Information processing device, program, and system

Abstract

To form more appropriate vehicle network.SOLUTION: An information processing device is provided with a control part for determining an access point vehicle for executing an access point mode being an operation mode for providing an access point in a vehicle network composed by including a plurality of vehicles on the basis of vehicle information about each of a plurality of vehicles parking within a specific area, and the vehicle information includes position information about each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The control part executes: the determination of an access point vehicle so as to cover the specific area by the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication of the access point vehicle, the determination of a gateway vehicle for executing a gateway mode being an operation mode of connecting the vehicle network to another network among the vehicles parking within the specific area; and the transmission of an instruction about the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, a program, and a system. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for using a parked vehicle as a network access point (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2021-509232 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to form a more suitable vehicle network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a control unit that determines, based on vehicle information about each of a plurality of vehicles parked within a specific area, one or more access point vehicles that are to execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The control unit determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles among the vehicles parked within the specific area that are executing a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; configured to perform It is an information processing device.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure is A program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: determine, based on vehicle information about each of a plurality of vehicles parked in a specific area, one or more access point vehicles that execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The computer, determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles among the vehicles parked within the specific area that are executing a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; This is a program for executing the above.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure is A plurality of vehicles present within a specific area; a server including a control unit that determines, based on vehicle information received from each of the plurality of vehicles, one or more access point vehicles that execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; In a system comprising: The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The control unit determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles among the vehicles parked within the specific area that are executing a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; configured to perform It is a system.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in which a computer executes the processing of the information processing device described above, or a storage medium that non-temporarily stores the program described above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, a more appropriate vehicle network can be formed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a vehicle and a server that constitute the system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a server according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a table configuration of a vehicle information DB according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional components of an ECU according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart of a process for determining the role of each vehicle in the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart of processing in each vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a vehicle and a server that constitute a system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart of processing in each vehicle according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list of substitute vehicles generated by a control unit of the server. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart of a process for determining the role of each vehicle and a substitute vehicle in a server according to the third embodiment. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart of processing in each vehicle according to the third embodiment. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart of processing in each vehicle according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] When using parked vehicles as access points, it is conceivable that the vehicles operating as access points will connect to the Internet using cellular communication. However, if there are too many access points, there is a risk that cellular communication resources will be insufficient and communication speeds will decrease.

[0012] Therefore, an information processing device that is one aspect of the present disclosure includes a control unit that determines one or more access point vehicles that will operate in an access point mode, an operating mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes a plurality of vehicles, based on vehicle information about each of the plurality of vehicles parked within a specific area, where the vehicle information includes location information about each vehicle and information related to the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication.The control unit is configured to: determine the one or more access point vehicles so that the specific area is covered by the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication of the one or more access point vehicles; determine one or more gateway vehicles, among the vehicles parked within the specific area, that will operate in a gateway mode, an operating mode that connects the vehicle network to another network; and send commands regarding the operating mode to the access point vehicles and the gateway vehicles.

[0013] The specific area is, for example, an area where a vehicle network provides services. The control unit determines an access point vehicle that operates in access point mode from among vehicles parked within the specific area. The access point vehicle is a vehicle that functions as an access point when a client, for example, accesses the Internet. If a moving vehicle were to be the access point vehicle, the range accessible to the access point vehicle would move as the access point vehicle moves, which could result in coverage not being ensured in the specific area. Therefore, the control unit determines the access point vehicle from among parked vehicles. When determining the access point vehicle, the control unit determines the access point vehicle so that the specific area is covered by the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In other words, the access point vehicle is determined so that the access point vehicle is accessible from anywhere in the specific area. This determination is made based on location information for each vehicle and information related to the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The location information is information indicating the current location of the vehicle. The information related to the range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication is, for example, information related to the range in which communication is possible at a practical speed. The practical speed can be determined arbitrarily.

[0014] The control unit also determines a gateway vehicle. A gateway vehicle is a vehicle that provides a service for connecting the vehicle network to other networks, such as the Internet. The gateway vehicle has a gateway function that connects the vehicle network to other networks by performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the access point vehicle. The gateway vehicle connects to other networks, for example, using cellular communication. This gateway vehicle is also determined from among parked vehicles, thereby suppressing changes in throughput.

[0015] The control unit then sends an operation mode command to the access point vehicle to execute the access point mode and to the gateway vehicle to execute the gateway mode. In this way, clients within a specific area can connect to other networks via the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle. Therefore, clients can connect to the Internet even in areas where cellular communication signals cannot reach. Furthermore, by using cellular communication via the gateway vehicle, for example, the load on cellular communication can be reduced compared to using cellular communication from each access point.

[0016] The vehicle information may include information regarding throughput in the other network, and the control unit may determine the gateway vehicle so that the throughput when each vehicle connects to the other network via the vehicle network is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. For example, if there are too few gateway vehicles relative to the number of clients, the throughput in each vehicle will decrease. In contrast, by determining the gateway vehicle so that the throughput is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is possible to prevent the throughput in each vehicle from decreasing too much.

[0017] Furthermore, the control unit may determine the gateway vehicles so as to minimize the number of gateway vehicles. For example, if there are too many gateway vehicles, the number of gateway vehicles connected to other networks will increase, resulting in a shortage of resources for cellular communication, for example. In contrast, if the control unit determines the gateway vehicles so as to minimize the number of gateway vehicles, it is possible to prevent a shortage of resources for cellular communication, for example.

[0018] The control unit may further be configured to determine a relay vehicle that executes a relay mode, which is an operation mode for relaying communications between the access point vehicles, and to transmit a command regarding the operation mode to the relay vehicle. By relaying communications between the access point vehicles, the service of the vehicle network can be provided over a wider area.

[0019] The vehicle information may also include information regarding the battery voltage of the vehicle, and the control unit may determine the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle by excluding vehicles from the plurality of vehicles whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage. Executing the access point mode or gateway mode while the vehicle is parked may cause the battery voltage to drop below the predetermined voltage. The predetermined voltage is a voltage that may cause problems with driving. In this case, continuing the access point mode or gateway mode may cause problems with driving the vehicle. Therefore, the control unit excludes such vehicles and determines the access point vehicle and gateway vehicle from the remaining vehicles.

