System, program, and the like

Abstract

To further suppress power consumption in a system for controlling a communication means by LPWA.SOLUTION: A camera 18 picks up a video image of a driver's seat and outputs a video signal denoting the video image, and a controller 11 converts the video signal into video data and analyzes the data to discriminate the danger of driving. The controller 11 then generates determination result data indicating the result of the determination and causes the LPWA communicator 13 to transmit the generated determination result data to the server 2. Since the determination result data is data indicating a result of comprehensive determination by analyzing the content of the video data and comparing the movement or position of each part of the driver with a predetermined pattern, threshold value, or the like, the amount of information is smaller than the amount of information of the video data. Therefore, the power consumed when the drive recorder 1 transmits data to the server 2 is suppressed as compared with the case where the drive recorder 1 transmits video data, which is data before processing, as it is.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, a system that is superior to the prior art. [Background technology]

[0002] Claim 16 of Patent Document 1 describes a communication condition adjustment method used in an equipment management system comprising an information processing device that acquires equipment information related to equipment, and a management device that manages the equipment by communicating the equipment information with the information processing device under predetermined communication conditions, the communication condition adjustment method adjusting the communication conditions in response to changes in the state of the equipment and / or the state of the installation space of the equipment, and the communication condition adjustment method changing the communication method to a long-distance wireless communication method including at least one of a third-generation mobile communication system (3G), a fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G), a fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), and a low-power wide area network (LPWA) in response to changes in communication volume due to the adjustment of the communication conditions. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-59706 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communications are generally known to consume less power than 4G and 5G.

[0005] The present invention aims to further reduce power consumption in a system that controls communication means using LPWA, which generally consumes less power than 4G or 5G communications, for example, but is not limited to this. It also aims to provide a system that is superior to conventional systems.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is not limited to this, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for configurations that aim to achieve the effects achieved by the components disclosed in the specification and drawings, etc., through divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, the specification discloses problems in which the phrase "can be" is read as "the problem is to...". Each problem is described as an independent problem, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for configurations that solve each problem separately through divisional applications, amendments, etc. Even if the problem is implicitly understood from the description in the specification, the applicant intends to include part of the configuration described in the specification in the scope of the patent claim through amendments or divisional applications. The applicant also discloses configurations that solve problems that combine these independent problems, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] (1) A system for controlling communication means by LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), The communication device includes a power consumption reduction unit that controls the communication device to reduce power consumption. It would be better to make it a system.

[0008] Compared to a case where no power consumption suppression means is provided, the amount of power consumed is suppressed. LPWA is preferably a technology that achieves long-distance data communication with lower power consumption than communication methods such as 4G and 5G. LPWA may use, for example, the 920 MHz band. LPWA may be capable of long-distance transmission of several kilometers with low power consumption. LPWA may be, for example, a technology with a low bit rate and limited transmission volume per period.

[0009] As LPWA, it is recommended to use at least one of the following: "ELTRES," "LoRa," "LoRaWAN," "LTE-MTC," "NB-IoT," "NB-Fi Protocol," "RPMA," "GreenOFDM," "DASH7," "RPMA," "Wi-SUN," "EnOcean Long Range," "Weightless-P," "SIGFOX," "LTE Cat.0," "LTE Cat.M1," etc. In particular, the system may be configured as a battery-powered device. As a method for controlling power consumption to be reduced, it is advisable to use, for example, the methods exemplified in (2) to (22) described below. In particular, the data transmitted in this manner may be stored in a database in the receiving system, but it is most preferable to store it in a blockchain.

[0010] (2) The power consumption reduction means causes the communication means to transmit a specific type of data, the amount of which is smaller than that of other types of data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0011] The amount of data transmitted is less than systems that transmit other types of data. As a content of the control to control the communication means to reduce the power consumption, it is preferable that the power consumption reduction means controls the communication means to transmit a specific type of data that transmits a smaller amount of data than other types of data. For example, a facility such as an izakaya is equipped with a taxi call device equipped with an LPWA communication function, a taxi call button, and a display. A taxi is equipped with a vacant vehicle notification device equipped with GPS, LPWA communication function, a vacant vehicle button that can be operated by the taxi driver, and a display. Each taxi call device stores a facility ID that is unique to the device, and when it detects that a taxi call button has been pressed, it wirelessly transmits the stored facility ID to a server via the LPWA communication function. The vacant vehicle notification device in each taxi has a vacant vehicle button that can be held pressed or not, and only when the vacant vehicle button is held pressed, the LPWA communication function associates the pre-stored taxi ID, which is unique to each taxi, with current location information from the GPS and transmits this information to the server every minute (the server also has an LPWA communication function). The server pre-stores facility IDs and their corresponding location information, facility names, etc. When a facility ID is transmitted to the server, it sends a push notification to an app running on a tablet installed at the taxi company, including the facility's location information, facility name, and a group of location information and taxi IDs for taxis within a specified range of the facility's location that have transmitted location information up until a specified time ago. Upon receiving this push notification, the tablet app displays the taxi's location, the time the current location information was received, the facility's location, and the time the facility ID was received on a map. A taxi dispatcher at the taxi company views the displayed taxi and facility locations and their respective reception times, and selects a taxi to dispatch from among the multiple displayed taxis. The tablet then transmits the taxi ID of the selected taxi as the taxi ID to be dispatched, along with the corresponding facility ID. The server then transmits the facility name and location information of the facility ID to the available taxi notification device for that taxi ID via its LPWA communication function, and also transmits to the taxi call device the estimated arrival time calculated from the route between the taxi's location information for that taxi ID and the location information of the facility. When the taxi call device receives this, it displays on the display that a taxi is being dispatched and the estimated arrival time.The vacant vehicle notification device for the taxi ID that receives the facility name and facility location information of the facility ID of the destination taxi uses the received information to display the route to the destination facility on the display device and releases the vacant vehicle button from its pressed state. In this way, taxi requesters can call a taxi with the push of a button. Stores and other facilities simply need to install simple devices that are smaller than a smartphone and do not require battery charging near cash registers or waiting areas. Taxi companies can then find out which taxis are nearby and deliver the taxi to the requested location. The taxi call device may also have a button for recalling a taxi and transmit a similar notification of a recall to the server. The taxi call device may also have a function for inputting the number of taxis desired to be dispatched, and transmit this information together with the number of taxis. The server may then send a push notification of the number of taxis to the app, which may then display the number of taxis on a map and allow the user to select the number of taxis from the map. The device may also display a list of the times the call button was pressed and have a function for canceling an accidental button press. In this case, the server may transmit information about the cancellation, the number of the taxi on the list, and the facility ID to the server. Based on this information, the server may display a cancellation on the map display. If a taxi has already been dispatched, the server may also transmit cancellation information to the taxi call device and the vacant taxi notification device. In response, the respective devices may display a cancellation and reset the vacant taxi button to its pressed state. The server may also be a blockchain server, particularly a blockchain shared by tablet apps of multiple taxi companies. For example, a so-called golf navigation system may be equipped with an LPWA communication function and a function for transmitting information on the user's ball hitting position to a server via the LPWA communication function. For example, a golf navigation system may be equipped with a function for reporting the distance from the current position measured by GPS or the like on a golf course to a pre-stored pin position of the hole currently being played, and may be equipped with a location registration button that the user presses when the ball is about to be hit, and may be configured to transmit location information of the location where the location registration button is pressed to the server via the LPWA communication function. Furthermore, the golf navigation system may be equipped with at least one of the following functions, and preferably all of them: A function for storing the location registered with the location registration button may be equipped; A function for storing the location registered with the location registration button may be equipped; The location information transmitted via LPWA when the location registration button is pressed may be associated with the time information of the time the button was pressed. Although the transmission via LPWA may be performed immediately when the location registration button is pressed, it is particularly preferable to transmit the location information history of the location registration button for the hole being played before the move to the server side via the LPWA communication function in a lump sum based on at least one of the following: a cup-in detected by a button used to input a cup-in instruction from the user, or the current location detected by GPS being moved to a pre-stored location of another hole, or the start of a move. Furthermore, it is preferable to have a function to transfer the stored locations to another device such as a PC after playing, or a function to display the location on the hole corresponding to the stored location along with a schematic diagram of the golf course. It is also advisable to equip radar detectors with LPWA communication capabilities, and provide a function for transmitting information from users about sightings of police and other incidents to a server via the LPWA communication capabilities. It is also advisable to transmit location information when a user presses the posting button, along with the time information when the button is pressed, to the server via the LPWA communication capabilities.

[0012] (2-1) When the other types of data are, for example, data before processing (for example, so-called raw data), the specific type of data may be data after processing.

[0013] It is advisable to perform processing to convert the data before processing into the data after processing. The unprocessed data may be, for example, data detected or measured by a sensor or measuring device, or data indicating an entity. The data before processing may be, for example, text data, while the data after processing may be binary data.

[0014] The processed data may be data obtained by performing lossless compression or lossy compression processing, which focuses on redundancy, on the unprocessed data, for example.

[0015] The processed data may be, for example, data indicating representative values ​​or statistics such as arithmetic mean values, geometric mean values, medians, and modes obtained by statistical processing of a plurality of pieces of unprocessed data. The processed data may be, for example, statistical values ​​obtained by statistically processing sample data of accidents, learning model data generated by performing machine learning on the sample data, or distilled model data generated using the input and output of learning model data. Machine learning may be used, for example, to predict equipment failures.

[0016] Furthermore, in artificial intelligence, particularly in deep learning, trained model data is equivalent to statistically compressed data used for training, and therefore has a smaller data volume than the data used for training. Therefore, it is preferable to use the unprocessed data as the data used for training, and the processed data as trained model data used in the artificial intelligence. In particular, the processed data may be, for example, the number of layers of the neural network, the number and configuration of neurons in each layer, the network connection configuration between each layer and its weight, the firing function and its threshold, etc. In particular, it is preferable to use only the parts of the processed data that change during training. In particular, it is preferable to use the processed data as weight data. This is particularly effective in normal training, where the static configuration of the neural network is not dynamically changed. It is preferable to use a format for the processed data that is exportable from multiple frameworks and has a relatively small size. While NNEF is particularly suitable, ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange Format) is also preferable.

[0017] For example, when this system uses trained model data to recognize and identify signs and vehicles through image recognition, an initial model is stored in the drive recorder at the time of shipment from the factory. If an error occurs in image recognition, the user may press a control such as a button to input a correction. In this system, the user's correction of the error may be performed on the edge side (in this example, the drive recorder) using supervised learning. As a result, a derived model is created on the edge side based on the initial model. Moreover, multiple derived models are created simultaneously in parallel in the drive recorders of multiple vehicles. In this system, the edge side may transmit this derived model to the server at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be when the vehicle's mileage reaches a predetermined distance or when a significant change in the model is detected. However, it is particularly preferable that the edge side transmit the derived model when an improvement is observed in the evaluation results based on the evaluation image data. The improvement in the evaluation results may be determined, for example, by comparing a numerical value serving as an evaluation index included in the evaluation results with a threshold value.

[0018] In addition, this system records the information used for learning on the edge side on removable media such as an SD card, and when connected via a communication method other than LPWA, it can send this information to the server along with information that associates it with the learning data.

[0019] On the server side, the model data sent by this system from the drive recorder of each vehicle is evaluated using evaluation images, and the best one is sent from the server to all drive recorders that have not yet been trained. This is particularly effective because a considerable number of people are likely to not press the button even if an error is made, meaning they will use the default settings without cooperating with the training.

[0020] On the other hand, it is recommended that the system not distribute data to drive recorders that are individually undergoing learning. Furthermore, it is recommended that the system distribute data to drive recorders that are individually undergoing learning, and then evaluate which of the model data distributed on the edge side and the data currently trained on the drive recorder has higher performance and adopt the better one. This is because the content of the video changes depending on the installation method of the drive recorder, so the model data that is highly evaluated on the server side is not necessarily the best model data for the video of that drive recorder. Note that if there are multiple edge sides (drive recorders, etc.) that have not yet been trained, the server can send the best model data to each of those edge sides one-to-one, but as mentioned above, it is recommended to distribute it all at once using connectionless communication via LPWA.

[0021] When the system transmits a derived model to a server, it writes the ID of the edge device that generated the derived model, or the ID of the owner of that edge device, or preferably both IDs, together with a hash value of the model data to the blockchain. This makes it easy to identify the rights holder of the derived model.

[0022] The processed data may be, for example, data extracted from the unprocessed data by satisfying a predetermined condition.

[0023] The processed data may be, for example, data extracted from data measuring driving behavior for the purpose of calculating insurance premiums.

[0024] Furthermore, when the data before processing is, for example, POI (Point of Interest) data before a change, the data after processing may be the difference between the POI data before and after the change.

[0025] The processed data may be data extracted at a certain point in time from a plurality of pieces of unprocessed data whose values ​​may vary over time.

[0026] For example, when the data before processing is entity data that represents an object that indicates an entity, the processed data may be data that indicates the result of a machine or human judgment on this entity data, or the processed data may be, for example, the result of comparing the data before processing with a threshold value.

[0027] The processed data may include, for example, data showing the results of recognizing an image for image data showing the image itself, information showing whether the impact measurement value exceeds a threshold, information labeling the user's behavior for data showing the user's behavior itself, data showing the results of the user recognizing a CAPTCHA for an image used for a CAPTCHA, the results of a judgment on the risk of drunk driving, such as whether the measurement value of alcohol intake exceeds a threshold, and data showing the results of inspections of measurements of maintenance inspection targets for vehicles, etc. The receiving side should then write the processed data it has received to the blockchain.

[0028] (2-2) When the other types of data are, for example, a plurality of certain types of data, the specific type of data may be identification information or the like assigned to identify the data.

