Manual control device that can be wirelessly connected to the vehicle.

Abstract

To improve the technology for controlling vehicle operation. [Solution] A manual operating device 20 that can be wirelessly connected to a vehicle 10 is provided, and a control unit 200 that performs calibration of the operating device 20 when the operating device 20 is wirelessly connected to the vehicle 10 is performed, and in the calibration, the control unit 200 performs a first determination process that determines whether the user of the operating device 20 is performing an in-vehicle operation to operate the vehicle 10 from inside the vehicle 10 or an external operation to operate the vehicle 10 from outside the vehicle 10, based on the location information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a manual operating device that can be wirelessly connected to a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, technologies for controlling vehicle operations are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to an operating device for an autonomous driving vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] With the advancement of the wire - by - wire implementation of the travel control device for mobility, a wireless controller for a vehicle has been realized. The wireless controller has increased the degree of freedom of the user's position, but has also created a need to operate the vehicle as intended in various locations. In view of such circumstances, the object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology for controlling vehicle operations.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A manual operating device that can be wirelessly connected to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control unit that performs calibration of the operating device when the operating device is wirelessly connected to the vehicle. In the calibration, the control unit performs a first determination process of determining whether the user of the operating device is performing an in - vehicle operation of operating the vehicle from inside the vehicle or an out - of - vehicle operation of operating the vehicle from outside the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle and the operating device.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology for controlling the operation of a vehicle is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows a schematic configuration of a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of an operating device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] (Summary of this embodiment) Referring to Figure 1, an overview of System 1 according to one embodiment of this disclosure will be described. System 1 comprises a vehicle 10 and an operating device 20 for the vehicle 10. The operating device 20 can communicate with the vehicle 10 via a network 30. The vehicle 10 includes any vehicle 10 such as an automobile. The vehicle 10 may include automobiles such as gasoline automobiles, electric vehicles (BEV; Battery Electric Vehicle), hybrid automobiles (HEV; Hybrid Electric Vehicle), plug-in hybrid automobiles (PHEV; Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or fuel cell automobiles (FCEV; Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The vehicle 10 may include an autonomous driving vehicle capable of autonomous driving with a level of 1 to 5 as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), or a manually driven vehicle capable of manual driving with a level of 0. The operating device 20 is an electronic device that can be wirelessly connected to the vehicle 10. The operating device 20 is a manual operating device that enables manual driving of the vehicle 10 by the user and is portable by the user. The operating device 20 may be detachable from specific equipment or facilities. The user can operate the vehicle 10 via the operating device 20 while facing any direction, both inside and outside the vehicle. Outside the vehicle, the user can operate the vehicle 10 from near the vehicle 10 or from a location far away from the vehicle 10, such as an office. The user may operate the vehicle 10 while holding the operating device 20, or by temporarily installing the operating device 20 in a designated facility. The network 30 includes a network such as the Internet.

[0009] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the manually operated device 20, which can be wirelessly connected to the vehicle 10, includes a control unit 200 that performs calibration of the operating device 20 when the operating device 20 is wirelessly connected to the vehicle 10. During calibration, the control unit 200 performs a first determination process that determines, based on the location information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20, whether the user of the operating device 20 is performing an in-vehicle operation, operating the vehicle from inside the vehicle, or an external operation, operating the vehicle from outside the vehicle. The operating device in this embodiment determines the location from which the user is operating the vehicle. This makes it possible to set the vehicle operation according to the user's location.

