vehicle-mounted device

Abstract

Ensure smooth network connectivity. [Solution] The in-vehicle device is an in-vehicle device having a communication unit that can connect to either a main line or a secondary line of mobile communication, and a control unit that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line, wherein when the conditions for disconnecting communication via the main line for providing services to the user are met, the control unit executes a switching process that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line even if no failure has occurred in the main line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system and a method of operating the system.

Background Art

[0002] In a communication device connected to a network, a redundant configuration such as switching to a backup secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line normally used is adopted. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication system including a module for checking the connectivity of the main line and the secondary line.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and communicating by mobile communication, due to restrictions on circuit scale and cost, it is difficult to provide a module that can be simultaneously connected to a plurality of lines, and it is impossible to check the connectivity of the secondary line while using the main line. Therefore, it is required to solve such inconveniences.

[0005] Hereinafter, an in-vehicle device or the like capable of smoothly checking the connectivity of a line will be disclosed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The in-vehicle device in this disclosure is an in-vehicle device having a communication unit that can connect to either a main line or a secondary line of mobile communication, and a control unit that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line, wherein the control unit executes a switching process that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line when conditions are met that allow the communication via the main line for providing services to the user to be disconnected, even if no failure has occurred in the main line. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The in-vehicle devices described in this disclosure enable smooth confirmation of communication between lines. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle device. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of an in-vehicle device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle device in one embodiment. The in-vehicle device 10 is mounted on a vehicle 19 and has a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, a positioning unit 14, an input unit 15, and an output unit 16. The in-vehicle device 10 is a computer having communication and information processing functions, and controls the operation of the vehicle 19. The vehicle 19 is a passenger car, commercial vehicle, etc., in which some or all of the driving operations are performed manually, and is an internal combustion engine vehicle, a hybrid vehicle (HEV; Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV; Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), etc. The in-vehicle device 10 is configured to be able to connect wirelessly to a mobile communication base station 17 or 18 via the communication unit 11. The base stations 17 and 18 are base stations of mobile communication lines operated by different mobile communication carriers. The in-vehicle device 10 is connected to a network 100 via the base station 17 or 18. Network 100 includes, for example, the Internet, an ad-hoc network, a LAN (Local Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), or other networks, or any combination thereof.

[0011] The in-vehicle device 10, for example, uses a mobile communication line connected by a base station 17 as the primary line and a mobile communication line connected by a base station 18 as the secondary line, to communicate various information via the network 100, normally using the primary line, and when the primary line fails, using the secondary line, to provide information services to the user of the vehicle 19. The information services include traffic information provision, emergency call notification, remote control, theft tracking, etc. The primary and secondary lines are arbitrarily set, for example, based on pricing according to the contract type. For example, the primary line is intended to be constantly connected and used for relatively large amounts of data communication, and is compatible with contract types such as relatively inexpensive flat-rate plans per unit amount of data. The secondary line is intended to be temporarily connected when the primary line fails and used for relatively small amounts of data communication, and is compatible with contract types such as relatively expensive pay-as-you-go plans per unit amount of data.

[0012] In this embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 includes a communication unit 11 that can connect to either the main line or the secondary line of mobile communication, and a control unit 13 that causes the communication unit 11 to switch to the secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line. When the conditions for disconnecting communication via the main line for providing services to the user (hereinafter referred to as the disconnection conditions) are met, the control unit 13 executes a switching process that causes the communication unit 11 to switch to the secondary line even if there is no failure in the main line. The disconnection conditions are conditions that are met when the probability of the user using the information service is low to a certain extent, and include, for example, one or more of the following: it is a predetermined time such as late at night, a predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle 19 on which the in-vehicle device 10 is installed stopped and it is presumed that the user has left the vehicle 19, or it is possible to connect to the network 100 via a nearby access point using a short-range wireless module such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The control unit 13 then executes the switching process and determines whether or not there is a failure in the secondary line. In this way, it is possible to check the communication status of the secondary line while minimizing the risk of impairing user convenience even if the information service to the user is interrupted. In other words, it becomes possible to smoothly confirm the connectivity of the network. By doing so, it becomes possible to more reliably ensure the continuity of providing information services to users by switching to the backup network in the event of a failure in the main network.

