Notification control device, method and program, notification control system, and vehicle-mounted notification system

Abstract

To make it easier for a subject to perceive the intended level of urgency in information notifications through vibration.SOLUTION: First to m-th vibration pattern groups to which a plurality of vibration patterns belong are associated with first to m-th information groups to which a plurality of types of notification information belong. Each notification information that belongs to an i-th information group is associated with an i-th urgency level. For each vibration pattern group, vibration is generated in a vibration device in a representative vibration pattern being one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group, and a subject's reaction to application of the vibration of the representative vibration pattern of each vibration pattern group is evaluated. The correspondence between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups is determined on the basis of the evaluation results. Then, for each information group, one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group is uniquely assigned to each notification information belonging to the information group.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a notification control device, a notification control method, a notification control system, and an in-vehicle notification system. [Background technology]

[0002] Although notification by display or sound is generally adopted as information notification, notification by vibration is also sometimes adopted (see Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-225877 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the information to be notified includes information with a relatively high level of urgency and information with a relatively low level of urgency, it is desirable that the level of urgency is also conveyed to the target person. However, when notifying information by vibration, there are individual differences in how the level of urgency is conveyed, so it may be difficult for the target person to perceive the intended level of urgency.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a technology that makes it easier for a target person to perceive the intended level of urgency when notifying information by vibration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A notification control device according to the present invention notifies a target person of information by applying vibrations to the target person using a vibration device, and includes a controller that associates first to m-th vibration pattern groups, each of which contains a plurality of vibration patterns, with first to m-th information groups, each of which contains a plurality of types of notification information. Each piece of notification information is associated with a level of urgency indicating the degree of urgency of the transmission of the notification information to the target person, and each piece of notification information belonging to the i-th information group is associated with an i-th level of urgency. Here, m represents an integer of 2 or more, i represents an integer of 1 or more and m or less, and the first to m-th levels of urgency associated with the first to m-th information groups are different from one another. The controller obtains, for each vibration pattern group, a test evaluation result that evaluates the target person's reaction to being subjected to vibration of any of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group. The controller determines a correspondence relationship between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups based on the test evaluation result, and executes an initial setting process of uniquely assigning, for each information group, one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group to each piece of notification information belonging to the information group. After the initial setting process, the controller executes an information notification process of notifying the target person of any of the notification information belonging to any of the first to m-th information groups as notification target information, and causes the vibration device to vibrate with the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information in the information notification process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the above-described notification control device, vibration pattern groups are associated with information groups based on the impression (reaction of the subject) of actually receiving vibration of any of the vibration patterns belonging to each vibration pattern group. Therefore, a vibration pattern group that the subject perceives as highly urgent can be associated with an information group with a relatively high level of urgency, in accordance with the subject's individual vibration perception. Similarly, a vibration pattern group that the subject is less likely to perceive as highly urgent can be associated with an information group with a relatively low level of urgency. It is necessary for the subject to respond quickly to information with a high level of urgency. If highly urgent information is notified using a vibration pattern that the subject is less likely to perceive as highly urgent, this may impair the subject's ability to respond quickly. According to the above-described notification control device, information with a relatively high level of urgency can be notified using a vibration pattern that the subject perceives as highly urgent, thereby increasing the likelihood of a quick response. It should be noted that a reference method can be considered in which the subject experiences vibrations of all vibration patterns, and the subject individually specifies the assignment relationship between the vibration pattern and the notification information based on the results of the experience. However, this reference method requires a lot of work for the subject. The notification control device described above also helps reduce the burden on the recipient. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a person who should receive a notification and other components according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is an external perspective view of a seat provided in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an in-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a sensing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the installation positions of vibrators in a seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10A to 10C are explanatory diagrams illustrating a plurality of types of vibration output methods according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of three information groups according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 1A is a flowchart showing a process up to when an in-vehicle device is installed in a vehicle, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the operation of the in-vehicle device after installation in the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart of a design evaluation process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a design evaluation process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing examples of display content in the test evaluation process according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart of a test evaluation process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of association between first to third vibration pattern groups and first to third information groups according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how vibration patterns to be assigned to each piece of notification information are extracted from first to third vibration pattern groups according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a pattern management table stored in a memory of an in-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 19] 4 is a flowchart of a normal operation of the in-vehicle device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a pattern management table according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of vibration patterns according to a second example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22]10 is a flowchart relating to a feedback process in a third example belonging to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] 10 is a flowchart relating to a feedback process in a third example belonging to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a controller of an in-vehicle device according to a sixth example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a notification control system according to a seventh example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a management device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a user management table stored in a database according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing two vehicles and a management device according to a seventh example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29] 13 is a timing chart relating to a diversion control process according to a seventh example belonging to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 30] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an in-vehicle device according to a seventh example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 31] 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a management device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 32] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a diversion control process related to an allocation update according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions of the same parts will be omitted as a general rule. In this specification, for the sake of simplicity, symbols or signs referring to information, signals, physical quantities, functional units, circuits, elements, or components may be used, and the names of the information, signals, physical quantities, functional units, circuits, elements, or components corresponding to the symbols or signs may be omitted or abbreviated.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the relationship between person U1 and other components assumed in an embodiment of the present invention. Person U1 is a person who is a recipient of notification and a user of the in-vehicle system 1 and in-vehicle device 10 described below, and will be referred to as user U1 hereinafter. User U1 rides in any type of vehicle. The vehicle in which user U1 rides is referred to as the host vehicle V1. Therefore, user U1 is an occupant of the host vehicle V1. The host vehicle V1 is assumed to be a car or the like that runs on a road. In this embodiment, it is assumed that user U1 is the driver of the host vehicle V1. Hereinafter, when simply referring to a driver, this refers to the driver of the host vehicle V1 (hence, user U1). However, user U1 may also be an occupant other than the driver (i.e., a passenger in the host vehicle V1).

[0011] An in-vehicle system 1 is installed in a host vehicle V1. The in-vehicle system 1 has a notification function for sending various notifications to a user U1, and when focusing on the notification function, the in-vehicle system 1 functions as an in-vehicle notification system. The in-vehicle system 1 may have functions other than the notification function (for example, a driving assistance function, a navigation function), and therefore it can be said that the in-vehicle system 1 includes an in-vehicle notification system.

[0012] A seat ST1 is installed in the cabin of the host vehicle V1. A user U1 sits in the seat ST1. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the seat ST1. Here, it is assumed that the user U1 is the driver, and therefore the seat ST1 is the driver's seat. Hereinafter, when simply referred to as the cabin, it refers to the cabin of the host vehicle V1 unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, hereinafter, when simply referred to as the inside of the vehicle, it refers to the internal area of ​​the host vehicle V1 unless otherwise specified, and when simply referred to as the outside of the vehicle, it refers to the external area of ​​the host vehicle V1 unless otherwise specified.

[0013] The direction from the driver's seat of the host vehicle V1 toward the steering wheel is defined as "forward," and the direction from the steering wheel of the host vehicle V1 toward the driver's seat is defined as "rearward." The direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction and parallel to the road surface on which the host vehicle V1 is traveling is defined as the left-to-right direction. The direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction and perpendicular to the left-to-right direction is defined as the up-to-down direction. The user U1 sits in seat ST1 facing forward. The front-to-rear direction, left-to-right direction, and up-to-down direction correspond to the front-to-rear direction, left-to-right direction, and up-to-down direction as seen from the user U1. Unless otherwise specified below, the traveling direction of the host vehicle V1 is assumed to be the forward direction.

[0014] To further clarify the explanation, the relationships between the mutually perpendicular X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis and the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions are defined as follows: The X-axis direction is parallel to the left-to-right direction. The Y-axis is parallel to the front-to-back direction. The Z-axis is parallel to the up-to-down direction. The direction from left to right coincides with the direction from the negative side to the positive side of the X-axis. The direction from rear to front coincides with the direction from the negative side to the positive side of the Y-axis. The direction from bottom to top coincides with the direction from the negative side to the positive side of the Z-axis.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 2, the seat ST1 has a seat surface ST1a and a backrest ST1b. When a user U1 sits on the seat ST1, the backs of the thighs and buttocks of the user U1 come into contact with the seat surface ST1a, and the back of the user U1 comes into contact with the backrest ST1b. More specifically, the seat surface ST1a has a seating surface that is approximately parallel to the X-axis and Y-axis, and when the user U1 sits on the seat ST1, the backs of the user U1 come into contact with the seating surface. The backrest ST1b has a backrest surface that is approximately parallel to the X-axis and Z-axis, and when the user U1 sits on the seat ST1, the back of the user U1 comes into contact with the backrest surface.

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of the in-vehicle system 1. The in-vehicle system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 10, a cruise control device 20, an actuator unit 30, a sensing unit 40, and an HMI 50. Each component of the in-vehicle system 1 is installed in an appropriate location in the vehicle V1. The components of the in-vehicle system 1 can transmit and receive any signals and information to and from each other through an in-vehicle network formed in the vehicle V1. The in-vehicle network includes, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network) and an AVCLAN (Audio Visual Communication Local Area Network).

[0017] The in-vehicle device 10 has a function for realizing notifications to the user U1. For this reason, the in-vehicle device 10 has a notification control device. Alternatively, the in-vehicle device 10 can be called a notification control device. The in-vehicle device 10 may also have functions other than the notification control device function (for example, a drive recorder function). The actual notification is performed by operating the HMI 50 under the control of the in-vehicle device 10. In other words, various notifications are performed to the user U1 through cooperation between the in-vehicle device 10 and the HMI 50.

[0018] The cruise control device 20 controls the cruise of the host vehicle V1 using the actuator unit 30. The actuator unit 30 has various drive components, such as a motor, that enable the host vehicle V1 to cruise. Specifically, the actuator unit 30 includes an engine and a motor that generate drive force for the host vehicle V1, a steering actuator that drives the steering mechanism of the host vehicle V1, and a brake actuator that drives the brakes of the host vehicle V1. The sensing unit 40 includes a sensor that detects the driving operation of the host vehicle V1 by the driver of the host vehicle V1, a sensor that detects various states of the host vehicle V1, and a sensor that detects conditions inside and outside the vehicle. Sensing information is output from the sensing unit 40. The sensing information is supplied to the in-vehicle device 10 and the cruise control device 20. The cruise control device 20 can drive and control the actuator unit 30 based on the sensing information. The sensing information includes various information and signals generated or detected by each component of the sensing unit 40 (see FIG. 5).

[0019] The HMI 50 is a human machine interface and includes a display device 51, a speaker 52, a microphone 53, an operation input unit 54, and a vibration device 55.

[0020] The display device 51 has a display screen such as a liquid crystal display panel, and displays any video (image) under the control of the in-vehicle device 10 or a display control device (not shown). The display device 51 is installed in an appropriate location within the cabin of the host vehicle V1 so that each occupant of the host vehicle V1 can see the display content of the display device 51. Multiple display devices 51 may be installed within the cabin of the host vehicle V1. The display device 51 may be a component of a car navigation system installed in the host vehicle V1. The car navigation system may be included in the in-vehicle system 1. The display device 51 may be a display device provided in an information terminal (smartphone, etc.) brought into the host vehicle V1. In the following description, "display" refers to a display on the display device 51, unless otherwise specified.

[0021] The speaker 52 outputs any sound (message, warning sound, music, etc.) under the control of the in-vehicle device 10 or an audio device (not shown). The speaker 52 is installed in an appropriate location in the cabin of the host vehicle V1 so that each occupant of the host vehicle V1 can hear the sound output from the speaker 52. Multiple speakers 52 may be installed in the cabin of the host vehicle V1. The speaker 52 may be a speaker provided in the information terminal. In the following description, sound and audio output refers to sound and audio output from the speaker 52 unless otherwise specified.

[0022] The microphone 53 picks up ambient sounds around the location where the microphone 53 is installed and converts them into an electrical audio signal. The audio signal obtained by the conversion of the microphone 53 is called a microphone signal. The microphone 53 is installed at an appropriate location in the cabin of the host vehicle V1 so that the signal components of the speech sounds of each occupant of the host vehicle V1 are included in the microphone signal (i.e., so that the speech sounds are included in the content of the sound picked up by the microphone 53). Multiple microphones 53 may be installed in the cabin of the host vehicle V1. The microphone 53 may be a microphone provided in the information terminal.

[0023] The operation input unit 54 receives arbitrary operations from each occupant of the vehicle V1. The operation input unit 54 can be configured with operation buttons, a touch panel, or the like. The operation input unit 54 may also be an operation input unit provided in the information terminal.

[0024] The vibration device 55 generates vibrations under the control of the in-vehicle device 10. The vibrations generated by the vibration device 55 are applied to the user U1. The installation position of the vibration device 55 is arbitrary as long as it can provide the desired vibration to the user U1, but here it is assumed that the vibration device 55 is installed on the seat ST1. Therefore, under the control of the in-vehicle device 10, the vibration device 55 vibrates the seat ST1, and the vibrations are perceived by the user U1.

[0025] 4 shows the internal configuration of the in-vehicle device 10. The in-vehicle device 10 includes a controller 11, a memory 12, a communication unit 13, and a recording medium 14.

[0026] The controller 11 includes a processing unit 11a including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) as hardware resources. The controller 11 may execute a program recorded in the memory 12 or any other recording medium to realize any function, operation, and process that should be realized by the controller 11. All or part of the operations performed by the controller 11 described below may be understood to be operations performed by the processing unit 11a. In the following description, "the controller 11 notifies the user U1" means that the controller 11 notifies the user U1 using the HMI 50, and in this case, the controller 11 controls the HMI 50 so that the information to be notified is output from the HMI 50 to the user U1.

[0027] The memory 12 is configured to include a non-volatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, and a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 12 stores various data referenced by the controller 11 as well as various programs to be executed by the controller 11.

[0028] The communication unit 13 is a communication circuit (communication module) that transmits and receives arbitrary signals between the in-vehicle device 10 and a counterpart device different from the in-vehicle device 10. The communication unit 13 may be a communication circuit (communication module) provided outside the in-vehicle device 10. The communication circuit provided outside the in-vehicle device 10 may be a communication circuit shared by multiple components that make up the in-vehicle system 1. The communication unit 13 may be a communication circuit (communication module) provided in an information terminal (smartphone, etc.) brought into the vehicle V1. The counterpart device for the communication unit 13 includes components other than the in-vehicle device 10 among the components of the in-vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 3. The communication unit 13 can communicate with the counterpart device via an in-vehicle network formed in the vehicle V1. The counterpart device for the communication unit 13 may include an external device (server device, etc.) connected to an external network including the Internet. Note that the controller 11 can transmit and receive arbitrary information to and from the counterpart device using the communication unit 13, but the description of the communication unit 13 may be omitted below.

[0029] The recording medium 14 is a nonvolatile recording medium made up of a magnetic disk, a flash memory, or the like, and stores (records) any information in a nonvolatile manner. The controller 11 is capable of recording any information on the recording medium 14 and reading any information recorded on the recording medium 14. The recording medium 14 may be detachable from the in-vehicle device 10. The recording medium 14 may be installed outside the in-vehicle device 10 and within the in-vehicle system 1. If the in-vehicle device 10 has a drive recorder function, the controller 11 can record image data of images captured by a camera 41 or 42 (described later) on the recording medium 14.

[0030] 5 shows the internal configuration of the sensing unit 40. The sensing unit 40 includes an exterior camera 41, an interior camera 42, and an exterior microphone 43.

[0031] The exterior camera 41 consists of one or more cameras that capture images of the outside of the vehicle V1. The exterior camera 41 has a capture area set outside the vehicle V1, and generates an exterior camera image by capturing images of the scene within the capture area. The exterior camera image is an image captured in the capture area of ​​the exterior camera 41. Image information showing the exterior camera image is called exterior image information. The exterior image information is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 10 and the driving control device 20. The exterior camera 41 captures images at a predetermined frame rate.

[0032] The in-vehicle camera 42 consists of one or more cameras that capture images of the interior of the vehicle V1. The in-vehicle camera 42 has a capture area set inside the vehicle V1 (i.e., the interior of the vehicle V1), and generates an in-vehicle camera image by capturing images of the capture area. The in-vehicle camera image is an image captured in the capture area by the in-vehicle camera 42. Image information showing the in-vehicle camera image is referred to as in-vehicle image information. The in-vehicle image information is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 10 and the driving control device 20. The in-vehicle camera 42 captures images at a predetermined frame rate.

[0033] The exterior microphone 43 picks up ambient sounds around its installation position and converts the picked up sounds into electrical signals. The electrical signals obtained by the conversion of the exterior microphone 43 are called exterior microphone signals. The exterior microphone signals are transmitted to the in-vehicle device 10 and the driving control device 20. The exterior microphone 43 is installed at a specified position on the body of the host vehicle V1 and picks up sounds generated outside the host vehicle V1.

[0034] The sensing unit 40 further includes sensors 45a to 45h. The sensors 45a, 45b, and 45c are an accelerator pedal sensor, a brake pedal sensor, and a steering sensor, respectively. The host vehicle V1 is provided with operational components that receive driving operations from the driver, including an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a steering wheel. The sensors 45d, 45e, 45f, 45g, and 45h are a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, a G sensor, a distance measurement sensor, and a GPS sensor, respectively.

