Method for managing grid computing and grid computing system

Abstract

To prevent unexpected interruption of grid computing.SOLUTION: A grid computing management method includes: a registration step of registering a contact of a driving candidate in a user table; an authentication step of authenticating a driver; and a computing step of executing grid computing in the state where doors of a vehicle are locked. The computing step stops computing and releases a computing resource, when a person getting in the vehicle after lock release is a first driver authenticated in immediately preceding travelling, in the case where the door lock release of the vehicle is detected in a computing execution period, on the other hand, transmits a contact of an inquiry to the contact of the first driver when the person is a person other than a registered user, stops computing on condition of receiving an agreement contact from the contact, and releases the computing resource.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed herein belongs to the technical field related to a method for managing grid computing and a grid computing system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a grid computing system using computing resources mounted on a vehicle. In Patent Document 1, when the processing capacity of at least any one of a plurality of processing devices is insufficient, it is configured to transmit an instruction to participate in grid computing from a management server to the vehicle.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for managing the content of services provided to users of vehicles for each user. In Patent Document 2, when a user of a vehicle uses a service, license information associated with both the vehicle ID assigned to the vehicle and the user ID assigned to the user is read from a storage unit, and the content of the service provided to the user of the vehicle is managed through a service management unit.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, when performing grid computing operations using the computing resources of a vehicle during a non-operating state of the vehicle, an objective quality of the computing resources is required. Therefore, in order to improve the objective quality of the computing resources, it is assumed that grid computing operations (hereinafter also referred to as grid operations) are executed with all the vehicle doors locked.

[0006] However, for example, when something is left in the vehicle, the vehicle door lock may be temporarily released but the vehicle may not be driven. In such a case, if the grid operation is stopped every time the door lock is released, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of effective utilization of the computing resources.

[0007] The technology disclosed herein has been made in view of such a point, and is to prevent the operation from being unexpectedly interrupted in a situation where the operation does not need to be stopped when someone gets into the vehicle during the grid operation.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, in a first aspect of the present disclosure, a management method of grid computing utilizing computing resources mounted on a vehicle is targeted. The vehicle is provided with a sensor for recognizing an occupant and a lock detection unit for detecting the state of the door lock of the vehicle. The method includes a registration step of registering a driving candidate of the vehicle and contact information of the driving candidate in a user table, an authentication step of authenticating a driver based on detection information of the sensor, and a computing step of executing grid computing by the computing resources in a state where the vehicle is door-locked. In the computing step, during the execution period of the computing, if the lock detection unit detects the release of the door lock state of the vehicle, when the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the lock state is the first driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving in the authentication step, the computing is stopped and the computing resources of the vehicle are released from the computing. On the other hand, when the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the lock state is not the first driver and is not a registered user, a contact inquiry is sent to the contact information of the first driver, and the computing is stopped and the computing resources are released from the computing on the condition that a contact agreeing to stop the computing is received from the contact information.

[0009] According to the first aspect described above, when a person who is not the first driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving and is not a registered user unlocks the door lock and enters the vehicle, the computing is stopped on the condition that a consent contact is received from the contact information of the first driver. This can prevent the interruption of grid computing not intended by the first driver.

[0010] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, for a grid computing system including a management server that manages grid computing and a vehicle configured to be able to participate in the grid computing, the vehicle includes an arithmetic device having arithmetic resources, a sensor that recognizes an occupant, and a lock detection unit that detects the state of the door lock of the vehicle. The management server includes a storage unit that stores a user table in which registered users who are candidates for driving the vehicle and contact information of the registered users are registered. The arithmetic device of the vehicle executes an authentication process of authenticating a driver based on the detection information of the sensor and an arithmetic process of executing arithmetic operations of grid computing by the arithmetic resources in a state where the vehicle is door-locked. In the arithmetic process, during the execution period of the arithmetic operation, when the lock detection unit detects the release of the door lock state of the vehicle, if the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the door lock state is the first driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving in the authentication process, the arithmetic operation is stopped and the arithmetic resources of the vehicle are released from the arithmetic operation. On the other hand, if the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the door lock state is not the first driver and not the registered user, a contact inquiry is transmitted to the contact information of the first driver via the management server, and the arithmetic operation is stopped and the arithmetic resources are released from the arithmetic operation on the condition that a contact indicating consent to stop the arithmetic operation is received from the contact destination.

[0011] According to the second aspect, as in the first aspect, when a person who is not the first driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving and not a registered user unlocks the door lock and enters the vehicle, the arithmetic operation is stopped on the condition that a consent contact is received from the contact information of the first driver. This can prevent the interruption of grid operations unintended by the first driver.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the technology disclosed herein, it is possible to prevent the interruption of grid operations unintended by the first driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

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Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8A

Figure 8B

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions may be omitted. Further, in the following embodiments, the description will focus on the configurations highly relevant to the content of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the following embodiments are illustrative only, and there is no intention to limit the content of the present disclosure by the presence or absence of description, the exemplified numerical values, etc.

