Vehicle-mounted devices

Abstract

To improve the vehicle's wireless communication patterns. [Solution] The in-vehicle device 10 includes a communication unit 11 capable of wireless communication via cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and a control unit 15 that enables or disables cellular communication by the communication unit 11 according to information obtained from a server. When cellular communication is disabled, the control unit 15 obtains first information for enabling cellular communication from the server via vehicle-to-vehicle communication through another vehicle 1B, and enables cellular communication.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle device. [Background Art]

[0002] Technologies relating to wireless communication for vehicles are known. For example, it has been disclosed that, in a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle, data packets are transmitted using a channel selected from among a plurality of available channels. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-193255 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] There is room for improvement in the wireless communication pattern of vehicles.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the wireless communication pattern of a vehicle. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] An in-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, and includes: a communication unit capable of performing wireless communication via cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication; and a control unit that enables or disables the cellular communication by the communication unit in accordance with information acquired from a server. When the cellular communication is disabled, the control unit acquires first information for enabling the cellular communication from the server via another vehicle by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and enables the cellular communication. [Advantageous Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the wireless communication pattern of a vehicle. [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 normal operation of an in-vehicle device. [Figure 3] 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) Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a vehicle system according to one embodiment. The vehicle system 100 has a plurality of in-vehicle devices 10 and one or more server devices 2 that are connected to each other via a network 20 so as to be able to communicate information. Each in-vehicle device 10 is mounted on a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is any vehicle, such as an automobile or a motorcycle. The in-vehicle device 10 is an information processing device equipped with communication functions and is composed of, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module), a car navigation system, a drive recorder, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), etc. Hereinafter, when distinguishing between the plurality of in-vehicle devices 10, they will be referred to as in-vehicle devices 10A, 10B, etc., and when distinguishing between the plurality of vehicles 1, they will be referred to as vehicles 1A, 1B, etc. The network 20 is vehicle-to-vehicle communication using a wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network) such as cellular communication or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The server device 2 is, for example, a server computer belonging to a cloud computing system or other computing system that implements various functions. In addition, a plurality of terminal devices 3 used by the user of the vehicle 1 are connected to the network 20 so as to be able to communicate information. Terminal device 3 is, for example, an information processing device equipped with communication functions, such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smartphone.

[0011] The in-vehicle device 10 in this embodiment includes a communication unit 11 capable of wireless communication via cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and a control unit 15 that enables or disables cellular communication by the communication unit 11 according to information obtained from a server. When cellular communication is disabled, the control unit 15 obtains first information for enabling cellular communication (hereinafter referred to as cellular communication activation information) from the server via vehicle-to-vehicle communication through another vehicle 1B, and enables cellular communication. For example, suppose that the wireless communication contract for vehicle 1 stipulates a free period of three years from the time of contract during which the customer does not need to bear the cost of cellular communication. In this case, if the owner of vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as the user) does not renew the wireless communication contract by the end of the free period, it is conceivable that the cellular communication of vehicle 1 will be disabled. However, if the cellular communication of vehicle 1 is disabled, the challenge becomes how to transmit the cellular communication activation information for vehicle 1 to vehicle 1 when the user renews the wireless communication contract. In such cases, according to this embodiment, even when cellular communication is disabled, the in-vehicle device 10 can obtain cellular communication activation information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication and activate cellular communication, thereby improving the vehicle's wireless communication pattern.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the in-vehicle device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 15, an output unit 12, an input unit 13, and a storage unit 14. Hereinafter, the parts provided in the in-vehicle device 10A will be referred to as the communication unit 11A, output unit 12A, input unit 13A, storage unit 14A, and control unit 15A, and the parts provided in the in-vehicle device 10B will be referred to as the communication unit 11B, output unit 12B, input unit 13B, storage unit 14B, and control unit 15B.

[0013] The communication unit 11 includes two or more communication interfaces that enable cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication, etc. The communication interfaces include, for example, mobile communication standards used for cellular communication such as 4G (4th Generation) and 5G (5th Generation), and short-range wireless communication standards used for vehicle-to-vehicle communication such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The communication unit 11 communicates with the server device 2, the terminal device 4, and other nearby in-vehicle devices 10B via the network 20.

