Server device, information processing method, program and storage medium

Abstract

To enable providing a various kinds of services to an automatic driving vehicle that is shared.SOLUTION: A server device receives acquisition information acquired by a vehicle from an on-vehicle terminal device mounted on the vehicle during use of the vehicle by a user, stores the acquisition information, and provides information requested by a service provision company providing a service associated with the vehicle of acquisition information to a server device of the service provision company. When receiving a deletion request of the acquisition information, the server device deletes the acquisition information stored in a storage unit on the basis of the deletion request, and transmits a deletion requirement of the acquisition information provided to the service provision company to the server device of the service provision company on the basis of the deletion request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for providing various services related to car-sharing autonomous vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] As autonomous vehicles become more widespread, it is expected that car sharing will develop in addition to personal car ownership. Patent Document 1 describes technology related to autonomous vehicle car sharing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-57946 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An autonomous vehicle transmits various information, such as the vehicle's location and route, and information on surrounding objects detected by sensors, to a server that manages the autonomous vehicle. Companies that provide various services related to autonomous vehicles require various information related to autonomous vehicles in order to provide the services. Consider a case where a user receives a service related to autonomous vehicles, for example, a service provided by an insurance company. In this case, it is desirable for the server that manages the autonomous vehicle to provide to the insurance company only the information requested by the insurance company among the information obtained from the autonomous vehicle. Therefore, a mechanism is required for the server that manages the autonomous vehicle to select the information obtained from the autonomous vehicle and provide it to the company that provides the service.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to make it possible to provide various services to self-driving vehicles used in car sharing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention described in the claims is a server device that collects information from a vehicle, and includes a memory unit that receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal device installed in the vehicle while a user is using the vehicle, an information providing unit that provides information from the acquired information requested by a service providing company that provides services related to the vehicle to the server device of the service providing company, a receiving unit that receives a deletion request for the acquired information, a deletion unit that deletes the acquired information stored in the memory unit based on the deletion request, and a transmission unit that transmits a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service providing company to the server device of the service providing company based on the deletion request.

[0007] The invention described in the claims is an information processing method executed by a server device that collects information from a vehicle, and includes a storage step of receiving acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal device installed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user, and storing the acquired information in a memory unit; an information providing step of providing information from the acquired information requested by a service provider that provides services related to the vehicle to the server device of the service provider; a receiving step of receiving a deletion request for the acquired information; a deletion step of deleting the acquired information stored in the memory unit based on the deletion request; and a transmission step of transmitting a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service provider to the server device of the service provider based on the deletion request.

[0008] The invention described in the claims is a program executed by a server device having a computer that collects information from a vehicle, causing the computer to function as a memory unit that receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal installed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user, an information providing unit that provides information from the acquired information requested by a service provider that provides services related to the vehicle to the server device of the service provider, a receiving unit that receives a deletion request for the acquired information, a deletion unit that deletes the acquired information stored in the memory unit based on the deletion request, and a transmission unit that transmits a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service provider to the server device of the service provider based on the deletion request. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic configuration of a car sharing system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a user terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the in-vehicle terminal; [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a vehicle cloud server and a service cloud server. FIG. [Diagram 5] An example of service information is shown below. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart of a service information registration process. [Figure 7] 13 shows an example of service information transmitted from an in-vehicle terminal to a vehicle cloud. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart of a first example of a start-of-use process. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart of a second example of a start-of-use process. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart of a process of providing information to a service cloud server. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart of a process for ending use of a shared car. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart of a history deletion process. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates an overview of an authentication method using biometric information. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart showing authentication processing at the start of use using biometric information. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart of an authentication process during use of a shared car. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] One preferred embodiment of the present invention is a server device that collects information from a vehicle, and includes: a memory unit that receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal device installed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user; an information providing unit that provides information from the acquired information that is requested by a service providing company that provides services related to the vehicle to the server device of the service providing company; a receiving unit that receives a deletion request for the acquired information; a deletion unit that deletes the acquired information stored in the memory unit based on the deletion request; and a transmission unit that transmits a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service providing company to the server device of the service providing company based on the deletion request.

[0011] The server device receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from the vehicle-mounted terminal device installed in the vehicle while the user is using the vehicle, and provides information requested by a service provider providing a service related to the vehicle, among the acquired information, to the server device of the service provider. When the server device receives a request to delete acquired information, it deletes the acquired information stored in the memory unit based on the deletion request, and further transmits a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service provider to the server device of the service provider based on the deletion request. Thus, the information acquired while the vehicle was being used is deleted in response to the deletion request from the user.

[0012] In one aspect of the server device, the storage unit stores, for each of the service providers, information requested by the service providers.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the receiving unit receives the deletion request from the vehicle-mounted terminal device. In another preferred embodiment, the receiving unit receives the deletion request from a terminal device of the user.

[0014] Another aspect of the server device includes a notification unit that receives a notification from the server device of the service provider that the acquired information has been deleted and notifies the in-vehicle terminal that the acquired information has been deleted from the server device of the service provider, thereby making it possible to notify a user that the acquired information has been deleted from the server device of the service provider.

[0015] In another aspect of the above server device, the amount of acquired information provided to the service provider company is compared with the amount of acquired information deleted by the service provider company, and when it is confirmed that the acquired information has been deleted, the notification unit notifies the in-vehicle terminal device that the acquired information has been deleted from the server device of the service provider company.