[0010] (Vehicle configuration 10) As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle 10 comprises a control unit 100, a positioning unit 101, an attitude detection unit 102, a communication unit 103, and an output unit 104. The control unit 100 includes at least one processor. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The control unit 100 controls each part of the vehicle 10 and executes processing related to the operation of the vehicle 10. The positioning unit 101 includes a sensor for measuring the position of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the positioning unit 101 includes a receiver compatible with a satellite positioning system, such as GPS (Global Positioning System). The attitude detection unit 102 includes a sensor for detecting the attitude of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the sensor includes a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the orientation of the vehicle 10. The sensor may include a yaw rate sensor and an acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor is mounted on the vehicle 10 such that a positive acceleration is detected when the vehicle 10 accelerates in the forward direction, and a negative acceleration is detected when it accelerates in the backward direction. The yaw rate sensor is mounted on the vehicle 10 so as to detect a positive yaw rate when the vehicle 10 turns to the right and a negative yaw rate when it turns to the left. The sensor may include a 3-axis gyro sensor and a 3-axis accelerometer. The communication unit 103 includes one or more communication interfaces that connect to the network 30. The communication interface is compatible with, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 5G (5th generation), or a wired LAN or wireless LAN communication standard. The output unit 104 includes one or more output interfaces capable of outputting information. The output interface is, for example, a display or speaker located on the outside of the vehicle 10.

[0011] (Configuration of the operating device 20) As shown in Figure 1, the operating device 20 comprises a control unit 200, a positioning unit 201, an attitude detection unit 202, a communication unit 203, an output unit 204, and a storage unit 205. The control unit 200 includes at least one processor. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The control unit 200 controls each part of the operating device 20 and executes processing related to the operation of the operating device 20. The positioning unit 201 includes a sensor for measuring the position of the operating device 20. In this embodiment, the positioning unit 201 includes a receiver corresponding to a satellite positioning system, such as GPS. The attitude detection unit 202 includes a sensor for detecting the attitude of the operating device 20. In this embodiment, the sensor includes a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the orientation of the attitude detection unit 202. The sensor may also include a yaw rate sensor and an acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor is configured to detect positive acceleration when the operating device 20 accelerates in the forward direction and negative acceleration when it accelerates in the backward direction. The yaw rate sensor is configured to detect a positive yaw rate when the operating device 20 rotates to the right and a negative yaw rate when it rotates to the left. The sensor may include a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer. The communication unit 203 includes at least one communication interface connected to the network 30. The communication interface may correspond to, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 4G or 5G, or a wired LAN communication standard or a wireless LAN communication standard. The output unit 204 includes at least one output interface. The output interface may be, for example, a display for outputting information as video, or a speaker for outputting information as audio. The output unit 14 outputs data obtained by the operation of the information processing device 100. The storage unit 205 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 205 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 205 stores the forward direction of the operating device 20. The storage unit 205 may store, for example, a system program, an application program, and embedded software. The front orientation of the operating device 20, stored in the memory unit 205, may be updated based on information obtained from the network 30 via the communication unit 203.

[0012] (Operation flow of the control device 20) Referring to Figure 2, the calibration flow of the operating device 20 performed when the operating device 20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is wirelessly connected to the vehicle 10 will be described below. In the following, communication between the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 is performed via the communication units 103, 203 and the network 30.

[0013] S101: The control unit 200 of the operating device 20 acquires location information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20. The control unit 200 receives location information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 from the positioning units 101 and 201. The location information includes, for example, latitude and longitude.

[0014] S102: The control unit 200 performs a first determination process to determine whether the user is performing an in-vehicle operation (operating the vehicle 10 from inside the vehicle) or an external operation (operating the vehicle 10 from outside the vehicle) based on the position information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20. If the user is performing an in-vehicle operation (S102-YES), the process proceeds to S103. If the user is performing an external operation (S102-NO), the process proceeds to S106.

[0015] Table 1 below shows examples of the position and orientation of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 according to the operating mode of the vehicle 10. The positions of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 are the same when operating from inside the vehicle, but different when operating from outside the vehicle. The control unit 200 can perform the first determination process by determining whether the positions of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 are the same. When the positions of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 are the same, this includes cases where the difference in the positions of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 is less than a threshold, for example, 1 m.