[0029] The specific type of data may be, for example, information about a vehicle detected at the time of capturing, recording, or recording an image, video, or audio data of the area around the vehicle. For example, if a drive recorder included in this system communicates information about the vehicle as the specific type of data, it cannot transmit video, but it can at least notify the user that an event such as an accident has occurred and provide location data.

[0030] The specific type of data may be, for example, identification information used to identify the game item for each piece of image, video, or audio data showing the game item itself.

[0031] The specific type of data may be, for example, a uniform resource identifier (URI) used to identify each piece of web content data. It may also be a URL. In particular, the URL may be generated by converting the actual URL into a URL shortening service URL.

[0032] The specific type of data may be, for example, detection data indicating that a machine has detected an object, or report data in which a user reports that they have found an object.

[0033] The specific type of data may be, for example, detection data indicating that a radio wave detector has detected radio waves (radar waves) output by an automatic speed violation enforcement device, or radio waves of a specific frequency used by police radio, etc.

[0034] In addition, specific types of data may be, for example, detection data that indicates that traffic police officers, police officers, or their vehicles (patrol cars or motorcycles) have been detected by analyzing images taken of the road and recognizing them in the images.

[0035] Furthermore, the specific type of data may be, for example, report data in which the user reports that he or she has visually or otherwise spotted an automatic speed camera or a traffic police officer.

[0036] This system may be configured to include a detection device that measures its own location using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or similar, a speed detection device reporting button inside the vehicle, and a server outside the vehicle. When a user presses the reporting button, the detection device sends coordinates indicating its own location to the server. This allows the system to collect big data on speed detection in real time. The server in this system may also acquire congestion information in addition to coordinates.

[0037] This system may, for example, be equipped with a detection device in the user's home or car that detects abnormal situations such as intrusions or fires, and when such an abnormal situation occurs while the user is away and is detected by the detection device, the system may notify the user by email or other means as a specific type of data that an abnormal situation has been detected.

[0038] In particular, the system may also include an imaging device, and when the detection device detects the occurrence of the abnormality, the imaging device may transmit an image captured by the imaging device. When an abnormality occurs, a total of 40 bytes of data, including, for example, a 20-byte command header, 16 bytes of data indicating the date and time, and 4 bytes of data indicating the type of abnormality, may be transmitted to the server. Furthermore, 327 x 252 (82,404 pixel) image data may be added to the 40 bytes of data, for a total of approximately 40 kilobytes of data transmitted to the server.

[0039] If a total of approximately 40 kilobytes of data is sent to the server each time an abnormal event occurs, for example, if 10 abnormal events are detected in a month, a total of 400 kilobytes of data will be sent per month. The email used to send the data is sent to the server, and then from the server to a mobile device such as the user's smartphone (hereinafter also referred to as "smartphone"). In this case, the amount of data sent at the server can be reduced compared to when the data is not sent via the server. The above email may also be sent directly to the user's smartphone via a free email service, etc.

[0040] When the other types of data are, for example, image data representing an image or audio data representing audio, the specific type of data may be character data representing characters.

[0041] Social networking site data such as Twitter and Instagram mainly consists of text data, image data, and video data. This system should send only the text data, and send image and video data using a communication method other than LPWA. This system should be configured to add information to link the text data and image data, etc., and then link and process the correspondence between the two on the server side.

[0042] For example, when other types of data are data that exceed the amount that a human being can recognize, memorize, input, etc. at one time, the specific type of data may be data that does not exceed this amount.

[0043] For example, the specific type of data may be character data with an optimum number of characters to convey a coherent meaning.

[0044] An example of the optimal number of characters to convey a coherent meaning is the number of characters that can be written on a postcard, or the number of characters that can be written on a postcard, such as 70 full-width characters or 160 half-width alphanumeric characters, as used in short message services (SMS).

[0045] In particular, the specific type of data, in the case of character data, may be character data within the number of characters that a human being can remember at one time through short-term memory.

[0046] An example of the number of characters that a human being can remember at one time using short-term memory is approximately 3 to 9 characters.

[0047] It is preferable that a particular type of data be data that is smaller in volume than other types of data due to the nature of that type itself.

[0048] Examples of specific types of data include authentication information, credentials consisting of a user ID and password pair, information or identification information such as the driver's name, date of birth, and permanent domicile written on a driver's license or stored electronically, vehicle information, data indicating a roll call, data indicating an intruder detected inside a building while the owner was away, hash values ​​for blockchain, etc., data generated by a single transaction in blockchain, timestamps, scripts or source code in contract-oriented languages ​​such as Solidity used in blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, hashtags used on SNS, etc., identification information such as stamps and emojis used on SNS, etc., contact input data, data indicating count results, open / close detection data for thumb turns, etc., permission information given by a user when downloading or running an application program (referred to as an app), weight measurement data for contained items, etc. The system may use specific types of data, for example, as evidence.

[0049] The authentication information may be, for example, the results of a driver's license check or alcohol check conducted by a driver's license reader or an alcohol checker installed in the vehicle. The device installed in the vehicle transmits these check results to a server before the vehicle starts to drive. In particular, it may be desirable to transmit information that associates information for identifying the driver (such as a driver ID) with the check result information.

[0050] For example, the data sent in one trip will be 36 bytes in total, including a 20-byte command header, 12 bytes of data indicating the driver's license number, and 4 bytes of data indicating the results of the alcohol test. In this case, assuming one trip per day, the communication volume will be about 1 kilobyte per month. It is recommended that the server manages the history.

[0051] The hash value for blockchain, etc., as mentioned above, can be a hash value recorded when a user updates a distributed database of the blockchain. While the block itself grows with each update, the hash value of a block at a given time is smaller than the block itself, thereby reducing the amount of data transmission. The contents of the publicly available distributed database can be accessed and updated by participants in the blockchain, and the next block contains the hash value of the previous block, making it virtually impossible to tamper with block information. Therefore, it is extremely useful for data accumulation and distribution between parties with conflicting interests. Due to these characteristics, blockchain is widely used not only for virtual currencies but also in distribution, for example. This system transmits hash values ​​indicating which party has delivered a shipment to which party as a specific type of data and records them on the blockchain, thereby enabling complete and easy tracing of goods between participants in the supply chain. This system can also be used, for example, between a buyer of advertising space (a company placing advertisements) and a seller of advertising space (such as an advertising agency). Furthermore, this system can transmit hash values ​​indicating the fulfillment status of all contracts involving conflicting interests as a specific type of data and record them on the blockchain. Furthermore, the system may transmit a script as a specific type of data and record it on the blockchain so that the next contract or act is automatically carried out by the program in response to the execution of the contract.

[0052] Furthermore, the above-mentioned "data generated in one transaction in a blockchain" refers to data generated each time the blockchain's distributed database is updated. For example, in the case of virtual currency, this data only contains information about how much money was transferred from one person to another. Therefore, the present system should transmit this data as a specific type of data.

[0053] In addition, the system may be configured to execute a smart contract when it detects that a sensor has entered a specific state or that a user has performed a specific operation. For example, when signing an insurance contract, this system sets the conditions of the smart contract to enforce a contract that increases the insurance premium by 0.1% if acceleration equivalent to dangerous driving is detected. Furthermore, this system sets the conditions of the smart contract to enforce a contract that reduces the insurance premium by 0.1% if a situation equivalent to safe driving continues for a specified period of time. When these conditions are met based on the driving situation, the system automatically transmits the detection results as a specific type of data and writes it to the blockchain, thereby enforcing these contracts.

[0054] Furthermore, this system may be constructed to implement a model in which, for example, a higher unit price is charged when usage is low, a lower unit price as usage increases, and unlimited use after a certain amount. This system may use a smart contract to contract for the use of the car navigation system, for example, charging 2 yen per kilometer for the first 5,000 km, 1 yen per kilometer for 5,000 km to 20,000 km, and free for distances over 20,000 km. When a user operates the car navigation system and presses a button to purchase a map update, the system may execute a smart contract for purchasing map updates. Because the amount of information in the map update data is large, updates may be made via communication methods other than LPWA, such as SD card distribution. After that, in addition to the navigation fee mentioned above, charges may be implemented by executing a smart contract that charges 2 yen for the first 2,500 km after the map update, 1 yen for the first 10,000 km, and free for distances thereafter.

[0055] In addition, when transmitting the identification information of the above-mentioned game items as a specific type of data, the system may record on the blockchain the identification information of so-called items such as weapons, armor, medicine, etc. used in the game, as well as the identification information of rights that grant, for example, the execution of gacha, the purchase of crystals, the shortening of time until an event, and other advantageous conditions.

[0056] The system may also record information regarding the input of user authentication information and consent to access rights information on the blockchain. For example, the system may send authentication information consisting of a pair of a user's ID and password, and record information regarding the validity of the authentication result on the blockchain. Furthermore, the system may record information regarding whether or not permission to access the app's hardware and software resources has been granted, along with information identifying the app and the content of that permission, on the blockchain.

[0057] Furthermore, in private lodgings, where travelers are allowed to stay in private homes, handing over keys is difficult. This system can send key information indicating the key for the lodging and door opening / closing information, which detects whether the door is open or closed, to a server or the like via LPWA. Since certain types of data, such as key information and door opening / closing information, have a smaller volume than other types of data, such as video data, this system reduces power consumption when sending data to a server or the like via LPWA compared to sending other types of data. This system can generate and send a hash value of the key information rather than sending the key information itself to the server.

[0058] Furthermore, when the server receives key information, the hash value of the key information, opening / closing information, etc., it should write this information to the blockchain along with the time of receipt. Because the blockchain is robust against tampering, it can be used as proof of accommodation records in private lodgings, etc.

[0059] The server may also be linked to the thumb turn that opens and closes the door, or may communicate with the device that drives the thumb turn via LPWA. The server may authenticate the key information received from the system, and if authentication is successful, instruct the device that drives the thumb turn to open the lock. Because LPWA reduces power consumption, the saved power is used to drive the thumb turn, resulting in a relatively long battery life.

[0060] The power consumption reduction means may also transmit data indicating the results of edge computing's determination of a large amount of information output over time in association with the contact input as a specific type of data to the communication means. Examples of large amounts of information output over time include outputs from various sensors such as microwave sensors, audio, and video. Edge computing may, for example, recognize only the large amounts of information output over time while the contact is on. That is, if the "large amount of information" is video, the system may pass objects contained in the video through a deep learning model, recognize the objects, and transmit the resulting probability vector to the communication means along with the time information of the contact being on.

[0061] The data indicating the count results described above includes, for example, data indicating traffic volume counted manually or mechanically in traffic volume surveys conducted throughout the country for new road construction and other urban planning. The task of counting traffic volume requires one person to operate four to eight counters to record the direction and type of moving objects. Furthermore, at intersections where many people and vehicles pass by, four to ten observation points are required, and each observation point requires an observer. Therefore, this task requires approximately eight to twenty people, including replacement observers. This results in high labor costs, difficulty in securing personnel, and poor measurement accuracy.

[0062] Therefore, this system counts traffic volume using a camera and image recognition, and transmits the count results to a communication means. Since the count results only need to be sent as a daily total, the communication volume of the communication means in this system is sufficient at around several tens of bytes per day.

[0063] The contacts that generate the contact inputs described above may be attached to, for example, a delivery locker. When a delivery company or a sharing economy service provider places a package in the delivery locker, the system may transmit a package delivery completion signal to the communication means described above. The system may also install a weighing scale, such as an electronic balance or spring scale, inside the delivery locker to measure the weight of the items placed in the delivery locker and transmit the resulting weight measurement data to the communication means described above. Certain types of data may be recorded in a distributed ledger such as a blockchain, while other types of data may be recorded on a designated server in a general database (such as a relational database or a NoSQL database).

[0064] (2-3) When the other types of data are, for example, data that have already been transmitted by a communication means other than LPWA, the specific types of data may be data other than the already transmitted data.

[0065] The specific type of data may be selected from among data that can be transmitted by the LPWA communication means controlled by this system, excluding data that has already been transmitted by other communication means other than LPWA, such as smartphones, near-field communication, 4G, 5G, etc. The system may not transmit data that has already been transmitted, particularly by a communication means that is not LPWA.

[0066] (3) The power consumption reduction means prevents the communication means from transmitting data representing a video. It would be better to make it a system.

[0067] The amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than when transmitting video. As a content of control for controlling the communication means to reduce power consumption, the power consumption reduction means may control the communication means so as not to transmit data representing video. Also, as a content of this control, it may be controlled so as not to transmit data representing video to the communication means, and to transmit specific types of data, for example, as shown in (2).

[0068] (4) The power consumption reduction means prevents the communication means from transmitting data under a predetermined condition, even if the data is to be transmitted. It would be better to make it a system.

[0069] Power consumption due to data transmission is reduced under certain circumstances. The data to be transmitted may be, for example, the specific type of data shown in (2).

[0070] The predetermined situation may be a situation in which the environment of the present system satisfies or does not satisfy predetermined conditions, etc. The environment of the present system may be, for example, time, elapsed time, location such as latitude, longitude, and altitude, communication environment, available power, whether or not information or signals are obtained, or a combination of these.

[0071] The predetermined condition may be a combination of a plurality of conditions, such as a predetermined rule, a pattern, or a combination thereof.

[0072] For example, when a system detects a certain object and transmits data regarding that detection, the detection itself may be incorrect when the system detects the object under a specified situation. For example, when a system detects radio waves in a predetermined band output by an automatic speed enforcement device, the same band may also be used by automatic doors at convenience stores and other stores. In this system, if a detection device controlled by this system comes within a certain distance of the store during its business hours, the system may detect radio waves emitted by an automatic door that is not the intended target.

[0073] This system measures the location of the detection device using, for example, GNSS, identifies the current time and the location of the detection device, and determines whether the detection device is present at a predetermined time and location. When the system determines that the detection device is present at that time and location, it may prevent the transmission of detection data indicating detection. This suppresses unnecessary data transmission under certain circumstances, further thins out certain types of data being transmitted, and reduces power consumption due to data transmission.

