Information notification system, vehicle control device, program, and information notification method

Abstract

A vehicle control unit (17) includes an information deciding unit (51) and an information providing unit (53). The information deciding unit (51) decides notifiable information indicating conditions that are necessary in a case of notifying an occupant of app information, on the basis of a vehicle-related situation indicating at least one of a vehicle traveling situation, an outside-of-vehicle situation, and an inside-of-vehicle situation. The information providing unit (53) provides the notifiable information decided by the information deciding unit (51) to an application. The application requests the vehicle control unit (17) to notify the occupant of the app information, on the basis of the notifiable information provided from the information providing unit (53).

Description

Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0001] This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-129307 filed with the Japan Patent Office on August 15, 2022, and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-129307 into this international application.

Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to a technique for notifying information to passengers on board a vehicle.

Background Art

[0003] Conventionally, a technique for providing (i.e., notifying) various types of information to passengers on board a vehicle (e.g., an automobile) via in-vehicle terminal devices such as a display and a speaker is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] The technique described in this Patent Document 1 is such that the vehicle communicates with a center device via a network and notifies the passengers of the information provided from the center device to the vehicle via the in-vehicle terminal device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] As a result of the inventors' detailed examination, the following problems were found in the conventional technology.

[0007] In a vehicle, various parking states are assumed, for example, when waiting for a signal or parking. Under such conditions, it is conceivable to notify passengers of various types of information such as safety-required information and information such as advertisements.

[0008] For example, consider a scenario where passengers are provided with advertisements that have different notification times (e.g., ad playback times). Since the vehicle's stopping time varies depending on its state (e.g., stationary), there is a risk that the entire advertisement may not be playable during the stopping time.

[0009] For example, if an advertisement is played while waiting at a red light, the advertisement may be interrupted when the light turns green and the vehicle switches to driving mode. For instance, the screen displaying the advertisement or the audio of the advertisement may be interrupted, and the screen or audio may switch to the necessary route guidance for driving.

[0010] One aspect of this disclosure is the desire to provide technology that can notify vehicle occupants of information appropriately at the appropriate time.

[0011] (1) One aspect of the present disclosure is an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in a vehicle and / or a cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupants of application information which is information provided by the applications.

[0012] In this information notification system, the vehicle includes an information determination unit (51) and an information provision unit (53) as a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle.

[0013] The information determination unit is configured to determine notifiable information that indicates the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of app information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the vehicle's driving status, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle.

[0014] The information provision unit is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information decision unit to the application.

[0015] Furthermore, the application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit.

[0016] With this configuration, this disclosure enables the vehicle occupants to be notified of information (i.e., app information) at the appropriate time and in an appropriate manner.

[0017] Specifically, in this disclosure, the vehicle control unit provides the application with notifiable information (for example, the time when notifications can be made, the type of notification, and the manner of notification) determined based on the vehicle driving conditions, external conditions, and internal conditions of the vehicle. Based on this notifiable information, the application can then notify the occupants of application information to the vehicle control unit.

[0018] In other words, in this disclosure, the application notifies the vehicle control unit of application information to the occupant based on notifiable information, so that the vehicle control unit can notify the occupant of application information appropriately at an appropriate time (for example, in a notification method and content that makes it easy for the occupant to understand the notification).

[0019] (2) Another aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control device (17) for notifying an occupant of application information, which is information provided from the vehicle to the occupant based on a request from one or more applications located in the vehicle and / or the cloud.

[0020] This vehicle control device comprises an information determination unit (51), an information provision unit (53), and a crew provision unit (57).

[0021] The information determination unit is configured to determine notifiable information that indicates the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of app information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the vehicle's driving status, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle.

[0022] The information providing unit is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determining unit to the application.

[0023] When the passenger providing unit is required to notify the passenger of the application information from the application based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit, it is configured to instruct the notification device (11) to provide the passenger with the application information.

[0024] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle passengers of the information (i.e., application information) at an appropriate timing.

[0025] That is, in the present disclosure, when it is required to notify the passenger of the application information from the application based on the notifiable information provided by the information providing unit, the instruction to provide the passenger with the application information is given to the notification device. Therefore, the vehicle control device can appropriately notify the passenger of the application information at an appropriate timing (for example, in a state such as a notification method and content that are easy for the passenger to understand the notification content).

[0026] (3) Another aspect of the present disclosure is a program executed by an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and the vehicle notifies the passenger of application information that is information provided by the application.

[0027] In this program, based on at least one type of vehicle-related situation indicating the vehicle driving situation indicating the driving situation of the vehicle, the external vehicle situation indicating the situation around the vehicle, and the internal vehicle situation indicating the situation inside the vehicle, notifiable information indicating the conditions required to notify the passenger of the application information is determined, and this determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is caused to request the vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle based on the provided notifiable information to notify the passenger of the application information.

[0028] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify information (i.e., application information) to the vehicle occupants at an appropriate timing.

[0029] (4) Another aspect of the present disclosure is an information notification method in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and application information, which is information provided by the application, is notified from the vehicle to the occupants.

[0030] In this information notification method, based on vehicle-related situations indicating at least one of a vehicle driving situation indicating the driving situation of the vehicle, an outside-vehicle situation indicating the situation around the vehicle, and an inside-vehicle situation indicating the situation inside the vehicle, notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary to notify the application information to the occupants is determined, and this determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is caused to request the vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle based on the provided notifiable information to notify the application information to the occupants.

[0031] With such a configuration, in the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify information (i.e., application information) to the vehicle occupants at an appropriate timing.

[0032] Also, the reference numerals in parentheses described in this column and the claims indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0033] [Figure 1] It is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the information notification system of the first embodiment. [Figure 2] It is an explanatory diagram showing the main part of the configuration of an in-vehicle device and the like in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] It is an explanatory diagram showing the electrical configuration of the in-vehicle device in the first embodiment. [Figure 4]This is a block diagram that functionally illustrates the vehicle control unit, vehicle application unit, and server application unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the control process of the information notification system according to the first embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0034] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0035] [1. First Embodiment] This first embodiment describes an information notification system applicable to a vehicle (e.g., an automobile).

[0036] [1-1. Overall Structure] As shown in Figure 1, in this first embodiment, the information notification system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 3 as part of the vehicle-side configuration and a server 5 as part of the cloud-side configuration. This information notification system 1 is an example of a mobility IoT system, and IoT stands for Internet of Things.

