API control device, API control program, and API control method

Abstract

In the present invention, a power consumption acquisition unit (40) acquires a power consumption amount used by an API (100) when an in-vehicle application program (20) accesses the API. A travelable amount acquisition unit (30) acquires a travelable amount indicating the amount that a vehicle can travel. A reduction amount acquisition unit (40) acquires a travel reduction amount of the travelable amount that decreases due to the power consumption amount acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit. An access determination unit (62) determines whether to permit access to the API by the application program on the basis of the travelable amount acquired by the travelable amount acquisition unit and the travel reduction amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

Description

API control device, API control program, and API control method CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-105970, filed with the Japan Patent Office on June 28, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a technology in which an in-vehicle application program accesses an API (Application Programming Interface) to execute processing.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 describes a technology for analyzing the power consumption of an application program by acquiring the power consumption of modules, which are program components used by the application program installed in a wireless communication device. The technology described in Patent Document 1 uses methods to refer to modules.

[0004] JP 2012-190447 A

[0005] In the case of an in-vehicle application program, it is desirable that the created application program executes processing using an appropriate method regardless of differences in vehicle manufacturer, model, etc. Therefore, it is conceivable that the application program accesses an API, and the API selects an appropriate method regardless of differences in vehicle manufacturer, model, etc.

[0006] However, as a result of detailed investigation by the inventors, it was found that the technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it does not take into consideration the power consumption caused by an application program accessing an API.

[0007] In particular, in the case of an in-vehicle application program, the power consumed by accessing the API reduces the drivability, which indicates how far the vehicle can travel. Therefore, it is desirable to take into consideration the power consumed by the in-vehicle application program when accessing the API.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technique that takes into account power consumption consumed by an in-vehicle application program accessing an API.

[0009] An API control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a power consumption acquisition unit, a travelable amount acquisition unit, a decrease amount acquisition unit, and an access determination unit.

[0010] The power consumption acquisition unit acquires power consumption consumed by using the API when an in-vehicle application program accesses the API. The drivable capacity acquisition unit acquires a drivable capacity indicating how far the vehicle can travel.

[0011] The reduction amount acquisition unit acquires a travel reduction amount, which is a reduction in the travelable amount due to the power consumption acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit.

[0012] The access determination unit determines whether to permit access to the API of the application program based on the remaining travel amount acquired by the remaining travel amount acquisition unit and the reduced travel amount acquired by the reduced amount acquisition unit.

[0013] An API control program according to another aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to function as a power consumption acquisition unit, a drivable amount acquisition unit, a decrease amount acquisition unit, and an access determination unit of the API control device described above.

[0014] According to this configuration, by taking into consideration the power consumption of the API accessed by the in-vehicle application program, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the application program is allowed to access the API.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an API control device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing access to an API by an application program; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between power consumption and operation mode for each API; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of operation mode for an application program; FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing API control processing by an API control device; FIG. 6 is another sequence diagram showing API control processing by an API control device; FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between power consumption and operation mode for each API according to a second embodiment; and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an API control device according to a third embodiment.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0017] 1. First Embodiment 1-1. Configuration An API control device 10 shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a vehicle. The vehicle of the first embodiment travels by driving an electric motor with power charged in a battery.

[0018] The API control device 10 includes an application program 20, a travel distance acquisition unit 30, a power consumption acquisition unit 40, a distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50, and an API GW 60. GW stands for Gateway. Hereinafter, the application program will also be referred to as an app.

[0019] When the application 20 accesses the API via the API GW 60, a method for executing a vehicle control process or the like is called.

[0020] For example, the APIs include an API for reading vehicle speed, an API for opening vehicle windows, an API for turning on vehicle lights, an API for turning on autonomous driving, an API for setting air conditioning temperature, and the like.

[0021] The mileage acquisition unit 30 calculates and acquires the remaining mileage of the vehicle based on the current remaining battery charge of the vehicle using the following formula (1): The remaining mileage is the amount of travel that the vehicle can travel.