[0016] In another aspect of the server device, the notification unit notifies the in-vehicle terminal that the acquired information has been deleted from the storage unit by the deletion unit, thereby making it possible to inform a user that the acquired information has been deleted from the storage unit of the server device.

[0017] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information processing method executed by a server device that collects information from a vehicle includes a storage step of receiving acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal device mounted on the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user and storing the acquired information in a storage unit, an information providing step of providing information requested by a service provider that provides a service related to the vehicle from the acquired information to a server device of the service provider, a receiving step of receiving a deletion request for the acquired information, a deletion step of deleting the acquired information stored in the storage unit based on the deletion request, and a transmission step of transmitting a deletion request for the acquired information provided to the service provider to the server device of the service provider based on the deletion request. Thus, the information acquired while the vehicle was being used is deleted in response to the deletion request from the user.

[0018] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a program executed by a server device having a computer for collecting information from a vehicle causes the computer to function as a storage unit that receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an on-board terminal device mounted on the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user, an information providing unit that provides information requested by a service provider providing a service related to the vehicle from the acquired information to the server device of the service provider, a receiving unit that receives a request to delete the acquired information, a deleting unit that deletes the acquired information stored in the storage unit based on the deletion request, and a transmitting unit that transmits a request to delete the acquired information provided to the service provider to the server device of the service provider based on the deletion request. The above-mentioned server device can be realized by executing this program on a computer. This program can be stored in a storage medium and handled. EXAMPLES

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Car sharing system] (Overall composition) 1 shows a schematic configuration of a car sharing system according to an embodiment. The car sharing system includes a user terminal 10 used by a user, a shared car V, a vehicle cloud server 30, and a service cloud server 40.

[0020] The user terminal 10 is a terminal device used by a user who uses a shared car, and is typically a user's smartphone. The shared car V is an autonomous vehicle provided to a user. The shared car V is equipped with an in-vehicle terminal 20, and the user terminal 10 and the in-vehicle terminal 20 can transmit and receive data via wireless communication.

[0021] The vehicle cloud server 30 is a server device that constitutes a vehicle cloud. A vehicle cloud is a cloud operated by an information collection company that manages autonomous vehicles provided to users and collects various information from the autonomous vehicles. The information collection company is operated by the manufacturer of the autonomous vehicles. For example, if there are three companies, A, B, and C, that are automobile manufacturers of autonomous vehicles, there are an information collection company operated by Company A, an information collection company operated by Company B, and an information collection company operated by Company C, and each information collection company collects various information from the autonomous vehicles manufactured by the automobile manufacturer that it operates.

[0022] The service cloud server 40 is a server device that constitutes a service cloud. A service cloud is a cloud operated by a service provider that provides services related to self-driving cars. Examples of the service provider include an insurance company that provides insurance-related services, a map service company that provides map-related services, a parking service company that provides parking-related services, and a route search service company that provides route search-related services.

[0023] The on-board terminal 20 installed in the shared car V, the vehicle cloud server 30, and the service cloud server 40 can communicate with each other via a network 5 via wired or wireless means.

[0024] (User terminal) Next, the user terminal will be described in detail. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the user terminal 10. The user terminal 10 has a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, a display unit 14, and an input unit 15. These components can communicate with each other via a bus line 19.

[0025] The communication unit 11 communicates with the outside world by wireless communication. In this embodiment, the communication unit 11 mainly communicates wirelessly with the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V. The memory unit 12 includes a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, etc., and stores programs for various processes executed by the user terminal 10. The memory unit 12 is also used as a working memory when various processes are executed. Furthermore, the memory unit 12 stores service information, which will be described later.

[0026] The control unit 13 is configured with a computer such as a CPU, and controls the entire user terminal 10. Specifically, the control unit 13 performs various processes by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 12. The display unit 14 is a liquid crystal display device or the like, and displays various information. The input unit 15 is a touch panel or the like provided on the display unit 14, and is used when the user inputs instructions.

[0027] (In-vehicle terminal) Next, the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 will be described in detail. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the vehicle-mounted terminal 20. As shown in the figure, the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 mainly has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, an input unit 23, a control unit 24, an interface 25, and an output unit 26. The elements in the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus line 29. The interface 25 is also connected to a sensor unit 27.

[0028] Based on the control of the control unit 24, the communication unit 21 transmits various information (hereinafter also referred to as "upload data") acquired by the shared car V to the vehicle cloud server 30, and receives map data for updating the map DB from the vehicle cloud server 30. The communication unit 21 also communicates with the user terminal 10 by wireless communication. Furthermore, the communication unit 21 may perform a process of transmitting a signal for controlling the vehicle to the vehicle, and a process of receiving a signal related to the vehicle's state from the vehicle.

[0029] The storage unit 22 stores programs executed by the control unit 24 and information necessary for the control unit 24 to execute predetermined processes. In this embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores a plurality of map DBs, a sensor data cache, and vehicle attribute information.

[0030] The map DB is a database including, for example, road data, facility data, and feature data around the road. The road data includes lane network data for route search, road shape data, traffic law data, and the like. The feature data includes information on signs such as road signs, road markings such as stop lines, road dividing lines such as center lines, and structures along the road. The feature data may also include highly accurate point cloud information of features to be used for vehicle position estimation. In addition, the map DB may store various other data necessary for position estimation.

[0031] The sensor data cache is a cache memory that temporarily stores the output data of the sensor unit 27. The vehicle attribute information indicates information related to the attributes of the shared car V equipped with the in-vehicle terminal 20, such as the vehicle type, vehicle ID, vehicle size such as vehicle length, vehicle width, and vehicle height, and the fuel type of the vehicle.