[0015] (Grid Computing System) FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of a grid computing system 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "system 1") according to an embodiment.

[0016] This system 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 10, a plurality of client terminals 30, and a management server 50. These components can communicate with each other via a communication network 6. An arithmetic unit 102 is installed in each of the plurality of vehicles 10. The management server 50 is an example of a management device.

[0017] 〔Grid Computing〕 As shown in FIG. 2, in the system 1 of the embodiment, grid computing (hereinafter also simply referred to as "grid G") is configured by a plurality of arithmetic units 102, and grid operations are performed to execute the calculation of job data D1 of an application job (hereinafter also simply referred to as "job") on the available arithmetic units 102 among the plurality of arithmetic units 102.

[0018] When the vehicle 10 is running, the computing power of the arithmetic unit 102 is required for the running control of the vehicle 10, and the arithmetic unit 102 is in an operating state. On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle 10 is parked and the power of the vehicle 10 is turned off, the computing power of the arithmetic unit 102 for the running control of the vehicle becomes substantially unnecessary. Therefore, the above-described grid operations are executed while the vehicle 10 is not in operation (for example, parked).

[0019] 〔Vehicle〕 The vehicle 10 is equipped with a battery (not shown). The power of the battery is supplied to in-vehicle devices such as the arithmetic unit 102. Examples of such vehicles 10 include electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 101, a computing device (processor) 102, a storage unit 103, an occupant sensor 111, a driving operation sensor 112, a vehicle state sensor 113, and a position sensor 114. In the following description, the occupant sensor 111, the driving operation sensor 112, the vehicle state sensor 113, and the position sensor 114 may be collectively referred to as a sensor group 110.

[0021] -Communication Unit- The communication unit 101 transmits and receives information and data to and from the management server 50 via the communication network 6. The information and data received by the communication unit 101 are sent to the computing device 102.

[0022] -Computing Device- The computing device 102 controls each part of the vehicle 10. In this example, the computing device 102 controls various actuators (not shown) according to various information obtained from the sensor group 110. Note that, as the computing device 102, in addition to the computing device used for the control of the vehicle 10, a computing device dedicated to grid computing, that is, a computing device not related to the control of the vehicle 10 may be mounted.

[0023] The computing device 102 has one or more processors and one or more memories. The computing device 102 may be arranged together at one location in the vehicle, or may be distributed in the vehicle. Examples of the processor include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and the like. The memory stores a program for operating the processor, information and data indicating the processing result of the processor, and the like.

[0024] In the present disclosure, the resources available for the computing and processing of grid computing in the computing device 102 will be described for convenience of explanation as "computing resources".

[0025] Note that the computing resources may also be used as resources for controlling the vehicle 10, or a CPU or GPU dedicated to grid computing that is not used for vehicle control may be used.

[0026] Also, for example, the time period permitted for use as computing resources and the time period restricting the use as computing resources may be separated. That is, even if a single CPU is counted as computing resources in one time period and not counted as computing resources in another time period, the same applies to the GPU.

[0027] Also, when the CPU is implemented with a single or multiple cores, a part of the multiple cores may be counted as computing resources and the other cores may not be counted as computing resources. The same applies to the GPU.

[0028] - Occupant Sensor - The occupant sensor 111 acquires information necessary for authenticating the occupants in the vehicle interior. The occupant sensor 111 is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, an in-vehicle camera (not shown) installed at a position where the faces of the driver and other occupants can be photographed, and an ultrasonic human presence sensor installed in the overhead console. The image captured by the in-vehicle camera is transmitted to the arithmetic unit 102. In the arithmetic unit 102, the face image of the driver is extracted to identify the driver. Also, the face image of other occupants is extracted to identify that occupant.

[0029] The method for authenticating the occupants including the driver (hereinafter simply referred to as occupants) is not particularly limited, and for example, deep learning technology can be used. When using deep learning, the extracted face image and the information of the identified occupant are given as inputs to the human model. The human model is, for example, a trained model generated by deep learning.

[0030] As the occupant sensor 111, biometric information sensors such as iris recognition, fingerprint sensor, voiceprint sensor, and body measurement sensor may be used. Also, the image of the in-vehicle camera and the information acquired by each of the above sensors may be used in combination to identify the occupant.