[0022] Driving distance [km] = Remaining battery charge [kWh] × Electricity consumption [km / kWh] (1) The electricity consumption [km / kWh] in formula (1) represents the distance that the vehicle can travel per unit of electricity, and its value is set for each vehicle by measurement, etc. The electricity consumption [km / kWh] may be a fixed value measured in advance, or may be measured periodically while the vehicle is traveling and updated.

[0023] The power consumption acquisition unit 40 acquires the power consumption consumed by the API when the API calls a method each time the application 20 accesses the API. The power consumption represents the reduction in the travelable capacity due to the power consumption. The power consumption consumed by the API may be a fixed value measured in advance, or may be measured and updated periodically while the vehicle is traveling.

[0024] The power consumption of an API is the sum of the power consumption of the methods called by the API. The power consumption of each method is the sum of the power consumed by the hardware used by the method, such as the CPU, ROM, RAM, various actuators, lights, etc.

[0025] 2 , the API 100 accessed by the app 20 may include an API 100 that calls an app 22 that accesses multiple APIs 100. In this case, the power consumption acquisition unit 40 acquires the total power consumption of the multiple APIs 100 accessed by the app 22 as the power consumption consumed by the app 20 accessing the API 100 that calls the app 22.

[0026] An example of the application 22 that accesses the multiple APIs 100 is a comfortable driving application. The comfortable driving application determines the physical condition of the passenger from the facial expression of the passenger during autonomous driving, and changes the vehicle speed and seat position, opens and closes the power windows, etc.

[0027] The distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50 acquires the distance that the vehicle can travel with the power consumed by the application 20 accessing the API 100, that is, the vehicle distance reduction amount that is reduced due to the API consuming power. The distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50 calculates and acquires the distance reduction amount based on the following equation (2).

[0028] Distance reduction amount [km]=power consumption [kWh]×electricity cost [km / kWh] (2) The API GW 60 includes an access determination unit 62 and an access threshold list 64 .

[0029] The access determination unit 62 determines whether to permit the application 20 to access the API 100. Specifically, the access determination unit 62 determines whether to permit the application 20 to access the API 100 based on the access threshold list 64 shown in FIG. 3 and the formulas (1) and (2).

[0030] Each column of the access threshold list 64 is set for each API ID assigned to each API 100. In addition to the API ID, each column also sets the power consumption, the driving mode threshold, the balance mode threshold, and the application mode threshold.

[0031] As described above, the power consumption is the power consumed when the application 20 accesses the API 100. In the case of an API 100 that calls an application 22 that accesses multiple APIs 100, the total power consumption of the multiple APIs 100 is set in the access threshold list 64 as the power consumption.

[0032] The driving mode threshold, the balance mode threshold, and the application mode threshold are different values ​​that are set corresponding to the driving mode, the balance mode, and the application mode, which are operation modes of the application 20. Each operation mode represents a different tolerance when the access determination unit 62 determines whether to permit access to the API 100, and is set corresponding to the application 20.

[0033] The driving mode threshold, the balance mode threshold, and the application mode threshold are thresholds for the ratio of the distance reduction amount calculated from equation (2) to the vehicle's remaining driving distance. The ratio of the distance reduction amount to the vehicle's remaining driving distance is calculated from the following equation (3).

[0034] Percentage [%] = (distance reduction amount / travelable distance) × 100 (3) As shown on the left side of Figure 4, whether the operation mode of the app 20 is set to the driving mode, balance mode, or app mode is selected by the user or the like when the app 20 is installed.

[0035] Furthermore, the operation mode of the app 20 may be changed as needed while the vehicle is traveling. For example, as shown on the right side of Fig. 4, when the access of the app 20 to the API 100 is prohibited and the execution of the app 20 is stopped due to a decrease in the remaining battery power, the operation mode of the app 20 may be changed while the vehicle is traveling in order to execute the app 20.

[0036] The driving mode prioritizes vehicle driving over the execution of the application 20, and the application mode prioritizes execution of the application 20 over vehicle driving. The balance mode does not prioritize either vehicle driving or execution of the application 20, but rather considers a balance.

[0037] Next, the access determination process executed by the access determination unit 62 will be described.