[0074] (5) The power consumption reduction means transmits the acquired data at adjusted intervals. It would be better to make it a system.

[0075] The amount of data transmitted is less than if the acquired data were transmitted at unadjusted intervals.

[0076] The adjusted interval should be at least longer than the interval at which the acquired data is obtained, so that the number of times data is sent in a specified period, such as one day or one week, is less than the number of times the acquired data is obtained.

[0077] The adjusted interval may be, for example, an integer multiple of the interval at which the data is acquired (however, the integer here is a positive integer excluding 1). If the adjusted interval is, for example, N times the interval at which the data is acquired (N is an integer of 2 or more), the data will be transmitted only once every N times the data is acquired.

[0078] For example, the system causes the transmitting means to transmit data indicating the start date and time and the end date and time (16 bytes each = 32 bytes) and vehicle coordinate data recorded at 5-minute intervals over 8 hours (20 bytes x 96 times = 1920 bytes). This 5-minute interval is an integer multiple of the interval at which the acquired data is acquired.

[0079] Furthermore, when an event occurs, the system temporarily records a 4-byte measurement value (e.g., G-sensor value) related to the event, 16 bytes of data indicating the date and time of the event, and 20 bytes of data indicating the location of the event, and transmits them to the transmission means. If 10 events occur per day, the amount of temporarily recorded event-related data is (4 + 16 + 20) bytes x 10 times, or 400 bytes. These reports also include five types of data (driver ID, driving time, average speed, maximum speed, and distance traveled), each represented by 4 bytes, totaling 20 bytes of data indicating bibliographic information. Therefore, the system may send, for example, 32 + 1920 + 400 + 20 = 2372 bytes once a day. The monthly communication volume of the system is approximately 71 kilobytes. The system sends reports collectively at the end of each business day, thereby reducing the amount of data required for command headers, such as command type and sender information.

[0080] The adjusted interval does not have to be constant. The adjusted interval may be, for example, an indefinite interval determined as a result of transmission at a timing when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The timing when the predetermined condition is satisfied may be the timing when the system acquires a signal indicating a change in the work content of the monitored person being monitored by the system. For example, if the monitored person is performing delivery work, the system may transmit the acquired data collectively at the timing when the monitored person completes a series of tasks from accepting a package to delivering it to its destination. The timing when the delivery work is completed may be determined, for example, by the timing when a barcode reader reads the barcode written on the receipt handed over to the delivery recipient at the time of delivery.

[0081] This timing may be the timing when the system acquires various signals related to the monitored object, such as a signal indicating that the monitored object has reached a predetermined position, a signal indicating that the distance traveled by the monitored object has reached a threshold, or a signal indicating that the speed of the monitored object has exceeded or fallen below a threshold. This timing may also be the timing when a taxi or other vehicle gets a passenger on or off the vehicle. This timing may also be the timing when a truck or other vehicle loads or unloads cargo.

[0082] The timing may also be when the engine is started or turned off, when the lights are turned on or off, and when a character opens or closes a door.

[0083] This timing may be the timing at which the system receives a control signal corresponding to the user's operation from a server device, smartphone, or the like that has accepted the user's operation.

[0084] The predetermined condition may be, for example, whether the engine is stopped. For example, LTE-M has a function for adjusting the radio wave transmission interval, such as eDRX. The present system may control the radio wave transmission interval to be longer when the engine is stopped in a vehicle than when the engine is running.

[0085] (6) The power consumption reduction means transmits the acquired data to the communication means at intervals adjusted based on information indicating the user's contract details for the LPWA service. It would be better to make it a system.

[0086] The extent to which the amount of data transmitted is reduced varies depending on the user's contract details. Information indicating the LPWA contract details is stored in a storage means, such as a cloud or server device, and the system can acquire the information indicating the LPWA contract details from such storage means. The system can adjust the interval between data transmissions based on this acquired information. For example, when a user presses the notification button on the above-mentioned automatic speed violation detection device, the amount of communication can be reduced by increasing the interval between transmissions of detected coordinate values ​​compared to the detection interval.

[0087] For example, if the coordinate values ​​described above are sent every five minutes, the monthly data volume is, for example, 115 kilobytes. Each time the user presses the notification button described above, the detection device transmits a total of 56 bytes of data, including, for example, 16 bytes of data indicating the date and time, 20 bytes of data indicating the coordinate values, and 20 bytes of data indicating the command header. The reason for sending the date and time data is that retransmission is necessary if the transmission fails. If a notification is sent once a week, the system transmits 224 bytes of data in a month. If the reported information is received 10 times a month, the system receives 560 bytes of data in a month. Adding all of this together, the monthly data volume is, for example, 116 kilobytes.

[0088] (7) The power consumption reduction means processes the acquired data so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the amount of the acquired data, and transmits the processed data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0089] The amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than when the acquired data is transmitted without being processed. It is advisable to associate this acquired data with the other types of data described above, and then to associate the processed data with the specific type of data described in (2).

[0090] For example, if the data before processing is text data containing one or more messages or lines, each consisting of one or more fields or columns, the processed data may be data in which only specific messages or lines, or only specific fields or columns, are extracted from this text data.

[0091] For example, if the unprocessed data is text data generated in accordance with a standard such as NMEA0183 (hereinafter simply referred to as "NMEA") defined and managed by the National Marine Electronics Association, the processed data may be data in which only certain types of messages, such as RMC messages and GGA messages, are extracted. When a user presses the notification button on the above-mentioned automatic speed camera, it is preferable to send only coordinate values ​​obtained by GNSS or the like to the server, rather than so-called raw data such as NMEA.

[0092] (8) The power consumption reduction means has a function of processing the acquired data so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and causing the communication means to transmit the processed data, and a function of causing the communication means to transmit the acquired data as is. It would be better to make it a system.

[0093] Not only the processed data but also the unprocessed data can be transmitted. On the data receiving side, the processed data received should be recorded on the blockchain, while the acquired data received should be recorded on a designated server in a general database (such as a relational database or a NoSQL database).

[0094] (9) The power consumption reduction means processes the acquired data acquired under a predetermined condition so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmits the processed data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0095] Power consumption due to data transmission is reduced under certain circumstances. The predetermined situation may be the situation shown in (4).

[0096] (10) The power consumption reduction means processes the acquired data in accordance with the severity of the event detected in the target device so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmits the processed data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0097] The extent to which the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced varies depending on the severity of the event detected in the target device.

[0098] The target device may be, for example, a vehicle, and the detected events may be the attitude, direction, and position of the vehicle, an impact applied to the vehicle, pressure applied to the vehicle, the temperature of the vehicle, and the like.

[0099] For example, when the system detects that the vehicle is in a predetermined position, such as upside down, it processes the acquired data to a first level to reduce the amount of data and transmits it, and when it detects that the vehicle is in a position other than the predetermined position, it processes the acquired data to a second level that has an even smaller amount of data than the first level and transmits the processed data.

[0100] (11) The power consumption reduction means transmits data corresponding to the acquired data when one or more events detected in the target device satisfy a predetermined condition. It would be better to make it a system.

[0101] The transmission of data according to the acquired data is determined depending on whether or not the event detected in the target device satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0102] The target device may be, for example, a vehicle and the driver of the vehicle, and the events to be detected may be the vehicle's posture, direction, position, impact applied to the vehicle, pressure on the vehicle, temperature of the vehicle, etc., as well as the driver's level of alertness, eye openness, eye opening degree, number and speed of blinks, respiratory rate, heart rate, etc.

[0103] For example, when the system determines that the driver is dozing off as a result of detecting the driver's alertness level and the vehicle has received an impact equal to or greater than a threshold, the system does not process the acquired data or processes the acquired data up to a first level and transmits the acquired data itself or processed data obtained by processing the acquired data, i.e., data corresponding to the acquired data. For example, when the system detects that the driver is dozing off or looking away and the vehicle has received an impact equal to or greater than a threshold, the system may process the acquired data up to a second level with an even smaller amount of data than the first level and transmit the processed data. (12) The power consumption reduction means processes the acquired data based on information indicating the user's contract details for the LPWA so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmits the processed data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0104] The extent to which the amount of data transmitted is reduced will vary depending on the user's LPWA contract.

[0105] The information indicating the LPWA contract details may be stored and acquired, for example, in the manner shown in (6). The system acquires the information indicating the LPWA contract details and processes it so that, for example, the smaller the limit on the amount of data that can be communicated, the smaller the amount of data to be transmitted.

[0106] (13) The power consumption reduction means processes the acquired data in accordance with the remaining amount of data that the user is permitted to transmit based on the content of the LPWA contract so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmits the processed data. It would be better to make it a system.

[0107] The extent to which the amount of data transmitted is reduced will depend on the remaining amount of data the user is permitted to transmit based on the terms of their LPWA contract.

[0108] The information indicating the content of the LPWA contract may be stored and acquired, for example, in the manner shown in (6). The remaining amount of data that the user is permitted to transmit based on the content of the LPWA contract may be, for example, the remaining amount of data that the user is permitted to transmit under the LPWA contract.

[0109] For example, if a user has an LPWA contract that allows a certain amount of communication on each monthly renewal date, the amount of data communicated up to that renewal date is deducted from the monthly data amount under the contract, and the closer the renewal date, the less remaining data there is. With this configuration, for example, when the remaining data amount is low before the renewal date, the data amount is processed to be less than when there is more remaining data. This makes it less likely that the remaining data will run out compared to systems that do not have this configuration.

[0110] (14) The power consumption reduction means adjusts the interval for searching for a destination. It would be better to make it a system.

[0111] Compared to when the interval at which destinations are searched is not adjusted, power consumption is reduced.

[0112] The communication means controlled by this system should have a function to search for destinations, and should also have a function that allows the search interval to be adjusted externally. It is also preferable that the function to search for destinations be provided by this system. It is particularly preferable that both this system and the communication means controlled by this system have the function to search for destinations. In particular, the power consumption reduction means of the present system may adjust the interval at which the communication means searches for a destination.

[0113] The system may have a means for receiving instructions from the user, and may forcibly restart the search for a destination when an instruction from the user is received even during the interval for searching for a destination.

[0114] (15) The power consumption reduction means adjusts the interval for stopping the search for the destination. It would be better to make it a system.

[0115] Compared to when the interval at which the search for a transmission destination is stopped is not adjusted, the power consumption is reduced. The communication means controlled by this system should have the functions shown in (14). In particular, the power consumption reduction means of the present system may adjust the time interval at which the communication means stops searching for a destination.

[0116] The time interval for stopping the search for the destination of the communication means may be the interval between timings when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The predetermined condition may be, for example, whether the engine is stopped. For example, in LTE-M, there is a power saving mode (PSM). When the engine is stopped in the vehicle, the system may control the radio wave search stop interval to be longer than when the engine is running.

[0117] If the time to stop the radio wave search is set to the maximum time, the radio wave search will start again when the maximum time has elapsed. Therefore, this system should have a function to stop the radio wave search again when the maximum time has elapsed if no base station is found during the radio wave search.

[0118] After the system has stopped radio wave searching for a predetermined time, it is preferable to set the radio wave transmission interval to a relatively short value immediately after restarting the radio wave search, and then control the transmission interval to become longer as time passes.

[0119] (16) Controlling a communication means of a different communication method from that of the communication means It would be better to make it a system.

[0120] In comparison with the case where the communication means and the specific communication means are operated simultaneously, the power consumption can be reduced. In particular, it is preferable that the power consumption reduction means has a function of switching between the communication means and the other communication means.

[0121] The other communication means may be a communication means that employs a communication method other than LPWA, such as 3G, LTE, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications), or an Electronic Toll Collection System (ETC).

[0122] In addition, edge-side devices for edge computing may have replaceable communication modules. Therefore, the system may be configured to allow the other communication means to be replaceable. The system may have a function for detecting whether the replaceable other communication means is available, and the power consumption reduction means of the system may have a function for switching between the communication means and the other communication means based on the detection result. That is, the system may detect the type of communication module inserted in the edge-side device and select the communication destination and communication data according to the type of communication module. For example, when the communication means is not connected and a Wi-Fi module is inserted as the other communication means, the system may perform all communication, including images and videos, via the Wi-Fi module. When the other communication means is not connected and an LPWA module is inserted as the communication means, the system may store images and videos in local storage without transmitting them. The system may transfer the stored information via the Wi-Fi module, for example, when the Wi-Fi module is connected.

[0123] Also, for example, when both an LPWA module and a Wi-Fi module are inserted, it is advisable to use LPWA to communicate information other than images, videos, etc. (data with a data volume exceeding a certain amount), while communicating images, videos, etc. using the Wi-Fi module.

[0124] Furthermore, for example, when using LPWA for in-vehicle devices (such as car security and door locks), it can sometimes become completely unusable outside of the service area. In particular, situations can arise where the door can be locked when getting out of the car but is cut off when getting back in, making it impossible to unlock the door. Furthermore, situations can arise where the in-vehicle device cannot even send out-of-service notification to the user's handheld device (smartphone).

[0125] To prevent the above-mentioned situation from occurring, this system should provide a backup communication method such as Bluetooth between the user's device (smartphone) and the system. In other words, when the LPWA is out of range or unavailable, this system should use a connection via the backup communication method to notify the user's device of the out-of-range or unavailable state and ensure the use of minimal functions. Here, the functions guaranteed should be limited to, for example, door lock / unlock, among the multiple functions of the backup communication method. It is desirable that the user is not aware of the establishment of communication via the backup communication method.

[0126] In addition, this system may read settings for a user to use other communication methods from a server using LPWA communication methods and provide them to the user's device. This system may allow the user's device to connect directly to the Internet (server) via an LPWA base station, allowing the device itself to prepare the usage environment independently. As a result, the user does not need to configure the connection settings for network-enabled products with complex functions, reducing the complexity of use.