[0014] The output unit 12 includes one or more output devices that output information. The output devices include, for example, a display that outputs images and a speaker that outputs sound.

[0015] The input unit 13 includes one or more input devices for detecting user input operations. The input devices include, for example, physical keys, capacitive keys, touch panels, touchscreens integrated with the display of the output unit 12, microphones, and the like.

[0016] The storage unit 14 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memory, magnetic memory, or optical memory. 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 in-vehicle device 10. For example, the storage unit 14 stores a profile used by the control unit 15 when enabling or disabling cellular communication of the communication unit 11. The storage unit 14 may also 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 the network 20 via the communication unit 11.

[0017] The control unit 15 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit is an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), but is not limited to this. The dedicated circuit is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 15 controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 10.

[0018] Figure 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the procedure for the coordinated operation of the in-vehicle device 10 and the server device 2 when the cellular communication of the communication unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 10 is enabled. The procedure in Figure 2 is executed when the in-vehicle device 10 is started up after the vehicle 1 has been delivered to the user. Note that the procedure in Figure 2 assumes that the cellular communication of the communication unit 11 is enabled when the vehicle 1 is delivered to the user, but it also applies when the cellular communication of the communication unit 11 is disabled when the vehicle 1 is delivered to the user. Note that in this case, the embodiment described later must be implemented for the procedure in Figure 2 to be executed.

[0019] The control unit 15 of the in-vehicle device 10 initiates cellular communication with the server device 2 using the communication unit 11 (S100). Once cellular communication is initiated, the control unit 15 transmits data necessary for the server device 2, such as probe data from the vehicle 1, to the server device 2, and receives data necessary for the operation of the vehicle 1, such as OTA data, from the server device 2. The data transmitted and received between the in-vehicle device 10 and the server device 2 is not limited to data necessary for the vehicle 1 or the server device 2, but also includes data used for entertainment, such as music distribution. Data transmission and reception between the in-vehicle device 10 and the server device 2 is performed whenever necessary. When data transmission and reception with the in-vehicle device 10 occurs, the server device 2 obtains the user's cellular communication contract status information from its storage unit and determines whether or not to continue cellular communication with the in-vehicle device 10 (S101). Cellular communication contract status information is information indicating whether or not the user's cellular communication contract is valid. For example, if a user's cellular communication contract period has expired, the cellular communication contract status information includes information indicating that the user's cellular communication contract is invalid. If the cellular communication contract is valid, the server device 2 continues to send and receive data with the in-vehicle device 10 via cellular communication. On the other hand, if the cellular communication contract is invalid, the server device 2 creates information to disable cellular communication (hereinafter referred to as cellular communication disabling information), such as an activation-waiting profile in which cellular communication is disabled, and transmits it to the in-vehicle device 10 (S102). When the control unit 15 receives the cellular communication disabling information, it disables the cellular communication of the communication unit 11 by rewriting the profile stored in the storage unit 14 from a normal profile in which cellular communication is enabled to an activation-waiting profile (S103).