[0020] The vehicle information may include information regarding the battery voltage of the vehicle, and the control unit may determine the relay vehicle by excluding from the plurality of vehicles any vehicle whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage. Since a relay vehicle's battery voltage may be impaired if its voltage drops too low, such a vehicle may be excluded from the relay vehicle when determining the relay vehicle.

[0021] The control unit also generates a list of substitute vehicles for each vehicle constituting the vehicle network and transmits the list to each of the vehicles constituting the vehicle network. The access point vehicle, gateway vehicle, and relay vehicle are all determined from among parked vehicles. When these vehicles move, there is a risk of communication in the vehicle network being interrupted. Therefore, when these vehicles move, the substitute vehicle takes over the operation mode. If the list of vehicles that will take over the operation mode is generated in advance, the operation mode can be immediately taken over, thereby preventing communication interruptions.

[0022] The list of substitute vehicles may also include information regarding the priority of the substitute vehicles. If multiple vehicles are listed as substitute vehicles and prioritized, for example, even if a vehicle with a higher priority is already in operation, the operation mode can be quickly handed over to a vehicle with the next highest priority.

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. In addition, the following embodiments are configured as simply as possible. It can be combined.

[0024] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system 1 according to an embodiment. The system 1 determines the roles of access point, relay, or gateway for multiple vehicles 10 so as to ensure coverage in a specific area. A vehicle 10 assigned the role of an access point is referred to as an access point vehicle 10A, a vehicle 10 assigned the role of relay is referred to as a relay vehicle 10B, and a vehicle 10 assigned the role of gateway is referred to as a gateway vehicle 10C. A vehicle 10 accessing the access point vehicle 10A as a client is referred to as a client vehicle 10D. The client accessing the access point vehicle 10A is not limited to the client vehicle 10D; for example, a terminal such as a smartphone or a personal computer can also access the access point vehicle 10A as a client. When there is no need to distinguish between the access point vehicle 10A, relay vehicle 10B, gateway vehicle 10C, and client vehicle 10D, they are simply referred to as vehicles 10. Each vehicle 10 can be any of the access point vehicle 10A, relay vehicle 10B, gateway vehicle 10C, and client vehicle 10D. Furthermore, one vehicle 10 may play multiple roles. Also, there may be a vehicle 10 that plays no role.

[0025] In the example of FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 10 and one server 30. The vehicles 10 and the server 30 are connected to each other via a network N1. The network N1 is, for example, a global public communication network such as the Internet, and may be a wide area network (WAN) or other communication network. The network N1 may also include a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone, or a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Furthermore, the vehicles 10 are connected to each other via vehicle-to-vehicle communication N2, which includes a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0026] The hardware configurations of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram that schematically shows an example of the configurations of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 that constitute the system 1 according to the embodiment.

[0027] The server 30 has the configuration of a computer. The server 30 includes a processor 301, a main memory unit 302, an auxiliary memory unit 303, and a communication unit 304. These are connected to each other via a bus. The processor 301 is an example of a control unit.

[0028] The processor 301 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc. The processor 301 controls the server 30 and performs various information processing operations. The main memory 302 is a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The auxiliary memory 303 is an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), Hard disk drives (HDDs), removable media, etc. The auxiliary storage unit 303 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc. The processor 301 loads the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303 into a working area of ​​the main storage unit 302 and executes them, and the various components are controlled through the execution of these programs. This allows the server 30 to realize functions that meet a predetermined purpose. The main storage unit 302 and the auxiliary storage unit 303 are computer-readable recording media. Information stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303 may also be stored in the main storage unit 302. Information stored in the main storage unit 302 may also be stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303.

[0029] The specific hardware configuration of the server 30 may be modified depending on the embodiment, with components being omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate. The server 30 may include a hardware processor. The hardware processor may be configured with a microprocessor, FPGA, GPU, or the like. The server 30 may be configured with a single computer or multiple computers. In this case, the hardware configurations of the computers may or may not be the same.

[0030] The communication unit 304 is a means for communicating with the vehicle 10 via the network N1. The communication unit 304 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication. The LAN interface board and the wireless communication circuit are connected to the network N1.

[0031] The series of processes executed by the server 30 can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software.

[0032] Next, the vehicle 10 will be described. The vehicle 10 includes an ECU 100, which is an electronic control unit, a power switch 105, and a position information sensor 106. These components are interconnected by a CAN bus, which is an in-vehicle network bus. In this embodiment, one ECU 100 is provided, but instead, a controller for communication with the outside and for control of the engine or motor may be provided. Furthermore, each of these components may not be a single module, but may be realized by a combination of an in-vehicle device such as a car navigation system, an in-vehicle communication device, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), etc. good.

[0033] The ECU 100 has the configuration of a computer. The ECU 100 includes a processor 101, a main memory unit 102, an auxiliary memory unit 103, and a communication unit 104, which are interconnected by a bus. The processor 101, the main memory unit 102, and the auxiliary memory unit 103 are similar to the processor 301, the main memory unit 302, and the auxiliary memory unit 303 of the server 30, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] The communication unit 104 is a communication means for connecting the vehicle 10 to the network N1 or the inter-vehicle communication N2. The communication unit 104 may be, for example, a mobile communication service (for example, a telephone communication network such as 6G (6th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), 4G (4th Generation), 3G (3rd Generation), or LTE (Long Term Evolution)), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bl This is a circuit for communicating with other devices (for example, the vehicle 10 or the server 30) via the network N1 or the inter-vehicle communication N2 using a wireless communication network such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0035] The power switch 105 is a switch that the user presses to start the vehicle 10 or to stop the functions of the vehicle 10. Note that a state in which the user presses the power switch 105 to start the vehicle 10 is referred to as a power-on state, and a state in which the user presses the power switch 105 again to stop the functions of the vehicle 10 is referred to as a power-off state. The power switch 105 may be an IG switch. The power-on state corresponds to the IG-on state, and the power-off state corresponds to the IG-off state.

