Vehicle-mounted computer control system

Abstract

A vehicle-mounted computer control system is provided that can transmit information from a detection unit that detects the speed state of a vehicle to a computer mounted on the vehicle in a stable and simple configuration. [Solution] The system comprises a server connected to the computer 20 via a wireless network, a detection unit 14 that detects the speed state of the vehicle 10, a signal transmission unit 16 that transmits information on the speed state detected by the detection unit 14 via a wireless signal in a frequency band different from the frequency band used by the wireless network, and a signal receiving unit that receives the wireless signal from the signal transmission unit 16 and transmits the information from the detection unit 14 to the server.When the detection unit 14 detects that the vehicle 10 is decelerating or stopped, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer 20 into an operable state, and when the detection unit 14 detects that the vehicle 10 is not decelerating or stopped, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer 20 into an inoperable state.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an on-vehicle computer control system that enables a computer operated by a driver mounted on a vehicle such as a forklift to be operated only under certain conditions. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles such as forklifts may be equipped with a computer operated by a driver. The computer has input devices such as a screen and a keyboard, and is connected to a server via a wireless network. The driver can obtain information from the computer, such as the vehicle's destination and the next load to be transported.

[0003] However, when a driver looks at or operates a computer screen while driving a vehicle, this is called "distracted driving" and can be dangerous. In order to prevent "distracted driving," some car navigation devices are known that do not accept input operations from the driver while the car is moving. One such device is shown in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-69662 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A general-purpose notebook PC or the like is used as a computer mounted on a forklift. A car's navigation device is designed to work with various devices such as the car's speed sensor, but a general-purpose notebook PC cannot detect the speed of a forklift. For this reason, it is conceivable to provide a detection unit such as a sensor that detects the speed state on the forklift, and to transmit the speed state detected by the detection unit to the computer in some way.

[0006] For example, if a short-range wireless communication standard for digital devices is used as a means of transmitting information from the detection unit to the computer, the communication may be unstable and the connection state may not be maintained at all times. It is also possible to use wireless LAN as this means, but the computer is already connected to a wireless network to connect to the server, and it is not realistic to form a separate wireless LAN network. A simpler method would be to send a wireless signal (RF signal) different from the wireless LAN from the detection unit to the computer, but in this case, a dedicated receiver would need to be installed in each computer.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle-mounted computer control system that can transmit information from a detection unit that detects the vehicle's speed state to a computer mounted on the vehicle in a stable and simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vehicle-mounted computer control system that switches between an operable state and an inoperable state of a computer mounted on a vehicle, and includes a server connected to the computer via a wireless network, a detection unit that detects the speed state of the vehicle, and information on the speed state detected by the detection unit in a frequency band different from the frequency band used by the wireless network. RF A signal transmission unit that transmits a signal, and the RFand a signal receiving unit that receives a signal and transmits information from the detection unit to the server, wherein when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is in a decelerating or stopped state, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer in the operable state, and when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is not in the decelerating or stopped state, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer in the inoperable state.

[0009] The detection unit may detect the speed state from a movement of a brake pedal of the vehicle.

[0010] The detection unit may be a speed sensor that measures the speed of the vehicle.

[0011] In addition, the signal transmitted from the signal transmitting unit RF The signal includes identification information of the vehicle, and the server RF When a signal is received, RF The command information may be transmitted to specify the vehicle corresponding to the identification information included in the signal.

[0012] In addition, when the computer mounted on the vehicle receives command information from the server to place the computer in the inoperable state, it may reduce the illumination of the screen to place the computer in the inoperable state, and when the computer receives command information from the server to place the computer in the operable state, it may increase the illumination of the screen to place the computer in the operable state.

[0013] In addition, the computer mounted on the vehicle may be configured to enter the operable state when it receives command information from the server to place the computer in the operable state and does not receive command information from the server to place the computer in the inoperable state within a certain period of time.

