JP2009286161A - Communication device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate leaving a cellular phone from a body and attachment to a vehicle body side when the cellular phone is utilized as vehicle side communication equipment in a communication device for a vehicle for communicating information regarding failure of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device for the vehicle is provided with a radio communication means 10 for radio-transmitting the received information to the cellular phone 30 using infrared communication by throwing an infrared ray from an infrared ray throwing part 12 to the cellular phone 30 for receiving the information regarding failure of the vehicle from a failure detection means 20 for detecting failure of the vehicle and provided with infrared communication function existing in a cabin. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle communication device, and more particularly to a vehicle communication device for communicating information relating to vehicle failure to the outside of the vehicle, and belongs to the technical field of vehicle driving assistance.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle, for example, exhaust gas purification control is performed. However, if a failure occurs in the control system, the purification performance may be deteriorated. Therefore, in general, a vehicle is provided with a failure detection unit that detects vehicle failure, and information related to vehicle failure detected by this failure detection unit is communicated to a responsible organization outside the vehicle such as an inspection and maintenance company or a road service company. It is known to do. As a result, the inspection and maintenance company that has received the notification of the failure detection can advise the optimal first-aid measures that can be determined from the content of the failure, or the road service company can rush with the optimal equipment.

  In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 describes that a mobile phone is used as a vehicle-side communication device for communication with an organization outside the vehicle, and that communication with the organization outside the vehicle is performed by transmitting / receiving an e-mail. By using a mobile phone for communication with the outside of the vehicle, information can be transmitted to the outside of the vehicle using an existing network, and by communicating with the outside of the vehicle by e-mail, a large amount of information can be reliably transmitted in a short time. There are advantages.

JP 2006-96325 (paragraphs 0017, 0019)

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the mobile phone is configured to be incorporated in a part of the in-vehicle communication terminal and connected to the control circuit of the in-vehicle communication terminal (FIG. 2), the occupant carries it every time he gets on and off. There is a need to attach the phone to the vehicle body side or to remove it from the vehicle body side, which is troublesome and may forget to attach / detach the mobile phone.

  The present invention addresses the above-described problems in a vehicle communication device for communicating information related to a vehicle failure to the outside of the vehicle. When a mobile phone is used as a vehicle-side communication device, the mobile phone is It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the need to be mounted on the vehicle body side away from the body.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention uses the following means. In the disclosure of the following means, reference numerals corresponding to embodiments of the invention described later are added for reference.

  First, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a vehicle having a failure detection means (20) for detecting a vehicle failure, information on the vehicle failure detected by the failure detection means (20) is provided outside the vehicle. To a mobile phone (30) having an infrared communication function existing in the passenger compartment, receiving information relating to vehicle failure from the failure detection means (20) (S1). A wireless communication means (10) is provided that wirelessly transmits the received information to the mobile phone (30) using infrared communication by projecting infrared light (S3).

  Next, the invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the vehicle communication device (1) according to claim 1, further comprising imaging means (40) for projecting an occupant by projecting infrared rays. The infrared projector (12) of the wireless communication means (10) is the infrared projector of the imaging means (40).

  Next, the invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the vehicle communication device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wireless communication means (10) is the failure detection means (20). (S1), the infrared light receiving unit (32) of the mobile phone (30) is brought close to the infrared light projecting unit (12) of the wireless transmission means (10). It is configured to instruct the passenger (S2).

  Next, the invention according to claim 4 of the present application is the vehicle communication device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication means (10) is the portable device. By receiving infrared rays from the telephone (30), the mobile phone (30) receives a response to the failure received from the outside of the vehicle by radio from the cellular phone (30) using infrared communication (S6), and receives the radio. The response is presented to the occupant (S7).

  Next, the invention according to claim 5 of the present application is the vehicle communication device (1) according to claim 2, in which the imaging means (40) images the face of the occupant and this imaging. A side-view driving determination means (50) for determining a side-by-side driving based on the sight line direction of the occupant imaged by the means (40) is provided.