[0020] Figure 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the procedure for the coordinated operation of the in-vehicle device 10A, in-vehicle device 10B, server device 2, and terminal device 3 in this embodiment when the cellular communication of the communication unit 11A of the in-vehicle device 10A is disabled. When a user enters into a cellular communication contract for vehicle 1A using terminal device 3, terminal device 3 transmits information regarding the cellular communication contract (hereinafter referred to as cellular communication contract information) to server device 2 (S200). Upon receiving the cellular communication contract information, server device 2 updates the cellular communication contract in the user's cellular communication contract status information to be valid (S201). Note that a user can also enter into a cellular communication contract for vehicle 1A in writing, for example, at a store, without using the user's terminal device 3. In this case, a store employee transmits the cellular communication contract information to server device 2 using the store's terminal device 3. Next, when a user requests the use of cellular communication for vehicle 1A using the in-vehicle device 10A, the control unit 15A creates second information indicating the request to use cellular communication (hereinafter referred to as cellular communication usage permission information) (S202). The user's request to use cellular communication for vehicle 1A is made, for example, by the user performing a predetermined operation using the input unit 13A from a screen displayed on the output unit 12A's display using an application stored in the storage unit 14A. The control unit 15A monitors whether there is another vehicle 1B capable of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and when it detects another vehicle 1B, it communicates with the in-vehicle device 10B of the other vehicle 1B and sends the cellular communication usage permission information for vehicle 1A to the server device 2 (S203). When the control unit 15B of the in-vehicle device 10B receives the cellular communication usage permission information for vehicle 1A, it communicates with the server device 2 and sends the cellular communication usage permission information for vehicle 1A to the server device 2 (S204). When server device 2 receives cellular communication usage permission information for vehicle 1A, it obtains the user's cellular communication contract status information and determines whether or not to allow the in-vehicle device 10A to use cellular communication (S205). If the user's cellular communication contract is valid, server device 2 communicates with in-vehicle device 10B via cellular communication and transmits cellular communication activation information, including, for example, the normal profile of in-vehicle device 10A, to in-vehicle device 10B (S206).Upon receiving the cellular communication activation information, the control unit 15B performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the in-vehicle device 10A, and transmits the cellular communication activation information of the in-vehicle device 10A to the in-vehicle device 10A (S207). Upon receiving the cellular communication activation information, the control unit 15A activates the cellular communication of the communication unit 11 by rewriting the profile stored in the storage unit 14 from an activation waiting profile to a normal profile (S208).

[0021] An IP address may be used for the server device 2 to specify the in-vehicle device 10. However, the IP address also differs when the communication line of the connection destination is different. Therefore, the communication unit 11 may use a unique IP address for both cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication by using a mobile communication protocol such as Mobile IP, for example.

[0022] Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, when cellular communication is disabled, the communication unit 11A may transmit data required by the server device 2, such as probe data of the vehicle 1A, to the server device 2 via another vehicle 1B by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Further, when cellular communication is disabled, the communication unit 11A may receive data necessary for the operation of the vehicle 1, such as OTA data, from the server device 2 via another vehicle 1B by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This is because such data needs to be exchanged even when cellular communication is disabled.

[0023] Furthermore, for example, in the embodiment described above, S202 may be executed by the terminal device 3. In this case, S203 and S204 are not performed, and the cellular communication usage permission information for vehicle 1A is transmitted from the terminal device 3 to the server device 2. S202 may be executed simultaneously with S200. In S205, if the user's cellular communication contract is valid, the server device 2 identifies the in-vehicle device 10A to which the cellular communication activation information will be sent from the vehicle ID or user ID included in the cellular communication usage permission information. In S206, the server device 2 identifies the other vehicle 1B that is communicating with the in-vehicle device 10A, and transmits the cellular communication activation information to the in-vehicle device 10B. The server device 2 may, for example, identify the vehicle of a user whose address is close to that of the user of vehicle 1A as the other vehicle 1B, or it may identify the vehicle that has most recently communicated with vehicle 1A as the other vehicle 1B.

[0024] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment can also be implemented by making a general-purpose computer function as the in-vehicle device 10 according to the above embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content that realizes each function of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the above 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.

[0025] 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. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0026] 1 Vehicle, 2 Server equipment, 3 Terminal equipment, 10 In-vehicle equipment, 11 Communication unit, 12 Output section, 13 Input section, 14 Storage section, 15 Control section, 20 networks, 100 vehicle systems

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle, A communication unit capable of wireless communication via cellular and vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The system includes a control unit that enables or disables the cellular communication by the communication unit according to information obtained from the server, When the control unit is disabled, if it obtains first information for enabling the cellular communication from the server via vehicle-to-vehicle communication through another vehicle, it enables the cellular communication. In-vehicle device.

2. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, The communication unit is an in-vehicle device that, when the cellular communication is enabled, transmits the vehicle's probe data to the server via the cellular communication, and when the cellular communication is disabled, transmits the probe data to the server via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication through another vehicle.

3. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, The in-vehicle device transmits the first information in response to the server receiving second information indicating a request from the vehicle owner to use the cellular communication.

4. The in-vehicle device according to claim 3, The communication unit is an in-vehicle device that transmits the second information to the server via the other vehicle through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

5. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, The communication unit is an in-vehicle device that uses a unique IP address for both cellular communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

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