[0038] For example, when the application 20 accesses API ID=1 in FIG. 3, the electricity consumption is 6.66 [km / kWh] and the power consumption is 0.02 [kWh], so the distance reduction amount [km] is calculated as 0.02 × 6.66 = 0.1332 [km] using equation (2).

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of a battery with a total power capacity of 60 kWh, if the charge level is 25%, the remaining power of the battery is 60×0.25=15 kWh, and therefore the vehicle's mileage can be calculated from equation (1) as 15×6.66=99.9 km.

[0040] The ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance is (0.1332 / 99.9)×100, which is approximately 0.133%.

[0041] If the ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance, 0.133 [%], exceeds the threshold value of each operating mode shown in Figure 3, the access determination unit 62 determines that access to the API 100 of the app 20 cannot be permitted in the corresponding operating mode and therefore should be prohibited.

[0042] If the ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance, 0.133 [%], is equal to or less than the threshold value of each operation mode shown in Figure 3, the access determination unit 62 determines that access to the API 100 of the application 20 in the corresponding operation mode is permitted.

[0043] In the case of application 20 accessing API ID=1, the driving mode threshold is 0.1<0.133<balance mode threshold is 0.5, as shown in Fig. 3. Therefore, if the operation mode is the driving mode, access to API ID=1 is prohibited, and if the operation mode is the balance mode or application mode, access to API ID=1 is permitted.

[0044] Furthermore, when the application 20 accesses API ID=2 in FIG. 3, the electricity consumption is 6.66 [km / kWh] and the power consumption is 0.15 [kWh], so the distance reduction amount [km] is calculated as 0.15×6.66=0.999 km using equation (2).

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of a battery with a total power capacity of 60 kWh, if the charge level is 25%, the remaining power of the battery is 60×0.25=15 kWh, so the vehicle's travel distance is 15×6.66=99.9 km.

[0046] The ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance is (distance reduction amount / remaining driving distance)×100=(0.999 / 99.9)×100=1[%].

[0047] 3, in the case of the application 20 accessing API ID=2, the application mode threshold is 0.5<1. Therefore, access to API ID=2 is prohibited in any operation mode.

[0048] [1-2. Processing] The API control processing executed by the API control device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0049] In S1 of FIG. 5, the application 20 notifies the access determination unit 62 of, for example, an API ID as information about the API 100 to be accessed.

[0050] In S2 and S3, the access determination unit 62 notifies the traveled distance acquisition unit 30 and the power consumption acquisition unit 40 of the API ID as information on the API 100 accessed by the application 20.

[0051] In S4, the travel distance acquisition unit 30 calculates and acquires the vehicle's remaining travel distance based on the formula (1), and notifies the access determination unit 62 of the result.

[0052] In S5 , the power consumption obtaining unit 40 refers to the access threshold list 64 based on the API ID of the API 100 being accessed, obtains the power consumption of the API 100 being accessed, and notifies the distance reduction amount obtaining unit 50 of the power consumption.

[0053] In S6 , the distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50 calculates and acquires the distance reduction amount using equation (2) based on the power consumption notified by the power consumption acquisition unit 40 , and notifies the access determination unit 62 of the calculated distance reduction amount.

[0054] In S7 and S8, the access determination unit 62 refers to the access threshold list 64 based on the API ID of the API 100 accessed by the application 20, and obtains the threshold of the API 100 to be accessed.

[0055] In S9, the access determination unit 62 determines whether or not to permit the application 20 to access the API 100 based on the above-described access determination process.

[0056] If access to the API 100 is permitted, the access determination unit 62 notifies the application 20 in S10 that access to the API 100 is permitted.

[0057] In S11, the access determining unit 62 accesses the API 100 of the API ID notified by the application 20 and calls the method 200. In S12, the called method 200 notifies the application 20 of the processing result of the method 200 as necessary.

[0058] If the access determining unit 62 determines in S9 that access to the API 100 cannot be permitted, the access determining unit 62 notifies the application 20 in S13 of FIG. 6 that access to the API 100 is prohibited.

[0059] 4, the access determination unit 62 cannot access the API 100 in the current operation mode, so it inquires the vehicle occupant on a display or the like as to whether or not to change the operation mode. When the operation mode is changed by the occupant, the access determination unit 62 again executes the access permission / denial determination in S9.