[0035] The accelerator pedal sensor 45a detects the operation of the accelerator pedal of the host vehicle V1 by the driver of the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs accelerator pedal operation information indicating the operation of the accelerator pedal. The brake pedal sensor 45b detects the operation of the brake pedal of the host vehicle V1 by the driver of the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs brake pedal operation information indicating the operation of the brake pedal. The steering sensor 45c detects the operation of the steering wheel of the host vehicle V1 by the driver of the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs steering operation information indicating the operation of the steering wheel. The vehicle speed sensor 45d detects the speed of the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs vehicle speed information (vehicle speed pulse) indicating the detected speed. The steering angle sensor 45e detects the steering angle (steering angle) of the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs steering angle information indicating the detected steering angle. The G sensor 45f detects acceleration in a predetermined axial direction applied to the host vehicle V1 and generates and outputs the detected acceleration information. The G sensor 45f may detect acceleration in two mutually orthogonal axial directions, or may detect acceleration in three mutually orthogonal axial directions.

[0036] The ranging sensor 45g performs ranging to generate and output ranging information. The ranging sensor 45g detects the distance between the vehicle V1 and a three-dimensional object (a three-dimensional object) located within a ranging area around the vehicle V1, and also detects the orientation of the object as viewed from the vehicle V1. These detection results are included in the ranging information. The ranging sensor 45g may be configured with a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor that uses light to measure ranging, or a radar that uses radio waves to measure ranging. The ranging sensor 45g may be configured with a combination of LIDAR and radar. The GPS sensor 45h receives signals from multiple GPS satellites that form the GPS (Global Positioning System) and generates and outputs vehicle position information based on the received signals. The vehicle position information generated by the GPS sensor 45h represents the current location (current position) of the vehicle V1 using longitude and latitude, or represents the current location of the vehicle V1 using longitude, latitude, and altitude. Other sensors (for example, a shift lever sensor, a door lock sensor, a rain sensor, and an illuminance sensor) are also provided in the sensing unit 40.

[0037] The sensing information includes outside-vehicle image information, inside-vehicle image information, and outside-vehicle microphone signals, as well as information generated by sensors 45a to 45h. The outside-vehicle image information, outside-vehicle microphone signals, and distance measurement information correspond to information representing the surrounding environment of the host vehicle V1. The information generated by sensors 45a to 45c corresponds to information representing the driving operation content of the host vehicle V1. The information generated by sensors 45d to 45f corresponds to information representing the traveling state of the host vehicle V1. Note that some of the components 41 to 43 and 45a to 45h shown in FIG. 5 may be omitted.

[0038] FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the vibration device 55. The vibration device 55 includes a plurality of vibration units 56, each having a drive circuit 57 and a vibrator 58. The plurality of vibration units 56 have the same configuration. However, the total number of vibration units 56 may be one. The in-vehicle device 10 can supply an acoustic signal Ain to each vibration unit 56. The acoustic signal Ain supplied to the vibration unit 56 is hereinafter referred to as an input acoustic signal Ain. In each vibration unit 56, the drive circuit 57 amplifies the input acoustic signal Ain and supplies the amplified input acoustic signal Ain, that is, a drive acoustic signal Adrv, to the vibrator 58. Note that the signal that vibrates the vibration unit 56 is electrically the same as the acoustic signal that vibrates an audio speaker to output sound. For this reason, the signal that vibrates the vibration unit 56 is referred to as an acoustic signal. The acoustic signal that vibrates the vibration unit 56 can be generated using a digital signal processor or various acoustic circuits, similar to the acoustic signal that vibrates an acoustic speaker. The characteristics of the acoustic signal can be adjusted by providing appropriate control parameters to the digital signal processor or adjusting the circuit constants of the various acoustic circuits. The vibrator 58 is an electro-acoustic converter (vibration converter) consisting of an electromagnetic circuit such as a magnet and a coil, or a piezoelectric element, and converts the drive acoustic signal Adrv, which is an electrical signal supplied to it, into mechanical vibration. That is, upon receiving the drive acoustic signal Adrv, the vibrator 58 generates vibrations corresponding to the drive acoustic signal Adrv (and thus generates vibrations corresponding to the input acoustic signal Ain). The vibrations generated by the vibration device 55 (specifically, the vibrations generated by the vibrator 58) are imparted to the user U1. The in-vehicle device 10 (controller 11) can selectively supply the input acoustic signal Ain to only some of the multiple vibration units 56. The vibration unit 56 may be driven by a vibration signal obtained by performing appropriate signal processing on the input acoustic signal Ain (i.e., the vibration signal is input to the vibration unit 56). The signal processing includes, for example, a filter process that limits the frequency band of the input acoustic signal Ain, a frequency division process that reduces the frequency of the input acoustic signal Ain, or a frequency shift process.Specifically, the filter processing may be processing using a low-pass filter that extracts low-frequency components (frequency bands in which people are more likely to sense vibrations) from the input sound signal Ain. By the above signal processing, a signal (drive signal) suitable for transmitting vibrations to the user U1 can be obtained.

[0039] The vibrator 58 may be installed in any position as long as it can provide the desired vibration to the user U1. Here, the vibrator 58 is assumed to be installed in the seat ST1. Furthermore, the plurality of vibration units 56 includes three vibration units 56, vibrating units 56L, 56C, and 56R, as shown in FIG. 7, so as to be able to individually vibrate the left, center, and right portions of the user U1's body. The input acoustic signals Ain to the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R are specifically referred to as input acoustic signals AinL, AinC, and AinR, respectively. The drive circuits 57 in the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R are specifically referred to as drive circuits 57L, 57C, and 57R, respectively. The vibrators 58 in the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R are specifically referred to as vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R, respectively. Therefore, the vibrator 58L generates vibrations according to the input acoustic signal AinL, the vibrator 58C generates vibrations according to the input acoustic signal AinC, and the vibrator 58R generates vibrations according to the input acoustic signal AinR.

[0040] The installation position of the vibrator 58 will be described with reference to Figures 8(a) and (b). Figure 8(a) is a plan view of the seat ST1 as viewed from above, and Figure 8(b) is a plan view of the seat ST1 as viewed from behind. As shown in Figure 8(a), the seating surface ST1a has a central area Ca, a left area La located to the left of the central area Ca, and a right area Ra located to the right of the central area Ca. As shown in Figure 8(b), the backrest ST1b has a central area Cb, a left area Lb located to the left of the central area Cb, and a right area Rb located to the right of the central area Cb.

[0041] The vibrators 58 may be arranged in any of the following first to third arrangement methods. In the first arrangement method, the vibrator 58L is arranged in the left region La, the vibrator 58C is arranged in the center region Ca, and the vibrator 58R is arranged in the right region Ra. In the second arrangement method, the vibrator 58L is arranged in the left region Lb, the vibrator 58C is arranged in the center region Cb, and the vibrator 58R is arranged in the right region Rb. In the third arrangement method, two vibrating units 56L, 56C, and 56R are provided in the vibration device 55. In the third arrangement method, the two vibrators 58L in the two vibrating units 56L are referred to as vibrators 58L1 and 58L2. Similarly, the two vibrators 58C in the two vibrating units 56C are referred to as vibrators 58C1 and 58C2, and the two vibrators 58R in the two vibrating units 56R are referred to as vibrators 58R1 and 58R2. In the third arrangement method, transducer 58L1 is arranged in the left region La, transducer 58C1 is arranged in the center region Ca, and transducer 58R1 is arranged in the right region Ra. Additionally, in the third arrangement method, transducer 58L2 is arranged in the left region Lb, transducer 58C2 is arranged in the center region Cb, and transducer 58R2 is arranged in the right region Rb. In the third arrangement method, a common drive acoustic signal Adrv based on a common input acoustic signal AinL is supplied to transducers 58L1 and 58L2, or a drive acoustic signal Adrv based on the input acoustic signal AinL is supplied to one of transducers 58L1 and 58L2. Similarly, in the third arrangement method, a common drive acoustic signal Adrv based on a common input acoustic signal AinC is supplied to transducers 58C1 and 58C2, or a drive acoustic signal Adrv based on the input acoustic signal AinC is supplied to one of transducers 58C1 and 58C2. Similarly, in the third arrangement method, a common driving acoustic signal Adrv based on a common input acoustic signal AinR is supplied to the transducers 58R1 and 58R2, or a driving acoustic signal Adrv based on the input acoustic signal AinR is supplied to one of the transducers 58R1 and 58R2.

[0042] [Left side vibration output, center vibration output, right side vibration output, overall vibration output] The controller 11 can output left vibration, center vibration, right vibration, or whole vibration. Figures 9(a), (b), (c), and (d) show an overview of the left, center, right, and whole vibration outputs when the second placement method is adopted, but the same applies when the first or third placement method is adopted.

[0043] For the left vibration output, the controller 11 supplies the input acoustic signal Ain (i.e., AinL) only to the vibration unit 56L among the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R. Therefore, for the left vibration output, only the vibrator 58L among the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R vibrates in response to the input acoustic signal AinL, and as a result, vibrations by the vibrator 58L are imparted only to the left side of the body of the user U1.

[0044] At the central vibration output, the controller 11 supplies the input acoustic signal Ain (i.e., AinC) only to the vibration unit 56C among the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R. Therefore, at the central vibration output, only the transducer 58C among the transducers 58L, 58C, and 58R vibrates in response to the input acoustic signal AinC, and as a result, vibrations by the transducer 58C are imparted only to the central part of the body of the user U1.

[0045] For the right vibration output, the controller 11 supplies the input acoustic signal Ain (i.e., AinR) only to the vibration unit 56R among the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R. Therefore, for the right vibration output, only the vibrator 58R among the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R vibrates in response to the input acoustic signal AinR, and as a result, vibrations by the vibrator 58R are imparted only to the right side of the body of the user U1.

[0046] In the whole vibration output, the controller 11 supplies the input acoustic signal Ain to all of the vibration units 56L, 56C, and 56R. Therefore, in the whole vibration output, the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R vibrate in response to the input acoustic signals AinL, AinC, and AinR. As a result, in the whole vibration output, the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R vibrate the entire left, central, and right portions of the body of the user U1. Note that the left portion of the body of the user U1 refers to the portion of the body of the user U1 to the left of the midline. Similarly, the right portion of the body of the user U1 refers to the portion of the body of the user U1 to the right of the midline. The central portion of the body of the user U1 refers to the portion between the left and right portions, which includes the midline.

[0047] [Information notification processing] The controller 11 performs information notification processing as processing for notifying the user U1 of various information based on the notification determination information. The notification determination information is mainly sensing information, but may also include information other than sensing information. In the information notification processing, the controller 11 can notify the user U1 of any information using any of a display notification format, a sound notification format, and a vibration notification format. The display notification format, the sound notification format, and the vibration notification format may also be referred to as a visual notification format, an auditory notification format, and a tactile notification format, respectively.

[0048] The display notification format is a notification format that affects the visual sense of user U1. In the display notification format, the information to be notified is displayed on the display screen 51 to notify the user U1 of the information to be notified. The sound notification format is a notification format that affects the auditory sense of user U1. In the sound notification format, the information to be notified is output as sound from the speaker 52 to notify the user U1 of the information to be notified. The vibration notification format is a notification format that affects the tactile sense of user U1. In the vibration notification format, the vibration device 55 is vibrated in a vibration mode associated with the information to be notified, thereby notifying the user U1 of the information to be notified. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, notification refers to a notification to user U1.

[0049] The following describes the characteristic configuration and operation related to information notification in the vibration notification format. The controller 11 can notify various types of information in the vibration notification format. Information that is actually notified to the user U1 in the vibration notification format is called notification target information. There are a total of N candidates for notification target information. I There is information about the type. I represents any integer equal to or greater than 2, for example, the number 10. Candidates for notification information are called notification information. I When distinguishing between different types of notification information, N I Notification information of types I[1] to I[N I ]. The notification information may also be referred to as notification candidate information. When simply written as outputting the notification information I[i], it refers to vibrating the vibration device 55 in the vibration mode (vibration pattern) assigned to the notification information I[i]. The expression "notification of the notification information I[i]" also has the same meaning as "outputting the notification information I[i]." By outputting the notification information I[i], vibrations are imparted (applied) to the user U1 in the vibration mode (vibration pattern) assigned to the notification information I[i], and as a result, the notification information I[i] is transmitted to and recognized by the user U1. i represents any integer.

[0050] The degree of urgency of information notified to user U1 varies depending on the type of information. The degree of urgency of certain information indicates the degree of urgency of the information when it is transmitted to user U1. Here, the degrees of urgency are assumed to be first, second, and third. However, the number of types of urgency may be two or four or more. The first degree of urgency is higher than the second degree of urgency, which is higher than the third degree of urgency. In the following explanation, the first degree of urgency may be expressed as high urgency, the second degree of urgency may be expressed as medium urgency, and the third degree of urgency may be expressed as low urgency.

[0051] [Information Groups 1-3] The controller 11 receives notification information I[1] to I[N I ] is classified into one of the first to third information groups. L1 ]~I[a H1] is classified into the first information group, and notification information I[a L2 ]~I[a H2 ] is classified into the second information group, and notification information I[a L3 ]~I[a H3 ] shall be classified in the third information group. L1 , a H1 , a L2 , a H2 , a L3 and a H3 is "1=a L1 H1 L2 H2 L3 H3 =N I " represents an integer that satisfies "a H1 -a L1 ≧1”, “a H2 -a L2 ≧1”, “a H3 -a L3 ≧1”, “a L2 =a H1 +1” and “a L3 =a H2 +1" holds. The controller 11 associates the first, second, and third urgency levels with the first, second, and third information groups, respectively. Therefore, the controller 11 associates the notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 Similarly, the controller 11 associates the notification information I[a L2 ]~I[a H2 Similarly, the controller 11 associates the notification information I[a L3 ]~I[a H3 ] is assigned the third level of urgency.

[0052] The output of the notification information associated with the first urgency level corresponds to an alarm. L1 ]~I[a H1 ​​​​​] is approaching object warning information. The approaching object warning information is information indicating that an approaching object is approaching the host vehicle V1. The controller 11 performs approaching object detection processing based on at least one of the outside-of-vehicle image information and the distance measurement information. In the approaching object detection processing, the controller 11 can detect, as an approaching object, a three-dimensional object that is approaching the host vehicle V1 and whose distance from the body of the host vehicle V1 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 ] is pedal misapplication information. Pedal misapplication information is information indicating that a pedal misapplication has occurred. Pedal misapplication refers to pressing the accelerator pedal hard under circumstances in which the accelerator pedal should not be pressed hard. For example, when a nearby obstacle is present in the direction of travel of the host vehicle V1 or when the host vehicle V1 is set to travel in reverse, the operation of the user U1 pressing the accelerator pedal hard corresponds to pedal misapplication. A nearby obstacle refers to an obstacle located around the host vehicle V1 that is located at a distance less than a predetermined distance from the host vehicle V1 (for example, a wall behind the host vehicle V1 when the host vehicle V1 is reversing). The controller 11 can detect pedal misapplication based on, for example, accelerator pedal operation information and outside-vehicle image information. In this detection, the controller 11 can refer to the state of the shift lever that determines the direction of travel of the host vehicle V1. In addition, information that should be notified to the user U1 with a high degree of urgency (such as emergency stop information, pedestrian jumping out into the road, etc.) is also included in the notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 ] can be included.

[0053] The output of the notification information associated with the second urgency level corresponds to a warning notification. L2 ]~I[a H2 ] is speeding information. The speeding information indicates that the speed of the vehicle V1 exceeds the speed limit or legal speed set for the road on which the vehicle V1 is traveling. The controller 11 can determine whether to notify the user U1 of the speeding information by comparing the speed of the vehicle V1 indicated by the vehicle speed information with the speed limit or legal speed. L2 ]~I[aH2 ] is information indicating the occurrence of sudden braking. Sudden braking indicates that the brakes of the vehicle V1 have been applied suddenly (in other words, the brake pedal has been operated suddenly and to a large extent). The controller 11 can detect the occurrence of sudden braking based on the brake pedal operation information. In addition, information that should be notified to the user U1 with a medium degree of urgency (information about a vehicle being hit while turning left, information about the distance between vehicles behind when changing lanes, etc.) is included in the notification information I[a L2 ]~I[a H2 ] can be included.

[0054] The output of the notification information associated with the third urgency level corresponds to a notification. L3 ]~I[a H3 ] is information indicating that a vehicle in front has started moving. The vehicle in front here refers to the vehicle that is closest to the host vehicle V1 among the vehicles located in front of the host vehicle V1. The vehicle in front is photographed by the outside camera 41, and the controller 11 can detect the departure of the vehicle in front based on the outside image information. Distance measurement information may also be referenced in this detection. The departure of the vehicle in front is preferably detected when the host vehicle V1 is stopped (when the speed of the host vehicle V1 is zero). Notification information I[a L3 ]~I[a H3 ] is one of the notification information I[a]. The controller 11 can perform a navigation operation to guide the vehicle V1 to a set destination. During the navigation operation, the controller 11 outputs information for guiding the vehicle V1 along the route it should travel as route guidance information. The output of the route guidance information provides, for example, left turn guidance or right turn guidance. In addition, non-urgent information (such as highway toll information and service area guidance information) is also included in the notification information I[a]. L3 ]~I[a H3 ] can be included.

