Vehicle Information Server for Telematics Power Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users of vehicles, especially electric vehicles, face delays and uncertainty when querying vehicle information remotely, such as charging rates, due to the telematics communication unit's sleep mode requiring a long time to restart and respond, especially when they cannot visually monitor the terminal device.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle management system comprising a telematics communication unit that acquires vehicle information and a vehicle information server that stores and transmits this information along with the acquisition time, allowing for quick responses to voice queries through a speech processing system, thereby minimizing the need for the telematics unit to frequently shift between sleep and operation modes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If the telematics communication unit is kept in operation mode to respond quickly to voice queries, then the response speed is improved, but the power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse speedVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-acquires and stores vehicle information (such as charging rate, remaining distance, consumption) in the vehicle information server before the user queries. When a voice query is received, the server directly transmits the pre-stored information, eliminating the need for real-time data acquisition and reducing the telematics unit's active time, thus lowering power consumption while maintaining fast response.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The telematics communication unit dynamically switches between sleep mode and operation mode based on query timing. By carefully timing the activation of the telematics unit to coincide with scheduled information updates rather than maintaining continuous operation, the system achieves fast response when needed while minimizing overall power consumption through periodic rather than continuous operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Use of energy by moving object

If the telematics communication unit is put in sleep mode to save power, then the power consumption is reduced, but the response time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidresponse time

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The vehicle information server continuously or periodically acquires vehicle information and stores it in advance. When the user makes a voice query, the server retrieves the pre-acquired information immediately without requiring the telematics unit to wake up and fetch data in real-time, thus achieving fast response while keeping the telematics unit in low-power mode.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The vehicle information server acts as an intermediary between the telematics communication unit and the speech processing system. It buffers and stores vehicle information, decoupling the real-time query response from the actual data acquisition timing. This allows the telematics unit to remain in sleep mode longer while the server provides timely responses using stored data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of information

If the telematics communication unit frequently shifts between sleep and operation modes to provide real-time information, then the information freshness is improved, but the power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation freshnessVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements periodic information acquisition where the telematics communication unit and vehicle information server update vehicle status at scheduled intervals rather than continuously or on every user query. This periodic update approach maintains reasonably fresh information while significantly reducing the frequency of mode transitions and overall power consumption compared to real-time continuous monitoring.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-acquires vehicle information at scheduled intervals and stores it in the vehicle information server. When users query, they receive the most recently pre-acquired information without triggering immediate re-acquisition. This approach maintains information freshness at acceptable levels while minimizing the telematics unit's active operation time and associated power consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11393262B2Vehicle management system, vehicle management program, and vehicle management method

Publication Date: 2022.07.19 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

In order to quickly respond to a question for vehicle information from a vehicle user at a remote location and offer the user a sense of relief, a vehicle management system of the present invention comprises a telematics communication unit which is mounted on a vehicle and acquires vehicle information and, a vehicle information server which receives from the telematics communication unit the vehicle information and a time at which the vehicle information is acquired, stores the received vehicle information and time, and transmits the stored vehicle information and time to a speech processing system as a response to a question when receiving the question about the vehicle information from the speech processing system.