[0127] (17) The communication means includes a first communication means for communicating with a server device that stores data, and a second communication means for not communicating with the server device. It would be better to make it a system.

[0128] The power consumption can be reduced compared to when the first communication means and the second communication means are operated simultaneously. In particular, the power consumption reduction means preferably has a function of switching between the first communication means and the second communication means.

[0129] The server device that stores the data may be, for example, a server device included in a cloud provided by SIGFOX or the like. The first communication means for communicating with the server device may be, for example, SIGFOX. The second communication means that does not communicate with the server device may be, for example, LoRa. The second communication means may not directly communicate with the server device using the LPWA communication method. The second communication means may include, for example, a means that communicates with a server device indirectly connected to another network via a gateway device or the like that is included in the network formed by the second communication means and is connected to another network using a communication method other than LPWA.

[0130] This system has a first communication means for communicating with a server device and a second communication means for not communicating with a server device, and has a combination of, for example, LoRa and cellular LPWA (e.g., LTE-M) communication functions, or LoRa and Wi-Fi communication functions. The system then acquires data from other devices through communication using the second communication means and transfers the data to a server on the Internet using the first communication means.

[0131] This system can be implemented by, for example, providing a drive recorder equipped with Wi-Fi communication means with a function such as LoRa remote control operation, and transmitting the operation contents of the LoRa remote control when connected to Wi-Fi. In this case, delays will occur when Wi-Fi is not connected. Therefore, if real-time operation is required, cellular LPWA or similar is preferable to Wi-Fi. In addition to the LoRa remote control, the LoRa communication device can also communicate with various LoRa-equipped sensors, and the acquired information can be transferred to a server using an internet connection function such as cellular LPWA.

[0132] (18) The communication means includes a third communication means capable of handover communication and a fourth communication means not capable of handover communication. It would be better to make it a system.

[0133] The power consumption is reduced compared to when the third communication means and the fourth communication means are operated simultaneously. In particular, the power consumption reduction means preferably has a function of switching between the third communication means and the fourth communication means.

[0134] Handover communication may be, for example, communication in which a base station communicating with a mobile station is switched while the mobile station is moving. The third communication means capable of handover communication may be, for example, LTE-M. The fourth communication means that does not allow handover communication may be, for example, LoRaWAN, SIGFOX, or the like.

[0135] The third communication means, which is capable of handover, tends to have higher usage fees than the fourth communication means, which is not capable of handover communication. Therefore, this system determines whether or not a handover is likely to be unnecessary, and when it is likely that a handover is unnecessary, it uses the fourth communication means, and when it is likely that a handover is necessary, it uses the third communication means.

[0136] The determination of whether a situation is such that a handover is unlikely to be necessary can be made by detecting whether the mobile unit is moving. For example, if the mobile unit's location remains within a specific range, the system can determine that a situation is such that a handover is unlikely to be necessary (i.e., a handover is unlikely to be necessary). The specific range can be, for example, a radius of several tens of meters.

[0137] The present system may preferably have a function for informing the user in a recognizable manner whether communication is taking place using a third communication means that allows handover, or a fourth communication means that does not allow handover. The communication means may be a system including a mobile communication capable communication means that can communicate even when the vehicle is moving at a speed exceeding a predetermined speed, and a mobile communication difficult communication means that cannot communicate when the vehicle is moving at a speed exceeding the predetermined speed. In this way, communication can be performed whether the vehicle is moving at high speed or when the vehicle is parked, and the communication volume can be distributed to both communication means, making it possible to efficiently use LPWA services that have communication volume restrictions depending on the fee.The mobile communication-enabled communication means may be, for example, ELTRES, and the mobile communication-impaired communication means may be, for example, SIGFOX. The communication means may be a system including a GPS-required communication means that requires the use of GPS-based time information for communication, and a GPS-unrequired communication means that does not require the use of GPS-based time information for communication. In this way, communication can be performed indoors where GPS cannot be received, and also outdoors where GPS can be received, and communication volume can be distributed to both communication means, making it possible to efficiently use LPWA services that have communication volume restrictions depending on the fee.The mobile communication-enabled communication means can be, for example, ELTRES, and the mobile communication-difficult communication means can be, for example, SIGFOX. Furthermore, if the configuration allows communication by switching between different communication means, it is advisable for the server side to record which communication means the data was received via in association with the received data. In particular, when recording in a blockchain, performing such recording makes it easier to verify the reliability of the data and identify the origin of the data.

[0138] (19) The communication means has a function of using a SIM that is detachable from the communication means and a function of using a SIM that is provided within the communication means. It would be better to make it a system.

[0139] The SIM card that is detachable from the communication device and the SIM card installed in the communication device can be controlled according to their respective uses. In particular, the power consumption reduction means preferably has a function of switching between the SIM card that is detachable from the communication device and the SIM card installed in the communication device. This reduces power consumption compared to when these SIM cards are operated simultaneously.

[0140] SIM cards used in LPWA include regular card-type SIM cards inserted into a slot, and chip-type SIM cards soldered to a circuit board. This system should have a built-in chip-type SIM card and also have a regular card-type SIM slot. This system should communicate using the chip-type SIM card when no SIM card is inserted in the regular SIM slot, but when a SIM card is inserted in the regular SIM slot, it should prioritize the SIM card inserted in the slot over the chip-type SIM card.

[0141] Furthermore, the above-mentioned "function of switching between a SIM detachable from the communication means and a SIM built into the communication means" may determine the switching destination depending on whether the vehicle engine is running or whether the vehicle is moving. The state of the vehicle's engine or the state of the vehicle's movement may be estimated by detecting the occurrence of vibration and judging from the degree of vibration. For example, this system may use a chip-type SIM when it is determined that vibration is occurring, and a regular SIM when it is not determined that vibration is occurring.

[0142] The above-mentioned functions should also be able to determine which SIM card to switch to depending on the temperature. For example, the system can determine whether the temperature is high based on the results of a thermometer measurement, and use a chip-type SIM card when the temperature is high, and a regular SIM card when the temperature is not high.

[0143] The above-mentioned function may be configured to determine the SIM to be used depending on the location of the communication means. For example, the system may automatically switch between SIMs depending on the location of the communication means identified by a positioning system such as GNSS.

[0144] (20) A first positioning means for measuring a position, The communication means has a second positioning means different from the first positioning means. It would be better to make it a system.

[0145] Information that cannot be obtained by the first positioning means can be obtained from the second positioning means. In particular, the power consumption reduction means preferably has a function of switching between the first positioning means and the second positioning means. Compared to operating the first positioning means and the second positioning means simultaneously, power consumption is reduced. The second positioning means preferably provides information necessary for the communication means to communicate.

[0146] The first positioning means may be, for example, a positioning device using GNSS or the like built into the drive recorder, and the second positioning means may be, for example, a positioning device included in LTE-M, ELTRES, or the like.

[0147] For example, LTE-M has a positioning function. Therefore, the present system should have a separate positioning function and a function to select which of the two pieces of information to use. The present system should have a function that allows the user to set which positioning function to select by accepting a user operation, and should also have a function that compares the output data of both and automatically selects which to use.

[0148] (21) Controlling the notification means to notify the user of the status of the communication means. It would be better to make it a system.

[0149] The user can be informed of the changing status of communication means in the system.

[0150] The information to be notified to the user may be, for example, the time of the last transmission by the communication means that performed the intermittent transmission, information indicating the search status of the destination as shown in (14) or (15), information indicating which of the first and second communication means is being used in a system having these as shown in (16), information indicating which of the third and fourth communication means is being used in a system having these as shown in (17), etc.

[0151] The present system may preferably have a function of informing the user in a manner that allows the user to recognize whether or not radio wave search has been stopped. The system may have a function for notifying the user of information about the radio wave search interval in a manner that the user can recognize.

[0152] The system preferably has a function for notifying the user of information relating to the transmission interval in a manner that the user can recognize the information.

[0153] The system may have a function to notify the user so that the user can recognize whether the SIM card is a chip SIM or a regular SIM card.

[0154] (22) The communication means is a communication means attached to a mobile body that communicates with a fixed communication means that does not move, and the data received from the fixed communication means is transmitted to the destination of the mobile body. It would be better to make it a system.

[0155] Compared to transmitting data using communication methods other than LPWA, power consumption is reduced.

[0156] The fixed communication means may be, for example, LoRa, NB-IoT, SIGFOX, etc., which is fixedly connected to a measuring instrument such as a thermometer or hygrometer, acquires the measurement value from the measuring instrument, and transmits a signal indicating the measurement value via LPWA, and the mobile body may be, for example, an automobile (truck, taxi, motorcycle) used in the transportation industry such as rail transport, automobile transport, ship transport, air transport, etc., or a railway, ship, aircraft, etc.

[0157] The system may be implemented by attaching an LPWA communication means to a mobile vehicle, such as a truck operated by a delivery company or a taxi operated by a taxi company. When the mobile vehicle enters a predetermined range centered on the fixed communication means, the system may cause the communication means attached to the mobile vehicle to receive a signal transmitted from the fixed communication means and store data indicated by the signal in a storage device. Then, when the mobile vehicle, such as the truck or taxi, enters a facility, such as an office or rest area of ​​the delivery company or taxi company, the data stored in the storage device may be transferred to a server device or the like installed in the facility. In this configuration, for example, when the mobile vehicle travels to an area where communication is difficult, measurement results from measuring instruments installed in the area can be collected.

[0158] To obtain information from IoT devices in areas with poor communication conditions, there are two methods: one in which the edge device communicates with a base station device and the base station device connects to the Internet, and the other in which the base station device does not connect to the Internet and the edge device communicates with the base station device and the base station device obtains the data. In either case, communication between the two devices is necessary. However, in mountainous areas, for example, there are peaks and valleys that can prevent communication.

[0159] In this system, the LPWA communication means attached to the above-mentioned mobile body communicates with LPWA devices in areas with poor radio wave conditions or areas where base stations are not installed, acquires and stores information, and when connected to a base station, transmits the stored information to, for example, a server via the base station.

[0160] (23) A second system that transmits information to the system according to any one of (1) to (22), and a second power consumption suppression means for generating data transmitted from the second system side to the system side so as to suppress power consumed by the communication means when the communication means receives the data. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0161] The power consumption when the communication means of the system according to any one of (1) to (22) receives data from the second system is less than when the second system does not have the second power consumption suppression means.

[0162] As a method for controlling to reduce the power consumption, it is preferable to use a method similar to the methods (2) to (22) performed by the power consumption reduction means in the above-mentioned system.

[0163] The second power consumption reduction means may generate a specific type of data that is transmitted in a smaller amount than other types of data. The data generated by the second power consumption reduction means may be, for example, data for remotely controlling the system.

[0164] That is, the second power consumption reduction means of the second system may generate, as the above-mentioned data, a control signal for remotely controlling various devices installed in a home or vehicle, such as air conditioning equipment such as a home or vehicle air conditioner, heater, humidifier, or air purifier, a vehicle starting device such as a vehicle engine starter, a car security device such as a keyless entry system, or a recording device such as a drive recorder. When this second system is applied to a user's smartphone, the smartphone functions as a so-called remote controller.

[0165] The second system may be, for example, an in-vehicle device such as a drive recorder or a car navigation system installed in a mobile body, and may be a system that transmits information to a system that controls communication means by LPWA.

[0166] Furthermore, when the second system periodically distributes POI data to the communication means controlled by this system, the second system may not transmit all of the POI data via LPWA, but may distribute only POI data based on user submissions via LPWA, and distribute other POI data via the above-mentioned other communication means that employ a communication method other than LPWA (such as Wi-Fi).

[0167] In addition, the second system may select only POI data that meets predetermined conditions, such as POI data indicating the locations of automatic speed cameras and traffic police officers, and distribute the selected POI data via LPWA.

[0168] The second power consumption reduction means may generate, as the above-mentioned data, a control signal indicating the occurrence of a trigger to start or stop driving in a controlled object such as a drive recorder, a surveillance camera, or an in-vehicle security system.

[0169] (24) The second power consumption reduction means generates data indicating a result of a determination as to whether the target device is operable based on the status of access from the system. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0170] The communication means of the system according to any one of (1) to (22) receives less data than when receiving data other than the determination result.

[0171] The second system may, for example, cause the second transmitting means to transmit the determination result as a control signal for the target device. When the communication means receives the signal indicating the determination result that operation is prohibited, the target device may be controlled by the system to prevent operation of the target device regardless of user operation.

[0172] The target device may be a mobile device that moves around carrying luggage or people, such as a taxi or a car or motorcycle used by a delivery company.

[0173] In this second system, the target device may access the server at startup and perform a procedure, and may not operate unless authentication is passed for a certain period of time. Also, in the second system, if the server detects that the target device has been stolen, the authentication may not be passed.

[0174] (25) The second power consumption reduction means generates data indicating a warning to a user who is about to operate the target device. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0175] The amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than when data other than the data indicating the warning is transmitted.

[0176] The target device and the operation of the target device may be as shown in (23). The second system may cause the second communication means to transmit, to a user who is about to drive a vehicle, data such as an image, a character string, or a voice showing a message that driving is prohibited, or identification information such as an index thereof.

[0177] (26) The second power consumption reduction means causes the communication means to transmit location data indicating the location of the target device, and generates the data based on the location data. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0178] The amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than when transmitting measurement data measured at the position of the target device for identifying that position.

[0179] The target device may be the one shown in (24). The second system may store the location data indicating the location of each vehicle received by the second communication means in a management device provided in a management center or the like, and manage the locations of the vehicles.

[0180] A target device such as a drive recorder installed in a vehicle acquires location data indicating its own location in the above-mentioned NMEA format, for example, by measuring using GNSS or the like. However, if the location data is sent to a server in NMEA format as is, even if the commands are limited to GPMRC and GPGGA, the volume of data sent will become very large in an hour. Therefore, the system that communicates with the second system should send only coordinate values ​​to the server rather than sending raw NMEA data, and it is particularly effective to reduce the amount of communication by spacing out the transmission of coordinate values.