[0055] [Vibration pattern] The controller 11 receives notification information I[1] to I[N IThe vibration pattern indicates the vibration mode of the vibration device 55. The controller 11 assigns different vibration patterns to the vibration devices 55. V It has N vibration patterns. V represents an integer of 2 or more, and at least "N V ≧N I ". In the following, "N V >N I " is satisfied. When the controller 11 notifies the notification information I[i] as the notification target information, the controller 11 vibrates the vibration device 55 with the vibration pattern assigned to the notification information I[i], thereby making the notification information I[i] recognized by the user U1. V The vibration patterns of the different types are different from each other (in other words, N V (The vibration modes of the vibration device 55 according to the different vibration patterns are different from each other.) Therefore, for a combination of any two different vibration patterns, the user U1 can distinguish and perceive and recognize the vibration of the vibration device 55 according to one vibration pattern from the vibration of the vibration device 55 according to the other vibration pattern.

[0056] The controller 11 is V The number of vibration patterns is divided into multiple vibration pattern groups. The total number of vibration pattern groups matches the number of types of urgency. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the number of types of urgency is 3, so N V The vibration patterns of three types are divided into three vibration pattern groups. The three vibration pattern groups are associated with first to third information groups, and it is desirable to associate the vibration pattern group that conveys a high level of urgency to the first information group. Conversely, it is desirable to associate the vibration pattern group that is less likely to be perceived as a high level of urgency to the third information group. However, there are individual differences in how vibrations are perceived, and it is difficult to absorb these individual differences with a uniform association. In this embodiment, the following procedure is used to absorb these individual differences.

[0057] [Method of association between groups and information notification processing based on association] The procedure for absorbing individual differences will be outlined below. First, an experiment is conducted with the cooperation of test subjects during the design stage of the in-vehicle device 10, and vibration patterns that tend to give similar impressions are grouped together (see FIGS. 13(a) to 13(d)). Three groups of vibration patterns are created. After that, the in-vehicle device 10 is manufactured and installed in the vehicle V1, and the user U1 experiences vibrations that represent each group. Based on the impression felt by the user U1 at that time, the user U1 performs an operation to sort the three groups related to vibration in order of urgency (see FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b)). Based on the content of this operation, the three groups related to vibration patterns are associated with the first, second, and third information groups according to the urgency felt by the user U1 (see FIGS. 16(a) to 16(c)). These procedures will be described in detail below.

[0058] Please refer to Figures 11(a) and (b). Figure 11(a) is a flowchart up to the installation of the in-vehicle device 10 in the host vehicle V1, and a design evaluation process in step S1 is performed in the design stage of the in-vehicle device 10. The in-vehicle device 10 configured through the design evaluation process is installed in the host vehicle V1 in step S2. Figure 11(b) is an operation flowchart (operation flowchart of the controller 11) of the in-vehicle device 10 installed in the host vehicle V1. The association between the vibration pattern group and the information group is realized by cooperation between the design evaluation process and the initial setting process executed by the controller 11 after the installation of the in-vehicle device 10 in the host vehicle V1.

[0059] The design evaluation process of step S1 will be described with reference to FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13(a) to (d). FIG. 12 is a detailed flowchart of the design evaluation process. In the design evaluation process, the processes of steps S11 to S14 are executed in sequence. V N types of vibration patterns were selected in the design evaluation process. V It functions as a vibration pattern for evaluating various types. V Types of vibration patterns 1 to N V This is called a vibration pattern.

[0060] To realize the design evaluation process in step S1, an experiment is conducted with the cooperation of multiple subjects. Each subject sits on an evaluation seat ST EV In Figure 13(a), one subject sits in the evaluation seat ST EV The image of sitting in the evaluation seat ST EV is a seat with the same configuration as seat ST1. Seat ST1 itself is the evaluation seat ST EV In the design evaluation process, the evaluation seat ST EV The vibration device 55 for evaluation has the same configuration as the vibration device 55 EV The vibration device 55 itself is the evaluation vibration device 55 EV In the design evaluation process, the vibration control device 10 EV A vibration control device 10 is provided. EV is the evaluation vibration device 55 EV An input acoustic signal equivalent to the input acoustic signal Ain is supplied to the evaluation vibration device 55 EV can be vibrated.

[0061] Vibration control device 10 related to design evaluation process EV In step S11, a vibration application test for design is performed for each subject. The vibration application test for design is performed on the first to Nth subjects. V The first design unit test consists of the following: A subject who is focused among the multiple subjects is called a "subject of interest." EV The subject of interest is seated in the evaluation seat ST EV The subject was seated on the evaluation vibration device 55 EV The vibration control device 10 in the second design unit test is vibrated with the first vibration pattern. EV The subject of interest is seated in the evaluation seat ST EV The subject was seated on the evaluation vibration device 55 EV vibrates in the second vibration pattern. V The same is true for design unit tests.

[0062] The subject of interest answers a questionnaire about the impression they felt after receiving the vibrations of the first design unit test. The subject of interest answers a questionnaire about the impression they felt after receiving the vibrations of the second design unit test. V The same applies to the design unit test of the same test. V The subject answers the questionnaire for each design unit test about the impression they had after being subjected to the vibrations of the i-th design unit test. For example, the subject answers by selecting from multiple options the functional image they had in response to the vibrations of the i-th design unit test. The answers may also be obtained using the semantic differential method (SD), which is well known in the field of psychology.

[0063] 1st~N V All responses of the subject of interest to the design unit test are referred to as unit questionnaire responses 610. In the design evaluation process, each of the multiple subjects is regarded as a subject of interest, and a unit questionnaire response 610 is obtained for each subject. A collection of the unit questionnaire responses 610 obtained from all subjects is referred to as pre-survey information 620 (see Figure 13(b)). If there are 100 subjects, the pre-survey information 620 is formed from the 100 unit questionnaire responses 610 obtained from the 100 subjects. In step S12 following step S11, the pre-survey information 620 is collected using a worker or a machine, and the collected pre-survey information 620 is input into an arbitrary computer device 630.

[0064] In the subsequent step S13, the computer device 630 performs a grouping process based on the pre-questionnaire information 620 (see FIG. 13(c)). The pre-questionnaire information 620 includes, as feature data, impressions of a plurality of subjects on the vibration of the first vibration pattern, and impressions of a plurality of subjects on the vibration of the second vibration pattern. V In the grouping process, the computer device 630 statistically processes all the feature data included in the pre-questionnaire information 620 to classify the vibration patterns into the first to Nth groups. VThe vibration patterns are classified into a plurality of vibration pattern groups. The total number of vibration pattern groups is equal to the total number of the information groups described above. Since there are first to third information groups as information groups (see FIG. 10), the total number of information groups is three, and therefore there are first to Nth information groups. V The vibration patterns are classified into three vibration pattern groups, which are referred to as first to third vibration pattern groups.

[0065] By grouping process, 1st to Nth V Each vibration pattern is assigned to one of the first to third vibration pattern groups. This assignment is shown in FIG. 13(d). In the grouping process, the total number of vibration patterns assigned to the first vibration pattern group is indicated by the symbol "b NUM1 Similarly, in the grouping process, the total number of vibration patterns assigned to the second vibration pattern group is represented by the symbol “b NUM2 " and the total number of vibration patterns assigned to the third vibration pattern group is represented by the symbol "b NUM3 " is expressed as "b NUM1 +b NUM2 +b NUM3 =N V The grouping process is performed so that the following constraints are satisfied. The constraints are: NUM1 , b NUM2 and b NUM3 Each of (a H1 -a L1 +1) or more and (a H2 -a L2 +1) or more and (a H3 -a L3 The condition is that the total number of notification information items N is equal to or greater than N+1. Since one vibration pattern group will be associated with one information group (see FIG. 10) later, the above constraint condition is determined. I The total number of vibration patterns is N V If you make N large enough, the constraints can be easily satisfied (for example, N I ,N V )=(15,50)).

[0066] In the grouping process, the computer device 630 uses non-hierarchical clustering to classify the first to Nth V The vibration patterns can be divided into three groups (first to third vibration pattern groups). In non-hierarchical clustering, the number of clusters can be set to three. In the grouping process, the computer device 630 can derive the similarity between, for example, feature data (impressions of each subject) for vibration of the ith vibration pattern and feature data for vibration of the jth vibration pattern. The similarity can be derived for any combination of integers i and j, and combinations with a similarity equal to or greater than a threshold can be included in the same group. Finally, the first to Nth vibration pattern groups can be derived. V The thresholds can be adjusted so that the vibration patterns are separated into three groups.

[0067] After the grouping process in step S13, the process proceeds to step S14, where the computer device 630 executes a representative extraction process. In the representative extraction process, the computer device 630 extracts any one of all vibration patterns belonging to the first vibration pattern group as a first representative vibration pattern. Similarly, in the representative extraction process, the computer device 630 extracts any one of all vibration patterns belonging to the second vibration pattern group as a second representative vibration pattern. Similarly, in the representative extraction process, the computer device 630 extracts any one of all vibration patterns belonging to the third vibration pattern group as a third representative vibration pattern.

[0068] The computer device 630 performs grouping processing on the first to Nth V A plurality of axes effective for classifying vibration patterns are set by principal component analysis or the like, and vibration patterns that are close to each other in a feature space consisting of the plurality of axes are classified into the same group. When the grouping process is completed, the first to Nth vibration patterns are classified into the same group. VEach position of the vibration pattern is plotted. Of all the vibration patterns belonging to the ith vibration pattern group, the one closest to the center of gravity of the plot positions of all the vibration patterns belonging to the ith vibration pattern group may be extracted as the ith representative vibration pattern. However, the method of extracting the ith representative vibration pattern is not limited to this. In the representative extraction process, the computer device 630 may extract any one of all the vibration patterns belonging to the ith vibration pattern group as the ith representative vibration pattern.

[0069] Upon completion of the representative extraction process in step S14, the design evaluation process in step S1 is completed. The in-vehicle device 10 is manufactured through all design processes of the in-vehicle device 10 including the design evaluation process, and the manufactured in-vehicle device 10 is installed in the host vehicle V1 in step S2. The nonvolatile memory in the memory 12 of the in-vehicle device 10 stores the first to Nth V The vibration patterns are stored and the first to third representative vibration patterns are stored as the first to Nth representative vibration patterns. V Information indicating which vibration pattern is used is also stored.

[0070] As described above, FIG. 11(b) is an operation flowchart of the in-vehicle device 10 installed in the host vehicle V1 (operation flowchart of the controller 11). When the in-vehicle device 10 and the controller 11 start up in conjunction with the start of the engine of the host vehicle V1, first in step S3 the controller 11 checks the value of the initial setting flag. A flag storage unit that stores the value of the initial setting flag is provided in the non-volatile memory of the memory 12. When the value of the initial setting flag is 0 (Y in step S3), the process proceeds from step S3 to step S4, and when the value of the initial setting flag is 1 (N in step S3), the process proceeds from step S3 to step S8. The initial value of the initial setting flag is 0. Therefore, when the in-vehicle device 10 installed in the host vehicle V1 starts up for the first time, the process proceeds to step S4, and the controller 11 executes an initial setting process. The initial setting process consists of the processes of steps S4 to S6.

[0071] In the initial setting process, first, a process of inputting user registration information is executed in step S4. In step S4, the controller 11 requests the user U1 to input the user registration information. In response to this request, the user U1 inputs the user registration information into the in-vehicle device 10 via the operation input unit 54. The controller 11 can store the input user registration information in non-volatile memory in the memory 12. After step S4, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0072] In the test evaluation process of step S5, the controller 11 first displays the first menu image shown in Fig. 14(a) on the display screen 51a. The display screen 51a is a display screen provided on the display device 51. Here, it is assumed that the display screen 51a has a touch panel function. The first menu image includes button icons 661 to 664. The controller 11 can individually recognize whether the button icons 661 to 664 have been pressed.

[0073] When the button icon 661 is pressed, the controller 11 causes the vibration device 55 to vibrate according to the first representative vibration pattern, and as a result, vibration according to the first representative vibration pattern is imparted (applied) to the user U1. When the button icon 662 is pressed, the controller 11 causes the vibration device 55 to vibrate according to the second representative vibration pattern, and as a result, vibration according to the second representative vibration pattern is imparted (applied) to the user U1. When the button icon 663 is pressed, the controller 11 causes the vibration device 55 to vibrate according to the third representative vibration pattern, and as a result, vibration according to the third representative vibration pattern is imparted (applied) to the user U1. The controller 11 prompts the user U1 to press the button icon 664 after experiencing the three vibrations in the first menu image. When the button icon 664 is pressed on the condition that all of the button icons 661 to 663 have been pressed, the controller 11 switches the display image on the display screen 51a from the first menu image to the second menu image of FIG. 14(b).

[0074] The controller 11 requests the user U1 to perform a selection operation on the second menu image. The selection operation is an operation of selecting from among options 671 to 673 the level of urgency (i.e., the degree of urgency) that the user U1 feels in response to vibrations caused by the first to third representative vibration patterns, and is input to the in-vehicle device 10 by the user U1. In requesting the selection operation, the controller 11 requests the user U1 to select different options for the first to third representative vibration patterns. The options 671, 672, and 673 correspond to the above-mentioned first, second, and third degrees of urgency, respectively. Therefore, the second menu image clearly indicates that the level of urgency corresponding to the option 671 is higher than that of the option 672, and that the level of urgency corresponding to the option 672 is higher than that of the option 673. The content of the selection operation when the second menu image is displayed is acquired by the controller 11 as response information RES (see FIG. 15). The second menu image includes a button icon 674, and when the button icon 674 is pressed, the controller 11 returns the display image on the display screen 51a to the first menu image. By returning to the first menu image, the user U1 can again experience vibrations due to each representative vibration pattern as necessary.

[0075] FIG. 15 is a schematic flowchart of the test evaluation process. In the flowchart of FIG. 15, the steps of detecting the pressing of the button icons 661 to 663 one by one and the process in response to the pressing of the button icon 674 are omitted. The test evaluation process of FIG. 15 includes steps S51 to S54. First, in step S51 of the test evaluation process, the controller 11 displays a first menu image on the display screen 51a. Then, in step S52, the controller 11 causes the vibration device 55 to sequentially generate vibrations according to the first to third representative vibration patterns in response to the pressing of the button icons 661 to 663. Then, in step S53, the controller 11 switches the display image on the display screen 51a from the first menu image to the second menu image in response to the pressing of the button icon 664. Then, in step S54, the controller 11 acquires response information RES from the user U1. The test evaluation process ends upon acquisition of the response information RES. The response information RES indicates the impression that the user U1 received when vibrations of the first to third representative vibration patterns were given (applied) to the user U1. In the response information RES, the user U1 gives an order to the first to third representative vibration patterns from the viewpoint of urgency. The user interface for giving the order is not limited to that shown in FIG. 14(b) and is arbitrary.

[0076] Referring again to FIG. 11(b), after the test evaluation process of step S5, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the controller 11 performs an initial setting process. The above-mentioned test evaluation process evaluates the reaction of the user U1 to the vibration of each representative vibration pattern being given (applied) to the user U1. The evaluation result of the test evaluation process (test evaluation result) includes response information RES. In the initial setting process, the controller 11 determines the correspondence relationship between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups based on the evaluation result of the test evaluation process (the evaluation result of the above reaction represented by the response information RES). At this time, the controller 11 associates any one of the first to third information groups with the first to third vibration pattern groups one by one so that the information groups associated with the first to third vibration pattern groups are different from each other. Specifically, the controller 11 determines the correspondence relationship between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups from the information of the above order included in the response information RES. The controller 11 associates the vibration pattern group corresponding to the representative vibration pattern that the user U1 feels has the highest level of urgency among the first to third representative vibration patterns with the first information group. The controller 11 associates the vibration pattern group corresponding to the representative vibration pattern that the user U1 feels has the lowest level of urgency among the first to third representative vibration patterns with the third information group. The controller 11 associates the remaining vibration pattern group with the second information group.

[0077] In the test evaluation process, a case where a selection operation is performed to assign options 671, 672, and 673 to the first, second, and third representative vibration patterns, respectively, is referred to as a reference case CS REF (See Figure 16(a)). Reference case CS REF The response information RES according to the reference case CS indicates that the user U1 felt the highest level of urgency for the first representative vibration pattern among the first to third representative vibration patterns, and the lowest level of urgency for the third representative vibration pattern. REF 16(a), the controller 11 associates the first, second, and third information groups with the first, second, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively.

[0078] In the test evaluation process, a case in which a selection operation is performed to assign options 673, 672, and 671 to the first, second, and third representative vibration patterns, respectively, is referred to as case CS. MOD1 (See Figure 16(b)). Case CS MOD1 The response information RES relating to the case CS indicates that the user U1 felt the highest level of urgency for the third representative vibration pattern among the first to third representative vibration patterns, and felt the lowest level of urgency for the first representative vibration pattern. MOD1 16(b), the controller 11 associates the first, second, and third information groups with the third, second, and first vibration pattern groups, respectively. In the test evaluation process, a case in which a selection operation is performed to assign options 672, 671, and 673 to the first, second, and third representative vibration patterns, respectively, is referred to as case CS. MOD2 (See Figure 16(c)). Case CS MOD2 The response information RES relating to the case CS indicates that the user U1 felt the highest level of urgency for the second representative vibration pattern among the first to third representative vibration patterns, and felt the lowest level of urgency for the third representative vibration pattern. MOD3 In this case, the controller 11 associates the first, second, and third information groups with the second, first, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively, as shown in FIG. REF , C.S. MOD1 and C.S. MOD2 In other cases, the correspondence is established in the same manner.