[0037] The in-vehicle device 3 comprises a sensor unit 7, a communication unit 9, a drive unit 11, and a vehicle control device 13, and the vehicle control device 13 is connected to the sensor unit 7, the communication unit 9, and the drive unit 11.

[0038] Among these, the sensor unit 7 includes devices for detecting the driving status of the vehicle (i.e., the vehicle itself), devices for detecting the conditions inside the vehicle (i.e., the interior where the occupants are seated), and devices for detecting the conditions around the vehicle.

[0039] Examples of devices for detecting the vehicle's driving conditions (i.e., vehicle driving conditions) include a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle's speed, an acceleration sensor for detecting the vehicle's acceleration, a steering sensor for detecting the steering angle, a gear position sensor for detecting the gear status, and a GPS device for detecting the vehicle's current position.

[0040] Devices for detecting the conditions inside a vehicle (i.e., the conditions inside the vehicle) include cameras that photograph the interior, seating sensors that detect the seating status of occupants, and temperature sensors that detect the temperature inside the vehicle.

[0041] Devices for detecting the surrounding conditions of a vehicle (i.e., conditions outside the vehicle) include radar systems, LiDAR systems, sonar, and cameras that photograph the area around the vehicle. As will be described later, the surrounding conditions of the vehicle may also be detected using information from external devices such as the cloud.

[0042] The communication unit 9 is a communication device used to communicate with devices outside the vehicle (for example, a cloud server 5).

[0043] The drive unit 11 is an actuator used to notify the occupant of information (for example, app information).

[0044] The vehicle control device 13 is a device that controls the operation of the vehicle, and as will be described later, it comprises a vehicle application unit 15 and a vehicle control unit 17.

[0045] On the other hand, server 5 includes a server application unit 19, as will be described later.

[0046] [1-2. Components of the Information Notification System] Next, we will explain each component of the information notification system 1 in more detail.

[0047] <Vehicle configuration> As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle control device 13 includes a vehicle application unit 15 that controls the operation of the vehicle-side application (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle-side app), which is application software (hereinafter referred to as the application) installed in the vehicle, and a vehicle control unit 17 that controls the operation of the vehicle.

[0048] The vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 can each be implemented using a well-known CPU and memory such as ROM or RAM, but here we will explain using the example of implementing the vehicle application unit 15 and the vehicle control unit 17 using the same CPU and memory.

[0049] As described above, the vehicle control device 13 is an electronic control unit (i.e., an ECU) equipped with a CPU 13a, ROM 13b, RAM 13c, and other memory components (see Figure 3). ECU stands for Electronic Control Unit. In other words, the vehicle control device 13 is a device equipped with a well-known microcomputer (not shown). Note that the memory is not limited to the memory within the microcomputer, but also includes various external storage devices (e.g., hard disks).

[0050] The various functions performed by the ECU are realized by the CPU 13a executing a program stored in a non-transitional tangible recording medium. In this example, memory corresponds to the non-transitional tangible recording medium that stores the program. Furthermore, when this program is executed, the method corresponding to the program is executed.

[0051] Furthermore, the memory stores not only various programs (for example, programs that control the vehicle's operation and programs that run the aforementioned applications), but also various data used when executing these programs. For example, it stores information such as alerts (i.e., warnings) and advertisements provided to the occupants, which will be discussed later.

[0052] The methods for realizing the various functions of the aforementioned ECU are not limited to software; some or all of its elements may be realized using one or more hardware components. For example, if the above functions are realized by an electronic circuit, which is hardware, that electronic circuit may be a digital circuit containing a large number of logic circuits, an analog circuit, or a combination thereof.

[0053] The vehicle control unit 17 described above functionally comprises a driving situation recognition unit 21, an in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23, an out-of-vehicle situation recognition unit 25, and a situation determination unit 27. These configurations, as well as other functional configurations, will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 4.

[0054] Furthermore, as described above, the in-vehicle device 3 is equipped with various actuators, which are drive units 11, in order to provide (i.e., notify) the occupants of various kinds of information (for example, application information). Hereafter, the drive units 11 will be referred to as actuators.

[0055] Examples of the actuator 11 include a display device 33 such as a meter, navigation display, or rear-seat display, a speaker 35, and a steering wheel 37 equipped with a vibration device (not shown). Each actuator 11 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 via an interface (i.e., I / F) 32.

[0056] <Overall hardware configuration of the in-vehicle system> Here, we will describe an example of the overall hardware configuration of an in-vehicle system. Since these configurations are well-known, we will explain them briefly.

[0057] As shown in Figure 3, the vehicle is equipped with a vehicle control device 13, other ECUs 41, multiple ECUs 43, multiple ECUs 45, a communication unit 9 which is an external communication device, and an internal communication network 47.

[0058] ECU41 integrates multiple ECU43 units to achieve coordinated control throughout the entire vehicle.

[0059] Each ECU41 is provided for each domain, which is divided according to the vehicle's function, and primarily controls multiple ECU45s within that domain. Each ECU43 is connected to its subordinate ECU45s via a separately established lower-level network. Each ECU43 has the function of centrally managing access rights to its subordinate ECU45s and authenticating users. Domains include, for example, powertrain, body, chassis, and cockpit.

[0060] ECUs 45 connected to ECU 43, which belongs to the powertrain domain, include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls the engine, an ECU 45 that controls the motor, and an ECU 45 that controls the battery.

[0061] ECU45 connected to ECU43, which belongs to the body domain, includes, for example, an ECU45 that controls the air conditioner and an ECU45 that controls the doors.

[0062] ECUs 45 connected to ECU 43, which belongs to the chassis domain, include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls the brakes and an ECU 45 that controls the steering wheel 37.

[0063] ECUs 45 connected to ECU 43 belonging to the cockpit domain include, for example, an ECU 45 that controls the display of meters and various display devices 33, an ECU 45 that controls the operation of speakers 35, and an ECU 45 that controls input devices operated by the vehicle occupants.

[0064] The communication unit 9 communicates data with a communication device outside the vehicle (for example, a cloud server 5) via a wide-area wireless communication network NW.

[0065] The in-vehicle communication network 47 includes CAN FD and Ethernet (registered trademark). CAN FD stands for CAN with Flexible Data Rate. CAN FD bus-connects ECU 41 to each ECU 43 and the communication unit 9. Ethernet connects ECU 41 to each ECU 43 and the communication unit 9 individually.

[0066] ECU41, like vehicle control device 13, is an electronic control unit centered around a microcomputer equipped with a CPU41a, ROM41b, RAM41c, etc. ECU43 and ECU45 have a similar configuration.

