into the first or the third group, the vehicle 10 transmits the data to the server 20 in response to the transmission condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle, a server, a service providing system, and a data transmission method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, connected services have become popular in which vehicles are equipped with sensors, cameras, etc., which send data about the condition of the vehicle and its surroundings to a server, and the server then analyzes the data and notifies the vehicle and the user of the results, thereby assisting the vehicle's driving.

[0003] However, if all data generated while the vehicle is traveling is transmitted to a server, wasteful communication and resource usage will occur. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for reducing wasteful communication and resource usage, which includes a storage determination unit that determines an image to be stored among a plurality of images captured by an imaging unit that captures the external state of a moving body, and a condition determination unit that determines a condition for determining an image to be stored. The storage determination unit determines an image to be stored according to the condition determined by the condition determination unit. The condition determination unit determines, based on the speed of the moving body, at least one of the following conditions for determining an image to be stored: (i) a condition regarding a time interval from when an image is determined as an image to be stored until the next image to be stored is determined, and (ii) a condition regarding a distance traveled by the moving body from when an image is determined as an image to be stored until the next image to be stored is determined. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-80462 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the conventional technology disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 targets only image data, and does not consider reducing unnecessary communication or resource usage for other types of data. Also, in the conventional technology disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the conditions for determining which images to store are only two: a condition related to the image storage interval, and a condition related to the distance traveled by the moving object until the next image to store is determined. Therefore, the conventional technology disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 may not be able to ensure sufficient accuracy of connected services.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to reduce unnecessary communication and resource usage in mobile communications in vehicles while ensuring sufficient accuracy of connected services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As one aspect for solving the above problem, there is provided a vehicle that communicates with a server that provides a connected service, the vehicle having a processor, a memory, and a storage unit, the storage unit storing transmission conditions for data indicating a driving state of the vehicle when the data is transmitted from the vehicle to the server, the transmission conditions being to be satisfied in order to maintain accuracy of the connected service, the processor determining whether or not a change has occurred in the driving state based on the data, and if it is determined that a change has occurred in the driving state, determining whether or not an average value of the number of transmissions or the data size of the data per predetermined time transmitted from the vehicle to the server has exceeded a threshold, and if it is determined that the number of transmissions or the average value has exceeded a threshold, determining based on the transmission conditions whether the data is classified into any of a first group related to a transmission period of the data, a second group related to a change in the value of the data, and a third group related to a distance traveled by the vehicle, and if it is determined that the data is classified into any of the first to third groups, transmitting the data to the server in accordance with the transmission conditions. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in mobile communications in vehicles, it is possible to reduce unnecessary communications and resource usage while ensuring sufficient accuracy of connected services. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an entire system including a vehicle and a server according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an entire system including a vehicle and a server according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the entire system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart showing waste detection processing according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a service requirement confirmation process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6A] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a service list table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6B] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a required data item list table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a data item grouping process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data item group table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 5 is a flowchart showing a data transmission process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a waste detection process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart showing an overall process according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all of the elements and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0011] In the following description, a program realizing each processing function unit is executed by a processor to perform a predetermined process using a storage resource (e.g., a RAM (Random Access Memory)) and / or a communication interface device (e.g., a port). The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Therefore, the process executed by each processing function unit may be a process performed by a processor or a computer having the processor.

[0012] In the following description, identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and in the following embodiments and modified examples, the description may be omitted or only the differences may be described. In addition, when there are multiple identical or similar components, the same reference numerals may be given different subscripts. In addition, when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted. The number of each component may be singular or plural unless otherwise specified.

[0013] [Embodiment 1] (Hardware configuration of the entire system S including the vehicle 10 and the server 20 according to the first embodiment) FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an overall system S including a vehicle and a server according to the first embodiment.

[0014] The overall system S includes a plurality of vehicles 10 and a server 20 that communicates with the vehicles 10. The overall system S is a system for providing connected services that collects driving conditions of each vehicle 10, including the conditions of each vehicle 10 and its surroundings, generates distribution data for connected services based on the collected information, and distributes the data to each vehicle 10.

[0015] Each vehicle 10 has a common configuration described below. However, each vehicle 10 may have a configuration other than that described below. Note that each of the vehicles 10 and the server 2 may be composed of multiple devices rather than being a single unit.

[0016] Vehicle 10 has a CPU 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 which is a read-only storage device, a RAM 13 which is a readable and writable storage device, an in-vehicle communication unit 14, a vehicle storage unit 15, and a sensor 16. CPU 11 deploys a program stored in ROM 12 into RAM 13 and executes it to realize a number of functions which will be described later.