[0079] The process of determining the correspondence between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups (the process of associating the first to third information groups one by one with each vibration pattern group) is referred to as inter-group correspondence process. The initial setting process of step S6 includes inter-group correspondence process and pattern allocation process (see FIG. 11(b)). In the initial setting process, the controller 11 executes inter-group correspondence process and then pattern allocation process.

[0080] In the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 uniquely allocates any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the first information group to each piece of notification information belonging to the first information group. In the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 uniquely allocates any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the second information group to each piece of notification information belonging to the second information group. In the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 uniquely allocates any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the third information group to each piece of notification information belonging to the third information group.

[0081] In the following, in this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that a selection operation has been performed to assign options 671, 672, and 673 to the first, second, and third representative vibration patterns, respectively (i.e., the reference case CS REF (Assume that the number of notification information pieces is 1 to 3.) Then, in the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 uniquely allocates any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the i-th vibration pattern group to each notification information piece belonging to the i-th information group. In the pattern allocation process, unique allocation is performed, so that a vibration pattern allocated to certain notification information piece is not allocated to other notification information piece.

[0082] Please refer to FIG. 17 (also see FIG. 13(d)). The vibration patterns used in the design evaluation process and belonging to the first vibration pattern group are NUM1 The group of vibration patterns (evaluation vibration patterns) is referred to as a first vibration pattern group (first evaluation vibration pattern group). NUM2 The group of vibration patterns (evaluation vibration patterns) is referred to as a second vibration pattern group (second evaluation vibration pattern group). NUM3 The group of vibration patterns (evaluation vibration patterns) is referred to as a third vibration pattern group (third evaluation vibration pattern group). In the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 selects a total of (a) from the first vibration pattern group.H1 -a L1 +1) vibration patterns are actually assigned to the notification information in the first information group as vibration patterns PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 Similarly, in the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 extracts a total of (a H2 -a L2 +1) vibration patterns are actually assigned to the notification information in the second information group as vibration patterns PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 Similarly, in the pattern allocation process, the controller 11 extracts a total of (a H3 -a L3 +1) vibration patterns are actually assigned to the notification information in the third information group as vibration patterns PT[a L3 ]~PT[a H3 ]. As explained above regarding the constraints, NUM1 ≧a H1 -a L1 +1”, “b NUM2 ≧a H2 -a L2 +1” and “b NUM3 ≧a H3 -a L3 +1" is established.

[0083] The controller 11 stores the result of the pattern allocation process in a pattern management table TBL1 shown in Fig. 18. The pattern management table TBL1 is saved in a non-volatile memory in the memory 12. In the pattern allocation process, the vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] are the notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 In the pattern allocation process, the vibration pattern PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ] are the notification information I[a L2 ]~I[a H2 In the pattern allocation process, the vibration pattern PT[a L3 ]~PT[aH3 ] are the notification information I[a L3 ]~I[a H3 ]. So for example, "(a L1 ,a H1、 a L2 ,a H2 ,a L3 ,a H3 )=(1,5,6,10,11,15)”, then the vibration patterns PT[1] to PT

[15] are assigned to the notification information I[1] to I

[15] , respectively, in the pattern assignment process (see FIG. 20). The contents of the assignment in the pattern assignment process are saved in the pattern management table TBL1.

[0084] Total number of notification information N I The total number of vibration patterns is N V is larger (for example, (N I ,N V )=(15,50)), a vibration pattern that is not assigned to any notification information occurs in the pattern assignment process. A vibration pattern that is not assigned to any notification information in the pattern assignment process is stored as an auxiliary vibration pattern in the pattern management table TBL1. The auxiliary vibration pattern is (N V -N I ) exist.

[0085] The pattern management table TBL1 also stores characteristic parameters (vibration parameters) that indicate the characteristics of each vibration pattern. However, the contents of the characteristic parameters are not shown in FIG. 18. The controller 11 also sets an output flag for each piece of notification information, and stores the value of the output flag for each piece of notification information in the pattern management table TBL1. The output flag can have a value of "0" or "1", and the value of all output flags is initialized to "0" (set to "0") in the initial setting process. Therefore, immediately after the initial setting process is completed, all output flags have a value of "0" in the pattern management table TBL1. The output flag corresponding to the notification information I[i] is particularly represented by the symbol "FL[i]". Therefore, for example, when the notification information I[a L1 ] is the output flag corresponding to the output flag FL[aL1 ] and notification information I[a L2 ] is the output flag corresponding to the output flag FL[a L2 The meaning and usage of the output flag will be described later.

[0086] In the pattern allocation process, the total number b of vibration patterns belonging to the first vibration pattern group NUM1 is the total number of notification information items belonging to the first information group (a H1 -a L1 +1), or the former is greater than the latter (see Figure 17). NUM1 =a H1 -a L1 When "+1" is established, the vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] is constructed. NUM1 >a H1 -a L1 +1” is established, a vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] constitutes the first vibration pattern group, and the rest of the first vibration pattern group constitutes the preliminary vibration pattern. NUM2 =a H2 -a L2 When "+1" is established, the vibration pattern PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ] is constructed. NUM2 >a H2 -a L2 When "+1" is established, a vibration pattern PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ] is configured, and the rest of the second vibration pattern group configures the preliminary vibration pattern. NUM3 =a H3 -a L3 When "+1" is established, the vibration pattern PT[a L3 ]~PT[aH3 ] is constructed. NUM3 >a H3 -a L3 When "+1" is established, a vibration pattern PT[a L3 ]~PT[a H3 ] constitutes the third vibration pattern group, and the rest of the third vibration pattern group constitutes the preliminary vibration patterns.

[0087] The first vibration pattern group consists of NUM1 Which vibration pattern is selected as the vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] may be determined according to a predetermined algorithm. NUM1 A unique number is assigned to each vibration pattern, and the vibration patterns PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] can be associated with the vibration patterns in the second vibration pattern group and the vibration pattern PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ], and the vibration patterns in the third vibration pattern group and the vibration pattern PT[a L3 ]~PT[a H3 The same applies to ].

[0088] However, since the association process between groups is performed based on the impression when receiving vibrations due to the first representative vibration pattern, the controller 11 sets the first representative vibration pattern as the vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ]. Similarly, the controller 11 assigns the second representative vibration pattern to one of the vibration patterns PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ] and assign the third representative vibration pattern to the vibration pattern PT[a L3 ]~PT[a H3 ] It is recommended to assign it to one of the following.

[0089] When the pattern allocation process is completed, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S7 (see FIG. 11(b)). In step S7, the controller 11 assigns "1" to the initial setting flag. Then, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the controller 11 performs normal operation. The normal operation may be continued until the engine of the host vehicle V1 is stopped. Note that even after "1" is once assigned to the initial setting flag in step S7, the controller 11 may assign "0" to the initial setting flag if, for example, a reset operation is input by the user U1 to the HMI 50. This makes it possible to execute the initial setting process again.

[0090] FIG. 19 shows a flowchart of normal operation. Normal operation consists of steps S81 to S86 executed by the controller 11. Normal operation starts with step S81. In step S81, the controller 11 acquires notification determination information including sensing information. The notification determination information and sensing information are used to determine whether to notify user U1 of notification target information. The notification determination information may include only sensing information, or may include sensing information and information other than sensing information. Information other than sensing information is expected to include information (traffic information, weather information, etc.) supplied from an external device (server device, etc.) connected to the external network. In the following step S82, the controller 11 determines whether to notify user U1 of any notification information based on the notification determination information. After step S82, the process proceeds to step S83. If it is determined that any notification information should be notified to user U1 (Y in step S83), the process proceeds from step S83 to step S84. If it is not determined that any of the notification information should be notified to the user U1 (N in step S83), the process returns from step S83 to step S81.

[0091] In step S84, the controller 11 performs information notification processing. In the information notification processing in step S84, the controller 11 sets the notification information determined to be notified as notification target information, and causes the vibration device 55 to generate vibration in the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information. As a result, vibration in the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information is given (applied) to the user U1, and as a result, the notification target information is recognized by the user U1. The notification target information is any of the notification information belonging to any of the first to third information groups (hence, the notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 ], I[a L2 ]~I[a H2 ] and I[a L3 ]~I[a H3 ]).

[0092] The vibration of the vibration device 55 according to the vibration pattern assigned to the information to be notified is performed in accordance with the characteristic parameters indicating the characteristics of the vibration pattern assigned to the information to be notified based on the pattern management table TBL1. L1 ] is the notification target information, the vibration pattern PT[a L1 The vibration device 55 vibrates according to the characteristic parameters of the notification information I[a L2 ] is the notification target information, the vibration pattern PT[a L2 The vibration device 55 vibrates according to the characteristic parameters of [ ]. The characteristic parameters determine the physical quantity (frequency, duration, strength, etc. of vibration) of the vibration generated by the vibration device 55. After step S84, the process proceeds to step S85.

[0093] In step S85, the controller 11 assigns "1" to the output flag corresponding to the information to be notified (i.e., updates the pattern management table TBL1 so that the output flag corresponding to the information to be notified has a value of "1"). Therefore, if the information to be notified is the information for notification I[i], in step S85, "1" is assigned to the output flag FL[i] corresponding to the information for notification I[i] (where i is "a"). L1 ≦i≦aH3 "). Note that if the notification target information is notification information I[i], and "FL[i]=1" is already true at step S84, there is no need to perform the substitution again at step S85.

[0094] An output flag FL[i] of "0" indicates that the notification information I[i] is unnotified notification information, and indicates that an information notification process with the notification information I[i] as the notification target information has never been executed. In other words, unnotified notification information is notification information that has never been notified to user U1 through information notification process. Conversely, an output flag FL[i] of "1" indicates that the notification information I[i] is notified notification information, and indicates that an information notification process with the notification information I[i] as the notification target information has been executed one or more times. In other words, notified notification information is notification information that has been notified to user U1 one or more times through information notification process.

[0095] The output flag FL[i] corresponding to the notification information I[i] also corresponds to the vibration pattern assigned to the notification information I[i]. If a vibration pattern PT[i] is assigned to the notification information I[i], an output flag FL[i] of "0" indicates that the vibration pattern PT[i] is an unused vibration pattern, and indicates that an information notification process using the vibration pattern PT[i] has never been executed. In other words, an unused vibration pattern is a vibration pattern that has never been used to vibrate the vibration device 55 in an information notification process.

[0096] If a vibration pattern PT[i] is assigned to notification information I[i], the output flag FL[i] of "1" indicates that the vibration pattern PT[i] is a used vibration pattern, and indicates that the information notification process using the vibration pattern PT[i] has been executed at least once. In other words, a used vibration pattern is a vibration pattern that has been used at least once to vibrate the vibration device 55 in the information notification process.

[0097] After step S85, the process proceeds to step S86. In step S86, the controller 11 performs feedback processing. The feedback processing includes an FB acquisition processing, which is a processing for acquiring feedback information, a trend estimation processing, and an allocation update processing. The value of the output flag may be referenced in the feedback processing. Details of the feedback processing will be described later. After step S86, the process returns to step S81. Note that the feedback processing may be omitted.

[0098] [Summary of peculiar behavior and methods] The unique operations and methods described above in this embodiment will now be summarized.

[0099] In the test evaluation process (see Figs. 14(a) and (b) and Fig. 15), the controller 11 causes the vibration device 55 to generate vibrations for each vibration pattern group with a representative vibration pattern that is any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group. The controller 11 involved in the test evaluation process evaluates the reaction of the user U1 to the application of vibrations of the representative vibration pattern of each vibration pattern group. The content of this reaction is included in the response information RES. In the subsequent initial setting process, the controller 11 determines the correspondence between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups based on the evaluation result of the test evaluation process (the test evaluation result including the response information RES) (see Figs. 16(a) to (c)). Furthermore, the controller 11 uniquely assigns any one of the vibration patterns that belong to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group to each piece of notification information that belongs to the information group for each information group. For example, in the reference case CS REF In the first vibration pattern group associated with the first information group, H1 -a L1 +1) vibration patterns are vibration patterns PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] is extracted as the notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1], each unique vibration pattern PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] is assigned (see Figure 18).

[0100] By the above-described method, the vibration pattern groups are associated with the information groups based on the impression (the user U1's reaction) of actually receiving vibrations due to the representative vibration patterns of each vibration pattern group. That is, in accordance with the user U1's personal vibration sensation, a vibration pattern group that the user U1 feels is highly urgent can be associated with an information group with a relatively high level of urgency. Similarly, a vibration pattern group that the user U1 is less likely to feel is highly urgent can be associated with an information group with a relatively low level of urgency. The user U1 needs to respond quickly to information (alarm) with a high level of urgency. If information with a high level of urgency is notified using a vibration pattern that the user U1 is less likely to feel is highly urgent, there is a risk that the user U1 will not be able to respond quickly. According to the method of this embodiment, it is possible to notify information with a relatively high level of urgency using a vibration pattern that the user U1 feels is highly urgent, thereby increasing the possibility of a quick response. This leads to the promotion of safe driving of the vehicle V1. It should be noted that a reference method may be considered in which the user U1 experiences vibrations of all vibration patterns and specifies the allocation relationship between the vibration patterns and the notification information one by one based on the results of the experience, but the reference method requires a lot of work for the user U1. The method according to this embodiment also reduces the burden on the user U1.

[0101] Specifically, in the test evaluation process, the controller 11 acquires from the user U1 response information RES indicating the impression the user U1 received when vibrations of the representative vibration patterns of each vibration pattern group were applied (see Fig. 14(b) and Fig. 15). Then, based on the response information RES in the initial setting process, the controller 11 associates any one of the first to third information groups with the first to third vibration pattern groups one by one so that the information groups associated with the first to third vibration pattern groups are different from each other.

[0102] If the response information RES is acquired from the user U1, a vibration pattern group that the user U1 feels is highly urgent can be associated with an information group that has a relatively high degree of urgency based on the response information RES. Similarly, a vibration pattern group that the user U1 does not feel is highly urgent can be associated with an information group that has a relatively low degree of urgency.

[0103] The grouping of vibration patterns will be realized through experiments in the design stage. V For convenience, we will refer to the types of vibration patterns as N V Types of vibration patterns for evaluation (1st to Nth) V In the vibration application test (step S11 in FIG. 12) constituting the experiment, the first to Nth vibration patterns are V Vibration according to the evaluation vibration pattern is performed by the evaluation vibration device 55 EV The test subject is given a score using the above formula (see FIG. 13(a)). Pre-survey information 620 indicating the impression each test subject received of the vibration in the vibration application test is collected (see FIG. 13(b)). Then, by performing statistical processing based on the pre-survey information 620, the first to Nth scores are calculated. V The evaluation vibration patterns are grouped into three groups to form first to third vibration pattern groups (see FIGS. 13(c) and (d)). After that, the in-vehicle device 10 reflecting the grouping results is manufactured and installed in the vehicle V1. NUM1 Of the evaluation vibration patterns, some or all of them are vibration patterns PT[a L1 ]~PT[a H1 ] as notification information I[a L1 ]~I[a H1 ] and is used for the information notification process (see FIGS. 17 and 18). NUM2 Of the evaluation vibration patterns, some or all of them are vibration patterns PT[a L2 ]~PT[a H2 ] as notification information I[a L2 ]~I[a H2] and is used for the information notification process (see FIGS. 17 and 18). The same applies to the third vibration pattern group.

[0104] Vibration patterns are grouped based on impressions actually felt by multiple test subjects through experiments at the design stage. For this reason, user U1 is likely to have the same impression for all vibration patterns belonging to a common vibration pattern group. Therefore, in the initial setting process, user U1 only needs to experience each representative vibration pattern and rank the impressions in terms of urgency (the burden on user U1 is light). This is because the impression felt by user U1 for the ith representative vibration pattern is likely to apply to the entire ith vibration pattern group to which the ith representative vibration pattern belongs.

[0105] Below, several specific operational examples, application techniques, modified techniques, etc. related to the in-vehicle system 1 or the in-vehicle device 10 will be described in multiple embodiments. The matters described above in this embodiment are applied to each of the following embodiments unless otherwise specified and unless there is a contradiction. If there are any matters in each embodiment that contradict the matters described above, the description in each embodiment may take precedence. Furthermore, unless there is a contradiction, the matters described in any of the multiple embodiments shown below can also be applied to any of the other embodiments (i.e., any two or more of the multiple embodiments can be combined).

[0106] <<First Example>> A first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, for the sake of concreteness, it is assumed that the total number of pieces of notification information belonging to the first to third information groups is 5. That is, (a L1 ,a H1 ,a L2 ,a H2 ,a L3 ,a H3 )=(1,5,6,10,11,15), and the total number of notification information N I is 15. In the first embodiment, V =25". In this case, the pattern management table TBL1 becomes the pattern management table TBL1a shown in FIG.

[0107] In the initial setting process, vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[5] are assigned to the notification information I[1] to I[5] belonging to the first information group, respectively. In the initial setting process, vibration patterns PT[6] to PT

[10] are assigned to the notification information I[6] to I

[10] belonging to the second information group, respectively. In the initial setting process, vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[15] are assigned to the notification information I

[11] to I

[15] belonging to the third information group, respectively.