  Next, the invention according to claim 6 of the present application is the vehicle communication device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the imaging means (40) images the occupant's vein and the imaging. Biometric authentication means (60) for performing biometric authentication based on the shape of the vein imaged by the means (40) is provided.

  Here, as the infrared communication between the wireless communication means (10) and the mobile phone (30), for example, a communication conforming to the standard of IrDA (Infrared Data Association) is preferred because of its versatility.

  In addition, as the light source of the infrared light projecting unit (12) of the wireless communication means (10), for example, an infrared LED (light emitting diode) is preferably used.

  The information wirelessly transmitted to the mobile phone (30) may be manually transmitted by an occupant to an organization outside the vehicle such as an inspection / maintenance company (80) or a road service company by e-mail, for example.

  In addition, as a response from outside the vehicle, advice on first-aid measures such as “Please stop and warm up”, “Please come to urgently check and maintain” or “Service car will go on the shoulder "Please wait" is included.

  First, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the communication device for notifying the outside of the vehicle of information relating to the failure of the vehicle, the present inventors have provided that the mobile phone has an infrared communication function. Paying attention, receiving information on vehicle failure from the failure detection means, and projecting the received information to the mobile phone using infrared communication by projecting infrared light to the mobile phone having an infrared communication function existing in the vehicle interior Wireless communication means for wireless transmission is provided, so that information on vehicle failure is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication means to the mobile phone by infrared communication. Or, for example, the mobile phone can be used as a vehicle-side communication device when a failure is detected while the mobile phone is in a chest pocket or the like. It is possible.

  Next, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the case where an imaging unit that projects infrared rays to image a passenger is provided, the infrared projector for imaging in the imaging unit is provided with the wireless Since it is also used as an infrared projector for infrared communication in the communication means, there is no need to separately provide an infrared projector on the vehicle body side for infrared communication between the mobile phone and the wireless communication means. It becomes possible to suppress an increase in parts and cost.

  Next, according to the third aspect of the present invention, when a vehicle failure is detected, the occupant approaches the infrared light receiving unit of the mobile phone toward the infrared light projecting unit of the wireless communication unit according to the instruction of the wireless communication unit. Infrared communication from the wireless communication means to the mobile phone proceeds smoothly and communication errors are suppressed.

  Next, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the wireless communication means receives infrared rays from the mobile phone and uses the infrared communication from the mobile phone as a response to the failure received by the mobile phone from the outside of the vehicle. Wirelessly and the wirelessly received response is presented to the occupant, so the response from outside the vehicle is wirelessly received by infrared communication from the mobile phone to the wireless receiving means. There is no need to attach or detach the mobile phone from the vehicle body side. For example, the mobile phone can be used as a vehicle-side communicator when a failure is detected while the mobile phone is placed in a breast pocket or the like. Become.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, a response from outside the vehicle is clearly transmitted to the occupant.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the side-by-side driving is determined based on the sight line direction of the occupant imaged by the imaging unit, so the imaging unit is used for driving support of the vehicle.

  Next, according to the invention described in claim 6, since biometric authentication, that is, identity verification is performed based on the shape of the occupant's vein imaged by the imaging means, the imaging means is used for preventing theft of the vehicle. It becomes. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through the best mode of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle communication device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This vehicle includes a failure detection unit 20 that detects a vehicle failure. The failure detection unit 20 inputs output values (for example, oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas from the O ₂ sensor used for exhaust gas purification control) from various sensors 21 to 21 mounted on the vehicle. Then, the failure of the sensors 21... 21 is detected in comparison with the reference value. When a failure is detected, the failure detection unit 20 creates information related to the failure (for example, information on which sensor is causing what abnormality) and outputs the information to the wireless communication means 10.