[0017] However, the functions of the vehicle 10 may be realized by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that is a rewritable logic circuit or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that is an integrated circuit for a specific application, other than the combination of the CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13. The vehicle 10 may also be provided with a combination different from the combination of the CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13, for example, a combination of the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and an FPGA.

[0018] The in-vehicle communication unit 14 communicates with the server 20. The in-vehicle communication unit 14 is a communication module capable of wireless communication. The communication standards supported by the in-vehicle communication unit 14 are not particularly limited, and include, for example, 3G, 4G, and 5G. The in-vehicle communication unit 14 may be directly connected to the server 20, or may be connected to the server 20 via a base station provided by a telecommunications carrier or the Internet.

[0019] The vehicle storage unit 15 is a non-volatile storage device, such as a flash memory. The sensor 16 is one or more sensors that collect information about the surroundings of the vehicle 10 (host vehicle) in which the device is installed, and measure the operation of the host vehicle. The sensor 16 is, for example, a camera, a laser range finder, or the like.

[0020] The server 20 has a CPU 21 which is a central processing unit, a ROM 22 which is a read-only storage device, a RAM 23 which is a readable / writable storage device, a server communication unit 24, and a server storage unit 25. The CPU 21 deploys a program stored in the ROM 22 into the RAM 23 and executes it to realize a number of functions which will be described later.

[0021] However, the functions of the server 20 may be realized by an FPGA or an ASIC instead of the combination of the CPU 21, the ROM 22, and the RAM 23. The server 20 may also have a combination of configurations different from the combination of the CPU 21, the ROM 22, and the RAM 23, for example, a combination of the CPU 21, the ROM 22, and the RAM 23 with an FPGA.

[0022] The server communication unit 24 communicates with the in-vehicle communication unit 14. The server communication unit 24 may communicate directly with the in-vehicle communication unit 14, or may communicate via another device, such as a base station of a telecommunications carrier or another communication device. The server storage unit 25 is a non-volatile storage device, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0023] (Functional configuration of the entire system S including the vehicle 10 and the server 20 according to the first embodiment) FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an overall system S including the vehicle 10 and the server 20 according to the first embodiment.

[0024] (Vehicle 10 Configuration) The vehicle 10 includes a data acquisition unit 111, a data recording unit 112, a service management unit 113, a service execution unit 114, a data management unit 115, and a data transmission / reception unit 116.

[0025] The data acquisition unit 111 acquires data generated by sensors, cameras, etc. attached to the vehicle 10 through in-vehicle communication such as a Controller Area Network (CAN). The data recording unit 112 records the data related to the vehicle 10 acquired by the data acquisition unit 111 in the vehicle storage unit 15.

[0026] The service management unit 113 manages connected services that can be used by a user of the vehicle 10. The "user" here refers to the driver or passengers of the vehicle 10.

[0027] The service execution unit 114 executes the connected service managed by the service management unit 113. For example, if the connected service is a service that recommends the shortest route according to road conditions, the service execution unit 114 notifies the navigation system of information on the shortest route based on the service information distributed from the server 20.

[0028] The data management unit 115 manages data indicating the traveling state of the vehicle 10 used in the connected services acquired by the data acquisition unit 111. The data recording unit 112 manages which services use each data item recorded in the vehicle memory unit 15, etc.

[0029] The data transmitter / receiver 116 transmits the data stored in the vehicle storage unit 15 to the server 20 via the in-vehicle communication unit 14 in accordance with a predetermined rule. The data transmitter / receiver 116 also receives service information related to a connected service executed by the service execution unit 114 from the server 20.

[0030] (Server 20 configuration) The server 20 has a vehicle management unit 211, a service management unit 212, a data analysis unit 213, a service generation unit 214, a user management unit 215, and a service distribution unit 216. The vehicle management unit 211 manages all of the vehicles 10 that receive the connected services provided by the server 20. For example, when subscribing to "service A" provided by the server 20, information such as vehicle IDs that can receive the service registered by all users is managed.

[0031] The service management unit 212 manages the contents of the connected services provided by the server 20. For example, it manages an ID for identifying the connected service, data items that need to be collected from the vehicle 10 in order to provide the service, requirements necessary to sufficiently satisfy the accuracy of the service, and the like.

[0032] The data analysis unit 213 analyzes data collected from the vehicles 10 in order to deliver connected services provided by the server 20 to the vehicles 10. For example, if the connected service is a service that recommends the shortest route according to road conditions, the data analysis unit 213 analyzes the vehicle position data, vehicle speed data, and road traffic information collected from multiple vehicles 10 for each area to estimate congested roads.

