JP2000209651A - Information transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a message transmission system that can transmit a message to another mobile object whose address is unknown. SOLUTION: A vehicle A transmits a request of identification information to a selected vehicle B (shown in arrow F1). When the vehicle B transmits the identification information, the vehicle A receives it (arrow F2). Furthermore, the vehicle A transmits the received identification information of the vehicle B and information addressed to the vehicle B such as mails to the vehicle B to a center C through a telephone line D for a cellular telephone system or the like (arrow F3). The center C receives the identification information of the vehicle B and the information addressed to the vehicle B transmitted from the vehicle A, stores them in a memory to prepare for a message transfer request from the vehicle B. When a message transfer is requested from the vehicle B, the center C reads the corresponding information addressed to the vehicle B from the memory and transmits the information to the vehicle B (arrow F4).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmission system for transmitting and receiving various kinds of information such as electronic mails and messages between mobile bodies.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a system for transmitting and receiving electronic mails between moving objects, for example, vehicles, a system using the Internet or the like is known. The e-mail is transmitted from the transmitting vehicle to the provider using a car phone or the like. The e-mail stored in the mail server of the provider is received when the receiving vehicle accesses the mail server using a car phone or the like. However, mail transmission by such a method is possible only when the mail address of the other party is clear, and a message cannot be transmitted to the other party whose address is unknown.

[0003] On the other hand, for example, when it is desired to notify an emergency situation that has occurred in the own vehicle to surrounding vehicles, or when there is a possibility that a collapsed load may occur in a vehicle traveling around the vehicle, the address may be communicated to the vehicle. Advantageously, a message can be sent to an unknown vehicle. The present invention focuses on the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information transmission system capable of transmitting a message to another moving object whose address is unknown.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, moving object selecting means for selecting one of other moving objects located around the user; identification information of the other moving object selected thereby Identification information acquisition means for acquiring the information by itself;
Transmitting means for transmitting the identification information of the other mobile unit and information addressed to the other mobile unit thus obtained to the base station from itself; transfer requesting unit for requesting information transfer to the base station; Information transfer means for transferring, from the base station, information addressed to another mobile unit corresponding to the identification information to the other mobile unit that has performed the above.

[0005] Another invention is a moving object selecting means for selecting one of the other moving objects located around the user; identification information obtaining means for obtaining the identification information of the selected other moving object by itself. Means; transmitting means for transmitting the identification information of the other mobile body and information addressed to the other mobile body obtained thereby to the base station from itself; communication means for communication connection with another mobile body corresponding to the identification information; Information transfer means for transferring information addressed to the other mobile unit from the base station to another mobile unit connected in this way.

According to one of the main modes, the mobile unit selecting means selects another mobile unit based on position information of another mobile unit around the own position received from the base station. And The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (1) Outline of the present invention: First,
An outline of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, it is assumed that mails and the like are exchanged between vehicles, and the transmitting vehicle is expressed as “own vehicle” and the receiving vehicle is expressed as “other vehicle”. A base station that mediates mail transmission is referred to as a “center”. FIG. 1 shows the entire system, and FIG. 2 shows the basic steps of the mail transmission operation.

Acquisition of information on other vehicle B and transmission of information to center C. First, the other vehicle of the own vehicle A to which the mail is to be transmitted is selected. Then, the own vehicle A transmits a request for identification information to the selected other vehicle B (arrow F1, step S1). When the identification information is transmitted from the other vehicle B, the own vehicle A receives the identification information (arrow F2, step S2). Further, the own vehicle A transmits the received identification information of the other vehicle B to the center C through a telephone line D such as an automobile telephone together with information on the other vehicle, such as a mail to the other vehicle (arrow F3, step S3).

Information transmission from center C to another vehicle B ...
... Next, the center C receives the identification information of the other vehicle B and the information addressed to the other vehicle B transmitted from the own vehicle A, stores them in the memory, and prepares for a message transfer request from the other vehicle B. And
When there is a message transfer request from the other vehicle B, the corresponding other vehicle address information is read from the memory and transmitted to the other vehicle B (arrow F4, step S4).

The above is the basic method of the present invention, but the following method is also possible. First, as another method for the vehicle A, for example, there is the following method. Instead of requesting the identification information to the other vehicle B as indicated by the arrow F1, the own vehicle A receives the other vehicle position around the own vehicle A and the identification information of the other vehicle from the center C. Then, an image representing the relative positional relationship between the own vehicle and another vehicle position around the own vehicle is displayed. Referring to this, the user of the system selects one of the displayed other vehicles. The identification information of the selected other vehicle and the information addressed to the other vehicle are transmitted to the center C. If the number is the identification information of the vehicle, the license plate of the other vehicle B is referred to, and the number of the other vehicle B and the information addressed to the other vehicle are transmitted to the center C.