  The wireless communication unit 10 includes a control unit 11 including a CPU and a memory storing various data and programs, and an infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 using an infrared LED (light emitting diode) as a light source. The wireless communication means 10 receives information related to the failure output from the failure detection unit 20, and projects infrared light carrying the information from the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 into the vehicle interior.

  The infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 of the wireless communication unit 10 is disposed, for example, on an instrument panel, a rearview mirror, a steering column, or the like in front of the driver's seat.

  A display 13 is arranged in front of the driver's seat, and displays various information sent from the wireless communication means 10 to the passenger.

  The cellular phone 30 possessed by the occupant has an infrared communication function, and an infrared light projecting / receiving unit (infrared ray) for performing infrared communication according to the IrDA (Infrared Data Association) standard with the control unit 31 at the center. Port) 32, a transmission / reception unit 33 that wirelessly communicates information with the base station 70 using an existing network, a signal processing unit 34 that processes an audio signal from the microphone 35 and an audio signal to the receiver 36, etc. Contains.

  Information can be wirelessly communicated between the base station 70 and the dealer 80 of the vehicle using an existing network. As a result, the mobile phone 30 possessed by the passenger communicates between the vehicle and the dealer 80. Can be used as a vehicle-side communication device.

  The vehicle-side mobile phone 30 in the vehicle interior that the occupant owns receives the infrared light that the vehicle body side wireless communication means 10 projects into the vehicle interior from the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12. The information relating to the failure is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication means 10 to the mobile phone 30 using infrared communication.

  On the other hand, the mobile phone 30 in the passenger compartment possessed by the occupant emits infrared light projected from the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 32 toward the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 of the wireless communication unit 10 on the vehicle body side. By receiving the light at the light projecting / receiving unit 12, a response to the failure received by the mobile phone 30 from the dealer 80 outside the vehicle is wirelessly received from the mobile phone 30 to the wireless communication means 10 using infrared communication.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific operation performed by the wireless communication unit 10.

  When information about a failure is input from the failure detection unit 20 in step S1, the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 32 of the mobile phone 30 is brought closer to the display 13 in the direction of the infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 of the wireless communication means 10 in step S2. To display.

  Next, in step S3, the information regarding the failure input from the failure detection unit 20 is wirelessly transmitted to the mobile phone 30 using the infrared communication as described above.

  Next, if there is a communication error in step S4, it is displayed in step S5 that there is a communication error, and transmission of failure information to the mobile phone 30 is attempted again.

  On the other hand, if there is no communication error in step S4, it is determined in step S6 whether or not a response to the failure from the dealer 80 is wirelessly received from the mobile phone 30 using infrared communication as described above. .

  In step S6, when a response to the failure from the dealer 80 is received from the mobile phone 30, the content of the response is displayed on the display 13 in step S7.

  Note that after NO in step S4, the failure information transmitted to the mobile phone 30 may be manually transmitted to the dealer 80 by e-mail, for example, or may be automatically transmitted by the mobile phone 30. .

  Examples of the response from the dealer 80 received in step S6 include advice on first-aid measures such as "Please stop and warm up", or "Please come to urgently check and maintain" or A message such as “Please wait on the shoulder because a service car will go” can be mentioned.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the vehicle communication device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Only parts different from the first embodiment will be described, and descriptions of the same parts as the first embodiment will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, a near-infrared camera 40 that projects infrared rays to project an occupant is provided. The infrared light projecting / receiving unit 12 of the wireless communication means 10 also serves as the infrared light projecting / receiving unit of the near infrared camera 40.

  As in the first embodiment, the near-infrared camera 40 and, by extension, the infrared light projecting / receiving portion thereof, are disposed, for example, in an instrument panel, a rearview mirror, a steering column, or the like in front of the driver's seat.

  In the second embodiment, the vehicle includes a side driving determination unit 50 that determines a side driving based on the sight line direction of the occupant captured by the near-infrared camera 40 for driving support of the vehicle.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific operation performed by the side-view driving determination unit 50.