[0033] The service generation unit 214 generates a connected service to be provided to the vehicle 10 based on information extracted from the data analyzed by the data analysis unit 213. For example, if the connected service is a service that recommends the shortest route according to road conditions, the service generation unit 214 generates a new route for the vehicle 10 to travel so as to avoid the congested roads estimated by the data analysis unit 213.

[0034] The user management unit 215 manages all users who subscribe to the connected services provided by the server 20. The service distribution unit 216 distributes the distribution data of the connected services generated by the service generation unit 214 to the vehicle 10 via the server communication unit 24.

[0035] (Overall Processing of Overall System S According to the First Embodiment) Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the overall system S according to the embodiment 1. The overall processing is processing for transmitting data necessary for maintaining the connected service by the vehicle 10. For example, when the vehicle 10 is powered on, the vehicle 10 transmits data to the server 20 at a predetermined cycle, and then executes the overall processing shown in Fig. 3.

[0036] First, in step S101, the data management unit 115 determines whether there is a change in the driving state of the vehicle based on the vehicle data accumulated in the vehicle storage unit 15. If there is a change in the driving state of the vehicle (step S101 YES), the data management unit 115 proceeds to step S102, and if there is no change (step S101 NO), the data management unit 115 ends the entire process.

[0037] The change in the driving state referred to here is, for example, a state in which the vehicle 10 moves from a road with less traffic than a certain amount to a road with more traffic than a certain amount, encounters congestion, and the vehicle speed drops suddenly for a certain period of time. In addition, a state in which the vehicle 10 travels from a general road onto an expressway, the vehicle speed increases, and the increased vehicle speed continues for a certain period of time is also treated as a change in the driving state. Data items to be monitored in order to detect such changes in the driving state are registered in advance in the data management unit 115. In addition, step S101 is a process that is executed periodically.

[0038] Next, in step S102, the data transmitter / receiver 116 detects whether or not there is waste in the data transmission from the vehicle 10 to the server 20 (waste detection process). The details of the waste detection process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0039] Next, in step S103, the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines whether a wasteful state in data transmission has been detected in step S102. If a wasteful state has been detected (step S103 YES), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S104, and if a wasteful state has not been detected (step S103 NO), the data transmitter / receiver 116 returns to step S101.

[0040] In step S104, the service management unit 113 checks service requirements for the connected services provided to the vehicle 10 to have sufficient accuracy (service requirement checking process). Details of the service requirement checking process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0041] Next, in step S105, the data management unit 115 performs grouping of data items based on the data collection conditions based on the confirmation result of step S104 (data item grouping process). Details of the data item grouping process will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0042] Next, in step S106, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 (FIG. 8) created in step S105 and transmits the data items for each group to the server 20 (data transmission process). Details of the data transmission process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0043] (Details of Waste Detection Processing According to the First Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the waste detection process (step S102 (FIG. 3)) according to the first embodiment.

[0044] First, in step S102a, the data transmitter / receiver 116 receives an instruction regarding the data transmission frequency at which the server 20 transmits data. Next, in step S102b, the data transmitter / receiver 116 checks the instruction regarding the data transmission frequency received in step S102a, and checks whether there is an instruction to reduce the current data transmission frequency or to stop transmission. If there is an instruction to reduce the transmission frequency or to stop transmission (YES in step S102b), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S102f. On the other hand, if there is no instruction to reduce the transmission frequency or to stop transmission (NO in step S102b), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S102c.

[0045] In step S102c, the data transmitter / receiver 116 samples the number of data transmissions per predetermined time from the vehicle 10 to the server 20 and the data size of the transmission data at regular intervals from the point in time when the vehicle driving state detected in step S101 changes. Then, the data transmitter / receiver 116 calculates the average number of transmissions with respect to the travel distance.

[0046] For example, the initial setting of the transmission frequency of the vehicle 10 is assumed to be one transmission per second. When traveling on a general road (40 km / h) without traffic jams, it takes about one second to travel 11 m, and if one data transmission is performed during that time, the average number of transmissions for the traveled distance is 1 / 11 = 0.09 (times / m). For example, when the vehicle 10 enters a congested road and takes five minutes to travel 11 m, and 300 data transmissions are performed during that time, the average number of transmissions for the traveled distance is 300 / 11 = 27.3 (times / m). Furthermore, if the size of the data transmitted at one time varies, the average transmission size for the traveled distance can be further calculated.