[0067] ECU41 is connected to the vehicle control device 13 so that it can communicate data with it. That is, the vehicle control device 13 receives information from ECU43 and ECU45 via ECU41. The vehicle control device 13 also sends requests related to vehicle control, etc., to ECU41, or to ECU43 and ECU45 via ECU41.

[0068] <Server-side configuration> As shown in Figure 2, the cloud server 5 includes a server application unit 19 that controls the operation of applications installed on the server 5 (hereinafter referred to as server-side applications).

[0069] The server application unit 19 can be implemented using a well-known CPU 19a, ROM 19b, RAM 19c, and other memory components, similar to the vehicle application unit 15.

[0070] Furthermore, in the configuration described above, if there are multiple vehicles, the server 5 can collect vehicle data transmitted via the communication unit 9 from each vehicle's vehicle control device 13. In addition, the server 5 can store the collected data for each vehicle in a storage unit (not shown). The server 5 can also create a digital twin based on the vehicle data stored in the storage unit. The digital twin is normalized index data.

[0071] [1-3. Functional Configuration of the Information Notification System] Next, we will describe the functional configuration of the information notification system 1.

[0072] <Vehicle configuration> As shown in Figure 4, the vehicle control unit 17 functionally comprises a first processing unit 50 and a second processing unit 60.

[0073] The first processing unit 50 is a processing unit that performs processing to provide notifiable information to the application based on the vehicle's driving status and the conditions inside and outside the vehicle.

[0074] The first processing unit 50 functionally comprises a driving situation recognition unit 21, an in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23, an out-of-vehicle situation recognition unit 25, and a situation determination unit 27. The situation determination unit 27 functionally comprises an information determination unit 51 and an information provision unit 53.

[0075] On the other hand, the second processing unit 60 is a processing unit that performs processing when there is a request from the application to notify the crew of information (i.e., application information which is information provided by the application) (i.e., a notification request). Functionally, the second processing unit 60 comprises a crew provision determination unit 55 and a crew provision unit 57.

[0076] The following provides a detailed explanation.

[0077] (Function of the first processing unit) The driving situation recognition unit 21 is configured to recognize the vehicle's driving situation based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the vehicle's driving situation. Examples of vehicle driving situations include when the vehicle is stopped, when it is moving, when it is traveling at a speed above a predetermined value, and when it is traveling at a low speed below a predetermined value. Examples of when the vehicle is stopped include when it is stopped in accordance with traffic laws such as at traffic lights, railway crossings, intersections, and pedestrian crossings, as well as when it is stopped in other situations.

[0078] The in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23 is configured to recognize the conditions inside the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 7, which detects the conditions inside the vehicle (i.e., the conditions inside the vehicle). Examples of conditions inside the vehicle include the number of occupants, the seating positions of the occupants, the usage status of the actuator 11 that provides information to the occupants, the temperature inside the vehicle, and the operating status of the air conditioner.

[0079] The external situation recognition unit 25 is configured to recognize the situation around the vehicle based on information from the sensor unit 7 that detects the situation around the vehicle (i.e., the situation outside the vehicle) and information obtained from the cloud. Examples of the situation around the vehicle (i.e., the vehicle itself) include the driving status of other vehicles around the vehicle, the type of road being driven on (e.g., whether it is a highway or a regular road), the condition of the road being driven on (e.g., whether there is traffic congestion), the condition of structures such as roadside objects around the road (e.g., the presence of traffic lights and various road signs), the weather conditions in the surrounding area, and the ambient brightness.

[0080] The situation determination unit 27 determines the situation in which the vehicle is located based on information from the driving situation recognition unit 21, the in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23, and the out-of-vehicle situation recognition unit 25, that is, based on the situation of the vehicle itself and the situation inside and outside the vehicle.

[0081] The situation determination unit 27 performs the following processing in the information determination unit 51 and information provision unit 53 based on the situation in which the vehicle is located.

[0082] The information determination unit 51 is configured to determine notifiable information that indicates the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of various application information such as safety information and infotainment information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions, external vehicle conditions, and internal vehicle conditions.

[0083] The notifiable information (i.e., information provided to the application from the vehicle control unit 17) that indicates the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the aforementioned application information is information that serves as the basis for the application's decision on whether or not to notify the occupant of the application information and how to provide the application information.

[0084] Examples of this notifiable information include at least one of the following: the notification period, the type of notification, and the manner of notification depending on the situation.

[0085] The notification availability time is the time period during which app information can be notified to the occupants. In other words, it is the time during which the actuator 11 can be driven to notify the occupants of app information; in other words, it is the idle time when the actuator 11 is not driven or when there are no plans to drive the actuator 11. The time period can be, for example, the time from one time to another.

[0086] The notification window can be determined from the current usage status of actuator 11 and the planned usage of actuator 11.

[0087] The type of notification refers to the type of device (i.e., actuator 11) that notifies the occupant of app information. In other words, it refers to the method of notification (i.e., the means of notification). Examples of means of notification include visual devices such as meters, head-up displays, and center displays, auditory devices such as speakers, and tactile devices such as steering wheels.

[0088] Situation-appropriate notification methods refer to information indicating the appropriate state in which notifications should be sent to the occupants, depending on the situation. Examples of such situation-appropriate notification methods include information indicating that the occupant (e.g., the driver) is busy with driving operations, or information indicating a state suitable for a busy situation (e.g., notification limited to short-term app information).

[0089] Furthermore, as will be described later, the appropriate form of notification may include one that corresponds to at least one of the following situations: the vehicle's driving status, the conditions inside the vehicle (e.g., the occupants' status), or the conditions around the vehicle (i.e., the exterior).

[0090] For example, when the vehicle control unit 17 provides the application with information indicating, for example, that it is busy (i.e., a notification format appropriate to the situation), the application can provide the vehicle control unit 17 (and therefore the occupant) with application information (for example, only short-term application information) that corresponds to the busy state (i.e., in a state of providing information appropriate to the busy situation).

[0091] For example, in a busy state, it might be possible to condense the app information provided (e.g., only provide a portion of the information) or to not notify users of app information that is not urgent (i.e., of low importance).

[0092] Therefore, if the vehicle control unit 17 provides the application with a notification format appropriate to the situation, the application can notify the vehicle control unit 17 of the application information in an appropriate manner (for example, in an appropriate way or with appropriate content) according to the notification format. Alternatively, it is possible to refrain from notifying the application information or to wait to notify the application information until the situation becomes suitable for the notification format.