[0014] In addition, the server may be configured to send a command signal to put the computer into the operable state when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is in the decelerating state or the stopped state, and if information is not transmitted from the signal receiving unit within a certain period of time that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is not in the decelerating state or the stopped state. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the vehicle-mounted computer control system of the present invention, a signal transmitting unit is provided in the vehicle, so that the vehicle speed state can be transmitted to the server via a route separate from the wireless network to which the computer is connected, and the server can switch the computer between an operable state and an inoperable state according to the speed state via the wireless network. Therefore, information from the detection unit can be transmitted to the computer mounted on the vehicle in a stable and simple configuration, the state of the computer mounted on the vehicle can be switched, and it is possible to prevent the driver from "distracted driving" in which the driver drives while looking at the screen of the computer 20. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle driven by a driver. [Diagram 2] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted computer control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle-mounted computer control system when communicating with a plurality of vehicles. [Figure 4] This is a time chart of the signals corresponding to the on / off of the brakes and the computer screen illuminance in a vehicle-mounted computer control system. [Diagram 5] 13 is a time chart of signals corresponding to on / off of a brake and computer screen illuminance in the vehicle-mounted computer control system according to the first modified example. [Figure 6]13 is a time chart of signals corresponding to on / off of a brake and computer screen illuminance in an on-vehicle computer control system according to a second modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The vehicle-mounted computer control system of this embodiment switches between an operable state and an inoperable state of the computer 20 mounted on the vehicle 10 according to the speed state of the vehicle 10, thereby preventing the driver from operating the computer 20 while driving.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the vehicle 1 is a forklift that transports luggage. However, the vehicle 1 is not limited to a forklift, and may be any other type of vehicle that can accommodate the computer 20. The vehicle 1 is driven by a driver 100. The vehicle 1 is equipped with the computer 20 at a position where the driver 100 can operate it. The computer 20 is a general-purpose notebook PC with a communication function. However, the computer 20 is not limited to a notebook PC, and may be any other type of computer, such as a tablet PC or a smartphone. The computer 20 is connected to other computers via a wireless network such as Wi-Fi.

[0019] The vehicle 10 is provided with a brake pedal 12 for decelerating or stopping the vehicle while traveling. The driver 100 can operate the brake pedal 12 by stepping on it. The vehicle 10 has a detection unit 14 for detecting the movement of the brake pedal 12. The detection unit 14 can be configured, for example, as a switch that is pressed by the movement of the brake pedal 12. The detection unit 14 may detect the movement of the brake pedal 12 in a non-contact manner, such as by infrared rays, or may be another sensor. By detecting the movement of the brake pedal 12, the detection unit 14 detects whether the brake pedal 12 is stepped on and the vehicle 10 is decelerating or stopping, or whether the brake pedal 12 is not stepped on and the vehicle 10 is accelerating or running at a constant speed. That is, the detection unit 14 can detect the speed state of the vehicle 10, whether it is in a decelerating state or a stopped state, by detecting the movement of the brake pedal 12. The detection unit 14 may be any device that can detect the speed state of the vehicle 10, and may be, for example, a speed sensor that can detect the speed of the vehicle 10. When the detection unit 14 is a speed sensor, the detection unit 14 can detect whether the vehicle 10 is decelerating or stopped from information on the detected speed.

[0020] The vehicle 10 has a signal transmitting unit 16 that transmits information on the speed state of the vehicle 10 detected by the detection unit 14 as a wireless signal in a frequency band different from the frequency band used by the wireless network to which the computer 20 is connected. The wireless signal transmitted by the signal transmitting unit 16 is an RF signal including information indicating the movement of the brake pedal 12 and identification information unique to the vehicle 10. In the case of Wi-Fi, the wireless network to which the computer 20 is connected uses frequency bands of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. In contrast, the wireless signal transmitted by the signal transmitting unit 16 can use a frequency band other than 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, for example, a frequency band of 920 MHz. However, the frequency band of the wireless signal is not limited to this.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle-mounted computer control system has a computer 20 mounted on a vehicle 10 and a server 30 connected via the above-mentioned wireless network. The computer 20 has a screen 22 and an input unit 24 such as a keyboard. The computer 20 and the server 30 are connected via a wireless router 40. The computer 20 can obtain necessary information, such as the vehicle's destination and the next baggage to be transported, from the server 30 via the wireless network.

[0022] A signal receiving unit 50 is connected to the server 30, which receives a wireless signal from the signal transmitting unit 16 of the vehicle 10 and transmits information from the detecting unit 14 to the server 30. The signal receiving unit 50 may be built into the server 30. The computer 20 is pre-installed with software that receives command information transmitted from the server 30 via a wireless network and switches the computer 20 between an operable state and an inoperable state based on the information included in the command information. The computer 20 can set the illuminance of the screen 22 to a range from 0 to 100, and the software installed in the computer 20 sets the computer 20 to an inoperable state by setting the illuminance of the screen 22 to 0, and sets the computer 20 to an operable state by setting the illuminance of the screen 22 to 100.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 3, the vehicle-mounted computer control system can include a plurality of vehicles 10 and computers 20. In this case, the computers 20 mounted on each vehicle 10 can communicate with the server 30 via the same wireless network. Each vehicle 10 also includes a detection unit 14 and a signal transmission unit 16, and can transmit a wireless signal to the signal reception unit 50 in a frequency band different from that of the wireless network. Since the wireless signal from the signal transmission unit 16 includes identification information unique to each vehicle 10 as described above, the server 30 can transmit, via the wireless network, command information that identifies the vehicle 10 corresponding to the identification information included in the wireless signal.