[0047] Next, in step S102d, the data transmitter / receiver 116 compares the average value of the average number of transmissions or the transmission size for the moving distance calculated in step S102c with a predetermined threshold. If the average value of the average number of transmissions or the transmission size for the moving distance exceeds the threshold (step S102d YES), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S102f, and if it is equal to or smaller than the threshold (step S102d NO), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S102e.

[0048] In step S102e, the data transmitter / receiver 116 extracts the number of samplings performed in step S102c and compares it with a predetermined threshold value of the number of samplings. If the number of samplings exceeds the threshold value (YES in step S102e), the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines that a wasteful state in data transmission has not been detected and ends the waste detection process. On the other hand, if the number of samplings is equal to or less than the threshold value (NO in step S102e), the data transmitter / receiver 116 returns the process to step S102b.

[0049] In step S102f, the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines that a wasteful state has occurred in data transmission based on an instruction from the server 20 or the sampling result in step S102c. After step S102f ends, the data transmitter / receiver 116 ends the waste detection process.

[0050] (Details of the service requirement confirmation process according to the first embodiment) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the service requirement confirmation process (step S104 (FIG. 3)) according to the first embodiment.

[0051] First, in step S104a, service management unit 113 checks whether or not there is a service being executed by service execution unit 114. If there is a service being executed by service execution unit 114 (YES in step S104a), service management unit 113 proceeds to step S104b, and if there is no service being executed by service execution unit 114 (NO in step S104a), ends the service requirement confirmation process.

[0052] 6A is a diagram showing an example of a service list table T1 according to embodiment 1. The service list table T1 registers connected services managed by the service management unit 113. The service list table T1 includes items such as an ID, a service name, a destination, an expiration date, and a status.

[0053] The ID is identification information of an entry in the service list table T1. The service name is identification information of the service. The recipient is the name of the organization to which the connected service is provided. The expiration date is the date during which the vehicle 10 can use the connected service. The status indicates whether the connected service is running or not. The items in the service list table T1 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 6A.

[0054] Next, in step S104b, data management unit 115 extracts data items that need to be transmitted to server 20 in order to execute the connected service managed by service management unit 113 from required data item list table T2.

[0055] 6B is a diagram showing an example of a required data item list table T2 according to embodiment 1. The required data item list table T2 indicates data items of a connected service managed by the data management unit 115. The required data item list table T2 includes items of an ID, a service ID, a data item, and a collection condition.

[0056] The ID is identification information of an entry in the required data item list table T2. The service ID is identification information of a connected service. The data item indicates the name of a data item that needs to be transmitted to the server 20 to execute each connected service. The collection conditions are data collection conditions for the server 20 to maintain sufficient service accuracy of the connected service. Note that the items included in the required data item list table T2 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 6B.

[0057] Next, in step S104c, data management unit 115 extracts, from required data item list table T2, collection conditions for data items that need to be transmitted to server 20 to execute the connected service managed by service management unit 113. When step S104c ends, data management unit 115 ends the service requirement confirmation process.

[0058] (Details of Data Item Grouping Process According to the First Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the data item grouping process (step S105 (FIG. 3)) according to the first embodiment.

[0059] First, in step S105a, data management unit 115 refers to required data item list table T2 (FIG. 6B) to acquire data items. Next, in step S105b, data management unit 115 refers to required data item list table T2 to extract collection conditions for each data item acquired in step S105a.

[0060] Next, in step S105c, data management unit 115 determines whether the collection condition for each data item included in the processing results of steps S105a and S105b is a "time period." A "time period" is a collection condition related to the data transmission period for periodically collecting data (transmitting data) in units of a predetermined time, and is stored in time notation such as "1s" in the "collection condition" of required data item list table T2 (FIG. 6B). If the collection condition is a "time period," data management unit 115 proceeds to step S105d, and if the collection condition is not a "time period," data management unit 115 proceeds to step S105e.

[0061] For example, as shown in Figure 6B, when the collection condition for "speed" data is "1s", it is understood that data needs to be transmitted at a "time period" of "1 second" in order for the connected service to maintain a certain level of accuracy.

[0062] In step S105d, data management unit 115 registers the data items determined to be "time cycles" in step S105c as a "time cycle group" (first group) in data item group table T3 (FIG. 8).

[0063] In step S105e, the data management unit 115 determines whether the collection condition for the data item that was not determined to be a "time period" in step S105c is a "change in value".