[0032] The input unit 23 is a button, a touch panel, a remote controller, a voice input device, etc. for the user to operate, and receives, for example, an input specifying a destination for route search, an input specifying on / off of autonomous driving, etc., and supplies the generated input signal to the control unit 24. The output unit 26 is, for example, a display, a speaker, etc. that performs output based on the control of the control unit 24.

[0033] The interface 25 performs an interface operation for supplying output data of the sensor unit 27 to the control unit 24 and a sensor data cache. The sensor unit 27 includes a plurality of external sensors for recognizing the surrounding environment of the vehicle, such as a lidar and a camera, and internal sensors, such as a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor, a position sensor, and a three-axis sensor. The lidar discretely measures the distance to an object existing in the external world, recognizes the surface of the object as a three-dimensional point cloud, and generates point cloud data. The camera generates image data photographed from the vehicle. The position sensor is provided for detecting the position of each external sensor, and the three-axis sensor is provided for detecting the attitude of each external sensor. The sensor unit 27 may have any external sensor and internal sensor other than the external sensor and internal sensor shown in FIG. 3. For example, the sensor unit 27 may include an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, a microphone, etc. as an external sensor.

[0034] The control unit 24 includes a CPU that executes a predetermined program on one or more platforms, and controls the entire in-vehicle terminal 20. Functionally, the control unit 24 includes a position estimation unit, an object detection unit, and an upload data generation unit.

[0035] The position estimation unit estimates the vehicle position (including the vehicle attitude) based on the output data of the sensor unit 27 and the map DB stored in the sensor data cache. The position estimation unit can execute various position estimation methods. For example, the position estimation unit executes a vehicle position estimation method using dead reckoning (autonomous navigation) based on the output of an autonomous positioning sensor such as a GPS receiver and a gyro sensor, a vehicle position estimation method that performs a process (map matching) of further matching road data in the map DB with autonomous navigation, and a vehicle position estimation method based on output data from an external sensor such as a lidar or a camera and position information of the landmark indicated by the feature information in the map DB, using a predetermined object (landmark) existing in the surroundings as a reference. Then, the position estimation unit executes a position estimation method with the highest estimation accuracy among the currently executable position estimation methods, and supplies the upload data generation unit with vehicle position information indicating the vehicle position, etc. obtained based on the executed position estimation method. The position estimation unit supplies the vehicle position information including information specifying the executed position estimation method to the upload data generation unit.

[0036] The object detection unit detects a predetermined object based on the point cloud information, image data, audio data, etc. output by the sensor unit 27. In this case, for example, the object detection unit extracts feature data corresponding to the object detected by the sensor unit 27 from the map DB based on the vehicle position estimated by the position estimation unit. Then, when there is a difference between the position, shape, etc. of the object detected by the sensor unit 27 and the position, shape, etc. of the object indicated by the feature data extracted from the map DB, or when there is no corresponding feature data in the map DB, the object detection unit supplies information on the object detected by the sensor unit 27 to the upload data generation unit.

[0037] The upload data generation unit generates upload data based on the vehicle position information supplied from the position estimation unit, the object data supplied from the object detection unit, and the output data of the sensor unit 27 supplied from the sensor data cache. Then, the upload data generation unit transmits the generated upload data to the vehicle cloud server 30 via the communication unit 21.

[0038] (Vehicle Cloud Server) Next, the vehicle cloud server 30 will be described in detail. Fig. 4(A) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the vehicle cloud server 30. As shown in the figure, the vehicle cloud server 30 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, a service information DB 34, and a history DB 35. The elements in the vehicle cloud server 30 are connected to each other via a bus line 39.

[0039] The communication unit 31 communicates with the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V and the service cloud server 40 under the control of the control unit 33. Specifically, the communication unit 31 receives upload data from the in-vehicle terminal 20 and transmits information corresponding to the provided information described later to the service cloud server 40.

[0040] The storage unit 32 includes a ROM, a RAM, etc., and stores programs for various processes executed by the vehicle cloud server 30. The storage unit 32 is also used as a working memory when various processes are executed.

[0041] The control unit 33 is configured with a computer such as a CPU, and controls the entire vehicle cloud server 30. Specifically, the control unit 33 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 32 to perform various processes.

[0042] The service information DB 34 stores the service information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted terminal 20. The service information will be described in detail later.

[0043] The history DB 35 stores the upload data acquired by the vehicle cloud server 30 from the in-vehicle terminal 20. Specifically, the history DB 35 stores information received from each in-vehicle terminal 20 in association with the vehicle ID of the shared car V in which the in-vehicle terminal 20 is mounted, the reception time, and the like. The history DB 35 may also store the provided information transmitted by the vehicle cloud server 30 to the service cloud server 40 as history. In this case, information identifying the service cloud server 40 that transmitted the provided information is stored in association with the provided information.

[0044] In the above configuration, the communication unit 31 is an example of a receiving unit, a transmitting unit, and a notification unit of the present invention, the memory unit 32 is an example of a memory unit of the present invention, and the control unit 33 is an example of an information providing unit and a deletion unit of the present invention.

[0045] (Service Cloud Server) Next, the service cloud server 40 will be described in detail. Fig. 4(B) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the service cloud server 40. As shown in the figure, the service cloud server 40 includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a control unit 43, a contract information DB 44, and a history DB 45. The elements in the service cloud server 40 are connected to each other via a bus line 49.

