Vehicle air conditioner operation method and operation system

Abstract

To prevent the remaining capacity of a vehicle battery that supplies power to an air conditioner from being significantly reduced when the air conditioner mounted on the vehicle is operated from outside the vehicle.SOLUTION: A method of operating an air conditioner installed in a vehicle includes the steps of operating the air conditioner according to a driving command when a driving command for the air conditioner is received from a mobile terminal of an operator of the vehicle, and displaying a notification related to the operation of the air conditioner on the screen of the mobile terminal while the air conditioner is being operated according to the operation command, and continuing to display the notification related to the operation of the air conditioner on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile terminal by the operator when the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and system for operating a vehicle's air conditioning from outside the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 07-266845 discloses a television having a function for operating an air conditioner mounted in a vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-266845 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Consider a case where the air conditioner is operated not from a device installed in the vehicle but from a mobile terminal (e.g., a smartphone or tablet) of the vehicle operator (e.g., the driver). In this case, the air conditioner can be operated from outside the vehicle by using network communication. Therefore, for example, the operator can operate the air conditioner before getting into the vehicle and keep the air conditioner running while the operator temporarily leaves the vehicle. However, in such a case, there is a risk that the operator outside the vehicle will forget that the air conditioner is running, and there is a problem that the remaining charge of the vehicle's battery that supplies power to the air conditioner will decrease significantly.

[0005] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that prevents a significant decrease in the remaining charge of a vehicle's battery that supplies power to an air conditioner when the air conditioner is operated from outside the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the present disclosure is a method for operating an air conditioner mounted in a vehicle, which has the following features. The method comprises: when receiving an operation command for the air conditioner from a mobile terminal of an operator of the vehicle, operating the air conditioner in accordance with the operation command; a step of displaying a notification related to the operation of the air conditioner on a screen of the mobile device while the air conditioner is being operated in accordance with the operation command, and when the mobile device is located outside the vehicle, the notification related to the operation of the air conditioner continues to be displayed on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile device by the operator; Includes.

[0007] A second aspect of the present disclosure is a system for operating an air conditioner mounted in a vehicle, which has the following features. The system includes a vehicle terminal that controls the operation of the air conditioner, and a mobile terminal of an operator of the vehicle that communicates with the vehicle terminal. When the vehicle terminal receives an operation command for the air conditioner from the mobile terminal, the vehicle terminal operates the air conditioner in accordance with the operation command. While the air conditioner is operating in accordance with the operation command, the mobile terminal displays notifications related to the operation of the air conditioner on a screen of the mobile terminal. When the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle, notifications related to the operation of the air conditioner continue to be displayed on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile terminal by the operator. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, while the air conditioner of the vehicle is being operated according to a driving command from a mobile terminal of the vehicle operator, a notification related to the operation of the air conditioner is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal. Also, when the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle, the notification related to the operation continues to be displayed on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile terminal by the operator. Therefore, it is possible to keep the external operator of the vehicle aware that the air conditioner of the vehicle is being operated, and to prevent the remaining capacity of the battery supplying power to the air conditioner from being significantly reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the premise of an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a terminal carried by a vehicle operator. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a notification drawer displayed on a screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when a process is performed to continuously display, in the status bar, an icon that is displayed when the air conditioner is operating. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an operation system according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing that is particularly related to the embodiment, among processing performed by a management server. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing that is particularly related to the embodiment, among processing performed by a management server. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a warning displayed on the main screen of a terminal owned by a vehicle operator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an operating method and an operating system for an in-vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

[0011] 1. Overview 1-1.Premise FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the premise of an embodiment. In the embodiment, an air conditioner AC of a vehicle VH (e.g., an automobile using at least one of an engine and a motor as a drive source) is operated. The air conditioner AC is operated by an operator OP of the vehicle VH operating a terminal 2 (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a wearable device, etc., hereinafter also referred to as "OP terminal 2") carried by the operator OP. The operator OP operates the OP terminal 2 to operate the air conditioner AC before getting into the vehicle VH, after getting off the vehicle VH, or while in the vehicle VH. Note that while in the vehicle VH, the operator OP may operate the air conditioner AC by operating equipment installed in the vehicle VH.

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of data exchanged between the OP terminal 2 and the vehicle VH when the air conditioner AC is operated by operating the OP terminal 2. The operation command INS_AC transmitted from the OP terminal 2 is a command to start (AC ON) and end (AC OFF) operation of the air conditioner AC. The operation command INS_AC is transmitted to the management server 1 via the network 4, and is transmitted from the management server 1 to the vehicle VH via the network 4. The position data LOC_OT transmitted from the OP terminal 2 is data indicating the current position of the OP terminal 2. The position data LOC_OT is transmitted to the management server 1 via the network 4.

