Vehicle control system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control system that can inform a user, through a terminal outside the vehicle, of the cause that a remote operation service has been stopped in the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system provides a remote operation service for remotely operating a device mounted on a vehicle by using a terminal outside the vehicle. The vehicle comprises a service control unit that stops the remote operation service in the case where a power consumption of an on-vehicle battery exceeds a threshold value when electric power cannot be generated. The terminal comprises a display control unit that displays a reason that the remote operation service is unavailable on a display screen in the case where the remote operation service has been stopped in the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system that provides a remote operation service capable of remotely operating devices mounted on a vehicle using a portable terminal or the like outside the vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that can remotely operate devices mounted on a vehicle (remote operation service) by transmitting an operation command input by a user to a terminal outside the vehicle to the vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to prevent the vehicle-mounted battery from discharging, a predetermined limit is set on the power that can be consumed from this in-vehicle battery when the vehicle is not in a state where it can generate electricity (during non-power generation). Therefore, when the power consumption of such an in-vehicle battery is large, it is necessary to stop the remote operation service. However, if the user is not informed of the reason why the vehicle has stopped the remote operation service, the user may feel inconvenient due to the unavailability of the remote operation service.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control system capable of notifying a user of the cause of the stop of the remote operation service in a vehicle via a terminal outside the vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a vehicle control system that provides a remote operation service for remotely operating devices mounted on a vehicle using an external terminal. The vehicle includes a service control unit that stops the remote operation service when the power consumption of the in-vehicle battery exceeds a threshold when power generation is not possible. The terminal includes a display control unit that displays on a display screen the reason why the remote operation service is unavailable when the remote operation service is stopped in the vehicle.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the vehicle control system of the present disclosure, when the remote operation service is stopped because the power consumption of the in-vehicle battery exceeds the threshold when the vehicle is not in a power generation state, the reason why the remote operation service is unavailable can be notified to the user through the screen display of the external terminal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] When the vehicle control system according to the present disclosure stops the remote operation service because the power consumption of the in-vehicle battery exceeds the threshold when the vehicle is in a non-power generation state, it notifies the user through the screen display of the external terminal that the remote operation service is unavailable because the vehicle's power consumption is high. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Embodiment> [Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle control system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle 110, a terminal 120, and a center 130.

[0011] (1) Vehicle The vehicle 110 is a vehicle such as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) equipped with a battery 112 that supplies power to one or more devices (in-vehicle devices) mounted on the vehicle 110.

[0012] This vehicle 110 has a function for realizing a "remote operation service" that can remotely operate the operation of a specific in-vehicle device in the vehicle 110 from an external terminal 120.

[0013] In addition, the vehicle 110 includes a service control unit 111 that can control the execution (permission) / stop (prohibition) state of this remote operation service based on the power generation status of the vehicle 110 and the power consumption of the battery 112. The vehicle 110 is communicably connected to the center 130 and executes transmission and reception of information, notifications, requests, etc. with the center 130. In addition, the vehicle 110 can notify the center 130 of the execution (permission) / stop (prohibition) state of the remote operation service controlled by the service control unit 111. In particular, when the vehicle 110 stops the remote operation service because the power consumption of the battery 112 is high when power generation is not possible, for example, a signal indicating excessive power consumption or a signal indicating an increased risk of battery overcharge can be notified to the center 130.

[0014] (2) Terminal The terminal 120 is an information terminal device such as a smartphone or a personal computer that has a display screen 122 owned by a user or administrator of the vehicle 110.

[0015] This terminal 120 has a function for realizing a remote operation service in cooperation with the vehicle 110.

[0016] In addition, the terminal 120 is communicably connected to the center 130 and exchanges information, notifications, requests, etc. with the center 130. This terminal 120 can receive a notification from the center 130 regarding the vehicle 110 stopping (prohibiting) the remote operation service. Also, this terminal 120 can send requests (such as a vehicle synchronization request) necessary for executing the remote operation service to the center 130.

[0017] In addition, the terminal 120 includes a display control unit 121 that can control the display screen 122 to display content related to the remote operation service. When receiving a UI tone-down request described later from the center 130, it can tone down the user interface (UI) of the remote operation service and display it on the display screen 122, or illustrate on the display screen 122 that the power consumption of the vehicle 110 is high. At this time, when the toned-down UI on the display screen 122 is touched, a dialog may display a message such as "Not available due to excessive power consumption".

[0018] Typically, this terminal 120 is associated with the vehicle 110 by being registered and managed in the vehicle 110 or the center 130, etc.

[0019] (3) Center The center 130 is, for example, a so-called data center that collects and manages various data and information regarding a plurality of vehicles 110.

[0020] This center 130 is communicably connected to the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120, and executes transmission, reception, and relay of information, notifications, requests, and the like. When the center 130 receives a notification (for example, a signal of excessive power consumption) indicating that the remote operation service has stopped from the vehicle 110, it can manage the information of the notification, such as turning on a predetermined "excessive power consumption" flag. When a request (a vehicle synchronization request) for executing the remote operation service is transmitted from the terminal 120 while the "excessive power consumption" flag is ON, the center 130 may transmit to the terminal 120 a request (a UI tone-down request) for causing the stopped remote operation service to be displayed on the display screen 122 in a display form different from other vehicle services that are not stopped.

[0021] The communication between the center 130 and the vehicle 110 and the communication between the center 130 and the terminal 120 are typically performed wirelessly via an external network.