[0064] Here, "change in value" refers to a collection condition for performing data collection (data transmission) when a certain index value changes beyond a threshold. The "change in value" may be stored as a rate of change such as "10% decrease" in the "collection condition" of the required data item list table T2 (FIG. 6B), or the amount of change itself may be stored. If the collection condition is "change in value", data management unit 115 proceeds to step S105f, and if the collection condition is not "change in value", proceeds to step S105g.

[0065] For example, as shown in Fig. 6B, when the collection conditions are "50% or more: 10% decrease, less than 50%: 5% decrease," data on "battery capacity" must be transmitted under the following transmission conditions in order for the connected service to maintain a certain level of accuracy. That is, data must be transmitted when "battery capacity" is 50% or more and the "battery capacity" is decreased by 10%, and when "battery capacity" is less than 50%, the "battery capacity" is decreased by 5%.

[0066] In step S105f, the data management unit 115 registers the data items determined to be "value changes" in step S105e as "value change groups" (second groups) in the data item group table T3 (FIG. 8).

[0067] In step S105g, data management unit 115 determines whether the collection condition for the data item that was not determined to be a "change in value" in step S105e is "travel distance interval." "Travel distance interval" is a collection condition for collecting data (transmitting data) every time vehicle 10 moves a predetermined distance, and is stored in the "collection condition" of required data item list table T2 (FIG. 6B) in distance notation such as "20m." If the collection condition is "distance interval," data management unit 115 proceeds to step S105h, and if the collection condition is not "distance interval," proceeds to step S105i.

[0068] For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the collection condition is "20 m," data on the "position" of one's own vehicle 10 needs to be transmitted every "travel distance interval" of "20 m" in order to maintain a certain level of accuracy for the corresponding connected service.

[0069] In step S105h, data management unit 115 registers the data item determined to be "distance interval" in step S105g as a "distance interval group" (third group) in data item group table T3 (FIG. 8).

[0070] On the other hand, in step S105i, the data management unit 115 does not need to transmit the data items that did not fall under the "distance interval" in step S105g under any of the conditions of "time period," "change in value," and "distance interval." Therefore, the data management unit 115 registers the corresponding data items as an "other group" in the data item group table T3 (FIG. 8).

[0071] (Data Item Group Table T3 According to First Embodiment) 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data item group table T3 according to embodiment 1. As a result of steps S105a to S105i, the data item group table T3 (FIG. 8) is created. The data item group table T3 includes items of ID, data item, collection condition, and group.

[0072] The ID is identification information of an entry in the data item group table T3. The data item indicates the name of a data item that needs to be transmitted to the server 20 to execute each connected service. The collection condition is a data transmission condition from the vehicle 10 to the server 20, and is a data transmission condition that should be satisfied in order to maintain sufficient service accuracy of the connected service by distribution data generated based on the transmitted data. The group is a group into which each data is classified. Note that the items included in the data item group table T3 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 8.

[0073] (Details of Data Transmission Process According to the First Embodiment) 9 is a flowchart showing the data transmission process (step S106 (FIG. 3)) for each data item according to embodiment 1. The data transmission process is executed in parallel for each data item.

[0074] First, in step S106a, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 (FIG. 8) to acquire data items to be transmitted to the server 20. Next, in step S106b, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 to extract collection conditions for the data items acquired in step S106a.

[0075] Next, in step S106c, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 and determines whether the data item extracted in step S106b is a "time cycle group". If the data item extracted in step S106b is a "time cycle group" (YES in step S106c), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106d. On the other hand, if the data item is not a "time cycle group" (NO in step S106c), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106e.

[0076] In step S106d, the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines whether the time period condition, which is the transmission condition for the "time period group," is satisfied. If the time period condition is satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106i, and if the time period condition is not satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 repeats step S106d. For example, the collection condition for the data item "speed" is "1s," and it is determined whether the 1-second period is satisfied.

[0077] In step S106e, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 and determines whether the data item extracted in step S106b is a "value change group." If the data item extracted in step S106b is a "value change group" (YES in step S106e), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106f. On the other hand, if the data item is not a "value change group" (NO in step S106e), the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106g.

[0078] In step S106f, the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines whether the value change condition, which is the transmission condition for the "value change group," is satisfied. If the value change condition is satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 proceeds to step S106i, and if the value change condition is not satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 repeats step S106f. For example, the collection condition for the data item "battery capacity" is "50% or more: 10% decrease, less than 50%: 5% decrease," and it is determined whether the condition of 10% decrease or 5% decrease is satisfied.

