Vehicle communication control system

Abstract

To realize a vehicle communication control system which improves communication quality by controlling a position of an antenna of an own vehicle based on a communication situation of another vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle communication control system, which performs wireless communication between an own vehicle and another vehicle, comprises: a plurality of communication antennas 14; a communication situation acquisition section 18 which acquires information on a position of the antenna including the position of the antenna selected by the other vehicle and an angle of the selected antenna as a communication situation of the other vehicle; an antenna drive section 26 which drives the plurality of communication antennas 14 of the own vehicle; and an antenna control section 20 which controls the antenna drive section 26 so as to control the position of the communication antenna 14 by selecting the antenna to be driven from the plurality of communication antennas 14 and changing the angle of the selected antenna based on the communication situation of the other vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle communication control system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A communication control system for a vehicle is known that controls the arrangement of an antenna so as not to degrade the quality of communication.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless device that has two movable antennas, a communication antenna and a measurement antenna, and changes the position of the communication antenna based on the optimal communication conditions searched for using the measurement antenna. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-017156 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in wireless communication, the quality of communication may change for various reasons and fall below a predetermined reference value. To avoid such a drop in communication quality, it is necessary to grasp the optimal communication conditions and control the antenna placement accordingly. However, in a moving vehicle, the communication quality changes from moment to moment. Therefore, even if the optimal communication conditions can be grasped, the vehicle continues to move while the antenna placement is being changed based on the grasped conditions, and the communication conditions may change. In other words, it is difficult to maintain the optimal communication conditions and always perform actual communication at high quality.

[0006] In order to avoid the above problems, it is conceivable to predict the communication situation for a certain time period ahead and control the arrangement of antennas in accordance with the results.

[0007] Therefore, this specification discloses a vehicle communication control system that acquires information about the antenna arrangement, including the position of the antenna selected by another vehicle and the angle of the selected antenna, as the communication status of the other vehicle, and controls the antenna arrangement of the vehicle itself based on the communication status. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle communication control system disclosed in this specification is a vehicle communication control system that performs wireless communication between a vehicle and another vehicle, and is characterized by comprising: a plurality of communication antennas; a communication status acquisition unit that acquires information about the antenna arrangement including the position of the antenna selected by the other vehicle and the angle of the selected antenna as the communication status of the other vehicle; an antenna drive unit that drives the plurality of communication antennas of the vehicle; and an antenna control unit that controls the antenna drive unit based on the communication status of the other vehicle to select an antenna to drive from the plurality of communication antennas and change the angle of the selected antenna to control the arrangement of the plurality of communication antennas. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the vehicle communication control system disclosed in this specification, the antenna position of the vehicle can be changed based on the communication status of other vehicles obtained, thereby improving communication quality. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a vehicle equipped with a communication control system. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a communication control system. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the communication control system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The communication control system will be described below with reference to the drawings. In Fig. 1, "Fr," "Up," and "W" indicate the front, top, and width directions of the vehicle, respectively. The left and right directions in the width direction of the vehicle are defined as the left and right directions when looking forward from the vehicle.

[0012] 1 is a plan view showing a vehicle equipped with a communication control system. Vehicle 10 is equipped with communication control system 12. Communication control system 12 is a system that performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication to exchange various information with other vehicles in the vicinity of vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as "own vehicle 10" as appropriate), and controls the placement of a communication antenna of own vehicle 10 based on the communication status of the other vehicles.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 is equipped with multiple antennas 14a-14e for wireless communication. Hereinafter, when the antennas 14a-14e are not particularly distinguished from one another, they will be collectively referred to simply as antenna 14. While FIG. 1 shows an example in which the antenna 14 is installed outside the vehicle, this is merely an example, and the antenna 14 may be formed as a pattern on the surface of the glass using printed lines or the like, or may be installed on the inside of the glass. In this example, the vehicle 10 is equipped with five antennas 14a-14e, but the number of antennas is not limited to this.

[0014] Next, the communication control system 12 will be described in more detail using Figure 2. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the communication control system 12. The communication control system 12 includes a host device 16, a communication status acquisition unit 18, an antenna control unit 20, a communication device 22, a multiport switch 24, and antenna driving units 26a-26e.

[0015] The host device 16 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls each component of the communication control system 12. The host device 16 may also have the function of controlling various other devices mounted on the vehicle 10. The communication status acquisition unit 18 acquires the communication status of other vehicles around the vehicle 10. In this example, the other vehicle is a vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as a "vehicle traveling ahead"), which is a vehicle on the route that the vehicle 10 will travel from now on. The vehicle traveling ahead is, for example, a vehicle traveling in the same direction ahead, but may also be a vehicle on the route to the left or right of the vehicle 10 if the route is known. Furthermore, the traveling directions may be opposite to each other, or there may be multiple vehicles traveling in different directions. The communication status acquisition unit 18 acquires information on the antenna arrangement, including the position and angle of the antenna selected by the other vehicle, and information on the reception level, as the communication status of the other vehicle. Although the communication status acquisition unit 18 is shown as being independent of the host device 16 in FIG. 2, it may be included in the host device 16 as one of the functions that the host device 16 has.