[0031] The occupant sensor 111 is an example of a sensor that recognizes an occupant. Note that the authentication process of the occupant in the vehicle may be completed using the information acquired by the occupant sensor 111, or the information acquired by the occupant sensor 111 may be transmitted to the management server 50, and part or all of the authentication function of the arithmetic unit 102 may be realized by the control unit 502 of the management server 50. However, by completing the authentication process of the occupant (including the driver) in the vehicle, more secure processing can be realized.

[0032] - Driving operation sensor - The driving operation sensor 112 detects the driving operation of the driver. Examples of the driving operation sensor 112 include an accelerator opening sensor, a shift sensor, a brake sensor, a steering angle sensor, and the like. The detection signal from the driving operation sensor 112 is transmitted to the arithmetic unit 102. The parking detection unit that detects the parking state can be realized by the driving operation sensor 112 and the arithmetic unit 102. For example, when it is detected by the brake sensor that the side brake is applied and it is detected by the shift sensor that the shift lever is set to parking, the arithmetic unit 102 determines that the vehicle 10 is in the parking state. Note that the arithmetic unit 102 may detect the parking state based on composite information such as using the detection information of the position sensor 114 and the vehicle state sensor 113 described later in addition to the driving operation sensor 112.

[0033] - Vehicle state sensor - The vehicle state sensor 113 acquires the state of the vehicle 10. The vehicle state sensor 113 is composed of, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, and the like. The detection signal from the driving operation sensor 112 is transmitted to the arithmetic unit 102. As described above, the vehicle state sensor 113 may constitute a part of the parking detection unit.

[0034] The vehicle state sensor 113 includes a sensor that detects the door lock state of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the vehicle state sensor 113 includes a sensor that detects the opening and closing state of the door, a sensor that detects the lock state of the door provided on the vehicle, a sensor that detects the opening and closing state of the hood, and a lid sensor that detects the position of the liftgate and the opening and closing state of the trunk. The lid sensor is an example of a lock detection unit that detects the state of the door lock.

[0035] Note that the specific embodiment of the lock detection unit is not limited to the above lid sensor. For example, when the door lock actuator is operated based on a locking signal from a keyless entry device or an immobilizer authentication device, it may be determined that the vehicle is in a door locked state based on the operation of the actuator.

[0036] -Position Sensor- The position sensor 114 uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to detect the position of the vehicle 10 (vehicle position information). The information acquired by the driving operation sensor 112 is transmitted to the arithmetic unit 102.

[0037] As described above, the vehicle state sensor 113 may form part of the parking detection unit. Specifically, for example, the arithmetic unit 102 may determine that the vehicle is parked if the position where the vehicle stop is confirmed by a driving operation sensor or the like is a parking available area such as a parking lot, and may not determine that the vehicle is parked if the stop position is a non-parking area such as an intersection.

[0038] -Memory Unit- The memory unit 103 stores various information and data. The specific configuration of the memory unit 103 is not particularly limited. For example, it may be realized by a memory built into a chip, or may be realized by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or an optical disk such as a DVD or a BD.

[0039] In this example, the storage unit 103 stores vehicle information D10 and user information D20. The vehicle information D10 includes vehicle basic information D11, vehicle state information D13, and operation information D15.

[0040] 〈Vehicle basic information〉 The vehicle basic information D11 includes vehicle identification information and resource information.

[0041] The vehicle identification information includes information for identifying the vehicle, such as a VIN.

[0042] The resource information is information regarding computing resources (such as CPUs and GPUs). The resource information includes, for example, a computing resource ID assigned to each computing resource and performance information indicating the performance of each computing resource. The performance of the computing resources includes the computing power of the computing resources (specifically, the maximum computing power), the ratio of the CPU to the GPU in the computing resources, and the like. The computing power of the computing resources is, for example, the amount of data that each computing resource can calculate per unit time.

[0043] 〈Vehicle state information〉 The vehicle state information D13 is information indicating the state of the vehicle 10 and includes, for example, vehicle position information, vehicle communication information, vehicle power supply information, and the like.

[0044] The vehicle position information indicates the position (latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10. For example, the vehicle position information is acquired by the position sensor 114.

[0045] The vehicle communication information includes information indicating the communication state between the vehicle 10 and the communication network 6 and information on the communication bandwidth between the vehicle 10 and the management server 50. The vehicle communication information is updated, for example, every predetermined time.

[0046] The vehicle power supply information includes information indicating the state of the power supply of vehicle 10, vehicle battery remaining amount information, vehicle charging information, etc. For example, the vehicle power supply information indicates the on / off of the ignition power supply, the on / off of the accessory power supply, etc. The vehicle battery remaining amount information indicates the remaining amount of the battery (not shown) mounted on vehicle 10. The vehicle charging information indicates whether vehicle 10 is being charged at a charging facility (not shown).