[0024] Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted computer control system when the brake operation is performed on the vehicle 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the detection unit 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 is turned on at time T1 and turned off at time T2. When the detection unit 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 has been turned on from off, the signal transmission unit 16 of the vehicle 10 transmits a wireless signal. When the signal reception unit 50 receives the wireless signal, the server 30 can obtain information contained in the wireless signal, that is, the identification information of the vehicle 10 and information that the brake pedal 12 has been turned on. The server 30 that has obtained the information transmits command information specifying the vehicle 10 corresponding to the identification information contained in the received wireless signal via the wireless network. The computer 20 of the vehicle 10 that is the target of receiving the command information from the server 30 changes the illuminance of the screen 22 from 0 to 100. As a result, the computer 20 switches from an inoperable state to an operable state.

[0025] There is a slight time lag between when the detector 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 is on in the vehicle 10 and when the wireless signal is transmitted. Similarly, there is a slight time lag between when the server 30 transmits the wireless signal and when the command information is transmitted, and between when the computer 20 receives the command information and when the illuminance of the screen 22 is changed. In FIG. 4, the time required to transmit the signal and these time lags are exaggerated. This also applies to the subsequent figures.

[0026] When the detection unit 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 has been changed from on to off, the signal transmission unit 16 of the vehicle 10 transmits a wireless signal, and when the signal reception unit 50 receives the wireless signal, the server 30 transmits command information specifying the vehicle 10 corresponding to the identification information included in the wireless signal via the wireless network. The computer 20 of the vehicle 10 that has received the command information from the server 30 changes the illuminance of the screen 22 from 100 to 0. This switches the computer 20 from an operable state to an inoperable state. Therefore, when the brake pedal 12 is on and the vehicle 10 is decelerating or stopped, the computer 20 is in an operable state, and when the brake pedal 12 is off and the vehicle 10 is moving, the computer 20 is in an inoperable state. This makes it possible to prevent the driver from "distracted driving" by driving while looking at the screen of the computer 20.

[0027] 4, at time T3 after time T2, the brake pedal 12 goes from off to on, and at T4, the brake pedal 12 goes from on to off. The length from time T3 to time T4 is shorter than the length from time T1 to time T2. In this case, too, wireless signals are transmitted from the signal transmitting unit 16 of the vehicle 10 after time T3 and time T4, respectively, and the server 30 to which the information is transmitted by receiving the wireless signals at the signal receiving unit 50 transmits command information via the wireless network, and the computer 20 of the vehicle 10 that receives the command information changes the illuminance of the screen 22.

[0028] The illuminance of the screen 22 of the computer 20 may be changed after a certain time period after the detection unit 14 detects the movement of the brake pedal 12. As shown in FIG. 5, when the detection unit 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 has been changed from off to on at time T1, the signal transmission unit 16 transmits a wireless signal, and the server 30, which receives the wireless signal from the signal reception unit 50 at time T1', transmits command information to put the computer 20 into an operable state if the signal reception unit 50 does not transmit information indicating that the detection unit 14 has detected that the brake pedal 12 has been changed from on to off within a certain time Δt. In the example of FIG. 5, since the brake pedal 12 has not been changed from on to off during the period from time T1' to time T1'', which is after the lapse of Δt, the server 30 transmits a command signal to put the computer 20 into an operable state, and the computer 20, which has received the command signal, changes the illuminance of the screen 22 from 0 to 100, putting the computer 20 into an operable state.

[0029] In FIG. 5, when the brake pedal 12 changes from off to on at time T3, information is transmitted to the server 30 indicating that it has detected that the brake pedal 12 has changed from off to on at time T3', and then the brake pedal 12 changes from on to off at time T4, which is between time T3'' after Δt has elapsed. In this case, since no command signal is transmitted from the server 30, the computer 20 does not change the illuminance of the screen 22 and maintains the inoperable state. In this way, by switching to an operable state after a certain time has elapsed since the operation of the brake pedal 12, it is possible to prevent the computer 20 from being in an operable state when the vehicle 10 decelerates for only a very short time, and to suppress frequent changes in the illuminance of the screen 22.

