Electronic control unit and probe data transmission control method

Abstract

This electronic control unit, which stores and provides experience information including probe data and map data to a computer with which the electronic control unit communicates, has a memory for storing probe data, acquires and records the probe data in the memory at each recording cycle, and transmits the probe data recorded in the memory to the computer. A base recording cycle is set as the initial value of said recording cycle. If the communication with the computer is interrupted, the electronic control unit updates the recording cycle to a cycle longer than the base recording cycle.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic control unit for storing and transmitting probe data. [Background technology]

[0002] Various services have been devised that utilize probe data collected from vehicles, including vehicle speed, steering, and temperature. For example, there is a service that provides road information generated using probe data to ensure safe and comfortable vehicle driving.

[0003] Vehicles and data-collecting devices communicate via a network. If communication is interrupted, the vehicle cannot transmit probe data to the device and continues to store the probe data. If communication continues to be interrupted, the vehicle's memory will run out of free space and the probe data will no longer be able to be stored. This will result in a loss of probe data to be sent to the device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-71753 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A technology is needed to prevent probe data loss when communication between a vehicle and a device is interrupted. The technology described in Patent Document 1 is known as a technology for dealing with communication interruptions between a vehicle and a device communicating with the vehicle.

[0006] Patent document 1 states that "the management system is a management system in which an autonomous driving assistance center manages the vehicle status of an autonomously driving vehicle by periodically communicating with the autonomously driving vehicle, and includes: a vehicle-side device 20 that is provided in the autonomous vehicle and has a vehicle-side decision unit 21C that decides whether to continue autonomous driving based on communication status information that indicates the communication status between the autonomous driving assistance center and the autonomous vehicle at each location where the autonomous vehicle can drive within the area managed by the management system when communication with the autonomous driving assistance center is interrupted; and a center-side device 10 that is provided in the autonomous driving assistance center and has a center-side decision unit 11D that decides whether to contact an assistant that provides assistance to the autonomous vehicle based on the communication status information when communication with the autonomous vehicle is interrupted."

[0007] The technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology for determining whether or not autonomous driving can continue, and cannot prevent probe data from being lost.

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a technology that prevents probe data containing important information from being lost when communication between a vehicle and a device that collects probe data is interrupted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: That is, an electronic control unit that stores and communicates with a computer that provides experience information including probe data transmitted from a vehicle and map data of a route traveled by the vehicle, the electronic control unit including a first memory that stores the probe data; a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; the probe data is acquired for each recording period, and recorded in the first memory; the probe data recorded in the first memory is transmitted to the computer; and a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; When the experience information including data on a time period in which a communication disruption occurred is stored in the second memory, a disruption duration, which is the duration of the communication disruption, is calculated based on the time period and the current time, and a new period is calculated based on the disruption duration, the base recording period, and the free space in the first memory. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, even if communication between the vehicle and the device is interrupted, it is possible to prevent the loss of probe data containing important information. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by the information transmitting and receiving device according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the embodiments shown below. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the specific configuration can be changed without departing from the spirit or intent of the present invention.

[0013] In the configuration of the invention described below, the same or similar configurations or functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0014] In this specification, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. are used to identify components and do not necessarily limit the number or order.

[0015] To facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings etc. may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings etc. [Example]

[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system according to a first embodiment.

[0017] The system is composed of a vehicle 10 and an experience information management server 11. The vehicle 10 and the experience information management server 11 are connected to each other via a network.

[0018] The experience information management server 11 accumulates experience information including probe data and map data of the route traveled by the vehicle, and also provides the experience information to the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 to which the experience information is provided is not limited to the vehicle that transmitted the probe data included in the experience information.

[0019] The probe data includes, for example, sensor measurement results, vehicle position, speed, acceleration, data related to steering operation, communication status, temperature, weather, etc. The present invention is not limited to the values ​​included in the probe data, nor is it limited to the data format of the probe data.

[0020] The vehicle 10 includes an antenna 101, an antenna 102, a sensor 103, a sensor recognition / cognition device 104, a location information receiving device 105, a map information distribution device 106, a determination device 107, a vehicle control device 108, a communication device 109, and an information transmitting / receiving device 110. Note that the engine, steering device, etc. are omitted.

[0021] The information transmitting / receiving device 110 is connected to the sensor 103 , the sensor recognition / cognition device 104 , the map information distribution device 106 , the determination device 107 , the vehicle control device 108 , and the communication device 109 .

