method

Abstract

To improve the technology related to vehicle radio wave emission. [Solution] Vehicle 10 determines whether to permit the use of its own radio communication signals based on map information including information on a first region where the use of radio communication signals in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second region where the use of radio communication signals is prohibited, and location information indicating the location of vehicle 10. If vehicle 10 moves from the second region to the first region, vehicle 10 permits the use of its own radio communication signals. If vehicle 10 moves from the first region to the second region, vehicle 10 determines whether the elapsed time or distance traveled since the last time moved from the second region to the first region is less than a predetermined time or distance. If it is less than the predetermined time or distance, vehicle 10 permits the use of its own radio communication signals. If it is greater than or equal to the predetermined time or distance, vehicle 10 prohibits the use of its own radio communication signals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method implemented by a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, technologies related to radio wave radiation of vehicles are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for providing a wireless control device and a wireless control method that can prevent the radiation of radio waves in an area where the radiation of radio waves in a predetermined frequency band is not permitted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Improvements are desired in technologies related to radio wave radiation of vehicles.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve technologies related to radio wave radiation of vehicles.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a method performed by a vehicle, which includes determining whether or not to permit the vehicle to use the radio communication signals based on map information including information of a first region where the use of radio communication signals in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second region where the use of the radio communication signals is prohibited, and location information indicating the location of the vehicle; permitting the vehicle to use the radio communication signals if the location moves from the second region to the first region; determining whether or not the elapsed time or distance since the vehicle last moved from the second region to the first region is less than a predetermined time or distance if the location moves from the first region to the second region; permitting the vehicle to use the radio communication signals if the elapsed time or distance is less than the predetermined time or distance; and prohibiting the vehicle to use the radio communication signals if the elapsed time or distance is greater than or equal to the predetermined time or distance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology relating to vehicle radio wave emission is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows the schematic configuration of the in-vehicle device related to this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the in-vehicle device related to this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below.

[0010] (Summary of the embodiment) Referring to Figure 1, an overview of the vehicle 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The vehicle 10 is, for example, a gasoline vehicle, an electric vehicle (BEV; Battery Electric Vehicle), a hybrid vehicle (HEV; Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV; Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or a fuel cell vehicle (FCEV; Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), but is not limited to these and may be any vehicle capable of carrying a person.

[0011] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. Based on map information including information on a first region where the use of radio communication signals in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second region where radio communication signals are prohibited, and location information indicating the position of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 determines whether or not to permit the use of its own radio communication signals. If the vehicle 10 moves from the second region to the first region, the vehicle 10 permits the use of its own radio communication signals. If the vehicle 10 moves from the first region to the second region, the vehicle 10 determines whether the elapsed time or distance traveled since the last time the vehicle moved from the second region to the first region is less than a predetermined time or distance. If it is less than the predetermined time or distance, the vehicle 10 permits the use of its own radio communication signals. If it is greater than or equal to the predetermined time or distance, the vehicle 10 prohibits the use of its own radio communication signals.

[0012] In conventional technology, there are known technologies for communication devices that prohibit the transmission of radio waves in areas where radio wave transmission is prohibited by the Radio Law. However, with these technologies, even if the user moves to an area where radio wave transmission is permitted, the user must manually lift the prohibition on radio wave transmission. Furthermore, even after lifting the prohibition, in places where radio waves such as GNSS information are difficult to reach, such as inside buildings or underground, the accuracy of location information decreases, which can lead to the system mistakenly determining that the area is a prohibited area for radio wave transmission. In such cases, radio wave transmission may be automatically reverted to a prohibited state. Therefore, conventional technologies had issues in terms of user convenience. In contrast, according to this embodiment, when the vehicle 10 moves to a first area where the use of radio wave communication is permitted, the use of radio wave communication is automatically permitted. Also, if the vehicle 10 moves to a second area where the use of radio wave communication is prohibited, the use of radio wave communication is not prohibited if the elapsed time or distance traveled since the last move from the second area to the first area is less than a predetermined time or distance. Therefore, the user does not need to manually lift the prohibition on radio wave transmission when the vehicle moves to an area where radio wave transmission is permitted. In addition, by not prohibiting radio wave transmission under predetermined conditions, it is possible to prevent radio wave transmission from being immediately reverted to a prohibited state. This can be particularly useful in areas where there is little need to strictly prohibit radio wave transmission, such as Japan. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the technology related to vehicle radio wave emission is improved in that it can improve user convenience in areas where it is necessary to switch between permitting and prohibiting vehicle radio communication. In addition, this can reduce the load on the vehicle by reducing unnecessary switching between permitting and prohibiting radio communication caused by misjudgments.