[0108] Reference Case CS REF In the case (see FIG. 16(a)), the vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[5] belong to the first vibration pattern group, the vibration patterns PT[6] to PT

[10] belong to the second vibration pattern group, and the vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[15] belong to the third vibration pattern group. MOD1 In the case (see FIG. 16(b)), the vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[5] belong to the third vibration pattern group, the vibration patterns PT[6] to PT

[10] belong to the second vibration pattern group, and the vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[15] belong to the first vibration pattern group. MOD2 In this case (see FIG. 16(c)), the vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[5] belong to the second vibration pattern group, the vibration patterns PT[6] to PT

[10] belong to the first vibration pattern group, and the vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[15] belong to the third vibration pattern group. The same can be considered for other cases.

[0109] In the first embodiment, “N V -N I =25-15=10" results in a total of 10 preliminary vibration patterns. The total of 10 preliminary vibration patterns are vibration patterns PT

[16] to PT

[25] .

[0110] <<Second Example>> A second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the vibration pattern will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 21. The operation of the vibration device 55 is performed in units of vibration unit sections. The length of one vibration unit section is defined as a unit section length t UNT One vibration unit interval is called N Q There are N set intervals Q. Each set interval Q is P There are N stimulated intervals P. P and N Q Each of these has an integer greater than or equal to 1. In the example of Figure 21, (N P ,N Q )=(3,2). Therefore, the vibration unit interval according to the example of Fig. 21 has two set intervals Q, and each set interval Q in the vibration unit interval according to the example of Fig. 21 has three stimulated intervals P.

[0111] In one vibration unit interval, the i-th set interval Q is specifically referred to as set interval Q[i]. The total number of set intervals Q included in one vibration unit interval (i.e., N Q If the value of is 1, one vibration unit interval is equal to the set interval Q[1]. If one vibration unit interval contains multiple set intervals Q (i.e., N Q ≧2), a set interval ITVL_Q is provided between two adjacent set intervals Q. Therefore, the vibration unit interval according to the example of FIG. 21 is made up of set intervals Q[1] and Q[2], and a set interval ITVL_Q is provided between the set intervals Q[1] and Q[2]. The length of one set interval Q is defined as the set length t Q The set interval ITVL_Q has a finite length. For one vibration unit interval, the start time of the vibration unit interval and the start time of the set interval Q[1] coincide, and the end time of the vibration unit interval and the end time of the set interval Q[N Q ] end times match.

[0112] In one set section Q, the i-th stimulated section P is specifically referred to as the stimulated section P[i]. The total number of stimulated sections P included in one set section Q (i.e., N P If the value of is 1, one set interval Q is equal to the stimulated interval P[1]. If one set interval Q contains multiple stimulated intervals P (i.e., NP ≧2), a stimulation interval ITVL_P is provided between two adjacent stimulated intervals P. In the example of FIG. P = 3", each set section Q has stimulated sections P[1] to P[3], and a stimulation interval ITVL_P is provided between the stimulated section P[1] and the stimulated section P[2], and between the stimulated section P[2] and the stimulated section P[3]. The stimulation interval ITVL_P has a finite length. The stimulation interval ITVL_P provided between the stimulated section P[i] and the stimulated section P[i+1] is specifically referred to as the stimulation interval ITVL_P[i]. The length of one stimulated section P is called the stimulated length t P The length of the stimulated section P[i] is specifically the stimulated length t P For one set section Q, the start time of the set section Q and the start time of the stimulated section P[1] are the same, and the end time of the set section Q and the stimulated section P[N P ] end times match.

[0113] Of the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R, the vibrator that actually vibrates is called the target vibrator. Therefore, the target vibrator is vibrator 58L when left vibration output is performed by the controller 11, vibrator 58C when center vibration output is performed, and vibrator 58R when right vibration output is performed. When the controller 11 performs whole vibration output, the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R become the target vibrators (see FIGS. 9(a) to (d)). The vibration unit 56 having the target vibrator is called the target vibration unit. Of the vibrators 58L, 58C, and 58R, only the target vibrator vibrates.

[0114] The controller 11 vibrates the target vibrator by supplying the input acoustic signal Ain to the target vibration unit only during the stimulated interval. Intervals other than the stimulated interval are called non-stimulation intervals. The controller 11 does not supply the input acoustic signal Ain to any vibration units 56, including the target vibration unit, during the non-stimulation interval. Therefore, the vibration device 55 does not generate any vibration during the non-stimulation interval. The stimulation interval ITVL_P and the set interval ITVL_Q belong to the non-stimulation interval. Furthermore, when multiple vibration unit intervals are set side by side on a time series, a non-stimulation interval of finite time length is set between two adjacent vibration unit intervals.

[0115] In the vibration unit interval of the example of FIG. 21, the target vibrator first vibrates in the stimulated interval P[1] in the set interval Q[1], and then becomes stationary (enters a non-vibrating state) in the stimulation interval ITVL_P[1]. Then, the target vibrator vibrates in the stimulated interval P[2] in the set interval Q[1], and then becomes stationary (enters a non-vibrating state) in the stimulation interval ITVL_P[2]. Then, the target vibrator vibrates in the stimulated interval P[3] in the set interval Q[1], and the set interval Q[1] ends with the end of the stimulated interval P[3]. Then, after the set interval ITVL_Q has elapsed, the set interval Q[2] begins. The vibration mode of the target vibrator in the set interval Q[2] is the same as the vibration mode of the target vibrator in the set interval Q[1]. In the vibration unit interval of the example of FIG. 21, the set interval Q[2] ends with the end of the stimulated interval P[3] in the set interval Q[2], and the vibration unit interval also ends. In FIG. 21, the phrase "beep, beep, boooo, beep, beep, boooo" is shown as a phrase that represents the image of vibration perceived by the user U1. P [1]=t P [2] <t P [3]” is expected.

[0116] The characteristic parameter is the unit interval length t UNT , number of set sections N Q , set length t Q , set interval ITVL_Q, number of stimulated sections N P , stimulated length tP [1]~t P [N P ] and stimulus interval ITVL_P[1]~ITVL_P[N P -1]. The characteristic parameter is the vibration frequency f V and vibration intensity INT V The vibration frequency f V is the vibration frequency of the vibration device 55 (the vibration frequency of the target vibrator) in the stimulation section P. Vibration intensity INT V is the vibration intensity of the vibration device 55 (vibration intensity of the target vibrator) in the stimulation section P. V or vibration intensity INT V may fluctuate, and in such cases, the pattern of such fluctuation is also defined by the characteristic parameters. Furthermore, the characteristic parameters also define which of the transducers 58L, 58C, and 58R is set as the target transducer. The target transducer can be changed among the transducers 58L, 58C, and 58R within the vibration unit interval, and when such a change is made, the content of the change is also defined by the characteristic parameters.

[0117] Any vibration pattern of interest is referred to as a vibration pattern of interest. The vibration of the vibration device 55 according to the vibration pattern of interest is performed according to characteristic parameters indicating the characteristics of the vibration pattern of interest. The physical quantity of the vibration of the vibration device 55 according to the vibration pattern of interest (vibration frequency f V , vibration intensity INT V and stimulated length t P [1]~t P [N P ], etc.) are determined by the characteristic parameters of the vibration pattern of interest. V Each type of vibration pattern has different characteristic parameters.

[0118] <<Third Example>> A third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, a specific example of the feedback process (step S86 in FIG. 19) will be given. First, an example of the concept of the feedback process will be given. The notification information belonging to the first information group is transmitted at a frequency f LOW The vibration frequency f VAssume that the user U1 does not perceive high urgency when the notification information belonging to the third information group is output using the vibration pattern of frequency f HIGH The vibration frequency f V Assume that the user U1 perceives a high level of urgency when the vibration pattern “f HIGH >f LOW In this case, the user U1 has a vibration frequency f V It can be assumed that the higher the value of "f", the more likely it is that the urgency will be perceived. LOW =f V If the vibration pattern of "f" is assigned to the notification information, it can be said that the vibration pattern is not appropriate for making the user perceive a high level of urgency. Therefore, the vibration pattern assigned to the notification information is changed to the vibration pattern of "f" assigned in the initial setting process. LOW =f V " from the vibration pattern of "f HIGH =f V However, in the third embodiment, this change is made only when the other notification information is unnotified notification information and the vibration pattern of "f HIGH =f V This is executed only when the vibration pattern of " is an unused vibration pattern. This is because changing the assigned vibration pattern after the other notification information has been output even once using the vibration pattern assigned in the initial setting process will confuse the user U1. This series of operations is realized using feedback processing.

[0119] The operation relating to the feedback process will be further described with reference to Fig. 22. The processes of steps S110 to S115 shown in Fig. 22 are all executed by the controller 11 in its normal operation.

[0120] In step S110, the controller 11 repeats a processing set consisting of the information notification processing and the FB acquisition processing multiple times. An example of step S110 is shown in FIG. 23. In the example of FIG. 23, the above processing set is repeated six times. In the third embodiment, for the sake of concreteness of the explanation, it is assumed that the processing set is repeated six times in step S110 as shown in FIG. 23. Also, it is assumed that the pattern management table TBL1 immediately after the initial setting processing is the pattern management table TBL1a in FIG. 20. Therefore, (a L1 ,a H1 ,a L2 ,a H2 ,a L3 ,a H3 )=(1,5,6,10,11,15) and (N I ,N V )=(15,25).

[0121] In each processing set, an FB acquisition process is performed immediately after the information notification process. The notification target information in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth information notification processes is notification information I[1], I[2], I[3], I

[11] , I

[12] , and I

[13] , respectively. Feedback information is acquired in each FB acquisition process. The feedback information indicates the reaction of user U1 when vibrations from the vibration device 55 are applied to user U1 by the information notification process. The feedback information acquired in the first, second, and third FB acquisition processes is referred to as feedback information FB_C[1], FB_C[2], and FB_C[3], respectively. The feedback information acquired in the fourth, fifth, and sixth FB acquisition processes is referred to as feedback information FB_C

[11] , FB_C

[12] , and FB_C

[13] , respectively.

[0122] In the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth information notification processes, the vibration device 55 vibrates with vibration patterns PT[1], PT[2], PT[3], PT

[11] , PT

[12] , and PT

[13] , respectively. Therefore, feedback information FB_C[1] indicates the reaction of user U1 when the vibration device 55 vibrates with vibration pattern PT[1] corresponding to notification information I[1]. Similarly, feedback information FB_C

[11] indicates the reaction of user U1 when the vibration device 55 vibrates with vibration pattern PT

[11] corresponding to notification information I

[11] . The same applies to the other feedback information.

[0123] Here, it is assumed that every time the information notification process is performed, the controller 11 outputs an inquiry message to the user U1 via the HMI 50, and the response to the inquiry message from the user U1 is included in the feedback information.

[0124] The inquiry message output immediately after the first to third information notification processes is a message stating, "High-urgency information notification has been performed via vibration. Did you feel the vibration to be high, medium, or low urgency?" In response to the inquiry message output immediately after the first to third information notification processes, user U1 responds that the vibrations they received evoked a low urgency. Therefore, the feedback information FB_C[1], FB_C[2], and FB_C[3] indicate that the vibration patterns PT[1], PT[2], and PT[3] evoke a low urgency for user U1, respectively. Meanwhile, the urgency of the notification information output in the first to third information notification processes is high urgency (first urgency), which corresponds to the alarm level. Therefore, the urgency of the notification is not conveyed to user U1 as ideally as possible in the first to third information notification processes.

[0125] The inquiry message output immediately after the fourth to sixth information notification processes is a message stating, "Low-urgency information notification has been performed via vibration. Did you feel the vibration to be high, medium, or low urgency?" Assume that user U1 replies to the inquiry message output immediately after the fourth to sixth information notification processes that the vibrations they received evoked a high urgency. In this case, the feedback information FB_C

[11] , FB_C

[12] , and FB_C

[13] indicate that the vibration patterns PT

[11] , PT

[12] , and PT

[13] evoke a high urgency for user U1, respectively. Meanwhile, the urgency of the notification information output in the fourth to sixth information notification processes is low (third urgency), which corresponds to the alarm level. Therefore, the urgency of the notification is not conveyed to user U1 as ideally as possible in the fourth to sixth information notification processes.

[0126] The process proceeds to step S111 after multiple information notification processes. In the example of FIG. 23, it is assumed that the process proceeds to step S111 after six information notification processes. Referring again to FIG. 22, in step S111, the controller 11 performs trend estimation process. The trend estimation process estimates a trend of what kind of vibration in the vibration device 55 makes the user U1 feel what level of urgency. As the trend, a relationship (hereinafter referred to as relationship α) between the physical amount of vibration of the vibration device 55 and the level of urgency perceived by the user U1 is estimated. Specifically, in the trend estimation process, the controller 11 estimates the relationship α based on the characteristics (characteristic parameters) of the vibration pattern used in the information notification process that has already been performed and the feedback information obtained in association with the information notification process that has already been performed.

[0127] In step S112 following step S111, the controller 11 determines whether or not there is any unnotified notification information based on each output flag. If there is any unnotified notification information (Y in step S112), the process proceeds to step S113. If there is no unnotified notification information (N in step S112), the allocation update process in step S115, which will be described later, is not executed. Here, it is assumed that the process proceeds to steps S111 and S112 via step S110 in the example of FIG. 23. Therefore, at the stage of step S112, the notification information I[1] to I[3] and I

[11] to I

[13] are notified notification information, and the notification information I[4], I[5] to I

[10] , I

[14] and I

[15] are not yet notified notification information. Therefore, the process proceeds from step S112 to step S113.

[0128] In step S113, the controller 11 determines whether to execute the allocation update process based on the relationship α. In the determination of whether to execute the allocation update process, the controller 11 determines whether to execute the allocation update process by determining ... NG ) is assigned to any of the notification information in the initial setting process is the vibration pattern PT NG Vibration pattern PT NG If there is a vibration pattern PT NG The appropriate vibration pattern (hereinafter referred to as vibration pattern PT) OK It is determined whether there is a vibration pattern PT OK After step S113, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0129] In step S114, the controller 11 checks the result of the execution / non-execution determination in step S113. NG and PT. OKOnly when it is determined that both of the vibration patterns PT NG If it is determined that the vibration pattern PT does not exist, it is determined that the allocation update process is not to be executed. NG There is a vibration pattern PT OK If it is determined that there is no allocation update process, it is also determined that the allocation update process is not to be executed. If it is determined that the allocation update process is not to be executed (N in step S114), the process does not proceed to step S115, and as a result, the allocation update process is not executed.

[0130] In step S115, the controller 11 executes the allocation update process. NG The notification information that was assigned to TG In the allocation update process, the controller 11 uses the notification information I TG The vibration pattern assigned to the vibration pattern PT NG Vibration pattern PT OK The content of this change is reflected in the pattern management table TBL1a. The feedback process in step S86 of Fig. 19 includes an FB acquisition process and the processes of steps S111 to S115.

[0131] A specific example of the processing of steps S111 to S115 in relation to step S110 shown in FIG. 23 will be given.

[0132] Consider case CS3a. In case CS3a, the vibration frequency f V is the frequency f LOW and the vibration frequency f in the vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[13] V is the frequency f HIGH where the frequency f HIGH is the frequency f LOW The vibration frequency of each vibration pattern is f Vare defined by the characteristic parameters of the vibration patterns corresponding to each of them.

[0133] The controller 11 involved in the tendency estimation process estimates the relationship α based on the estimation information. The estimation information in case CS3a is the frequency f corresponding to the vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[3]. LOW , the frequency f corresponding to the vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[13] HIGH , and feedback information FB_C[1] to FB_C[3] and FB_C

[11] to FB_C

[13] . In case CS3a, the vibration frequency f V The higher the vibration frequency f V A relationship α is estimated such that the lower the urgency level, the more likely the user U1 is to perceive a low level of urgency.

[0134] In step S113, the controller 11 in case CS3a determines whether or not there is any unused notification information belonging to the first information group to which a low-frequency vibration pattern is assigned. LOW Vibration frequency f V , or frequency f HIGH than frequency f LOW Vibration frequency f close to V In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3a sets the low-frequency vibration pattern assigned to the unused notification information belonging to the first information group as the vibration pattern PT NG1 Vibration pattern PT NG1 is the above improper vibration pattern PT NG This is an example of vibration pattern PT. NG1 may not be able to be extracted.

[0135] On the other hand, in step S113, the controller 11 in the case CS3a sets the vibration pattern PT NG1 Vibration pattern PT instead of OK1 Determine whether there is a vibration pattern PT OK1 is the appropriate vibration pattern PT OKThis is an example of vibration pattern PT. OK1 is a high frequency vibration pattern. A high frequency vibration pattern is a frequency f HIGH Vibration frequency f V , or frequency f LOW than frequency f HIGH Vibration frequency f close to V In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3a selects a high-frequency vibration pattern from among the preliminary vibration patterns PT

[16] to PT

[25] as the vibration pattern PT OK1 Vibration pattern PT OK1 may not be able to be extracted.

[0136] In case CS3a, the vibration pattern PT NG1 The notification information that was assigned to TG1 Notification Information I TG1 is the notification information I above TG In case CS3a, the vibration pattern PT NG1 and PT. OK1 If the notification information I is extracted, the process proceeds to step S115. TG1 The vibration pattern assigned to the vibration pattern PT NG1 Vibration pattern PT OK1 This change is reflected in the pattern management table TBL1a.