[0046] The communication unit 41 communicates with the vehicle cloud server 30 under the control of the control unit 43. Specifically, the communication unit 41 receives information corresponding to provided information, which will be described later, from the vehicle cloud server 30.

[0047] The storage unit 42 includes a ROM, a RAM, etc., and stores programs for various processes executed by the service cloud server 40. The storage unit 42 is also used as a working memory when various processes are executed.

[0048] The control unit 43 is configured with a computer such as a CPU, and controls the entire service cloud server 40. Specifically, the control unit 43 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 42 to perform various processes.

[0049] The contract information DB44 stores contract information. The contract information is information that specifies the service content provided by the service provider operating the service cloud server 40 to users who use a shared car V using a car sharing service. For example, if the service provider is an insurance company, the contract information includes the content of the insurance contract that the user has concluded with the insurance company. Furthermore, the contract information includes provision information based on the contract. In other words, the contract information includes provision information that indicates the information that the vehicle cloud server 30 should provide to the service provider based on the contract.

[0050] The history DB 45 stores information acquired by the service cloud server 40 from the vehicle cloud server 30. This information is information transmitted from the vehicle cloud server 30 as information to be provided that indicates information requested by the service provider, among information acquired by the vehicle cloud server 30 from the in-vehicle terminal 20. Specifically, the history DB 45 stores information received from the vehicle cloud server 30 in association with information identifying the vehicle cloud server 30 that transmitted the information, the time of reception, and the like.

[0051] [Service Information] Next, the service information will be described. The service information is information about services that a user who uses the shared car V has contracted with various service provider companies. The service information is stored in the storage unit 12 of the user terminal 10 as shown in FIG.

[0052] An example of the service information is shown in Fig. 5. As shown in the figure, the service information includes a "shared car user ID", a "vehicle cloud", a "service cloud user ID", "provided information", and a "destination address".

[0053] A "shared car user ID" is the user's ID for a shared car operating company. A shared car operating company is a company that provides a shared car V to a user. As mentioned above, a shared car V is an autonomous vehicle manufactured by multiple automobile manufacturers, and the shared car operating company prepares the autonomous vehicles by purchasing them from those automobile manufacturers and provides them to the user. At this time, the user enters into a user contract with the shared car operating company, and the ID given to the user by the shared car operating company at that time is the shared car user ID.

[0054] "Vehicle cloud" refers to a vehicle cloud that is contracted by the car share operating company used by the user. In this embodiment, the car share operating company is a company that provides users with a car share V manufactured and managed by car manufacturers A and B. In this case, the car share operating company purchases self-driving cars of car manufacturers A and B, and provides them to users as a car sharing service, for example, and requests the management of the car share V provided to the user to an information collection company operated by the car manufacturers. Therefore, the service information stored in the user terminal 10 stores information about the vehicle clouds operated by car manufacturers A and B as information collection companies. In the example of FIG. 5, a vehicle cloud "CL001" operated by company A and a vehicle cloud "CL002" operated by company B are stored. When the car share operating company contracts with a new information collection company, the vehicle cloud is added.

[0055] While the user is using the shared car V provided by the shared car operating company, the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V transmits various information acquired during driving as upload data to the vehicle cloud server 30. For example, when a user receives a shared car V of automobile manufacturer A from the shared car operating company, the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V uploads the information acquired during driving to the vehicle cloud "CL001" of the information collecting company operated by automobile manufacturer A.

[0056] A "service cloud user ID" is a user's ID for a service cloud operated by a service provider with which the user has a contract. A service cloud user ID is registered for each vehicle cloud operated by an automobile manufacturer. In the example of FIG. 5, the user has contracts with an insurance company, a map service company, a parking service company, and a route search service company for vehicle cloud CL001 operated by automobile manufacturer A. Therefore, when the user uses a shared car V of automobile manufacturer A, the user can receive services from the insurance company, the map service company, the parking service company, and the route search service company. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 5, the service cloud user ID for the insurance company is "XXXX1", the service cloud user ID for the map service company is "ZZZZ1", the service cloud user ID for the parking service company is "WWWWW", and the service cloud user ID for the route search service company is "RRRRR".

[0057] Similarly, the user has a contract with an insurance company and a map service company for the vehicle cloud CL002 operated by the automobile manufacturer B. Therefore, when the user uses the shared car V of the automobile manufacturer B, the user can receive services from the insurance company and the map service company. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 5, the service cloud user ID for the insurance company is "XXXX2", and the service cloud user ID for the map service company is "ZZZZ2". Note that a service provider may provide a service to a user by using the service of another service provider. Specifically, there is a case where a route search service company contracts with a map service company, and thus the latest map can be provided to the user and a route search service based on the latest map can be provided, thereby improving the service level for the user. Note that in this case, the route search service company may directly receive the service from the map service company and obtain the latest map. Alternatively, the route search service company may provide the user with the service cloud user ID of the map service company, so that the user can directly receive the service from the map service company.

[0058] "Provided information" indicates information to be provided to each service cloud server 40 among various information acquired by the vehicle cloud server 30 from the in-vehicle terminal 20. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, for the insurance company, "photographed information taken by a camera N minutes before and after the occurrence of an accident" is specified as the provided information. This is, for example, information taken of the outside of the vehicle by an in-vehicle camera, which is one of the sensors mounted on the shared car V, and is useful information for clarifying the situation at the time of the accident and the cause of the accident. When an accident occurs in the shared car V, the service cloud server 30 will transmit the photographed information taken by the camera N minutes before and after the accident among the information acquired from the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V to the service cloud server 40 of the insurance company. The insurance company can provide appropriate insurance services based on the photographed information of the shared car V.