[0079] In step S106g, the data transmitter / receiver 116 refers to the data item group table T3 and determines whether the data item extracted in step S106b is a "movement distance interval group." If the data item extracted in step S106b is a "movement distance interval group" (step S106g YES), the data transmitter / receiver 116 moves the process to step S106h. On the other hand, if the data item is not a "movement distance interval group" (step S106g NO), the data transmitter / receiver 116 ends the data transmission process.

[0080] In step S106h, the data transmitter / receiver 116 determines whether the moving distance interval condition, which is the transmission condition for the "moving distance interval group," is satisfied. If the moving distance interval condition is satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 advances the process to step S106i, and if the moving distance interval condition is not satisfied, the data transmitter / receiver 116 repeats step S106h. For example, the collection condition for the data item "location" is "20 m," and it is determined whether the moving distance has reached 20 m.

[0081] In step S106i, the data transmitter / receiver 116 transmits the data of the corresponding data item to the server 20 via the in-vehicle communication unit 14.

[0082] (Effects of the First Embodiment) In this embodiment, when a wasteful state is detected due to a change in the driving state of the vehicle 10, the frequency of data transmission to the server 20 is reduced while satisfying the collection conditions for data items required to maintain the connected service. This makes it possible to reduce wasteful communication and resource usage while maintaining the accuracy of the connected service.

[0083] [Embodiment 2] In the second embodiment, in the waste detection process in step S102 (FIG. 3), a state in which wasteful data transmission occurs only on the vehicle 10 side is detected without receiving an instruction from the server 20. In the second embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0084] (Waste detection process according to the second embodiment) Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a waste detection process according to embodiment 2. Embodiment 2 is different from embodiment 1 in that the waste detection process shown in Fig. 10 is executed in step S102 (Fig. 3), but is otherwise similar to embodiment 1.

[0085] First, in step S102Ba, the data management unit 115 checks the current position and driving route of the vehicle 10, and acquires area information of the planned driving area through which the vehicle 10 will drive. Next, in step S102Bb, the data management unit 115 compares the planned driving area acquired in step S102Bb with a map of communication unavailable areas registered in advance, and determines whether the planned driving area is an area in which communication will be unavailable. If the planned driving area is a communication unavailable area (step S102BbYES), the data management unit 115 proceeds to step S102Bc, and if it is a communication available area (step S102BbNO), the data management unit 115 proceeds to step S102c.

[0086] In step S102Bc, the data management unit 115 instructs the data transmission / reception unit 116 to stop data transmission when it detects that the vehicle 10 has entered an area where communication is unavailable. Next, in step S102Bd, the data management unit 115 instructs the data recording unit 112 to back up data related to the vehicle 10 in the vehicle storage unit 15 while the vehicle 10 is traveling in the area where communication is unavailable. Then, the data management unit 115 instructs the data transmission / reception unit 116 to transmit data to the server 20 when the vehicle 10 begins traveling in an area where communication is available.

[0087] Steps S102c, S102d, S102e, and S102f are similar to those in FIG.

[0088] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to this embodiment, by detecting wasteful states only on the vehicle 10 side, even if communication with the server 20 is not possible, the wasteful state of the vehicle can be detected and wasteful communication and resource usage can be reduced.

[0089] [Embodiment 3] In the third embodiment, instead of the overall processing in the first embodiment in Fig. 3, the server 20 detects unnecessary data transmission and transmits instructions regarding the frequency of data transmission to the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 then transmits data according to the instructions regarding the frequency of data transmission from the server 20. In the third embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0090] (Overall processing according to the third embodiment) Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the overall processing according to embodiment 3. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the overall processing shown in Fig. 11 is executed instead of the overall processing according to embodiment 1 in Fig. 3, but is otherwise similar to the first embodiment.

[0091] First, in step S201, the service management unit 212 of the server 20 acquires a service from a list of connected services provided by the server 20. The "list of connected services provided by the server 20" is registered in the same format as the service list table T1 (FIG. 6A) with the connected services provided by the server 20 registered therein.

[0092] Next, in step S202, the service management unit 212 inquires of the user management unit 215 about target users for the service acquired in step S201. Then, the service management unit 212 narrows down the target users for the corresponding service, and responds to the service management unit 212 with the narrowed down user list.

[0093] Next, in step S203, the service management unit 212 inquires of the vehicle management unit 211 about the vehicles 10 of the relevant user for the relevant service based on the user list acquired in step S202. The vehicle management unit 211 narrows down the vehicles 10 that are targets of the relevant service, and responds to the service management unit 212 with a list of the narrowed down target vehicles.