[0022] The sensor recognition and awareness device 104, the location information receiving device 105, the map information distribution device 106, the determination device 107, the vehicle control device 108, and the information transmission and reception device 110 are, for example, electronic control units (ECUs) including a CPU, memory, input / output devices, etc.

[0023] The sensor 103 is a sensor for recognizing the state of the surroundings of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, a camera, a radar, or the like. The vehicle 10 has a plurality of sensors 103 of different types. The vehicle 10 in FIG. 1 has (n+1) sensors 103. The sensor 103 transmits measurement results to the sensor recognition / cognition device 104 via the information transmission / reception device 110.

[0024] The sensor recognition and perception device 104 recognizes objects (people, bicycles, vehicles, etc.) around the vehicle 10 based on the measurement results sent from the sensor 103, and also recognizes the distance, direction, speed, etc. (depending on the sensor) between the object and the vehicle 10.

[0025] The location information receiving device 105 acquires location information such as GPS via the antenna 101. The map information distribution device 106 holds map information.

[0026] The determination device 107 generates control information for controlling the vehicle 10 based on the vehicle position, information output from the sensor recognition and perception device 104, experience information, etc., and transmits the control information to the vehicle control device 108.

[0027] The vehicle control device 108 controls the steering, accelerator, brakes, etc. of the vehicle 10 based on the control information.

[0028] The communication device 109 communicates with the experience information management server 11 via the antenna 102 .

[0029] The information transmitting / receiving device 110 periodically accumulates probe data and transmits it to the experience information management server 11 via the communication device 109. The information transmitting / receiving device 110 also receives and stores experience information from the experience information management server 11 via the communication device 109.

[0030] The information transmission / reception device 110 has a control unit 150, a routing unit 151, a data collection unit 152, an experience information storage unit 153, a probe data storage unit 154, a recording period update unit 155, a vehicle position determination unit 156, a communication disruption detection unit 157, and an event detection unit 158.

[0031] The control unit 150 controls the information transmitting and receiving device 110 as a whole.

[0032] The routing unit 151 communicates with the sensor 103 , the sensor recognition / cognition device 104 , the map information distribution device 106 , the determination device 107 , the vehicle control device 108 , and the communication device 109 .

[0033] The data collection unit 152 collects data related to the measurement results of the sensor 103, the position of the vehicle 10, the control state of the vehicle 10, the communication state, etc. in accordance with a recording period, and records probe data including the collected data in the probe data storage unit 154. The probe data storage unit 154 transmits the stored probe data to the experience information management server 11 in accordance with a transmission period. The recording period and the transmission period may be the same or different.

[0034] The experience information storage unit 153 records the experience information received from the experience information management server 11. The following variations are possible as a method for acquiring the experience information: Note that the present invention is not limited to the method for acquiring the experience information.

[0035] (Variation 1) When the travel route is known in advance, the information transmitting / receiving device 110 acquires all experience information related to the travel route from the experience information management server 11 before the vehicle 10 starts traveling.

[0036] (Variation 2) The information transmitting / receiving device 110 acquires experience information related to a predetermined section of the travel route from the experience information management server 11 for each predetermined distance or at each predetermined interval.

[0037] The recording period update unit 155 updates the recording period. In the following description, the initial recording period is referred to as the base recording period.

[0038] The vehicle position determination unit 156 determines the position of the vehicle 10 on the map based on the map information and the position information.

[0039] The communication disruption detection unit 157 monitors the state of communication with the experience information management server 11, and detects or predicts a communication disruption. The prediction of a communication disruption is performed, for example, based on experience information in which data related to a communication disruption is recorded.

[0040] The event detection unit 158 ​​detects an event that triggers updating of the recording period. For example, the event detection unit 158 ​​detects a sudden change in speed or steering angle as an event. The event detection unit 158 ​​also detects the blinking of a turn signal as an event.

[0041] The functional units of the information transmitting and receiving device 110 may be configured such that multiple functional units are combined into one functional unit, or one functional unit is divided into multiple functional units.

[0042] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the information transmitting and receiving device 110 according to the first embodiment.

[0043] When the information transmitting and receiving device 110 detects a communication interruption or predicts a communication interruption, it executes the process described below.

[0044] The information transmitting / receiving device 110 acquires the position information of the vehicle 10 before communication is interrupted (step S101), and collates it with map information to identify the position of the vehicle 10 on the map (step S102).

[0045] The information transmitting and receiving device 110 refers to the experience information related to the position of the vehicle 10, and determines whether the experience information includes data on communication disruption (step S103). The data on communication disruption is, for example, data on a route where communication disruption occurs (for example, a tunnel) and data on a time period where communication disruption occurs.