[0013] Next, we will describe the configuration of vehicle 10 in detail.

[0014] (Vehicle configuration) The vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 11, an output unit 12, a sensor unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0015] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces that connect to a network. These communication interfaces support, for example, mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), but are not limited to these. In this embodiment, the communication unit 11 is used for wireless communication radio waves.

[0016] The output unit 12 includes one or more output devices that output information. These output devices are, for example, a display that outputs information as images, or a speaker that outputs information as sound, but are not limited to these. Alternatively, the output unit 12 may include an interface for connecting an external output device.

[0017] The sensor unit 13 includes any sensors for acquiring driving information, such as a steering angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a position sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor unit 13 may also include, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver or a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.

[0018] The storage unit 14 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, or optical memories, but are not limited to these. Each memory included in the storage unit 14 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 14 stores any information used for the operation of the vehicle 10. In addition, the storage unit 14 may store, for example, system programs, application programs, and embedded software. For example, the information stored in the storage unit 14 may be updatable with information obtained from a network via, for example, the communication unit 11. The storage unit 14 also stores map information including information on a first area where the use of radio communication signals in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second area where radio communication signals are prohibited.

[0019] The control unit 15 includes at least one processor, a programmable circuit such as at least one FPGA (field-programmable gate array), a dedicated circuit such as at least one ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a GPU (graphics processing unit) or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The control unit 15 executes processing related to the operation of the vehicle 10 while controlling each part of the vehicle 10.

[0020] (Vehicle operation flow) Referring to FIG. 2, the operation of the vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0021] S100: The control unit 15 of the vehicle 10 determines whether to permit the use of wireless communication radio waves of the vehicle 10 based on map information including information on a first area where the use of wireless communication radio waves in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second area where wireless communication radio waves are prohibited, and position information indicating the position of the vehicle 10.

[0022] Specifically, the control unit 15 acquires the map information stored in the storage unit 14. Next, the control unit 15 uses the sensor unit 13 to acquire position information indicating the position of the vehicle 10 at a predetermined interval or in real time. Then, the control unit 15 determines whether to permit the use of wireless communication radio waves of the vehicle 10 based on whether the position of the vehicle 10 specified from the position information has moved from the first area to the second area or from the second area to the first area. When the position of the vehicle 10 has moved from the second area to the first area, the process proceeds to S101. When the position of the vehicle 10 has moved from the first area to the second area, the process proceeds to S102.

[0023] If location information cannot be obtained, the control unit 15 may determine whether or not to permit the use of the vehicle 10's radio communication signals based on the current situation. For example, if the use of the vehicle 10's radio communication signals was permitted, the control unit 15 may continue to permit the use of the vehicle 10's radio communication signals. If the use of the vehicle 10's radio communication signals was prohibited, the control unit 15 may continue to prohibit the use of the vehicle 10's radio communication signals.

[0024] S101: When the position of vehicle 10 moves from the second area to the first area, the control unit 15 permits the use of radio communication signals by vehicle 10.

[0025] Specifically, if it is determined in S100 that the process should proceed to S101, the control unit 15 activates the communication unit 11 to permit the use of the vehicle 10's wireless communication radio waves.

[0026] S102: When the position of the vehicle 10 moves from the first region to the second region, the control unit 15 determines whether the elapsed time or distance moved since the last time the vehicle 10 moved from the second region to the first region is less than a predetermined time or distance.