[0137] From the opposite perspective, the following processing can also be performed in case CS3a. In step S113, the controller 11 in case CS3a determines whether or not there is notification information to which a high-frequency vibration pattern is assigned among the unused notification information belonging to the third information group. In step S113, the controller 11 in case CS3a sets the high-frequency vibration pattern assigned to the unused notification information belonging to the third information group as the vibration pattern PT NG2 Vibration pattern PT NG2 is the above improper vibration pattern PT NGThis is an example of vibration pattern PT. NG2 On the other hand, in the case CS3a, the controller 11 does not extract the vibration pattern PT NG2 Vibration pattern PT instead of OK2 Determine whether there is a vibration pattern PT OK2 is the appropriate vibration pattern PT OK This is an example of vibration pattern PT. OK2 is a low-frequency vibration pattern. In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3a selects a low-frequency vibration pattern from among the preliminary vibration patterns PT

[16] to PT

[25] as the vibration pattern PT OK2 Vibration pattern PT OK2 In case CS3a, the vibration pattern PT NG2 The notification information that was assigned to TG2 Notification Information I TG2 is the notification information I above TG In case CS3a, the vibration pattern PT NG2 and PT. OK2 If the notification information I is extracted, the process proceeds to step S115. TG2 The vibration pattern assigned to the vibration pattern PT NG2 Vibration pattern PT OK2 This change is reflected in the pattern management table TBL1a.

[0138] Consider case CS3b. In case CS3b, the stimulus length t P is the stimulus length t LONG and the effective stimulus length t in the vibration patterns PT

[11] ~PT

[13] P is the stimulus length t SHORT (See Figure 21.) P is the number of stimulated sections N P If is 2 or more, the stimulus length t P [1]~t P [NP ] where the stimulus length t LONG is the stimulus length t SHORT The effective length of each vibration pattern is set to be sufficiently larger than t P are defined by the characteristic parameters of the vibration patterns corresponding to each of them.

[0139] The controller 11 involved in the tendency estimation process estimates the relationship α based on the estimation information. The estimation information in case CS3b is the stimulation length t LONG , the stimulus length t corresponding to the vibration patterns PT

[11] ~PT

[13] SHORT , and feedback information FB_C[1] to FB_C[3] and FB_C

[11] to FB_C

[13] . In case CS3b, the stimulus length t P The shorter the time, the easier it is for the user U1 to perceive a high level of urgency. P A relationship α is estimated such that the longer the time, the more likely the user U1 is to perceive a low level of urgency.

[0140] In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3b determines whether or not there is any unused notification information belonging to the first information group to which a vibration pattern with a long stimulus length is assigned. LONG Stimulus length t P , or stimulus length t SHORT than the stimulus length t LONG The stimulus length t is close to P In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3b sets the vibration pattern with the long stimulus length assigned to the unused notification information belonging to the first information group as the vibration pattern PT NG3 Vibration pattern PT NG3 is the above improper vibration pattern PT NG This is an example of vibration pattern PT. NG3 may not be able to be extracted.

[0141] On the other hand, in step S113, the controller 11 in the case CS3b sets the vibration pattern PT NG3 Vibration pattern PT instead of OK3 Determine whether there is a vibration pattern PT OK3 is the appropriate vibration pattern PT OK This is an example of vibration pattern PT. OK3 is the vibration pattern of the short stimulus length. The vibration pattern of the short stimulus length is the vibration pattern of the stimulus length t SHORT Stimulated length t below P , or stimulus length t LONG than the stimulus length t SHORT The stimulus length t is close to P In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3b selects a vibration pattern with a short stimulus length from the preliminary vibration patterns PT

[16] to PT

[25] as the vibration pattern PT OK3 Vibration pattern PT OK3 may not be able to be extracted.

[0142] In case CS3b, the vibration pattern PT NG3 The notification information that was assigned to TG3 Notification Information I TG3 is the notification information I above TG In case CS3b, the vibration pattern PT NG3 and PT. OK3 If the notification information I is extracted, the process proceeds to step S115. TG3 The vibration pattern assigned to the vibration pattern PT NG3 Vibration pattern PT OK3 This change is reflected in the pattern management table TBL1a.

[0143] From the opposite perspective, the following processing can also be performed in case CS3b. In step S113, the controller 11 in case CS3b determines whether or not there is notification information to which a vibration pattern with a short stimulus length is assigned among unused notification information belonging to the third information group. In step S113, the controller 11 in case CS3b assigns the vibration pattern with a short stimulus length assigned to the unused notification information belonging to the third information group as the vibration pattern PT NG4 Vibration pattern PT NG4 is the above improper vibration pattern PT NG This is an example of vibration pattern PT. NG4 On the other hand, in case CS3b, the controller 11 does not extract the vibration pattern PT NG4 Vibration pattern PT instead of OK4 Determine whether there is a vibration pattern PT OK4 is the appropriate vibration pattern PT OK This is an example of vibration pattern PT. OK4 is a vibration pattern of long stimulus length. In step S113, the controller 11 according to the case CS3b selects a vibration pattern of long stimulus length from among the preliminary vibration patterns PT

[16] to PT

[25] as the vibration pattern PT OK4 Vibration pattern PT OK4 In case CS3b, the vibration pattern PT NG4 The notification information that was assigned to TG4 Notification Information I TG4 is the notification information I above TG In case CS3b, the vibration pattern PT NG4 and PT. OK4 If the notification information I is extracted, the process proceeds to step S115. TG4 The vibration pattern assigned to the vibration pattern PT NG4 Vibration pattern PT OK4 This change is reflected in the pattern management table TBL1a.

[0144] The physical quantity of the vibration of the vibration device 55 is the vibration frequency f V and stimulated length t P However, among the physical quantities of the vibration of the vibration device 55, the vibration frequency f V and stimulated length t P Information other than (e.g. vibration intensity INT V、 Vibration intensity modulation characteristics 、 The processing of steps S111 to S115 may be performed based on the characteristics of the vibration frequency modulation.

[0145] In this way, the controller 11 according to this embodiment can execute the allocation update process based on the reaction (feedback information) of the user U1 to the execution of the information notification process after executing the information notification process. TG ) to the vibration pattern assigned to a specific notification during the initial setting process. NG ) to other vibration patterns (PT OK ) and change it to specific notification information (I TG ) is notification information that has not yet been notified to the user U1 in the information notification process, and the other vibration patterns (PT OK ) is a vibration pattern that is not used in the information notification process.

[0146] The allocation update process determines whether the vibration pattern (PT NG ) and other vibration patterns (PT OK ) can be changed. Specific notification information and other vibration patterns (PT OK ) is unnotified notification information and unused vibration patterns, so even if the change is made, the user U1 will not be unnecessarily confused.

[0147] More specifically, the controller 11 may perform the allocation update process after performing the first to Jth information notification processes. J represents any integer equal to or greater than 2, and in the example of FIG. 23, J=6. When the information notification process has been performed a predetermined number of times (J), a transition from step S110 to step S111 in FIG. 22 may occur. For convenience, among the first to Jth information notification processes, the notification information that is the notification target information in the jth information notification process is referred to as notification information I. X The vibration pattern used in the jth information notification process is denoted as [j]. X In the example shown in FIG. 23, the notification information I X [1]~I X [3] are notification information I[1] to I[3], respectively, and notification information I X [4]~I X [6] are the notification information I

[11] to I

[13] , respectively. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the vibration pattern PT X [1]~PT X [3] are vibration patterns PT[1] to PT[3], respectively, and vibration pattern PT X [4]~PT X [6] are vibration patterns PT

[11] to PT

[13] , respectively. Then, the controller 11 uses the vibration patterns PT X [1]~PT X [J] Vibration of the vibration device 55 notifies the user of the information I X [1]~I X The controller 11 notifies the user U1 of the vibration pattern PT X [1]~PT X [J] characteristics and vibration pattern PT in the 1st to Jth information notification process X [1]~PT XA tendency estimation process is performed based on the reaction of the user U1 when the vibration [J] is given to the user U1. In the example of FIG. 23, the controller 11 acquires feedback information FB_C[1] to FB_C[3] and FB_C

[11] to FB_C

[13] as the reaction. In the tendency estimation process, a relationship α between the physical quantity of the vibration of the vibration device 55 and the urgency perceived by the user U1 is estimated. Then, the controller 11 generates specific notification information (I TG ) (S113). TG When the allocation update process is executed for the other vibration pattern (PT OK ) is extracted.

[0148] Based on the user U1's reactions to the multiple information notification processes performed so far and the characteristics of the vibration patterns used at that time, it is possible to estimate the relationship α between the physical quantity of the vibration of the vibration device 55 and the urgency perceived by the user U1. By taking this estimated relationship α into consideration, it is possible to properly determine whether or not to perform the allocation update process, and if so, to properly determine the details of the allocation update process.

[0149] <<Fourth Example>> A fourth embodiment will be described. As described above, the feedback information indicates the reaction of the user U1 when the vibration of the vibration device 55 due to the information notification process is given to the user U1. The controller 11 according to the third embodiment acquires the feedback information by obtaining a response from the user U1 to a query from the in-vehicle device 10. However, as long as the above reaction can be obtained, the method of acquiring the feedback information by the controller 11 is arbitrary.

[0150] The controller 11 may have an emotion estimator (not shown) that estimates the emotion of the user U1 based on the biometric signal of the user U1, the facial expression of the user U1, etc. In this case, the emotion estimation result by the emotion estimator may be included in the feedback information.

[0151] The controller 11 may determine whether the user U1 has performed an action unrelated to the content of the notification information I[i] based on the sensing information immediately after notifying the notification information I[i] (such as notifying of sudden braking), and may include the results of this determination in the feedback information.

[0152] The controller 11 may determine whether the user U1 has promptly performed the action requested in the notification information I[i] based on the sensing information immediately after notifying the notification information I[i], and may include the results of this determination in the feedback information.

[0153] The controller 11 may determine whether the user U1 performed the action required by the notification information I[i] (for example, checking behind the vehicle to prevent a collision when turning left) before the notification information I[i] was notified, and include the result of the determination in the feedback information. The controller 11 may determine whether the user U1 performed the action required by the notification information I[i] after a long time has elapsed since the notification information I[i] was notified, and include the result of the determination in the feedback information.

[0154] After notifying the user of the notification information I[i], the controller 11 may inquire of the user U1 whether the vibration corresponding to the notification information I[i] feels good or bad, and include the response to the inquiry in the feedback information.

[0155] <<Fifth Example>> A fifth embodiment will be described. When the controller 11 is provided with an emotion estimator, the controller 11 may acquire the above-mentioned response information RES based on the emotion estimation result by the emotion estimator (see FIG. 15). In this case, the controller 11 detects, for each of the first to third representative vibration patterns, a change in the emotion of the user U1 when vibrations based on the representative vibration patterns are applied to the user U1, using the emotion estimator, and acquires the detection result as the response information RES. Alternatively, the controller 11 may acquire the response information RES based on a biological signal (for example, a heartbeat or brain wave signal) of the user U1 when vibrations based on the representative vibration patterns are applied to the user U1.

[0156] <<Sixth Example>> A sixth embodiment will be described. FIG. 24 shows a functional block diagram of the controller 11. The controller 11 includes functional blocks F1 to F4. The controller 11 is a program execution device (computer) capable of executing any program. All or part of the functions of the functional blocks F1 to F4 may be realized by executing a program recorded in the memory 12 or any other recording medium in the controller 11 (arithmetic processing unit 11a). The functional block F1 is a test evaluation unit that performs the test evaluation process of step S5 (see FIG. 11(b)). The functional block F2 is an initial setting unit that performs the process of step S6 (see FIG. 11(b)). The functional block F3 is an information notification unit that performs the information notification process of step S84 (see FIG. 19). The information notification unit F3 may also perform the processes of steps S81 to S83 and S85. The functional block F4 is a feedback processing unit that performs the feedback process of step S86.

[0157] <<Seventh Example>> A seventh embodiment will be described. In the seventh embodiment, cooperative operation using multiple in-vehicle devices 10 will be described. Figure 25 shows the overall configuration of a notification control system 2 according to the seventh embodiment. The notification control system 2 comprises multiple in-vehicle systems 1, a management device 200, and a database DB. Each of the multiple in-vehicle systems 1 has the same configuration as the above-mentioned in-vehicle system 1 (see Figure 3), and therefore comprises an in-vehicle device 10. The in-vehicle device 10 is wirelessly connected to a communication network NET, which is an external network. The communication network NET includes the Internet and an intranet. The management device 200 and database DB are connected to the communication network NET wirelessly or via a wired connection.

[0158] FIG. 26 shows the internal configuration of the management device 200. The management device 200 includes a controller 210, a memory 220, and a communication unit 230. The controller 210 includes a processing unit 210a including a CPU, a GPU, and the like as hardware resources. The controller 210 may execute programs recorded in the memory 220 or any other recording medium to realize any functions, operations, and processes to be realized by the controller 210. All or part of the operations performed by the controller 210 described below may be understood to be operations performed by the processing unit 210a. The memory 220 includes nonvolatile memory such as ROM or flash memory, and volatile memory such as RAM. The memory 220 stores various data referenced by the controller 210 as well as various programs to be executed by the controller 210. The communication unit 230 transmits and receives any signals between the management device 200 and a different counterpart device. The counterpart device for the communication unit 230 includes the in-vehicle device 10. The controller 210 can send and receive any information to and from the other device using the communication unit 230, but the description of the communication unit 230 may be omitted below. The management device 200 may be configured with one or more computer devices connected to the communication network NET. The management device 200 may also be configured using cloud computing.

[0159] The management device 200 (controller 210) can access the database DB via the communication network NET. However, the database DB may be built into the management device 200. The database DB is a large-capacity recording medium configured with a magnetic disk, semiconductor memory, or the like. Access to the database DB includes a write operation for recording any data (information) in the database DB, and a read operation for reading any data (information) recorded in the database DB.

[0160] Each in-vehicle device 10 and the management device 200 are capable of two-way communication via the communication network NET. When the input process for user registration information is executed in step S4 (see FIG. 11(b)) in any in-vehicle device 10, the controller 11 transmits the user registration information to the management device 200. When the management device 200 receives the user registration information, the controller 210 executes the user registration process. In the user registration process, the controller 210 stores the received user registration information in the database DB. At this time, the controller 210 assigns a unique identification ID to each user U1, and stores the multiple pieces of user registration information for the multiple users U1 separately in the database DB.

[0161] Figure 27 shows the user management table TBL2 stored in the database DB. Storing user registration information in the database DB means that the user registration information is stored in the user management table TBL2. In the user management table TBL2, a unique identification ID is assigned to multiple users U1 for multiple in-vehicle devices 10, and the user registration information for each of the multiple users U1 is stored in the user management table TBL2. The user registration information of a certain user U1 includes attribute information of the user U1. The attribute information of the user U1 may include the gender, age group, and nationality of the user U1, as well as the user U1's car driving history and driving frequency.

[0162] When an initial setting process (see step S6 in FIG. 11(b)) is performed in any of the in-vehicle devices 10, the controller 11 transmits initial setting data indicating the result of the initial setting process to the management device 200, and the initial setting data is received by the management device 200. The initial setting data may include all the contents of the pattern management table TBL1 (see FIG. 18) immediately after the initial setting process. However, the characteristic parameters and the output flag may not be included in the initial setting data. The initial setting data includes the result of the association between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups by the inter-group association process. Therefore, the initial setting data indicates how the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups are associated with each other in the inter-group association process. In addition, the initial setting data includes the result of the assignment of each notification information to each vibration pattern by the pattern assignment process. Therefore, the initial setting data indicates how the vibration patterns in the first to third vibration pattern groups are assigned to each piece of notification information in the first to third information groups in the pattern assignment process (for each piece of notification information, it indicates which vibration pattern is assigned to that piece of notification information).

[0163] When the management device 200 receives the initial setting data, the controller 210 performs a data registration process to store the received initial setting data in the user management table TBL2. The data registration process is performed for each user U1, and multiple initial setting data for multiple users U1 are stored in the user management table TBL2 while being distinguished from one another. That is, the initial setting data from the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the first user U1 is stored in the user management table TBL2 in association with the first user U1. Similarly, the initial setting data from the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the second user U1 is stored in the user management table TBL2 in association with the second user U1. The same applies to the other users U1.

[0164] Furthermore, when an allocation update process (see step S115 in FIG. 22) is performed in any of the in-vehicle devices 10, the controller 11 transmits allocation update data indicating the result of the allocation update process to the management device 200, and the allocation update data is received by the management device 200. The allocation update data is stored in the notification information I described above. TG Newly assigned vibration pattern PT OK indicates which vibration pattern it is.

[0165] When the allocation update data is received by the management device 200, the controller 210 performs an update registration process to store the received allocation update data in the user management table TBL2. The update registration process is performed for each user U1, and multiple allocation update data for multiple users U1 are stored in the user management table TBL2 while being distinguished from one another. That is, the allocation update data from the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the first user U1 is stored in the user management table TBL2 in association with the first user U1. Similarly, the allocation update data from the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the second user U1 is stored in the user management table TBL2 in association with the second user U1. The same applies to the other users U1.

[0166] The controller 210 can store information vibration relation data for each user U1 in the user management table TBL2. After the initial setting process is performed in the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the i-th user U1, the initial setting data is stored in the user management table TBL2 as information vibration relation data in association with the i-th user U1. After the allocation update process is performed in the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the i-th user U1, the information vibration relation data corresponding to the i-th user U1 further includes allocation update data. Although the controller 210 has performed user registration process for the i-th user U1, before the initial setting process is performed in the in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to the i-th user U1, the information vibration relation data corresponding to the i-th user U1 does not include either the initial setting data or the allocation update data. Figure 27 shows a situation in which the information vibration relation data of user U1 associated with the identification ID of "002" includes neither the initial setting data nor the allocation update data.

