Control device, control method, and program

Abstract

To allow an in-vehicle device to execute a cold start at the appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A control device 10 for controlling an in-vehicle device 20 mounted on a vehicle and operating even when the vehicle is in a stop state includes: an acquisition unit 100 for acquiring data including at least one of the vehicle's parking location, the current time of day, the current weather, the presence of occupants, and the detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; and a control unit 200 that allows the in-vehicle device 20 to execute a cold start when the data satisfies predetermined conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles are monitored using a computer and sensors attached to the vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology for determining whether or not an object is present in a blind spot. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-15557 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a monitoring device using a computer, it is necessary to prevent a phenomenon known as a memory leak, in which available memory capacity runs out due to memory not being released. One method for preventing memory leaks is to periodically perform a cold start. One example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a control device that performs a cold start at an appropriate timing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention described in claim 1 is A control device that controls an in-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, an acquisition unit that acquires data including at least one of a stopping position of the vehicle, a current time zone, a current weather, whether or not there is an occupant, and a detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; a control unit that causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the data satisfies a predetermined condition; The control device is provided with:

[0006] The invention described in claim 10 is A control method for controlling an in-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, comprising: The computer acquiring data including at least one of a stopping position of the vehicle, a current time zone, a current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and a detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; The control method includes causing the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the data satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0007] The invention described in claim 11 is A program for causing a computer to execute the above control method. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 10 is a first example of information stored in a storage unit. [Figure 3] 10 is a second example of information stored in the storage unit. [Figure 4] 10 is a third example of information stored in the storage unit. [Figure 5] 10 is a fourth example of information stored in the storage unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the control device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, like components are denoted by like reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0010] [First embodiment] 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of a control device 10 according to this embodiment. The control device 10 has an acquisition unit 100, a control unit 200, and a storage unit 300, and is used together with an in-vehicle device 20. However, the storage unit 300 may be included inside the control device 10 or may be provided externally. Furthermore, the control device 10 and the in-vehicle device 20 may be integrated. Furthermore, the control device 10 is used together with a moving object sensor as necessary.

[0011] The in-vehicle device 20 is a device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, and is, for example, a monitoring device that monitors vehicle theft, etc. Details of each component will be explained below. In the present invention, "stopping" not only means that a vehicle is stopped for a short period of time, but also means "parking," i.e., a vehicle is stopped continuously. Furthermore, "stopping continuously" means, for example, stopping for five minutes or more.

[0012] [Acquisition part 100] The acquisition unit 100 acquires data including at least one of the vehicle's stopping position, the current time zone, the current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and the detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle. The data acquired by the acquisition unit 100 is used by the control unit described later. Each piece of data will be explained below.

[0013] First, the vehicle's parking location is information related to the possibility of theft, etc., for example, in places with a lot of foot traffic, theft is less likely to occur, while in places with little foot traffic, theft is more likely to occur. Note that a known method can be used to acquire information indicating the vehicle's parking location, and it can be acquired, for example, by a GPS attached to a terminal attached to the vehicle or brought into the vehicle.

[0014] Next, the current time period is information related to the possibility of theft, etc. occurring, such as the fact that theft, etc. is less likely to occur during the daytime (for example, from 11:00 to 17:00), while theft, etc. is more likely to occur at night (for example, from 22:00 to 25:00). A known method can be used to acquire information indicating the current time period, and the control device 10 may have a clock function, or the information may be acquired externally.

[0015] Next, the current weather is information related to the possibility of theft, etc., for example, theft is less likely when it is raining or snowing, but more likely when it is sunny or cloudy. A known method can be used to acquire information indicating the current weather, and it may be determined from environmental information acquired by a sensor such as a temperature sensor provided in the vehicle, or it may be acquired from an external source.

[0016] Next, the presence or absence of an occupant is information related to the possibility of theft, etc., because the possibility of theft, etc. is lower when an occupant is present than when there is no occupant. One method for determining the presence or absence of an occupant is, for example, determining that there is no occupant when the engine key is turned off.

[0017] Next, with regard to the detection history of the motion sensor, for example, when many moving objects are detected (when there is a lot of foot traffic), theft or the like is unlikely to occur, whereas when almost no moving objects are detected (when there is little foot traffic), theft or the like is likely to occur. Alternatively, when many moving objects are detected, there is also an aspect that there is a high possibility of a suspicious person approaching. In any case, the detection history of the motion sensor is information related to the possibility of theft or the like occurring. Note that the motion sensor is a sensor that detects moving objects by, for example, irradiating electromagnetic waves and detecting the reflected waves of the electromagnetic waves.

[0018] As described above, the acquisition unit 100 acquires information relating to the possibility of theft or the like.

[0019] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 100 may acquire various other information in addition to the information described above. For example, it may acquire information regarding the brightness of the lighting around the parking area (if it is bright, the possibility of theft is low, and if it is dark, the possibility of theft is high), the public safety of the area where the parking area is located (if it is good, the possibility of theft is low, and if it is bad, the possibility of theft is high), the car model (unpopular car models are low in the possibility of theft, and popular car models are high in the possibility of theft), and other events (if the car is parked in a temporary parking lot, the possibility of theft is slightly higher).