[0181] For example, this second system, equipped with a server that manages dispatch of taxis and the like, may receive a new dispatch request from a smartphone or other device of a customer seeking a taxi, including location data indicating the smartphone's location, and then send dispatch instructions to the next destination to a target device (drive recorder, navigation system, etc.) of a vehicle close to that location. In addition to being used for taxis, this second system may also be applied to bus operation management by bus companies, pizza delivery services, operation management services for transportation companies, and police patrols by patrol cars.

[0182] With this system, for example, a user can check where their vehicle is using a map app on their smartphone. This system does not always send coordinate values ​​indicating the vehicle's location, but only sends coordinate values ​​when requested by an external device such as a smartphone or server. This reduces communication traffic.

[0183] (27) The second power consumption reduction means generates instruction data to instruct activation of an alarm device that is directed around the target device and that notifies the presence of the target device. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0184] The amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than when transmitting data other than instruction data to a user who has lost track of the target device in order to help the user find the target device.

[0185] The target device may be, for example, a vehicle parked in a parking lot. The second system may cause the second communication means to transmit instruction data, and when the communication means receives the instruction data, the system may activate an alarm device that notifies surrounding areas of the vehicle of the presence of the vehicle. The alarm device may be, for example, a lighting device such as a headlight, taillight, or fog lamp provided on the vehicle. When controlling the lighting device to notify surrounding areas of the vehicle of the presence of the vehicle, the alarm device may blink the lighting device in a predetermined pattern.

[0186] With this second system, for example, if a user forgets where they parked their vehicle in a parking lot, they can make a request from their smartphone, and the car's lights and sound will come on. This second system does not send coordinates indicating the vehicle's location to the smartphone, but instead activates an alarm device, thereby saving on communication traffic. By applying this second system, for example, if a user cannot find their cell phone, they can find out the location of their vehicle in the same way as if they were calling the cell phone and hearing the ringtone.

[0187] (28) The firmware for operating the system and the location data indicating any of the locations are transmitted separately from other data so that the fee is lower than that for other data. It is recommended to use this as a second system.

[0188] The fees incurred by transmitting location data are reduced compared to when the location data is not transmitted under the same fee structure as firmware.

[0189] Systems such as in-vehicle devices require "firmware," which is basic software for their operation. When the firmware is updated, the second system must transmit the updated firmware to each system. When transmitting firmware, a fee structure is often set so that it is cheaper (including free) than other data. If firmware update data communication, which is communication used to update firmware, and regular communication are managed under separate fee structures, the second system can include or attach location data indicating the location of, for example, POI data, to the firmware update data and transmit it via LPWA in the firmware update data communication.

[0190] (29) Computer, A power consumption suppression means in the system according to any one of (1) to (22). It is recommended to use this program to function as a

[0191] The system shown in any one of (1) to (22) is realized by a computer.

[0192] (30) Computer, A second power consumption suppression means in the second system according to any one of (23) to (28). It is recommended to use this program to function as a

[0193] The system shown in any one of (23) to (27) is realized by a computer.

[0194] The inventions described in (1) through (29) above can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a configuration may be created by adding at least a portion of the configuration of at least one of the inventions described in (2) and subsequent paragraphs to all or a portion of the configuration of the invention described in (1). In particular, an invention may be created by adding at least a portion of the configuration of at least one of the inventions described in (2) and subsequent paragraphs to the invention described in (1). Furthermore, any configuration may be extracted from the inventions described in (1) through (29) and combined, such as a configuration without a power consumption reduction means, a configuration without an LPWA communication means, or a configuration in which the LPWA communication means is replaced with another communication means. The applicant of this application intends to obtain rights to inventions including these configurations. Furthermore, even if a description is made of "in the case of..." or "when...," it is not intended to describe a configuration limited to that case or time. These are merely examples of better configurations, and the applicant intends to obtain rights to configurations other than these cases or times. Furthermore, any descriptions that specify an order are not limited to this order. Configurations in which some parts are deleted or the order is changed are also disclosed, and the applicant intends to obtain rights to such configurations. [Effects of the Invention]

[0195] For example, in a system that controls communication means using LPWA, which generally consumes less power than 4G or 5G communications, it is possible to further reduce power consumption.

[0196] The effects of the present invention are not limited to these, and effects achieved by the components disclosed in the present specification and drawings, etc., are also disclosed, and the applicant intends to obtain rights to the components that achieve these effects through divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, in this specification, statements such as "can..." clearly state the effects that are achieved, and there are also parts that demonstrate the effects even without the statement "can...". Furthermore, there are effects that can be understood from the components even without such statements. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0197] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of a management system 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a drive recorder 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a drive recorder 1 is installed in an automobile 7. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing the configurations of a drive recorder 1, a car navigation system 4, and an automobile 7. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 shows the configuration of server 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a smartphone 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0198] <Overall configuration of the management system> The embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described using the following examples. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of a management system 9 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The management system 9 includes a drive recorder 1 as an example of a first system, a server 2 as an example of a second system, a smartphone 3, and a car navigation system 4.

[0199] The drive recorder 1 is mounted on an automobile 7. The automobile 7 is an example of a moving body. In addition to the drive recorder 1, the automobile 7 is also mounted with a car navigation system 4. The drive recorder 1 and the car navigation system 4 are connected by wire within the passenger compartment of the automobile 7 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0200] The drive recorder 1 and the server 2 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via LPWA (Low Power Wide Area).

[0201] The drive recorder 1 and the smartphone 3 are connected to each other via Bluetooth (registered trademark) so that they can communicate with each other.

[0202] The server 2 and the smartphone 3 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication line 6. The communication line 6 is the Internet.

[0203] <Drive recorder configuration> Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the drive recorder 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the drive recorder 1 installed in an automobile 7. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the configurations of the drive recorder 1, the car navigation system 4, and the automobile 7.

[0204] Each component of the drive recorder 1 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 4, the drive recorder 1 includes a controller 11, an SSD 12, an LPWA communication device 13, an operator 14, a display 15, a connection terminal 16, an acceleration sensor 17, a camera 18, a GNSS receiver 19, and a short-range communication device 10.

[0205] The controller 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a timer. The CPU controls each component of the drive recorder 1 by reading out programs stored in the ROM or the SSD 12 into the RAM as a work area and executing the programs.

[0206] The SSD 12 is a solid state drive, which is one type of storage device that permanently stores data. The SSD 12 stores the operating system program and application programs executed by the CPU of the controller 11.

[0207] The LPWA communication device 13 is a communication device conforming to the LPWA method for performing relatively long-distance communication with low power consumption, and specifically, is "ELTRES."

[0208] The LPWA communication device 13 shown in FIG. 4 exchanges information with the server 2 according to the LPWA method under the control of the controller 11.

[0209] The LPWA communication device 13 has a built-in GNSS receiver 131 and a SIM insertion slot 132. The LPWA communication device 13 also has an on-chip SIM 133 indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

[0210] The built-in GNSS receiver 131 is a device that measures its own position using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The LPWA communication device 13 synchronizes communication using the position information measured by the built-in GNSS receiver 131.

[0211] 2, the SIM slot 132 is a portion into which a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card is inserted, and is provided on the top or the like of the housing of the drive recorder 1. The LPWA communication device 13 reads subscriber information from the SIM card inserted into the SIM slot 132, identifies the subscriber (user), and associates the communication volume with the subscriber.

[0212] The on-chip SIM 133 is a SIM called an "embedded SIM" or an abbreviation of "eSIM," and is a SIM whose contents can be rewritten remotely. The on-chip SIM 133 does not require replacing the SIM card when rewriting the contents.

[0213] Here, the LPWA communication device 13 having the on-chip SIM 133 has a function of using a SIM card, which is a SIM that can be attached to or detached from the device by inserting it into or removing it from the SIM insertion slot 132, and a function of using the on-chip SIM 133. When a SIM card is inserted into the SIM insertion slot 132, the LPWA communication device 13 has a function of switching between the SIM card and the on-chip SIM 133.

[0214] The LPWA communication device 13 acquires information indicating various states of the automobile 7, such as the operating state of the engine 72 and changes over time in the tachometer 74, from the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 connected via a connection terminal 46 of a car navigation system 4 described later. Then, depending on the acquired information, the LPWA communication device 13 determines whether to use the SIM card inserted into the SIM insertion slot 132 or the on-chip SIM 133 for communication.

[0215] The operator 14 has a touch panel 141 for issuing various instructions and a switch 142. The operator 14 receives an operation by the user and sends a signal corresponding to the operation to the controller 11. As shown in Fig. 2, the switch 142 is provided adjacent to the display 15 on the housing of the drive recorder 1.

[0216] The display 15 has a display screen such as a liquid crystal display, and displays images under the control of the controller 11. As shown in FIG. 2, a transparent touch panel 141 of the operator 14 is disposed on top of the display screen of the display 15.

[0217] The connection terminal 16 is a terminal for connecting the drive recorder 1 and the car navigation system 4 so that they can communicate with each other via wire.

[0218] The acceleration sensor 17 is a sensor that measures acceleration using a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) method.

[0219] Camera 18 is a digital still camera equipped with an imaging element such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and captures an image of the driver's seat and outputs a video signal representing the captured image to controller 11. The video signal output from camera 18 is converted by controller 11 into video data representing the captured image and recorded on SSD 12.

[0220] The GNSS receiver 19 is a device that measures its own position using GNSS. The GNSS receiver 19 is a device provided separately from the built-in GNSS receiver 131 of the LPWA communication device 13, and its accuracy, measurement interval, etc. are different.

[0221] The GNSS receiver 19 is an example of a first positioning means for measuring a position, and the built-in GNSS receiver 131 of the LPWA communication device 13 is an example of a second positioning means different from the GNSS receiver 19 that the LPWA communication device 13 has.

[0222] The short-range communication device 10 communicates with devices located in a relatively short distance using Bluetooth (registered trademark). That is, the short-range communication device 10 is a communication means using a different communication method from that of the LPWA communication device 13. The drive recorder 1 communicates with the smartphone 3 using the short-range communication device 10.

[0223] <Car navigation system configuration> The car navigation system 4 is attached to the center of the dashboard in front of the driver's seat of the automobile 7, as shown in Figure 3. Each component of the car navigation system 4 will be described below.

[0224] As shown in FIG. 4, the car navigation system 4 includes a controller 41, an SSD 42, an operator 44, a display 45, and a connection terminal 46.

[0225] The controller 41 shown in FIG. 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and the CPU controls each component of the car navigation system 4 by reading out a program stored in the ROM or SSD 42 into the RAM and executing the program.

[0226] The SSD 42 is a solid state drive, and is one type of storage device that permanently stores data. The SSD 42 stores the operating system program, application programs, and the like that are executed by the controller 41.

[0227] The operator 44 receives an operation by the user and sends a signal corresponding to the operation to the controller 41. The operator 44 has a touch panel 441 and a switch 442 for issuing various instructions.

[0228] The display 45 has a display screen such as a liquid crystal display, and displays images under the control of the controller 41. A transparent touch panel 441 of the operator 44 is disposed on top of the display screen.

[0229] As shown in FIG. 3, the operation element 44 and the display 45 are mounted in positions that allow operation and visibility from the driver's seat.

[0230] The connection terminal 46 is a terminal for connecting the drive recorder 1 and the car navigation system 4 so that they can communicate with each other via wire.

[0231] As shown in Fig. 3, the drive recorder 1 is attached so as to be suspended from the chassis near the upper edge of the windshield inside the vehicle 7. As shown in Fig. 3, a cord connected to a connection terminal 16 of the drive recorder 1 is attached to the chassis of the vehicle 7 along the edge of the windshield and is connected to a connection terminal 46 of the car navigation system 4.

[0232] <Vehicle configuration> Each component provided in the automobile 7 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 4, the automobile 7 includes an ECU (engine control unit) 71 , an engine 72 , a transmission 73 , a tachometer 74 , and a lamp 75 .

[0233] The ECU 71 is an engine control unit that controls each component of the automobile 7, such as the engine 72. The ECU 71 is also connected to the bus of the car navigation system 4, and exchanges information with the controller 41 of the car navigation system 4. The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 communicates with the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 via the car navigation system 4.

[0234] The engine 72 is an internal combustion engine that provides propulsion to the automobile 7, and is a gasoline engine.

[0235] The transmission 73 is a power transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational output of the engine 72 to the wheels, and is made up of gears, shafts, etc.

[0236] The tachometer 74 is an instrument that measures the rotation speed of the shaft of the engine 72 .

[0237] The lamps 75 are lighting fixtures equipped with light-emitting elements such as LEDs (light emitting diodes), and are headlamps, tail lamps, fog lamps, brake lamps, etc. in the automobile 7.

[0238] <Server configuration> The components of the server 2 will be described below. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server 2. The server 2 is an example of a server device that communicates with the drive recorder 1 according to the LPWA system and stores data. As shown in Fig. 5, the server 2 has a controller 21, an HDD 22, an LPWA communication device 23, and a communication device 27.

[0239] The controller 21 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a timer. The CPU controls each component of the server 2 by reading out programs stored in the ROM or HDD 22 into the RAM as a work area and executing the programs.

[0240] The HDD 22 is a hard disk drive, which is one type of storage device that permanently stores data. The HDD 22 stores the operating system program and application programs executed by the CPU of the controller 21.

[0241] The LPWA communication device 23 is a communication device conforming to the LPWA method, which performs relatively long-distance communication with low power consumption, and specifically, is "ELTRES." Under the control of the controller 21, the LPWA communication device 23 exchanges information with the drive recorder 1 according to the LPWA method.