Next, as another method in the center C, referring to the identification information of the other vehicle B transmitted from the own vehicle A, the center C is connected to the corresponding other vehicle B via the telephone line D. Then, the corresponding information addressed to the other vehicle is transmitted.

(2) Configuration of Embodiment ... Next, a configuration of a message transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a description will be given of the device configuration on the vehicle side with reference to FIG. The equipment on the vehicle side is
Vehicle communication unit 10 and communication device 1 for communicating with another vehicle B
4 is provided. The communication device 14 has four communication devices 14P
-14S. As the communication devices 14P to 14S, means capable of communicating over a relatively short distance such as infrared rays, lasers, and ultrasonic waves are used. These communication devices 14P to 14S
Are arranged on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle M as shown in FIG. With such an arrangement, it is possible to communicate with any vehicle located around the vehicle M.

Next, the display unit 1 is further provided on the vehicle-side device.
6, an input unit 18, a memory 20, a center communication unit 22, and a control unit 24 are also provided. Among these, the display unit 16 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and an audio output device is provided as needed. The input unit 18
It is composed of a keyboard, a touch panel, a switch button, a remote controller, a joystick, a voice input device, and other appropriate devices. The memory 20 contains the vehicle identification information IDM.
And a standard text ST of a message to be transmitted to another vehicle. Although not shown, programs and data necessary for the operation are also stored. Further, the other vehicle identification information IDY acquired from the other vehicle B, and the message M as information addressed to the other vehicle B
An area for storing S is also secured. The center communication unit 22 is for communicating with the center C. A flag is set in each of the vehicle communication unit 10 and the center communication unit 22, and is turned on or off according to each operation state.

Next, the configuration on the center side will be described with reference to FIG. The center-side device is provided with a reception processing unit 30, a registration confirmation unit 32, a transfer processing unit 34, a memory 36, and a control unit 38. The reception processing unit 30 is for receiving transmission from the vehicle A. The registration confirmation unit 32 refers to the registration information table RT stored in the memory 36, and confirms whether or not the transmitted vehicle A has been registered to receive the service. . The transfer processing unit 34 is for transferring a message to another vehicle B. The memory 36 stores programs and data necessary for the operation in addition to the registration information table RT. Further, an area for storing the identification information of the other vehicle B and the message MES is also secured.
The control unit 38 controls the entire operation. A flag is set in each of the reception processing unit 30 and the transfer processing unit 34, and is turned on or off according to each operation state.

(3) Operation of the Embodiment ... Next, the overall operation will be described with reference to FIGS. The configuration of the vehicle-side device shown in FIG. 3 is common to the own vehicle A and the other vehicle B, but among them, FIG. 6 shows only those parts particularly related to the following operations. The respective parts on the own vehicle A side are denoted by reference numeral A, and the respective parts on the other vehicle B side are denoted by reference numeral B.

Request for identification information of other vehicle B by own vehicle A: In own vehicle A, the user inputs "message transmission" to input unit 18 while referring to the menu screen of display unit 16A.
Select with A. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 24A turns on the other vehicle identification information acquisition flag FG1 of the vehicle communication unit 10A (step S10).
Next, the user selects the direction of communication with the vehicle as viewed from the own vehicle (step S12). That is, the display unit 16A displays the vehicle A and the arrows FP to FS in the front, rear, left, and right directions as shown in FIG. Arrow FP ~
The direction of the FS is determined by the communication device 14P included in the communication device 14A.
~ 14S. The user selects one of the arrows using the input unit 18A. Thereby, the communication device 1
Which of 4P to 14S is used for communication with the other vehicle B is determined. Vehicle communication unit 10A transmits a request for identification information to another vehicle B by the selected communication device (step S14). The information transmitted to the other vehicle B is, for example, request data to that effect, the own vehicle ID, and the like. At the same time, the vehicle communication unit 10A of the own vehicle A turns on the reply waiting flag FG2, and sends the request destination other vehicle B
(Step S16).

Transmission of identification information from another vehicle B ... Other vehicle B
Then, while referring to the menu screen of the display unit 16B, the user selects "request acceptable" with the input unit 18B and accepts the request. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the request reception flag FG3 of the vehicle communication unit 10B is turned on by the control unit 24B (step S17). This selection is made in advance by the user of the other vehicle B irrespective of the aforementioned vehicle A side. In this state, in the other vehicle B, the vehicle communication unit 10B determines whether a request has been received from any vehicle (step S18).
Then, when it is received, its identification information is stored in the memory 20.
B and transmitted to the requesting vehicle (step S19).