[0060] In the first embodiment described above, the remaining driving distance corresponds to the remaining driving amount, and the distance reduction amount corresponds to the driving reduction amount. The driving distance acquisition unit 30 corresponds to the remaining driving amount acquisition unit, and the distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50 corresponds to the reduction amount acquisition unit.

[0061] Furthermore, S4 corresponds to the processing of the traveled distance acquisition unit 30, S5 corresponds to the processing of the power consumption acquisition unit 40, S6 corresponds to the processing of the distance reduction amount acquisition unit 50, and S7 to S9 correspond to the processing of the access determination unit 62.

[0062] [1-3. Effects] In the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

[0063] (1a) The API control device 10 determines whether or not to allow access to the API 100 based on the distance that the vehicle can travel when the in-vehicle application 20 accesses the API 100 and the distance reduction amount calculated from the power consumption consumed when the API 100 is accessed.

[0064] Therefore, according to the API control device 10, the power consumption consumed by the application 20 accessing the API 100 is taken into consideration, and therefore it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the API 100 can be accessed.

[0065] (1b) According to the API control device 10, different thresholds are set depending on the operation mode of the API 100, so that whether or not to allow access to the API 100 can be appropriately determined depending on the operation mode.

[0066] (1c) According to the API control device 10, the operation mode of the API 100 can be changed while the vehicle is traveling, so that the operation mode of the API 100 can be appropriately set according to the remaining power level of the battery.

[0067] [2. Second Embodiment] [2-1. Differences from the First Embodiment] The second embodiment has the same basic configuration as the first embodiment, so differences will be described below. Note that the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment indicate the same configuration, and the preceding description will be referred to.

[0068] In the first embodiment, the vehicle runs by driving the electric motor with the electric power stored in the battery, whereas in the second embodiment, the vehicle runs by the driving force of the internal combustion engine.

[0069] Next, the access determination process executed by the access determination unit 62 in the second embodiment will be described.

[0070] The current travelable distance of the vehicle is calculated using the following equation (4).

[0071] Driving distance [km] = Fuel efficiency [km / L] × Remaining fuel [L] (4) For example, in a vehicle with a fuel capacity of 50 [L] and a fuel efficiency of 20 [km / L] as shown in FIG. 7, if the remaining fuel is 50 [%], then from equation (4), the driving distance [km] = 20 [km / L] × 25 [L] = 500 [km].

[0072] The distance reduction amount is calculated from the following equation (5): In equation (5), (power consumption [kWh] / power generation efficiency [kWh / L]) represents the amount of fuel consumed for power consumption.

[0073] Distance reduction amount [km]=Fuel ​​efficiency [km / L]×(Power consumption [kWh] / Power generation efficiency [kWh / L]) (5) For example, when the application 20 accesses API ID=1 in Fig. 7 , power consumption = 0.02 [kWh], fuel efficiency = 20 [km / L], and power generation efficiency = 2 [kWh / L], so the distance reduction amount [km] is calculated from equation (5) as follows: Distance reduction amount [km]=20 [km / L]×(0.02 [kWh] / 2 [kWh / L])=0.2 [km].

[0074] The ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance is (0.2 / 500)×100=0.04[%].

[0075] 7, in the case of application 20 accessing API ID=1, the driving mode threshold is 0.01<0.04<balance mode threshold is 0.05. Therefore, if the operation mode is the driving mode, access to API ID=1 is prohibited, and if the operation mode is the balance mode or application mode, access to API ID=1 is permitted.

[0076] Furthermore, when the application 20 accesses API ID=2 in FIG. 7, the power consumption is 0.15 [kWh], and therefore the distance reduction amount [km] is calculated from equation (5) as 20 [km / L]×(0.15 [kWh] / 2 [kWh / L])=1.5 [km].

[0077] When the remaining fuel amount is 20%, the vehicle's travel distance is 50 [L] x 0.2 x 20 [km / L] = 200 [km].