[0242] The communication device 27 is a modem, and connects to the communication line 6 under the control of the controller 21. The communication device 27 exchanges information with the smartphone 3 via the connected communication line 6.

[0243] <Smartphone configuration> The following describes each component included in the smartphone 3. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the smartphone 3. As shown in Fig. 6, the smartphone 3 has a controller 31, an SSD 32, an operator 34, a display 35, a communication device 37, and a short-range communication device 30.

[0244] The controller 31 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a timer. The CPU controls each component of the smartphone 3 by reading out programs stored in the ROM or the SSD 32 into the RAM as a work area and executing the programs.

[0245] The SSD 32 is a solid state drive, which is a type of storage device that permanently stores data. The SSD 32 stores the operating system program and application programs executed by the CPU of the controller 31.

[0246] The operator 34 receives an operation by the user and sends a signal corresponding to the operation to the controller 31. The operator 34 has a touch panel 341 and a switch 342 for issuing various instructions.

[0247] The display 35 has a display screen such as a liquid crystal display, and displays images under the control of the controller 31. A transparent touch panel 341 of the operator 34 is disposed on top of the display screen.

[0248] The short-range communication device 30 communicates with devices located in a relatively short distance using Bluetooth (registered trademark). The short-range communication device 30 exchanges information with the drive recorder 1 under the control of the controller 31.

[0249] The communication device 37 is a cellular module, and connects to the communication line 6 via a base station (not shown) provided by a communication carrier under the control of the controller 31. The communication device 37 exchanges information with the server 2 via the connected communication line 6.

[0250] <Driving recorder functions> The functions of the drive recorder 1, which is an example of the first system, will be described below. The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 functions as a "power consumption reduction means" that controls the LPWA communication device 13 so as to reduce the power consumption.

[0251] As described above, the camera 18 captures an image of the driver's seat and outputs a video signal representing this image, and the controller 11 converts this video signal into video data and records it on the SSD 12. The controller 11 processes this video data as "data before processing."

[0252] Specifically, the controller 11 analyzes this video data and recognizes the position and movement of each part of the driver's body, such as the neck, face, torso, arms, etc. Then, based on the recognized position and movement of each part of the driver's body, it judges the riskiness of the driver's driving.

[0253] For example, if the analysis of the video data reveals that the driver's neck is moving periodically in accordance with the timing of breathing or that the eyelids are closed at a rate exceeding a threshold, the controller 11 determines that the driver is drowsy at the wheel. Furthermore, if 10 seconds have passed since the driver closed his or her eyes, the controller 11 determines that driving is dangerous.

[0254] When the controller 11 analyzes the above-mentioned video data and judges the risk of the driver's driving, it generates data indicating the judgment result (judgment result data) as "processed data" and transmits this generated judgment result data to the server 2 via the LPWA communication device 13.

[0255] This judgment result data represents the results of a comprehensive judgment made by analyzing the contents of the video data and comparing the movements and positions of each part of the driver's body with predetermined patterns, thresholds, etc., and therefore the amount of information contained therein is smaller than the amount of information contained in the video data.

[0256] Therefore, with the above-described configuration, the power consumed when the drive recorder 1 transmits data to the server 2 is reduced compared to when the drive recorder 1 transmits unprocessed video data as is.

[0257] In other words, the controller 11 processes the acquired data so that the amount of data to be transmitted is less than the acquired data, and transmits the processed data via the LPWA communication device 13, thereby functioning as a "power consumption reduction means."

[0258] As described above, the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 functions as a "power consumption reduction means" that controls the LPWA communication device 13 to reduce power consumption. Therefore, the drive recorder 1 can further reduce power consumption in a system that controls communication means using LPWA, which generally consumes less power than 4G or 5G communication.

[0259] <Modification> The above is a description of the embodiment, but the contents of this embodiment can be modified as follows: In addition, the following modifications may be combined.

[0260] <Variation 1> The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 described above processes the acquired data to reduce the amount of data before transmitting it, but the amount of data may also be reduced by selecting the type of data to be transmitted from the acquired data.

[0261] That is, the controller 11 may reduce power consumption by causing the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit a specific type of data that has a smaller amount of data transmitted than other types of data. In this case, the drive recorder 1 does not need to process the acquired data.

[0262] For example, if the drive recorder 1 acquires two types of data, continuous time-series data with a large amount of information and contact input (trigger information), the controller 11 may transmit only the contact input via LPWA without selecting the time-series data. The contact input has a relatively small amount of information compared to the time-series data. By not transmitting the time-series data with a large amount of information, the drive recorder 1 reduces power consumption during communication.

[0263] Furthermore, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit identification information for identifying each data, which is assigned to each of the multiple data groups. Since the amount of identification information for each data is small compared to the data itself, this configuration reduces the power consumed by LPWA communication.

[0264] In addition, if there is data that has already been transmitted by a communication means other than the LPWA communication device 13, such as a short-range communication device 10, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit data other than the already transmitted data.

[0265] <Variation 2> The controller 11 may suppress power consumption by not causing the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit data representing the video.

[0266] That is, the controller 11 may select character string data, contact input data, etc., without selecting video data, and transmit the data via LPWA. Video data showing images or moving images (which may also include audio) generally has a larger data volume than other data showing character strings, contact inputs, judgment results, etc. By excluding such data from the targets for transmission by the LPWA communication device 13, the controller 11 reduces the power consumption consumed for communication using the LPWA communication device 13.

[0267] The data other than the video data may be data indicating a character string, a contact input, a judgment result, or the like, as well as data indicating the connection state between the drive recorder 1 and the smartphone 3. Furthermore, the data other than the video data may be data that the drive recorder 1 receives from the smartphone 3 when the drive recorder 1 and the smartphone 3 are connected.

[0268] The video data may be recorded on the SSD 12 and retrieved at a later date. The video data may also be sent from the smartphone 3 connected by short-range communication to the server 2 via the communication line 6.

[0269] <Variation 3> Even if there is data to be transmitted, the controller 11 may suppress power consumption by not causing the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the data under a predetermined situation.

[0270] For example, the above-described drive recorder 1 has a detection device that detects an object, and when the detection device detects the object, it transmits detection data indicating that the object has been detected to the LPWA communication device 13. In other words, when the detection device detects an object, it is when there is data to be transmitted.

[0271] Meanwhile, the above-described drive recorder 1 measures the position of the GNSS receiver itself, that is, the position of the drive recorder 1 including itself, using the GNSS receiver 19, for example, and identifies the current time and the position of the drive recorder 1.

[0272] Then, the drive recorder 1 may be configured to prevent the above-mentioned detection data from being transmitted to the LPWA communication device 13 even if the detection device detects an object only when it is determined that the drive recorder 1 itself is present at a predetermined time and place. In other words, under the predetermined circumstances where the drive recorder 1 itself is present at a predetermined time and place, even if there is data to be transmitted, the data will not be transmitted by the LPWA communication device 13.

[0273] <Variation 4> The controller 11 may reduce power consumption by transmitting the acquired data at adjusted intervals. For example, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit position data indicating the position of the drive recorder 1 acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 at adjusted intervals.

[0274] The adjusted interval is an interval in which the number of times data is transmitted is less than the number of times that the GNSS receiver 19 outputs data and the controller 11 acquires it. In other words, the controller 11 adjusts the interval at which the position data is transmitted to the LPWA communication device 13 so that it is at least longer than the interval at which the controller 11 acquires position data from the GNSS receiver 19. The adjusted interval does not have to be constant.

[0275] <Variation 5> The controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the acquired data at intervals adjusted based on information indicating the content of the user's LPWA contract.

[0276] In this case, the SSD 12 stores information indicating the contract details of the user of the drive recorder 1. The controller 11 causes the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the position data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 at intervals adjusted based on the information indicating the contract details stored in the SSD 12. This reduces power consumption compared to, for example, transmitting all of the position data, and the degree of power reduction corresponds to the contract details of the user.

[0277] <Variation 6> The above-mentioned controller 11 acquires and analyzes video data showing the image of the driver's seat captured by the camera 18 and stored in the SSD 12, generates judgment result data showing the result of the judgment on the riskiness of the driver's driving, and transmits this to the LPWA communication device 13.

[0278] In other words, the controller 11 processes the video data into judgment result data and transmits it to the LPWA communication device 13, but it may also process the acquired data in another way so that the amount of data to be transmitted is less than the acquired data, and transmit the processed data.

[0279] For example, the controller 11 may process the position data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 so as to reduce the amount of data, and cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the processed data.

[0280] For example, when the position data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 is text data generated in accordance with a standard such as NMEA0183 defined and managed by the National Marine Electronics Association, the controller 11 may process the data by extracting only certain types of messages from the position data. Here, certain types of messages include, for example, RMC messages and GGA messages.

[0281] The processing of the acquired position data to reduce the amount of data may be performed by a configuration other than the controller 11. For example, the controller 11 may outsource this processing to the controller 41 or the ECU 71. The controller 11 may receive the processed data that has been outsourced and transmit it to the LPWA communication device 13.

[0282] Furthermore, the determination of driving risk is not limited to the result of analyzing the video of the driver. The drive recorder 1 according to the present invention may include, for example, a device that detects the tension of a belt or rope that fastens cargo in a truck in real time. The controller 11 may predict cargo collapse or the like based on the detected tension and determine the driving risk.

[0283] Furthermore, the subject of the judgment is not limited to the risk of driving. The subject of the judgment may be, for example, the safety of cargo based on temperature, humidity, illuminance, etc. when delivering refrigerated goods or animals.

[0284] Furthermore, for example, the controller 11 may acquire and analyze video data showing images of the road captured by the camera 18 and stored in the SSD 12, generate determination result data showing the results of the analysis, and transmit the data to the LPWA communication device 13. Based on the results of analyzing the video data, the controller 11 may determine, for example, whether or not there has been contact, deformation, or damage to a vehicle on the road, and the extent of such damage.

[0285] In this case, the determination is made as to whether or not a vehicle collision has occurred and the extent of the collision. Based on the acquired video data, the controller 11, for example, extracts the outlines of the automobile 7 and other vehicles and identifies their respective positions in the video. The controller 11 then determines whether or not these vehicles have collided with each other, thereby recognizing whether or not an accident has occurred.

[0286] Furthermore, the controller 11 may identify the type of event that has occurred based on the video data, and transmit only the identification information that identifies the type of event to the server 2 via LPWA.

[0287] Furthermore, when an event such as an accident occurs, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit information about the occurrence of the event in addition to a code indicating the type of the event, without sending video data. Examples of information about the occurrence of the event include information whose measurement is started when the event occurs, information extracted based on the occurrence of the event, and information indicating the results of analyzing the measured, extracted, or other information.

[0288] For example, the controller 11 may transmit behavior information indicating the driver's behavior measured for 20 seconds before and after the occurrence of a collision accident to the LPWA communication device 13. The behavior information may be, for example, the direction of the driver's face, the direction of their line of sight, and whether their eyelids are open or closed, and the amount of data is smaller than that of video data.

[0289] Furthermore, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit information such as the acceleration sensed by the acceleration sensor and the speed measured by the tachometer 74 at the time the collision accident occurred.

[0290] Furthermore, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit information indicating the position of the automobile 7 measured by GNSS or the like, vehicle behavior information indicating the behavior of the vehicle, and the like.

[0291] In other words, the drive recorder 1 sends only "the occurrence of an accident," "the type code of the event that occurred," and "information related to the occurrence of the event" to the server 2 via LPWA, along with the identification information of the drive recorder 1. Therefore, the drive recorder 1 reduces the amount of communication traffic compared to when sending the video data and audio data themselves, and also reduces power consumption during communication.

[0292] <Variation 7> The controller 11 may have a function of processing the acquired data so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmitting the processed data to the LPWA communication device 13, and a function of transmitting the acquired data as is to the LPWA communication device 13.

[0293] For example, the controller 11 processes the position data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 to reduce the amount of data. The controller 11 may have a function to transmit the processed data to the LPWA communication device 13, and a function to transmit the acquired position data to the LPWA communication device 13 as is.

[0294] <Variation 8> The controller 11 may process the data acquired under a predetermined condition so as to reduce the amount of data, and cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the processed data.

[0295] Here, the predetermined situation may be a situation determined according to the severity of an event detected in the target device. For example, when automobile 7 receives an external impact due to a traffic accident or the like, acceleration sensor 17 detects the impact.

[0296] Furthermore, for example, if the automobile 7 rolls over or flips over due to an accident or the like, the acceleration sensor 17 detects the attitude of the automobile 7. The controller 11 may process the position data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 to reduce the amount of data depending on the degree of the event, such as the impact or attitude, detected in the automobile 7, and transmit the processed data to the LPWA communication device 13. In this case, the automobile 7 is an example of a target device.

[0297] Furthermore, when the severity of the accident is significantly high, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit video data. That is, in normal cases where the severity of the accident is not significantly high, the controller 11 does not transmit large amounts of data such as video data, and therefore reduces the power consumption consumed for communication compared to when transmitting video data regardless of the severity of the accident.

[0298] Furthermore, if the severity of the accident exceeds a threshold, it may be clear that the automobile 7 is inoperable and no further communication will be performed. In this case, there is no point in leaving a data volume that can be communicated by the LPWA communication device 13, so the drive recorder 1 may transmit large amounts of data, such as video data, via the LPWA communication device 13.

[0299] By transmitting the video data, the user of the server 2 can easily determine whether an incident such as an accident has actually occurred based on the video data. And by being able to easily determine whether an incident has actually occurred, it becomes easier to accurately determine the subsequent arrangements, etc.

[0300] This arrangement may include, for example, calling an ambulance, calling the police, etc. Also, from the video data, it may be possible to determine that the automobile 7 has fallen into the water of a dam or the like. In this case, for example, the user of the server 2 may call in a diver who has undergone underwater search training as a countermeasure.