  In step S11, the driver's face image captured by the near-infrared camera 40 is input. In step S12, it is determined whether or not the driver's line-of-sight direction exceeds a predetermined value.

  If it exceeds, it is determined in step S13 whether the blinker 51 is operating in the direction of the driver's line of sight. If it is operating, it is not a side-viewing operation, so the alarm buzzer 52 is stopped in step S14. On the other hand, when it is not activated, it is a side-viewing operation, so that the alarm buzzer 52 is activated in step S15.

  In the second embodiment, the operation performed by the wireless communication unit 10 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Further, since the near-infrared camera 40 uses near-infrared rays that are particularly close to visible light among infrared rays, the driver's line-of-sight direction can be stably imaged without being dazzled by the driver even in the dark at night.

  Next, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a vehicle communication device 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Only parts different from those of the second embodiment will be described, and description of the same parts as those of the second embodiment will be omitted.

  In the third embodiment, the vehicle includes a biometric authentication unit 60 that performs biometric authentication, that is, identity verification based on the shape of the occupant's vein imaged by the near-infrared camera 40 to prevent the vehicle from being stolen. Yes.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a specific operation performed by the biometric authentication unit 60.

  In step S21, an image of the driver's vein (finger vein) captured by the near-infrared camera 40 is input. In step S22, the vein shape in the input image is the registered vein shape (biometric authentication). It is determined whether or not the part 60 matches the shape of the vein of the finger of the hand of a person who is permitted to drive the vehicle in advance.

  If they match, the identity has been confirmed. In step S23, the engine start switch 61 is validated, and in step S24, the alarm buzzer 62 is stopped. Since this is not possible, the engine start switch 61 is disabled at step S25, and the alarm buzzer 62 is activated at step S26.

  In the third embodiment, the operation performed by the wireless communication unit 10 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The near-infrared camera 40 uses near-infrared rays that are particularly close to visible light among infrared rays, so that the near-infrared camera 40 can stably capture images through the veins of human fingers.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicle having the failure detection unit 20 that detects the failure of the vehicle, the information about the vehicle failure detected by the failure detection unit 20 is communicated to the outside of the vehicle. A communication device 1 is provided. In the communication device 1, the present inventors pay attention to the fact that the mobile phone 30 has an infrared communication function, receives information on a vehicle failure from the failure detection unit 20, Since the wireless communication means 10 is provided for wirelessly transmitting the received information to the mobile phone 30 by using infrared communication by projecting infrared light to the mobile phone 30 having the infrared communication function existing in the room. Information on the failure is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication means 10 to the mobile phone 30 by infrared communication, so that the occupant can access the mobile phone 30 every time he gets on and off. There is no need to attach to or remove from the vehicle body side, and for example, the mobile phone 30 can be used as a vehicle-side communication device when a failure is detected while the mobile phone 30 is still in a chest pocket or the like. .

  In particular, according to the second and third embodiments, when the near-infrared camera 40 that projects infrared rays and images the occupant is provided, the infrared projector for imaging in the camera 40 is wirelessly connected. Since the infrared light projecting unit 12 for infrared communication in the communication unit 10 is also used, it is not necessary to provide an infrared light projecting unit for performing infrared communication between the mobile phone 30 and the wireless communication unit 10 on the vehicle body side. It is possible to suppress an increase in vehicle components and an increase in cost.

  When a vehicle failure is detected (S1), the occupant approaches the infrared light receiving unit 32 of the mobile phone 30 toward the infrared light projecting unit 12 of the wireless communication unit 10 according to the instruction (S2) of the wireless communication unit 10. Infrared communication from the wireless communication means 10 to the mobile phone 30 proceeds smoothly, and communication errors in step S4 are suppressed.