[0020] [Control unit 200] The control unit 200 controls the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start at an appropriate timing. In this embodiment, a cold start means starting up the in-vehicle device 20 from a state in which the system power is turned off and the memory is no longer able to be refreshed and is therefore freed up. An appropriate timing is, for example, when the vehicle is stopped and there is a low risk of the vehicle being stolen.

[0021] For example, if the motion sensor does not detect a motion object for a predetermined consecutive time, the control unit 200 determines that there is a low possibility of a suspicious person being present near the vehicle (low possibility of theft, etc.), and causes the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start. The predetermined time is, for example, 30 to 60 minutes.

[0022] Alternatively, for example, when the control unit 200 detects a predetermined number of moving objects or more in a predetermined period, the control unit 200 causes the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start because there are many people around the vehicle and the possibility of theft or the like is low. Note that the predetermined period is, for example, a period of 10 minutes to 30 minutes, and the predetermined number is, for example, 10 or more.

[0023] Alternatively, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start, for example, if the current time period is a predetermined time period. The predetermined time period is set in advance, for example, between 8:00 and 16:00, and is stored in the storage unit 300, which will be described later. The predetermined time period may also be a time when the brightness around the vehicle is above a predetermined level. In this case, it is preferable to set the predetermined time period according to the weather and season of the day. Different time periods may also be set as the predetermined time period depending on whether it is a weekday or a public holiday.

[0024] Alternatively, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start, for example, depending on the vehicle's parked location. For example, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the vehicle is parked in a home parking lot. In this case, the home parking lot is associated with the vehicle in advance, and the storage unit 300, which will be described later, stores location information of the home parking lot. Furthermore, the determination may be made by combining the information related to the time of day described above. For example, the in-vehicle device 20 may be caused to perform a cold start when the vehicle is parked in the home parking lot during a time when people are at home.

[0025] Alternatively, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start depending on the current weather, for example. For example, if the current weather is rainy or snowy, the possibility of a suspicious person appearing is low, so the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the current weather is rainy or snowy. Alternatively, if the current weather is sunny or cloudy, the possibility of a large number of people passing by is high, so the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the current weather is sunny or cloudy.

[0026] Alternatively, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start depending on whether or not there is an occupant. For example, the control unit 200 may determine that there is an occupant when the engine key is on and cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start. Alternatively, the control unit 200 may determine that there is an occupant when the vehicle is moving and cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start.

[0027] Furthermore, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, the condition for causing the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start may be that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the last time the in-vehicle device 20 performed a cold start. This allows the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start only when there is a high possibility of a memory leak occurring. The predetermined period of time may be, for example, one week or more, or two weeks or more.

[0028] Additionally, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the above-mentioned multiple data satisfy predetermined conditions. For example, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when multiple of the above-mentioned conditions are satisfied. Alternatively, the control unit 200 may calculate a value related to the risk of theft, etc. from the conditions of each piece of data, and then calculate an index of the risk of theft, etc. by adding or multiplying these values. Then, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the calculated index is equal to or lower than a predetermined value. In this case, the value for each condition of each piece of data is stored in the storage unit 300, which will be described later.

[0029] Furthermore, the control unit 200 may cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start when the degree of necessity of a cold start satisfies a predetermined condition. The degree of necessity of a cold start is, for example, a value that increases in proportion to the time elapsed since the last cold start was performed. Furthermore, in addition to the above-mentioned value, a threshold value for causing a cold start may be set according to the degree of necessity of a cold start.

[0030] [Storage section 300] Next, Fig. 2 shows a first example of information stored in the storage unit 300. First, as shown in Fig. 2, the storage unit 300 stores data including at least one of the following: the vehicle's parked position, the current time zone, the current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and the detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle. This data is updated when the acquisition unit 100 acquires new data. Note that the storage unit 300 does not need to store all of the above-mentioned data, and it is sufficient that it stores data used by the control unit 200.

[0031] Next, Fig. 3 shows a second example of information stored in the storage unit 300. As shown in Fig. 3, the storage unit 300 stores conditions for causing the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start. As shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of conditions may be stored.

[0032] Next, FIG. 4 shows a third example of information stored in the storage unit 300. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 300 may store a value related to the risk of theft, etc. for each data condition in the in-vehicle device 20. In this case, the control unit 200 can execute a cold start based on a value calculated by, for example, adding up the values ​​for each condition. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, if the weather is rainy, the time of day is night, there is no occupant, the vehicle is parked in a shopping mall, the lighting in the parking area is dim, the area where the vehicle is parked is unsafe, and the vehicle model is a popular model, the value related to the risk of theft, etc. is 29, which is the highest. On the other hand, if the weather is thundering, the time of day is morning, there is an occupant, the vehicle is parked at home, the lighting in the surrounding area is bright, the area where the vehicle is parked is unsafe, and the vehicle model is unsafe, the value related to the risk of theft, etc. is 14, which is the lowest.