[0059] Similarly, for the map service company, "recognition object information" and "travel route information" are stipulated as the information to be provided. Therefore, the service cloud server 30 transmits the recognition object information and travel route information, among the information acquired from the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V, to the service cloud server 40 of the map service company. The map service company can update the map data based on this information. In addition, the map service company can provide a service of supplying the latest maps with updated data to users of the shared car V with whom it has a contract.

[0060] In addition, for the parking lot service company, "user's destination" is set as the provided information. Therefore, the service cloud server 30 transmits the destination set by the user from the information acquired from the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 of the shared car V to the service cloud server 40 of the parking lot service company. The parking lot service company notifies the terminal device 20 via the vehicle cloud server 30 of parking lots in the vicinity of the destination where the shared car V can be parked, so that the shared car V can automatically park in the parking lot near the destination by autonomous driving.

[0061] In addition, for the route search service company, "start point / destination / waypoint" and "driving area" are set as the provided information. Therefore, the service cloud server 30 transmits the "start point / destination / waypoint" and "driving area" set by the user from the information acquired from the in-vehicle terminal 20 of the shared car V to the service cloud server 40 of the route search service company. Based on the information of the "start point / destination / waypoint" and "driving area", the route search service company notifies the terminal device 20 via the vehicle cloud server 30 of a driving route that meets the user's wishes. As a result, the shared car V can reach the appropriate route from the start point to the destination by autonomous driving.

[0062] The "destination address" indicates the destination address of the information corresponding to the provided information, that is, the address of the service cloud. In the example of Fig. 5, when an accident occurs in the shared car V, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the photographed information taken by the camera N minutes before and after the accident to the address "xxx.xxx.co.jp".

[0063] [Service information registration process] Next, the process of registering the above-mentioned service information in the user terminal 10 and the in-vehicle terminal 20 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the service information registration process. First, the user starts an application program on the user terminal 10, and then inputs a shared car user ID and a service cloud user ID to the user terminal 10, which receives them (step S11). The shared car user ID is a user ID assigned to the user by the shared car operating company, and the service cloud user ID is a user ID assigned to the user by each service provider company. Note that if the user has contracts with multiple service provider companies, the user will input the service cloud user ID of each service provider company.

[0064] The user terminal 10 transmits the service cloud user ID received in step S11 to the service cloud server 40 operated by the corresponding service provider (step S12). The service cloud server 40 refers to the contract information DB 44 to acquire provision information corresponding to the user's contract (step S13), and transmits it to the user terminal 10 together with the destination address of the service cloud server 40 (step S14).

[0065] As described above, there are cases where a service provider A (e.g., a route search service company) with which a user has a contract provides a service by using the service of another service provider B (e.g., a map service company). When the service provider A provides the user with a service cloud user ID of the service provider B, it is preferable that the user ID of the service provider B is transmitted from the service provider A to the user terminal 10 in step S13 and automatically registered in the user terminal 10. In this case, when the user ID of the service provider B is registered in the user terminal 10, the service cloud user ID is transmitted to the service cloud server 40 operated by the service provider B by the process of step S12. Alternatively, the service cloud server 40 of the service provider A may obtain the provided information and the destination address from the service cloud server 40 of the service provider B, and transmit this information together with the service cloud user ID of the service provider B to the user terminal 10 for registration.

[0066] The user terminal 10 associates the received information to be provided and the destination address with the service cloud user ID, and stores the information as service information in the storage unit 12 (step S15). In this manner, the service information as shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the user terminal 10.

[0067] Thereafter, when the user uses the shared car V, the service information is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 (step S16). For example, the user operates the user terminal 10 or the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 to establish communication between the user terminal 10 and the vehicle-mounted terminal 20, and the service information is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the vehicle-mounted terminal 20. When the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 receives the service information from the user terminal 10, it stores the service information in the service information DB 34 and transmits it to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S17). In this case, the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 transmits only the part of the service information related to the destination vehicle cloud server 30. For example, when the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 receives the service information shown in FIG. 5 from the user terminal 10, it transmits only the part corresponding to the vehicle cloud CL001 shown in FIG. 7(A) to the vehicle cloud server 30 of the vehicle cloud CL001, and transmits only the part corresponding to the vehicle cloud CL002 shown in FIG. 7(B) to the vehicle cloud server 30 of the vehicle cloud CL002.

[0068] [Start of use process] Next, the process in which the user starts using the shared car V will be described. (First example) In the first example, the service cloud server 40 authenticates the user based on the service cloud user ID. Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the first example of the usage start process. It is assumed that the in-vehicle terminal 20 receives and stores the service information from the user terminal 10 as shown in step S16 of Fig. 6.

[0069] First, when a user operates the user terminal 10 to input an instruction to start using the shared car V, the user terminal 10 transmits a request to start using the shared car V to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S20). The in-vehicle terminal 20 refers to the service information of the user to obtain a shared car user ID and a service cloud user ID associated with the vehicle cloud for the shared car V, and transmits them to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S21).

