vehicle

Abstract

To suppress usability deterioration while making a burglar camera operable after arrival at a destination.SOLUTION: A vehicle 1 includes: a battery 2; a burglar camera 3 imaging the inside or the periphery of the vehicle 1 using electric power supplied from the battery 2; an HMI9 sending / receiving information to / from a user of the vehicle 1; an ECU7 controlling the burglar camera 3 to image the inside or the periphery of the vehicle 1 after arrival at a destination of the vehicle 1. The ECU7 controls the HMI9 to propose a battery saving mode where the electric power supplied from the battery 2 is reduced during a period to the destination to the user and thereby the electric power supplied to the burglar camera 3 from the battery 2 after arrival at the destination is ensured, when a residual quantity of the battery 2 at the time of arrival of the vehicle 1 at the destination is estimated to be lower than a prescribed quantity and the destination is a region assumed to have damage on the vehicle 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-135677 (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle recording device having a drive camera function and a security camera function. When the recording device detects a person approaching the vehicle, it has a function to make the recording means for the security camera function immediately start recording, that is, to enter an active state, and a function to cancel the active state when receiving a signal to disarm the car security.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The inventors of the present invention have noted that the following problems may occur in a vehicle equipped with a security camera. When the destination of the vehicle is an area where damage to the vehicle (theft, vandalism, etc.) is assumed, there is a user's demand to operate the security camera after arriving at the destination. On the other hand, the security camera operates using the power supplied from the in-vehicle battery. Therefore, if the power supplied from the battery to various devices during driving is large, there may not be enough power left in the battery after arriving at the destination, and it may not be possible to operate the security camera. However, if the power supply from the battery during driving is excessively suppressed, the usability of the user may deteriorate.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and one of the objects of the present disclosure is to make the security camera operable after arriving at the destination while suppressing the deterioration of usability.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] A vehicle according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a battery, a security camera that uses electric power supplied from the battery to photograph the interior or the surroundings of the vehicle, a user interface that exchanges information with a user of the vehicle, and a control device that controls the security camera to photograph the interior or the surroundings of the vehicle after the vehicle arrives at a destination. When it is estimated that the remaining amount of the battery at the time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination is less than a predetermined amount and the destination is an area where damage to the vehicle is assumed, the control device controls the user interface to propose to the user a battery save mode for reducing the supply power from the battery during the journey to the destination, thereby ensuring the supply power from the battery to the security camera after arrival at the destination.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of user usability during driving while making the security camera operable after arrival at the destination.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0010] [Embodiment] <Vehicle Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle 1 includes a battery 2, a security camera 3, a drive system 4, an HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) system 5, a car entertainment system 6, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 7, a navigation system 8, and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 9. The security camera 3, the drive system 4, the HVAC system 5, and the car entertainment system 6 (and other devices) all operate using the power supplied from the battery 2. Although not shown, the ECU 7 is configured to enable two-way communication with an external server.

[0011] The ECU 7 has a sentry mode and a battery save mode as control modes of the vehicle 1. These modes can be automatically set by the ECU 7 or manually set by a user operation on the HMI 9.

[0012] The sentry mode is a mode for exerting a security function when the vehicle 1 is parked. "Sentry" means "guard". When the sentry mode is on, the interior and / or the surroundings of the vehicle 1 are photographed by the security camera 3, and the photographed images (still images or moving images) are recorded on a storage medium or transmitted to an external server (not shown).

[0013] The battery save mode is a mode for reducing the power supplied from the battery 2 to various devices (particularly, the drive system 4, the HVAC system 5, the car entertainment system 6, etc.). When the battery save mode is on, compared with the normal state (when the battery save mode is off), the vehicle driving ability by the drive system 4 is reduced, the air conditioning function by the HVAC system 5 is reduced, and the use of the car entertainment system 6 is restricted.

[0014] <Operation of the security camera> When the destination of vehicle 1 is an area where damage to vehicle 1 (such as theft or vandalism) is assumed (typically an area with poor public security), there is a driver's requirement to operate the security camera 3 after arriving at the destination. On the other hand, if the power supplied from the battery 2 to various devices during driving (for example, the power consumption of the HVAC system 5 or the car entertainment system 6) is large, there may not be enough power left in the battery 2 after arriving at the destination, and it may not be possible to operate the security camera 3. However, if the battery save mode is unnecessarily turned on and the power supply from the battery 2 during driving is excessively suppressed, the usability (including driver usability) may deteriorate.

[0015] Therefore, in this embodiment, the proposal to the user to set the battery save mode is limited to the case where specific conditions are met. More specifically, as described below, when the vehicle 1 can use the security camera 3 after arriving at the destination without setting the battery save mode on, the on - setting of the battery save mode is not proposed. This makes it possible to suppress the deterioration of usability by avoiding the unnecessary on - setting of the battery save mode while enabling the operation of the security camera 3 after arriving at the destination. Hereinafter, this mode setting process will be described in detail.