[0046] If the experience information does not include data related to communication disruption, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 updates the recording period to the maximum value (step S104), and then proceeds to step S106. It is assumed that the maximum value of the recording period is set in the information transmitting and receiving device 110 in advance.

[0047] If the experience information includes data relating to communication interruption, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 updates the recording period using the experience information (step S105), and then proceeds to step S106. For example, the following update method is possible.

[0048] (Update Method 1) If the experience information includes data for a time period during which communication disruption occurs, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the duration of the disruption based on that time period and the current time. The information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the predicted amount of data to be recorded in the probe data storage unit 154 based on the duration of the disruption, the base recording period, and the data size of the probe data. It is assumed that the data size of the probe data is set in advance. Note that the data size of the probe data may also be calculated based on the results of previous probe data collection. If the predicted data amount is greater than the free space in the probe data storage unit 154, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 sets a new recording period that is longer than the base recording period. The change in the recording period can be calculated, for example, based on the difference between the predicted data amount and the free space.

[0049] (Update Method 2) When the experience information includes data on a route where a communication outage occurs, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the duration of the outage based on the route, the position, speed, and current time of the vehicle 10. The information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the predicted amount of data to be recorded in the probe data storage unit 154 based on the duration of the outage, the current recording cycle, and the data size of the probe data.

[0050] In both update methods, a new recording period longer than the base recording period is set. This prevents the probe data storage unit 154 from running out of free space. Although this control makes the probe data acquisition interval more frequent, it prevents the period during which probe data cannot be acquired from becoming longer. In other words, it prevents probe data containing important information from being lost.

[0051] The period may be calculated taking into consideration the transmission period of the probe data.

[0052] In step S106, the information transmitting / receiving device 110 monitors the state of the vehicle 10 and determines whether or not an event has occurred (step S106).

[0053] If no event has occurred, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 proceeds to step S110.

[0054] When an event occurs, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 updates the recording period (step S107).

[0055] For example, a new recording period is set to a period that is longer than the base recording period and shorter than the current recording period. The recording period is updated based on a preset rule.

[0056] The information transmitting and receiving device 110 monitors the state of the vehicle 10 and determines whether the event has ended (step S108). For example, if the change in steering or speed becomes small, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 determines that the event has ended.

[0057] If the event has not ended, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 proceeds to step S110.

[0058] When the event has ended, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 updates the recording period to the original value (step S109), and then proceeds to step S110, where the original value indicates the recording period set in step S105.

[0059] By updating the recording period when an event occurs, probe data containing important information can be acquired with priority.

[0060] In step S110, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 determines whether the communication interruption has been resolved (step S110).

[0061] If the communication outage has not been resolved, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 returns to step S106.

[0062] When the communication interruption is resolved, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 updates the recording period to the base recording period (step S111), and then ends the process.

[0063] Note that step S104 may be changed to the following process. The information transmitting and receiving device 110 periodically checks the free space in the probe data storage unit 154 and updates the recording cycle based on the free space. For example, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the time when the free space in the probe data storage unit 154 will run out based on the free space in the probe data storage unit 154 and the current recording cycle. The information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the grace time by adding a predetermined time to that time. The information transmitting and receiving device 110 calculates the cycle when the free space will run out at the grace time and sets it as a new recording cycle.

[0064] If there is no free space in the probe data storage unit 154, the information transmitting and receiving device 110 may secure free space in the probe data storage unit 154 by deleting the oldest probe data.

[0065] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments are provided to explain the present invention in detail, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, some of the configurations of each embodiment can be added to, deleted from, or replaced with other configurations.

[0066] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The present invention can also be realized by software program code that implements the functions of the embodiments. In this case, a storage medium on which the program code is recorded is provided to a computer, and a processor included in the computer reads the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium on which it is stored constitute the present invention. Examples of storage media for providing such program code include flexible disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disks, solid-state drives (SSDs), optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and ROMs.

[0067] Furthermore, the program code that realizes the functions described in this embodiment can be implemented in a wide range of program or script languages, such as assembler, C / C++, perl, Shell, PHP, Python, and Java.

[0068] Furthermore, the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the embodiments may be distributed via a network and stored in a storage means such as a computer's hard disk or memory, or in a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R, and the processor of the computer may read and execute the program code stored in the storage means or storage medium.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown in the product. All components may be interconnected.