[0070] The vehicle cloud server 30 performs authentication based on the shared car user ID received from the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S22). That is, the vehicle cloud server 30 judges whether the user has a user contract with the shared car operating company. If the authentication is successful, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the service cloud user ID to the corresponding service cloud server 40 (step S23). If the authentication fails, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits a message to that effect to the in-vehicle terminal 20, and the process ends.

[0071] The service cloud server 40 performs authentication based on the service cloud user ID received from the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S24). Specifically, the service cloud server 40 refers to the contract information DB 44 and determines whether or not a valid contract corresponding to the service cloud user ID exists. Then, the service cloud server 40 transmits the authentication result to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S25).

[0072] The vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the authentication result received from the service cloud server 40 to the on-board terminal 20 (step S26). The on-board terminal 20 notifies the user of the authentication result by displaying it on the output unit 26 or the like (step S27). Then, the process ends.

[0073] (Second example) In the second example, the service cloud server 40 authenticates the user based on the service cloud user ID and the vehicle information. Fig. 9 is a flowchart of the second example of the usage start process. Note that, as a premise, as shown in step S16 of Fig. 6, the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 receives and stores the service information from the user terminal 10.

[0074] First, when a user operates the user terminal 10 to input an instruction to start using the service, the user terminal 10 transmits a request to start using the service to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S30). The in-vehicle terminal 20 refers to the service information of the user to obtain a shared car user ID and a service cloud user ID associated with the vehicle cloud for the shared car V, and transmits them to the vehicle cloud server 30 together with the vehicle ID of the shared car V in which the user is installed (step S31).

[0075] The vehicle cloud server 30 performs authentication based on the shared car user ID received from the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S32). That is, the vehicle cloud server 30 judges whether the user has a user contract with the shared car operating company. If the authentication is successful, the vehicle cloud server 30 acquires vehicle information (e.g., information on the vehicle model of the shared car V, mileage, information on the location of the malfunction, etc.) based on the vehicle ID, and transmits the service cloud user ID and the vehicle information to the service cloud server 40 (step S33). If the authentication fails, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits a message to that effect to the in-vehicle terminal 20, and the process ends.

[0076] The service cloud server 40 performs authentication based on the service cloud user ID and the vehicle information received from the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S34). Specifically, the service cloud server 40 refers to the contract information DB 44 and judges whether or not a contract corresponding to the service cloud user ID is valid and whether or not the vehicle information satisfies the conditions stipulated in the contract. For example, in the case of the service cloud server 40 of an insurance company, it judges whether or not the vehicle that the user is about to use matches the vehicle conditions stipulated in the user's insurance contract. For example, it is assumed that the insurance contract is such that the insurance service can be applied only when the user uses a specific model of car. This means that, for example, the insurance contract is such that the insurance service is not provided when the user uses a specific model of car with a high accident rate. In this case, if the user uses a different model of car, the authentication is not successful. Similarly, if the insurance contract is such that the insurance service can be applied only when the mileage of the vehicle used by the user is within a predetermined range, the authentication is not successful when the user uses a vehicle that has traveled a predetermined distance or more.

[0077] If a valid contract corresponding to the service cloud user ID exists and the vehicle information satisfies the conditions stipulated in the contract, the service cloud server 40 determines that the authentication is successful and transmits the authentication result to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S35).

[0078] The vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the authentication result received from the service cloud server 40 to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S36). The in-vehicle terminal 20 notifies the user of the authentication result by displaying it on the output unit 26 or the like (step S37). Then, the process ends.

[0079] In the second example, the service cloud server 40 performs authentication by comparing not only the service cloud user ID but also the vehicle the user is attempting to use with the vehicle conditions in the user's contract, so that the user can be properly authenticated even if there are various contract conditions between the user and the service provider.

[0080] In the above embodiment, vehicle information has been described as a condition for providing insurance services, but for example, the driving range of the shared car V (i.e., the area and driving route to which the user is heading) may also be a condition for providing insurance services. This is the case when the contract stipulates that insurance services are not applied when the user passes through a dangerous area. In this case, the service cloud 40 receives information on the user's destination and the driving route to the destination from the terminal device 20 via the vehicle cloud 30, instead of vehicle information. Then, if a valid contract corresponding to the service cloud user ID exists and the driving range of the shared car V meets the conditions stipulated in the contract, the service cloud server 40 determines that the authentication is successful.

[0081] [Information provision from vehicle cloud server to service cloud server] Next, a process of providing information from the vehicle cloud server 30 to the service cloud server 40 will be described. The vehicle cloud server 30 is operated by an information collection company, and periodically acquires various information from the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 of the shared car V and stores it in the history DB 35. On the other hand, the service cloud server 40 does not need all the information acquired by the vehicle cloud server 30 from the vehicle-mounted terminal 20, but certain information is necessary to provide services to users. From this perspective, as described above, information required for each service cloud is defined as provided information, and service information including the provided information is provided to the vehicle cloud server 30. The vehicle cloud server 30 provides only the necessary information to the service cloud server 40 according to the definition of the provided information.

[0082] In the example of the service information shown in FIG. 5, for example, when an accident occurs in the shared car V, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits only the photographed information by the camera for N minutes before and after the accident, among various information acquired from the in-vehicle terminal 20, to the service cloud server 40 of the insurance company. Also, when the detection result of an object acquired by the sensor unit 27 of the shared car V differs from the map information, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits object recognition information including the fact and its position information to the service cloud server 40 of the map service company. The service cloud server 40 stores the information received from the vehicle cloud server 30 in this way in the history DB 45. Also, the vehicle cloud server 30 may store the information transmitted to the service cloud server 40 in the history DB 35.