[0093] The information provision unit 53 is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit 51 to the server 5 and applications installed in the vehicle (i.e., server-side applications and vehicle-side applications) on a periodic basis, for example.

[0094] (Function of the second processing unit) The occupant provision determination unit 55 is configured to determine whether it is actually possible to notify (i.e., provide) the occupant information at that moment when the application requests (i.e., makes a notification request) the occupant to notify the occupant of the application information. In other words, the occupant provision determination unit 55 can confirm whether there is actually time to provide the application information to the occupant at the present time, and whether the actuator 11 is in a state where it can be driven in order to provide the application information to the occupant.

[0095] Furthermore, the occupant provision decision unit 55 is configured to receive information indicating the results of the driving situation recognition unit 21, the in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23's recognition of the in-vehicle situation (for example, the occupant's situation), and the out-of-vehicle situation recognition unit 25's recognition of the out-of-vehicle situation. Therefore, when a notification request is made, for example, the occupant provision decision unit 55 can adjust the state of the application information to be provided (i.e., adjust the notification state) according to each of the recognition results described above, and provide it to the occupant.

[0096] In addition, it may be determined whether it is appropriate or possible to notify the user of the app information at that time. For example, if a request is made to notify the user of an advertisement while a notification regarding driving safety is currently being displayed, it may be determined that it is not appropriate to notify the user of an advertisement at that time.

[0097] Furthermore, the crew provision determination unit 55 has an adjustment function (i.e., a mediation function) that determines which of the notification requests to prioritize when it receives notification requests from multiple applications.

[0098] The occupant information unit 57 is configured to provide application information provided by the application to the occupant by driving the actuator 11.

[0099] Here, the app information provided by the application is set based on, for example, vehicle-related status and notifiable information. For example, when the vehicle is parked for a long period of time and there is sufficient time to notify the app information (for example, not busy), the app information, such as advertisements, may be notified for a predetermined sufficient length. On the other hand, for example, when driving on a highway at night and there is not enough time to notify the app information (for example, busy), the content of the app information may be set to be compact and the app information may be notified.

[0100] (Functions of the car application section) In addition, separate from the vehicle control unit 17 mentioned above, the vehicle application unit 15, which is part of the vehicle's configuration, functionally includes an information request determination unit 61 and an information request unit 63.

[0101] The information request determination unit 61 is configured to determine, when notifiable information is provided from the information provision unit 53 to the vehicle application unit 15, whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupants of the application information based on the notifiable information.

[0102] For example, when a vehicle-side application notifies the system of certain application information, the system determines whether there is time to provide the application information and whether the actuator 11 providing the application information is drivable, based on information provided by the vehicle control unit 17, such as the notification availability time and the type of notification. Then, based on the result of this determination, it decides whether or not to make a notification request.

[0103] For example, if there is time to provide app information and the actuator 11 is drivable, a notification request can be made; otherwise, the notification request cannot be made.

[0104] The information request unit 63 is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupants of application information provided by the vehicle-side application, based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit 53.

[0105] In other words, the information request unit 63 can make a notification request to the vehicle control unit 17 if it determines, based on the result of the determination by the information request determination unit 61, that it is appropriate (for example, possible) to make a notification request.

[0106] <Server-side configuration> On the other hand, on the server 5 side, the server application unit 19, like the vehicle application unit 15, functionally includes an information request determination unit 65 and an information request unit 67.

[0107] The information request determination unit 65, like the information request determination unit 61 of the vehicle application unit 15, is configured to determine whether it is appropriate to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupants of application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit 53 to the server 5.

[0108] The information request unit 67, like the information request unit 63 of the vehicle application unit 15, is configured to request the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupants of application information provided by the application on the server 5 side, based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit 53.

[0109] [1-4. Control Processing] Next, the control processing performed by the information notification system 1 will be explained based on Figure 5.

[0110] Furthermore, the control processing performed by this information notification system 1 includes control processing performed on the server side and control processing performed on the vehicle side.

[0111] The following processes are performed, for example, when the vehicle's ignition switch is turned on.

[0112] In step (hereinafter referred to as S) 100 of the flowchart in Figure 5, first, the vehicle control unit 17 of the vehicle control device 13 uses data from the driving situation recognition unit 21, the in-vehicle situation recognition unit 23, and the out-of-vehicle situation recognition unit 25 to grasp the vehicle driving situation, the in-vehicle situation, and the out-of-vehicle situation. Then, based on the grasped situation, it determines the notificationable information, such as the notificationable time, the type of notification, and the notification manner according to the situation (i.e., the notification manner). Note that at least one of the notificationable time, type of notification, and notification manner may be determined.

[0113] In the subsequent S110, the notification availability period, notification type, and notification manner are sent to the application (i.e., the server-side application and the vehicle-side application). In other words, the notification availability period, notification type, and notification manner are sent to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0114] In addition, each application may utilize the information acquired by each recognition unit 21, 23, and 25, and therefore transmits the information corresponding to each situation (for example, information such as vehicle speed) acquired by each recognition unit 21, 23, and 25 to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15.

[0115] Furthermore, the information corresponding to each of the above situations may be sent to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 at a different time from the transmission of notification availability time, notification type, and notification manner, for example, periodically.

[0116] In S120, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 (i.e., on the application side) receive information transmitted from each recognition unit 21, 23, and 25. It also receives the notification availability time, the type of notification, and the notification method.

[0117] In the subsequent S130, the application determines whether it is possible to notify the occupant (e.g., the driver) of the application information based on the received notification availability time, the type of notification, and the manner of notification. For example, when notifying application information by driving actuator 11, it determines whether it is possible to drive actuator 11 (e.g., actuator 11 is not being used to provide other higher-priority information) and whether there is sufficient time to drive actuator 11 to notify the entire application information. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S140; if the determination is negative, it returns to S120.

[0118] For example, if the display device 33 shows a safety-related message, it can be determined that it is not possible to display an advertisement with a lower priority than safety on the display device 33 (i.e., it is not possible to notify the user).

[0119] Furthermore, if it is determined that notification is possible, the app information that will be notified later will be set by the application based on vehicle-related information and notification availability information. In other words, the application will set app information appropriate to the current situation, so when app information is to be notified to the occupant later, the app information set here will be notified.

[0120] In S140, a request is made to the vehicle control unit 17 to notify the occupants of app information such as advertisements. When a notification is requested, the app information to be notified is also sent to the vehicle control unit 17.