[0016] [Table 1]

[0017] Even in a place where location information cannot be used, for example, a place where radio waves from satellites do not reach, the control unit 200 can perform the first determination process based on the attitude information. The attitude includes azimuth, yaw rate, or acceleration. As shown in Table 1, the azimuth, yaw rate, and acceleration of the operating device 20 change due to the turning or acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 10 during in-vehicle operation, but do not change during out-of-vehicle operation except when the operating device 20 moves or turns (for example, when the user moves or turns while holding the operating device 20). Therefore, the control unit 200 can perform the first determination process based on whether there is a change in the azimuth, yaw rate, or acceleration of the operating device 20 when the vehicle 10 is turned or accelerated / decelerated without moving the operating device 20.

[0018] S103: The control unit 200 acquires the attitude information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20. For example, the control unit 200 receives the attitude information of the vehicle 10 from the attitude detection unit 102.

[0019] S104: The control unit 200 determines whether the front direction of the vehicle 10 is the same as or opposite to the front direction of the operating device 20 based on the attitude information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20. If these directions are the same, the process ends; if they are opposite, the process proceeds to S105.

[0020] During in-vehicle operation, the user shall grip the operating device 20 so that the user's forward direction coincides with the operating device 20's forward direction. In Table 1, the same state refers to the state in which the user's (operating device 20's) forward direction and the vehicle 10's forward direction are the same, and the opposite state refers to the state in which these forward directions are opposite. The control unit 200 determines whether the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 have the same or opposite forward directions based on their orientations. Normally, a user drives a vehicle facing the vehicle's forward direction. However, some vehicles have external and internal designs that make it difficult to determine the forward direction. Furthermore, the forward direction of autonomous vehicles without a driver's seat and autonomous vehicles with four-wheel steering is difficult to determine from the vehicle's operating method. In such a vehicle, if a user drives the vehicle via the operating device 20 while facing the rear of the vehicle (i.e., the opposite state), when the user attempts to move the vehicle forward, the vehicle will move in its forward direction (i.e., the user's rear direction), potentially colliding with a person or building behind it. The operating device 20 according to this embodiment can address such problems by determining, based on attitude information, whether the front direction of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 (user) are the same or opposite. Acceleration of the vehicle 10 or the operating device 20 in the same state means acceleration in the forward direction. Acceleration of the vehicle 10 or the operating device 20 in the opposite state means acceleration in the rear direction. When the user operates the acceleration button on the operating device 20, the vehicle 10 accelerates in the forward direction in the same state, and accelerates in the rear direction in the opposite state.

[0021] As shown in Table 1, the sign of the yaw rate of the vehicle 10 matches the sign of the yaw rate of the operating device 20, whether in the same state or the reverse state. The acceleration in Table 1 indicates the acceleration of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 when the vehicle 10 is accelerating or decelerating. In the same state, the accelerations of both the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 are positive values during acceleration of the vehicle 10 and negative values during deceleration. In the reverse state, the acceleration of the vehicle 10 is positive during acceleration and negative during deceleration. However, the acceleration of the operating device 20 is negative during acceleration and positive during deceleration. That is, in the reverse state, when the vehicle 10 accelerates in the forward direction of the vehicle 10, the operating device 20 accelerates in the backward direction of the operating device 20. Therefore, the control unit 200 can also determine whether the forward directions of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 are the same or opposite based on the accelerations of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 during acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 10.

[0022] S105: The control unit 200 adjusts the forward direction of the operating device 20 so that the forward direction of the vehicle 10 and the forward direction of the operating device 20 are the same. The control unit 200 updates the forward direction of the operating device 20 stored in the storage unit 205 and resets the forward direction of the operating device 20.

[0023] S106: The control unit 200 performs a second determination process of determining whether the user is performing a nearby operation of operating the vehicle 10 within a predetermined range from the vehicle 10 or a remote operation of operating the vehicle 10 from outside the predetermined range based on the attitude information of the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20. If the user is performing a nearby operation (S106 - YES), the process proceeds to S107. If the user is performing a remote operation (S106 - NO), the process proceeds to S109.