[0022] [Control] Next, with further reference to FIG. 2, the operation of the vehicle control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of terminal screen display control executed by the present vehicle control system 100. The terminal screen display control illustrated in FIG. 2 is started, for example, when the ignition of the vehicle 110 is turned ON.

[0023] (Step S201) When the service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 determines whether the power consumption of the battery 112 when the vehicle 110 is in a state where it cannot generate electricity (when not generating electricity) exceeds a predetermined threshold value. This determination is made to prevent the battery 112 from discharging. Therefore, the predetermined threshold value is set based on the capacity of the battery 112 and the specifications of in-vehicle devices that consume power, etc. Also, the state where the vehicle 110 cannot generate electricity means a state where the battery 112 is not charged, and for example, it can indicate a state where the generator cannot operate or a state where solar panel power generation is not possible. Note that whether the vehicle 110 can generate electricity and the power consumption of the battery 112 can be determined based on the state of the vehicle 110 detected by various detection devices (sensors, etc.) provided in the vehicle 110 and physical quantities (voltage value, current value) of the battery 112.

[0024] When it is determined by the service control unit 111 that the power consumption of the battery 112 when the vehicle 110 is in a state where it cannot generate electricity (when not generating electricity) exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S201, yes), the process proceeds to step S202.

[0025] On the other hand, when it is determined by the service control unit 111 that the power consumption of the battery 112 when the vehicle 110 is in a state where it cannot generate electricity (when not generating electricity) does not exceed a predetermined threshold value (step S201, no) and the remote operation service has already been stopped (prohibited), the stop (prohibition) may be released and the remote operation service may be executed (permitted).

[0026] (Step S202) The service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 stops (prohibits) the remote operation service. As a result, remote operation from the terminal 120 to the vehicle 110 cannot be instructed. When the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 is stopped (prohibited) by the service control unit 111, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0027] (Step S203) The service control unit 111 of the vehicle 110 notifies the center 130 that the remote operation service has been stopped (prohibited). This notification is made via a communication unit (not shown). Note that the notification that the remote operation service has been stopped (prohibited) may be made to the terminal 120, or may be made in parallel to both the center 130 and the terminal 120. When the service control unit 111 is notified that the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 has been stopped (prohibited), the process proceeds to step S204.

[0028] (Step S204) The display control unit 121 of the terminal 120 recognizes that the remote operation service has been stopped in the vehicle 110. This recognition can be made based on a notification regarding the stoppage of the remote operation service received from the center 130 via a communication unit (not shown). When the display control unit 121 recognizes that the remote operation service has been stopped, the process proceeds to step S205.

[0029] (Step S205) The display control unit 121 of the terminal 120 displays, on the display screen 122, the reason why the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 cannot be used, from an application related to remote operation installed on the terminal 120 or the like. FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of the information displayed on the display screen 122 of the terminal 120.

[0030] In the example of FIG. 3, on the operation UI screen of the remote operation service, it is indicated in characters that the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used is "high power consumption of the vehicle". Also, on the operation UI screen of the remote operation service, "high power consumption of the vehicle" is displayed by an image diagram of a low remaining battery capacity.

[0031] Also, when the terminal 120 has received a UI tone-down request from the center 130, as shown in FIG. 4, the unavailable remote operation service may be displayed on the display screen 122 in a tone-down display form (reducing the display density) different from other available vehicle services.

[0032] When the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used is displayed on the display screen 122 by the control unit 121, the terminal screen display control ends.

[0033] Note that after this step S205 ends, the process may return to the above step S201 to repeat the terminal screen display control.

[0034] <Operation and Effect> As described above, according to the vehicle control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the power consumption of the battery 112 exceeds the threshold value and the remote operation service is stopped when the vehicle 110 cannot generate electricity, the terminal 120 is notified that the remote operation service has been stopped. Upon receiving this notification, the terminal 120 displays on the display screen 122 the excessive power consumption of the vehicle 110, which is the reason for stopping the remote operation service, as the reason why the remote operation service cannot be used.

[0035] By this control, a user for whom the remote operation service of the vehicle 110 is unavailable can know the reason through the display on the display screen 122 of the terminal 120, so that it is possible to suppress the user from feeling inconvenience.

[0036] Note that in the above embodiment, an example in which the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120 communicate information that the remote operation service has been stopped via the center 130 has been described. However, the vehicle 110 and the terminal 120 may directly communicate information that the remote operation service has been stopped without going through the center 130.

Industrial Applicability

[0037] The vehicle control system of the present disclosure can be used in vehicles having a function of a remote operation service for a vehicle using an external terminal.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0038] 100 Vehicle control system 110 Vehicle 111 Service control unit 112 Battery 120 Terminal 121 Display control unit 122 Display screen 130 Center

Claims

1. A vehicle control system that provides a remote operation service for remotely operating a device mounted on a vehicle using a terminal outside the vehicle, the vehicle includes a service control unit that stops the remote operation service when an amount of power consumption of an on-board battery exceeds a threshold when power generation is not possible; A vehicle control system, wherein the terminal is provided with a display control unit that, when the remote control service is stopped in the vehicle, displays on a display screen a reason why the remote control service is not available.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit displays, on the display screen, that the power consumption of the vehicle is high as a reason why the remote operation service is unavailable.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 2 , wherein the display control unit displays, on the display screen, an image indicating that the power consumption of the vehicle is high.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit displays the remote operation service on the display screen in a display form different from that of other vehicle services that are not stopped.

Images