[0301] Although the acceleration sensor 17 is a sensor that measures acceleration using the MEMS method, it may be a gyro sensor that measures the rotational angular velocity of the automobile 7, or a combination thereof.

[0302] Furthermore, if the severity of the accident is significantly large, the controller 11 may increase the amount of data to be transmitted to the server 2 via the LPWA communication device 13.

[0303] Furthermore, if the severity of the accident is significantly severe, the controller 11 may transmit data from the smartphone 3 connected via short-range communication to the server 2 via the communication line 6. Video data with a relatively large amount of data may be selected as the data transmitted from the smartphone 3 via the communication line 6. The smartphone 3 may, for example, operate a short-range communication device 30 in the background to connect to the drive recorder 1. The smartphone 3 may have a so-called tethering function, for example, by connecting to the drive recorder 1 via the short-range communication device 30 and connecting to the communication line 6 via the communication device 37, thereby connecting the drive recorder 1 to the communication line 6 such as the Internet.

[0304] The smartphone 3 may have an acceleration sensor (not shown). The controller 31 of the smartphone 3 may start tethering based on an impact detected by the acceleration sensor, and connect to the drive recorder 1. The smartphone 3 connected to the drive recorder 1 may acquire video data and transmit the video data to the server 2 via the communication line 6.

[0305] <Variation 9> When one or more events detected in the automobile 7 satisfy a predetermined condition, the controller 11 may cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit data corresponding to the acquired data.

[0306] For example, suppose that analysis of a first video of a driver reveals that the driver is dozing off with a probability of 70% or more, and that the measured impact force exceeds a threshold value such as 5 G. This impact force is measured, for example, by an impact force measuring device (not shown) provided in the drive recorder 1.

[0307] In this case, the controller 11 may transmit data corresponding to the acquired data to the LPWA communication device 13. The data corresponding to the acquired data may be data indicating the analysis results of the video data, data indicating driver behavior information, or the like.

[0308] This means that, for example, data would be sent simply when there was an impact or when going over a bump, but by sending data according to a combination of the condition judgments of the multiple events described above, data is sent only when there is a high possibility that a collision accident has occurred.

[0309] Furthermore, the drive recorder 1 may transmit data when it receives both detection data indicating that a speed camera or a traffic police officer has been detected by a machine and report data indicating that a user has found the camera or a traffic police officer, thereby improving the accuracy of detecting the speed camera or the traffic police officer.

[0310] The drive recorder 1 of this modified example determines whether or not one or more detected events satisfy a condition and decides whether or not to transmit data, thereby narrowing down the opportunities for transmission and reducing the amount of power consumed for communication compared to when data is transmitted by focusing on only one event.

[0311] <Modification 10> The controller 11 may process the acquired data based on information indicating the user's LPWA contract details so that the amount of data to be transmitted is smaller than the acquired data, and transmit the processed data.

[0312] For example, the controller 11 may process the location data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 based on information indicating the user's contract details (described above) stored in the SSD 12 to reduce the amount of data, and transmit the processed data to the LPWA communication device 13.

[0313] For example, the user may determine the type of data to be transmitted and the conditions for transmission according to the monthly amount of data that can be communicated under the contract.

[0314] <Variation 11> The controller 11 may process the acquired data in accordance with the remaining amount of data that the user is permitted to transmit based on the content of the LPWA contract so that the amount of data to be transmitted is less than the acquired data, and transmit the processed data.

[0315] For example, the controller 11 may process the location data acquired from the GNSS receiver 19 to reduce the amount of data depending on the remaining amount of data that the user is permitted to transmit based on the above-mentioned contract details, and transmit the processed data to the LPWA communication device 13.

[0316] For example, in the case of a monthly contract, the remaining data amount permitted for communication is maximum at the beginning of the month, decreases according to communication performance, and reaches minimum at the end of the month. The conditions for transmitting data change according to the fluctuations in the remaining data amount described above, so for example, data that was transmitted when the remaining data amount was large may not be transmitted when the remaining data amount becomes low.

[0317] <Modification 12> The controller 11 may adjust the interval at which the LPWA communication device 13 searches for a destination to which data is to be transmitted.

[0318] The LPWA communication device 13 controlled by the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 preferably has a function of searching for a destination, and further preferably has a function that allows the search interval to be externally adjusted. Also, the function of searching for a destination should preferably be possessed by the controller 11. Furthermore, it is particularly preferable that both the controller 11 and the LPWA communication device 13 have the function of searching for a destination. In particular, it is preferable that the controller 11, which is the power consumption suppression means of this system, adjusts the interval at which the LPWA communication device 13 searches for a transmission destination.

[0319] The drive recorder 1 may have a means for receiving an instruction from the user, and may forcibly resume searching for a destination when an instruction from the user is received even during an interval for searching for a destination.

[0320] <Variation 13> The controller 11 may adjust the time interval at which the LPWA communication device 13 stops searching for a destination to which data is to be transmitted.

[0321] The time interval at which the LPWA communication device 13 stops searching for a destination may be the interval between timings that satisfy a predetermined condition. The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 receives, for example, a notification from the ECU 71 of the results of monitoring the state of the engine 72 of the automobile 7. When the controller 11 receives a notification that the engine 72 has stopped, it may perform control to lengthen the interval at which the radio wave search is stopped compared to when the engine 72 is running.

[0322] The controller 11 may have a function to stop the radio wave search when the maximum time has elapsed and if no base station is found during the radio wave search.

[0323] The controller 11 may set the radio wave transmission interval to a relatively short value immediately after resuming the radio wave search after stopping the radio wave search for a predetermined time, and thereafter control the transmission interval to be longer as time passes.

[0324] <Variation 14> The above-mentioned controller 11 controls the LPWA communication device 13 and also controls the short-range communication device 10, which has a different communication method from the LPWA communication device 13. However, when transmitting data, it is preferable to switch between the LPWA communication device 13 and the short-range communication device 10.

[0325] This switching may be determined, for example, according to the communication state of the LPWA communication device 13 and the short-range communication device 10, according to the time period, or according to the size of the data to be transmitted.

[0326] In the above-described embodiment, Bluetooth was adopted as the short-range communication device 10, which is an example of the "other communication means", but other communication means such as 3G, LTE, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, DSRC, electronic toll collection systems, etc. may also be adopted.

[0327] The short-range communication device 10 may be configured to be replaceable in the drive recorder 1. The drive recorder 1 may have a function of detecting whether the replaceable short-range communication device 10 is available, and the controller 11 may have a function of switching between the LPWA communication device 13 and the short-range communication device 10 according to the detection result.

[0328] For example, when the LPWA communication device 13 is not connected and a Wi-Fi module is inserted as the short-range communication device 10, this drive recorder 1 performs all communication, including images and videos, via the Wi-Fi module.

[0329] On the other hand, when the short-range communication device 10 is not connected and the LPWA communication device 13 is inserted, the drive recorder 1 does not transmit images and videos but stores them in the local storage SSD 12. When the short-range communication device 10, which is, for example, a Wi-Fi module, is connected, the drive recorder 1 transfers the information stored in the SSD 12 via the short-range communication device 10.

[0330] Furthermore, when both the LPWA communication device 13 and the short-range communication device 10 are plugged in, the drive recorder 1 can communicate information other than images, videos, etc. (data whose data volume exceeds a certain amount) using LPWA, while communicating images, videos, etc. using the short-range communication device 10.

[0331] <Variation 15> The LPWA communication device 13 of the drive recorder 1 described above may have a first communication means for communicating with the server 2 that accumulates data, and a second communication means for not communicating with the server 2. In particular, the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 may have a function for switching between the first communication means and the second communication means of the LPWA communication device 13. The first communication means for communicating with the server 2 may be, for example, SIGFOX. The second communication means for not communicating with the server 2 may be, for example, LoRa. The second communication means may have a function for communicating with the server 2 via the communication line 6.

[0332] <Variation 16> The LPWA communication device 13 may also have a third communication means capable of handover communication and a fourth communication means not capable of handover communication. Handover communication may be, for example, communication in which a base station communicating with a mobile station is switched while the mobile station is moving. The third communication means capable of handover communication may be, for example, LTE-M. The fourth communication means not capable of handover communication may be, for example, LoRaWAN, SIGFOX, etc.

[0333] <Variation 17> The LPWA communication device 13 of the drive recorder 1 described above has a function of using a SIM that is detachable from the device itself and a function of using a SIM that is provided within the device itself, but the device does not necessarily have to have a SIM. In other words, the LPWA communication device 13 does not necessarily have to have an on-chip SIM 133 indicated by the dashed line in Fig. 4. In this case, the LPWA communication device 13 only needs to use a detachable SIM.

[0334] <Variation 18> Furthermore, the LPWA communication device 13 does not need to be provided with a removable SIM inside itself. In this case, the LPWA communication device 13 may use only the on-chip SIM 133.

[0335] <Variation 19> The above-described drive recorder 1 has the GNSS receiver 19 as a first positioning means for measuring a position. The LPWA communication device 13 has the built-in GNSS receiver 131 as a second positioning means different from the GNSS receiver 19. However, the drive recorder 1 does not necessarily have to have the GNSS receiver 19. Furthermore, the LPWA communication device 13 does not necessarily have to have the built-in GNSS receiver 131.

[0336] <Variation 20> The controller 11 may perform control to notify the user of the state of the LPWA communication device 13 through notification means such as a display 15.

[0337] For example, the controller 11 may display information indicating the time when the LPWA communication device 13 last transmitted data, the search status of the destination, the radio wave reception strength, which communication means is currently being used if multiple communication methods are available, etc. on the display 15. The drive recorder 1 may also notify the user of this notification by sound, LED illumination, etc. Pictograms may be used for the display.

[0338] <Variation 21> The LPWA communication device 13 of the drive recorder 1 may communicate with stationary fixed communication means. In this case, the controller 11 may receive data when the automobile 7 approaches the above-mentioned fixed communication means, and when the automobile 7 approaches the server 2 at its destination, cause the LPWA communication device 13 to transmit the received data to the server 2. The above-mentioned fixed communication means may be, for example, LoRa, NB-IoT, SIGFOX, or the like, which acquires measurement values ​​from measuring instruments such as a thermometer, hygrometer, anemometer, rain gauge, seismic intensity meter, and illuminometer, and transmits signals indicating the measurement values ​​via LPWA.

[0339] The drive recorder 1 may be mounted on a moving body such as a truck, taxi, or bus used in the transportation industry, in addition to an automobile 7, or may be mounted on a motorcycle, motorbike, bicycle, etc. The drive recorder 1 may also be mounted on a train, ship, aircraft, etc. used in the transportation industry, such as rail transport, sea transport, and air transport.

[0340] <Variation 22> The communication line 6 may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a combination of these or a combination of these with the Internet. Furthermore, the communication line 6 may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN), an integrated services digital network (ISDN), or the like.

[0341] <Variation 23> The drive recorder 1 and the car navigation system 4 may be connected to each other so as to be able to communicate wirelessly.

[0342] <Variation 24> In the above-described embodiment, the drive recorder 1 and the smartphone 3 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via Bluetooth (registered trademark), but they may be connected using a communication means (other communication means) that is different from LPWA, such as 3G, LTE, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications), or an Electronic Toll Collection System (ETC).

[0343] <Variation 25> The above-mentioned LPWA communication device 13 may be, in addition to the above-mentioned "ELTRES", "LoRa", "LoRaWAN", "LTE-MTC", "NB-IoT", "NB-Fi Protocol", "RPMA", "GreenOFDM", "DASH7", "RPMA", "Wi-SUN", "EnOcean Long Range", "Weightless-P", "SIGFOX", "LTE Cat.0", "LTE Cat.M1", etc., as long as it is a communication device that complies with the LPWA method of performing relatively long-distance communication with low power consumption.

[0344] <Variation 26> Instead of or in addition to the SSD 12, the drive recorder 1 may have an insertion slot for inserting a removable medium such as an SD card for permanently storing data.

[0345] <Variation 27> The video signal output from the camera 18 is recorded on the SSD 12, but may be recorded on a removable medium such as an SD card. Furthermore, the video data converted from the video signal may be sent to the server 2 when the drive recorder 1 and the server 2 are connected via a method other than LPWA, such as LTE or Wi-Fi. In this case, the drive recorder 1 may send the video data to the server 2 via the smartphone 3. The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 may monitor the status of the camera 18 and send information indicating this status to the server 2 via LPWA. The status of the camera 18 includes information such as temperature, exposure, whether the camera 18 is operating, and whether it is operating normally.

[0346] <Variation 28> The above-described short-range communication device 10 communicates using Bluetooth (registered trademark). That is, the above-described short-range communication device 10 is a communication means conforming to IEEE802.15.1, but may be a device that communicates based on other standards, such as a wireless LAN system (IEEE802.11), an ultra-wideband wireless system (IEEE802.15.3a), ZigBee (IEEE802.15.4), or close proximity wireless communication (ISO / IEC 10536, ISO / IEC 14443, ISO / IEC 15693, ISO / IEC 18092, ISO / IEC 21481, etc., and combinations thereof).

[0347] <Variation 29> Instead of or in addition to the SSD 42, the car navigation system 4 may have an insertion slot for inserting a removable medium such as an SD card for permanently storing data.

[0348] <Variation 30> The controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 described above functions as a "power consumption reduction means" that controls the LPWA communication device 13 to reduce power consumption and exchanges information with the server 2. In addition to or instead of this, the controller 21 of the server 2 may function as a "second power consumption reduction means" that generates data to reduce power consumed by the LPWA communication device 13 when the LPWA communication device 13 receives data transmitted from the server 2 to the drive recorder 1.

[0349] In this case, the server 2 is a second system that transmits information to the drive recorder 1. The controller 21 may use a method similar to the method used by the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 described above to function as a power consumption reduction means.