[0121] The app information to be notified is, for example, pre-configured (i.e., prepared) by the application, but the content of the app information notified to the crew may be changed depending on the type of notification. For example, if the crew is busy, the content of the app information notified may be changed to make the app information compact and provide only the essential parts of the app information.

[0122] In S150, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether there has been a request from the server application unit 19 or the vehicle application unit 15 to notify the occupants of application information such as advertisements. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S160; if the determination is negative, the process returns to S100.

[0123] In S160, the vehicle control unit 17, similar to S140, determines again whether it is possible to notify the occupant of the app information. That is, it considers the actual current situation (e.g., the vehicle's speed) and determines again whether to make the notification. In other words, it makes a final decision on whether or not to notify the occupant of the app information. If the decision is positive, the process proceeds to S170; if the decision is negative, it returns to S100.

[0124] In S170, the vehicle control unit 17 performs processing to notify the occupant of app information. For example, it drives actuators 11 such as the display device 33 to notify the occupant of app information such as advertisements. In other words, it notifies the occupant of app information appropriate to the current situation based on vehicle-related information and notifiable information.

[0125] In the subsequent S180, the vehicle control unit 17 transmits to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 that the application information has actually been notified to the occupant. If the application information was not notified because a negative determination was made in S160, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 may also be notified that the notification was not sent.

[0126] In S190, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 receive notification from the vehicle control unit 17 that application information has been sent to the occupant, and then terminate this process.

[0127] [1-5. Effects] According to this first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0128] (1a) In this first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 determines notifiable information based on the vehicle driving conditions, external conditions, and internal conditions obtained by the respective recognition units 21, 23, and 25. Furthermore, it provides this notifiable information to the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 (i.e., the applications installed in the application units 15 and 19). The server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 then notify the vehicle control unit 17 of the information provided by the application (i.e., application information) to the occupants based on the notifiable information.

[0129] Thus, in this first embodiment, the server application unit 19 and the vehicle application unit 15 notify the vehicle control unit 17 of application information to the occupant based on the notifiable information, so that the vehicle control unit 17 can notify the occupant of application information appropriately at the appropriate time. In other words, by using the actuator 11 that can be used for notification, for example, sufficient time can be taken to notify the occupant of application information, and the necessary application information can be reliably notified to the occupant.

[0130] (1b) In this first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 can set the notificationable time, the type of notification, and the notification manner (i.e., the notification manner) according to the circumstances as notifiable information and provide it to the application.

[0131] Furthermore, the notification format corresponding to this situation can be set in the application based on the vehicle-related status and provided to the vehicle control unit 17. For example, if the occupant is busy, the notification format may be set according to the busy status, such as making the application information more compact.

[0132] (1c) In this first embodiment, the application can set up application information to notify the occupant based on vehicle-related conditions and notifiable information.

[0133] This allows the system to notify passengers of the appropriate app information at the right time.

[0134] (1d) In this first embodiment, the application determines whether or not it is possible to notify the occupants of application information. Therefore, if it is possible to notify them according to the determination result, the application information can be appropriately notified.

[0135] Separately, the application may determine whether it is appropriate to notify the occupants of app information. For example, if the application is currently notifying information necessary for driving safety, it may be determined that it is inappropriate to notify, for instance, of advertisements. (1e) In this first embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether or not it is possible to notify the occupants of application information. Therefore, according to the determination result, if it is possible to notify, the application information can be appropriately notified.

[0136] In addition, the vehicle control unit 17 may determine whether it is appropriate to notify the occupants of app information. For example, if information necessary for driving safety is currently being notified, it may be determined that it is not appropriate to notify, for example, of advertisements. Furthermore, when app information is notified to the occupants, it is considered appropriate if the current situation regarding drivability (i.e., ease of driving), vehicle and occupant safety, and occupant comfort is not affected, is not adversely impacted, or at least does not worsen.

[0137] (1f) In this first embodiment, when the vehicle control unit 17 notifies the occupant of application information, it sends a notification to the application. As a result, the application can be aware that a notification has been made, and can therefore suppress processes such as making another notification request.

[0138] If you do not want to notify the crew of the app information, you can send a message to the application indicating that you do not want to be notified. This allows the application to later request notification again at a predetermined time.

[0139] [1-6. Correspondence] Next, the relationship between this first embodiment and this disclosure will be described.

[0140] Information notification system 1 corresponds to the information notification system, vehicle control unit 17 corresponds to the vehicle control unit, information determination unit 51 corresponds to the information determination unit, and information provision unit 53 corresponds to the information provision unit.

[0141] [2. Second Embodiment] Since the basic configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be described below. Reference numerals that are the same as those in the first embodiment indicate the same components, and refer to the preceding description.

[0142] In this second embodiment, the vehicle control unit 17 performs various adjustment processes.

[0143] <Example 2a> In this embodiment 2a, when the vehicle control unit 17 receives notification requests from multiple applications, each requesting that application information be notified to the occupant, it adjusts which application information to notify the occupant. For example, it adjusts which application information to notify and which application information not to notify.

[0144] For example, if a vehicle is driving in bad weather and there is a time limit for app notifications, and both weather-related and advertising-related app notifications are available, the system will select and notify only the weather-related app information.

[0145] <Example 2b> In this embodiment 2b, when the vehicle control unit 17 receives notification requests from multiple applications, each requesting to notify the occupants of their respective application information, it adjusts the order in which each application's information is notified to the occupants.

[0146] For example, if there are notification requests for both safety-related app information and regular advertising app information, the safety-related app information is considered to have higher priority, so notifications will be sent to the occupants in order of priority. This ensures that occupants are quickly notified of the app information that is most important to them.

[0147] <Example 2c> In this embodiment 2c, when the second processing unit 60 of the vehicle control unit 17 receives a notification request from the application requesting that application information be notified to the occupant, it adjusts the state for notifying the occupant of the application information to match the actual vehicle-related situation (i.e., vehicle-related situation).

[0148] For example, when driving at high speed (i.e., when the driver is busy), the content of the advertisement may be adjusted to be more concise and less burdensome than when driving at low speed, or the content of the notification may be adjusted to be audio only, rather than displayed or audio. This allows the app to appropriately notify passengers of app information according to the actual situation.

[0149] Furthermore, adjusting the conditions for notifying the aforementioned crew members includes the option of not notifying them at all (the same applies hereinafter).

[0150] [3. Third Embodiment] Since the basic configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be described below. Note that the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment indicate the same components, and refer to the preceding description.