[0013] The communication unit 11, storage unit 12, control unit 13, positioning unit 14, input unit 15, and output unit 16 of the in-vehicle device 10 may be configured as a single control unit, or as two or more control units, or as a control unit and other devices such as a communication device. The control unit includes, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The communication device includes, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module). Each unit is connected to each other or to other equipment of the vehicle 19 via an in-vehicle network compliant with standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network) to enable information communication.

[0014] The communication unit 11 includes modules compatible with mobile communication standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation), short-range wireless communication modules such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and modules compatible with in-vehicle LANs such as CAN. The in-vehicle device 10 is configured by the communication unit 11 to be selectively connectable to base stations 17 or 18, and connects to the network 100 using mobile communication lines corresponding to each base station. The in-vehicle device 10 also communicates information with various parts of the vehicle 19 via the in-vehicle LAN. Furthermore, if there is an access point nearby that can be connected via short-range wireless communication, the in-vehicle device 10 can connect to the network 100 by connecting to the access point.

[0015] The storage unit 12 includes one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of these. Semiconductor memories are, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). RAM is, for example, SRAM (Static RAM) or DRAM (Dynamic RAM). ROM is, for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The storage unit 12 functions, for example, as a main memory, auxiliary memory, or cache memory. The storage unit 12 stores information used in the operation of the control unit 13 and information obtained through the operation of the control unit 13.

[0016] The control unit 13 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processors are general-purpose processors such as CPUs (Central Processing Units) or dedicated processors such as GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) specialized for specific processing. Dedicated circuits include, for example, FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) and ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). The control unit 13 controls each part of the in-vehicle device 10 and performs information processing related to the operation of the in-vehicle device 10.

[0017] The functions of the control unit 13 are realized by executing a control / processing program on the processor included in the control unit 13. The control / processing program is a program that causes the computer to execute the processing steps included in the operation of the control unit 13, thereby realizing the functions corresponding to the processing of those steps. In other words, the control / processing program is a program that causes the computer to function as the control unit 13. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the control unit 13 may be realized by dedicated circuits included in the control unit 13.

[0018] The positioning unit 14 includes one or more GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers. GNSS includes, for example, at least one of GPS (Global Positioning System), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), BeiDou, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Galileo. The positioning unit 14 sends the positioning result to the control unit 13, which then obtains the location information of the in-vehicle device 10.

[0019] The input unit 15 includes one or more input interfaces. The input interfaces are, for example, a microphone that accepts voice input, physical keys, capacitive keys, a pointing device, a touch screen provided integrally with a display, and the like. The input unit 15 receives an operation for inputting information used for the operation of the control unit 13, and sends the input information to the control unit 13.

[0020] The output unit 16 includes one or more output interfaces. The output interfaces are, for example, a speaker or a display. The display is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 16 outputs information obtained by the operation of the control unit 13. For example, the speaker of the output unit 16 outputs voice for a warning to the driver based on the information output by the control unit 13.

[0021] Figure 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the in-vehicle device 10 in the present embodiment. Each step in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) is a step of information processing executed by the control unit 13.

[0022] The procedure in Figure 2(A) is the procedure for switching to the secondary line in the event of a failure in the main line. The procedure in Figure 2(A) is executed at any time while the in-vehicle device 10 is in operation. First, the control unit 13 determines the status of the main line using the communication unit 11 (step S200). The control unit 13 determines whether there is a failure based on whether the signal strength, signal quality, etc., in the communication with the base station 17 by the communication unit 11 meet the criteria. Then, if there is no failure in the main line (Yes in step S201), the control unit 13 determines the status of the secondary line (step S202) and terminates the procedure in Figure 2(A). On the other hand, if there is a failure in the main line (No in step S201), the control unit 13 determines whether there is a failure in the secondary line by referring to the result of the secondary line status determination in the previous processing cycle (step S203). If there is no failure in the secondary line (Yes in step S203), the control unit 13 instructs the communication unit 11 to switch from the main line to the secondary line (step S212). On the other hand, if a failure occurs in the secondary line (No. in step S203), the control unit 13 outputs a notification indicating that failures have occurred in both the main line and the secondary line (step S205), and terminates the procedure in Figure 2(A). Such a notification is output by the output unit 16 either as text or as sound. This allows the user to recognize that the in-vehicle device 10 is experiencing failures in both the main line and the secondary line at least at its current location and is unable to access information services, enabling them to consider taking action such as moving to another location or inspecting the equipment.