Reception of identification information from other vehicle B ...
The vehicle A is in a state of waiting for a reply as shown in FIG. 10 (step S20). When identification information is received from another vehicle B in this state (step S22), the identification information is stored in the memory 20A.
(Step S24), and the vehicle communication unit 1
OA sets the reply waiting flag FG2 to "OFF" (step S26). As described above, the own vehicle A acquires the identification information of the other vehicle B.

Transmission of the identification number of the other vehicle B to the center C and a message (information addressed to the other vehicle) to the other vehicle B ... own vehicle A
Then, the user refers to the menu screen of the display unit 16A and inputs “Send a message to the center C” to the input unit 18A.
To select. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the message transmission flag FG4 of the center communication unit 22A is turned on by the control unit 24A (step S40).
Further, in the vehicle A, dialing is performed to connect to the center C (step S42). Then, after connection with the reception processing unit 30 of the center C, steps S22 and S2 in FIG.
In step S4, the identification information received from the other vehicle B and the message for the other vehicle created by the user of the vehicle A are transmitted to the center C (step S44). The message addressed to the other car B is stored in the memory 20A.
May be selected from the fixed phrases (see FIG. 3) stored in the input unit 18A, or a message arbitrarily created by the user using the input unit 18A. After the transmission, the message transmission flag FG4 is turned off (step S46).

Reception of the identification information of the other vehicle B and the message addressed to the other vehicle at the center C ... At the center C, when the reception of the message or the like becomes possible, the reception processing unit 30
Is turned on (see FIG. 1).
2. Step S50). For example, at the stage when the message reception program starts at the center C, the message reception flag FG5 is turned on by the control unit 38. Then, when a message or the like is received in this state (step S52), it receives them and stores the received other vehicle identification information and the message in the memory 36 (step S54).

In this case, in the present embodiment, the own vehicle A and the other vehicle B are registered in the center C in advance, and are stored in the memory 36 as a registration information table RT. Then, when the information is transmitted, whether the own vehicle A on the transmitting side and the other vehicle B on the receiving side are registered or not is checked by the registration checking unit 32 with reference to the registration information table RT. Only when both the own vehicle A and the other vehicle B are registered, the received identification information and message are stored in the memory 36.

The own vehicle A is not registered, and the other vehicle B is not registered.
Is registered, a message such as "The message is not accepted because it has not been registered" is transmitted to the host vehicle A side. Conversely, when the own vehicle A is registered and the other vehicle B is not registered, “identification information ○
The vehicle sent has not been registered, so the message sent could not be forwarded. Is transmitted to the vehicle that has transmitted the identification information of the corresponding other vehicle.
These guides may be held at the center C,
It may be stored in each vehicle as one of the fixed phrases ST.

Transfer of identification information and message from center C to another vehicle B ... At the center C, the message transfer flag FG6 of the transfer processing unit 34 is turned "ON" when the transfer of a message or the like becomes possible (see FIG. 3). (FIG. 13, step S60). For example, when the message transfer program starts at the center C, the message transfer flag FG6 is turned on by the control unit 38. When a message transfer request is received from another vehicle B in this state (step S62), the corresponding message is read from the memory 36 (step S6).
4), the transfer processing unit 34 transmits the data to the corresponding other vehicle B (step S66). This means that the message of the own vehicle A has been transferred to the other vehicle B through the center C. In addition,
If there is no message at the center C at the time when the other vehicle B makes a message transfer request to the center C, for example, a guidance such as "There is no message" is transmitted to the other vehicle B.

Processing of transfer message in other vehicle B ...
... The message transferred from the center C is received by the center communication unit 22B and stored in the memory 20B. Then, it is displayed on the display unit 16B or output as sound by the control unit 24B.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the user selects another vehicle on the own vehicle side and receives identification information from the selected other vehicle. Then, a message is transmitted to the center together with the received identification information of the other vehicle. The center transfers the message to another vehicle corresponding to the identification information. Therefore, even if the address of the other vehicle is unknown, the message can be transferred.

(4) Another Embodiment Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

Selection of other vehicle in own vehicle A ... In the above embodiment, arrows FP to FS (communication device 14 in FIG. 4) shown in FIG.
(Corresponding to P to 14S), the other vehicle was selected. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the selection of the other vehicle is performed based on information from the center C side. Will be When the user of the own vehicle A selects "acquire other vehicle information around own vehicle" on the menu screen, the other vehicle information acquisition flag of the center communication unit 22A is turned on by the control unit 24A (FIG. 14, step S70).