[0151] This third embodiment provides various examples of how app information can be notified to the occupants.

[0152] <Example 3a> In this embodiment 3a, at least one of the notification method and the notification content is changed when notifying the occupants of app information according to the vehicle driving conditions.

[0153] The processing procedure in this embodiment 3a will be briefly described below.

[0154] For example, when the vehicle's driving status is recognized by the driving status recognition unit 21, information about that driving status and information about the type of notification appropriate to the situation (for example, information about what kind of notifications are possible) are sent in advance to the application (i.e., the vehicle application unit 15 or the server application unit 19).

[0155] On the application side, based on the information transmitted from the driving information recognition unit 21, the application determines what conditions (i.e., notification method and notification content) are appropriate for transmitting application information to the vehicle control unit 17. For example, depending on the vehicle driving conditions, at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupants of application information is changed. Then, a notification request is sent to the vehicle control unit 17 at an appropriate time (i.e., at a time when notification to the occupants is possible), and the modified application information is also transmitted to the vehicle control unit 17 as described above.

[0156] Upon receiving the notification request, the vehicle control unit 17 determines whether it is appropriate to actually provide the app information to the occupant, and if it is appropriate, it provides the app information to the occupant.

[0157] Although the types of situations in Examples 3b and 3c described later differ from those in Example 3a, the processing procedures are the same, so the explanation of the processing procedures in Examples 3b and 3c will be omitted.

[0158] Changes to the notification method include, for example, changing the type of actuator 11 used or the number of actuators 11 used (for example, two types such as a display device 33 and a speaker 35, or three types such as a display device 33, a speaker 35, and a handle 37). For example, in the case of app information with a high notification priority (i.e., urgency), an actuator 11 that is easily recognized by the occupant without visual inspection (for example, a speaker 35) may be used, or the number of actuators 11 used may be increased. Note that changing the notification method also includes changing it so that no notification is sent (the same applies below).

[0159] Vehicle driving conditions can include at least one of the following: vehicle speed, vehicle stopping status, and vehicle congestion status.

[0160] The vehicle's speed can be set to a high speed above a predetermined value or a constant speed below a predetermined value. The vehicle's stopping status indicates the circumstances under which the vehicle is stopped, and this can include, for example, temporary stops due to regulations such as traffic lights or intersections, or stops not due to such regulations. The vehicle's congestion status indicates the congestion situation around the vehicle (for example, the vehicle itself), and this can include, for example, congestion status on the road being traveled obtained from the cloud.

[0161] The following provides a more detailed explanation of specific examples.

[0162] (1) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the driving speed. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the vehicle is traveling at high speed or at a lower speed. For example, at high speed, the occupants are considered to be in a busy state requiring attention to driving, so notifications of app information may be stopped. Note that the notification method is the method by which app information is notified, and the notification content is the content of the app information to be notified (the same applies hereinafter).

[0163] (2) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the stopping situation (i.e., the manner of stopping). For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or stopped for any other reason (i.e., voluntary stopping not due to regulations). For example, when the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, notifications of app information may be stopped.

[0164] (3) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the traffic congestion. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether it is during traffic congestion or during normal driving at a constant speed. For example, notifications of app information may be stopped during traffic congestion.

[0165] <Example 3b> In this embodiment 3b, at least one of the notification method and notification content is changed when notifying the occupants of information according to the external conditions of the vehicle. The notification method and notification content are the same as in embodiment 3a.

[0166] The aforementioned external vehicle conditions may include at least one of the weather conditions around the vehicle and the road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0167] Weather conditions include rain, cloudy and dark conditions, and sunny conditions. Road conditions include the type of road (e.g., highway or general road), the number of lanes, whether roads are under construction and traffic is restricted, and the degree of road congestion, such as the number of other vehicles around the vehicle and the distance to other vehicles. Road conditions should indicate what kind of road it is and the condition of the road and objects on it, and may include the degree of road congestion.

[0168] The following provides a more detailed explanation of specific examples.

[0169] (1) Notification methods and content may be changed depending on the weather. For example, notification methods may be changed depending on whether the weather is bad, such as rain or snow, or good, such as sunny or cloudy. For example, if the weather is bad, the driver is likely to be in a busy state requiring attention while driving, so notifications of app information may be stopped.

[0170] (2) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether it is a highway or a general road. For example, on a highway, the occupants are considered to be in a busy state, so notifications of app information may be stopped. Also, on general roads, the notification method may be changed depending on whether it is a normal urban road or a narrow road that is narrower than an urban road. For example, on a narrow road, the occupants are considered to be in a busy state, so notifications of app information may be stopped.

[0171] <Example 3c> In this embodiment 3c, at least one of the notification method and notification content is changed when notifying the occupants of information according to the conditions inside the vehicle. The notification method and notification content are the same as in embodiment 3a.

[0172] The aforementioned in-vehicle conditions can include at least one of the following: the roles of the occupants, the state of the occupants' movement, the characteristics of the occupants, and the duration of the occupants' stay in the vehicle.

[0173] The roles of the crew members indicate functional distinctions among them, such as whether they are the driver or other crew members.

[0174] The movement status of passengers includes, for example, the position of passengers inside a bus or an autonomous e-Palette vehicle, and how that position changes (e.g., position before movement and position after movement). The position of passengers can be determined, for example, using well-known image recognition techniques with camera images, or by utilizing location information from mobile devices such as smartphones.

[0175] Crew characteristics refer to the individual characteristics of the crew (e.g., physical and psychological characteristics), and examples of crew characteristics include whether the crew member is an adult or a child. Furthermore, the crew member's hobbies, thoughts, and physical condition may also be considered as crew characteristics. Crew characteristics can be pre-configured and stored on the vehicle or in the cloud. They can also be obtained from the crew member's mobile device.

[0176] The passenger's time spent in the vehicle refers to the elapsed time since the passenger entered the vehicle. For example, this could include the driver's driving time. This can be determined, for example, through image recognition using camera images.

[0177] The following provides a more detailed explanation of specific examples.

[0178] (1) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the role of the occupant. For example, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the occupant is the driver, the passenger in the front seat, or another occupant. For example, if the occupant is the driver, they are considered busy, so for example, advertising notifications may be stopped, while advertisements may be notified to occupants other than the driver.

[0179] Furthermore, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the passenger is, for example, the bus driver or a bus passenger (i.e., a passenger). For example, if the passenger is the bus driver, they are considered busy, so advertising notifications may be stopped, while advertisements may be notified to everyone except the driver.

