JP2000032159A - Vehicle call device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To calculate a vehicle position by an inexpensive structure and to connect a telephone to a nearest service center. SOLUTION: A radio wave which can distinguish IDs from plural transmitters is received respectively and position information is calculated by a position detection means 2. A speech control means 4 uses the position information obtained from the position detection means 2 and retrieves a position/center correspondence list 3 when a speech demand is generated from a speech demand means 6. From this list, a telephone number of a nearest center is obtained and call is performed. Also, the position/center correspondence list is updated by using reception data as the necessity arises so that the nearest center is normally selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle communication device for searching for a nearest service center mainly according to a vehicle position and calling the service center.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of vehicle communication device, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-20190. In this example, a device dedicated to position calculation, such as a GPS positioning system or a navigation system, has been used to calculate the position of the vehicle. In addition, it is necessary to register the destination to which the telephone is connected in advance.

[0003]

However, such a conventional vehicle communication device requires a dedicated position calculating device, and thus has a problem that the device becomes expensive. In addition, since the connection is made only to the contact information registered in advance, there is a problem that the optimal contact information is not always selected for the vehicle position.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and by providing a generally used in-vehicle FM receiver or the like with a position detecting function, it is possible to reduce the cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle communication device that can acquire information and make a call to a nearest service center based on the position information. It is still another object of the present invention to realize a vehicle communication device that can automatically select an optimal connection destination for a vehicle position by acquiring a list of service centers by broadcasting.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiver for receiving radio waves of digital broadcasting from a plurality of locations, and a receiver for receiving radio waves received by the receiver. Position detecting means for calculating the receiving position by using the data included in the intensity and the received radio wave, and outputting the position information, and a telephone that wirelessly connects to the called party via the base station,
A position / center correspondence list storing data in which the position information and the nearest service center correspond to each other, a call request unit for generating a call request, and a call request by the call request unit. Using the obtained position information and the data in the position / center correspondence list, a call control unit that searches for the nearest service center and controls connection of the telephone to the service center via the base station. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle communication device of the first aspect, a correspondence list update for automatically updating the position / center correspondence list using data received through the receiver. It is characterized in that means are further provided.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a vehicle communication device according to the present embodiment. In the figure, a receiver 1 receives digital broadcasts such as DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) substantially simultaneously from a plurality of broadcast stations. The position detecting means 2 analyzes the intensity of the received radio wave and the data included in the received radio wave to calculate the reception position (position information). The position / center correspondence list 3 is a list for searching for the telephone number of the nearest service center from the input position information. The call control means 4 searches for the telephone number of the nearest service center from the position information and the list, and controls the telephone 5. The telephone 5 wirelessly connects to a call destination via a base station to transmit and receive signals. The call request means 6 is for the user to make a call (call request), and the signal is output to the call control means 4. The correspondence list updating means 7 uses the data received from the receiver 1 to
The content of the center correspondence list 3 is updated.

The operation of the vehicle communication device having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of each block of the vehicle communication device except for the correspondence list updating means 7. First, in step 21 of FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not a call request from the user has been made through the call request means 6. If there is a call request, the process proceeds to step 22; otherwise, the process waits for the call request. The call request means 6 may be provided with a call request button and pressed by the user, or may be selected from a menu, or issued by voice.

In step 22, the current position is calculated by the position detecting means 2 using the data received by the receiver 1. As a method of calculating the current position by receiving a broadcast wave, for example, a method used in DAB can be used. Briefly describing this technique, the receiver 1 can simultaneously receive radio waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters and obtain data by distinguishing each radio wave. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, by detecting the ID of the transmitter from the transmission radio wave, the receiver can determine from which transmitter the radio wave is being received. It is also possible to estimate the distance from each transmitter by measuring the reception intensity of the radio wave from each transmitter. Since the position of each transmitter is fixed and known, and the transmission power is also known, the reception position can be calculated from the transmitter ID and the position.

Then, the process proceeds to a step 23, wherein the call control means 4
To perform a telephone number search process. For the search of the telephone number, the position / center correspondence list 3 in which the service center information including the telephone number and the service area are associated with each other.
Is used. FIG. 5 shows an example of the position / center correspondence list. As apparent from FIG. 5, the call control means 4 can obtain the telephone number of the service center by searching the service area including the position calculated in step 22.

Then, the program proceeds to a step S 24, wherein a telephone calling process is performed. In the telephone call processing, the call control means 4 controls the telephone 5 and performs a call processing using the telephone number obtained in step 23. Next, in step 25,
It is determined whether or not the call has ended. This is monitored together with the call request to determine whether or not the user has ended the call through the call request means 6. When the call ends, the process returns to step 21 and waits until a call request is made again.

Next, a method for automatically updating the position / center correspondence list will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 31, the correspondence list updating means 7
It is determined whether the data of the position / center correspondence list has been received. If the list has been received, the process proceeds to step 32. If not, the process waits for list data to be sent. In step 32, it is determined whether or not the position / center correspondence list received by the correspondence list updating means 7 has been updated from the already acquired one. If updated, step 3
Proceed to 3 and if not updated, return to step 31. Here, the presence or absence of the update can be determined by, for example, adding version information and update information to the head of the list and reading the information. In step 33, the position / center correspondence list stored in the memory area is replaced with the newly received list. When this process is completed, the process returns to the step 31.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a telephone can be connected to the nearest service center using an inexpensive configuration without adding any special device. Also, by updating the position / center correspondence list using the received data, it is possible to always connect the telephone to the nearest center using the latest information.

[0014]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, position information can be obtained with a low-cost configuration when a position is calculated by receiving a broadcast wave. When the center correspondence list is searched based on this location information, a call can be made to the nearest service center.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is also possible to receive necessary data and update the position / center correspondence list. Therefore, even if the position of the user moves, it is possible to always call the nearest service center.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the vehicle communication device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of updating a position / center correspondence list in the vehicle communication device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state of receiving radio waves from a plurality of transmitters.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a position / center correspondence list.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiver 2 Position detecting means 3 Position / center correspondence list 4 Call control means 5 Telephone 6 Call request means 7 Correspondence list updating means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/34 H04B 7/26 106B F-term (Reference) 3D020 BA06 BA07 BC03 BD05 BD14 BE03 5H180 AA01 BB04 BB05 CC12 FF13 5K067 AA21 BB03 EE02 EE10 EE16 FF03 FF07 GG01 HH13 HH23 JJ52 JJ56 KK15 5K101 LL12 MM07 NN01 QQ07 QQ09 QQ11 RR12 TT02

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A receiver for receiving radio waves of digital broadcasting from a plurality of locations, a receiving position is calculated using the intensity of the received radio waves received by the receiver and data included in the received radio waves, and position information is output Position detecting means, a telephone for wirelessly connecting to a call destination via a base station, a position / center correspondence list storing data that associates position information with the nearest service center, and generating a call request. Call request means, when there is a call request by the call request means, using the position information obtained by the position detection means and data in the position / center correspondence list, to search for the nearest service center, A communication control means for controlling connection of the telephone to the service center via the base station. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a correspondence list updating means for automatically updating the position / center correspondence list by using data received via the receiver. Intercom equipment.