[0016] The antenna control unit 20 controls the multiport switch 24 and antenna drivers 26a-26e (described later) based on the communication status of other vehicles. Although the antenna control unit 20 is shown in Fig. 2 as being independent from the host device 16, it may be included in the host device 16 as one of its functions.

[0017] The communication device 22 is a device that performs signal processing necessary for communication with devices external to the vehicle 10, such as signal processing for wireless communication and signal processing for connecting to a network such as the Internet and communicating with devices on the network. The communication device 22 also performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles via direct wireless communication in accordance with a predetermined protocol. Note that vehicle-to-vehicle communication may also be performed via various communication networks. In the communication control system 12, the host device 16, the antenna control unit 20, and the multiport switch 24 exchange various types of information via the communication device 22.

[0018] The multiport switch 24 is a switch controlled by the antenna control unit 20, and although omitted in FIG. 2, includes five switches SWa-SWe. Although omitted in FIG. 2, the switches SWa-SWe are connected to the antennas 14a-14e, respectively. Under the control of the antenna control unit 20 (i.e., by switching the switches SWa-SWe on and off), an antenna to be driven is selected from the antennas 14a-14e. Note that hereinafter, when no particular distinction is required, the switches SWa-SWe will be collectively referred to simply as switches SW.

[0019] The antenna drivers 26a-26e drive the antennas 14a-14e, respectively. Although part of the illustration is omitted in FIG. 2, the antenna drivers 26a-26e are connected to the antennas 14a-14e, respectively. Hereinafter, the antenna drivers 26a-26e will be collectively referred to as the antenna driver 26 unless otherwise specified. Under the control of the antenna control unit 20, the antenna driver 26 drives the antenna 14. Specifically, in order to maintain good communication conditions for the host vehicle 10 at all times, the antenna driver 26 changes the angle of the antenna 14 under the control of the antenna control unit 20.

[0020] As described above, the antenna control unit 20 controls the antenna driving unit 26 to select an antenna to drive from the multiple antennas 14 and change the angle of the selected antenna to control the antenna arrangement. This control of antenna arrangement is controlled based on the communication conditions of other vehicles (i.e., vehicles traveling ahead) acquired by the communication condition acquisition unit 18. In order to maintain optimal communication conditions and ensure high-quality actual communication at all times, it is possible to predict the communication conditions for a certain time ahead and control the antenna arrangement based on the results. Therefore, the communication control system 12 disclosed in this specification utilizes the communication conditions of a vehicle traveling ahead that is traveling a certain time ahead (in other words, the location where the vehicle is about to travel). The utilization of the communication conditions of the vehicle traveling ahead will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. Here, antenna arrangement refers to a combination of both which antenna to use and the angle of the antenna. Furthermore, signals received from multiple antennas may be used in parallel. Furthermore, when referring to the communication conditions from a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, it is preferable to determine the antenna arrangement by also referring to information about the vehicle's traveling direction. It is also advisable to acquire location information of other vehicles and use the communication status from the other vehicles that corresponds to the current location of the vehicle 10. In this case, by acquiring information from multiple vehicles, it is possible to obtain time-series data on the communication status at a specific location and to refer to the state of change.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the communication control system 12 according to the embodiment. In the communication control system 12, first, the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 with the current antenna arrangement are measured (S10). Here, the current antenna arrangement is referred to as antenna arrangement a1, and the measurement result is referred to as measurement result A. Next, it is determined whether the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A are better than a predetermined standard (i.e., whether the communication conditions are of high quality) (S12). This determination of communication quality may be made by comprehensively determining the received signal level, the degree of error occurrence in the demodulated signal, and the like. If the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A are better than the standard (Yes in S12), the antenna arrangement is not changed, and communication continues with the current antenna arrangement a1. Thereafter, the processing returns to step S10. On the other hand, if the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A are not better than the standard (No in S12), the processing proceeds to step S16.

[0022] Next, it is determined whether or not antenna information of the vehicle traveling ahead can be acquired (S16). If antenna information of the vehicle traveling ahead cannot be acquired (No in S16), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if antenna information of the vehicle traveling ahead can be acquired (Yes in S16), the communication status acquisition unit 18 acquires information about the antenna arrangement, including the position of the antenna selected by the vehicle traveling ahead and the angle of the selected antenna, as the communication status of the vehicle traveling ahead. Thereafter, the antenna control unit 20 controls the antenna driving unit 26 to change the antenna arrangement of the host vehicle 10 (S18). Here, the changed antenna arrangement is referred to as antenna arrangement b1.