[0094] Next, in step S204, the vehicle management unit 211 acquires the location information of each vehicle 10 listed in the list of target vehicles acquired in step S203. The vehicle management unit 211 then compares the location information with a preregistered mobile communication unavailable area map (area information) to confirm whether each vehicle is in the relevant area. The mobile communication unavailable area here refers to an area where mobile communication radio waves cannot reach due to, for example, the shape of the road or the surrounding environment. If there is a vehicle 10 traveling in the relevant area (step S204 YES), the vehicle management unit 211 proceeds to step S205, and if there is no vehicle 10 traveling in the relevant area (step S204 NO), the vehicle management unit 211 proceeds to step S206.

[0095] In step S205, the service distribution unit 216 transmits to the target vehicle 10 that is traveling in the area determined in step S204, a command to stop data transmission along with a message that the vehicle 10 is traveling in an area where mobile communication is not available.

[0096] Meanwhile, in step S206, the service generation unit 214 determines whether the amount of data collected from the target vehicle 10 to generate a service satisfies the amount of data required. For example, if a certain number of vehicles 10 or more are traveling in a certain area, it can be determined that a sufficient amount of data required to generate a service has been collected. If the required data is sufficient (step S206 YES), the service generation unit 214 proceeds to step S207, and if the required data is not sufficient (step S206 NO), the service generation unit 214 proceeds to step S208.

[0097] In step S207, since the amount of data is sufficient based on the determination result in step S206, the service distribution unit 216 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 10, which is the target vehicle, to reduce the frequency of data transmission.

[0098] On the other hand, in step S208, since the amount of data is insufficient as a result of step S206, the service distribution unit 216 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 10, which is the target vehicle, to maintain the current data transmission frequency. In step S208, the service distribution unit 216 may transmit an instruction to the vehicle 10 to increase the data transmission frequency from the current frequency.

[0099] Then, in step S209, the data transmitter / receiver unit 116 of the target vehicle 10 transmits data of the corresponding service to the server 20 via the in-vehicle communication unit 14 in accordance with the instruction received from the server 20 regarding the frequency of data transmission.

[0100] (Effects of the Third Embodiment) According to this embodiment, the server 20 detects a wasteful state by utilizing information that the vehicle 10 does not know (for example, information on the status of other vehicles 10 and the status of the server 20) and transmits an instruction regarding the data transmission frequency. In this way, the vehicle 10 can reduce wasteful communication and resource usage while maintaining the service quality of the connected service by appropriately maintaining, reducing, or improving the data transmission frequency. Also, by detecting a wasteful state with the server 20, it is possible to deal with a case where the vehicle 10 does not have sufficient computing power.

[0101] [Embodiment 4] The overall system (data transmission system) according to this embodiment includes the vehicle 10 disclosed in embodiment 1 and the server 20 disclosed in embodiment 3. The server 20 executes the process of the server 20 described in Fig. 11 and transmits instructions regarding the data transmission frequency to the vehicle 10 in steps S205, S207, and S208. The vehicle 10 receives the instructions regarding the data transmission frequency from the server 20 in step S102a.

[0102] (Effects of the fourth embodiment) In this embodiment, both the server 20 and the vehicle 10 determine a "state in which wasteful data transmission is occurring" from the vehicle 10 to the server 20. Then, when the server 20 outputs an instruction to reduce the frequency of data transmission from the vehicle 10 to the server 20 or to stop data transmission, the instruction from the server 20 takes precedence. On the other hand, when an instruction to reduce the frequency of data transmission or to stop data transmission is not output from the server 20, the vehicle 10 determines a "state in which wasteful data transmission is occurring." In this way, by using the determinations of both the vehicle 10 and the server 20 in combination, it may be possible to efficiently improve the accuracy of determining a "state in which wasteful data transmission is occurring," and further reduce wasteful communication and resource usage while maintaining the accuracy of connected services.

[0103] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of the above-described embodiments with other configurations.

[0104] Furthermore, the above-mentioned configurations, functional units, processing units, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function can be stored in a memory, a storage device such as an HDD or SSD, or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0105] In addition, in each of the above figures, the control lines and information lines are shown as those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the actual implementation. For example, it may be considered that almost all the components are actually connected to each other.