[0036] The position information sensor 106 acquires position information (for example, latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10 at a predetermined cycle. The position information sensor 106 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. The information acquired by the position information sensor 106 is recorded in the auxiliary storage unit 103 or the like and transmitted to the server 30, for example.

[0037] Next, the functions of the server 30 will be described. Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the server 30 according to the embodiment. The server 30 includes, as functional components, a control unit 31 and a vehicle information The server 30 includes a database 32. The processor 301 of the server 30 executes the processing of the control unit 31 according to a computer program stored in the main memory unit 302.

[0038] The vehicle information DB 32 is, for example, a relational database that is constructed by a database management system (DBMS) program executed by the processor 301 managing data stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303.

[0039] The control unit 31 receives vehicle information from each vehicle 10. This vehicle information includes information about the status of the vehicle 10, location information, information about radio wave strength in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication N2, and information about throughput in the network N1. The information about the status of the vehicle 10 indicates whether the vehicle 10 is in a power-on state or a power-off state. The power-on state and the power-off state are acquired to determine whether the vehicle 10 is parked or not. That is, if the vehicle 10 is in a power-off state, the vehicle 10 cannot move and therefore can be determined to be parked. Furthermore, if the vehicle 10 is in a power-on state, the vehicle 10 can immediately move and therefore can be determined to be moving or temporarily stopped.

[0040] The location information is information about the current location of the vehicle 10 acquired by the location information sensor 106 of the vehicle 10. The information about the radio wave strength in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication N2 is information related to the range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication N2, and is information about the radio wave reachable range from the vehicle 10. This radio wave reachable range may be a range where the radio wave strength is equal to or greater than a predetermined strength, or a range where the communication speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. These ranges may also be ranges where a practical communication speed can be ensured. The information about the throughput in the network N1 is information about the throughput when the vehicle 10 is connected to the network N1. The vehicle information is generated in each vehicle 10 and transmitted to the server 30 at predetermined time intervals. The control unit 31 stores the received vehicle information in a vehicle information DB 32, which will be described later.

[0041] Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines the role of each vehicle 10 based on the vehicle information received from each vehicle 10 so that each vehicle 10 within a specific area can connect to the network N1 via vehicle-to-vehicle communication N2. The specific area can be determined arbitrarily. For example, the specific area may be determined based on an administrative district such as a city, town, or village, or each area divided into a mesh may be determined as the specific area.

[0042] Here, the access point vehicle 10A is a vehicle 10 in a powered-off state that serves as an access point and provides Wi-Fi® service to a client vehicle 10D using inter-vehicle communication N2. The relay vehicle 10B is a vehicle 10 in a powered-off state that relays communication between the access point vehicles 10A. The gateway vehicle 10C is a vehicle 10 in a powered-off state that provides a service for connecting other vehicles 10 to the network N1. The client vehicle 10D is a vehicle 10 that serves as a user of the Wi-Fi® service via inter-vehicle communication N2. Note that the powered-off vehicles 10 may include vehicles 10 that are not assigned any role. Vehicles 10 other than the gateway vehicle 10C connect to the network N1 via inter-vehicle communication N2.

[0043] First, the control unit 31 determines the access point vehicle 10A. The access point vehicle 10A is determined so that coverage can be ensured within a specific area. The control unit 31 determines the access point vehicle 10A based on the state (power-on state or power-off state) of each vehicle 10, location information, and radio wave intensity so that the radio wave coverage range of the access point vehicle 10A can cover a specific area. At this time, for example, overlapping of radio wave coverage ranges is considered. Alternatively, for example, the access point vehicles 10A may be determined so that any point within a specific area is within the radio wave coverage range of any of the access point vehicles 10A and so that the number of access point vehicles 10A is minimized.

[0044] Next, the control unit 31 determines a relay vehicle 10B. The relay vehicle 10B is extracted from among the vehicles 10 that are located in positions where communication between at least two access point vehicles 10A can be relayed. For example, the relay vehicle 10B may be determined so that all access point vehicles 10A can communicate with the relay vehicle 10B. At this time, the relay vehicle 10B may be determined so that the number of relay vehicles 10B is minimized, for example.

[0045] Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines one or more gateway vehicles 10C. The gateway vehicles 10C are extracted, for example, from vehicles 10 with relatively high throughput within a specific area. Also, the gateway vehicles 10C may be determined so that the number is as small as possible within a range in which the throughput per client vehicle 10D is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 10 Mbps), taking into consideration the number of surrounding client vehicles 10D and the required bandwidth. In other words, if there are too many gateway vehicles 10C, the load on the network N1 increases, so the number of gateway vehicles 10C may not be too large.

[0046] Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines all vehicles 10 that are powered on as client vehicles 10D. Note that if the vehicles 10 that are powered on are configured to automatically operate as client vehicles 10D, the control unit 31 does not need to determine the client vehicle 10D.

[0047] The control unit 31 then transmits information regarding the determined role of each vehicle 10 to each vehicle 10. At this time, an operation command including information regarding the operation mode is transmitted from the server 30 to each vehicle 10. The operation modes include access point mode, relay mode, gateway mode, and client mode. The access point mode is a mode in which the vehicle 10 operates as an access point vehicle 10A. The relay mode is a mode in which the vehicle 10 operates as a relay vehicle 10B. The gateway mode is a mode in which the vehicle 10 operates as a gateway vehicle 10C. The client mode is a mode in which the vehicle 10 operates as a client vehicle 10D. The role of each vehicle 10 is stored in the vehicle information DB 32. Note that if a powered-on vehicle 10 is configured to automatically execute the client mode on the vehicle 10 side, the control unit 31 does not need to transmit an operation command to the client vehicle 10D.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table configuration of the vehicle information DB 32 according to the embodiment. The vehicle information DB 32 has fields for a vehicle ID, a state, a position, a radio wave intensity, a throughput, and a mode. The vehicle ID field stores information (vehicle ID) that can identify the vehicle 10. The state field stores information related to the startup state of the vehicle 10. For example, information that can determine whether the vehicle is in a power-off state or a power-on state is stored. As another example, information that can determine whether the vehicle is in an IG-ON state or an IG-OFF state may be stored. The position field stores information related to the current position of the vehicle 10. The radio wave intensity field stores information related to the radio wave intensity of the inter-vehicle communication N2 (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) of each vehicle 10. The throughput field stores information related to the throughput of the network N1 (e.g., cellular communication service) of each vehicle 10. The mode field stores information related to the operation mode being executed by each vehicle 10.