[0030] The computer 20 may wait for the passage of the fixed time. As shown in FIG. 6, when the detector 14 detects that the brake pedal 12 has been switched from OFF to ON at time T1, the signal transmitter 16 transmits a wireless signal, and the server 30, which receives the wireless signal from the signal receiver 50 at time T1', transmits command information for putting the computer 20 into an operable state. If the computer 20 that has received the information does not receive command information for putting the computer 20 into an inoperable state from the server 30 within a fixed time Δt, the computer 20 switches from the inoperable state to the operable state. In the example of FIG. 6, since the computer 20 does not receive command information for putting the computer 20 into an inoperable state from the server 30 during the period from time T1' to time T1'', which is the period after Δt has elapsed, the computer 20 changes the illuminance of the screen 22 from 0 to 100, putting the computer 20 into an operable state.

[0031] In Figure 6, when the brake pedal 12 changes from off to on at time T3, information is transmitted to the server 30 that it has detected that the brake pedal 12 has changed from off to on at time T3', and then, at time T4, between time T3'' and time T3'', which is after Δt has elapsed, the brake pedal 12 changes from on to off. In this case, the computer 20 does not change the illuminance of the screen 22, and maintains the inoperable state.

[0032] The vehicle-mounted computer control system may be provided with an illuminance sensor. The illuminance sensor is installed in the vehicle 10 as a component of the detection unit 14, and the signal transmission unit 16 transmits a wireless signal including information on the illuminance in the vehicle 10 detected by the illuminance sensor. The server 30, to which the illuminance information is transmitted via the signal reception unit 50, transmits command information specifying the illuminance of the screen 22 according to the detected illuminance information via a wireless network. For example, when the illuminance in the vehicle 10 corresponds to the brightness in the daytime, the server 30 sets the illuminance of the screen 22 to 100, and when the illuminance in the vehicle 10 corresponds to the brightness at night, the server 30 sets the illuminance of the screen 22 to 70. In this way, the server 30 specifies the illuminance of the screen 22 according to the illuminance detected in the vehicle 10, thereby preventing the screen from being difficult to see or being too dazzling.

[0033] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the application of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be applied in various ways within the scope of the technical concept. In the above embodiment, the inoperable state of the computer 20 is realized by setting the illuminance of the screen 22 to 0, but the inoperable state of the computer 20 may be achieved by other means, for example, by preventing the computer 20 from accepting input from the input unit 24 of the computer 20. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10 Vehicles 12 Brake pedal 14 Detection section 16 Signal transmitter 20. Computers 30 Servers 40 Wireless Router 50 Signal receiving unit 100 Driver

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted computer control system for switching between an operable state and an inoperable state of a computer mounted on a vehicle, comprising: a server connected to the computer via a wireless network; A detection unit for detecting a speed state of the vehicle; a signal transmission unit that transmits the information on the speed state detected by the detection unit by an RF signal in a frequency band different from a frequency band used in the wireless network; a signal receiving unit that receives the RF signal from the signal transmitting unit and transmits information from the detecting unit to the server; A vehicle-mounted computer control system in which, when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is decelerating or stopped, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer in the operable state, and when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is not in the decelerating or stopped state, the server transmits command information via the wireless network to put the computer in the inoperable state.

2. 2. The vehicle-mounted computer control system according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the speed state from a movement of a brake pedal of the vehicle.

3. 2. The vehicle-mounted computer control system according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a speed sensor that measures the speed of the vehicle.

4. the RF signal transmitted from the signal transmitting unit includes identification information of the vehicle, The vehicle-mounted computer control system according to claim 1 , wherein, upon receiving the RF signal, the server transmits the command information specifying the vehicle corresponding to the identification information contained in the RF signal.

5. A vehicle-mounted computer control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when a computer mounted on the vehicle receives command information from the server to place the computer in the inoperable state, the computer reduces the illuminance of the screen to place the computer in the inoperable state, and when a computer mounted on the vehicle receives command information from the server to place the computer in the operable state, the computer increases the illuminance of the screen to place the computer in the operable state.

6. A vehicle-mounted computer control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a computer mounted on the vehicle enters the operable state when it receives command information from the server to place the computer in the operable state and does not receive command information from the server to place the computer in the inoperable state within a certain period of time.

7. The vehicle-mounted computer control system described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the server transmits a command signal to put the computer into the operable state when information is transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is in the decelerating state or the stopped state and, within a certain period of time, information is not transmitted from the signal receiving unit that the detection unit has detected that the vehicle is not in the decelerating state or the stopped state.

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