  In addition, the wireless communication means 10 receives infrared rays from the mobile phone 30 to wirelessly receive a response to the failure received from the outside of the vehicle by using the infrared communication from the mobile phone 30 (S6). Since the received response is presented to the occupant (S7), the response from the outside of the vehicle is wirelessly received from the mobile phone 30 to the wireless receiving means 10 by infrared communication. There is no need to attach or detach the telephone 30 from the vehicle body side. For example, the cellular phone 30 can be used as a vehicle-side communication device when a failure is detected while the cellular phone 30 is placed in a breast pocket or the like. It becomes possible.

  In addition, a response from outside the vehicle is clearly transmitted to the occupant using the display 13.

  In particular, according to the second embodiment, the side-view driving is determined based on the sight line direction of the occupant imaged by the camera 40, and therefore the camera 40 is used for driving support of the vehicle.

  On the other hand, according to the third embodiment, biometric authentication, that is, identity verification is performed based on the shape of the occupant's vein imaged by the camera 40, so the camera 40 is used to prevent theft of the vehicle. .

  In the embodiment described above, the organization outside the vehicle is a dealer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another general inspection and maintenance company or road service company may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the infrared light source was LED, another light source may be sufficient. Furthermore, the infrared rays may be near infrared, mid infrared, or far infrared as long as they can be used for wireless communication. Also, the communication standard is not particularly limited.

  As described above in detail with reference to specific examples, the present invention provides a vehicle communication device for communicating information related to vehicle failure to the outside of the vehicle when a mobile phone is used as a vehicle-side communication device. Since this technology enables the mobile phone to be removed from the body and not to be mounted on the vehicle body side, it can be expected to be used in a wide range of industries in the technical field of driving support for vehicles that have become more intelligent.

It is a block block diagram of the communication apparatus of the vehicle which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the specific operation | movement which the radio | wireless communication means which concerns on the said 1st Embodiment performs. It is a block block diagram of the communication apparatus of the vehicle which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the specific operation | movement which the side driving determination part which concerns on the said 2nd Embodiment performs. It is a block block diagram of the communication apparatus of the vehicle which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the specific operation | movement which the biometrics authentication part which concerns on the said 3rd Embodiment performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle communication apparatus 10 Wireless communication means 12 Infrared light projection part 20 Failure detection means 30 Mobile phone 32 Infrared light reception part 40 Imaging means 50 Side-view driving determination means 60 Biometric authentication means 80 Organization outside the vehicle

Claims (6)

In a vehicle having a failure detection means for detecting a failure of a vehicle, a communication device for contacting information relating to a vehicle failure detected by the failure detection means to the outside of the vehicle,
By receiving information relating to a vehicle failure from the failure detection means and projecting infrared light to a mobile phone having an infrared communication function existing in a vehicle interior, the received information is wirelessly transmitted to the mobile phone using infrared communication. A vehicle communication device comprising a wireless communication means for transmitting. The vehicle communication device according to claim 1,
An imaging means for projecting an occupant by projecting infrared rays is provided,
The vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the infrared light projecting unit of the wireless communication unit is an infrared light projecting unit of the imaging unit. The vehicle communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
When the wireless communication means receives information on a vehicle failure from the failure detection means, the wireless communication means instructs the occupant to approach the infrared light receiving part of the mobile phone toward the infrared light projecting part of the wireless transmission means. It is comprised in the vehicle communication apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The wireless communication means receives an infrared ray from the mobile phone to receive a response to a failure received by the mobile phone from the outside of the vehicle, using the infrared communication from the mobile phone, and receives the response received by radio. A vehicle communication device configured to be presented to an occupant. The vehicle communication device according to claim 2,
The imaging means images the occupant's face,
A vehicle communication apparatus comprising: a side-view driving determination unit that determines a side-by-side driving based on a direction of a line of sight of an occupant imaged by the imaging unit. The vehicle communication device according to claim 2,
The imaging means images the occupant's veins,
A vehicle communication apparatus comprising biometric authentication means for performing biometric authentication based on a shape of a vein imaged by the imaging means.

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