[0049] Next, functional components of the ECU 100 of the vehicle 10 will be described. 1 is a diagram showing an example of functional components of the ECU 100. The ECU 100 includes a control unit 110 as a functional component. A processor 101 of the ECU 100 executes the processing of the control unit 110 according to a computer program stored in a main memory unit 102. However, any of the functional components or part of the processing may be executed by a hardware circuit.

[0050] The control unit 110 transmits vehicle information to the server 30 at predetermined time intervals. This vehicle information includes information about the state of the vehicle 10, location information, information about radio wave strength in the inter-vehicle communication N2, and information about throughput in the network N1. The control unit 110 acquires information about the state of the vehicle 10 based on an input to the power switch 105. The control unit 110 also acquires location information based on an output signal from the location information sensor 106. Furthermore, the control unit 110 acquires information about radio wave strength in the inter-vehicle communication N2 and information about throughput in the network N1 based on the result of communication via the communication unit 104. The control unit 110 generates vehicle information including these pieces of information and transmits it to the server 30.

[0051] Furthermore, when the control unit 110 receives an operation command including information regarding an operation mode from the server 30, it executes the operation mode. That is, the control unit 110 executes the operation mode so as to fulfill the role assigned by the server 30. The control unit 110 of the access point vehicle 10A provides, for example, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) service. The control unit 110 of the relay vehicle 10B relays communications between the access point vehicles 10A. The control unit 110 of the gateway vehicle 10C provides, for example, a connection to the Internet. The control unit 110 of the client vehicle 10D uses, for example, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) service by communicating with the access point vehicle 10A.

[0052] Note that when vehicle 10 changes from a power-off state to a power-on state, control unit 110 may execute the client mode. Since only the client mode can be executed in the power-on state, the operation mode may be switched to the client mode even without receiving an operation command from server 30. In this case, control unit 110 may notify server 30 that the operation mode has been switched to the client mode.

[0053] Next, the overall processing of the system 1 will be described. Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system 1 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 6 illustrates an example in which the vehicle 10 is determined to be the access point vehicle 10A. The vehicle 10 starts from a power-on state, with the client mode being executed.

[0054] In the power-on state, the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 executes the client mode (S11). When the power switch 105 of the vehicle 10 is pressed, the vehicle 10 enters a power-off state (S12). The control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 acquires vehicle information (S13) and transmits the vehicle information to the server 30 (S14). The timing for acquiring the vehicle information may be when the vehicle enters a power-off state, or may be at predetermined intervals regardless of whether the vehicle enters a power-off state. In addition, in this embodiment, the vehicle 10 determines whether it has been parked by determining whether it has entered a power-off state. However, the vehicle may be determined to be parked by other methods. For example, the vehicle may be determined to be parked when the vehicle is in a power-off state and the doors are locked. In this case, information regarding the door lock may be included in the vehicle information. The vehicle information is linked to a vehicle ID.

[0055] When the control unit 31 of the server 30 receives the vehicle information, it stores the vehicle information in the vehicle information DB 32 (S15). Furthermore, the control unit 31 of the server 30 determines the role of each vehicle 10 based on the vehicle information of each vehicle 10 (S16). When the control unit 31 of the server 30 determines the role of each vehicle 10, it stores information about the operation mode in the vehicle information DB 32 and transmits an operation command to the vehicle 10 (S17). The operation command includes the operation mode to be executed by the vehicle 10. In the example shown in Figure 6, a command to execute the access point mode is included.

[0056] When the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 receives the operation command, it executes an operation mode corresponding to the operation command. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 110 executes the access point mode (S18). This causes the vehicle 10 to function as an access point. Note that if the operation command includes a command to execute the relay mode, the control unit 110 executes the relay mode. Also, if the operation command includes a command to execute the gateway mode, the control unit 110 executes the gateway mode. The operation command may include commands to execute multiple operation modes.

[0057] Furthermore, when the power switch 105 of the vehicle 10 is pressed to turn the vehicle 10 on (S19), the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 executes the client mode (S20). The control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 also notifies the server 30 that the operation mode has been switched to the client mode (S21). This notification may be made by transmitting vehicle information. For example, if the server 30 is notified that the vehicle 10 is in the power-on state, the control unit 31 of the server 30 can determine that the vehicle 10 is executing the client mode. Then, upon receiving the notification, the control unit 31 of the server 30 newly determines an access point vehicle 10A (S22). That is, since one access point vehicle 10A has been removed, another vehicle 10 is determined to be the access point vehicle 10A so that coverage can be ensured. At this time, the process may return to S16 to determine the role of each vehicle 10 again, or only a replacement access point vehicle 10A may be determined.

[0058] Next, a process for determining the role of each vehicle 10 in the server 30 will be described. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the process for determining the role of each vehicle 10 in the server 30 according to the first embodiment. The process shown in Fig. 7 is executed by the server 30 at predetermined time intervals. Note that the following description will be given on the assumption that the operation mode of a vehicle 10 in a power-on state is switched to client mode on the vehicle 10 side.

[0059] In step S101, the control unit 31 determines whether or not vehicle information has been received from the vehicle 10. The vehicle information may be transmitted from the vehicle 10, for example, when the vehicle 10 is powered off or powered on, or may be transmitted from the vehicle 10 at predetermined time intervals. If the determination in step S101 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S102, and if the determination is negative, the routine is terminated.