[0024] During remote operation, the operating device 20 is assumed to be fixed to equipment such as an office. As shown in Table 1, the yaw rate and acceleration of the operating device 20 do not change during remote operation, but they change during near-field operation, especially when the operating device 20 is moved (for example, when the user moves the operating device 20). The predetermined range is, for example, 50m from the vehicle 10. Even if location information is unavailable, for example, if the operating device 20 is located in a place where radio waves from satellites cannot reach, the operating device 20 can perform the second decision processing based on attitude information.

[0025] S107: The control unit 200 determines whether the distance between the vehicle 10 and the operating device 20 is less than a predetermined value. If the distance is less than the predetermined value (S107-YES), the process proceeds to S108. If the distance is greater than or equal to the predetermined value (S107-NO), the process terminates.

[0026] S108: The control unit 200 stops the vehicle 10. The control unit 200 may, for safety reasons, set a limit on the speed of the vehicle 10. The control unit 200 may warn the user that the vehicle 10 is approaching via the output unit 204 of the operating device 20. For example, the control unit 200 may display text such as "Vehicle approaching" on the display of the operating device 20. In addition or alternatively, the control unit 200 may output audio such as "Vehicle approaching" to the speaker of the operating device 20.

[0027] S109: The control unit 200 causes the vehicle 10's output unit 104 to output warning information indicating that the vehicle 10 is being remotely controlled. For example, the control unit 200 may display text such as "Remote control in progress" or a screenshot of the user's operation on the vehicle 10's display. Alternatively, the control unit 200 may output audio such as "Remote control in progress. Please be careful." to the vehicle 10's speaker.

[0028] This disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, but 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, etc., can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps, etc., can be combined into one or separated. For example, in the embodiment described above, an embodiment is also possible in which the configuration and operation of the operating device 20 are distributed among multiple computers that can communicate with each other. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 1 System, 10 Vehicle, 100 Control Unit, 101 Positioning Unit, 102 Attitude Detection Unit, 103 Communication Unit, 104 Output Unit, 20 Operating Device, 200 Control Unit, 201 Positioning Unit, 202 Attitude Detection Unit, 203 Communication Unit, 204 Output Unit, 205 Storage Unit, 30 Network

Claims

1. A manually operated device that can be wirelessly connected to a vehicle, comprising a control unit that performs calibration of the operating device when the operating device is wirelessly connected to the vehicle, In the calibration described above, the control unit, An operating device that performs a first determination process to determine whether the user of the operating device is performing an in-vehicle operation to operate the vehicle from inside the vehicle, or an external operation to operate the vehicle from outside the vehicle, based on the location information of the vehicle and the operating device.

2. The operating device according to claim 1, In the calibration described above, the control unit, If the first determination process determines that the user is performing the in-vehicle operation, then, based on the posture information of the vehicle and the operating device, it is determined whether the front direction of the vehicle and the front direction of the operating device are the same or inversely, An operating device that, if the front direction of the vehicle and the front direction of the operating device are not the same, adjusts the front direction of the operating device so that the front direction of the vehicle and the front direction of the operating device are the same.

3. The operating device according to claim 1, wherein in the calibration, the control unit, If the first determination process determines that the user is performing the operation from outside the vehicle, the operating device performs a second determination process based on the attitude information of the vehicle and the operating device to determine whether the user is performing a proximity operation by operating the vehicle within a predetermined range from the vehicle, or a remote operation by operating the vehicle from outside the predetermined range from the vehicle.

4. The operating device according to claim 3, wherein in the calibration, the control unit, If the second determination process determines that the user is performing the proximity operation, the operating device stops the vehicle when the distance between the vehicle and the operating device falls below a certain value.

5. The operating device according to claim 3, wherein in the calibration, the control unit, An operating device that, if the second determination process determines that the user is performing the remote operation, causes the vehicle's output unit to output warning information indicating that the vehicle is being remotely operated.

Images