[0083] 10 is a flowchart of the information provision process from the vehicle cloud server to the service cloud server. Note that it is assumed that the in-vehicle terminal 20 has received and stored the service information from the user terminal 10 as shown in step S16 of FIG.

[0084] First, the in-vehicle terminal 20 transmits service information to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S41). The vehicle cloud server 30 stores the received service information in the service information DB 34 (step S42). Note that it is assumed that in step S22 of FIG. 8, the vehicle cloud server 30 performs authentication based on the shared car user ID received from the in-vehicle terminal 20, and that the in-vehicle terminal 20 receives a result indicating that the authentication was successful in step S27.

[0085] While the shared car V is traveling, the in-vehicle terminal 20 transmits various information acquired by the sensor unit 27 and the like (hereinafter referred to as "detection information") to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S43). The vehicle cloud server 30 stores the received detection information in the history DB 35 (step S44).

[0086] Next, the vehicle cloud server 30 refers to the service information and transmits, from among the detection information received from the in-vehicle terminal 20, the detection information corresponding to the provision information defined for each service cloud to the service cloud server 40. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the vehicle cloud server 30 of the vehicle cloud CL001 transmits information for N minutes before and after the accident to the service cloud server 40 of the insurance company (destination address "xxx.xxx.co.jp"). The service cloud server 40 stores the received detection information in the history DB 45.

[0087] In this way, by providing the vehicle cloud server 30 with service information including the provision information, the vehicle cloud server 30 can efficiently transmit to the service cloud server 40 only the information required by the service provider from the various detection information acquired by the in-vehicle terminal 20.

[0088] In addition, when the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the detection information corresponding to the provision information to the service cloud server 40, it is preferable that the vehicle cloud server 30 also stores history information indicating the detection information transmitted to the service cloud server 40 in the history DB 35.

[0089] [Termination of Use] Next, the process when the user ends use of the shared car V will be described. Fig. 11 is a flowchart of the usage termination process when the user ends use of the shared car V. When the user inputs an instruction to end use into the user terminal 10, the user terminal 10 transmits a usage termination request to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S50). For example, while the user is using the shared car V, a button for issuing an instruction to end use (e.g., a "get out" button) may be displayed on the user terminal 10, and when the user presses the button, it may be determined that an instruction to end use has been input.

[0090] When the in-vehicle terminal 20 receives the usage termination request from the user terminal 10, it transmits the usage termination request to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S51). When the vehicle cloud server 30 receives the usage termination request, it performs usage termination processing (step S52). Specifically, the vehicle cloud server 30 cancels the user's registration as a user of the shared car V, and terminates the transmission of detection information to the service cloud server 40. In addition, the vehicle cloud server 30 notifies the service cloud server 40 of the end of the user's usage (step S53). As a result, the service cloud server 40 recognizes that the user has terminated the use of the shared car V, that the transmission of detection information from the vehicle cloud server 30 has been stopped, and so on.

[0091] Furthermore, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits a usage end notification to the in-vehicle terminal 20, indicating that usage end processing has been performed (step S54). Upon receiving the usage end notification from the vehicle cloud server 30, the in-vehicle terminal 20 transmits a usage end notification to the user terminal 10 (step S55). The user terminal 10 displays a message indicating usage end on the display unit 14 (step S56), and notifies the user that usage by the user has been properly terminated.

[0092] [History deletion process] Next, a process of deleting the history information stored in the vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40 will be described. As described above, the vehicle cloud server 30 stores the information acquired from the in-vehicle terminal 20 while the user is using the shared car V in the history DB 35. In addition, the service cloud server 40 receives detection information corresponding to the provided information from the vehicle cloud server 30 while the user is using the shared car V, and stores it in the history DB 45. These provided information are personal information for the user, and the user may not want the provided information to continue to be recorded by the information collection company or the service provider even after the provision of the service from the service provider company has ended. Therefore, the user can request the deletion of these history information after the use of the shared car V has ended. The vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40 delete the history information based on the deletion request from the user.

[0093] 12 is a flowchart of the history deletion process. First, the user operates the user terminal 10 to transmit a history deletion request to the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 (step S60). The history deletion request includes the user's shared car user ID. When the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 receives the history deletion request from the user terminal 10, it transmits the history deletion request to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S61).

[0094] When the vehicle cloud server 30 receives the history deletion request, it deletes the history information corresponding to the shared car user ID included in the history deletion request from among the history information stored in the history DB 35 (step S62). Furthermore, the vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the history deletion request to the service cloud server 40 (step S63). At that time, the vehicle cloud server 30 refers to the service information, and transmits the history deletion request to the service cloud server 40 together with the service cloud user ID.

[0095] When the service cloud server 40 receives the history deletion request, it deletes the history information corresponding to the service cloud user ID included in the history deletion request from among the history information stored in the history DB 45 (step S64).Then, the service cloud server 40 transmits a deletion completion notification indicating that the history information has been deleted to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S65).

[0096] When the vehicle cloud server 30 receives the deletion completion notification from the service cloud server 40, it transmits the deletion completion notification to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S66). This notification indicates that both the deletion of the history in the vehicle cloud server 30 and the deletion of the history in the service cloud server 40 have been completed.

[0097] When the in-vehicle terminal 20 receives the deletion completion notification from the vehicle cloud server 30, it transfers the deletion completion notification to the user terminal (step S67). When the user terminal 10 receives the deletion completion notification from the in-vehicle terminal 20, it displays on the display unit 14 a message indicating the deletion completion (step S68). This allows the user to know that the history information has been correctly deleted.