[0047] 〈Operation information〉 The operation information D15 includes, for example, vehicle driving information indicating the driving history of vehicle 10, operation history information indicating the operation history of the arithmetic unit 102, and operation schedule information indicating the operation schedule of the arithmetic unit 102.

[0048] The vehicle driving information indicates, for example, the position and time of vehicle 10 in association. In addition to the driving history information, driving schedule information indicating the future driving schedule of vehicle 10 may be included.

[0049] The operation history information indicates, for example, the utilization rate of the arithmetic resources of the arithmetic unit 102 and / or the processing amount of jobs in association with the time. The operation history information includes a normal operation history and a grid operation history. The normal operation history is information indicating the history of operating the arithmetic unit 102 for user use, such as driving of the vehicle, providing services such as car navigation and music playback, etc. The grid operation history is information indicating the history of operating the arithmetic unit 102 to execute grid computing processing.

[0050] The operation schedule information indicates, for example, utilization schedule information indicating the future usage status of the arithmetic unit 102, etc.

[0051] 〈User information〉 The user information D20 includes main user information D21 and sub-user information D22.

[0052] The main user information D21 is information regarding the main user who is the primary user registered in the vehicle 10. The main user information D21 includes information for identifying the main user. The information for identifying the main user includes, for example, a photo of the main user taken in advance, iris information, fingerprint information, and / or voiceprint information of the main user registered in advance. The main user information D21 is updated when the main user is changed. For example, it is updated when the owner of the vehicle 10 is changed or when the driver in charge is changed in the case of a commercial vehicle. Note that the contact information of the main user (for example, the email address of the terminal device 40 owned by the main user) may be registered as the main user information D21.

[0053] The secondary user information D22 is information regarding a user (referred to as a "secondary user") who may drive other than the main user registered in the vehicle 10. The secondary user information D22 includes information for identifying the secondary user. The information for identifying the secondary user includes, for example, a photo of the secondary user taken in advance, iris information, fingerprint information, and / or voiceprint information of the secondary user registered in advance. The secondary user information D22 can be updated such as by addition or deletion. For example, the owner of the vehicle 10 can add or delete family members, friends, etc. as secondary users, or in the case of a commercial vehicle, employees who may drive can be registered as secondary users. Note that the contact information of the secondary user (for example, the email address of the terminal device 40 owned by the secondary user) may be registered as the secondary user information D22.

[0054] 〔Client Terminal〕 The client terminal 30 is owned by the client. The client requests the calculation of job data. Examples of such clients include companies, research institutions, educational institutions, etc.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 4, the client terminal 30 includes a communication unit 301, a storage unit 303, and a control unit 302.

[0056] - Communication Unit - The communication unit 301 is connected to the management server 50 so as to enable two-way communication, and transmits and receives information and data therebetween. The information and data received by the communication unit 301 are sent to the control unit 302.

[0057] -Arithmetic unit- The control unit 302 controls each part of the client terminal 30. The control unit 302 includes one or more processors, one or more memories, etc. The memory stores a program for operating the processor, information and data indicating the processing results of the processor, etc.

[0058] -Storage unit- The storage unit 303 stores information and data. In this example, the storage unit 303 stores client information D31 and job data D1.

[0059] 〈Client information〉 The client information D31 is information about the client. The client information D31 includes a client ID set for the client, a client terminal ID set for the client terminal 30 owned by the client, the name of the person in charge, the address, the telephone number, etc.

[0060] 〈Job data〉 The job data D1 is data corresponding to the job and is data processed for the execution of the job.

[0061] Note that the job data D1 can be classified according to the calculation type. Examples of the calculation type include a CPU-based calculation type, a GPU-based calculation type, etc. In the job data D1 of the CPU-based calculation type, complex calculations with many conditional branches, such as simulation calculations, tend to be required. In the job data D1 of the GPU-based calculation type, a huge amount of simple calculations, such as image processing and machine learning, tend to be required.

[0062] 〈Job information〉 Job information D32 related to a job is stored along with job data D1. The job information D32 includes, for example, job name information, job content information, calculation type of job data, processing conditions, required computing power, job due date information, and the like.

[0063] 〔Management Server〕 The management server 50 manages the operation of grid computing. In other words, the system 1 includes the management server 50. The management server 50 is owned by the operator who operates the system 1.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 5, the management server 50 includes a communication unit 501, a control unit 502, and a storage unit 503. The management server 50 has one or more processors and one or more memories, etc.

[0065] - Communication Unit - The communication unit 501 is connected to be capable of two-way communication with the vehicle 10 and the client terminal 30, and transmits and receives information and data between them. The information and data received by the communication unit 501 are sent to the control unit 502.

[0066] - Storage Unit - Various kinds of information and data are stored in the storage unit 503. The specific configuration of the storage unit 503 is not particularly limited. For example, it may be realized by a memory built into a chip, or by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or an optical disk such as a DVD or a BD.