[0180] Furthermore, for example, if the vehicle is an autonomous e-Palette, the notification method may be changed depending on whether the person is a tour guide or a passenger. For example, if the person on board is a tour guide, they are considered busy, so advertising notifications may be stopped, while advertisements may be sent to everyone except the tour guide.

[0181] (2) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the occupant's movement status (e.g., the occupant's location). For example, if the occupant moves to another location inside the vehicle such as the e-Palette, the actuator 11 located at that location may be used to notify the occupant of the app information.

[0182] (3) Notification methods and content may be changed according to the characteristics of the occupant. For example, notification methods and content can be changed depending on whether the occupant is an adult or a child, or according to the occupant's hobbies, thoughts, physical condition, etc. For example, if the occupant is an adult, adult-oriented advertisements can be notified, and if the occupant is a child, child-oriented advertisements can be notified. Also, if the occupant changes, app information tailored to the characteristics of that occupant can be provided.

[0183] (4) The notification method and content may be changed depending on the passenger's ride time. For example, if the passenger is on board for a long time, they may be fatigued or bored, so for safety-important information, the notification intensity may be increased compared to when the ride time is short (for example, by making the displayed light brighter or the sound louder) when notifying them of app information.

[0184] [4. Other Embodiments] While embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and can take various forms.

[0185] (4a) The application only needs to be located (i.e., installed) on at least one of the server and the vehicle, and the number of installed applications may be one or more.

[0186] (4b) The information notification systems, vehicle control devices, programs, and information notification methods described herein are applicable to manual driving and autonomous driving. In the case of autonomous driving, they are applicable, for example, to levels 2 through 5 according to the US SAE (i.e., Society of Automotive Engineers) standards.

[0187] (4c) The information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described herein may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program.

[0188] Alternatively, the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described herein may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0189] Alternatively, the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described herein may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers comprising a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor comprising one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0190] Furthermore, the computer program may be stored on a computer-readable, non-transitional tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer. The methods for realizing the functions of each part included in the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method do not necessarily need to include software; all of these functions may be realized using one or more hardware components.

[0191] (4d) In addition to the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method described above, the disclosure can also be implemented in various forms, such as systems, devices, and methods that comprise the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method, programs for operating a computer that implements the information notification system, vehicle control device, and information notification method, non-transitional tangible recording media such as semiconductor memory that record this program, and processing methods for the information notification system and vehicle control device.

[0192] (4e) Multiple functions of one component in the above embodiment may be realized by multiple components, or one function of one component may be realized by multiple components. Also, multiple functions of multiple components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by multiple components may be realized by one component. Furthermore, some of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted. Furthermore, at least some of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of other embodiments. [Technical concepts disclosed in this specification] [Item 1] An information notification system (1) is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the application, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. Information notification system.

[0193] [Item 2] The information notification system described in item 2, The vehicle control unit is configured to set at least one of the following as notifiable information: the notification period, the type of notification, and the notification manner according to the situation, and provide it to the application. Information notification system.

[0194] [Item 3] An information notification system as described in item 1 or item 2, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

[0195] [Item 4] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 to 3, The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state in which the application information is notified to the occupant in accordance with the vehicle-related circumstances when notifying the occupant of the application information in response to the request. Information notification system.

[0196] [Item 5] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 4, The application is configured to set a notification format appropriate to the situation based on the vehicle-related situation and provide it to the vehicle control unit. Information notification system.

[0197] [Item 6] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 5, The system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the application information according to the vehicle driving conditions. Information notification system.

[0198] [Item 7] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 6, The aforementioned vehicle driving conditions include at least one of the following: the vehicle's speed, the vehicle's stationary status, and the vehicle's traffic congestion status. Information notification system.

[0199] [Item 8] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 7, Depending on the external conditions of the vehicle, the system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the app information. Information notification system.

[0200] [Item 9] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 8, The aforementioned external vehicle conditions are at least one of the weather conditions around the vehicle and the road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling. Information notification system.

[0201] [Item 10] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 9, Depending on the conditions inside the vehicle, the system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the app information. Information notification system.

[0202] [Item 11] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 10, The aforementioned conditions inside the vehicle are at least one of the following: the role of the occupant, the state of the occupant's movement, the characteristics of the occupant, and the duration of the occupant's stay in the vehicle. Information notification system.

[0203] [Item 12] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 11, The vehicle control unit is configured such that, when a notification request is received from multiple applications requesting that each application information be notified to the occupant, it adjusts whether or not to notify the occupant of any of the application information, or adjusts the order in which each application information is notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

[0204] [Item 13] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 12, The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state when the application requests notification to the occupant to notify the occupant of the application information, in order to match the actual vehicle-related situation. Information notification system.

[0205] [Item 14] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 13, The application is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

[0206] [Item 15] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 14, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

[0207] [Item 16] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 15, The application is configured to set the application information to be notified to the occupant based on the vehicle-related status and the notifiable information. Information notification system.

[0208] [Item 17] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 16, The vehicle control unit is configured to notify the occupant of the application information, Information notification system.

[0209] [Item 18] An information notification system described in any one of items 1 through 17, The vehicle control unit is configured to send a notification indicating whether or not the notification was made to the occupant, if the application information has been notified to the occupant, to the application. Information notification system.

[0210] [Item 19] A vehicle control device (17) for notifying an occupant of application information, which is information provided from the vehicle, based on a request from one or more applications located in the vehicle and / or the cloud, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, when the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant, the occupant provision unit (57) is configured to instruct the notification device (11) to provide the application information to the occupant, A vehicle control device equipped with the following features.

[0211] [Item 20] A program executed by an information notification system (1) which is provided on at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and which notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the application, from the vehicle, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. A program for performing a function.

[0212] [Item 21] An information notification method comprising one or more applications provided in a vehicle and / or the cloud, wherein the vehicle notifies an occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. Information notification method.

Claims

1. An information notification system (1) is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the application, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

2. In an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and application information, which is information provided by the applications, is notified from the vehicle to the occupant, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state in which the application information is notified to the occupant in accordance with the vehicle-related circumstances when notifying the occupant of the application information in response to the request. It is an information notification system, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

3. An information notification system (1) is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the application, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

4. In an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and application information, which is information provided by the applications, is notified from the vehicle to the occupant, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. It is an information notification system, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

5. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The vehicle control unit is configured to set at least one of the following as notifiable information: the notification period, the type of notification, and the notification manner according to the situation, and provide it to the application. Information notification system.