Claims

1. An electronic control unit that communicates with a computer that stores and provides experience information including probe data transmitted from a vehicle and map data of a route traveled by the vehicle, a first memory for storing the probe data and a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; The probe data is acquired for each recording period and recorded in the first memory; transmitting the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; When the experience information including data on a time period in which a communication disruption occurred is stored in the second memory, a disruption duration, which is the duration of the communication disruption, is calculated based on the time period and the current time; an electronic control unit that calculates a new period based on the interruption duration, the base recording period, and the free space in the first memory;

2. An electronic control unit that communicates with a computer that accumulates and provides experience information including probe data transmitted from a vehicle and map data of a route traveled by the vehicle, a first memory for storing the probe data and a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; The probe data is acquired for each recording period and recorded in the first memory; transmitting the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; The electronic control unit When the experience information including data on a route on which a communication disruption has occurred is stored in the second memory, a disruption duration that is a duration of the communication disruption is calculated based on the route and the position of the vehicle; an electronic control unit that calculates a new period based on the interruption duration, the base recording period, and the free space in the first memory;

3. An electronic control unit that communicates with a computer that accumulates and provides experience information including probe data transmitted from a vehicle and map data of a route traveled by the vehicle, a first memory for storing the probe data; The probe data is acquired for each recording period and recorded in the first memory; transmitting the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; The electronic control unit updating the recording period to a period longer than the base recording period when a communication interruption with the computer occurs or when a communication interruption with the computer is predicted; After the recording period is updated, the occurrence of any one of a sudden change in speed, a change in steering angle, and a blinking of a turn signal is monitored; When the occurrence of the event is detected, the electronic control unit updates the recording period to a period whose length is equal to or greater than the base recording period and equal to or less than the current period.

4. A method for controlling transmission of probe data executed by an electronic control unit, comprising: The electronic control unit a computer that stores and provides experience information including probe data and map data of routes traveled by the vehicle, and is communicably connected to the computer; a first memory for storing the probe data and a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; The probe data transmission control method includes: a first step in which the electronic control unit acquires the probe data for each recording period and records the probe data in the first memory; a second step in which the electronic control unit transmits the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; the probe data transmission control method includes a third step of the electronic control unit updating the recording period to a period longer than the base recording period when a communication interruption with the computer occurs or when a communication interruption with the computer is predicted, The third step includes: When the experience information including data on a time period during which a communication disruption occurred is stored in the second memory, the electronic control unit calculates a disruption duration, which is a duration during which the communication disruption will continue, based on the time period and the current time; a step in which the electronic control unit calculates a new period based on the duration of the interruption, the base recording period, and the free space in the first memory.

5. A method for controlling transmission of probe data executed by an electronic control unit, comprising: The electronic control unit a computer that stores and provides experience information including probe data and map data of routes traveled by the vehicle, and is communicably connected to the computer; a first memory for storing the probe data and a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; The probe data transmission control method includes: a first step in which the electronic control unit acquires the probe data for each recording period and records the probe data in the first memory; a second step in which the electronic control unit transmits the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; The probe data transmission control method includes a third step in which the electronic control unit updates the recording period to a period longer than the base recording period when a communication interruption with the computer occurs or when a communication interruption with the computer is predicted, and the third step includes: When the experience information including data on a route on which a communication disruption has occurred is stored in the second memory, the electronic control unit calculates a disruption duration, which is a duration of the communication disruption, based on the route and the position of the vehicle; a step in which the electronic control unit calculates a new period based on the duration of the interruption, the base recording period, and the free space in the first memory.

6. A method for controlling transmission of probe data executed by an electronic control unit, comprising: The electronic control unit a computer that stores and provides experience information including probe data and map data of routes traveled by the vehicle, and is communicably connected to the computer; a first memory for storing the probe data and a second memory for storing the experience information transmitted from the computer; The probe data transmission control method includes: the electronic control unit acquiring the probe data for each recording period and recording the probe data in the first memory; the electronic control unit transmitting the probe data recorded in the first memory to the computer; a base recording period is set as an initial value of the recording period; The probe data transmission control method includes: updating the recording period to a period longer than the base recording period by the electronic control unit when a communication interruption with the computer occurs or when a communication interruption with the computer is predicted; monitoring the occurrence of any one of an abrupt change in speed, a change in steering angle, and a blinking of a turn signal after the recording period is updated; When the occurrence of the event is detected, the electronic control unit updates the recording period to a period that is equal to or longer than the base recording period and equal to or shorter than the current period.

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