[0167] The controller 210 can recognize which vibration pattern is assigned to each piece of notification information in each in-vehicle device 10 based on the information-vibration relation data of each user U1.

[0168] The management device 200 can execute a diversion control process for diverting (applying) the correspondence relationships between each piece of notification information and each vibration pattern adopted and set in one of the in-vehicle devices 10 to another in-vehicle device 10.

[0169] The diversion control process will be described with a focus on two in-vehicle devices 10. See FIG. 28. The two in-vehicle devices 10 of interest will be referred to as in-vehicle devices 10_A and 10_B. The in-vehicle system 1 equipped with the in-vehicle device 10_A will be referred to as in-vehicle system 1_A, and the in-vehicle system 1 equipped with the in-vehicle device 10_B will be referred to as in-vehicle system 1_B. The host vehicle V1 equipped with the in-vehicle system 1_A will be referred to as vehicle V1_A, and the host vehicle V1 equipped with the in-vehicle system 1_B will be referred to as vehicle V1_B. A user U1 who is an occupant of the vehicle V1_A and uses the in-vehicle device 10_A will be referred to as user U1_A, and a user U1 who is an occupant of the vehicle V1_B and uses the in-vehicle device 10_B will be referred to as user U1_B. The controller 11 provided in the in-vehicle device 10_A is referred to as a controller 11_A, and the controller 11 provided in the in-vehicle device 10_B is referred to as a controller 11_B.

[0170] The diversion control process executed in relation to the in-vehicle devices 10_A and 10_B will be described with reference to Fig. 29. Fig. 29 is a timing chart relating to the diversion control process.

[0171] First, user registration information input processing 1110 is executed in the in-vehicle device 10_A, and the controller 11_A transmits user registration information 1120 to the management device 200. The user registration information 1120 is user registration information for user U1_A. When the management device 200 receives the user registration information 1120, the controller 210 executes user registration processing 1130 to store the user registration information 1120 in the user management table TBL2. At this time, the controller 210 assigns a unique identification ID to the user U1_A, and stores the user registration information 1120 in the user management table TBL2 in association with the user U1_A.

[0172] Following the user registration process 1130, the controller 210 executes a diversion determination process 1140. In the diversion determination process 1140, the controller 210 determines whether or not to execute a diversion control process for the in-vehicle device 10_A by deriving the similarity between the attribute information in the user registration information 1120 and the reference attribute information. The reference attribute information in the diversion determination process 1140 is the attribute information in each piece of user registration information currently stored in the user management table TBL2 and other than the user registration information 1120. If the user registration information stored in the user management table TBL2 at the stage of execution of the diversion determination process 1140 is only the user registration information 1120, no reference attribute information exists. If no reference attribute information exists, the controller 210 determines not to execute a diversion control process for the in-vehicle device 10_A. If the reference attribute information exists, it may be determined to execute a diversion control process for the in-vehicle device 10_A depending on the similarity. However, in the example of FIG. 29, it is assumed that it has been determined not to execute a diversion control process for the in-vehicle device 10_A.

[0173] When it is determined in the diversion determination process 1140 that the diversion control process will not be executed for the in-vehicle device 10_A, the controller 210 transmits a test execution command signal 1150 to the in-vehicle device 10_A. After transmitting the user registration information, each controller 11 according to the seventh embodiment waits to execute the test evaluation process until it receives a test execution command signal from the management device 200, and executes the test evaluation process (see step S5 in FIG. 11(b)) on the condition that the test execution command signal is received. In the example of FIG. 29, the test evaluation process executed by the controller 11_A is the test evaluation process 1160. Therefore, after transmitting the user registration information 1120, the controller 11_A waits to execute the test evaluation process 1160, and executes the test evaluation process 1160 in response to reception of the test execution command signal 1150 by the in-vehicle device 10_A. The test execution command signal 1150 is a signal that commands the in-vehicle device 10_A (controller 11_A) to execute the test evaluation process 1160.

[0174] The initial setting process executed by the controller 11_A (see step S6 in FIG. 11(b)) is the initial setting process 1170. After the test evaluation process 1160, the controller 11_A executes the initial setting process 1170 and transmits initial setting data 1180 indicating the result of the initial setting process 1170 to the management device 200. The initial setting data 1180 may include all the contents of the pattern management table TBL1 of the in-vehicle device 10_A immediately after the initial setting process 1170. The initial setting data 1180 includes the result of the association between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups by the inter-group association process executed by the controller 11_A. Therefore, the initial setting data 1180 indicates how the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups are associated with each other in the inter-group association process executed by the controller 11_A. In addition, the initial setting data 1180 includes the result of the assignment of each notification information item to each vibration pattern by the pattern assignment process executed by the controller 11_A. Therefore, the initial setting data 1180 indicates how the vibration patterns in the first to third vibration pattern groups are assigned to each piece of notification information in the first to third information groups in the pattern assignment process by the controller 11_A (for each piece of notification information, it indicates which vibration pattern is assigned to that piece of notification information).

[0175] The initial setting data 1180 is received by the management device 200. When the initial setting data 1180 is received by the management device 200, the controller 210 performs a data registration process 1190 to associate the received initial setting data 1180 with the user U1_A and store it in the user management table TBL2. The initial setting data 1180 represents the information vibration relation data of the user U1_A set by the initial setting process 1170, and this information vibration relation data (1180) is stored in the user management table TBL2 by the data registration process 1190.

[0176] In the example of FIG. 29, after the data registration process 1190 is executed, the in-vehicle device 10_B executes a user registration information input process 1210, and the controller 11_B transmits user registration information 1220 to the management device 200. The user registration information 1220 is user registration information for user U1_B. When the management device 200 receives the user registration information 1220, the controller 210 executes a user registration process 1230 to store the user registration information 1220 in the user management table TBL2. At this time, the controller 210 assigns a unique identification ID to the user U1_B and stores the user registration information 1220 in the user management table TBL2 in association with the user U1_B. When the user U1_A is associated with the identification ID "001" and the user U1_B is associated with the identification ID "002" in FIG. 27, FIG. 27 shows the user management table TBL2 immediately after the user registration process 1230.

[0177] Following the user registration process 1230, the controller 210 executes a diversion determination process 1240. In the diversion determination process 1240, the controller 210 determines whether or not to execute a diversion control process for the in-vehicle device 10_B by deriving the similarity between the attribute information in the user registration information 1220 and the reference attribute information. The reference attribute information in the diversion determination process 1240 is the attribute information in each piece of user registration information currently stored in the user management table TBL2 and other than the user registration information 1220. Therefore, the reference attribute information in the diversion determination process 1240 includes the attribute information in the user registration information 1120.

[0178] The attribute information in the user registration information 1120 is the attribute information of the user U1_A, and the attribute information in the user registration information 1220 is the attribute information of the user U1_B. Therefore, in the diversion determination process 1240, the similarity between the attribute information of the user U1_A and the attribute information of the user U1_B (hereinafter, similarity SIM ABThe similarity has a value between 0 and 1, and the higher the similarity between the two attribute information being compared, the higher the similarity value. Therefore, if the attribute information of user U1_A and the attribute information of user U1_B are completely identical, the similarity SIM AB has a value of 1. The algorithm for deriving the similarity is arbitrary. For example, a point representing the attribute information of user U1_A and a point representing the attribute information of user U1_B are plotted in a feature space having dimensions equal to the number of elements that make up the attribute information, and the closer the distance between the two points, the higher the similarity SIM AB is judged to be high.

[0179] In the diversion determination process 1240, the controller 210 calculates the derived similarity SIM AB Similarity SIM REF Then, the controller 210 compares the SIM AB ≧SIM REF " is established, it is determined that the diversion control process is to be executed for the in-vehicle device 10_B, and "SIM AB <SIM REF ” is established, it is determined that the diversion control process is not to be executed for the in-vehicle device 10_B. REF has a positive predetermined value close to 1 (e.g., 0.9). REF = 1". When it is determined that the diversion control process should not be executed for the in-vehicle device 10_B, the controller 210 transmits a test execution command signal to the in-vehicle device 10_B. In this case, in response to the reception of the test execution command signal by the in-vehicle device 10_B, the controller 11_B performs the test evaluation process and the initial setting process, similar to the controller 11_A.

[0180] However, in the example of FIG. 29, it is assumed that it is determined that the diversion control process is to be executed for the in-vehicle device 10_B. Under this assumption, the controller 210 executes the diversion control process 1250 following the diversion determination process 1240. In the diversion control process 1250, the controller 210 identifies which user is the diversion source user. The similarity between the attribute information of a specific user different from the user U1_B and the attribute information of the user U1_B is the reference similarity SIMREF If the above is the case, the specific user becomes the diversion source user. When there are multiple specific users, the specific user corresponding to the greatest similarity among the similarities between the attribute information of each specific user and the attribute information of user U1_B becomes the diversion source user. Here, it is assumed that the specific user is only user U1_A, and therefore user U1_A is the diversion source user. In the diversion control process 1250, the controller 210 reads out the information vibration relationship data of user U1_A, who is the diversion source user, from the user management table TBL2, and transmits a diversion command signal 1260 to the in-vehicle device 10_B. The diversion command signal 1260 is a signal including the information vibration relationship data of user U1_A, and is a signal that commands the in-vehicle device 10_B to execute a diversion setting process (diversion setting process 1270 described below). The diversion command signal 1260 is received by the in-vehicle device 10_B.

[0181] After transmitting the user registration information 1220, the controller 11_B waits for execution of the test evaluation process. When the in-vehicle device 10_B receives a diversion command signal 1260 instead of a test execution command signal, the controller 11_B performs a diversion setting process 1270 instead of the test evaluation process and the initial setting process. The controller 11_B performs the diversion setting process 1270 based on the information vibration relationship data of the user U1_A in the diversion command signal 1260.

[0182] The information vibration relation data of the user U1_A in the diversion command signal 1260 indicates which vibration pattern is assigned to each piece of notification information in the pattern management table TBL1 (see FIG. 18) in the in-vehicle device 10_A. The controller 11_B involved in the diversion setting process 1270 diverts the information vibration relation data of the user U1_A to the information vibration relation data of the user U1_B. That is, the controller 11_B involved in the diversion setting process 1270 adopts the correspondence between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups in the in-vehicle device 10_A and the allocation contents of each piece of notification information and each vibration pattern in the in-vehicle device 10_A in the in-vehicle device 10_B. The controller 11_B involved in the diversion setting process 1270 writes the result of the adoption to the pattern management table TBL1 in the in-vehicle device 10_B. As a result, the pattern management table TBL1 in the in-vehicle device 10_B becomes identical to the pattern management table TBL1 in the in-vehicle device 10_A, except for the values ​​of the output flags.

[0183] More specifically, the conversion setting process 1270 results in the following: The correspondence between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups in the in-vehicle device 10_B is the same as the correspondence between the first to third vibration pattern groups and the first to third information groups in the initial setting process in the in-vehicle device 10_A. Therefore, in the in-vehicle device 10_A, the reference case CS REF If the first, second, and third information groups are associated with the first, second, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively, in the in-vehicle device 10_B, the first, second, and third information groups are also associated with the first, second, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively, by the diversion setting process 1270. MOD1If the third, second, and first information groups are associated with the first, second, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively, in the in-vehicle device 10_B, the third, second, and first information groups are also associated with the first, second, and third vibration pattern groups, respectively, by the diversion setting process 1270. Furthermore, the allocation of each notification information and each vibration pattern in the in-vehicle device 10_B is the same as the allocation of each notification information and each vibration pattern by the initial setting process in the in-vehicle device 10_A.

[0184] When the controller 11_B completes the diversion setting process 1270, it transmits a diversion completion signal 1280 to the management device 200. The diversion completion signal 1280 is received by the management device 200. When the diversion completion signal 1280 is received by the management device 200, the controller 210 performs a diversion registration process 1290. In the diversion registration process 1290, the controller 210 writes the same information vibration relationship data as the information vibration relationship data corresponding to user U1_A into the user management table TBL2 as information vibration relationship data corresponding to user U1_B. This is because the information vibration relationship data of user U1_A was diverted to the information vibration relationship data of user U1_B in the diversion setting process 1270.

[0185] It is considered that users with similar attribute information are likely to perceive vibrations with similar urgency. Therefore, if there is another user (U1_A) with attribute information similar to that of a certain user (U1_B), the test evaluation process for the former user (U1_B) is not performed, and the results of the test evaluation process for the latter user (U1_A) are diverted to the former user (U1_B). This reduces the burden on the former user (see Figures 14(a) and (b) and Figure 15).

[0186] Fig. 30 shows an operation flowchart of the controller 11 according to the seventh embodiment, and Fig. 31 shows an operation flowchart of the controller 210 according to the seventh embodiment. For the sake of concreteness of explanation, an arbitrary in-vehicle device 10 will be referred to as the target in-vehicle device 10 and the contents of each step in Fig. 30 and Fig. 31 will be explained. The controller 11 in the explanation of each step in Fig. 30 and Fig. 31 refers to the controller 11 of the target in-vehicle device 10.

[0187] First, an operation flowchart of the controller 11 will be described with reference to Fig. 30. When the target in-vehicle device 10 and the controller 11 start up in conjunction with the start of the engine of the host vehicle V1, the controller 11 checks the value of the initial setting flag in step S3. If the value of the initial setting flag is 0 (Y in step S3), the process proceeds from step S3 to step S4, and if the value of the initial setting flag is 1 (N in step S3), the process proceeds from step S3 to step S8.

[0188] In step S4, the controller 11 executes input processing of user registration information to acquire user registration information of the user U1 of the target in-vehicle device 10. After step S4, the process proceeds to step S4_1 instead of step S5. The controller 11 in step S4_1 transmits the acquired user registration information to the management device 200, and then checks in the subsequent step S4_2 whether a test execution command signal has been received from the management device 200. If the target in-vehicle device 10 has received a test execution command signal from the management device 200 (Y in step S4_2), the process proceeds to step S5, and the controller 11 performs the processes of steps S5 to S7 before proceeding to step S8. The process contents of steps S5 to S8 are the same as those already described, and therefore description of those process contents will be omitted.

[0189] In step S4_2, if the target in-vehicle device 10 has not received a test execution command signal from the management device 200 (N in step S4_2), the process proceeds to step S4_3. In step S4_3, the controller 11 checks whether a diversion command signal has been received from the management device 200. If the target in-vehicle device 10 has received a diversion command signal from the management device 200 (Y in step S4_3), the process proceeds to step S4_4, and if the target in-vehicle device 10 has not received a diversion command signal from the management device 200 (N in step S4_3), the process returns to step S4_2. In step S4_4, the controller 11 performs a diversion setting process based on the received diversion command signal, and then transmits a diversion completion signal to the management device 200 in step S4_5. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S7, performs the process of step S7, and then proceeds to step S8.

[0190] Next, an operation flowchart of the controller 210 will be described with reference to Figure 31. In principle, the management device 200 operates all the time, and the controller 210 always waits to receive user registration information from any in-vehicle device 10 in step S211. When the management device 200 receives user registration information from the target in-vehicle device 10 in step S211 (Y in step S211), a transition to step S212 occurs. In step S212, the controller 210 performs user registration processing for the user registration information received by the management device 200. The contents of the user registration processing are as described above. After step S212, the process proceeds to step S213. In step S213, the controller 210 performs diversion determination processing to determine whether or not to execute diversion control processing for the target in-vehicle device 10. In step S214, the determination result in step S213 is confirmed. If it is determined that the diversion control process is to be executed for the target vehicle-mounted device 10 (Y in step S214), the process proceeds to step S218; if it is determined that the diversion control process is not to be executed for the target vehicle-mounted device 10 (N in step S214), the process proceeds to step S215.

[0191] In step S215, the controller 210 transmits a test execution command signal to the target in-vehicle device 10. In the following step S216, the controller 210 waits to receive initial setting data from the target in-vehicle device 10. When the management device 200 receives the initial setting data from the target in-vehicle device 10 (Y in step S216), the process proceeds to step S217, where the controller 210 performs data registration processing based on the received initial setting data, and then returns to step S211. The data registration processing in step S217 corresponds to data registration processing 1190 in FIG. 29.

[0192] In step S218, the controller 210 performs a diversion control process on the target in-vehicle device 10, and transmits a diversion command signal to the target in-vehicle device 10 in the diversion control process. In the following step S219, the controller 210 waits for reception of a diversion completion signal from the target in-vehicle device 10. When the diversion completion signal from the target in-vehicle device 10 is received by the management device 200 (Y in step S219), the process proceeds to step S220, where the controller 210 performs a diversion registration process, and then returns to step S211. The diversion registration process in step S220 corresponds to the diversion registration process 1290 in FIG. 29.

[0193] <<Eighth Example>> An eighth embodiment will be described. The method of diverting the information vibration relation data of a certain user U1 to the information vibration relation data of another user U1 can be executed even after the information notification process has been performed in the in-vehicle device 10 of each user U1. The above-mentioned diversion may be performed based on the similarity of feedback information between a plurality of users U1. Based on the similarity of feedback information between a plurality of users U1, the allocation update process performed in the in-vehicle device 10 of a certain user U1 may be diverted to the in-vehicle device 10 of another user U1. This method will be described focusing on the above-mentioned users U1_A and U1_B.