[0013] Two types of status data STS_AC and STS_BT related to the operation of the air conditioner AC are transmitted to the management server 1 from the terminal 3 of the vehicle VH (for example, an on-board computer such as a control device or a data processing device. Hereinafter, also referred to as the "VH terminal 3"). The status data STS_AC is data indicating the operating state of the air conditioner AC. Examples of this data include the indoor temperature of the vehicle VH (for example, the set temperature, the actual temperature, etc.) and the elapsed time since the operation command INS_AC was received (i.e., the continuous operation time of the air conditioner AC). The status data STS_BT is data indicating the state of the battery that supplies power to the air conditioner AC. Examples of this data include the remaining battery charge and temperature. Location data LOC_VH is also transmitted from the VH terminal 3 to the management server 1 via the network 4. The location data LOC_VH is data indicating the current location of the VH terminal 3 (i.e., the vehicle VH).

[0014] 1-2. Mobile terminal of operator OP FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the OP terminal 2. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the screen 21 of the OP terminal 2 includes a main screen 21a and a status bar 21b. Various contents are displayed on the main screen 21a by display control processing according to various programs executed in the OP terminal 2. The various programs include programs for operating various devices (e.g., a vehicle key, audio equipment, etc.) of the vehicle VH including the air conditioner AC. If the vehicle VH has an automatic driving function, the various programs include programs for performing automatic driving such as automatic starting of the drive source and automatic entrance and exit. By performing display control processing according to such various programs, the operator OP can transmit various commands to the vehicle VH from outside the vehicle VH via the OP terminal 2.

[0015] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the status bar 21b is formed in a part of the screen area above the main screen 21a. When a specific content is displayed on the main screen 21a by executing a display control process, the status bar 21b may not be displayed on the screen. When the status bar 21b is displayed on the screen, icons corresponding to notifications from various programs executed by the OP terminal 2 are displayed in the status bar 21b. Icons IC1 to IC4 depicted in FIG. 2 are examples of icons corresponding to notifications from various programs executed by the OP terminal 2.

[0016] The notifications corresponding to the icons IC1 to IC4 depicted in Fig. 2 can be confirmed by a predetermined operation of the OP terminal 2 by the operator OP. For example, the operator OP places his / her finger on the position of the status bar 21b, and moves the finger downwards while maintaining the touch on the screen (so-called swipe). Then, a list of notifications from various programs (notification drawer) is displayed on the screen by the display control process. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the notification drawer displayed on the screen of the OP terminal 2. The messages MS1 to MS4 displayed next to the icons IC1 to IC4 are texts indicating the notification contents corresponding to the icons IC1 to IC4.

[0017] Icon IC4 is an example of an icon corresponding to a notification from a program for operating the air conditioner AC. In the example shown in Fig. 3, a message MS4, which is the notification content from this program, includes the indoor temperature setting (25°C) and the remaining battery charge (40%) of the vehicle VH. The former data is generated based on the status data STS_AC transmitted from the management server 1 to the OP terminal 2. The latter data is generated based on the status data STS_BT transmitted from the management server 1 to the OP terminal 2.

[0018] 1-2. Features of the embodiment Incidentally, the display control processing program of the OP terminal 2 includes a program for deleting (discarding) notifications displayed in the notification drawer while the notification drawer is being displayed. For example, while the notification drawer is being displayed on the screen, "Delete all" is displayed below the notification drawer. When a tapping motion (so-called tap) of the operator OP's finger is detected at the position of "Delete all," all notifications displayed in the notification drawer are deleted by the display control processing. Furthermore, when the notification is deleted in the display control processing, the display of the icon displayed in the status bar 21b is also deleted.

[0019] Here, if the icon IC4 is deleted by the display control process when the air conditioner AC is operating, there is a possibility that the operator OP will forget that the air conditioner AC is operating. If the operator OP is outside the vehicle VH and has forgotten that the air conditioner AC is operating, the operator OP will not be able to notice that the remaining charge of the battery that supplies power to the air conditioner AC is decreasing. In that case, the operator OP will not be able to notice that the operation of the air conditioner AC is being affected due to a significant decrease in the remaining charge of the battery. If the battery is shared between the drive source of the vehicle VH and the air conditioner AC, the operator OP will not be able to notice that the cruising range of the vehicle VH is being affected.