[0078] The ratio of the distance reduction amount to the remaining driving distance is (1.5 [km] / 200 [km])×100=0.75 [%].

[0079] In the case of the application 20 accessing API ID=2, the application mode threshold is 0.5<0.75 as shown in Fig. 7. Therefore, access to API ID=2 is prohibited in any operation mode.

[0080] [2-2. Effects] In the second embodiment described above, in addition to the effects (1a) and (1b) of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0081] (2a) The API control device 10 calculates the driving distance and distance reduction amount used to determine whether or not access to the API 100 is possible, taking into account the remaining fuel amount and power generation efficiency. Therefore, the API control device 10 can appropriately determine whether or not access to the API 100 is possible depending on the power that can be generated using the remaining fuel amount, and can also appropriately set the operating mode of the API 100 depending on the power that can be generated using the remaining fuel amount.

[0082] [3. Third Embodiment] [3-1. Differences from First Embodiment] Like the vehicle of the first embodiment, the vehicle of the third embodiment runs by driving an electric motor with power charged in a battery. The basic configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so differences will be described below. Note that the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment indicate the same configuration, and the preceding description will be referred to.

[0083] In the first embodiment described above, whether or not to permit the application 20 to access the API 100 is determined based on whether or not the ratio of the distance reduction amount to the vehicle's remaining driving distance exceeds a threshold value.

[0084] In the third embodiment, whether or not to permit access to the API 100 by the application 20 is determined based on whether or not the ratio of power consumed by accessing the API 100 to the available power of the vehicle exceeds a threshold value. In this respect, the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 8 , the API control device 70 of the third embodiment includes an application 20 , a power consumption acquisition unit 40 , a power usage acquisition unit 72 , and an API GW 80 .

[0086] The API GW 80 includes an access threshold list 64 and an access determination unit 82 .

[0087] The power usage acquisition unit 72 calculates and acquires the vehicle's available power [kWh] from the total battery power [kWh] and the battery charge level [%] using the following equation (6): The available power is the travelable amount that indicates how far the vehicle can travel.

[0088] Available power [kWh] = Total power [kWh] × Battery charge [%] (6) As in the first embodiment, the power consumption acquisition unit 40 refers to the access threshold list 64 based on the API ID of the API 100 accessed by the application 20, and acquires the power consumption consumed when the API 100 is accessed.

[0089] The access determining unit 82 refers to the access threshold list 64 based on the API ID of the API 100 to be accessed, and obtains a threshold corresponding to the operation mode of the application 100 for the API 100 to be accessed.

[0090] As shown in Fig. 3 of the first embodiment, in the case of a battery with a total power capacity of 60 kWh, if the charge level is 25%, the remaining power of the battery, which is the usable power, is 60 x 0.25 = 15 kWh. When the application 20 accesses API ID=1 shown in Fig. 3 of the first embodiment, the power consumption is 0.02 kWh.

[0091] Therefore, when the charge level of a battery with a total power capacity of 60 kWh is 25% and the application 20 accesses API ID=1 shown in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, the percentage is calculated as approximately 0.133% from the formula: percentage [%] = (0.02 / 15) × 100.

[0092] The access determining unit 82 determines whether or not to permit the application 20 to access the API 100 based on this ratio and the threshold value of the operation mode set for the application 20 .

[0093] In the third embodiment described above, the available power corresponds to the travelable amount, and the power consumption corresponds to the travel reduced amount. The power usage acquisition unit 72 corresponds to the travelable amount acquisition unit, and the power consumption acquisition unit 40 corresponds to the power consumption acquisition unit and the reduced amount acquisition unit.

[0094] [3-2. Effects] In the third embodiment described above, in addition to the effects (1b) and (1c) of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0095] (3a) When the in-vehicle application 20 accesses the API 100, the API control device 70 determines whether or not to allow access to the API 100 based on the available power available to the vehicle and the power consumption consumed by accessing the API 100.

[0096] Therefore, according to the API control device 70, the power consumption consumed by the application 20 accessing the API 100 is taken into consideration, and therefore it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the API 100 can be accessed.

[0097] [4. Other Embodiments] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be implemented in various modifications.