[0016] <Processing Flow> Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the mode setting process according to this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed when predetermined conditions are met (for example, at each predetermined cycle). Each step is realized by software processing by the ECU 7, but may also be realized by hardware (electrical circuit) arranged in the ECU 7. Hereinafter, the steps will be abbreviated as S.

[0017] In S101, the ECU 7 determines whether a destination of the vehicle 1 is set in the navigation system 8. If the destination is not set (NO in S101), the ECU 7 ends a series of processes. If the destination is set (YES in S101), the ECU 7 acquires a recommended route from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination from the navigation system 8 (S102).

[0018] In S103, the ECU 7 determines whether the vehicle 1 has a visit history of the destination (whether the vehicle 1 has visited the destination in the past). This determination can be made based on the destination setting history stored in the navigation system 8. Alternatively, the ECU 7 may determine whether the vehicle 1 has a visit history of the destination by accessing an external server in which the driving history of the vehicle 1 is stored.

[0019] If the vehicle 1 has a visit history of the destination (YES in S103), the ECU 7 determines whether the security of the destination is good (whether the destination is an area where damage to the vehicle 1 is assumed) (S104). This determination can be realized, for example, by the ECU 7 accessing an external server (database) storing statistical information on the number of criminal occurrences for each region. Alternatively, data indicating the security level for each region set according to such statistical information may be stored in the navigation system 8. If the security of the destination is good (YES in S104), the ECU 7 proceeds with the process to S107.

[0020] On the other hand, when there is no visit history to the destination for vehicle 1 (NO in S103) or when the security at the destination is not good (NO in S104), the ECU 7 proceeds with the process to S105 and proposes to the user via the HMI 9 to set the control mode of vehicle 1 to the sentry mode after arriving at the destination. Then, the ECU 7 determines whether the driver (or other users) has accepted the proposal (S106). If the driver does not accept the setting of the sentry mode (NO in S106), the ECU 7 maintains the battery save mode off (S114). In this case, since vehicle 1 remains in the normal setting, the driving ability of the vehicle by the drive system 4 does not decrease. Also, the driver can freely use the HVAC system 5 and the car entertainment system 6. If the driver accepts the setting of the sentry mode after arrival (YES in S106), the ECU 7 proceeds with the process to S107.

[0021] In S107, the ECU 7 obtains the SOC (State Of Charge) indicating the remaining amount of the battery 2. The SOC of the battery 2 can be estimated according to a known method based on the detection results by a voltage sensor and / or a current sensor (not shown) provided in the battery 2.

[0022] In S108, the ECU 7 determines whether there is enough remaining battery for the implementation of the sentry mode (operation of the security camera 3) when vehicle 1 arrives at the destination if it travels from the current location to the destination with the battery save mode off. For example, the ECU 7 obtains, by communicating with an external server, data indicating the power consumption required for a large number of vehicles of the same type as vehicle 1 to travel from the current location of vehicle 1 to the destination (i.e., data indicating the SOC decrease amount). Then, the ECU 7 estimates the SOC of the battery 2 at the destination of vehicle 1 based on the current SOC obtained in S107 and the data indicating the SOC decrease amount.

[0023] When the estimated SOC is equal to or greater than a predetermined value required for the implementation of the entry mode (YES in S108), the ECU 7 determines that there is sufficient battery remaining for the implementation of the entry mode and maintains the battery save mode OFF (S114). On the other hand, when the estimated SOC is less than the predetermined value (NO in S108), the ECU 7 determines that there may not be sufficient battery remaining for the implementation of the entry mode and proceeds to S109.

[0024] In S109, the ECU 7 calculates the SOC decrease rate (the amount of SOC decrease per unit time or per unit distance) of the battery 2 based on the most recent usage status of the vehicle 1 (the power consumption of the drive system 4, the HVAC system 5, and the car entertainment system 6).

[0025] In S110, the ECU 7 determines whether there will be sufficient battery remaining for the implementation of the entry mode when the vehicle 1 arrives at the destination, assuming that the vehicle 1 is used in the same way as its most recent usage status and that the vehicle 1 travels from the current location to the destination with the battery save mode OFF. For example, the ECU 7 estimates the SOC at the destination of the vehicle 1 when the SOC of the battery 2 continues to decrease at the SOC decrease rate calculated in S109 from the current SOC obtained in S107 over the planned travel time or planned travel distance from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination.