[0060] In step S102, the control unit 31 stores the received vehicle information in the vehicle information DB 32, thereby updating the vehicle information DB 32. In step S103, the control unit 31 determines an access point vehicle 10A based on the vehicle information. For example, the control unit 31 may determine the access point vehicles 10A so that the minimum number of vehicles 10A is sufficient to ensure coverage in a specific area. As another example, the control unit 31 may determine the access point vehicles 10A so that a predetermined percentage or more of the specific area is included in the radio wave reachable range. This predetermined percentage can be set arbitrarily. As another example, the control unit 31 may determine the access point vehicle 10A so that a predetermined percentage or more of the vehicles 10 that are powered on in the specific area are included in the radio wave reachable range. This predetermined percentage can also be set arbitrarily.

[0061] In step S104, the control unit 31 determines relay vehicles 10B based on the vehicle information. The control unit 31 determines vehicles 10 that are located in positions that relay communications between access point vehicles 10A as relay vehicles 10B. The number of relay vehicles 10B may also be determined so as to be the minimum.

[0062] In step S105, the control unit 31 determines a gateway vehicle 10C based on the vehicle information. The control unit 31 determines a vehicle 10 with a relatively high throughput as the gateway vehicle 10C. At this time, it is possible to calculate how many vehicles 10 can be provided with communication services from that gateway vehicle 10C, based on the throughput at the gateway vehicle 10C and the throughput of communications provided from the gateway vehicle 10C to each vehicle 10. At this time, a gateway vehicle 10C is determined to provide communication services to each vehicle 10 at a predetermined throughput. Note that the fewer gateway vehicles 10C there are, the more the load on the network N1 (e.g., cellular communication service) can be reduced. Therefore, the gateway vehicles 10C may be determined so that the minimum number of gateway vehicles 10C is available within a range that allows communication services to be provided to each vehicle 10 at a predetermined throughput.

[0063] In step S106, the control unit 31 updates the mode field of the vehicle information DB 32 in accordance with the role of each vehicle 10. Next, in step S107, the control unit 31 generates and transmits an operation command to each vehicle 10.

[0064] In the above description, the vehicles are determined in the order of access point vehicle 10A, relay vehicle 10B, and gateway vehicle 10C, but this order may be reversed. Also, the access point vehicle 10A, relay vehicle 10B, and gateway vehicle 10C may be determined simultaneously.

[0065] Next, a description will be given of the processing in each vehicle 10. Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the processing in each vehicle 10 according to the first embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 8 is executed in each vehicle 10 at predetermined time intervals.

[0066] In step S201, the control unit 110 determines whether the vehicle 10 is in a power-off state. If the determination in step S201 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S202, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S203. In step S202, the control unit 110 terminates the client mode. That is, when the vehicle 10 is in a power-off state, the operation mode is set to a mode other than the client mode, so the client mode is terminated. Note that if the client mode has already been terminated, the client mode is not continued to be executed. On the other hand, in step S203, the control unit 110 executes the client mode. If the vehicle 10 is in a power-on state, only the client mode can be executed, so the control unit 110 automatically executes the client mode. Note that if the client mode is already being executed, the client mode is continued to be executed.

[0067] In step S204, the control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. The control unit 110 acquires the vehicle information by acquiring the output values ​​of each sensor. Furthermore, in step S205, the control unit 110 transmits the acquired vehicle information to the server 30.

[0068] In step S206, the control unit 110 determines whether or not an operation command has been received from the server 30. If the determination in step S206 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S207. In step S207, the control unit 110 executes the operation mode corresponding to the operation command. On the other hand, if the determination in step S206 is negative, the control unit 110 ends this routine. In this case, the operation mode currently being executed continues to be executed.

[0069] As described above, according to this embodiment, a communication network can be formed by a plurality of vehicles 10. Furthermore, since the number of vehicles 10 connected to the network N1 can be reduced, the load on the network N1 can be reduced.

[0070] Second Embodiment In the second embodiment, the network of the vehicle 10 is formed by further taking into account the remaining charge of the battery of the vehicle 10. Here, if the access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode is executed while the vehicle 10 is powered off, the remaining charge of the battery may decrease. If the remaining charge of the battery becomes too low, the battery voltage may drop, which may interfere with the running of the vehicle 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, the access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode is stopped when the battery voltage falls below a predetermined voltage. The stopping of these operation modes may be determined by the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 or by the control unit 31 of the server 30. If the stopping is determined by the control unit 31 of the server 30, information regarding the battery voltage is included in the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle 10 to the server 30. The control unit 31 of the server 30 then determines whether the battery voltage is below the predetermined voltage, and instructs the vehicle 10 to stop the operation mode in response to the determination that the battery voltage is below the predetermined voltage.

[0071] Alternatively, the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 may determine whether the battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage, and may stop the operation mode in response to the determination that the battery voltage is equal to or lower than the predetermined voltage. In this case, the server 30 may be notified that the operation mode has been stopped.

[0072] Then, the control unit 31 of the server 30 reconstructs the communication network of the vehicle 10 when there is a vehicle 10 whose operation mode has been stopped.

[0073] 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 that constitute the system 1 according to the second embodiment. Differences from the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be mainly described. The vehicle 10 has a battery 107 and a voltmeter 108 that measures the voltage of the battery 107. The control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 obtains the voltage of the battery 107 from the voltmeter 108.

[0074] Next, the overall processing of the system 1 will be described. Fig. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system 1 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 10 illustrates an example in which the vehicle 10 is determined to be the access point vehicle 10A. The vehicle 10 starts from a power-on state, with the client mode being executed. The processing up to S18 is the same as that shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 6, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0075] In the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 10, after switching to the access point mode, the control unit 110 acquires the battery voltage. If power is not supplied to the battery of the vehicle 10, the battery voltage gradually decreases while the access point mode is being executed. Then, when the control unit 110 detects that the battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage (S31), it notifies the server 30 that the voltage is decreasing (S32). Note that this notification (hereinafter also referred to as a voltage decrease notification) may be included in the vehicle information. Furthermore, the control unit 110 turns off the power supply to the communication unit 104 (S33). Note that, as another example, the operation of the communication unit 104 may be restricted. This restriction on the operation may be to cut off communication corresponding to the operation mode. Alternatively, the operation mode being executed may be terminated.