[0027] Specifically, if it is determined in S100 that the process proceeds to S102, the control unit 15 obtains the elapsed time or distance traveled since the vehicle 10 last moved from the second area to the first area. Next, the control unit 15 determines whether the elapsed time is less than a predetermined time or whether the distance traveled is less than a predetermined distance. If the elapsed time is less than a predetermined time or the distance traveled is less than a predetermined distance, the process proceeds to S103. If the elapsed time is equal to or greater than the predetermined time or the distance traveled is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to S104.

[0028] The control unit 15 may, for example, activate a timer when the system moves to the first area and measure the time until it moves to the second area to obtain the elapsed time. The control unit 15 may also store the position when the system moves to the first area in the storage unit 14 and calculate the distance between that position and the position when the system moves to the second area to obtain the distance traveled. The control unit 15 is not limited to these methods and may obtain the elapsed time or distance traveled by any method.

[0029] The "predetermined time" is any time period during which a misjudgment is possible because the time between the vehicle 10 moving from the second area to the first area and then moving back to the second area is short. The predetermined time may be changeable. Furthermore, the predetermined time may vary depending on the location.

[0030] The "predetermined distance" is an arbitrary distance at which misjudgment is considered possible due to the short time between the vehicle 10 moving from the second area to the first area and then moving back to the second area. The predetermined distance may be changeable. Furthermore, the predetermined distance may vary depending on the location.

[0031] S103: If the time or distance is less than the predetermined time or distance, the control unit 15 permits the use of radio waves from the vehicle 10.

[0032] Specifically, if it is determined in S102 that the process should proceed to S104, the control unit 15 activates the communication unit 11 to allow the vehicle 10 to use its radio communication signals. This is because the determination that the vehicle had moved to the second area may have been incorrect.

[0033] S104: If the specified time or distance exceeds a specified time, the control unit 15 permits the use of radio waves from the vehicle 10.

[0034] Specifically, if it is determined in S102 that the process should proceed to S104, the control unit 15 disables the communication unit 11, thereby prohibiting the use of radio communication signals by the vehicle 10. This is because it is considered correct that the vehicle has moved to the second area.

[0035] While this disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions, etc., included in each component or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one or divided into two.

[0036] For example, in the embodiment described above, it is also possible to have an embodiment in which the configuration and operation of the vehicle 10 are distributed among multiple computers that can communicate with each other. For example, the vehicle 10 may be composed of multiple in-vehicle devices.

[0037] Furthermore, for example, in the embodiment described above, the control unit 15 may output on the display screen of the output unit 12 whether or not the vehicle 10 is permitted to use radio communication signals.

[0038] Specifically, in each of S101, S103, and S104, the control unit 15 permits or prohibits the use of radio communication signals from the vehicle 10 and displays the status on the display screen. The status may be displayed by indicating the status with characters or the like on the screen, displaying an icon indicating the communication status, etc., but may be displayed in any manner not limited to these.

[0039] Furthermore, it is also possible to implement an embodiment in which a general-purpose computer functions as the vehicle 10 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content that realizes each function of the vehicle 10 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the processor reads and executes the program. Therefore, this disclosure can also be implemented as a program that can be executed by a processor, or as a non-temporary computer-readable medium that stores said program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10 Information processing unit, 11 Communication unit, 12 Output unit, 13 Sensor unit, 14 Storage unit, 15 Control unit

Claims

[Claim 1] The method by which a vehicle operates, Based on map information including information on a first area where the use of radio communication signals in a predetermined frequency band is permitted and a second area where the use of such radio communication signals is prohibited, and location information indicating the location of the vehicle, a determination is made as to whether or not to permit the use of the radio communication signals by the vehicle. When the aforementioned position moves from the second region to the first region, the use of the radio communication signals by the vehicle is permitted. When the position moves from the first region to the second region, it is determined whether the elapsed time or distance traveled since the vehicle last moved from the second region to the first region is less than a predetermined time or distance. If the time or distance is less than the predetermined time or distance, the use of the radio communication signals by the vehicle is permitted. The use of radio communication signals by the vehicle is prohibited if the vehicle exceeds the specified time or distance. Methods that include...

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