[0067] In this example, a vehicle information table D51, a job table D53, a matching table D55, a user table D56, job data D1, and calculation result data D2 are stored in the storage unit 503.

[0068] 〈Vehicle Information Table〉 The vehicle information table D51 is a table for managing vehicle information. In the vehicle information table D51, for example, the vehicle information D10 of each vehicle is listed and stored.

[0069] 〈Job Table〉 The job table D53 is a table for managing jobs requested from clients. In the job table D53, for each job, the reception number set for the job, the client ID set for the client who requested the job, the name and details of the job, etc. are registered. Also, in the job table D53, for each job, the calculation type and processing conditions of the job data D1 corresponding to the job, the required computing power which is the computing power required for the calculation of the job data D1, the due date set for the job, etc. are registered. In the job table D53, each job data D1 is linked so that it can be known from which client the job was requested.

[0070] 〈Matching Table〉 The matching table D55 is a table for managing the results of matching in the matching process. In the matching table D55, for each job, the reception number set for the job, the job data ID set for the job data D1 corresponding to the job, the vehicle identification information of the vehicle assigned to the job data by the matching process, etc. are registered.

[0071] 〈User Table〉 The user table D56 is a table for managing the primary user and secondary user of each vehicle 10. In the user table D56, for example, the vehicle identification information of each vehicle is linked with the identification information of the primary user and secondary user of each vehicle, and is listed and stored. The form of the identification information of the primary user and secondary user is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be an identification ID assigned to each user, or may be the name of each user, etc. Also, the contact information of the primary user and secondary user is registered in the user table.

[0072] In addition, when a part of the function of the authentication unit is realized by the management server 50, it is necessary to store in the storage unit 503 information corresponding to the user information D20 (information necessary to identify the main user based on data such as a photo or biometric information received from the vehicle).

[0073] 〈Job Data〉 The job data D1 stored in the storage unit 503 is the data of a job received from the client terminal in the job reception process described later.

[0074] 〈Calculation Result Data〉 The calculation result data D2 stored in the storage unit 503 is the data of the calculation result of the job executed by each vehicle 10 by the grid computing process described later.

[0075] - Control Unit - In this example, the control unit 502 has a function of executing a series of controls and processes related to the operation and management of grid computing. For example, it executes the controls and processes in the flowcharts of FIGS. 8A and 8B described later. In the following description, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the operation and processes are described mainly with the management server 50 as the subject, but there are cases where they are realized by the contribution of the control unit 502 to the processes and controls.

[0076] The control unit 502 stores the information and data received from the client terminal 30 in the storage unit 503. For example, when the control unit 502 receives the job data D1 from the client terminal 30, it stores the job data D1 in the storage unit 503. Also, when the control unit 502 receives the job information D32 from the client terminal 30, it registers it in the job table D53 of the storage unit 503.

[0077] The control unit 502 stores the information and / or data received from each vehicle 10 and / or the terminal device 40 of the main user in the storage unit 503. For example, when the control unit 502 receives vehicle information D10 (including vehicle driving information and resource information) from the vehicle 10, it registers it in the vehicle information table D51 of the storage unit 503. Also, for example, when the control unit 502 receives an addition / removal notice of a secondary user from the terminal device 40 of the main user, it updates the user information in the user table D56.

[0078] [Operation of Grid Computing System] In the following, an operation example of the grid computing system will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 10. FIG. 6 is a flowchart centered on the operation of the vehicle and control / processing in the vehicle. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation example of grid computing. FIGS. 8 (FIGS. 8A and 8B) are flowcharts describing the same operations as FIGS. 6 and 7 from the viewpoints of cooperation between the vehicle and the management device, and cooperation between the management device and the terminal device owned by the user. The same processes in FIGS. 6 and 7 and FIGS. 8 (FIGS. 8A and 8B) are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0079] -Step S11 (S41, S51)- In step S11, the main user is registered in the vehicle 10. The method of registering the main user is not particularly limited. For example, the information of the main user may be registered while the vehicle is parked or in motion using the passenger sensor 111 provided in the vehicle interior, or the main user registration may be performed by transferring information from the terminal device 40 to the vehicle using the terminal device 40 owned by the main user. In addition to the main user, a secondary user may be registered. Also, the contact information of the main user may be registered in the vehicle 10. The method of registering the contact information of the main user is not particularly limited, and a method widely known conventionally can be used.

[0080] The registration information of the main user and the secondary user is stored in the storage unit 103 as user information D20.