[0076] Next, the processing in each vehicle 10 will be described. Fig. 11 is a flowchart of the processing in each vehicle 10 according to the second embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 11 is executed in each vehicle 10 at predetermined time intervals. Furthermore, the same processes as those in the routine shown in Fig. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0077] In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, when the process of step S202 is completed, the process proceeds to step S301. In step S301, the control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. In some cases, in addition to the information acquired in step S204 of the routine shown in FIG. 8 , the voltage of the battery 107 is acquired from the voltmeter 108. In step S302, the control unit 110 determines whether the voltage of the battery 107 is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage. The predetermined voltage is a voltage that may cause problems in driving the vehicle 10. As an example of the predetermined voltage, for example, a voltage required to restart the engine may be used. As another example, the predetermined voltage may be a voltage that allows the vehicle 10 to travel a predetermined distance. Information regarding the predetermined voltage is stored in the auxiliary storage unit 103.

[0078] If the determination in step S302 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S303. In step S303, the control unit 110 generates vehicle information so as to include a voltage drop notification in the vehicle information. In step S304, the control unit 110 transmits the generated vehicle information to the server 30. Furthermore, in step S305, the control unit 110 turns off the power supply to the communication unit 104. Note that, as another example, the control unit 110 may limit communication by the communication unit 104 or may terminate execution of the operation mode.

[0079] On the other hand, if the determination in step S302 is negative, the process proceeds to step S306. In step S306, the control unit 110 generates vehicle information so that the vehicle information does not include a voltage drop notification. Note that the vehicle information may include information related to voltage. Then, in step S307, the control unit 110 transmits the generated vehicle information to the server 30.

[0080] As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the vehicle 10 performs communication in a power-off state, it is possible to prevent the running of the vehicle 10 from being hindered due to a decrease in the remaining charge of the battery 107.

[0081] Third Embodiment In the third embodiment, a vehicle 10 that will replace a vehicle 10 running access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode is determined in advance. When a vehicle 10 running access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode switches from a power-off state to a power-on state, it transitions to client mode. If the vehicle 10 running access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode leaves the network, communication may be interrupted. If the control unit 31 of the server 30 constructs a new network and determines the roles of each vehicle 10 after communication is interrupted, communication may be unavailable for a long period of time. To address this issue, in the third embodiment, the next vehicle 10 to run access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode is determined in advance. When the vehicle 10 running access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode leaves the network, the next vehicle 10 quickly takes over the role. This prevents communication interruptions or shortens the time during which communication is unavailable.

[0082] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a list of substitute vehicles generated by the control unit 31 of the server 30. A substitute vehicle is a vehicle 10 that executes access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode in place of a vehicle 10 that has been executing access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode. For example, if the vehicle ID of the access point vehicle 10A is V001, three vehicles 10 with vehicle IDs V003, V004, and V007 are listed as candidates for substitute vehicles. Note that the higher the position in the list, the higher the priority. Therefore, if the vehicle 10 with vehicle ID V001 is no longer the access point vehicle 10A, the vehicle 10 with vehicle ID V003 will become the next access point vehicle 10A. The same applies to the relay vehicle 10B and the gateway vehicle 10C.

[0083] The list shown in FIG. 12 is generated by the control unit 31 of the server 30 so that the network can be maintained, that is, coverage can be ensured, even if the operation mode is taken over to a substitute vehicle. If there is no substitute vehicle that can ensure coverage, the role of each vehicle 10 may be determined as described in the first embodiment.

[0084] The list shown in FIG. 12 may be transmitted to each vehicle 10 in advance and stored in the auxiliary storage unit 103 of the vehicle 10. Then, the vehicles 10 may notify each other of their activation states via inter-vehicle communication N2, and when the presence of a vehicle 10 that is about to exit access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode is detected, the control unit 110 of the vehicle 10 with the highest priority may execute access point mode, relay mode, or gateway mode. This prevents communication from being interrupted. In the following description, the substitute vehicle will be referred to as 20.

[0085] Next, the overall processing of the system 1 will be described. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the overall processing of the system 1 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates an example in which the vehicle 10 is determined to be the access point vehicle 10A. The vehicle 10 starts from a power-on state in which the client mode is being executed. The substitute vehicle 20 is a vehicle 10 that is power-off and is not executing any of the access point mode, relay mode, and gateway mode. As another example, the substitute vehicle 20 may be a vehicle 10 that is executing at least one of the relay mode and the gateway mode. The processing up to S16 is the same as that shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0086] In the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 13, after determining the role of each vehicle 10, the list shown in Fig. 12 is generated (S40). The control unit 31 of the server 30 determines a substitute vehicle 20 for each vehicle 10 whose role has been determined. There is no limit to the number of substitute vehicles 20, as long as there is one or more. This list is transmitted to each vehicle 10 and each substitute vehicle 20 together with an operation command (S41, S42).

[0087] Furthermore, when the vehicle 10 is powered on (S19), it requests the substitute vehicle 20 with the highest priority among the substitute vehicles 20 corresponding to the vehicle 10 in the list received in S42 to take over as the access point vehicle 10A (S43). At this time, it may be confirmed whether the substitute vehicle 20 is capable of executing the access point mode. For example, if the substitute vehicle 20 with the highest priority is already powered on, it may be possible to request a substitute vehicle 20 with an even lower priority to take over as the access point vehicle 10A.