[0098] (4a) In the above-described embodiments, the vehicle uses only an electric motor or only an internal combustion engine as a drive source. In other embodiments, as in a hybrid vehicle, either an electric motor or an internal combustion engine may be selected and used as a drive source depending on the vehicle's running state. Alternatively, the electric motor may be used as a drive source, and the internal combustion engine may be used to charge the battery.

[0099] In this case, whether or not access to API 100 is permitted may be determined based on the driving distance obtained based on the remaining battery charge and the remaining fuel amount, and the distance reduction amount obtained from the power consumption consumed by app 20 accessing API 100.

[0100] (4b) In the above-described embodiment, an operation mode is selected from a plurality of operation modes and set according to the API 100, and the operation mode can be changed while the vehicle is traveling. In other embodiments, a single fixed operation mode may be set for each API 100.

[0101] (4c) The API control device 10, 70 and the techniques described herein may be implemented by a special purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program.

[0102] Alternatively, the API control device 10, 70 and the techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a special purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0103] Alternatively, the API control devices 10, 70 and techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0104] The computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The method for realizing the functions of each unit included in the API control device 10, 70 does not necessarily need to include software, and all of the functions may be realized using one or more pieces of hardware.

[0105] (4d) Multiple functions possessed by one component in the above-described embodiments may be realized by multiple components, or one function possessed by one component may be realized by multiple components. Furthermore, multiple functions possessed by multiple components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by multiple components may be realized by one component. Furthermore, part of the configuration of the above-described embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, at least part of the configuration of the above-described embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above-described embodiments.

[0106] (4e) In addition to the API control device 10 described above, the present disclosure can also be realized in various forms, such as an API system having the API control device 10 as a component, an API control program for causing a computer to function as the API control device 10, a non-transient physical recording medium such as a semiconductor memory on which this API control program is recorded, and an API control method. [Technical Ideas Disclosed in the Present Specification] [Item 1] An API control device comprising: a power consumption acquisition unit (40, S5) configured to acquire power consumption consumed by an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) using an API (100) when the application program accesses the API; a drivable amount acquisition unit (30, 72, S4) configured to acquire a drivable amount indicating how far a vehicle can be driven; a reduction amount acquisition unit (40, 50, S6) configured to acquire a reduction amount of the drivable amount that is reduced by the power consumption acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit; and an access determination unit (62, 82, S7-S9) configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program, based on the drivable amount acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the reduction amount of the drivable amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

[0107] [Item 2] The API control device according to item 1, wherein the drivable amount acquisition unit (30) is configured to acquire, as the drivable amount, a drivable distance that the vehicle can travel, the reduction amount acquisition unit (50) is configured to acquire, as the drivable amount, a distance reduction amount of the drivable distance that is reduced due to the power consumption, and the access determination unit (62) is configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program based on the drivable distance acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the distance reduction amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

[0108] [Item 3] The API control device according to item 1, wherein the drivable amount acquisition unit (72) is configured to acquire usable power available for the vehicle as the drivable amount, the decrease amount acquisition unit (40) is configured to acquire the power consumption as the drivable decrease amount, and the access determination unit (82) is configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program based on the usable power acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the power consumption acquired by the decrease amount acquisition unit.

[0109] [Item 4] An API control device according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein each of the application programs is set with one of a plurality of operating modes representing different degrees of tolerance when the access determination unit determines whether to permit access to the API, and the access determination unit is further configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program based on the operating mode set for the application program.

[0110] [Item 5] The API control device according to Item 4, wherein a different threshold value for the travel reduction amount relative to the travelable amount is set for each of the plurality of operation modes according to the operation mode, and the access determination unit is configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the threshold value set according to the operation mode.

[0111] [Item 6] The API control device according to Item 5, wherein the access determination unit is configured to prohibit access to the API of the application program when a ratio of the reduced travel amount to the remaining travel amount exceeds the threshold value.

[0112] [Item 7] The API control device according to any one of items 1 to 6, wherein the power consumption acquisition unit is configured to, when the API calls the application program that accesses a plurality of the APIs, acquire a total of the power consumption consumed by using the plurality of APIs.