[0026] When the estimated SOC is equal to or greater than a predetermined value required for the implementation of the entry mode (YES in S110), the ECU 7 determines that there is sufficient battery remaining for the implementation of the entry mode and maintains the battery save mode OFF (S114). On the other hand, when the estimated SOC is less than the predetermined value (NO in S110), the ECU 7 determines that there may not be sufficient battery remaining for the implementation of the entry mode and proceeds to S111.

[0027] In S111, the ECU 7 proposes to the user via the HMI 9 to turn on the battery save mode during the drive from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination. Then, the ECU 7 determines whether the driver has accepted the proposal (S112). If the driver does not accept the on - setting of the battery save mode (NO in S112), the ECU 7 maintains the battery save mode off (S114). On the other hand, if the driver accepts the on - setting of the battery save mode (YES in S112), the ECU 7 proceeds to S113 and switches the battery save mode from off to on. As described above, although the driving ability of the vehicle by the drive system 4 decreases, the air - conditioning function by the HVAC system 5 decreases, and the use of the car entertainment system 6 is restricted, the rate of decrease in the SOC can be moderated.

[0028] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the subsequent processing steps of the mode setting process shown in Figure 2. This process is executed when the battery save mode is set to on in Figure 2.

[0029] In S201, the ECU 7 acquires the SOC of the battery 2. Then, the ECU 7 determines whether the decrease in the SOC is earlier than the initial assumption (the assumption in S109, S110), that is, whether the rate of decrease in the SOC has been moderated due to the effect of turning on the battery mode (S202). If the decrease in the SOC is as expected or slower than the initial assumption (NO in S202), that is, if the rate of decrease in the SOC has been moderated as expected by turning on the battery mode, the ECU 7 skips the subsequent processing of S203 - S205 and proceeds to S207. If the decrease in the SOC is earlier than the initial assumption (YES in S202), that is, if the rate of decrease in the SOC has not been moderated as expected even though the battery mode has been turned on, the ECU 7 proceeds to S203.

[0030] In S203, the ECU 7 proposes eco-driving of the vehicle 1 to the user via the HMI 9 in order to further reduce the power consumption of the drive system 4 (S204). For example, the ECU 7 may lower the upper limit value of the power consumption of the drive system 4. The ECU 7 may teach the driver via the HMI 9 eco-driving methods (such as accelerator operation, brake operation, etc.) that can reduce the power consumption of the drive system 4. If the driver does not approve of the eco-driving (YES in S204), the ECU 7 switches the battery save mode from on to off (S206). Then, the ECU 7 ends a series of processes. On the other hand, if the driver approves of the eco-driving (YES in S204), the ECU 7 controls the drive system 4 and / or the HMI 9 so that the vehicle 1 performs eco-driving (S205). Then, the ECU 7 advances the process to S207.

[0031] In S207, the ECU 7 determines whether the vehicle 1 has reached the destination. Until the vehicle 1 reaches the destination (NO in S207), the ECU 7 returns the process to S201. When the vehicle 1 reaches the destination (YES in S207), the ECU 7 sets the entry mode of the vehicle 1 to on and starts photographing the interior and / or the surroundings of the vehicle 1 by the security camera 3 (S208).

[0032] As described above, in the present embodiment, when it is estimated that the SOC of the battery 2 at the arrival of the vehicle 1 at the destination is less than a predetermined value, and the destination is an area where damage to the vehicle 1 is assumed, the user is proposed whether to turn on the battery save mode. Thereby, when the SOC of the battery 2 at the arrival of the vehicle 1 at the destination is less than a predetermined value (when the remaining amount of the battery 2 is sufficient), or when the destination is an area where damage to the vehicle 1 is unlikely to be assumed (when the destination is an area with good public order), the battery save mode is not proposed to the user. Also, the user can select whether to shift to the battery save mode. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an unnecessary deterioration of usability associated with the on - setting of the battery save mode. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of usability while making the security camera 3 operable after arrival at the destination.

[0033] The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is shown not by the description of the above - described embodiments but by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0034] 1 Vehicle, 2 Battery, 3 Security camera, 4 Drive system, 5 HVAC system, 6 Car entertainment system, 7 ECU, 8 Navigation system, 9 HMI.

Claims

【Claim 1】 A vehicle, comprising a battery, a security camera that captures images inside or around the vehicle using electric power supplied from the battery, a user interface for exchanging information with a user of the vehicle, and a control device that controls the security camera to capture images inside or around the vehicle after the vehicle arrives at a destination, wherein when it is estimated that the remaining amount of the battery at the time of arrival of the vehicle at the destination is less than a predetermined amount and the destination is an area where damage to the vehicle is assumed, the control device controls the user interface to propose to the user a battery save mode for reducing the supply power from the battery during the journey to the destination, thereby ensuring the supply power from the battery to the security camera after arrival at the destination.

Images