[0106] The above-described arrangement of the functions and data of the vehicle 10 and the server 20 is merely an example. The arrangement, integration, and distribution of the functions and data may be changed to an optimal form in terms of the performance, processing efficiency, and communication efficiency of the hardware and software. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 10: vehicle, 11, 21: CPU, 14: in-vehicle communication unit, 15: in-vehicle memory unit, 16: sensor, 24: server communication unit, 25: server memory unit, 111: data acquisition unit, 112: data recording unit, 113: service management unit, 114: service execution unit, 115: data management unit, 116: data transmission / reception unit, 211: vehicle management unit, 212: service management unit, 213: data analysis unit, 214: service generation unit, 215: user management unit, 216: service distribution unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle that communicates with a server that provides connected services, the vehicle has a processor and a memory; The processor: collecting data from the vehicle including a speed of the vehicle; Transmitting the collected data to the server at predetermined intervals; When the speed of the vehicle changes by a predetermined value or more, it is determined whether or not an average value of the number of transmissions or the data size of the data transmitted from the vehicle to the server per predetermined time period relative to the travel distance of the vehicle exceeds a threshold value; If it is determined that the number of transmissions or the average value exceeds a threshold, it is determined that a wasteful state occurs in the transmission of the data to the server. A vehicle characterized by:

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, the vehicle further includes a storage unit that stores data items of the data collected from the vehicle by the server and predetermined transmission conditions for each of the data items; The processor: When the wasteful state is determined, if the transmission condition for each of the data items is satisfied, the data of the data items that satisfy the transmission condition is transmitted to the server. A vehicle characterized by:

3. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, The processor: When an instruction to reduce the frequency of transmission of the data transmitted from the vehicle to the server or to stop the transmission is received from the server, the transmission frequency of the data transmitted from the vehicle to the server is reduced from the predetermined cycle or the transmission is stopped without determining whether the number of transmissions or the average value exceeds a threshold. A vehicle characterized by:

4. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, The processor: acquiring area information in which the vehicle is scheduled to travel based on the current position and travel route of the vehicle; determining whether the area information corresponds to a communication unavailable area in which the communication is unavailable; When it is determined that the area information corresponds to the communication unavailable area, transmission of the data to the server is stopped. A vehicle characterized by:

5. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, The data items collected from the vehicle include the vehicle's speed, position, steering angle, battery capacity, and battery temperature. A vehicle characterized by:

6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, The transmission conditions for each data item include a condition for periodically transmitting data in units of a predetermined time, a condition for transmitting data when a certain index value changes beyond a threshold, and a condition for transmitting data every time the vehicle travels a predetermined travel distance. A vehicle characterized by:

7. A server that communicates with a vehicle and provides a connected service to the vehicle, the server has a processor and a memory; The processor: narrowing down a list of target users of the connected service by inquiring about a user management unit that manages users of the vehicle, narrowing down the list of target vehicles in which the target users ride by inquiring about a vehicle management unit that manages the vehicle, and acquiring location information of each of the narrowed down target vehicles; determining whether the amount of data indicating the traveling state of the vehicle, acquired by the vehicle, used to generate distribution data for the connected service to be distributed to the vehicle, satisfies the amount of data required to maintain accuracy of the connected service, based on the number of target vehicles traveling in a communication area; If the number of the vehicles traveling in the communication area is equal to or greater than a certain number, it is determined that the amount of the data satisfies the required amount of data, and an instruction is sent to the target vehicle to reduce the frequency of transmission of the data to the server from the predetermined cycle. A server characterized by:

8. 8. The server according to claim 7, The processor: If it is determined that the amount of data does not satisfy the required amount of data, an instruction is sent to the target vehicle to maintain the current frequency of transmission of the data to the server or to increase the frequency from the predetermined cycle. A server characterized by:

9. 8. The server according to claim 7, The processor: acquire area information in which the target vehicle is scheduled to travel based on the current position and travel route of the target vehicle; determining whether the area information corresponds to a communication unavailable area in which the communication is unavailable; When it is determined that the area information corresponds to the communication unavailable area, an instruction to stop transmission of the data to the server is transmitted to the target vehicle. A server characterized by:

10. A vehicle according to claim 3; a server according to claim 7; A service delivery system that has

11. A data transmission method executed by a vehicle that communicates with a server that provides connected services, the vehicle has a processor, a memory, and a storage unit; The storage unit The server stores data items of the data collected from the vehicle and preset transmission conditions for each of the data items; the processor: collecting said data from said vehicle, said data including a speed of said vehicle; When the speed of the vehicle changes by a predetermined value or more, it is determined whether or not an average value of the number of transmissions or the data size of the data transmitted from the vehicle to the server per predetermined time period relative to the travel distance of the vehicle exceeds a threshold value; When it is determined that the number of transmissions or the average value exceeds a threshold, the data of the data item that satisfies the transmission condition is transmitted to the server. A data transmission method comprising the steps of:

Images