[0088] The substitute vehicle 20 that received the notification in S43 executes the access point mode (S44). Meanwhile, the vehicle 10 executes the client mode (S20), and notifies the server 30 that the operation mode has been switched to the client mode (S45). This notification may include information that the substitute vehicle 20 has taken over the access point mode and the vehicle ID of the substitute vehicle 20. Furthermore, the control unit 110 of the substitute vehicle 20 that executed the access point mode notifies the server 30 that the operation mode has been switched to the access point mode (S46). The control unit 31 of the server 30 that received these notifications updates the mode field of the vehicle information DB 32 (S47).

[0089] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the process of determining the role of each vehicle 10 and the substitute vehicle 20 in the server 30 according to the third embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 14 is executed by the server 30 at predetermined time intervals. Note that the following description is based on the assumption that the vehicle 10 in a power-on state switches its operating mode to client mode. Processes that are the same as those in the routine shown in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0090] In the routine shown in Fig. 14, after the processing of step S106, the process proceeds to step S401. In step S401, the control unit 31 determines whether the substitute vehicle 20 for the access point vehicle 10A is a substitute vehicle 20. The substitute vehicle 20 for the access point vehicle 10A is determined from among the vehicles 10 that can ensure coverage even if they become an access point in place of the access point vehicle 10A. At this time, the substitute vehicle 20 may be determined by assigning priority to vehicles 10 within a predetermined distance from the access point vehicle 10A, for example, by assigning priority to vehicles 10 in descending order of radio wave strength. The predetermined distance here is determined in advance as a distance that has little impact on ensuring coverage. The substitute vehicles 20 for the access point vehicle 10A may include vehicles 10 determined as relay vehicles 10B or gateway vehicles 10C.

[0091] In step S402, the control unit 31 determines a substitute vehicle 20 for the relay vehicle 10B. The substitute vehicle 20 for the relay vehicle 10B is determined from among the vehicles 10 that can relay the communication between the relay vehicle 10B and the access point vehicle 10A that is being relayed by the relay vehicle 10B. This substitute vehicle 20 may be determined by assigning priority to the vehicles 10 within a predetermined distance from the relay vehicle 10B, for example, in descending order of radio wave strength. The predetermined distance here is determined in advance as a distance that has little impact on ensuring coverage. Furthermore, the substitute vehicles 20 for the relay vehicle 10B may include a vehicle 10 determined as the access point vehicle 10A or the gateway vehicle 10C.

[0092] In step S403, the control unit 31 determines a substitute vehicle 20 for the gateway vehicle 10C. The substitute vehicle 20 for the gateway vehicle 10C is determined from among the vehicles 10 that can communicate with the access point vehicle 10A or the relay vehicle 10B. The substitute vehicle 20 may be determined by assigning a priority to the vehicle 10 that has the largest throughput in the network N1, for example. Furthermore, the substitute vehicle 20 for the gateway vehicle 10C may include the vehicle 10 determined as the access point vehicle 10A or the relay vehicle 10B.

[0093] In step S404, the control unit 31 generates a list of substitute vehicles 20. The generated list is stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303. Then, in step S404, the control unit 31 transmits an operation command and the list of substitute vehicles 20 to each vehicle 10.

[0094] Next, the processing in each vehicle 10 will be described. Fig. 15 is a flowchart of the processing in each vehicle 10 according to the third embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 15 is executed in a vehicle 10 that has changed from a power-off state to a power-on state. The description will be made on the assumption that a list of substitute vehicles 20 has been transmitted from the server 30 to each vehicle 10.

[0095] In step S501, the control unit 110 determines whether the state of the vehicle 10 has changed from power-off to power-on. For example, the control unit 110 determines whether the power switch 105 has been pressed in the power-off state, thereby determining whether the state has changed from power-off to power-on. If the determination in step S501 is affirmative, the control unit 110 proceeds to step S502, and if the determination is negative, the control unit 110 ends this routine. Note that if the determination in step S501 is negative, the control unit 110 may execute the routine shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 11.

[0096] In step S502, the control unit 110 determines whether any of the operation modes is being executed. In this case, the control unit 110 determines whether any of the access point mode, relay mode, and gateway mode is being executed. If the determination in step S502 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S503, and if the determination is negative, the routine is terminated. Note that if the determination in step S502 is negative, the routine shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 11 may be executed.

[0097] In step S503, the control unit 110 acquires information about the substitute vehicle 20. The control unit 110 receives the vehicle ID of the substitute vehicle 20 and the vehicle ID received from the server 30 and stored in the auxiliary storage unit 103. The vehicle ID of the vehicle 10 with the highest priority among the alternative vehicles 20 is extracted by comparing the vehicle ID with the list of alternative vehicles 20 that are currently available.

[0098] In step S504, the control unit 110 determines whether or not there is a substitute vehicle 20. For example, if a vehicle ID corresponding to the substitute vehicle 20 is extracted in step S503, it is determined that there is a substitute vehicle 20. If the determination in step S504 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S505, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S511.

[0099] In step S505, the control unit 110 communicates with the substitute vehicle 20 and acquires vehicle information. Here, at least information that can determine whether the substitute vehicle 20 is in a power-off state is acquired. In step S506, the control unit 110 determines whether the substitute vehicle 20 is in a power-off state. Here, even if a vehicle 10 is listed as a substitute vehicle 20, if it subsequently becomes powered on, it cannot become a substitute vehicle 20. Therefore, the control unit 110 determines the state of the substitute vehicle 20 listed. If the determination in step S506 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S507; if the determination is negative, the process returns to step S503. When returning to step S503, the control unit 110 acquires information about the substitute vehicle 20 with the next highest priority among the substitute vehicles 20 listed.

[0100] In step S507, the control unit 110 transmits a takeover request to the substitute vehicle 20 with which it communicated in the most recent step S505. The takeover request is a request to take over the operation mode. The takeover request includes information about the operation mode. In step S508, the control unit 110 executes the client mode. This ends the access point mode, relay mode, and gateway mode.

[0101] In step S509, control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. Then, in step S510, control unit 110 transmits the vehicle information to server 30. At this time, the vehicle information may also include a notification that the mode has been switched to the client mode, a notification that the operation mode has been taken over by substitute vehicle 20, and the vehicle ID of substitute vehicle 20. As a result, vehicle information DB 32 of server 30 is updated.