[0194] FIG. 32 will be referred to, assuming that the diversion registration process 1290 has been performed in accordance with the flow of FIG. 29. After the diversion registration process 1290, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 10_A of the user U1_A has performed the information notification process multiple times to obtain the first to tenth pieces of feedback information. Then, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 10_A has performed the first allocation update process based on the first to fifth pieces of feedback information and the second allocation update process based on the sixth to tenth pieces of feedback information. For convenience, it is assumed that the notification information I that is the target of the first allocation update process is TG Notification information I X1 The notification information I that is the target of the second allocation update process is called TG Notification information I X2 In the first allocation update process, the notification information I X1 The vibration pattern assigned to is the vibration pattern PT. Y1 Vibration pattern PT Y2 In the second allocation update process, the notification information I X2 The vibration pattern assigned to is the vibration pattern PT. Y3 Vibration pattern PT Y4 will be changed to.

[0195] The first to tenth feedback information indicate the reaction of the user U1_A when the vibration of the vibration device 55 (vibration device 55 in the in-vehicle system 1_A) is applied to the user U1_A in the first to tenth information notification processes, respectively. An upload signal UP_A including information specifying which vibration pattern is used in the first to tenth information notification processes and the first to tenth feedback information is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 10_A to the management device 200 and received by the management device 200. In practice, one element of the upload signal UP_A may be transmitted and received each time one of the first to tenth information notification processes is performed, and all elements of the upload signal UP_A are transmitted and received after the first to tenth information notification processes are completed.

[0196] On the other hand, it is assumed that after the diversion registration process 1290, the in-vehicle device 10_B of the user U1_B performs the information notification process multiple times to obtain 11th to 15th pieces of feedback information. Then, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 10_B performs the third allocation update process based on the 11th to 15th pieces of feedback information. For convenience, the notification information I to be subjected to the third allocation update process is TG Notification information I X3 In the third allocation update process, the notification information I X3 The vibration pattern assigned to is the vibration pattern PT. Y5 Vibration pattern PT Y6 Notification Information I X3 is notification information I X1 and the vibration pattern PT Y5 and PT. Y6 are vibration patterns PT Y1 and PT. Y2 It can be the same as:

[0197] The eleventh to fifteenth pieces of feedback information indicate the reaction of the user U1_B when the vibration of the vibration device 55 (the vibration device 55 in the in-vehicle system 1_B) is applied to the user U1_B in the eleventh to fifteenth information notification processes, respectively. An upload signal UP_B including information specifying which vibration pattern is used in the eleventh to fifteenth information notification processes and the eleventh to fifteenth pieces of feedback information is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 10_B to the management device 200 and received by the management device 200. In practice, one element of the upload signal UP_B may be transmitted and received each time one of the eleventh to fifteenth information notification processes is performed, and all elements of the upload signal UP_B are transmitted and received after the eleventh to fifteenth information notification processes are completed.

[0198] In the management device 200, the controller 210 refers to the upload signals UP_A and UP_B. Now, for each integer i that satisfies "1≦i≦5," it is assumed that the vibration pattern used in the i-th information notification process in the in-vehicle device 10_A is the same as the vibration pattern used in the (i+10)-th information notification process in the in-vehicle device 10_B. In this case, the controller 210 derives the similarities between the first to fifth feedback information and the eleventh to fifteenth feedback information based on the upload signals UP_A and UP_B. The similarities between the first to fifth feedback information and the eleventh to fifteenth feedback information are the averages of the first to fifth similarities. The i-th similarity is the similarity between the i-th information and the (i+10)-th feedback information.

[0199] When the similarity between the first to fifth feedback information and the eleventh to fifteenth feedback information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the controller 210 can perform a diversion control process related to the allocation update. In the diversion control process related to the allocation update, the controller 210 causes the in-vehicle device 10_B to perform, as a fourth allocation update process, the same allocation update process as the second allocation update process performed by the in-vehicle device 10_A. The controller 210 transmits a signal to the in-vehicle device 10_B instructing the in-vehicle device 10_B to execute the fourth allocation update process, and in response to receiving the signal at the in-vehicle device 10_B, the controller 11_B executes the fourth allocation update process. In the fourth allocation update process, the notification information I X4 The vibration pattern assigned to is the vibration pattern PT. Y7 Vibration pattern PT Y8 Here, the notification information I X4 is notification information I X2 and vibration pattern PT Y7 and PT. Y8 is vibration pattern PT Y3 and PT. Y4 In other words, the diversion control process related to the allocation update causes the in-vehicle device 10_B to execute the same allocation update process as the second allocation update process executed by the in-vehicle device 10_A. However, this diversion control process related to the allocation update is executed in the in-vehicle device 10_B when the notification information I X4is unnotified notification information, and the vibration pattern PT Y8 is an unused vibration pattern.

[0200] Between users with similar feedback information, the allocation update process performed for one user (U1_A) is likely to be suitable for the other user (U1_B). Taking this into consideration, the notification control system 2 is configured to be able to perform the diversion control process related to the allocation update described above. As a result, even when the total amount of feedback information obtained from the other user (U1_B) is small, the in-vehicle device (10_B) for one user (U1_A) can perform an appropriate allocation update process based on the feedback information obtained from the other user.

[0201] <<Ninth Example>> A ninth embodiment will be described. The above-mentioned test evaluation process may be executed by a test evaluation device (not shown), which is a device separate from the in-vehicle device 10. The test evaluation device may be mounted on the host vehicle V1 separately from the in-vehicle device 10. The test evaluation device may be an information terminal (smartphone, etc.) brought into the host vehicle V1. The test evaluation device may be a computer device having a controller and memory. In the test evaluation device, the test evaluation process may be executed by the controller executing a test evaluation program stored in the memory. When the test evaluation process is executed by the test evaluation device, the test evaluation unit F1 in FIG. 24 is provided in the controller of the test evaluation device instead of the controller 11 of the in-vehicle device 10. When the test evaluation process is executed by the test evaluation device, the test evaluation device outputs an evaluation result of the test evaluation process (test evaluation result) to the in-vehicle device 10, and the evaluation result of the test evaluation process is acquired by the in-vehicle device 10 (controller 11).

[0202] Furthermore, when the test evaluation process is executed by the in-vehicle device 10, the program that realizes the test evaluation process and the program that realizes the initial setting process may be separate programs. A first program that realizes the test evaluation process, a second program that realizes the initial setting process, a third program that realizes the information notification process, and a fourth program that realizes the feedback process may be separately formed and stored in the memory 12 (see FIG. 24). In this case, when the first program is executed by the controller 11, the controller 11 can function as a test evaluation unit F1. Similarly, when the second program is executed by the controller 11, the controller 11 can function as an initial setting unit F2. Similarly, when the third program is executed by the controller 11, the controller 11 can function as an information notification unit F3. Similarly, when the fourth program is executed by the controller 11, the controller 11 can function as a feedback processing unit F4.

[0203] <<Tenth Example>> A tenth embodiment will now be described.

[0204] There are m levels of urgency as the urgency of each piece of notification information. That is, the urgency of each piece of notification information is one of the first to mth urgency levels, and therefore each piece of notification information is classified into one of the first to mth information groups. Then, as many vibration pattern groups as the total number of information groups are set, there are a total of N V The vibration patterns are classified into any of the first to m-th vibration pattern groups. In this embodiment, it is assumed that "m=3", but the value of m can be any integer equal to or greater than 2.

[0205] In the information notification process, the controller 11 may perform the necessary notification by combining two or more of the display notification format, the sound notification format, and the vibration notification format. Therefore, for example, when notifying the user U1 of the notification information I[i], the controller 11 may display a sentence indicating the notification information I[i] on the display screen 51 and output a sound from the speaker 52, while causing the vibration device 55 to vibrate in a vibration pattern corresponding to the notification information I[i].

[0206] The host vehicle V1 is primarily assumed to be a passenger car or truck traveling on a public road, but the type of host vehicle V1 is arbitrary. The host vehicle V1 may be an industrial vehicle such as a forklift, or an agricultural vehicle such as a tractor. The in-vehicle device 10 corresponds to or incorporates the notification control device according to the present invention. The notification control device according to the present invention may be mounted on an airplane, ship, or train, in which case the user U1 would be a passenger on the airplane, ship, or train. In addition, the notification control device according to the present invention can be applied to any purpose.

[0207] A program that causes a computer device to execute any of the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention, and a non-volatile recording medium on which the program is recorded, are included within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention. A program that causes a computer (computer device) to execute any of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention may be a subprogram incorporated into or called by any main program. The in-vehicle device 10 is equipped with a computer capable of executing any program. The arithmetic processing unit 11a provided in the in-vehicle device 10 may be considered to be a computer. A method executed by a notification control device according to the present invention may be referred to as a notification control method, and a program that causes a computer to execute the notification control method may be referred to as a notification control program. Any processing in the embodiments of the present invention may be realized by hardware such as a semiconductor integrated circuit, software equivalent to the program, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0208] The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways as appropriate within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims. The above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the meanings of the terms of the present invention and each constituent element are not limited to those described in the above-described embodiments. The specific numerical values ​​shown in the above description are merely examples, and as a matter of course, they can be changed to various numerical values. [Explanation of symbols]

[0209] 1. In-vehicle systems V1 Vehicle U1 user ST1 seat ST1a Seat part ST1b Backrest 10 Onboard equipment 11 Controller 11a Processing unit 12 Memory 13 Communications Department 14 Recording media 20 Driving control device 30 Actuator section 40 Sensing unit 50 HMI 51 Display device 52 Speaker 53 Microphone 54 Operation input section 55 Vibration device 56, 56L, 56C, 56R vibration unit 57, 57L, 57C, 57R drive circuit 58, 58L, 58C, 58R resonator La, Lb left area Ca, Cb central region Ra, Rb right area 55 EV Vibration equipment for evaluation ST EV Evaluation seat 10 EV Vibration Control Device TBL1, TBL1a Pattern management table 2. Notification Control System 200 Management device DB Database NET communication network 1_A, 1_B In-vehicle systems V1_A, V1_B vehicles 10_A, 10_B On-vehicle device 11_A, 11_B controller U1_A, U1_B users TBL2 User management table

Claims

1. A notification control device that notifies a target person of information by applying vibration to the target person using a vibration device, a controller that associates first to m-th vibration pattern groups, each of which includes a plurality of vibration patterns, with first to m-th information groups, each of which includes a plurality of types of notification information; Each notification information is associated with a degree of urgency indicating the degree of urgency of the transmission when the notification information is transmitted to the target person, and an i-th degree of urgency is associated with each notification information belonging to the i-th information group, m represents an integer of 2 or more, i represents an integer of 1 or more and m or less, the first to mth urgency levels associated with the first to mth information groups are different from one another, The controller acquires, for each of the vibration pattern groups, a test evaluation result that evaluates a reaction of the subject to the application of vibration of any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group, and the controller determines a correspondence relationship between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups based on the test evaluation result, and executes an initial setting process for uniquely allocating, for each of the information groups, any of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group to each piece of notification information belonging to the information group; After the initial setting process, the controller executes an information notification process for notifying the target person of any of the notification information belonging to any of the first to m-th information groups as notification target information, and causes the vibration device to vibrate in the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information in the information notification process. , notification control device.

2. The test evaluation result includes response information indicating an impression that the subject received when vibrations of the representative vibration patterns of each vibration pattern group were applied, In the initial setting process, the controller associates any one of the first to m-th information groups with the first to m-th vibration pattern groups one by one based on the response information so that the information groups associated with the first to m-th vibration pattern groups are different from one another. The notification control device according to claim 1 .

3. after executing the information notification process, the controller executes an assignment update process to change a vibration pattern assigned to specific notification information from the vibration pattern assigned to the specific notification information in the initial setting process to another vibration pattern based on a reaction of the subject to the execution of the information notification process; The specific notification information is notification information that has not been notified to the target person in the information notification process, and the other vibration pattern is a vibration pattern that is not used in the information notification process. The notification control device according to claim 2 .

4. the controller notifies the target person of first to Jth notification information as the notification target information by vibrating the vibration device in first to Jth vibration patterns, respectively, in first to Jth information notification processes; J represents an integer of 2 or more; the controller executes an estimation process to estimate a relationship between a physical quantity of vibration of the vibration device and the urgency perceived by the subject, based on characteristics of the first to Jth vibration patterns and a reaction of the subject when vibrations of the first to Jth vibration patterns are applied in the first to Jth information notification processes; The controller determines whether to execute the allocation update process for the specific notification information based on the estimated relationship, and when the allocation update process is executed for the specific notification information, extracts the other vibration pattern based on the estimated relationship from a group of vibration patterns unused in the information notification process. The notification control device according to claim 3 .

5. the plurality of evaluation vibration patterns are grouped based on advance questionnaire information indicating impressions received by each subject when vibrations according to the plurality of evaluation vibration patterns are applied to each subject using an evaluation vibration device, and each of the plurality of evaluation vibration patterns is assigned in advance to one of the first to m-th vibration pattern groups; A part or all of all the evaluation vibration patterns assigned to the i-th vibration pattern group are used as the plurality of vibration patterns belonging to the i-th vibration pattern group.

5. A notification control device according to claim 1.

6. The controller causes the vibration device to generate vibrations with a representative vibration pattern that is any one of the vibration patterns belonging to each vibration pattern group, executes a test evaluation process to evaluate the subject's reaction to the application of vibrations of the representative vibration pattern of each vibration pattern group, and acquires the test evaluation result as an evaluation result of the test evaluation process.

5. A notification control device according to claim 1.

7. A notification control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, A notification control system including a management device capable of bidirectional communication with each notification control device, the plurality of notification control devices include first and second notification control devices; After the initial setting process is performed in the first notification control device, the management device receives information vibration relation data from the first notification control device, and the information vibration relation data indicates a correspondence relationship between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups in the first notification control device, and an allocation content between each notification information and each vibration pattern in the first notification control device, After the first notification control device has performed the initial setting process and before the second notification control device has performed the initial setting process, the management device determines whether to execute a diversion control process based on attribute information of a first target person who receives a notification from the first notification control device and attribute information of a second target person who receives a notification from the second notification control device, When it is determined that the diversion control process is to be executed in the management device, the management device transmits a diversion command signal including the information vibration relationship data to the second notification control device, and a controller in the second notification control device executes a diversion setting process instead of the initial setting process in response to receiving the diversion command signal, and in the diversion setting process, the correspondence between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups in the first notification control device and the allocation contents of each notification information and each vibration pattern in the first notification control device are adopted in the second notification control device based on the information vibration relationship data. ,Notification control system.

8. An in-vehicle notification system mounted on a vehicle, A notification control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; a vibration device that applies vibration to the target person under the control of the notification control device; The subject is an occupant of the vehicle. ,In-vehicle notification system.

9. A notification control method executed by a notification control device that notifies a target person of information by applying vibration to the target person using a vibration device, Corresponding first to m-th vibration pattern groups, each of which includes a plurality of vibration patterns, to first to m-th information groups, each of which includes a plurality of types of notification information, Each notification information is associated with a degree of urgency indicating the degree of urgency of the transmission when the notification information is transmitted to the target person, and an i-th degree of urgency is associated with each notification information belonging to the i-th information group, m represents an integer of 2 or more, i represents an integer of 1 or more and m or less, the first to mth urgency levels associated with the first to mth information groups are different from one another, For each of the vibration pattern groups, a test evaluation result is obtained that evaluates the subject's reaction to the application of vibration of any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group; determining a correspondence relationship between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups based on the test evaluation results, and executing an initial setting step of uniquely allocating, for each of the information groups, any of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group to each of the notification information belonging to the information group; After the initial setting step, an information notification step is executed in which any of the notification information belonging to any of the first to m-th information groups is notified to the target person as notification target information, and vibration is generated in the vibration device in the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information in the information notification step. ,Notification control method.

10. A notification control program that causes a computer to execute the notification control method according to claim 9.

11. A notification control method executed by a notification control device that notifies a target person of information by applying vibration to the target person using a vibration device, Corresponding first to m-th vibration pattern groups, each of which includes a plurality of vibration patterns, to first to m-th information groups, each of which includes a plurality of types of notification information, Each notification information is associated with a degree of urgency indicating the degree of urgency of the transmission when the notification information is transmitted to the target person, and an i-th degree of urgency is associated with each notification information belonging to the i-th information group, m represents an integer of 2 or more, i represents an integer of 1 or more and m or less, the first to mth urgency levels associated with the first to mth information groups are different from one another, For each of the vibration pattern groups, a vibration is generated in the vibration device using a representative vibration pattern that is any one of the vibration patterns belonging to the vibration pattern group, and a test evaluation step is executed to evaluate the reaction of the subject to the vibration of the representative vibration pattern of each vibration pattern group being applied, and then an initial setting step is executed; In the initial setting step, a correspondence relationship between the first to m-th vibration pattern groups and the first to m-th information groups is determined based on an evaluation result of the test evaluation step, and for each information group, any vibration pattern belonging to the vibration pattern group associated with the information group is uniquely assigned to each piece of notification information belonging to the information group; After the initial setting step, an information notification step is executed in which any of the notification information belonging to any of the first to m-th information groups is notified to the target person as notification target information, and vibration is generated in the vibration device in the vibration pattern assigned to the notification target information in the information notification step. ,Notification control method.

12. A notification control program that causes a computer to execute the notification control method according to claim 11.

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