[0081] Further, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, identification information of the main user and their contact information are registered in the vehicle information D10 of the vehicle 10 owned by the main user in association with the management server 50 from the terminal device 40.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 1, in this example, the vehicle owner P11 registers himself / herself as the main user P11 in the management server 50 using the terminal device 41 for the vehicle 11 he / she owns. Also, the vehicle owner P21 registers himself / herself as the main user P21 and another person as the secondary user P22 in the management server 50 using the terminal device 42 for the vehicle 12 he / she owns. In each of the terminal devices 41 and 42, information necessary for management in the user table D56 is transmitted to the management server 50 based on the input information of each main user P11 and P21.

[0083] The processing here corresponds to a registration process of registering the driving candidate and their contact information. Also, the main users P11 and P21 and the secondary user P22 are examples of registered users.

[0084] - Steps S12, S13 - In step S12, the ignition power of the vehicle 10 is turned on (in the case of an electric vehicle, the drive power is turned on), and the running of the vehicle 10 is started. In the next step S13, the arithmetic unit 102 authenticates the driver who drives the vehicle 10 during running based on the input information from the sensor group 110 from the start of running of the vehicle 10 to parking. In this example, in the vehicle 11, the main user P11 is driving, and in the vehicle 12, the secondary user P22 is driving. Then, in the vehicle 11, the main user P11 is authenticated as the driver, and in the vehicle 12, the secondary user P22 is authenticated as the driver.

[0085] The processing here corresponds to an authentication process of authenticating the driver based on the detection information of the sensor.

[0086] - Step S14 - In step S14, for example, the vehicle 10 enters the parking lot and enters the parking area, and the ignition power supply is turned off (in the case of an electric vehicle, the drive power supply is turned off), changing from the running state to the parking state. Then, the parking detection unit (for example, the driving operation sensor 112 and the vehicle state sensor 113) detects the parking state of the vehicle, and the flow proceeds to the next step S15.

[0087] - Step S15 - In step S15, the arithmetic unit 102 determines whether the grid start condition is satisfied. Specifically, for example, as the grid start condition, in a state where the parking detection unit has detected the parking of the vehicle, after the driver's getting out of the vehicle is confirmed, a condition that the door lock state of the vehicle is detected by the lock detection unit is set.

[0088] FIG. 9 shows an example of the determination flow of the grid start condition. In the example of FIG. 9, the arithmetic unit 102 executes the determinations in steps S151 to S154 in parallel. In step S151, the opening / closing state of the door is determined using the lid sensor. In step S152, the door lock state is determined using the lid sensor. In step S153, the opening / closing state of the hood is determined using the lid sensor. In step S154, the position of the liftgate and the opening / closing state of the trunk are determined using the lid sensor.

[0089] In the next step S155, the arithmetic unit 102 determines the door lock state of the vehicle 10 based on the determination results of steps S151 to S154. For example, if the passenger compartment is closed and they are in a locked state, the arithmetic unit 102 determines that the determination result of the door lock state is OK, that is, it determines that the grid start condition is satisfied. In this example, when the arithmetic unit 102 detects in step S151 that all doors are in the closed state, in step S152 that all doors are in the locked state, in step S153 that the bonnet is in the closed state, and in step S154 that the liftgate is in the closed position and the trunk is in the closed state, it determines that the grid start condition is satisfied. If the determination in step S155 is OK, the flow proceeds to the next step S20 (see FIG. 6).

[0090] - Step S20 - FIG. 7 shows an example of the processing of the grid operation in step S20.

[0091] - Step S21 - In step S21, the arithmetic unit 102 starts the grid operation.

[0092] In this example, the arithmetic unit 102 requests the management server 50 to transmit the job data D1 used for the grid operation. The control unit 502 of the management server 50 that has received the transmission request from the arithmetic unit 102 transmits the job data D1 for the application job to be requested to the vehicle 11. When the arithmetic unit 102 receives the job data D1 used for the grid operation from the management server 50, it starts the grid operation using the received job data D1.

[0093] - Step S22 - In step S22, the arithmetic unit 102 determines whether the state of the vehicle satisfies the continuation condition of the grid operation.

[0094] In this example, in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the determinations in steps S151 to S154 are executed in parallel. Then, when any one of the following events occurs: (1) any door has been opened in step S151, (2) any door has been unlocked in step S152, (3) the hood has been opened in step S153, and (4) the liftgate has moved to the open position and the trunk has been opened in step S154, it is determined that the continuation condition of the grid operation is no longer satisfied. In other words, when the closed state (e.g., door locked state) of the vehicle 10 is released, the arithmetic unit 102 determines that the continuation condition of the grid operation is no longer satisfied.

[0095] And when the state of the vehicle satisfies the continuation condition of the grid operation (YES in step S22), the grid operation continues until the operation ends (NO in step S23). Then, when the grid operation ends (YES in step S23), the operation result is transmitted to the management server 50 (step S28), and when the management server 50 receives the operation result from the arithmetic unit 102, the series of processes ends (step S29). Note that when there is room in the parking time, the process of step S20 described above may be repeatedly executed.