[0102] Meanwhile, in step S511, the control unit 110 executes the client mode. In step S512, the control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. Then, in step S513, the control unit 110 transmits the vehicle information to the server 30. At this time, the vehicle information may also include a notification that the mode has been switched to the client mode and a notification that the operation mode could not be handed over to the substitute vehicle 20. As a result, the role of each vehicle 10 is determined again in the server 30.

[0103] Fig. 16 is a flowchart of the processing in each vehicle 10 according to the third embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 16 is executed by the vehicle 10 that has received communication from the vehicle 10 in step S505 above.

[0104] In step S601, the control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. In step S602, the control unit 110 transmits the vehicle information to the other vehicle 10 in the inter-vehicle communication N2. This other vehicle 10 is the vehicle 10 executing step S505. The information transmitted at this time only needs to include information that can determine whether the vehicle is in a power-off state.

[0105] In step S603, the control unit 110 determines whether or not a takeover request has been received. If the determination in step S603 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S604. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S605. If the power is already on, the control unit 110 may determine that there has been no takeover request. In step S604, the control unit 110 executes the operation mode according to the information about the operation mode included in the takeover request.

[0106] In step S605, control unit 110 acquires vehicle information. Then, in step S606, control unit 110 transmits the vehicle information to server 30. At this time, the vehicle information also includes information about the currently executed operation mode.

[0107] As described above, according to the third embodiment, even if a vehicle 10 constituting the network is turned on, the replacement vehicle 20 can quickly take over the operating mode, thereby preventing communication from being interrupted.

[0108] <Other embodiments> The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified and implemented as appropriate within the scope of its gist. The processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradictions arise. Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed. For example, the vehicle 10 may have some or all of the functions of the server 30.

[0109] The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer via a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the computer's system bus or via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disk, such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a Blu-ray disk), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0110] 1 System 10 vehicles 30 servers 31 Control Unit 101 processors 102 Main memory 103 Auxiliary storage 104 Communications Department 110 control section 301 processor 302 Main memory 303 Auxiliary storage unit 304 Communications Department

Claims

1. a control unit that determines, based on vehicle information about each of a plurality of vehicles parked within a specific area, one or more access point vehicles that are to execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The control unit determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles that are operating in a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network, among the vehicles parked within the specific area; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; configured to perform Information processing device.

2. the vehicle information includes information about throughput in the other network; The control unit determining the gateway vehicle so that a throughput when each vehicle connects to the other network via the vehicular network is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit determining the gateway vehicles so that the number of the gateway vehicles is the smallest; The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. The control unit determining a relay vehicle that executes a relay mode, which is an operation mode for relaying communication between the access point vehicles; transmitting a command regarding the operation mode to the relay vehicle; and further configured to perform The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The vehicle information includes information about a battery voltage of the vehicle, The control unit determining the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle by excluding vehicles whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage from among the plurality of vehicles; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The vehicle information includes information about a battery voltage of the vehicle, The control unit determining the relay vehicle by excluding, from the plurality of vehicles, vehicles whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage; The information processing device according to claim 4 .

7. The control unit generating a list of alternative vehicles for each vehicle constituting the vehicle network and transmitting the list to each of the vehicles constituting the vehicle network; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The list of alternative vehicles includes information regarding the priority of the alternative vehicles. The information processing device according to claim 7 .

9. A program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: determine, based on vehicle information about each of a plurality of vehicles parked in a specific area, one or more access point vehicles that execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The computer, determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles that are operating in a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network, among the vehicles parked within the specific area; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; A program to execute.

10. the vehicle information includes information about throughput in the other network; The computer, determining the gateway vehicle so that a throughput when each vehicle connects to the other network via the vehicular network is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; The program according to claim 9.

11. The computer, determining the gateway vehicles so that the number of gateway vehicles is the smallest; The program according to claim 10.

12. The computer, determining a relay vehicle that executes a relay mode, which is an operation mode for relaying communication between the access point vehicles; transmitting a command regarding the operation mode to the relay vehicle; Further execute The program according to claim 9.

13. The vehicle information includes information about a battery voltage of the vehicle, The computer, determining the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle by excluding vehicles whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage from among the plurality of vehicles; The program according to claim 9.

14. The vehicle information includes information about a battery voltage of the vehicle, The computer, determining the relay vehicle by excluding, from the plurality of vehicles, vehicles whose battery voltage is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage; The program according to claim 12.

15. The computer, generating a list of alternative vehicles for each vehicle constituting the vehicle network, and transmitting the list to each of the vehicles constituting the vehicle network; The program according to claim 9.

16. The list of alternative vehicles includes information regarding the priority of the alternative vehicles. The program according to claim 15.

17. A plurality of vehicles present within a specific area; a server including a control unit that determines, based on vehicle information received from each of the plurality of vehicles, one or more access point vehicles that execute an access point mode, which is an operation mode that provides an access point in a vehicle network that includes the plurality of vehicles; In a system comprising: The vehicle information includes location information for each vehicle and information related to a range of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, The control unit determining the one or more access point vehicles such that the specific area is covered by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication range of the one or more access point vehicles; determining one or more gateway vehicles that are operating in a gateway mode, which is an operation mode that connects the vehicle network to another network, among the vehicles parked within the specific area; sending instructions regarding the operation mode to the access point vehicle and the gateway vehicle; configured to perform system.

18. the vehicle information includes information about throughput in the other network; The control unit determining the gateway vehicle so that a throughput when each vehicle connects to the other network via the vehicular network is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; 20. The system of claim 17.

19. The control unit determining the gateway vehicles so that the number of the gateway vehicles is the smallest; 20. The system of claim 18.

20. The control unit determining a relay vehicle that executes a relay mode, which is an operation mode for relaying communication between the access point vehicles; transmitting a command regarding the operation mode to the relay vehicle; and further configured to perform 20. The system of claim 17.

Images