[0033] 2 to 4 may be updated by a person related to the vehicle (for example, the vehicle owner). For example, if the vehicle owner's home parking lot has a shutter, the vehicle owner may set a low value for the risk of theft, etc. when the vehicle is parked in the home parking lot. Alternatively, if the vehicle owner lives in an area with poor public safety, the vehicle owner may set a high value for the overall risk of theft, etc.

[0034] Next, Fig. 5 shows a fourth example of information stored in the storage unit 300. As shown in Fig. 5, the storage unit 300 may further store the degree of necessity of a cold start for each state of the in-vehicle device 20. In this case, the conditions for performing a cold start can be stored for each degree of necessity of a cold start.

[0035] The control device 10 according to this embodiment can be realized by hardware such as a computer. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control device 10. The control device 10 includes a bus 1010, a processor 1020, a memory 1030, a storage device 1040, an input / output interface 1050, and a network interface 1060.

[0036] The bus 1010 is a data transmission path for transmitting and receiving data among the processor 1020, memory 1030, storage device 1040, input / output interface 1050, and network interface 1060. However, the method of connecting the processor 1020 and the like to each other is not limited to bus connection.

[0037] The processor 1020 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

[0038] The memory 1030 is a main storage device realized by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like.

[0039] The storage device 1040 is an auxiliary storage device realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, a read only memory (ROM), or the like. The storage device 1040 stores program modules that realize each function of the control device 10. The processor 1020 loads each of these program modules into the memory 1030 and executes them, thereby realizing each function corresponding to the program module.

[0040] The input / output interface 1050 is an interface for connecting the control device 10 to various input / output devices.

[0041] The network interface 1060 is an interface for connecting the control device 10 to a network. This network is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The network interface 1060 may be connected to the network via a wireless connection or a wired connection.

[0042] Next, FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the control device 10 according to this embodiment.

[0043] First, the control device 10 starts controlling the in-vehicle device 20 (step S10). The timing for starting control of the in-vehicle device 20 is, for example, when a condition is met, such as the in-vehicle device 20 not having performed a cold start for a predetermined period of time. Next, the acquisition unit 100 acquires data including at least one of the following: the vehicle's parked location, the current time zone, the current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and the detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle (step S20). The timing for the acquisition unit 100 to acquire data is not particularly limited; for example, the acquisition unit 100 acquires and updates data at a predetermined interval. Next, the control unit 200 determines whether the data acquired by the acquisition unit 100 satisfies a predetermined condition (step S30). If the data satisfies the predetermined condition (step S30: Yes), the control unit 200 causes the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start (step S40). If the data does not satisfy the predetermined condition (step S30: No), step S20 and subsequent steps are repeated.

[0044] As described above, the control device 10 according to this embodiment can cause the in-vehicle device 20 to perform a cold start at an appropriate timing.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples of the present invention, and various other configurations can also be adopted.

[0046] In addition, although the flowcharts used in the above description show multiple steps (processes) in a sequential order, the order of steps executed in each embodiment is not limited to the order shown. In each embodiment, the order of the steps shown in the drawings can be changed as long as it does not cause any problems in terms of content. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined as long as the content is not contradictory. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 10 Control device 20 Onboard equipment 100 Acquisition Department 200 control section 300 Storage section

Claims

1. A control device that controls an in-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, an acquisition unit that acquires data including at least one of a stopping position of the vehicle, a current time zone, a current weather, whether or not there is an occupant, and a detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; a control unit that causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the data satisfies a predetermined condition; A control device comprising:

2. the control unit causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the motion sensor has not detected a motion object continuously for a predetermined time. The control device according to claim 1 .

3. the control unit causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the motion sensor detects a predetermined number of motion objects or more within a predetermined period of time. The control device according to claim 1 .

4. the control unit causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start at least when the current time zone is a predetermined time zone. The control device according to claim 1 .

5. The control unit further causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the parking location is a parking lot of a home associated with the vehicle. The control device according to claim 4.

6. the control unit causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start at least when the current weather is rain or snow. The control device according to claim 1 .

7. The control unit further sets a condition for causing the in-vehicle device to execute a cold start, that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the last time the in-vehicle device executed a cold start. The control device according to claim 1 .

8. the control unit further causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the vehicle is moving. The control device according to claim 1 .

9. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the control device is part of the on-board device.

10. A control method for controlling an in-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, comprising: The computer acquiring data including at least one of a stopping position of the vehicle, a current time zone, a current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and a detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; a control method including causing the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the data satisfies a predetermined condition.

11. A program for controlling an in-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and operates even when the vehicle is stopped, Computer, an acquisition unit that acquires data including at least one of a stopping position of the vehicle, a current time zone, a current weather, the presence or absence of an occupant, and a detection history of a motion sensor mounted on the vehicle; a control unit that causes the in-vehicle device to perform a cold start when the data satisfies a predetermined condition; A program that functions as a

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