[0096] On the other hand, when the state of the vehicle does not satisfy the continuation condition of the grid operation (NO in step S22), that is, when the closed state of the vehicle 10 is released, the flow proceeds to the next step S24.

[0097] - Step S24 - In step S24, it is determined whether the operation by a person who entered the vehicle after the door lock state was released (hereinafter also referred to as "unlocked") is based on a normal operation by the driver (hereinafter also referred to as "immediate previous driver") who was authenticated in the previous driving. In this example, the immediate previous driver of the vehicle 11 is the main user P11, and the immediate previous driver of the vehicle 12 is the sub-user P22. The immediate previous driver is an example of the first driver.

[0098] FIG. 10 shows an example of a determination flow for whether an operation is a normal operation when the door lock state is released, and FIG. 11 shows it in a matrix table.

[0099] In step S24, first, as shown in FIG. 10, a determination process is executed to determine whether the unlocking operation itself is normal.

[0100] In step S241 of FIG. 10, when an unlocking operation is detected, based on the execution results of (1) detection of the door lock / unlock operation state (step S242), (2) detection of the situation inside the vehicle cabin (step S243), and (3) detection of the surrounding situation (step S244), an irregular operation determination (step S245) and an illegal determination (step S246) are executed.

[0101] FIG. 11 shows an example of how the determinations in steps S245 and S246 are made according to what operation (event) has occurred with respect to the state before the operation. In the table, the places marked with "notification" are the events determined as "irregular operations", the places marked with "stop" are the events determined as "illegal operations", and the places marked with "normal" are the events determined as "normal operations". In the example of FIG. 11, when an unlock is detected without using the keyless remote control in a state where there is no person inside the vehicle, it is determined as an "illegal operation".

[0102] If it is determined in step S245 that the operation is irregular, a push notification to that effect is sent to the terminal device of the primary user or the terminal device of the previous driver via the management server 50. Also, if it is determined in step S246 that the operation is illegal, the grid operation is immediately stopped. If it is not determined as an irregular operation in step S245 and not determined as an illegal operation in step S246, the unlocking operation is recognized as a normal operation (step S247), and it is determined whether it is an operation based on the operation of the previous driver.

[0103] <Processing When Unlocking Is Due to the Operation of the Immediate Preceding Driver> FIG. 8A shows an example when unlocking is due to the operation of the immediate preceding driver. In other words, it shows an example of the operation when it is detected in step S22 that the vehicle has changed from the locked state to the unlocked state, and in step S24, it is determined that the unlocking operation was performed by the immediate preceding driver. Steps S11 to S24 in FIG. 8A are the same operations as described above, and are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 7.

[0104] In step S27, after the locked state of the vehicle is released based on the unlocking operation and the person who enters the vehicle is the immediate preceding driver, the arithmetic unit 102 stops the grid calculation. Then, the arithmetic result executed until the calculation is stopped is transmitted to the management server 50 (step S28). In step S55, when the management server 50 receives the arithmetic result from the arithmetic unit 102, the grid calculation process ends (step S29). Note that when the calculation is interrupted midway, the arithmetic result up to that point may be saved in the storage unit 103, the continuation may be executed at the next parking, and the process of step S28 may be executed after a series of calculations for the job data D1 are completed.

[0105] <Processing When Unlocking Is Due to the Operation of Someone Other Than the Immediate Preceding Driver or the Registered User> FIG. 8B shows an example when the unlocking operation is not due to the operation of the immediate preceding driver and is by someone other than the registered user. The registered users in this example are the main user P11 in vehicle 11, the main user P21 and the secondary user P22 in vehicle 12.

[0106] In S24, when the person who enters the vehicle after the above unlocking operation is performed and the locked state is released is someone other than the immediate preceding driver or the registered user, the grid calculation is not automatically stopped.

[0107] In this case, in step S25 of FIG. 7, the arithmetic unit 102 transmits a request for inquiry to the immediate previous driver to the management server 50 regarding stopping the grid operation. In the next step S26, it is determined whether or not permission to stop the grid operation has been issued from the immediate previous driver.

[0108] As described above, since the immediate previous driver of the vehicle 11 is the main user P11, in the case of the vehicle 11, it becomes a request for inquiry to the main user P11. Since the immediate previous driver of the vehicle 12 is the sub - user P, in the case of the vehicle 12, it becomes a request for inquiry to the sub - user P22.