[0020] In view of such a problem, in the embodiment, in the display control process, when the operator OP is outside the vehicle VH, a process is performed to continuously display the icon displayed when the air conditioner AC is operating (i.e., icon IC4) in the status bar 21b. By performing this process, when the operator OP performs a predetermined operation of the OP terminal 2, the notification corresponding to the icon IC4 is continuously displayed in the notification drawer. The fact that the operator OP is outside the vehicle VH can be determined based on, for example, the position data LOC_OT and LOC_VH.

[0021] An example of the process of continuously displaying the icon IC4 in the status bar 21b is a process of leaving the display of the icon IC4 in the status bar 21b even when a predetermined operation (e.g., tapping "delete all" after swiping) is performed by the operator OP described in Figures 2 and 3. An example of the process of leaving the display of the icon IC4 in the status bar 21b is a process of rejecting a delete command based on a predetermined operation by the operator OP described in Figures 2 and 3, and a process of invalidating the input of the delete command.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the OP terminal 2 when a process for continuously displaying the icon IC4 in the status bar 21b is performed. The example shown in Fig. 4 corresponds to the screen of the OP terminal 2 after a predetermined operation is performed by the operator OP described in Figs. 2 and 3. In the example shown in Fig. 4, the icons IC1 to IC3 depicted in Fig. 2 are no longer displayed in the status bar 21b, and only the icon IC4 is displayed.

[0023] In this manner, in this embodiment, a process is performed in which the icon that is displayed when the air conditioner AC is operating is continuously displayed in the status bar 21b. This makes it possible to continuously remind the operator OP outside the vehicle VH that the air conditioner AC is operating, and to prevent the remaining charge of the battery that supplies power to the air conditioner AC from decreasing significantly.

[0024] 2. System configuration example Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an operation system according to an embodiment. The configuration example shown in Fig. 5 includes a management server 1, an OP terminal 2, and a VH terminal 3. The management server 1 communicates with the OP terminal 2 and the VH terminal 3 via the network 4 shown in Fig. 1. The OP terminal 2 and the VH terminal 3 can also perform short-distance communication without going through the network 4.

[0025] 5, the management server 1 includes a data processing device 11, an operator DB (database) 12, and a vehicle DB 13. These databases and the data processing device 11 are connected via a predetermined network.

[0026] The data processing device 11 includes at least one processor 14 and at least one memory 15. The processor 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 15 is a volatile memory such as a DDR memory, and expands various programs used by the processor 14 and temporarily stores various data. The various data used by the processor 14 includes data stored in a database such as an operator DB 12.

[0027] The operator DB12 stores data of the operator OP (hereinafter also referred to as "operator data OPR"). An example of the operator data OPR is identification data. The identification data is data for identifying the operator OP. The identification data is registered by the operator OP, for example, when registering the vehicle VH in the vehicle DB13. Examples of the identification data are general data such as the name, age, gender, address, and contact information of the operator OP. The identification data also includes identification data of the terminal 2 carried by the operator OP (i.e., the OP terminal 2) and the location data LOC_OT of this terminal 2. The identification data may also include identification data of the vehicle VH operated by the operator OP (for example, a vehicle registration number, a vehicle identification number).

[0028] Vehicle DB13 stores data on the vehicle VH (hereinafter also referred to as "vehicle data VHC"). An example of the vehicle data VHC is identification data. The identification data is data for identifying the vehicle VH. An example of the identification data is general data such as a vehicle registration number and a vehicle identification number. The vehicle data VHC includes status data STS_AC and STS_BT related to the operation of the air conditioner AC of the vehicle VH, and location data LOC_VH.

[0029] The vehicle data VHC may include setting data of the current operation mode of the air conditioner AC of the vehicle VH. This operation mode is a mode that determines the conditions for operation of the air conditioner AC while the operator OP is temporarily away from the vehicle VH, and includes a normal mode and a protection mode. The protection mode is a mode that prioritizes protection of the health of passengers (e.g., the operator OP's family, pets, etc.) who are waiting for the operator OP to return inside the vehicle VH while the operator OP is temporarily away from the vehicle VH.

[0030] The OP terminal 2 includes at least one processor 22 and at least one memory 23. The processor 22 includes a CPU. The memory 23 is a volatile memory such as a DDR memory, and expands various programs used by the processor 22 and temporarily stores various data. The various programs include programs for operating various devices of the vehicle VH including the air conditioner AC, a display control processing program, and the like. The various data used by the processor 22 includes icon data corresponding to each of the various programs. The various data may include warning data (described later) regarding the remaining battery charge, schedule data (described later) of the operator OP, and the like.