[0098] In the above example, the history deletion request by the user is transmitted to the vehicle cloud server 30 through the in-vehicle terminal 20. Alternatively, the history deletion request may be transmitted directly from the user terminal 20 to the vehicle cloud server 30. The history deletion request may include the range of information requested to be deleted, for example, by the date or time when the information was transmitted. In this case, the vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40 delete the history information according to the specified date or time. In addition, when the vehicle cloud server 30 stores information on the amount of information transmitted to the service cloud server 40 (data amount, number of records, etc.) for each service cloud user ID, the vehicle cloud server 30 may receive information on the amount of information deleted by the service cloud server 40 together with a deletion completion notification from the service cloud server 40, and may verify the information to confirm that the history information has been reliably deleted before transmitting a deletion completion notification to the in-vehicle terminal 20.

[0099] [Use of biometric authentication] Next, a method of using biometric information in authenticating a user who uses a shared car V will be described. When a user uses a vehicle cloud or a service cloud, it is necessary to prevent spoofing. An example of spoofing is a case where a user X completes authentication for the vehicle cloud and the service cloud, and then another user Y uses the shared car V. If this happens, the service provider will end up providing services based on a contract with user X to user Y who does not have a contract. Therefore, authentication using biometric information is performed at the time of authentication at the start of use and while the shared car V is actually being used.

[0100] Fig. 13 shows an outline of an authentication method using biometric information. In the following, it is assumed that fingerprint information is used as the biometric information. First, when authenticating to start using the service, fingerprint authentication is performed by the user terminal 10, and if the authentication is successful, the user terminal 10 transmits the fingerprint information to the in-vehicle terminal 20. The in-vehicle terminal 20 stores the received fingerprint information in the storage unit 22 or the like. Then, as described above, authentication to start using the service is performed by the vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40.

[0101] Thereafter, while the user is using the shared car V, the in-vehicle terminal 20 periodically performs biometric authentication using the steering wheel of the shared car V. For example, a sensor provided on the steering wheel of the shared car V detects the user's fingerprint information. The in-vehicle terminal 20 compares the fingerprint information acquired from the user terminal 10 at the start of use with the biometric information acquired from the sensor while using the shared car V. If the two match, the identity of the user who authenticated the start of use and the user using the shared car V is guaranteed. Therefore, the in-vehicle terminal 20 notifies the vehicle cloud server 30 that the user who authenticated the start of use and the user using the shared car V match. In addition, the vehicle cloud server 30 notifies the service cloud server 40 that a legitimate user is using the shared car V. In this way, it is possible to detect user impersonation. In the above example, fingerprint information is used as biometric information, but other biometric information may be used, and face authentication may also be used.

[0102] 14 is a flowchart showing authentication processing at the start of use using biometric information. The user performs biometric authentication such as fingerprint authentication using the user terminal 10 (step S60). If the authentication is successful, the user terminal 10 transmits the biometric information to the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 (step S61). The vehicle-mounted terminal 20 stores the biometric information transmitted from the user terminal 10 (step S62) and transmits an authentication request to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S63). At this time, as described above, the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 transmits the shared car user ID and the service cloud user ID to the vehicle cloud server 30.

[0103] The vehicle cloud server 30 performs authentication based on the shared car user ID (step S64), and if the authentication is successful, transmits an authentication request including the service cloud user ID to the service cloud server 40 (step S65). The service cloud server 40 performs authentication based on the service cloud user ID (step S66), and transmits the authentication result to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S67).

[0104] The vehicle cloud server 30 transmits the authentication result received from the service cloud server 40 to the in-vehicle terminal 20 (step S68), and the in-vehicle terminal 20 transmits the authentication result received from the vehicle cloud server 30 to the user terminal 10 (step S69). The user terminal 10 displays the received authentication result on the display unit 14 (step S70). In this way, the authentication process at the start of use is completed.

[0105] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the authentication process during the use of the shared car V by the user. The in-vehicle terminal 20 periodically detects the user's biometric information using a sensor or the like (step S71) and compares it with the biometric information acquired from the user terminal 10 at the start of use (step S72). Then, the in-vehicle terminal 20 transmits the matching result to the vehicle cloud server 30 (step S73). The vehicle cloud server 30 also transmits the received matching result to the service cloud server 40 (step S74). As a result, if the biometric information matches in step S72, the vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40 are notified that the legitimate user is using the shared car V. On the other hand, if the biometric information does not match in step S72, a matching result indicating that is transmitted to the vehicle cloud server 30 and the service cloud server 40, so that the vehicle cloud and the service cloud can take appropriate measures. [Explanation of symbols]

[0106] 10 User terminal 20 Vehicle-mounted terminal 27 Sensor section 30 Vehicle Cloud Server 40 Service Cloud Server

Claims

[Claim 1] A server device for collecting information from a vehicle, a storage unit that receives and stores acquired information acquired by the vehicle from an in-vehicle terminal device installed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being used by a user; an information providing unit that provides information requested by a service providing company that provides a service related to a vehicle, among the acquired information, to a server device of the service providing company; A receiving unit that receives a request to delete the acquired information; a deletion unit that deletes the acquired information stored in the storage unit based on the deletion request; a transmission unit that transmits a request for deleting the acquired information provided to the service provider to a server device of the service provider based on the deletion request; A server device comprising:

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