[0350] <Variation 31> The system of the present invention is not limited to the drive recorder 1 as a monitoring system for a vehicle, but may be other devices, etc. For example, instead of the drive recorder 1, the system of the present invention may be a monitoring system for a vending machine, a gas meter, a water meter, etc.

[0351] Furthermore, for example, the system of the present invention may be a home monitoring system that monitors a home. This home monitoring system uses a camera to capture an image of a door, and a controller analyzes the image to determine whether the door has been opened. The controller of this home monitoring system analyzes the image to determine whether the person entering through the open door is a pre-registered family member. The home monitoring system then preferably transmits these determination results to server 2 via LPWA.

[0352] Server 2 can then comprehensively assess these results and send a judgment result, such as "70% risk of burglary," to the home monitoring system via LPWA. Communication from the home monitoring system to Server 2, and from Server 2 to the home monitoring system, is also via LPWA, and the data acquired by each party is not sent as is, but rather processed and sorted before being sent, thereby reducing the power consumption required for communication.

[0353] <Variation 32> The controller 21 of the server 2 may generate data indicating the result of determining whether the target device is operable based on the status of access from the drive recorder 1.

[0354] For example, when the drive recorder 1 analyzes the video data and determines the risk of driving, it transmits determination result data indicating the determination result to the server 2 via the LPWA communication device 13. The server 2 may cause the LPWA communication device 23 to transmit a control signal for the automobile 7 according to the acquired determination result data.

[0355] For example, if the driving risk exceeds a threshold, the server 2 may transmit a control signal prohibiting driving of the automobile 7 to the drive recorder 1 via the LPWA communication device 23. When the drive recorder 1 receives this control signal prohibiting driving from the server 2 via the LPWA communication device 13, it may transmit this control signal to the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 via, for example, the above-mentioned car navigation system 4.

[0356] When the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 receives a control signal prohibiting driving, it may control the engine 72 and transmission 73 to control each part of the automobile 7 so as to prevent the automobile 7 from being driven regardless of the user's operation.

[0357] The drive recorder 1 accesses the server 2 at startup to perform a procedure, and if authentication is not passed for a certain period of time, the drive recorder 1 instructs the ECU 71 not to allow the user to operate the automobile 7. Also, if the server 2 detects that the automobile 7 has been stolen, the drive recorder 1 may not pass authentication.

[0358] The automobile 7 may be a vehicle used by a taxi, a delivery company, or the like, or may be any other vehicle that moves with people or luggage, such as a motorcycle, a motorbike, or a bicycle.

[0359] Furthermore, if the determined driving risk does not exceed the threshold, the drive recorder 1 may record the details of the determination or the information used for the determination in the SSD 12. This record may be used by the user as a so-called life log. In other words, by recording the details of the determined driving risk or the information used for the determination in the drive recorder 1, the user can reflect on the details of their driving, understand their own driving tendencies, and increase their motivation to drive properly.

[0360] <Variation 33> The controller 21 of the server 2 may generate data indicating a warning to a user attempting to operate the target device.

[0361] For example, the control signal that the server 2 transmits to the drive recorder 1 to prohibit driving of the automobile 7 may include data instructing a warning to be issued to a user who is about to drive the automobile 7. When the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 receives this control signal, it may perform control to prohibit driving of the automobile 7 and may also display a warning to the person who is about to drive the automobile 7 on the display 15.

[0362] <Variation 34> The controller 21 of the server 2 may cause the communication means to transmit location data indicating the location of the target device, and generate the data based on the location data.

[0363] For example, when managing the dispatch of taxis, the server 2 receives, from the smartphone 3 of a customer requesting a taxi, a new dispatch request including location data indicating the location of the smartphone 3. The server 2 then sends dispatch instructions by transmitting the next destination to the drive recorder 1 or car navigation system 4 of a vehicle 7 that is close to the location indicated by the location data.

[0364] Furthermore, when the server 2 receives a request for location information indicating the location of the automobile 7 from the user's smartphone 3, the server 2 may send this request to the drive recorder 1 via the LPWA communication device 23. The LPWA communication device 13 of the drive recorder 1 receives this request from the server 2, and sends location information indicating the location of the drive recorder 1 measured by the GNSS receiver 19 to the server 2 via the LPWA communication device 13.

[0365] The server 2 transmits the location information acquired from the drive recorder 1 to the smartphone 3 via the communication device 27 and the communication line 6. Then, the smartphone 3 displays the location of the drive recorder 1, i.e., the location of the automobile 7 in which the drive recorder 1 is installed, on the display 35 based on the transmitted location information.

[0366] This allows the user to check where their car 7 is using a map app on the smartphone 3. In this system, the drive recorder 1 does not always send coordinate values ​​indicating the location of the car 7, but only sends coordinate values ​​when requested by an external device such as the smartphone 3 or the server 2, thereby saving on communication volume and suppressing power consumption for communication.

[0367] <Variation 35> The controller 21 of the server 2 may generate instruction data to instruct the activation of an alarm device that is directed around the target device and that notifies the presence of the target device.

[0368] For example, when the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 receives this instruction data from the server 2, it communicates with the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 via the car navigation system 4. Then, in response to this instruction data, the controller 11 may instruct the ECU 71 of the automobile 7 to activate the lamp 75 to notify the presence of the automobile 7. In this case, the automobile 7 is an example of a target device, and the lamp 75 is an example of a notification device.

[0369] <Variation 36> The controller 21 of the server 2 may control the LPWA communication device 23 to transmit firmware for operating the drive recorder 1 and location data indicating any location separately from other data so that the fee is lower than that for other data.

[0370] <Variation 37> The program executed by the controller 11 of the drive recorder 1 may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable recording medium, such as a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic tape or a magnetic disk, an optical recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. The program may also be downloaded via a communication line such as the Internet. Note that various devices other than a CPU may be used as the control means exemplified by the controller 11 described above, and for example, a dedicated processor may be used.

[0371] <Variation 38> The program executed by the controller 21 of the server 2 may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable recording medium, such as a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic tape or a magnetic disk, an optical recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. The program may also be downloaded via a communication line such as the Internet. Note that various devices other than a CPU may be used as the control means exemplified by the controller 21 described above, and for example, a dedicated processor may be used. <Another example 1> For example, a facility such as an izakaya is equipped with a taxi call device equipped with an LPWA communication function, a taxi call button, and a display. A taxi is equipped with a vacant vehicle notification device equipped with GPS, LPWA communication function, a vacant vehicle button that can be operated by the taxi driver, and a display. Each taxi call device stores a facility ID that is unique to the device, and when it detects that a taxi call button has been pressed, it wirelessly transmits the stored facility ID to a server via the LPWA communication function. The vacant vehicle notification device in each taxi has a vacant vehicle button that can be held pressed or not, and only when the vacant vehicle button is held pressed, the LPWA communication function associates the pre-stored taxi ID, which is unique to each taxi, with current location information from the GPS and transmits this information to the server every minute (the server also has an LPWA communication function). The server pre-stores facility IDs and their corresponding location information, facility names, etc. When a facility ID is transmitted to the server, it sends a push notification to an app running on a tablet installed at the taxi company, including the facility's location information, facility name, and a group of location information and taxi IDs for taxis within a specified range of the facility's location that have transmitted location information up until a specified time ago. Upon receiving this push notification, the tablet app displays the taxi's location, the time the current location information was received, the facility's location, and the time the facility ID was received on a map. A taxi dispatcher at the taxi company views the displayed taxi and facility locations and their respective reception times, and selects a taxi to dispatch from among the multiple displayed taxis. The tablet then transmits the taxi ID of the selected taxi as the taxi ID to be dispatched, along with the corresponding facility ID. The server then transmits the facility name and location information of the facility ID to the available taxi notification device for that taxi ID via its LPWA communication function, and also transmits to the taxi call device the estimated arrival time calculated from the route between the taxi's location information for that taxi ID and the location information of the facility. When the taxi call device receives this, it displays on the display that a taxi is being dispatched and the estimated arrival time.The vacant vehicle notification device for the taxi ID that receives the facility name and facility location information of the facility ID of the destination taxi uses the received information to display the route to the destination facility on the display device and releases the vacant vehicle button from its pressed state. In this way, taxi requesters can call a taxi with the push of a button. Stores and other facilities simply need to install simple devices that are smaller than a smartphone and do not require battery charging near cash registers or waiting areas. Taxi companies can then find out which taxis are nearby and deliver the taxi to the requested location. The taxi call device may also have a button for recalling a taxi and transmit a similar notification of a recall to the server. The taxi call device may also have a function for inputting the number of taxis desired to be dispatched, and transmit this information together with the number of taxis. The server may then send a push notification of the number of taxis to the app, which may then display the number of taxis on a map and allow the user to select the number of taxis from the map. The device may also display a list of the times the call button was pressed and have a function for canceling an accidental button press. In this case, the server may transmit information about the cancellation, the number of the taxi on the list, and the facility ID to the server. Based on this information, the server may display a cancellation on the map display. If a taxi has already been dispatched, the server may also transmit cancellation information to the taxi call device and the vacant taxi notification device. In response, the respective devices may display a cancellation and reset the vacant taxi button to its pressed state. The server may also be a blockchain server, particularly a blockchain shared by tablet apps of multiple taxi companies. The LPWA communication function of the vacant vehicle communication device installed in the taxi should be equipped with both an ELTRES communication module and a SIGFOX communication module, and should determine whether or not GPS reception is possible in an underground parking lot, etc., and switch which communication module to use to communicate with the server depending on the situation.When GPS reception is not possible, the SIGFOX communication module should be used, and when GPS reception is possible, the ELTRES communication module should be used for communication. For example, a so-called golf navigation system may be equipped with an LPWA communication function and a function for transmitting information on the user's ball hitting position to a server via the LPWA communication function. For example, a golf navigation system may be equipped with a function for reporting the distance from the current position measured by GPS or the like on a golf course to a pre-stored pin position of the hole currently being played, and may be equipped with a location registration button that the user presses when the ball is about to be hit, and may be configured to transmit location information of the location where the location registration button is pressed to the server via the LPWA communication function. Furthermore, the golf navigation system may be equipped with at least one of the following functions, and preferably all of them: A function for storing the location registered with the location registration button may be equipped; A function for storing the location registered with the location registration button may be equipped; The location information transmitted via LPWA when the location registration button is pressed may be associated with the time information of the time the button was pressed. Although the transmission via LPWA may be performed immediately when the location registration button is pressed, it is particularly preferable to transmit the location information history of the location registration button for the hole being played before the move to the server side via the LPWA communication function in a lump sum based on at least one of the following: a cup-in detected by a button used to input a cup-in instruction from the user, or the current location detected by GPS being moved to a pre-stored location of another hole, or the start of a move. Furthermore, it is preferable to have a function to transfer the stored locations to another device such as a PC after playing, or a function to display the location on the hole corresponding to the stored location along with a schematic diagram of the golf course. It is also advisable to equip radar detectors with LPWA communication capabilities, and provide a function for transmitting information from users about sightings of police and other incidents to a server via the LPWA communication capabilities. It is also advisable to transmit location information when a user presses the posting button, along with the time information when the button is pressed, to the server via the LPWA communication capabilities.

[0372] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the structures expressly described in the specification, but also includes combinations of various aspects of the invention disclosed herein. While the structures of the invention sought to be patented are specified in the accompanying claims, it is the intention to claim structures disclosed herein in the future, even if they are not currently specified in the claims. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above-described embodiments. The components of each of the above-described embodiments and variations may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Furthermore, any component of each embodiment or variation may be arbitrarily combined with any component described in the Summary for Solving the Invention or any component embodying any component described in the Summary for Solving the Invention. The intention is to obtain rights to these as well through amendments or divisional applications of this application. Furthermore, even if a description is made of "in the case of..." or "when...," this does not mean that the description is limited to that case or time. Configurations that are not limited to those cases or times are also disclosed, and the intention is to obtain rights. Furthermore, even if a description is made in an order, the order is not limited to this order. Configurations in which some parts are deleted or the order is changed are also disclosed, and the intention is to obtain rights. Furthermore, by filing a conversion application to a design application, the applicant intends to obtain rights to the overall design or partial design. The drawings depict the entire device in solid lines, but they also include partial designs claimed for parts of the device. For example, it is possible to include some components of the device as partial designs, and it is also possible to include some parts of the device as partial designs regardless of the components. A part of the device may be a part of the device, or it may be part of that component. The applicant intends to obtain rights not only to the overall design, but also to partial designs in which any part of the solid line portion of the drawings is shown as a broken line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0373] 1...Drive recorder, 10...Near field communication device, 11...Controller, 12...SSD, 13...LPWA communication device, 131...Built-in GNSS receiver, 132...SIM slot, 133...On-chip SIM, 14...Operator, 141...Touch panel, 142...Switch, 15...Display, 16...Connection terminal, 17...Acceleration sensor, 18...Camera, 19...GNSS receiver, 2...Server, 21...Controller, 22...HDD, 23...LPWA communication device, 27...Communication device, 3...Smartphone, 30 ...near-field communication device, 31...controller, 32...SSD, 34...operator, 341...touch panel, 342...switch, 35...display, 37...communication device, 4...car navigation system, 41...controller, 42...SSD, 44...operator, 441...touch panel, 442...switch, 45...display, 46...connection terminal, 6...communication line, 7...automobile, 71...ECU, 72...engine, 73...transmission, 74...tachometer, 75...lamp, 9...management system.

Claims

1. A terminal mounted on a mobile body, comprising: a communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from a server device using low-power wireless communication; and a control means for controlling a time interval at which the communication means stops searching for a destination; The terminal is characterized in that the time interval at which the search for the destination is stopped is set to an interval between timings at which a predetermined condition is satisfied.

2. 2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that the engine is stopped, and the control means sets a time interval for stopping the search for the destination to be long when the engine is stopped.

3. 3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the low-power wireless communication is LPWA.

4. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the control means of the terminal of any one of claims 1 to 3.

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