[0023] Next, the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 at the antenna arrangement b1 are measured (S20). Here, the measured result is referred to as measurement result B. Next, it is determined whether the communication conditions indicated by measurement result B are better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (S22). If the communication conditions indicated by measurement result B are better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (Yes in S22), communication is started using the changed antenna arrangement b1 (S24). In other words, communication is continued by adopting the antenna arrangement b1 of the vehicle traveling ahead. Thereafter, the process returns to step S10. On the other hand, if the communication conditions indicated by measurement result B are not better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (No in S22), the process proceeds to step S26.

[0024] If the answer is No in step S16, the information about the other vehicle cannot be used, and if the answer is No in step S22, the antenna arrangement of the other vehicle is not appropriate. Therefore, the antenna arrangement is controlled based on the information obtained in the host vehicle 10. That is, the antenna control unit 20 controls the antenna driving unit 26 to change the antenna arrangement of the host vehicle 10 (S26). Here, the changed antenna arrangement is referred to as antenna arrangement c1. Then, the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 at the antenna arrangement c1 are measured (S28). Here, the measurement result is referred to as measurement result C. Next, it is determined whether the communication conditions indicated by measurement result C are better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (S30). If the communication conditions indicated by measurement result C are better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (Yes in S30), communication is started using the changed antenna arrangement c1 (S32). Thereafter, the process returns to step S10. On the other hand, if the communication conditions indicated by measurement result C are not better than the communication conditions indicated by measurement result A (No in S30), the process returns to step S26 to change to another antenna arrangement. Note that even after the processing for the predetermined time, if the result in step S30 is No, the process may return to step S10. This allows updated information on other vehicles to be used.

[0025] As described above, the communication control system 12 measures the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 with the current antenna arrangement at regular time intervals in order to maintain optimal communication conditions and to always perform actual communication at high quality. Then, the antenna arrangement is changed if necessary. For example, if the communication quality of the host vehicle 10 is lower than the standard, but another vehicle traveling several hundred meters ahead is performing communication at high quality, the communication conditions of the other vehicle are utilized. Specifically, when the host vehicle 10 reaches a position several hundred meters ahead, the antenna arrangement of the host vehicle 10 is changed by control of the antenna control unit 20 to imitate the antenna arrangement of the other vehicle. Having such a function in the communication control system 12 can improve communication quality.

[0026] The functions of the communication control system 12 are realized, for example, by a combination of hardware and software. For example, a processor (not shown) reads and executes a program stored in the memory of each device, thereby realizing the function of each device. The program is stored in the memory via a recording medium such as a CD or DVD, or via a communication path such as a network.

[0027] The above description is merely an example, and the communication control system 12 may control the arrangement of the communication antenna of the host vehicle 10 based on the communication conditions of other vehicles. Therefore, other processes performed by the communication control system 12 may be changed as appropriate. For example, in step S22 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, if the communication conditions at the changed antenna arrangement are of lower quality than the communication conditions at the original antenna arrangement, the antenna arrangement of the host vehicle 10 is changed to another antenna arrangement. However, in such a case, the process may return to step S10 to measure the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 at the original antenna arrangement again without changing to another antenna arrangement. In wireless communication, the quality of communication changes for various reasons. For example, the communication conditions of the host vehicle 10 change even while the processes of steps S10 to S22 shown in FIG. 3 are being executed. Therefore, the communication conditions at the original antenna arrangement may be better than the communication conditions at the new antenna arrangement. Therefore, the process may return to step S10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 10 vehicle, 12 communication control system, 14 (14a-14e) antenna, 18 communication status acquisition unit, 20 antenna control unit, 26 (26a-26e) antenna drive unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle communication control system for wirelessly communicating between a vehicle and a vehicle traveling ahead, a plurality of communication antennas; a communication status acquisition unit that acquires, as a communication status of the vehicle traveling ahead, information on the arrangement of antennas, including the position of an antenna selected by the vehicle traveling ahead and the angle of the selected antenna; an antenna driving unit that drives the plurality of communication antennas of the host vehicle; an antenna control unit that controls the antenna drive unit based on a communication status of the vehicle traveling ahead, selects an antenna to be driven from the plurality of communication antennas, and changes an angle of the selected antenna to control the arrangement of the plurality of communication antennas; Equipped with When the communication quality at the current antenna arrangement a1 is lower than a specified standard, the antenna control unit changes the antenna arrangement of the host vehicle to the same arrangement b1 as the antenna arrangement of the preceding vehicle. Vehicle communication control system.

2. 2. The vehicle communication control system according to claim 1, The antenna control unit After changing the arrangement of the antenna of the vehicle to the same arrangement b1 as the arrangement of the antenna of the vehicle traveling ahead, it is determined whether the communication quality is equal to or higher than the standard; If the difference is equal to or greater than the standard, the arrangement b1 is maintained, and if the difference is less than the standard, the arrangement of the antenna of the host vehicle is further changed. Vehicle communication control system.

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