Then, the own vehicle A makes a request at a fixed time interval by the center communication unit 22A, and in response to this request, the center C transmits other vehicle information around the own vehicle position to the own vehicle A. As the other vehicle information, for example, other vehicle position, other vehicle identification number, other vehicle type, other vehicle color, and other vehicle number correspond. The center C communicates with each vehicle in advance and grasps the position and other information of each vehicle. The time interval for transmitting the other vehicle information may be set in advance, or may be arbitrarily set by the user of the own vehicle A.

When the own vehicle A receives the information on the other vehicles around the own vehicle from the center C (step S72), based on the information,
For example, a display indicating the relative positional relationship between the own vehicle and other vehicles around the own vehicle as shown in FIG. 16 is performed on the display unit 16A (step S74). In the example of FIG. 16, the other vehicle B1 is located behind the own vehicle A, and the other vehicle B1 is “the vehicle type is Corolla, the color is white, and the number is Adachi 53-12-34”. The other vehicle B2, which is traveling to the left front of the own vehicle A, has a description that "the vehicle type is Celsior, the color is black, and the number is Shinagawa 33-55-2.
3 ". Other vehicles are also as illustrated.

In this state, in the own vehicle A, the selection waiting flag is turned on (step S76, FIG. 15, step S80). Then, when the user selects one of the other vehicles B by, for example, moving the pointer P by operating the joystick and touching the icon (step S82), the other vehicle B selected as shown in FIG. Are performed in steps S40 to S46 shown in FIG. In the illustrated example, the other vehicle B2 is selected by the pointer P,
The message is transmitted to the other vehicle B2.

Message transfer ... In the above embodiment, when a request is received from another vehicle B, a message is transferred from the center C. In this embodiment, the other vehicle B
The message is transferred from the center C to the other vehicle B even if there is no request from the center C. In the transfer processing unit 34 of the center C, the message transfer flag is turned “ON” when the message addressed to the specific vehicle is received and stored in the memory 36 (FIG. 17, step S100). Subsequently, the transfer processing unit 3
4 dials based on the identification information of the corresponding other vehicle B (step S102), and transmits a corresponding message (step S104).

The present invention has many embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the above disclosure. For example, the system of the present invention may be included in a navigation system. In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a vehicle as a moving object, but the present invention is applicable to other various moving objects.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
While receiving the identification information from the other mobile unit selected by the self side, transmitting the information addressed to the other mobile unit together with the received identification information of the other mobile unit to the base station, and corresponds to the identification information from the base station. Since the information addressed to the other mobile is transferred to the other mobile, there is an effect that information such as a message can be transferred even if the address of the other mobile is unknown.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the entire system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an arrangement of communication devices with respect to a vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a center side in one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a main part of a host vehicle and another vehicle in one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a routine for selecting and requesting another vehicle.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen of another vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a routine for transmitting identification information of another vehicle.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a routine for receiving identification information of another vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission routine of a message and identification information.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a routine for receiving a message and identification information.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a message transfer routine.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing main processing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing main processing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of another vehicle display in the another embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing main processing according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10A, 10B vehicle communication unit 14, 14A communication device 14P to 14S communication device 16, 16A, 16B display unit 18, 18A, 18B input unit 20, 20A, 20B memory 22, 22, A, 22B ... Center communication unit 24, 24A, 24B Control unit 30 Reception processing unit 32 Registration confirmation unit 34 Transfer processing unit 36 Memory 38 Control unit A Own vehicle B, B1, B2 Other vehicle C Center D Telephone line FG: Flag IDM: Own vehicle identification information IDY: Other vehicle identification information M: Vehicle MS: Message MES: Identification information and message RT: Registration information table ST: Fixed text

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A moving object selecting means for selecting any one of the other moving objects located around itself; an identification information acquiring means for acquiring identification information of the other moving object selected thereby; Transmitting means for transmitting the identification information of the other mobile unit and information addressed to the other mobile unit obtained from the self to the base station; transfer requesting unit for requesting information transfer to the base station; An information transfer unit for transferring, from the base station, information addressed to another mobile unit corresponding to the identification information to the other mobile unit that has performed the operation. 2. A moving object selecting means for selecting one of the other moving objects located around itself; an identification information obtaining means for obtaining the identification information of the other moving object selected by itself; Transmitting means for transmitting the identification information of the other mobile body and information addressed to the other mobile body obtained by itself to the base station; communication means for communicatively connecting to another mobile body corresponding to the identification information; Information transfer means for transferring information addressed to the other mobile unit from the base station to the other mobile unit. 3. The mobile unit selection unit according to claim 1, wherein the mobile unit selection unit selects another mobile unit based on position information of another mobile unit around the own position received from the base station. Information transmission system.