[0031] The VH terminal 3 includes at least one processor 31 and at least one memory 32. The processor 31 includes a CPU. The memory 32 is a volatile memory such as a DDR memory, and expands various programs used by the processor 31 and temporarily stores various data. The various programs include programs for operating various devices of the vehicle VH according to various driving commands received from the management server 1. The various driving commands include the driving command INS_AC described above. If the vehicle VH has an automatic driving function, the various programs include programs for automatic driving such as automatic start of the drive source and automatic entry and exit.

[0032] 3. Data processing example 6 and 7 are flowcharts for explaining the flow of processing particularly related to the embodiment among the processing by the management server 1 (processor 14). The flowcharts shown in Figs. 6 and 7 are executed repeatedly at a predetermined control period, for example.

[0033] 6, first, it is determined whether or not a condition for proposing to start the operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "ON proposal condition") is satisfied (step S11). Examples of the ON proposal condition include that the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH and that the interior temperature (actual temperature) of the vehicle VH exceeds an upper limit value (e.g., 28°C). Whether or not the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH is determined based on, for example, the location data LOC_OT and LOC_VH.

[0034] A second example of the ON proposal condition is that the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH and the indoor temperature is below a lower limit (e.g., 15°C). A third example is that the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH and the difference between the indoor temperature (actual temperature) and the outdoor temperature is equal to or greater than a threshold. A fourth example is that the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH and the scheduled time for the operator OP to go out is approaching. The scheduled time is grasped, for example, based on schedule data of the operator OP received from the OP terminal 2. The scheduled time in the fourth example may be combined with the first to third examples.

[0035] If the determination result in step S11 is positive, a proposal to start the operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "ON proposal") is transmitted to the OP terminal 2 (step S12). If the determination result in step S11 is negative, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0036] In the process of step S13, it is determined whether or not a request to start operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "ON request") has been received from the OP terminal 2. The transmission of the ON request from the OP terminal 2 is made in response to the ON proposal, or regardless of the ON proposal. If the determination result of step S13 is positive, a command to start operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "ON command") is transmitted to the VH terminal 3 (step S14). In this embodiment, an operation command INS_AC including this ON command is transmitted to the VH terminal 3, and the VH terminal 3 starts operation of the air conditioner AC.

[0037] Following the process of step S14, it is determined whether or not the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH (step S15). Whether or not the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH is determined based on, for example, the position data LOC_OT and LOC_VH. If the determination result of step S15 is positive, a command to continuously display an icon of the air conditioner AC is transmitted to the OP terminal 2 (step S16). In the embodiment, a display control process according to this command is performed in the OP terminal 2, so that the icon that is displayed when the air conditioner AC is operating is continuously displayed in the status bar 21b shown in FIG. 2. If the determination result of step S15 is negative, the process proceeds to step S17.

[0038] In the process of step S17, it is determined whether or not a request to end the operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "OFF request") has been received from the OP terminal 2. The process of step S17 is repeatedly executed until a positive determination result is obtained. If a positive determination result is obtained, a command to end the operation of the air conditioner AC (hereinafter also referred to as an "OFF command") is transmitted to the VH terminal 3 (step S18). In this embodiment, an operation command INS_AC including this OFF command is transmitted to the VH terminal 3, and the VH terminal 3 ends the operation of the air conditioner AC.

[0039] 7, first, it is determined whether or not the air conditioner AC is operating and the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH (step S21). Whether or not the air conditioner AC is operating is determined based on, for example, the status data STS_AC. Whether or not the OP terminal 2 is outside the vehicle VH is determined based on, for example, the position data LOC_OT and LOC_VH. If the determination result in step S21 is negative, the processing of the routine is terminated.

[0040] If the determination result in step S21 is positive, it is determined whether or not the remaining charge of the battery supplying power to the air conditioner AC is equal to or less than a threshold value TH (e.g., 20%) (step S22). Whether or not the remaining charge of the battery is equal to or less than the threshold value TH is determined based on, for example, the status data STS_BT. If the determination result in step S22 is negative, the processing of the routine is terminated.

[0041] If the determination result in step S22 is positive, it is determined whether or not the currently set operation mode of the air conditioner AC is the protection mode (step S23). Whether or not the currently set operation mode is the protection mode is determined, for example, based on data on the current operation mode of the air conditioner AC included in the vehicle data VHC. As described above, the operation mode includes the normal mode and the protection mode.