[0109] Returning to FIG. 8B, in step S52, when the management server 50 receives the above - mentioned inquiry request from the vehicle 10 (vehicles 11, 12), it refers to the user table D56 in the storage unit 503. Then, in the case of the vehicle 11, a confirmation contact is sent to the contact information of the main user P11 (here, the terminal device 41) asking whether it is okay to stop the grid operation being executed in the vehicle 11. Similarly, in the case of the vehicle 12, a confirmation contact is sent to the contact information of the sub - user P22 (here, the terminal device 43) asking whether it is okay to stop the grid operation being executed in the vehicle 12.

[0110] In step S42, when the terminal device 40 (41, 43) receives the above - mentioned confirmation contact from the management server 50, it displays the content on the display screen and accepts the response operations of the immediate previous drivers P11, P22. When the terminal device 40 (41, 43) acquires the response operation information from the immediate previous driver, it transmits the response result to the management server 50.

[0111] In step S53, when the management server 50 receives the above - mentioned response result from the terminal device 40 (41, 43), it transmits the content to the vehicle 10 (11, 12). In FIG. 8B, an example where the immediate previous driver permits the stop of the grid operation is shown.

[0112] Regarding the subsequent processing of steps S27 - S29 and step S55, it is the same as in the case of FIG. 8A.

[0113] 〔Effects of the Embodiment〕 As described above, according to the above embodiment, when a person who enters the vehicle after the locked state of the vehicle is released is the immediately preceding driver authenticated in the immediately preceding driving, the grid operation is stopped and the computing resources of the vehicle are released from the grid operation. On the other hand, when a person who enters the vehicle after the locked state of the vehicle is released is not the first driver and is not the registered user, a contact inquiry is sent to the contact information of the immediately preceding driver, and the grid operation is stopped on the condition that a contact agreeing to the operation stop is received from the contact information, and the computing resources are released from the grid operation.

[0114] Thereby, it is possible to prevent the interruption of the grid operation not intended by the first driver.

[0115] In addition, the above embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combination. The above embodiments are essentially preferred examples, and are not intended to limit the technology disclosed herein, its applications, or the scope of its use. That is, the foregoing embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present disclosure should not be construed restrictively. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, and all modifications and changes belonging to the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Industrial Applicability

[0116] As described above, the technology disclosed herein is useful as a technology for managing grid computing.

Explanation of Signs

[0117] 1 Grid computing system 10 Vehicle 102 Computing device 111 Occupant sensor (sensor) 113 Vehicle state sensor (lock detection unit) 50 Management server 503 Storage unit D56 User table

Claims

1. A method for managing grid computing that utilizes computing resources installed in a vehicle, comprising: the vehicle is provided with a sensor for recognizing an occupant and a lock detection unit for detecting the state of the vehicle's door lock; a registration step of registering a registered user who is a candidate for driving the vehicle and the contact information of the registered user in a user table; an authentication step of authenticating a driver based on the detection information of the sensor; a computing step of executing grid computing operations using the computing resources while the vehicle is in a door-locked state, wherein, in the computing step, if the lock detection unit detects that the door lock state of the vehicle is released during the execution period of the operation, if the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the door lock state is the first driver authenticated in the previous driving in the authentication step, the operation is stopped and the computing resources of the vehicle are released from the operation, while if the person who enters the vehicle after the release of the door lock state is neither the first driver nor the registered user, a contact inquiry is sent to the contact information of the first driver, and the operation is stopped and the computing resources are released from the operation on the condition that a contact is received agreeing to stop the operation from the contact information. A method for managing grid computing.

2. When the vehicle is compatible with a keyless entry system, if the lock detection unit detects the release of the door lock state not by the keyless entry system during the execution period of the operation in the computing step, the operation is stopped. The method for managing grid computing according to Claim 1.

3. A grid computing system including a management server for managing grid computing and a vehicle configured to be able to participate in the grid computing, wherein the vehicle includes a computing device having computing resources, a sensor for recognizing an occupant, and a lock detection unit for detecting the state of the vehicle's door lock, the management server includes a storage unit that stores a user table in which registered users who are candidates for driving the vehicle and their contact information are registered, the computing device of the vehicle executes an authentication step of authenticating a driver based on the detection information of the sensor and a computing step of executing grid computing operations using the computing resources while the vehicle is in a door-locked state. In the arithmetic operation process, when the unlocking of the door lock state of the vehicle is detected by the lock detection unit during the execution period of the operation, if the person who entered the vehicle after the unlocking of the door lock state is the first driver who was authenticated in the previous driving in the authentication process, while stopping the operation and releasing the computing resources of the vehicle from the operation, if the person who entered the vehicle after the unlocking of the door lock state is neither the first driver nor the registered user, a contact inquiry is sent to the contact information of the first driver via the management server, and the operation is stopped and the computing resources are released from the operation on the condition that a contact indicating consent to stop the operation is received from the contact information. Grid computing system.

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