[0023] The procedure of Fig. 2(B) is the detailed procedure of step S202. First, the control unit 13 acquires, for example, the schedule information of the user (step S210). For example, the control unit 13 acquires the schedule information via the network 100 from a server where the schedule information of the user is registered. Next, the control unit 13 determines whether the disconnectable condition is satisfied (step S211). The control unit 13 determines that the disconnectable condition is satisfied, for example, when it is a predetermined time zone such as late at night. Such a predetermined time zone is set in advance by an operation of the user on the input unit 15. Also, the control unit 13 determines that the disconnectable condition is satisfied when a predetermined time has elapsed after the vehicle 19 has stopped. When the control unit 13 detects that the vehicle 19 has been parked based on the states of the engine, brake, gear, etc. of the vehicle 19, it measures the time from that point and determines whether the elapsed time has reached an arbitrary criterion. In this case, the in-vehicle device 10 operates by power supply from the battery for a certain time after the engine is stopped. Also, the control unit 13 determines that the disconnectable condition is satisfied when the communication unit 11 can be connected to the network 100 via an access point such as nearby Wi-fi. And when the disconnectable condition is satisfied (Yes in step S211), if the disconnectable condition is satisfied by a condition based on short-range wireless communication, the control unit 13 connects to a nearby access point by short-range wireless communication (step S212). If the disconnectable condition is satisfied by a condition other than short-range wireless connection, step S212 may be omitted. Then, the control unit 13 causes the communication unit 11 to be switched to the secondary line (step S213). On the other hand, when the disconnectable condition is not satisfied (No in step S211), the control unit 13 switches the connection of the communication unit 11 to the primary line (step S217) and ends the procedure of Fig. 2(B).

[0024] Next, the control unit 13 determines the status of the secondary line using the communication unit 11 (step S214). The control unit 13 determines whether there is a fault based on whether the signal strength, signal quality, etc., in the communication with the base station 18 by the communication unit 11 meet the criteria. The determination result is stored in the storage unit 12. If there is no fault in the secondary line (Yes in step S215), the control unit 13 switches the connection of the communication unit 11 to the main line (step S217) and terminates the procedure in Figure 2(B). On the other hand, if there is a fault in the secondary line (No in step S215), the control unit 13 outputs a notification indicating the occurrence of a fault in the secondary line (step S216). This notification is output by the output unit 16 either as text or as sound. This allows the user to recognize that they will not be able to enjoy information services even if the in-vehicle device 10 switches from the main line to the secondary line, at least at their current location, and to consider taking action such as moving to another location or inspecting the equipment. Then, the control unit 13 switches the connection of the communication unit 11 to the main line (step S217), and the procedure in Figure 2(B) is completed.

[0025] Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to check the communication status of the secondary line while minimizing the risk of impairing user convenience even if information services to the user are interrupted. In other words, it becomes possible to smoothly confirm the connectivity of the line.

[0026] As described above, embodiments have been explained based on various drawings and examples, but it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to 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 means, each step, etc., can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple means, steps, etc., can be combined into one or divided. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0027] 10 Vehicle equipment, 11 Communication unit, 12 Storage unit, 13 Control unit, 14 Positioning unit, 15 Input unit, 16 Output unit, 19 Vehicle, 100 Network

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device having a communication unit that can connect to either a main line or a secondary line of mobile communication, and a control unit that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line, The control unit, when an access point that can be connected via short-range wireless is nearby, executes a switching process to cause the communication unit to switch to the secondary line, even if there is no failure in the main line. In-vehicle device.

2. An in-vehicle device having a communication unit that can connect to either a main line or a secondary line of mobile communication, and a control unit that causes the communication unit to switch to the secondary line when a failure occurs in the main line, When the conditions for disconnecting communication via the main line for providing services to the user are met, the control unit executes a switching process to cause the communication unit to switch to the secondary line, even if there is no failure in the main line. In-vehicle device.

3. In claim 2, The control unit executes the switching process and determines whether or not there is a fault in the sub-line. In-vehicle device.

4. In claim 2, The aforementioned conditions are one or more of the following: it is within a predetermined time period; a predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle on which the in-vehicle device is installed stopped; and it is possible to connect to a public communication network via a short-range wireless module. In-vehicle device.

5. In claim 4, The predetermined time is based on the schedule information of the user of the vehicle on which the in-vehicle device is installed, or is set by the user. In-vehicle device.

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