[0042] If the determination result in step S23 is positive, that is, if it is determined that the currently set operation mode is the protection mode, a warning command is sent to the OP terminal 2 (step S24). In the embodiment, a display control process according to this command is performed in the OP terminal 2, so that a warning is displayed on the main screen 21a shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a warning displayed on the main screen 21a. In the example shown in FIG. 8, text is displayed in the center of the main screen 21a indicating that the current remaining battery power is equal to or less than a threshold value TH (e.g., 20%). Note that by setting multiple threshold values ​​TH (e.g., 20%, 10%, 5%, etc.), it is possible to warn of the threshold value TH that is closest to the current remaining power.

[0043] If the determination result in step S23 is negative, that is, if it is determined that the currently set operation mode is the normal mode, an OFF command for the operation of the air conditioner AC is transmitted to the VH terminal 3 (step S25). In this embodiment, an operation command INS_AC including this OFF command is transmitted to the VH terminal 3, and the VH terminal 3 ends the operation of the air conditioner AC.

[0044] Following the process of step S25, information indicating that the air conditioner AC has finished operating (hereinafter also referred to as "OFF information") is transmitted to the OP terminal 2 (step S26). In this embodiment, after the OFF information is transmitted to the OP terminal 2, the message MS indicating the execution status data of the program for operating the air conditioner AC is changed to content corresponding to the OFF information by the display control process of the OP terminal 2.

[0045] 4.Effects According to the embodiment described above, when the air conditioner AC of the vehicle VH is operating and the operator OP is outside the vehicle VH, a process is performed to continuously display the icon that is displayed when the air conditioner AC is operating in the status bar 21b of the OP terminal 2. This makes it possible to continuously remind the operator OP, who is outside the vehicle VH, that the air conditioner AC is operating, and to prevent the remaining charge of the battery that supplies power to the air conditioner AC from decreasing significantly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Management Server 2, 3 Terminal 4. Network 11 Data processing device 12 Operator DB 13 Vehicle DB 14, 22, 31 processors 15, 23, 32 memory 21 Screens 21a Main Screen 21b Status bar IC1~IC4 Icons MS1~MS4 messages OP Operator VH Vehicle INS_AC Operation command STS_AC, STS_BT status data LOC_OT, LOC_VH position data

Claims

1. A method for operating an air conditioner installed in a vehicle, comprising: when receiving an operation command for the air conditioner from a mobile terminal of an operator of the vehicle, operating the air conditioner in accordance with the operation command; a step of displaying a notification related to the operation of the air conditioner on a screen of the mobile device while the air conditioner is being operated in accordance with the operation command, and when the mobile device is located outside the vehicle, the notification related to the operation of the air conditioner continues to be displayed on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile device by the operator; Includes A method for operating an in-vehicle air conditioner.

2. 2. The method of claim 1 , determining whether a remaining charge of a battery that supplies power to the air conditioner is equal to or less than a threshold; displaying a warning regarding the remaining amount on the screen when it is determined that the remaining amount is equal to or less than the threshold value and the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle; Further includes A method for operating an in-vehicle air conditioner.

3. 2. The method of claim 1 , The operation command includes setting data for an operation mode of the air conditioner, the driving mode includes a protection mode for protecting the health of a passenger who is waiting for the return of the operator in a cabin of the vehicle while the operator is temporarily away from the vehicle, determining whether a remaining charge of a battery that supplies power to the air conditioner is equal to or less than a threshold; determining whether the operation mode is the protection mode when it is determined that the remaining amount is equal to or less than the threshold value; displaying a warning regarding the remaining amount on the screen when the driving mode is determined to be the protection mode and the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle, and stopping operation of the air conditioner when the driving mode is determined not to be the protection mode and the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle; Further includes A method for operating an in-vehicle air conditioner.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Notifications related to the operation of the air conditioner are displayed in a status bar on the screen. A method for operating an in-vehicle air conditioner.

5. A system for operating an air conditioner mounted in a vehicle, A vehicle terminal that controls the operation of the air conditioner; a mobile terminal of an operator of the vehicle that communicates with the vehicle terminal; Equipped with When the vehicle terminal receives an operation command for the air conditioner from the mobile terminal, the vehicle terminal operates the air conditioner in accordance with the operation command; the mobile device displays a notification related to the operation of the air conditioner on a screen of the mobile device while the air conditioner is operated in accordance with the operation command; When the mobile terminal is located outside the vehicle, the notification related to the operation of the air conditioner continues to be displayed on the screen without being deleted even by a predetermined operation of the mobile terminal by the operator. The present invention relates to an operating system for an in-vehicle air conditioner.

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