[0113] [Item 8] An API control program that causes a computer to function as: a power consumption acquisition unit (40, S5) configured to acquire power consumption consumed by using an API (100) when an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) accesses the API; a drivable amount acquisition unit (30, 72, S4) configured to acquire a drivable amount indicating how far the vehicle can travel; a decrease amount acquisition unit (40, 50, S6) configured to acquire a travel decrease amount of the drivable amount that is reduced by the power consumption acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit; and an access determination unit (62, 82, S7-S9) configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program, based on the drivable amount acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the travel decrease amount acquired by the decrease amount acquisition unit.

[0114] [Item 9] An API control method comprising: acquiring power consumption consumed by an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) using the API when the in-vehicle application program (20, 22) accesses the API; acquiring a drivable capacity indicating how far the vehicle can travel; acquiring a travel reduction amount of the drivable capacity that is reduced by the power consumption; and determining whether to permit the application program to access the API based on the drivable capacity and the travel reduction amount.

Claims

1. An API control device comprising: a power consumption acquisition unit (40, S5) configured to acquire power consumption consumed by an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) using an API (100) when the application program accesses the API; a drivable amount acquisition unit (30, 72, S4) configured to acquire a drivable amount indicating how far a vehicle can be driven; a reduction amount acquisition unit (40, 50, S6) configured to acquire a travel reduction amount of the drivable amount that is reduced by the power consumption acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit; and an access determination unit (62, 82, S7-S9) configured to determine whether to permit access to the API of the application program based on the drivable amount acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the travel reduction amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

2. An API control device as described in claim 1, wherein the drivable amount acquisition unit (30) is configured to acquire a drivable distance that the vehicle can travel as the drivable amount, the reduction amount acquisition unit (50) is configured to acquire a distance reduction amount of the drivable distance that is reduced due to the power consumption as the drivable amount reduction, and the access determination unit (62) is configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the drivable distance acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the distance reduction amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

3. An API control device as described in claim 1, wherein the drivable amount acquisition unit (72) is configured to acquire available power available for the vehicle as the drivable amount, the reduction amount acquisition unit (40) is configured to acquire the power consumption as the drivable amount reduction, and the access determination unit (82) is configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the available power acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the power consumption acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

4. An API control device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the application programs is set with one of a plurality of operating modes representing different degrees of tolerance when the access determination unit determines whether or not to permit access to the API, and the access determination unit is further configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the operating mode set for the application program.

5. An API control device as described in claim 4, wherein a different threshold value of the travel reduction amount relative to the remaining travel amount is set for each of the plurality of operating modes depending on the operating mode, and the access determination unit is configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the threshold value set depending on the operating mode.

6. An API control device according to claim 5, wherein the access determination unit is configured to prohibit access to the API of the application program when the ratio of the reduced amount of travel to the remaining amount of travel exceeds the threshold value.

7. An API control device as described in claim 1, wherein the power consumption acquisition unit is configured to acquire the total amount of power consumption consumed by using the multiple APIs when the API calls the application program that accesses the multiple APIs.

8. An API control program that causes a computer to function as: a power consumption acquisition unit (40, S5) configured to acquire power consumption consumed by using an API (100) when an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) accesses the API; a drivable amount acquisition unit (30, 72, S4) configured to acquire a drivable amount indicating how far the vehicle can be driven; a reduction amount acquisition unit (40, 50, S6) configured to acquire a travel reduction amount of the drivable amount that is reduced by the power consumption acquired by the power consumption acquisition unit; and an access determination unit (62, 82, S7-S9) configured to determine whether or not to permit access to the API of the application program based on the drivable amount acquired by the drivable amount acquisition unit and the travel reduction amount acquired by the reduction amount acquisition unit.

9. An API control method, comprising: acquiring power consumption consumed by an in-vehicle application program (20, 22) using an API (100) when the in-vehicle application program accesses the API; acquiring a drivable capacity indicating how far the vehicle can travel; acquiring a travel reduction amount of the drivable capacity that is reduced by the power consumption; and determining whether or not to permit the application program to access the API based on the drivable capacity and the travel reduction amount.