6. An information notification system according to claim 1, claim 3, or claim 4, The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state in which the application information is notified to the occupant in accordance with the vehicle-related circumstances when notifying the occupant of the application information in response to the request. Information notification system.

7. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The application is configured to set a notification format appropriate to the situation based on the vehicle-related situation and provide it to the vehicle control unit. Information notification system.

8. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the application information according to the vehicle driving conditions. Information notification system.

9. An information notification system according to claim 8, The aforementioned vehicle driving conditions include at least one of the following: the vehicle's speed, the vehicle's stationary status, and the vehicle's traffic congestion status. Information notification system.

10. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Depending on the external conditions of the vehicle, the system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the app information. Information notification system.

11. An information notification system according to claim 10, The aforementioned external vehicle conditions are at least one of the weather conditions around the vehicle and the road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling. Information notification system.

12. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Depending on the conditions inside the vehicle, the system is configured to change at least one of the notification method and notification content when notifying the occupant of the app information. Information notification system.

13. An information notification system according to claim 12, The aforementioned conditions inside the vehicle are at least one of the following: the role of the occupant, the state of the occupant's movement, the characteristics of the occupant, and the duration of the occupant's stay in the vehicle. Information notification system.

14. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The vehicle control unit is configured such that, when a notification request is received from multiple applications requesting that each application information be notified to the occupant, it adjusts whether or not to notify the occupant of any of the application information, or adjusts the order in which each application information is notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

15. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state when the application requests notification to the occupant to notify the occupant of the application information, in order to match the actual vehicle-related situation. Information notification system.

16. An information notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The application is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

17. An information notification system according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 4, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

18. An information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the applications, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions under which the application information can be notified to the occupant, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions indicating the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The aforementioned application is An information request determination unit (61) determines whether to request that the application information be notified to the crew member based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, Based on the determination result by the information request determination unit, an information request unit (63) requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information, Equipped with, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

19. In an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and application information, which is information provided by the applications, is notified from the vehicle to the occupant, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. The vehicle control unit is configured to adjust the state in which the application information is notified to the occupant in accordance with the vehicle-related circumstances when notifying the occupant of the application information in response to the request. It is an information notification system, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

20. In an information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and application information, which is information provided by the applications, is notified from the vehicle to the occupant, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The application is configured to request the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit. It is an information notification system, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification system.

21. An information notification system according to claim 3, claim 19, or claim 20, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

22. An information notification system (1) in which one or more applications are provided in at least one of a vehicle and a cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the applications, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions under which the application information can be notified to the occupant, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions indicating the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The aforementioned application is An information request determination unit (61) determines whether to request that the application information be notified to the crew member based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, Based on the determination result by the information request determination unit, an information request unit (63) requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information, Equipped with, The vehicle control unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant. Information notification system.

23. An information notification system according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, claim 19, claim 20, or claim 22, The application is configured to set the application information to be notified to the occupant based on the vehicle-related status and the notifiable information. Information notification system.

24. An information notification system according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 4, The vehicle control unit is configured to notify the occupant of the application information, Information notification system.

25. The information notification system according to claim 24, The vehicle control unit is configured to send a notification indicating whether or not the notification was made to the occupant, if the application information has been notified to the occupant, to the application. Information notification system.

26. An information notification method is performed by an information notification system (1) which is provided with one or more applications in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and which notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, from the vehicle, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. After providing the notifiable information to the application, if the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant, the system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification method.

27. An information notification method is performed by an information notification system (1) which is provided with one or more applications in at least one of a vehicle and the cloud, and which notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, from the vehicle, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. The system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the aforementioned application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it notifies the occupant of the aforementioned application information. Information notification method.

28. A vehicle control device (13) is provided with one or more applications in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The vehicle control unit, Based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, the system is configured to notify the occupant of the application information requested by the application. If, after the information provision unit has provided the application with the notifiable information, the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant, the unit is configured to determine whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information. The aforementioned application is An information request determination unit (61) determines whether to request that the application information be notified to the crew member based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, Based on the determination result by the information request determination unit, an information request unit (63) requests the vehicle control unit to notify the occupant of the application information, Configured to include, Vehicle control device.

29. A program executed by a vehicle control device (13) which is provided with one or more applications in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and which notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, from the vehicle, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. If, after providing the notifiable information to the application, the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant, the system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information. A program for performing a function.

30. An information notification method performed by a vehicle control device (17) is provided in a vehicle and a cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the application, that one or more applications are provided in the vehicle and a cloud, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. If, after providing the notifiable information to the application, the application requests that the application information be notified to the occupant, the system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the application information. Information notification method.

31. A vehicle control device (13) is provided with one or more applications in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, The aforementioned vehicle has a vehicle control unit (17) that controls the operation of the vehicle, An information determination unit (51) is configured to determine notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary when notifying the occupant of the application information, based on vehicle-related conditions that indicate at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions that indicate the driving status of the vehicle, external conditions that indicate the conditions around the vehicle, and internal conditions that indicate the conditions inside the vehicle. An information providing unit (53) is configured to provide the notifiable information determined by the information determination unit to the application, Equipped with, The vehicle control unit, Based on the notifiable information provided by the information provision unit, the system is configured to notify the occupant of the application information requested by the application. It is determined whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the aforementioned application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it is configured to notify the occupant of the aforementioned application information. Vehicle control device.

32. A program executed by a vehicle control device (13) which is provided with one or more applications in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and which notifies the occupant of application information, which is information provided by the applications, from the vehicle, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. The system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the aforementioned application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it notifies the occupant of the aforementioned application information. A program that performs a function.

33. An information notification method performed by a vehicle control device (13) is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle notifies the occupant of application information which is information provided by the application, wherein one or more applications are provided in the vehicle and the cloud, and the vehicle control device (13) is notified of application information which is information provided by the application, Based on vehicle-related conditions indicating at least one of the following: vehicle driving conditions indicating the vehicle's driving status, external conditions indicating the surroundings of the vehicle, and internal conditions indicating the conditions inside the vehicle, the system determines the notifiable information indicating the conditions necessary for notifying the occupant of the application information. The determined notifiable information is provided to the application, and the application is instructed to request the vehicle control unit (17), which controls the operation of the vehicle, to notify the occupant of the application information based on the provided notifiable information. The system determines whether it is possible or appropriate to notify the occupant of the aforementioned application information, and if it is determined that it is possible or appropriate, it notifies the occupant of the aforementioned application information. Information notification method.

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